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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 Planning to extend your Thai visa? Why health insurance is more important than ever
If you plan to stay longer in Thailand, having health insurance is now more important than ever. Thai immigration often asks for proof of medical coverage when you apply to extend your visa. This applies to many types of visas,...
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Flying into history, the mighty Airbus A380
In an era where airlines are now run by accountants instead of pioneers, aviators or passionate flyers, it’s no wonder we’re seeing the passing of an important aviation milestone this week. The Airbus A380, a passenger favourite, failed to ignite the interest it needed to sustain new orders and and a continuation of the program of building, selling and servicing…
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14 injured in bus crash in Prachuap Khiri Khan
PHOTO: ปูดำนิวส์ A tour bus has flipped over in the middle of the main road through Prachuap Khiri Khan last night around midnight. The accident happened at the Phetkasem Road 371 kilometer marker (distance from Bangkok). Up to 14 people have been injured in the incident, four of them seriously. The injured were rushed to hospital as rescuers helped free…
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Five metre king cobra caught in Kathu
PHOTOS: Pannakorn Pongpao/Kathu Rescue Foundation/Kusoldharm Rescue Foundation A five metre king cobra has been caught at a worker’s house in Kathu. Kusoldharm Rescue workers were notified of the king cobra discovered by a worker next to his house in the Kathu – Nakoh road in Kathu last night. Nokoh Road runs behind the Loch Palm Golf Course, between Kathu and…
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The Koh Samui tunnel – “it definitely had all the proper documentation”
The 84 metre tunnel, rediscovered last week by a foreign tourist visiting the north of Koh Samui, is starting to reveal more of its secrets. This week island authorities announced they would prosecute the builders of the tunnel because they were unable to find any supporting documentation or permissions for the construction. The Koh Samui land office could, however, confirm…
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Driver slams sedan into bedroom of house killing baby and injuring others
PHOTO: Facebook / Ake Srisuwan A couple’s one year old son died and three family members were injured after a car slammed into the bedroom on the lower floor in the main city district of Pathum Thani early Saturday. The incident happened in Tambon Ban Mai around 2.30am. Pathum Thani is the province just north of Bangkok. The family, along with…
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Five Thais die after their car plunges into a Laos ravine
Five Thai tourists were killed in a car accident just over the north-eastern border in Laos. The incident occurred when their car plunged down a deep ravine in Luang Prabang. The popular tourist region is approximately 300 kilometers north of the Lao capital Vientiane. Yesterday’s fatal crash was reported at 10pm last night by Lao authorities to the rescue unit…
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The Patong Bay Hill Resort – where your holiday begins!
Nestled into the hills above Phuket’s popular Patong Beach, the modern Patong Bay Hill Resort is a luxurious resort which overlooks the ocean and the eclectic neighborhood below. Welcome to Patong Bay Hill Resort Set in a beautifully landscaped garden, Patong Bay Hill Resort is set amongst the natural, tropical environment of Patong’s Hasib-pee Hill. The resort offers majestic panoramic…
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126 Grand Palace taxi and tuk tuk drivers, and local vendors, arrested
PHOTOS: The Nation One of the biggest targets for scammers has always been the Grand Palace in Bangkok, mostly because it has such a high concentration of tourists visiting any time of the year. Google ‘scams in Thailand’ and you’ll always be reading about the creative ways taxi and tuk tuk drivers, and local vendors, have of parting tourists from…
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Burn baby burn – The Netflix cash strategy to stay on top
Netflix, the online TV streaming service, is gaining more viewers in the US and around the world, but is burning through astonishing amounts of cash in producing new content. In 2018 Netflix churned through $3 billion in losses. Negative cash flow that accelerated to $1.3 billion in Q4, more than double the year before. But it’s all a part of…
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Beware: Dangerous jellyfish. Just don’t tell the Chinese.
Dozens of signs have been erected, in multiple languages on Cha-Am beach in Petchaburi, warning swimmers about potentially dangerous jellyfish and ‘stingers’. Manager Online reports that, despite Chinese being frequent visitors to the area, someone forgot to include the warnings in Chinese language. The sign contained Thai and English, Japanese and Korean. But no Chinese. Three large signs and some other…
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Woman attacks Lottery MC during draw in Phatthalung – VIDEO
The live broadcast of the government’s bi-weekly lottery draw was interrupted when a 35 year old woman threatened one of the MCs with a screwdriver. The lottery draw, held in Phatthalung province’s City Hall yesterday, was being broadcast live on Channel 5. The hall was full lottery enthusiasts and government officials when the attack happened. The attacker, later identified as…
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Landowners could face jail – Koh Samui ‘mystery tunnel’ case
PHOTOS: Manager Online Koh Samui authorities are planning to pursue a case against the landowners on either side of a tunnel that was allegedly constructed without permission. The tunnel connects the beach at Ban Tai with a private road and undeveloped piece of forest land two hundred metres from the island’s main ring road in the Mae Nam district. It was earlier…
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Thai Airways says it will stick to ‘rehabilitation plan’ despite 11.6 billion baht loss in 2018
It hasn’t been a good week for Thai Airways as the national airline continues to fly passengers to their original destinations days after flights were cancelled and rescheduled due to Pakistan airspace closures. Even yesterday Thai Airways was reporting a backlog of up to 2,000 passengers they were hoping to clear before the end of this weekend. Meanwhile, it emerged…
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479 arrested on immigration offences
More than 400 foreigners plus 79 Thais, involved in a range immigration offences, were arrested after raids across Thailand this week. The Immigration Police Bureau deputy chief announced at a press conference in Bangkok today that Thai authorities carried out simultaneous searches at 227 locations. Of the 417 foreigners who were arrested, mostly from Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, 248 were…
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Canadian motorbike driver killed in Phuket road accident
A female Canadian motorbike driver has died after her head was crushed under a truck’s wheels after trying to overtake a truck in Kata today. Karon Police were notified of the incident on Kata Hill at 11am. Police and emergency responders arrived to find the truck stopped on the road. Nearby they found a motorbike on top of the body…
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Wanted Russians walk into Pattaya immigration office
Two Russians wanted on an arrest warrant originating in Phuket have been found and arrested hiding in Pattaya. Immigration police had no trouble in locating 48 year old Artur Stotskii and 34 year old Iaroslav Scherobatyk. The pair made it very easy by showing up for visa extensions at the Chonburi Immigration Office on February 18. The January 16 arrest…
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Sleeping woman’s lucky escape from a snake bite in Bangkok home – VIDEO
PHOTO: Screenshot from ‘นายช่าง อ้วนดำ’ Facebook A sleeping woman has narrowly escaped a snake bite in her Bangkok home this week. The video has been posted by a woman’s son with a message saying, “The incident has happened in my house this week.” The snake was identified as a python. “My mother has escaped from being bitten by a snake…
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Chiang Mai massage worker has baby in the police toilets, abandons the child
Thai Rath reports that police in Chiang Mai have located and arrested a 43 year old woman who snuck into the city district police station and had a baby in the toilets there. After giving birth last weekend, the mother left with her child still in the toilet bowl. The baby was found soon after, survived, and is now stable and…
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Italian couple killed as truck rolls on top of them in Chumphon – VIDEO
PHOTO: Screenshot from Thai Rath’s video Two Italian tourists have been killed after an oil truck’s brakes allegedly failed coming down a hill. The truck overturned and rolled onto the pair in Chumphon. Workpoint News reports that the incident happened at an intersection in Paknam, Chumphon yesterday afternoon. Emergency responders arrived to find the overturned oil truck lying on the…
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Flight attendant alleges he was assaulted by Thai Airways captain
Thai Airways have ended up in the news again, for all the wrong reasons. Police in Chiang Mai report that a Thai Airways cabin attendant has filed a report claiming he was assaulted by the captain on his flight. But he says he doesn’t want to pursue a criminal conviction at this stage. He told police that he made the…
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Anti-vaxers blamed for astonishing rise of Measles in 2018 – UNICEF
“Measles is more contagious than tuberculosis or Ebola, yet it is eminently preventable with a vaccine that costs pennies.” Thailand figures in the Top 10 countries in the world where measles cases rose alarmingly in 2018. Most of the rises of Measles cases in Thailand have occurred in the three southern-most provinces where a large Muslim majority live. In some…
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Weather for March 1
Bangkok Generally clear. High 34ºC. Winds S at 15 to 25 km/h. Phuket Generally clear. High 32ºC. E winds shifting to SSW at 15 to 25 km/h. Chiang Mai Partly cloudy. High 36ºC. Winds S at 10 to 15 km/h. Pattaya Generally clear. High 31ºC. Winds SSW at 15 to 30 km/h. Hua Hin Generally clear. High 33ºC. Winds…
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Foreign motorbike racer arrested in Patong
PHOTOS: Patong Police Patong Police yesterday arrested another foreign motorbike racer driving erratically around Patong’s roads. Police report that they arrested the man who was driving his motorbike at high speed and doing ‘wheelies’ (front wheel raised off the ground) yesterday. “He doesn’t care for other people’s safety and was annoying other road users. He was been taken to Patong…
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Brush fire near the Khao Rang view point – VIDEO
VIDEO: Newshawk Phuket A bush fire spread quickly around Khao Rang, overlooking Phuket Town, near the main view point yesterday. Fire fighters were notified of the incident by a restaurant operator on Khao Rang at 3.30pm. Emergency responders arrived at the Khao Rang summit with two fire engines. The brush fire was already well underway on the south-western slopes underneath…
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Light at the end of the tunnel – Koh Samui’s mystery mountain tunnel
Officers have closed off access to the ‘mysterious’ tunnel on Koh Samui linking two sides of a small hill. They say they’re waiting for the company which owns the land, linked by the tunnel, to front up with a permit to build it. A tourist trekking in the Ban Tai area last week stumbled on the 84 metre long tunnel.…
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American man and Thai woman arrested in Chiang Mai cannabis factory raids
PHOTOS: The Nation Narcotics police in Chiang Mai have arrested a 44 year old American man and a 37 year old Thai woman in separate raids on two houses in Mae Rim district. Police alleged the houses were used as cannabis production facilities. Police allegedly found cannabis in multiple forms – dried, liquid, tablets as well as plants. Inside one…
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Alleged Bangkok money truck robber arrested
PHOTOS: The Nation Police have arrested a 19 year old man who allegedly stole 7.27 million baht from a Bangkok money truck last Saturday. His accomplice is still at large. At a press conference today police announced that suspect Jirayus Suanmi was arrested yesterday (Wednesday). He allegedly robbed a money truck outside the Big C Extra shopping mall on Phetkasem…
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Thai Airways resumes flights to Europe via Chinese airspace
Thai Airways International has resumed flights to Europe via Chinese airspace instead of over Pakistan after an abrupt cancellation of flights last night. The cancellations were due to armed tensions between India and Pakistan. Pratthana Pattanasiri, director for aviation safety at Thai Airways, said today that the national flag carrier was granted permission from China to fly to their European…
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Flights delayed and cancelled at Phuket Airport – Closure of Pakistan airspace
Flights have been affected at the Phuket International Airport, a knock-on affect from the closing of airspace over Pakistan. Latest in the tensions between India and Pakistan HERE. Thai Airways resumes flights. Read about that HERE. The Phuket International Airport has announced flights that have been affected at the Phuket International Airport. Delayed flights… AEROFLOT airlines flight SU278/279 from Moscow…
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UPDATE: Thai Airways resumes flights
Thai Airways has resumed flight between Bangkok and Europe today after cancellations due to Pakistan’s emergency closure of its airspace. The cancellations, announced late last night, have caused havoc for travellers hoping to fly between Bangkok and Europe on Thai Airways last night and today. Flights between Bangkok to Europe, in both directions, normally fly over Pakistan’s airspace but since…
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