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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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93 more rounded up in nationwide immigration stings
PHOTO: All smiles as Pol Maj-General Surachet Hakpal poses with some of the foreigners rounded up in the latest sting. Tourist police searched 118 locations around the country yesterday (Wednesday) and arrested another 93 foreigners for entering and living in Thailand illegally. Pol Maj-General Surachet Hakpal, deputy commissioner of the Tourist Police Bureau, held a press conference at the Monthian…
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Two villagers shot dead in Yala
In the most recent violence in Thailand’s deep south, a former village head and his friend have been gunned down in Yala province last evening (Wednesday), according to Police. The two were shot by an unknown number of suspected insurgents using M16 rifles on the main road in Ban Kuber Kuaroh village, Tambon Jakwa, in Raman district at around…
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37 billion baht motorway planned – Had Yai to Malaysian border
PHOTO: Had Yai commercial district The Thai government plans to build a 62km motorway in the southern province of Songkhla, from Had Yai to the Malaysian border in a bid to boost bilateral trade and cross-border tourism Estimates put the trade value in the region at around 500 billion baht per year according to the Transport Minister Arkham Termpitayapaisit. The…
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10 million Baht crackdown on drugs. Meanwhile the drugs get cheaper.
Police Region 8 held a press conference in Krabi, following weeks of big drug busts, to reveal another recent drug crackdown which has netted 85,170 amphetamine pills worth around 10 million Baht on the streets. A couple arrested in the most recent case includes 24 year old Thepnarin Naksawad and 21 year old Kamonthip Kongmee, who were living in Plai…
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Truck crashes into a van and car – 8 in Chalong hospital
A 6-wheel truck transporting fabric was cut in front by a car and caused it to lose control. It flipped and hit a van that was transporting tourists, which resulted in 4 critical injuries and 4 others being taken to hospital with less severe injuries. The accident occurred on the main road to Chalong Circle. Chalong Police, Chalong Mayor and…
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Phuket luxury villa sales surging
Phuket appears to be on an upward swing in the property market following a few years languishing with slower sales. According to a recent report from CBRE Thailand, around 155 resort villas were sold in Phuket during 2017. CBRE, which opened an office on the island back in 2004, says the results last year represent a growth of 21 percent…
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Sales, exports, production – Thai car business growing
Car sales are likely to exceed 900,000 units by the end of 2018. This is according to the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) saying that production and sales have been picking up. The automobile club president, Surapong Paisitpatanapong, says the general outlook of the industry is improving with both production and sales, both for local and export markets with March sales…
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UPDATE: Fire at Hollywood Studio Store clothes shop in Phuket Town
Forensic police believe that the fire at the Hollywood Studio Store started from an electric short circuit in the ceiling of the shop. The fire at the clothes shop on the ground floor of Paradise Multiplex, Ocean Shopping Mall, that destroyed much of the shop’s contents on the night of April 23 resulting in at least 2 million Baht damages,…
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Soi Dog opening on Saturdays
Following the success of our recent trial, Soi Dog Foundation has extended visitor times at one of Phuket’s most popular attractions, ‘’The Gill Dalley Sanctuary” in Mai Khao to Saturday mornings providing the opportunity to visitors, who are unable to go during the week, to meet and mingle with the small dogs, cats and kittens. From April 28 onward, visitors…
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77 baby turtles hatched at Ko Similan
77 Baby green sea turtles hatched at Mo Ko Similan National Park yesterday and about half have been released to the sea already after 55 days of hatching. The hatching rate is 71.29%, which is 77 eggs out of 108 eggs. This was the same eggs found on Miang Island on March 1. By the time the national park officers…
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Kanman and Hmong leader injured in Chiang Rai ambush
The pickup truck of a well-known kamnan and Hmong leader in Chiang Rai was cut down in a hail of gunfire last evening (Tuesday), killing his wife and daughter and injuring him and his son. Police said the attack happened at 5pm on Ban Rom Fah Thong-Ban Pha Tung Road in Ban Rom Fah Thong village, Tambon Por of Wiangkaen…
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15 year old succumbs to rabies infection in Nong Kai
A 15 year old from Nong Kai has become Thailand’s eighth victim to die from rabies. Nong Kai is on the Lao border in Thailand’s far north east. She was scratched by her newly adopted puppy on the neck five months ago and died on April 20 at the Nong Khai hospital. According to her family the teenager had raised…
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Same sex marriage laws likely to be passed in the lifetime of current government
After years of calls by sexual-diversity groups, a new law that would allow registered life partnership for same-sex couples is in the making. Supporters expect it to be promulgated within the lifetime of the present government. For proponents, the long-awaited legislation is viewed as the first i-mportant step towards legal same-sex marriage in Thailand in the future. Sexual diversity groups…
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Protesters call for the resignation of the Livestock Department chief
Anti-corruption and animal rights activists rallied in front of the Livestock Development Department this morning demanding the removal of the department chief for failure to contain rabies in the country. They’re also alleging lack of transparency in the procurement of the anti-rabies vaccine. Thai PBS is reporting that Atchariya Ruangrattanapong, leader of the group, is blaming Livestock director-general Apai Suttisunk…
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Nine tourists injured in Nakhon Pathom van accident
Seven South Korean and two Indonesian tourists were injured this morning (Tuesday) when their chartered van ran into the drainage ditch in the middle of a Muang Nakhon Pathom road and struck a tree. Police say the driver Thinnakorn Meekhao lost control in the southbound lane of Phetkasem Road in Tambon Bang Khaem near the Uni Land Golf Course intersection.…
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Patong man arrested with methamphetamine
Border patrol police and narcotics control police arrested a local man, 36 year old Suriya Kijkla, with 88.94 grams of crystal methamphetamine and 4 methamphetamine pills along with a Thai Pradit pistol. He was arrested near Patong after they arrested another man, Arun Soison, with some methamphetamine. Arun told the police that he bought the drug from Suriya, who lives…
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Preparing to close down Maya Bay
The General Director of the Department of National Parks (DNP) visited Maya Bay yesterday, which is expected to close down for 4 months from the start of June. Thanya Neti Thammakul, along with his team, visited Koh Phi Phi Ley and Maya Bay yesterday (April 23) to follow up the readiness before closing down the island’s iconic tourist attraction for…
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Phuket Town clothes shop blaze – 2 million baht in damages
A clothes shop ‘Hollywood Studio Store’ located in the ground floor of the Paradise Multiplex, Ocean Shopping Mall in Phuket Town, was on fire last night (April 23) and destroyed about 2 million baht worth of valuables. The team of Phuket authorities including Phuket’s Mayor, Somjai Suwansuppana, rushed to the scene with fire trucks The fire was inside of the…
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Nakhon Phanom airport seeks 120 million baht for expansion
Nakhon Phanom International Airport is seeking 120 million baht from the government for the next fiscal year hoping to add two more runways and expand is departures building. Nakhon Phanom is in the Kingdom’s far north-east, right on the Laotian border. Prom Meeker, the airport director, says the airport needs 91 million baht to expand the departures building to accommodate 600…
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Celebrities quizzed over endorsement and ads for dodgy cosmetic company
Over 50 presenters of commercials and videos for cosmetic products and food supplements of the Magic Skin Group are being summoned by police for interrogation. 56 actors and actresses were hired as presenters to promote and endorse products from the Magic Skin Group, adding that police would question them to find out whether they were aware or not that the…
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Krabi drug dealer killed after shooting police
A 38 year old drug dealer in Krabi, Suriya Tokong, was killed by police after he tried to shoot them with a shotgun during the arrest. The shooting occurred in a rubber plantation in Nong Talay Sub-District. Suriya was shot 3 times in his chest and one time on his left arm. He was carrying a 9mm pistol and nearby…
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More robberies from tourists in Ao Nang, Krabi
A robber, identified as a French tourist, 32 year old Martinez Joyce, was arrested in Ao Nang, Krabi, after stealing a purse containing 42,000 Baht cash inside. Police received a report from 30 year old Assaman Yeesam on April 18 that he forgot his Balenciaga bag with 42,000 Baht cash in a coffee shop in Ao Nang where he was…
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Chiang Mai teenager arrested after robbing Burmese woman in Phuket
A Chiang Mai 18 year old has been arrested after robbing and attacking a Burmese woman in Phuket. Wichit Police arrested 18 year old Saranyoo, from Chiang Mai, with a gold necklace, a gold bracelet and 1,000 Baht in cash after he robbed and physically attacked a Myanmar woman. The victim, San Thidar New, who is a house keeper of…
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Krabi village declared rabies control zone
After a dog has tested positive to the deadly rabies virus, a district livestock development office in Krabi province today (Monday) designated the village a rabies control zone. Narong Boonphan, chief livestock development officer of Lamthap district, said the Moo 3 village in Tambon Thung Sai Thong announced the designation after a dog tested positive on April 19. Narong also…
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Jack Ma opens the door to Thailand’s markets
To the people sitting in the audience it looked like Jack Ma had pulled off a piece of modern day wizardry, selling 80,000 Thai durians in 60 seconds. Gone in 60 seconds indeed! His much publicised visit to Thailand and meetings with the Thai PM and other ministers, signing of MOUs and various media appearances have drawn awe as well…
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Pattaya swingers party interrupted by authorities
Authorities raided a swingers party in Pattaya over the weekend. The party was held in a hotel in Chon Buri’s Bang Lamung district. When officials raided the hotel late on Saturday night, they found many foreigners openly engaging in ‘swinging’ and group sex. There were 14 couples who came from many countries including the United States, Canada, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Germany,…
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Two killed and five seriously injured in Songkhla road crash
Two have been killed and another five seriously injured after a pickup truck crashed into a motorcycle with a sidecar and turned over in Songkhla province yesterday (April 22). Quoting eyewitness accounts, Singha Nakhon district police said that the sidecar was carrying five people from the same family, including the driver, when it tried to make a U-turn to the…
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Thais likely to pay more for health under new reforms
A part of of the country’s upcoming national healthcare reform, Thais will definitely have to pay more for any extra medical services or medicines they want. Dr Seree Tuchinda, who heads the national healthcare reform committee, says, “for example, if you want medicines that are not on the national drug list, you will be charged.” Seree said the reform will…
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Body found 500 metres offshore from Saphan Hin, Phuket
A man’s body was found today floating in the sea behind the canals near Wat Sansuk near Saphan Hin. At this stage police are unsure who the person is or what was the cause of his death. There was no ID found on the man when he was discovered. Local villagers spotted the body earlier and alerted police. Foundation volunteers…
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Big increases in BKK airport arrivals for 2018 Songkran
Nearly 7 percent additional passengers flew into Suvarnabhumi Airport and 12 percent into Don Mueang this year to celebrate the Songkran festival, compared to last year’s passenger traffic. The Immigration Bureau deputy spokesman Pol Colonel Choengron Rimpadee says that 683,260 passengers arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport from April 12 and 16. “The number marks a 6.96 per cent increase from Songkran 2017.…
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