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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 Moving with family? Here’s how to cut health costs in Thailand
Relocating to Thailand with your family brings exciting new opportunities, but it also comes with the challenge of managing healthcare costs in a new system. Thailand has both public and private healthcare options, each offering different prices and quality of...
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Upcoming public holidays and impact on immigration office hours
Thailand is gearing up for three upcoming public holidays that will temporarily shut down government offices, including immigration departments. The first of these holidays, Coronation Day, falls on Thursday, May 4, and will be followed by a “bridge” continuation day on Friday, May 5. The Thai government announced these additional holidays last year as a means to boost domestic tourism…
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Drunk cop abandons car blocking traffic in northeast Thailand
Yesterday, a drunk police officer parked his car in the middle of the road in Udon Thani province in northeast Thailand when he needed to pee. Upon his return, his wheel had been clamped. He attempted to drive the clamped vehicle before fleeing. Officers at Mueang Udon Thani Police Station were informed that someone with a police officer’s uniform was…
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Spanish agriculture’s future threatened by potential water cuts
Spanish farmers, like Juan Francisco Abellaneda, provide European supermarkets with fresh fruits and vegetables throughout the year. However, these intensive farms in arid Southeastern Spain may soon face a water crisis, threatening the sector that supplies essential produce across the continent. Spain tops the European Union list in fruit and vegetable production. Almost half of these exports come from farmers…
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Close Call: Dozy Thai driver survives after car plunges into ditch in Rayong
A Thai driver travelling from Chon Buri‘s Bowin sub-district to Rayong province suffered non-fatal injuries after his vehicle plunged into a ditch in the Banglamung district. The driver later admitted to having dozed off at the wheel. A black Mitsubishi Triton pickup truck veered off Highway No. 331 near the Forest Department, heading inbound to Sattahip district, before crashing into…
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TDRI warns political parties of excessive campaign spending and economic risk
The Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) has issued a warning to major political parties that their primary election campaign projects might be unnecessary as an economic stimulus, given that the country is not currently experiencing a recession. Yesterday, TDRI published a report intended to study and analyse the budget management of political parties, offering recommendations for adapting their future strategies.…
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Thai woman killed in Chon Buri motorbike accident involving British driver
In Chon Buri, a Thai woman tragically lost her life after the motorbike she was riding on was allegedly rear-ended by a British driver. The collision led to her being projected onto the road and ultimately hit by another vehicle. Pornwalai Boonpok, a 37 year old golf caddy, was riding as a passenger on her friend Arunwan Wannawong’s motorbike when…
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Man with terminal cancer killed by train in Kanchanaburi
A 54 year old man in the final stage of tracheal cancer was tragically killed after being run over by a train in Kanchanaburi’s Muang district. The incident occurred yesterday afternoon when the man, identified as Suparp, lay down on the tracks near a railway station with a cloth covering his face. Police Captain Thammarat Sukhiwong, a Muang police investigator,…
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Apply now: TAT offers 500,000 baht to travel Thailand for 4 months
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is recruiting one lucky explorer to travel around Thailand for four months and document their adventures. The chosen “Tourist of Thailand” will receive 504,000 baht in spending money for their trip, travel vouchers, and other prizes. The TAT’s job advertisement reads… “Do you want to travel all over Thailand for free? It’s not hard!…
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Kenyan pastors accused of causing over 100 deaths in Shakahola forest massacre
Two pastors are set to appear before Kenyan courts in separate towns tomorrow, suspected of instigating the shocking events that led to the deaths of at least 109 individuals found buried in what has come to be known as the “Shakahola forest massacre.” The deeply religious and predominantly Christian nation of Kenya, with over 4,000 registered churches, has been shaken…
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MFP to avoid joining inter-bloc coalition government after upcoming election
The Move Forward Party (MFP) has announced that they will not be participating in any “inter-bloc” coalition government after the forthcoming election, according to Piyabutr Saengkanokkul, the party’s campaign assistant. During a campaign rally yesterday in Samut Sakhon, Piyabutr stated that the MFP would avoid joining a government formed through “inter-bloc breeding”. This seems to be a reference to a…
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Unhappy ever after: Groom laughs as bride falls on wedding day
A wedding celebration took an unexpected turn when the bride suddenly stumbled and fell in front of the guests. Shockingly, the groom’s reaction was to stand and laugh without offering any assistance. A Vietnamese website, docbao, reported the incident that occurred at a couple’s wedding ceremony. As the bride, dressed in a beautiful gown, was walking up the stage, her…
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Mexican rescue dogs train for international disaster missions
In the central Mexican state of Puebla, a rescue dog and its handler were seen abseiling down a ravine as part of an emergency response drill designed to prepare them for international crises, like the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey in February. Another member of the canine unit, a black Labrador retriever named July, successfully located a paramedic and an…
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Mahidol University introduces CAR-T cell therapy for B-cell leukaemia in Thailand
Mahidol University has launched Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) modified T-cell therapy for the treatment of B-cell leukaemia, making Thailand the first country in the ASEAN region to adopt this advanced medical technique. Banjong Mahaisawariya, President of Mahidol University, noted that the university’s ability to implement a therapy currently used for certain blood cancers came as a result of a strategic…
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Thailand’s Tourist Police earn praise for assisting stranded French and Canadian tourists
Thailand’s Tourist Police received praise in Thai media for assisting a French tourist and a Canadian tourist in need of help in Sa Keao province in eastern Thailand yesterday. Pol. Lt. Col. Jiraphat Khaewsiri, from the Sa Keao Tourist Police force, lead a patrol yesterday when he spotted a foreign woman walking along the Suwannasorn Road. As soon as she…
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Hidden treasure trove: Spanish man finds 2 million baht in walls of dilapidated house
A Spanish man named Toño Piñeiro experienced a rollercoaster of emotions when he discovered £47,500 (about 2 million baht) hidden in the walls of a dilapidated house he had recently purchased. The house, located in the northwestern part of Spain, had been abandoned for over 40 years, and Piñeiro hoped to renovate it into a comfortable retirement home. While demolishing…
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Thai driver kills deer with Mercedes Benz near Bangkok University campus
A Thai driver crashed his Mercedez Benz into a deer and killed it on Borommaratchachonnani Road near Mahidol University in Pathum Thani province near Bangkok yesterday. Upon being alerted to the incident, officers from Phutthamonthon Police Station were quick to attend the scene where they discovered the lifeless body of a male deer. The deer had beautiful antlers and weighed about…
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Tablet reveals affair: Taiwanese man sues wife and her colleague over intimate photos
A Taiwanese man recently filed a lawsuit against his wife and her female colleague after discovering intimate photographs of the two on his wife’s tablet. The news report from the Taiwanese outlet CTWANT described the man’s astonishment when he came across the explicit images while preparing the device for his child’s use in school. The husband subsequently sued the pair…
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Biden and Marcos Jr discuss Beijing’s South China Sea expansion in White House meeting
In recent discussions at the White House, President Joe Biden and Philippine leader Ferdinand Marcos Jr addressed Beijing’s assertive expansion through the strategic trade routes and islands of the South China Sea. This move signals Washington’s increasing concern over China’s aggressive claims of sovereignty over virtually the entire South China Sea, despite international rulings stating otherwise. The situation, coupled with…
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Sudanese seek shelter in Chad following intense conflict
In Koufroun, Chad, hundreds of Sudanese people, mostly women and children, seek refuge every day, crossing a small, dry stream on donkeys, horses, carts, or even by foot. As of today, the United Nations refugee agency UNCHR reports that around 20,000 individuals have found shelter in a makeshift camp at this Chadian border village. Various UN agencies are managing the…
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Car saleswoman brutally raped and murdered in Thailand, family demands death penalty
The family of a young used car saleswoman who was brutally raped and murdered in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, on Saturday is calling for the serial rapist responsible to be punished with the death penalty. Police arrested a 40 year old suspect, Nathapol Panpadungsap, in Mueang district at 3.30pm on Sunday. He has a long criminal history and was most…
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Gunman kills neighbour and injures young girl before arrest in deadly rampage in Thai village
Police arrested a Thai gunman after he murdered one of his neighbours and wounded a 12 year old girl in a village in the northern province of Lampang. The murderer was suffering from paranoia and thought the victim planned to kill him. He is now undergoing a drug test. Officers from Jae Hom Police Station discovered the dead body of a…
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Met Gala celebrates late ‘couture king’ Karl Lagerfeld
The fashion soiree of the year is upon us, as A-list celebrities prepare to pay tribute to the late king of couture, Karl Lagerfeld, at the annual Met Gala. The red carpet event, held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, draws hundreds of stars, raising millions of dollars each year for charity and setting social media alight with iconic looks.…
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Thailand collaborates with US Vaccine Research Centre on tuberculosis vaccines
Thailand’s National Vaccine Institute (NVI) has formed a partnership with the US Vaccine Research Centre (VRC) to develop vaccines against tuberculosis, including those utilising Messenger RNA (mRNA) technology. The collaboration was announced following a visit by senior officials from Thailand’s Public Health Ministry to the VRC on April 20. The VRC is a leading global organisation in vaccine research and…
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Thaksin’s tweet about grandchild seen as political gambit
Academics speculate that a recent tweet by fugitive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was a political ploy to garner support for the Pheu Thai Party, as pollsters predict it may lose votes to the increasingly popular Move Forward Party (MFP) before the General Election scheduled for May 14. Yesterday, Thaksin tweeted that he would return to Thailand now that his…
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Protesters demand daily minimum wage increase, support for laid-off workers in Thailand
Labour advocates and human rights activists gathered at Government House yesterday, demanding that the government increase the daily minimum wage to 700 baht and establish a fund to support workers who have been laid off. The protesters, led by political activists Somyot Prueksakasemsuk and Thanaporn Wichian, 28 years old, marched to Phitsanulok Mansion and Government House to present their proposals…
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Exploring the mystery of brain activity surges during near-death experiences
Survivors from near-death incidents often recount vivid experiences, such as seeing light at the end of a tunnel, feeling detached from their bodies, meeting deceased loved ones, or recalling significant life events in mere moments. The similarity of these accounts, which come from individuals with varying cultural backgrounds, suggests a potential biological mechanism which remains unexplained by scientists. In a…
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Mother believes daughter is 15th victim of Thai cyanide serial killer
A 64 year old woman from Kamphaeng Phet province, who believes her daughter is the 15th cyanide-poisoning victim of Sararat Rangsiwuthaporn, also known as the Thai cyanide serial killer, met with Crime Suppression Division (CSD) police investigators yesterday, stated a police source. The woman responded to a letter from the police and reported to the deputy national police chief’s team…
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Christie’s to auction Austrian billionaire Heidi Horten’s jewellery collection
Christie’s auction house will commence the sale of hundreds of jewels that belonged to the late Austrian billionaire Heidi Horten, whose fortune was derived from her German businessman husband who amassed wealth during the Nazi era. The prestigious auction house will offer 700 lots from Horten’s collection, showcasing rare and exceptional pieces from renowned 20th-century designers such as Cartier, Harry…
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Chinese citizen journalist who exposed early Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan to be released
Chinese citizen journalist who went missing three years ago after publicising videos of overcrowded hospitals and bodies during the Covid-19 outbreak is to be released, according to a relative and another person familiar with his case. Fang Bin, along with other members of the public known as Chinese citizen journalists, posted details of the pandemic in early 2020 on the…
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Teenage motorbike racer killed in tragic accident in Banglamung
A tragic accident in Banglamung claimed the life of a 14 year old teenage motorbike racer after he collided with a trailer truck. The incident unfolded on Highway 36 Road in front of an international school in Nong Plalai on a recent Saturday morning. Emergency responders and local news personnel converged on the scene, where they discovered the young victim,…
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