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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 Long-term life in Thailand? 5 reasons private health insurance pays off in the long run
Thailand is a great place for expats and retirees, offering a warm climate, affordable living, and rich culture. However, healthcare can be tricky for foreigners since they aren’t eligible for public health coverage, and private care can be expensive. Private...
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Political parties throwing extravagant dinners to raise election funds
The pro-Junta Palang Pracharat political party is expecting to raise 600 million baht from a grand fund-raising dinner named “One Thailand”. The event will be held tonight at Muang Thong Thanee in Bangkok. The Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) appears to be winning over business leaders and the elite after selling most of the tables for tonight’s event. The event will…
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Reward offered to passenger who reported Phuket’s multi-tasking bus driver
PHOTO: The Phuket PR Office A 5,000 baht reward has been offered to the passenger who filmed and posted video of Phuket’s ‘multi-tasking’ bus driver. The Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) has fined the Phuket to Songkhla bus driver who, last Saturday, was captured on video, driving a bus full of passengers, with his young son sitting on his lap and…
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New red flags set up at Maya Bay to prevent tourist swimmers
The Mu-Koh Phi Phi National Park Officers have set new red flags around Maya Bay to prevent boats and tourists swimming into the area. Red flags and signs have also been placed at the Bay’s entrance that to prevent entry and swimming into the closed bay. National park officer say that there were some tour boat operators who have suggested…
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Former prisoner shoots man’s son as ‘revenge’
A man, who had recently been released from prison for attempted murder, has shot and killed a man’s son. Police believe the father had ‘dobbed’ him into authorities on a weapon’s charge and was acting as revenge. But the father claims that it was all a misunderstanding and his son was now dead for no reason. Banmuang reports that Petchaburi…
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Three Russians detained in Thailand at the request of the US
Three Russian citizens have been detained in Thailand at the request of the United States in the last three years, head of the Consulate Department of the Russian Embassy in Thailand, Vladimir Pronin told reporters yesterday. “Only in the last three years, three Russians have been detained in Thailand at the US’ request, two of them – in 2018,” he stressed.…
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British tourist found dead in Bangkok hotel room
PHOTO: Facebook/Luke Ramage Police in Thailand are investigating the death of a British tourist in Bangkok, according to the British Foreign Office. The man has been identified by grieving friends. According to Sky News, Luke Ramage had only just arrived at his hotel when he was found unresponsive on his bed by a receptionist. Mr Ramage, from the town of…
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POP – Thailand’s first satellite-based rain algorithm
The daily forecast gives us an approximate idea of expected weather and rain. But now researchers have a new tool which will provide much more accurate predictions of precipitation around the Kingdom. The system will be an invaluable tool for water management and flood prevention. They’ve successfully developed Thailand’s first satellite-based algorithm to accurately estimate rainfall. “We call this algorithm…
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Thailand Yacht Show and Rendezvous – January 10-13
The fourth edition of the Thailand Yacht Show & RendezVous is set to take place in Phuket January 10-13 at Royal Phuket Marina. Targeting yachting enthusiasts and lifestyle-seekers from all over the region, the Thailand Yacht Show & RendezVous has become a key marketing platform and revenue generator for the industry, as well as positioning Thailand in its rightful place…
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Belgian hit-and-run victim urges driver to come forward
An elderly Belgian woman has been injured in a hit and run in Chiang Mai and now recovering in the Chiang Mai Hospital. The 78 year old is urging the motorist who injured her to come forward and apologise. Chiang Mai police deputy chief Pol Colonel Piyaphan Pattharapongsin on Tuesday said police were still trying to locate the driver of black…
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Motorcyclist crushed by truck in Thalang
A motorbike passenger has died following an incident with a truck in Thalang this morning. Thalang Police were notified of the accident on Thepkasattri Road southbound in Mueang Mai, Thalang. Police and rescue workers arrived to find the body of a woman, identified by police as Boonnam Thepnui from Pattalung. Her body was taken to the Thalang Hospital. A motorbike…
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If your motorbike is stolen, just wait a few days
Not only did he get his motorbike back, but he should go out and buy a lottery ticket. What are the chances…? The owner of a stolen motorcycle got his transport back three days later after a man ran out of petrol just in front of him in Songkhla’s Muang district on Tuesday. The owner of the motorcycle, identified only…
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Phuket beach back to normal after oil-spill clean-up
PHOTOS: The Phuket PR Office A beach in Ao Makham is almost back to normal following a big cleanup was launched to clear a black oil spill that had polluted 300 metres of shoreline yesterday. The oil spill was located along a beach at Ao Makham in Wichit over the weekend. It is believed to be from a big ship.…
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Dog cloning service in China starts at 1.8 million baht
PHOTOS: Reuters, Newsbook Meet Juice or “Guozhi” in Mandarin, a small one foot tall mongrel stray adopted from the streets turned into Chinese movie star. The nine year old canine actor was neutered at an early age and is unable to reproduce but as they say “the show must go on”. Introducing “Sinogene”, China’s first biotech company offering animal cloning…
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Social media helps re-unite dog and owner in Chiang Mai
Facebook users in Chiang Mai have banded together to locate a lost dog. 24 days ago it was frightened by the firecrackers on Loy Kratong night and ran away. Thanawat Jinawanit recounts how he and his aunt, Yaowamal Jinawanit, got the dog back from a temple in another tambon last Sunday after a Facebook user called him to report sighting…
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Phuket vs Penang – The two pearls go head to head
…including some reflections by guest writer TravellingMitch There was a time when Penang was the ‘Pearl of the Orient’, for some western travellers the only ‘orient’ they would know outside of Singapore and maybe Hong Kong. It was the 1950s and 60s when jet travel had just started making the world smaller and the western middle class were in search…
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Man jumps to his death from condo rooftop in Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai police are reporting that a man, allegedly experiencing depression following a business failure, has jumped to his death from a condo rooftop in front of his relatives. The incident happened this morning. 40 year old Apirak Chansawang died on impact outside a luxurious 32 floor condo in the Wat Ket area of Chiang Mai. His relatives told police…
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89 leatherback turtle eggs moved to safe area on beach
A mother leatherback sea turtle laid 93 eggs at a beach in Khao Lak, Phang Nga yesterday. The 89 eggs have been carefully moved to a safe area on the beach whilst four eggs had broken. The enormous leatherback sea turtle laid its eggs on a beach at the Kuek Kak Beach in Khao Lak yesterday morning. Read more about…
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“The Election Commission can decide” – PM on foreign observers for election
Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is making it clear that the Election Commission (EC) are the sole authority to decide whether or not to allow foreign observers to monitor the election scheduled for February 24, 2019. But, Gen Prayut insisted that Thailand must solve its own internal problems to ensure transparency and fairness in order to restore international community’s confidence in…
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‘Phoenix’ substandard – more officials face legal action
The Thai Immigration Bureau Chief, Lt Gen Surachate Hakparn, yesterday has confirmed that many aspects of the ‘Phoenix’ design and operation were substandard. And more officials are now facing legal action as the investigation uncovers the multiple failures of the design, operations on the day and behaviour of the Captain and crew during the sinking incident. Lt Gen Surachate says, “An…
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Thai Rath downsizes newspaper workforce citing crippling decline in revenues
Thai Rath, the country’s biggest newspaper, is buckling under the weight of digital change and downsizing its staff. In yet another sign of the woes in the Thai media industry, the mass-circulation Thai Rath newspaper is downsizing through a voluntary early retirement scheme. Thai Rath, which at its peak claimed a daily circulation of one million, said in a statement…
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Neighborhood quarrel suspected in brutal killing of family
by Somjit Rungjamrassamee Police are searching for three Burmese suspects in a brutal murder of four people, including a four year old boy and a four month old baby. The four family members, all from Myanmar, are believed to have been killed while they were sleeping on Saturday night. The gruesome killing took place in the border province of Tak…
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Driver killed and eight injured in passenger van crash
PHOTOS: js100.com Eight South Korean tourists have been injured in a fatal passenger van accident in Chachoengsao today. In this case it’s alleged that the speeding van they were travelling in hit the rear of a pickup truck whilst it was making a U-turn. It also hit a motorcycle, before colliding with a concrete barrier at noon today. The driver…
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The new Galaxy Roof Club opens in Patong
The new Galaxy Roof Club Patong had its official launch as Patong’s first and only roof club under the slogan “Where all stars meet.” Dr. Josef Kastenberger – Owner, Ms. Olga Kotelenets – Managing Director and Mr. Nunthidej Phatanachinda – Advisor to Galaxy Roof Club Patong, are offering a new experience as the first and only roof club in Phuket…
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Emergency crews battle airport fire. All part of regular drills.
PHOTOS: The Phuket International Airport Phuket International Airport emergency crews battled fires near the main runway today. But it was all part of organized training for fire and emergency crews. Firefighters and rescue workers were deployed on the tarmac as part of regular drills aimed at improving response times and emergency response efficiency. Officials observing the proceedings reported that the…
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Big leatherback sea turtle lays eggs in Phang Nga – VIDEO
PHOTOS: Dr Thon Thamrongnawasawat | VIDEO: โชติ ครัวโชติรส / Newshawk Phuket A big leatherback sea turtle has laid eggs on a beach in Phang Nga this morning. Officials at the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR), Phang Nga, were informed this morning that a big turtle has laid eggs at the Kuek Kak Beach in Khao Lak. Officials went to the beach…
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Surachete doubles down on expelling illegal foreigners
“I want to keep the number at zero.” Immigration Bureau chief Surachate Hakparn is admitting that the frequent and highly public crackdowns on immigration suspects living in Thailand illegally is making other foreigners feel uncomfortable. But he says the Bureau’s success in the X-Ray Foreigner campaigns outweighs the concerns of expats. He has once again claimed that the number of…
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Miss Philippines wins Miss Universe 2018 – Thailand in Top 10
PHOTO: philstar.com Just in case you needed to know… Miss Universe 2018, the 67th Miss Universe pageant, was held today at Impact, Muang Thong Thani in Nonthaburi Province. Miss Thailand made it into the event’s Top 10. Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of South Africa crowned her successor, the pageant winner, Catriona Gray of the Philippines. The 24 year old Filipina-Australian was crowned…
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Oil pollutes a Phuket beach
Black oil has been located on a Beach at Ao Makham in Wichit yesterday. It is believed to be from a big ship. The Phuket Vice Governor Tanyawat Chanpinit, along with other officials, yesterday inspected the beach after the black oil was found on the sands along Tang Ken Bay. Phuket’s Vice Governor Tanyawat says, “Oil has been found polluting…
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Phuket’s multi-tasking bus driver fined
The Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) has fined the Phuket to Songkhla bus driver who, on Saturday, was captured on video, whilst responsible for a bus full of passengers, with his son sitting on his lap and making, what appears to be, live video chat calls. Read more about the incident HERE. (The original story says the bus was travelling to Phattalung.…
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Search on for person who tried to drown puppies
“Paitoon, accompanied by many, also made merit for the deceased pups.” by Saichon Srinuanjan Authorities suspect somebody may tried to drown seven puppies and succeeded in killing five of them in Ratchaburi’s city district, west of Bangkok. Two puppies from the litter were found wet, but alive, though five other likely siblings were found at the same spot but lifeless.…
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