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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Global tourism plunges up to 80% in 2020
Internationally, tourism will plunge between 60 – 80% by the end of the year. The UN World Tourism Organisation makes the forecast in their latest report. The prediction, broad and probably conservative, will put millions of workers in the world’s tourism industry, out of work. In Thailand, with its reliance on tourism as a significant contributor to its GDP, will see…
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Deals and discounts for expats at Bangkok wellness tourism event
Expats in Thailand will be offered discounts and promotions at a 2 day fair focusing on health and wellness travel, including deals on flights, accommodation and spa packages. Domestic flights start at 490 baht, and if the booking is made on the spot, customers get a free 15 kilogram baggage allowance. There will also be many deals for health and…
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Phuket woman dies shortly after eating mangrove horseshoe crab
A 46 year old woman died after eating a horseshoe crab she caught in a mangrove forest near her home in Phuket’s Muang district. After eating the shellfish, Wanthana Phutcho vomited, complained of a headache and had trouble walking. She fell unconscious and died on the way to a hospital. Some people have mistaken mangrove horseshoe crabs, which are poisonous,…
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Man allegedly chained his uncle and beat him to death with a bat
A man allegedly chained his uncle to a staircase and beat him to death with a baseball bat. 27 year old Jetsada Raksutee was found at his Chon Buri house and police say he appeared to be in a catatonic state. The body of his 45 year old uncle, Sonthaya Arnpoe, was found covered in blood with his leg chained…
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Worst flood in years Chon Buri residents say, Pattaya City officials plan to build a flood barrier
Flooding from the weekend’s heavy storms damaged homes and local beaches in Pattaya and Banglamung in the Chon Buri province, with water levels on some roads 10 to 80 centimetres high. Some residents say it was the worst flood in years. Pattaya City officials are planning to build a flood barrier to prevent future flooding, according to Banglamung Sheriff Amnat…
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Phuket in a Covid Crisis – VIDEO
Phuket is facing an existential crisis. Because of its semi-isolation as an island, it doesn’t get much “passing traffic” and is too far away from Bangkok to attract much ‘weekend’ business. Whilst the borders stay closed the island’s businesses face ruin. A year ago, the streets of this tourist island were brimming with a diverse international tourism mix. In fact…
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Ex-prisoner stabs 3 people when asked to put on a mask at Bangkok shopping mall
An ex-prisoner is back in custody after stabbing 3 people at a Bangkok shopping mall when he was asked to put on a face mask. A report in Nation Thailand says the 33 year old man has been incarcerated at Chiang Mai prison 3 times for robbery offences. It’s understood that when a security guard at The Mall, in the…
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Bangkok police prep for October 14 pro-democracy rally
Police are getting ready for the next pro-democracy rally planned for October 14 at Bangkok’s Democracy Monument, marking the anniversary of the 1973 uprising which ended the military dictatorship of anti-communist Thanom Kittikachorn. Police are following social media pages associated with the rally, like Democracy Restoration Group, to try and get a head count to determine how many officers should…
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Mother and daughter forced to sell home due to neighbour who won’t stop singing
A mother and daughter in the central province of Nonthaburi, just west of central Bangkok, are being forced to sell their home in an attempt to get away from their neighbour’s incessant singing. Thai Residents reports that 50 year old Somthop, and her 25 year old daughter, Kanchana, are now advertising the fact that the property “comes with a free…
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Sarasas teacher, who allegedly abused students, files complaint against student’s parents for assault
After being fired and charged with assault, a Nonthaburi teacher has now filed a police complaint against a student’s parents for allegedly assaulting her. The teacher, Onuma Ploadprong at the Sarasas Witaed Ratchaphruek School, says the parents assaulted her after they saw classroom surveillance camera footage of her allegedly pushing and hitting kindergarten students. The teacher is represented by the…
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Students at northeastern university accuse police of disrupting rally, harassment
Students at Maha Sarakham University, in the north-east of the country, are accusing the police of harassing them and attempting to disrupt a planned rally. The leader of a pro-democracy student group has taken to Facebook to point the finger at plain-clothes and uniformed officers who arrived at the university to carry out a search, and to remind organisers of…
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Koh Phangan hotel probed after complaints of cultural appropriation for Angkor Wat design
A Koh Phangan hotel is saying sorry for using Cambodia’s culture and famous landmarks, including the popular Angkor Wat, in what looks to be a case of cultural appropriation, misusing or misrepresenting a culture and profiting off it. An investigation into the claims of cultural appropriation has been launched by Surat Thani Culture Office. Cambodia’s Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts is also…
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Pattaya to host eating contest next weekend, everyone welcome
Pattaya will host a big eating contest next weekend with everyone welcome to join in the fun. Registration is now open for 4 person teams as well as individual contestants to participate in “The War Eating Contest 2020 #1.” The event will be held at the Royal Garden Plaza shopping centre with prizes worth more than 100,000 baht. Even organisers…
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2 new cases of Covid-19, both Thai returnees from UK and South Africa
Thailand has confirmed 2 new cases today of asymptomatic Covid-19, both Thai returnees from the UK and South Africa. One 27 year old Thai student had tested positive on Friday after arriving from the UK last Monday. She was transferred to a quarantine facility in Samut Prakarn Hospital after receiving the positive results. The other case was also a 19…
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Poll shows large majority believe child abuse at schools is not okay
A new poll finds the vast majority of Thais believe child abuse at schools is not okay. The Suan Dusit Rajabhat University Poll, or Suan Dusit Poll asked 1,896 people nationwide from September 29 – October 2, to gather their opinions on the recent spate of reported abuses of children in Nonthaburi and other Bangkok schools. (The Thaiger believes it’s…
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Man ran over by Bangkok-Ubon train in Nakhon Ratchasima province
A man has been run over by a Bangkok-Ubon Ratchathani train early this morning in the northeastern province of Korat, with rescuers saying his body was cut in half. Police rescue workers say they discovered the man’s mutilated body at around 2am about 200 metres from the Huay Thalaeng district railway station. Police say the man appears to be between…
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Koh Chang hotel agrees to settle dispute with American if he retracts his bad online review
A Koh Chang hotel is agreeing to settle a dispute with an American being sued, if he agrees to retract his bad online reviews of the hotel. Wesley Barnes, is being sued by the hotel after refusing to stop leaving bad online reviews of the resort on TripAdvisor. Immigration police arrested Barnes and detained him on the island on defamation charges. …
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Bangkok Airways offering up to a 20% discount to certain groups of Thais
Bangkok Airways is offering 10 to 20% off its standard rates to certain groups of Thai citizens. The demographic groups are split into 5 categories: senior citizens who are 60 years old or over, undergraduates which include students and teachers, disabled persons, travel-related professionals and government officials. All groups will receive 20% discounts except government officials who will receive 10%.…
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Pro-democracy leaders banned from speaking at Thammasat University massacre anniversary event
3 pro-democracy leaders have been sidelined from speaking at this year’s Thammasat University Massacre 44th anniversary forum. Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak, Panusaya “Rung” Sithijirawattanakul, co-leaders of the United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration and Arnon Nampa, a human rights lawyer, were apologetically singled out on committee member Krisadang Nutcharus’ Facebook post yesterday. He says university executives did not offer an explanation…
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Protest organisers have been silenced for Tuesday’s anniversary of the Thammasat University Massacre
The 44th anniversary of the 1976 Thammasat University massacre on October 6 will be commemorated by the university. But 3 prominent organisers of the latest round of student protests, attracting up to 30,000 people, will be denied an opportunity to speak at the event. Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak and Panusaya “Rung” Sithijirawattanakul of the United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration, and human…
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UK battles big spike in new Covid-19 cases, but deaths remain low
The UK has reported 12,872 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday, and 7,070 this morning. The Saturday report of Friday’s new cases were a record daily addition of new cases for the country, taking the overall total since the start of the pandemic to 480,017. The British government is blaming the jump on a “reporting delay” and saying the numbers in…
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Skål International Bangkok’s helps to repatriate a mother and her teacher son
by Andrew Wood A mother’s plight to rescue her 23 year old son, John de Villiers, who was stranded in Asia and his mother’s wish to return him safely home to South Africa, led to a fantastic story that has to be told. The amazing story involved using key contacts available via Skål International’s global reach, embassies across 3 continents,…
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Where’s Boss? Interpol red notice issued to nab the Red Bull heir
An Interpol red notice has finally been issued and being distributed to all member countries in a new effort to track down and arrest Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya, the Red Bull Heir who has been dodging justice since 2012 and been a fugitive since fleeing Thailand in 2017. Boss is the grandson of the co-founder of Red Bull, Chaleo Yoovidhya. Boss…
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UPDATE: President Trump says he’s “going well”. 6 more associates test positive.
Just 17 hours after announcing he has tested positive for Covid-19, US president Donald Trump has now been moved to a military hospital after displaying “mild” Covid symptoms. Meanwhile, his campaign manager, Bill Stepien, has tested positive for the coronavirus, along with a former senior adviser, and at least 2 senators after attending a White House event. More people who…
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Songkhla senior zoo official carries out murder-suicide after deers go missing
A senior zoo official in Songkhla has reportedly shot himself in his home in an apparent murder-suicide after being investigated over 2 missing rare albino barking deers. Phuvadol Suwanna, chief of the conservation and research section of the state-run zoo, allegedly murdered his boss, Suriya Senpong, the Director of the Zoological Park Organisation of Thailand, while he was investigating the…
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Market vendor returns home to honor promise to late mother after winning lottery
A market vendor in Trat province is returning home to “honour a promise to her late mother” after winning a 6 million baht first prize in the country’s state bi-monthly lottery draw (drawn on the 1st and 16th of each month). 49 year old Metta Pomchaiya went home to Sakon Nakhon during the country’s Covid-19 lockdown phase to make merit…
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Phuket’s annual vegetarian festival. Put it in your diary – VIDEO
WARNING: The content below contains photos and videos of self-mutilation that some people may find disturbing. Phuket’s annual vegetarian festival is on this month. Officials say they are asking participants to strictly observe social distancing. Good luck with that! For those who don’t know, despite its name, the festival isn’t exactly known for the vegetarian food. It’s better known, even infamous,…
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Despite delay, Tourism ministry says travellers are coming this month
Despite a delay in the first group of long-stay travellers arriving under the newly-formed Special Tourist Visa, the Tourism and Sports Ministry says it is vowing to bring in 1,200 tourists this month. The Minister, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn says the slight delay was due to some entry processes being muddled. “The first two groups from China had a prospective schedule of…
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Chiang Mai students scammed into buying sold-out concert tickets
A group of Chiang Mai students thought they were getting a good deal, but were scammed into buying sold-out concert tickets by an online ticket scalper. The 4 students, who remain unnamed, transferred almost 4,000 baht to a Twitter account, only later to be blocked by the account holder and losing their money. The students thought they were buying the…
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New police chief stops drink-driving checkpoints over corruption issues
Thailand’s new police chief has temporarily placed a stop on drink-driving checkpoints over alleged corruption issues in the police department. Gen Suwat Jangyodsuk made the announcement at a meeting yesterday, just a day after starting his new position. “There must not be roadside examination. It must be done at a hospital. Above all so that people can have confidence that…
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