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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 Bangtao, Phuket: The neighbourhood expats and investors are eyeing in 2025
Bangtao didn't become Phuket’s most talked-about neighbourhood overnight. For a long time, it was a quiet place on the island’s west coast where locals walked their dogs at sunrise and tourists flocked to sunbathe along its eight-kilometre stretch of beach....
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In push for religious harmony, Thailand recognises more churches
In a push for religious harmony, Thailand has officially recognised three Catholic churches in the kingdom this week. The Ministry of Culture officially approved the churches on August 23, after the churches had reportedly waited 93 years for recognition. The newly approved churches are: Saint Thomas the Apostle Church in Bangkok, Saint Monica Church in Nan Province, and Saint Joseph…
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Pao Tang app provides free birth control from NHSO
The Thai government is addressing unwanted pregnancies in the country with a new programme offering free birth control pills. A deputy spokesperson for the government explained that the programme would help women get access to free birth control using a mobile app called Pao Tang. The campaign was created to try to slow the frequency of unintentional and unwanted pregnancies…
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Mountain Bar & Bistro restaurant for sale to pay for pub fire
Anyone in the market for a restaurant with an infamous locale, here’s one you can probably get a great deal on. The Mountain Bar & Bistro restaurant in Sattahip, Chon Buri, owned by and adjacent to the Mountain B nightclub that burned down earlier this month on August 5 with 20 deaths, is for sale. On Friday, local media spotted…
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Moderna suing Pfizer for using their tech in Covid vaccines
After Pfizer/BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine brought in US$22 billion so far this year compared to Moderna’s US$10.4 billion, Moderna is suing Pfizer, claiming they copied technology in developing their vaccines. Moderna, a decade-old company that had been pioneering mRNA technology long before Covid-19, had said at the start of the pandemic that they wouldn’t enforce related patents to help the world…
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Thailand’s sixth monkeypox patient says symptoms started while she was in Qatar
A young woman in Thailand’s northeast province of Maha Sarakham is the kingdom’s sixth confirmed monkeypox patient, the Department for Disease and Control (DDC) announced yesterday. The 21 year old woman says her symptoms started while she was in Qatar for work. The woman had worked as a masseuse in Qatar and said that while she was there, she started…
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Prayut shows up to work unannounced, as Defence Minister
After being removed from his position as Prime Minister, Prayut Chan-o-cha didn’t miss a beat and quietly showed up to work yesterday at his other job, as Minister of Defence. The former PM made a low-key – and unannounced – entrance, arriving at the Ministry of Defence in his car at around 10am. While the Constitutional Court has yet to…
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Rain causes chaotic traffic for Bangkok commuters
Bangkok commuters had a tough time getting home from work last night. The rain started pouring down in the Thai capital at just around the time most people leave the office. At 6.45pm, the Thai radio station FM91 Traffic Pro confirmed that traffic was not moving at all on Petchaburi and Chidlom roads and in the Pratunam area. Phayathai Road…
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THG chairman who lied about vaccines for stock profit resigns
Thonburi Healthcare Group founder and chairman Dr Boon Vanasin announced he will step down today after the Securities and Exchange Commission reported it would ban him from sitting on the board of any company listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. The move is a result of some shady claims last year about THG importing Pfizer vaccines that caused stock…
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Officer issues arrest threat to security after his bike is clamped
A Thai policeman threatened to arrest security guards after they clamped his motorcycle at a condominium in Bangkok. He also refused to pay the parking fine. Yesterday, the Facebook page, โหลกแดง in the Multiverse of Madness, or Red Skull in the Multiverse of Madness, shared a video of a policeman arguing with security guards at a condo in the Bang…
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Abysmal roads causes woman to give birth inside car in NE Thailand
A woman from Surin province, northeast Thailand, was forced to give birth in a car after dire road conditions prevented her from reaching the hospital in time. Locals want to raise awareness of the sorry state of road affairs in Khok Phued village in Ban Cham subdistrict. Locals say the 2.5 kilometre stretch of “road” is the only entrance to…
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Thailand’s House of Representatives finally passes torture bill
The House of Representatives has finally passed a draft of the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act. It will come into effect in December. Of the 289 MPs present, 287 voted in favour, one voted against, and one abstained. The draft act will be proposed to His Majesty the King and will come into effect 120 days…
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UPDATE: National park in central Thailand closes 5 waterfalls due to flash floods
UPDATE The national park in central Thailand, where a waterfall was devastated by flash floods this week, has closed five waterfalls as rain continues to pour down. Khao Yai National Park announced the closure in a Facebook post today. The Haew Narok waterfall, the park’s largest, will be closed until September 30. Meanwhile, four other waterfalls will be closed until…
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Man gets scammed by two escorts in one night in NE Thailand
A man who would rather not be named says he was deceived by not one, but two prostitutes last night in Loei province in northeast Thailand. The man filed a complaint against the women at Mueang Leoi Police Station this morning but, to no one’s surprise, the police couldn’t help him. The 24 year old man from Mueang district –…
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Jerk steals donation money from Pattaya noodle restaurant
A massive jerk has snatched money off of a donation tree at a Pattaya noodle restaurant this week. CCTV caught the thief breaking through a thin wall of the restaurant on Monday night, before grabbing the cash from the donation tree worth 2,000 baht. The suspect wore shorts and a t-shirt. The disheartened restaurant owner, 36 year old Chotika Chantakot,…
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Bangkok chief’s 2-year pledge to clean up capital’s cables
“Let’s clean it up first because the underground cable project requires more budget and discussion,” said Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt who promises to clean up 800 kilometres of power lines within two years. The Bangkok Deputy Governor, Wisanu Subsompon, revealed Bangkok had to temporarily suspend the underground power line project due to a lack of budget. He did, however, promise…
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3 injured in possible insurgency bomb attack in S Thailand
An insurgency attack has not been ruled out as a bomb flipped over a truck injuring three passengers in the southern province of Narathiwat last night. The bomb went off on Highway No 4217 which runs through Ban Iso village in Narathiwat’s Chanae district causing the truck to flip about four times, knocking over an electricity pole, before it landed…
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Elderly woman killed by wild elephant in eastern Thailand, 2 relatives injured
An elderly lady was trampled to death by a wild elephant at a rubber plantation last night in Chachoengsao province in eastern Thailand. Her daughter and granddaughter survived the attack but are badly injured. The women say they had abandoned their car to walk home because the road was undrivable after heavy rain, which is when they crossed paths with…
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Last weekend of Pattaya Music Festival starts tonight
Tonight and tomorrow night (Friday and Saturday) are your last chances to experience the Pattaya Music Festival if you haven’t already! For the next two nights, the festival will go out with a bang on Pattaya Central Beach, and Koh Larn. Tonight there will be performances on Central Beach by pop-rock artists and bands Polycat, Tattoo Colour, Getsunova, and Cocktail.…
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‘Ghost’ leads woman to a corpse in central Thailand
An elderly woman discovered a corpse yesterday at a shanty house in Samut Prakan province in central Thailand. She claims that a ghost led her to the dead body. At 1.30pm, officers from Phra Samut Chedi Police Station were informed that a man was found dead at a makeshift house on Soi Choi Peng in Nai Klong Bang Pla Kot…
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Floor collapses at Hua Mark Police Station in Bangkok
The job of a policeman is hard enough without having something to stand on, as officers discovered in Bangkok this week. The first floor collapsed of the 55 year old Hua Mark Police Station on Ramkamhaeng Road in the Bang Kapi district on Wednesday morning. Thankfully, no injuries were reported. At 11am, the first floor gave way which is used…
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Koh Samui man busted for allegedly opening illegal venue
One Koh Samui man’s new entertainment venue, which he named ‘Dream Land,’ has turned into the scene of his worst nightmare. Officers from Bo Phut Police station raided Dream Land yesterday, and the owner now faces charges of opening the venue without a permit. The man, 45 year old Puwanai, also faces charges of selling alcohol over the legal time…
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Police save woman stuck in her own bathroom for 3 days in Bangkok, Thailand
Yesterday, Thai police saved a woman locked in her bathroom for three days at her home in the On Nut area of Bangkok. Believing she would die alone in the bathroom, the woman had written a chilling goodbye message on the bathroom wall. At 7.14pm, officers from Phra Nakhon Police Station received a call from a woman – Ms. A…
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Casino robbery in Bangkok sparks investigation into local police corruption
CCTV footage taken in the early hours of Tuesday morning reveals a man stealing 300,000 baht cash from an illegal casino in the Din Daeng area of Bangkok. The man, known as “Mack Anusaoree,” stole the money after gambling away more than one million baht, allegedly. Mack Anusaoree – “Mack Victory” – raided the gambling den on Soi Pracha Songkhro…
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More tourists are heading to Pattaya, but spending less cash, mayor says
As Thailand slowly rises from the ashes of Covid-19’s economic destruction, more foreign tourists are heading to Pattaya. The catch? They’re spending less money, according to the city’s mayor Poramet Ngampichet. Pattaya’s changing demographics in tourism may have something to do with the spending differences. The mayor said on Tuesday that this year, the million foreign tourists that have arrived…
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Former UK ambassador and husband reported detained in Myanmar
The former UK ambassador to Myanmar and her husband have been detained in Yangon, two anonymous sources reported today. A spokesperson for the Burmese junta did not answer calls from Reuters seeking comment on the situation. A British embassy spokesperson has said the embassy is concerned about the arrest. She said… “We are in contact with the local authorities and are…
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Northern Thailand’s Chiang Mai Zoo conducts emergency ostrich escape drill
Ostriches may be flightless birds but they’re still considered a flight risk at Chiang Mai Zoo. In an emu-sing drill conducted on Tuesday afternoon, zoo staff simulated an ostrich escape situation to ensure that they are well prepared in case one of the big birds flees its nest. Although the man in the ostrich costume may not look overly menacing,…
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Foreign woman in Phuket went for night swim, locals thought she had drowned
A foreign woman in Phuket gave locals a bit of a fright last night when she went out for a swim at Kamala Beach with her dog. Fifteen minutes later, the locals saw the dog alone on the beach without the woman. Fearing the worst, they called rescue workers to help search for her. But after the rescuers arrived, the…
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Thai Airways restructures plans to get back in black
Thai Airways announced it is renting three more planes and hiring 600 more staff this year as part of its restructuring plans. After cutting costs, selling stock, chasing debts, and distributing plane seats, Thai Airways’ turnover rate in the third quarter of this year is expected to increase. Not only that, the President of the Reorganisation Committee of the Thai…
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Plastic bags and old water pumps cause flood in Bangkok
Highway officers revealed plastic bags stuck in water pumps caused a flood inside the Pakkret Intersection Tunnel in Nonthaburi province near Bangkok. Officers from the Nonthaburi Highway District investigated the Pakkret Intersection Tunnel yesterday to determine the cause of the flood on August 21. After five hours, officers reported that many plastic bags and garbage were stuck in the propellers…
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Truck driver thanks ‘good Samaritan’ for saving his life in central Thailand
A truck driver wants to thank a selfless citizen for risking his life to drag him out of a fire this morning in Suphan Buri province in central Thailand. Early this morning, 49 year old truck driver Thinakorn Chankhem left Pichit province, northern Thailand, carrying a truck full of rice. He headed toward Nakhon Pathom province in central Thailand. When…
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