News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.
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Sponsored Why health insurance costs more each year and how expats in Thailand can save more money
Each year, many expats living in Thailand see their health insurance premiums go up and often without a clear reason. This can be frustrating, especially when you're trying to plan your budget. But by understanding why prices rise and learning...
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Protests go west, up to 2,000 gather in Thonburi
Fit for the end of a 4 day long weekend, the protest road show headed west yesterday, to a far western district of Bangkok in Tawichai Wattana, an hour’s drive from the city centre. It turned into more of a festival than a political rally where up to 2,000 people gathered. A similar rally was held at the same location…
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Mother travels to Pattaya to desperately search for her missing daughter
50 year old Chanapa Yuthiya has travelled from Chaiyaphum province to Pattaya, over 400 kilometres, to desperately search for her missing daughter. The grandmother has taken her 7 month old granddaughter along, after she says her daughter has been out of touch and unable to be reached since November 17. Chanapa filed a complaint to Pattaya City police last Thursday…
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Hotel investment group launches world’s first “green” hotel fund
Destination Capital, a hotel investment group in Bangkok, has announced that it will launch the world’s first ever “green” hotel fund. The fund will acquire hotels and implement sustainability systems and procedures to promote long term environmental and financial sustainability in investments using the EDGE certification programme. EDGE, an online platform, is an innovation of the International Finance Corporation, which…
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US federal judge shoots down President Trump’s attempt to block Pennsylvania vote certification
A US federal judge has shot down US President Trump’s campaign team’s attempt to block the certification of votes in the state of Pennsylvania. The judge issued the order that also refuted claims of widespread irregularities for mail-in ballots. The news comes after President Trump has refused to concede the election despite other leaders worldwide already recognising Joe Biden, a…
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Poll reveals Thais hope President-elect Biden will be a “good leader”
Thailand’s Suan Dusit Poll has revealed that most Thais hope that the President-elect Joe Biden will be a good leader of his country. The opinion survey, by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, was conducted online on November 13 through November 18, in which 1,038 people responded with their opinions throughout the country. A majority of Thais, almost 90%, responded that they…
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#ByeByeDinosaurs – Jurassic Park comes to Bangkok’s streets
Jurassic Park meets Bangkok politics. Some students attending yesterday’s Bad Student protest in Bangkok dressed in dinosaur costumes to represent Thailand’s establishment. The high school-aged students are joining in the calls for the Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to resign and reform of the Thai monarchy. They are also demanding reform of Thailand’s education system and an end to sexual abuse…
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Protest leaders threaten to escalate if authorities interfere with upcoming rally
Protest leaders of The Ratsadon (People’s Movement) group are threatening to escalate the rallies if authorities interfere with an upcoming rally at the Crown Property Bureau in Bangkok this Wednesday. The anti-government group named Dao Din, which is part of the wider Ratsadon group, has voiced its opposition to parliament’s rejection of the charter amendment bill proposed by iLaw, a…
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Grammy executive files lèse-majesté complaint against Panusaya “Rung” Sithijirawattanakul
A lèse-majesté complaint has been officially filed against Panusaya “Rung” Sithijirawattanakul, one of the leaders of the Ratsadon ‘People’s Movement’. She was the first to read the, now infamous, 10 point manifesto at the Thammasat University in April, and then in a more public forum at a Democracy Monument protest in early August. Nitipong Hornak, a songwriter and judge on Thailand’s…
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Student protesters gathering today under Bangkok skytrain
Despite 2 students recently being summoned for breaking the emergency decree, members of the “Bad Student” protest group are gathering today under the Siam BTS skytrain station in Bangkok to continue rallying. The students set up a stage on the bed of a truck that was parked in front of Siam Paragon shopping mall after rain forced them to move…
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High school students summoned for violating emergency decree after joining banned protest
High school students in Bangkok are being summoned for violating the emergency decree after police found they had joined the banned anti-government protests last month. The 2 teens spoke at a rally on October 15, a day after PM Prayut announced that tougher actions would be taken against protesters. The students were directly targetted out of tens of thousands of…
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Only taxis travelling to and from Bangkok airports can charge for luggage
The Land Transport Department is clarifying the recent news that taxis in Bangkok can charge special handling fees for luggage after the announcement received public scrutiny. The department’s deputy director Tanee Suebrerk says this special fee only applies to metred taxis travelling to and from Bangkok’s two airports. He says that those taxis who do not deliver passengers or pick…
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PM thanks volunteers for graffiti cleanup after huge anti-government protest
Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is thanking pro-government volunteers for their efforts in helping clean up graffiti and paint after last Wednesday’s massive anti-government protest in central Bangkok around the Ratchaprasong intersection. The People’s Movement rally was held that day from 4pm, near the police HQ, with a protest co-leader saying they had acted out of anger after police used water…
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Pattaya Fireworks Festival hoped to boost economy over upcoming weekend
The Pattaya Fireworks Festival is approaching with many hoping it will boost the economy over the upcoming weekend. Stacked with long fireworks shows and some hotels offering promotional fares for advance bookings, officials say they hope it will wake up the weekend as Thais and foreigners alike take part in the annual short list festival. The festival runs over November…
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Thai man in Surin greeted by crocodile in his toilet
Surprise! A Thai man in Surin province was greeted by an unexpected visitor as he took an early morning toilet break. The man, 52 year old Korn Yudirom, says he got up at 3am to use the toilet, which is located separately from his main home. The man thought water was left running in the toilet, after hearing noises after…
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Personal data of 13 million online users leaked in data breach
The Digital Economy and Society Minister is calling in the experts after revelations that a data breach means the personal data of over 13 million online users has been compromised. The details of the accounts have been found up for sale on an underground website, according to a Thai PBS World report. The news has sparked condemnation of Thailand’s cybersecurity.…
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Trump’s son, Donald Jr, tests positive for Covid-19
The eldest son of US president, Donald Trump, has tested positive for Covid-19, an anonymous White House spokesperson has confirmed. 42 year old Donald Trump Jr. is understood to be asymptomatic and currently self-isolating, following the diagnosis earlier this week. His girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, tested positive back in July. In October, President Trump tested positive for Covid-19, as did his…
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Police confirm over 30 protesters from both sides face criminal charges
The deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau has confirmed that charges will be brought against 31 people from both pro and anti-establishment groups, following protests in Bangkok earlier this week. Piya Tawichai says 14 people face charges for offences committed in the area of the Parliament building last Tuesday, while a further 17 are being charged for crimes committed…
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PM won’t rule out lèse majesté charges for protesters
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has implied in a media address that anti-government protesters may face lèse majesté charges. He has previously threatened to use the full force of the law against pro-democracy activists and was responding to questions from reporters about whether this included the section on lèse majesté. “It is among all those laws. Do you understand the term all…
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The Thai tourism new normal, learning to live with the pandemic
OPINION by Julian Spindler Thailand’s world-class tourism industry, one of the twin drivers of our economy, is in a deep, coronavirus-induced coma, close to death. No life support is currently available. Pandemic paranoia has gripped the nation, freezing our bio-security risk management in full containment mode, meaning zero tolerance for local Covid-19 transmission. The socio-economic, and some might add political, impacts…
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Thailand News Today | Bangkok exodus, Pattaya air pollution, Vaccine next month? | November 20
Last day of the week, and the second day of official public holidays in Thailand. We’ll be back on Monday with another Thailand News Today. Over 5 million escape Bangkok by car and public transport as holiday begins The Transport Ministry says just under 5.3 million Bangkok residents have left the capital as the long holiday gets underway. Not bad…
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Over 5 million escape Bangkok by car and public transport as holiday begins
The Transport Ministry says just under 5.3 million Bangkok residents have left the capital as the long holiday gets underway. Anon Luangboriboon says the exodus began on Wednesday, a day before the holiday period began. The Bangkok Post reports that the figures include those travelling by car and public transport, with 2.25 million leaving by bus and van. Anon says…
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Teenagers break vending machine by inserting beer bottle tops to pay for coffee
A group of teenagers in the eastern province of Chon Buri has been caught on CCTV inserting flattened bottle tops into a coffee vending machine, causing it to break. In the footage, 4 teenagers, male and female, can be seen arriving on a motorbike and parking in front of a convenience store in the early hours of Wednesday morning. They…
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South Australia lockdown to end early, after man lied about how he contracted virus
A strict 6-day lockdown for South Australia will end early, as officials reveal an infected pizza parlour worker lied about how he contracted the virus. South Australia Premier, Steven Marshall, says a chef employed at a pizza business that was found to have a cluster of infections, misled officials. The worker told contact-tracers that he was a customer of the…
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Ministry of Finance proposes extension to shopping stimulus scheme
The Ministry of Finance is proposing to get Thais to shop the country out of recession. They’ve proposed an extension to the shopping co-payment scheme, Khon La Khrueng (Let’s Go Halves), first introduced last month. The scheme aims to encourage spending by offering Thai shoppers discounts of up to 150 baht a day at participating stores, to a maximum of…
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TAT aiming for 70 million domestic trips by year end, planning more incentives for 2021
The glass is half-full for the Tourism Authority of Thailand as it predicts domestic tourism during the last 2 months of the year will result in 70 million trips undertaken in 2020. Kritsana Kaewthamrong, deputy governor for domestic marketing, says additional public holidays, coupled with discounts on flights and hotels, should mean travel figures will exceed those of preceding months.…
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PM threatens protesters with full force of the law if unrest continues to escalate
Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has warned pro-democracy protesters that they face the full force of the law if ongoing political rallies continue to escalate. On Tuesday, thousands of anti-government protesters gathered outside the Parliament building, where MPs and senators were voting on draft amendments to the constitution. A draft submitted by human rights group iLaw, with the backing of 100,000…
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Vaccine could be ready by the end of next month – BioNTech/Pfizer
BioNTech has announced the candidate Covid-19 vaccine, the German company is developing with US pharmaceutical company Pfizer, could be released for public distribution before the year, at least in the US and Europe. BioNTech co-founder Ugur Sahin says that both companies plan to apply for “emergency use authorisation” of their candidate vaccine in the US today (US time), while European regulators…
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Man wearing pink raincoat wanted on suspicion of firing shots at Bangkok rally
The Metropolitan Police Bureau in Bangkok are hunting a man they suspect of firing gun shots at Tuesday’s rally outside the Parliament building. The Bangkok Post reports that the man was wearing a pink raincoat and a photo shows him pointing what appears to be a gun at protesters. The Erawan Medical Centre in the capital reported that it had…
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Thailand News Today | Protests to escalate, Domestic violence, Tourist visa exemptions? | Nov 19
Just a reminder that it is still safe to travel to Thailand. The protests are in very small pockets around Bangkok and well publicised in advance. If you can, and are prepared to go through all the hoops and paperwork, it’s still a great place to visit. Bangkok police blame insufficient manpower for failure to control Parliament road clashes Police…
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5 injured in Chiang Mai collision after driver falls asleep at the wheel – VIDEO
5 passengers in a public transport vehicle have been injured after a pickup driver fell asleep at the wheel and slammed into them. Nation Thailand reports that the collision occurred on San Kampaeng Road in the northern province of Chiang Mai. Rescue workers had to use specialist equipment to free the passengers, who were trapped in the bus. They managed…
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