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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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Woman working at karaoke bar in Thailand vanishes in suspicious circumstances
Police are trying to locate a woman who went missing in strange circumstances after leaving the karaoke bar she works at with a male customer five days ago in Leoi province in northeast Thailand. The manager at Bai Fern Karaoke Bar filed a missing persons report with the police on Wednesday, January 18, three days after 38 year old Phantiwa…
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Custodied cryptocurrencies to see new regulations in Thailand
Custodied cryptocurrencies will see new regulations in Thailand. The Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand issued new measures which require companies offering crypto custody services to “establish a digital wallet management system to accommodate efficient custody of digital assets and keys and ensure the safety of clients’ assets.” The new regulations went into effect on January 16th. The new measures…
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Andaz brand debuts in Thailand with the opening of Andaz Pattaya jomtien beach
Press Release CHICAGO (January 16, 2023) – Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) announced today the opening of Andaz Pattaya Jomtien Beach, marking the debut of the Andaz brand in Thailand. Nestled across over 15 acres (6.4 hectares) of stunning beachfront land, amid mature trees and gardens overlooking the Gulf of Thailand, this luxury lifestyle resort provides a myriad of ways…
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Southeast Asia’s biggest railway station opens to passengers
Southeast Asia’s biggest railway station officially began operations yesterday, a potential new age of train travel in Thailand. The cost of the new terminal, including the station, tracks and a connecting station for Bangkok’s mass transit system, was around US$1 billion (30 billion baht). Officially, the station’s name is Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal, a name bestowed by the king,…
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Phuket cops raid nightclub gambling den
Phuket cops raided a nightclub gambling den in the island province’s main city district in the early hours of yesterday morning. Phuket City Police sent an officer to monitor the situation at the nightclub near Surin Circle (known as Fountain Circle) on Rassada Road in Talad Yai market. The officer informed his team that people were gambling at the club.…
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Millions of Chinese head home to countryside despite Xi’s Covid worries
Millions of Chinese residents are headed back home for the Chinese New Year despite President Xi Jinping’s worries about Covid spreading through rural areas. Xi said he was “concerned” about the countryside’s ability to handle a surge in Covid infections, but China’s transport authorities are predicting more than two billion trips will be made this month and into next month.…
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Passengers at Bangkok’s main train terminal to get help from new robots
Passengers at Bangkok’s Krung Thep Aphiwat Train Terminal will be getting help from new service robots. The massive train station, formerly known as Bang Sue Grand Station, will feature six robots which can communicate in English, Thai and Chinese. The robots can guide passengers to certain locations in the train station such as the food centre, ticket booths, and taxis.…
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Thailand welcomes 900,000 foreign tourists during Jan 1-15
In the first half of January, Thailand welcomed a grand total of 913,013 foreign tourists, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). Governor of the TAT Yuthasak Supsasorn revealed that Russia has overtaken Malaysia as the Number 1 tourism market… Foreign Arrivals in Thailand by Nationality January 1 – 15, 2023 Russians (99,593) Malaysians (89,461) South Koreans (47,471) Indians…
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Man found dead after cycling nearly 70 kilometres to find job
A man was found dead at a bus stop in the Isaan province of Roi Et after cycling nearly 70 kilometres to find a job. It is believed he had a heart attack. Locals also reported that he got hit by a car the day before he died but refused treatment. Officers from Mueang Roi Et Police Station were notified…
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Thai man uses soy sauce to fake suicide, hoping to win wife back
A Thai man used soy sauce to fake suicide on Monday in hopes of winning back his wife and son. The man, 50 year old Watchara, was estranged from his wife, 40 year old Pla, due to conflicts between the couple. He lives in the southern Chumphon province, while she lives in Pattaya. On Monday, Watchara travelled to Pattaya, hoping…
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New public park in Bangkok to open after removal of 2 squatters
A new public park in Bangkok is opening soon. The construction of Pathum Wananurak Park was finished five years ago but it has never been opened to the public because two squatting families refused to move off the land. Pathum Wananurak Park is located next to CentralWorld shopping mall. The park took over a residential area called Rong Poon Community…
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Rare clouded leopard struts its stuff in Thailand’s new wildlife safe haven
In the mountains of Kanchanaburi in western Thailand, hidden cameras are capturing more and more clouded leopards, Indo-Chinese tigers, gaurs, and other wildlife. Recognising the importance of the conservation of Thailand’s wildlife, Thailand’s Treasury Department is preparing to declare an area of land covering 219,000 rai of land a non-hunting area. The huge conservation area – covering Si Sawat and…
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Thai man claims he fell asleep before car ended up on wall in Bangkok
A Thai man claimed he fell asleep while driving before his car ended up on top of a barrier wall of an off-ramp to Rama IV Road in Bangkok yesterday. The car’s rear ended up on top of the off-ramp’s restraining barrier, while the front was smashed into the expressway. The driver, Atthapol Yolsophon, sustained minor injuries, and rescuers rushed…
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Thailand still needs thousands more tourism workers
Thailand still needs thousands more tourism workers than it already has. The kingdom’s Labour Ministry recently surveyed the labour demands of 32,359 tourism operators in 60 provinces. The ministry found that out of all the operators, 1,817 businesses needed a total of 9,763 more workers. Employers need receptionists, porters, waiters, cleaners and housemaids, chefs, kitchen workers, cashiers, and accountants. The…
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Volunteer teaching English to underprivileged children in Bangkok
Bangkok Community Help Foundation runs a weekly volunteer-led class that aims to teach English and improve the lives of underprivileged children in the Klong Toei area of the city. Children learn new English vocabulary, play games, dance Zumba, and do arts and crafts projects in a fun environment. At the end of each class, students are provided with a hot…
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Burmese migrant worker killed en route to Malaysia
A Burmese man was killed and six others were injured this morning when a Toyota Fortuner bound for the Malaysian border rear-ended a truck in the Tha Chana district in the north of Surat Thani province in the early hours. The accident occurred at the 120-kilometre marker on southbound Highway 4. Police and rescue workers arriving on the scene found…
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8 million MOPH webpages hacked by gambling websites
The Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) closed approximately eight million official government-related webpages after they were hacked by illegal gambling websites. MOPH Information and Communication Technology Centre Director Anan Kanoksin told Thai media that illicit online gambling websites have been illegally squatting on government platforms after they sat idle for months. The illegal gambling websites were able to squat on…
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Teen shoots dead rival with 800 baht gun in central Thailand
A Thai teenager used a gun he ordered from the Internet for 800 baht to shoot dead his rival in Samut Prakan province in central Thailand on Friday morning. The 17 year old culprit, Champ, killed 28 year old Kittisak, a YouTuber and former vocational student, with a single gunshot wound to the chest through his back at his own…
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Protester jailed for burning King’s portrait
The food delivery rider who attempted to burn a portrait of King Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida during a protest in July 2021 has been sentenced to three and half years in prison. The court ruled that a portrait of the king is equivalent to the king’s person. Foodpanda delivery rider Sitthichok Sethasavet set fire to a portrait of King Vajiralongkorn…
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Thaiger Unfiltered | Ask Us Anything
Here’s a chance for our viewers to ask Natty, and Jay any questions they have, and they will answer you with their honest responses unfiltered! Please be kind and appropriate.
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Himalayan cherry trees bring splash of colour to northeast Thai province
Himalayan cherry trees are bringing a splash of colour to Thailand’s northeast province of Loei. Over 100,000 of the trees are now brimming with blossoms, known locally as ‘tiger queens’ or ‘nang phaya sua kroang.’ A swarm of tourists is now visiting Phu Hin Rong Kla National Park to delight at the pink and red blossoms. The trees are spread…
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Thailand, an interfaith paradise?
Today’s Pakistan Observer provides an interesting insight into Thailand as an interfaith paradise, seen from overseas, but not through the more usual Western lens. In Pakistan, Thailand is seen as a paradise of interfaith tolerance, and perhaps it is. Former Head of the Department of International Relations & Faculty of Political Science, Thammasat University of Bangkok Prof. Dr Jaran Maluleem…
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Walk-in driving license services now available in Thailand
Obtaining a new driving license or renewing an old one just got easier in Thailand. Walk-in services are now available at transport offices nationwide without the need to book an appointment, according to the Department of Land Transport (DLT). Anyone wanting to renew their Thai driving license can obtain an ‘eLearning’ theoretical training certificate through the DLT’s website, which also…
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‘Big Joke’ moves on Chinese passport forgers
The Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn, swooped on Chinese passport forgers hiding at the Bangkok residence of a Nauruan diplomat. Onassis Dame, consul-general to Thailand from the tiny Pacific island nation of Nauru, and his family no longer live there, according to Radio Free Asia. Instead, the residence, which investigators raided on December 22,…
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Four Pit Bull mixes attack 76 year old grandma in northeast Thailand
Four Pit Bull mixed breed dogs attacked an elderly Thai lady in the Mueang district of Nakhon Phanom province in northeast Thailand on Tuesday leaving her seriously injured and in need of urgent hospital treatment. It is the fourth time the four dogs have injured people in the village. The victim, 76 year old Thongpoon “Grandma Yoon” Sasanasupin, was walking…
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Phuket man threatens wife from leaving house at knifepoint
A man in Phuket allegedly used a knife to threaten his wife and prevent her from leaving their house yesterday. Kathu Police said they were alerted that a man was using a knife to force his wife to remain inside the house on Soi Ketho Soi 6, The Phuket News reported. Fifteen officers arrived at the house with long-handled prongs.…
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Man arrested for stealing over 10 million baht in valuables at a fitness centre
A thief who stole over 10 million baht of valuables from a businessman at a fitness centre two weeks ago was arrested yesterday. The man pretended to be a fitness centre customer, stole safety box keys, and duplicated the keys to complete a series of thefts. On Tuesday, January 10, 35 year old businessman, Sathit, filed a complaint at Mueang Nonthaburi…
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Free shuttle bus from Yaowarat to Khao San for Chinese New Year
Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is providing tourists with free shuttle buses between Yaowarat Road and Khao San Road from tomorrow until January 23 to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Deputy Bangkok Governor Wissanu Subsomphon announced yesterday that the BMA would temporarily operate a Yaowarat-Khao San Road BMA Feeder to facilitate tourists and reduce traffic jams during the Chinese Spring Festival,…
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Famous Belgian murderer Robert Beijer arrested in Pattaya, Thailand
Convicted murderer and suspect in Belgium’s infamous ‘Brabant Killers‘ case of the 1980s – Robert Beijer – has been arrested in Pattaya, Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand. Robert Beijer, a former state policeman, was convicted of murdering and robbing an Antwerp diamond dealer in 1995 along with Madani Bouhouche. Beijer was sentenced to 14 years but was let out early…
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US police officer asks appeals court to overturn George Floyd murder conviction
The US police officer who was convicted of murdering unarmed black man George Floyd has asked the court to overturn his murder conviction. Derek Charuvin argued to the appeals court that the extreme media attention and potential for riots had deprived him of a “fair” trial. According to NDTV.com, the 46 year old was convicted of murder in Minnesota back…
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