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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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Bangladeshi terrorists who hacked American blogger to death escape
Two Bangladeshi terrorists who hacked an American blogger to death in 2015 managed to escape a crowded court in Dhaka on Sunday. Police said that bikers sprayed them with chemicals before taking away the convicts. The Islamist militants had been on death row for killing Bangladeshi-American blogger Avijit Roy. Roy referred to himself as an engineer by profession and a…
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Business is booming on Khao San Road thanks to the World Cup
Business is booming on Khao San Road in Bangkok thanks to the FIFIA 2022 World Cup. The President of the Khao San Road Business Association, Sa-nga Rueangwattanakun, revealed that businesses on Khao San Road increased by 50%. Sa-nga said visitors flocked to entertainment venues and restaurants in the area to watch the World Cup matches providing a welcome boost to…
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Unswerving Covid-19 policy kills off Shanghai F1 GP
China’s dictatorial Covid-19 policy has killed off Shanghai’s return to the Formula 1 calendar next year. F1 has not visited China since 2019 and was due to return for the fourth time in 2023 on April 16. The key sticking point is that F1 staff would not be given exemptions from quarantine requirements in the event of being infected. F1 refuses…
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Chinese woman stabs Russian boyfriend’s Chinese mistress to death in Bangkok
UPDATE The Chinese woman who murdered a fellow Chinese woman in a Bangkok shopping mall toilet yesterday told police that the deceased was in a secret relationship with her Russian boyfriend. The foreign killer was found to have overstayed her visa in the kingdom, said police, adding that 36 year old Tang Jun entered Thailand on a tourist visa which…
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Patong business operators want transgender sex workers “cleaned up”
Patong business operators on Bangla Road want transgender sex workers to be “cleaned up,” in addition to food and drink vendors. The president of the Patong Entertainment Business Association, Weerawit Kreuasombat, said… “While Patong officials are now increasing safety management measures on Bangla Road, transgender prostitutes should be cleaned up too. We consistently get complaints that they are annoying and…
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Record-breaking twins born from 30 year old frozen embryos
Twins Lydia and Timothy Ridgeway entered the Guinness Book of Records for being overdue babies – by a staggering 30 years! OK, they weren’t technically inside a mother’s womb for three decades waiting to be born. They were 30 year old frozen embryos, which broke a world record for the longest-frozen embryos to ever result in a live birth. CNN…
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Thailand and Cambodian officials agree to remove mines in border areas
Thai and Cambodian officials have agreed to remove mines in shared border areas. Cambodian PM Hun Sen instructed provincial authorities to clear the mines after partaking in the 30th anniversary of the mine action exhibition. According to Phnom Penh Post, the PM called on all relevant authorities to work with the Thai side of the border before discussing border issues…
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Indonesian earthquake death toll reaches 268 with 151 still missing
The death toll from the latest Indonesian earthquake has risen to 268, with 151 still reported missing. The quake which hit the island of Java, has injured 1,083 people according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency. The quake hit the city of Cianjur on Monday afternoon, with one woman saying her home started shaking like it was dancing. According to…
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36 sex workers in Pattaya arrested for prostitution
Thirty-six prostitutes in Pattaya were arrested last night near Walking Street for selling their bodies. Channel 3 reported that the Pattaya tourist police, and volunteers, patrolled Pattaya Walking Street yesterday at about 10pm. Officers were acting on complaints by tourists that they had been robbed in the area and their mission last night focused on the resort’s sex workers illegally…
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Phuket man who slit father’s throat faces murder charges
UPDATE The Phuket man who slit his father’s throat on Monday now faces charges of murder. The man, 26 year old Arnon Kammanochart, slit the throat of his father, 51 year old Uthai Kammanochart, in Thalang district. Arnon claimed that he was defending himself from his father. He said his father physically attacked him when he didn’t have money for…
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AirAsia Thailand passenger data allegedly leaked after ransomware attack
AirAsia group allegedly fell victim to a ransomware attack that leaked the personal data of five million passengers and all staff of AirAsia Thailand, AirAsia Malaysia, and AirAsia Indonesia. The Daixin Team, a ransomware and data extortion group, allegedly leaked the data after the airline refused to pay a ransom. On Monday, the Daixin Team was the focus of a…
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Rawai expat arrested for owning whale bones
Bart Simpson famously used to say, “Don’t have a cow, man!” But maybe, also don’t have a whale! In Rawai, a Frenchmen was arrested after he was discovered in possession of part of a whale skeleton. It turns out that owning whale bones violates the Wild Animal Protection Act. The Phuket Express reports that the man was nabbed when officials…
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“Big Joke” holds press conference in Pattaya over Chinese abduction case
Following last month’s abduction of a Chinese man in Pattaya by other Chinese nationals, Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn, held a press conference in the city on Monday. The two abductors cut off the pinky finger of the victim, 41 year old Ren Haibd. They also sent a video to Ren’s 20 year old…
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Fate of Thai baht depends on return of Chinese tourists, economists say
The Thai baht has been flying recently but its upward trend could draw to a standstill unless Chinese tourists return to the Kingdom of Thailand, according to economists. In the past month, the baht appreciated almost 6% against the US dollar as reports indicated the US Federal Reserve (Fed) would slow down its aggressive interest rate hikes. Despite inflation, a reinvigorated…
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Thai woman accused of faking her death to escape loan sharks
A debt-ridden Thai woman has faked her death to get out of paying her debtors, says a local loan shark. A 37 year old woman from the central province of Lopburi, called Lookpad, ran up millions of debt and then hoped to escape paying her arrears by pretending to be dead. The woman’s family allegedly backed her plan, says the…
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Construction work in Pattaya brought to a new level
Numerous new real estate projects are underway, presenting the finest in engineering and construction quality from villas to high-rise buildings. Said structures are all designed by the eclectic architect Mario Kleff who relentlessly pushes the limits and presents new engineering solutions in the field of residential construction. When it comes to setting new standards in residential construction in Pattaya, Mario…
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Bus crash: 1 dead, 46 women injured in Phetchabun tour bus flip
A shocking highway crash in Phetchabun province saw a tour bus flip leaving 46 passengers injured and the driver dead. The crash occurred in the Nam Nao district of the northern province on Sunday at about 3.30pm. Police are still investigating what caused the crash. The double-decker bus was travelling on Highway 12 when the crash occurred. It was a…
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Multiple rapist known as the ‘Bondi Beast’ finally named
It may be too late for the many victims of the man the press labelled the “Bondi Beast” but police finally managed to link DNA samples to the serial rapist. Unfortunately, the multiple sex offender, Keith Simms, died in February aged 66 before justice could be served. Simms was known as the “Centennial Park rapist” in the 1980s, the “Bondi…
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District in northeast Thailand organising two-month long “Christmas Festival”
Do you ever wish Christmas lasted longer? Well, your wish might come true if you visit one district in northeast Thailand. Phu Ruea district in Loei province will soon hold the “Christmas Festival” at the Phu Ruea Christmas Courtyard, at the entrance to the Phu Ruea National Park. The festival will be held from November 25 until January 31. The opening…
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Cathay Pacific boosts flights to Thailand
Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways and its budget subsidiary Hong Kong Express are boosting flights to three major tourist destinations in Thailand: Bangkok, Phuket, and Chiang Mai. Cathay’s Hong Kong – Bangkok route will be increased from twice to four times per day next month, according to Chairman of Cathay Pacific Patrick Healy. In January, the airline will…
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Thai-Italian teen allegedly tries to steal motorcycle taxi in Pattaya
A Thai-Italian teenage boy allegedly tried to steal a motorcycle taxi in Pattaya late last night. The motorcycle taxi rider, 46 year old Neramit Klaiprayoon, reported the incident to Pattaya Police. Neramit said he was waiting for a passenger on Soi 13 when he noticed the young suspect suspiciously glancing at his bike. The suspect then got onto the bike…
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Chinese woman stabs fellow Chinese woman 27 times in Bangkok, Thailand
A Chinese woman stabbed a fellow Chinese woman to death in the bathroom at a shopping mall in Bangkok, Thailand, this afternoon. Text messages reveal that the perpetrator had accused the deceased of “messing with” her “man” prior to stabbing her 27 times. At 1pm, officers from Thong Song Hung Police Station were informed that a Chinese woman was stabbed…
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Wife returns lottery winings to cuckold husband but kicks him out of family home
The alleged cheating wife of a lottery winner who ran off with her lover and her cuckold husband’s 6 million baht winnings agreed to return the money she has left. She insists she does not have a lover, despite what her son and husband said, and that she will return the money on the condition her husband leaves the family…
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Thai activists and politician show support for protester blinded by rubber bullet
Thai activists and a politician showed their support for a protester blinded in one eye by a rubber bullet last week. This was after police fired rubber bullets at protesters at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre on November 18. The man blinded was Phayu Daodin, a graduate of Khon Kaen University’s Faculty of Law. He has lost sight in his…
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Car bomb explodes at police apartments in southern Thailand, 1 dead, 20 injured
At least one police officer was killed in a car bomb explosion at a housing compound for police in Narathiwat province in southern Thailand at midday today. At least 20 more people were injured in the blast. A man dressed as a police officer was seen driving a pickup truck into the compound before the car bomb exploded at around…
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Bungling thief borrows 500 baht from victim and asks for sex before escaping
An incompetent thief broke into a woman’s house in the early hours of yesterday morning and asked for sex and 500 baht. The victim managed to persuade the wannabe thief to give up on the sex idea and leave her in peace on the promise she transfers the 500 baht to him through an app. The bungling thief thanked the…
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Charter flights to Phuket and Pattaya filled with Russian tourists
Charter flights to Thailand’s hotspots of Phuket and Pattaya are being filled with Russian tourists. The chairman of the Chonburi Council of Tourism Industry, Thanet Suparashasrangsi, said… “The Azur Airline will start bringing in charter flights from November 26 on B757 carriers, which can hold about 202 passengers and will improve the number of tourists in Pattaya significantly.” Russia’s Ikar…
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Two Czech tourists seriously injured in road accident in southern Thailand
A pickup truck crashed into two Czech tourists crossing a dimly lit road in Phang Nha province in southern Thailand last night. Both of the tourists are seriously injured. At 7.30pm, officers from Khao Lak Police Station were informed that a car hit and injured pedestrians in front of Pee Ann’s restaurants on the Phetchakasem Road in the Khuk Kak…
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Cannabis fate discussed today by Narcotics Control Board
Today is the day the future of cannabis in Thailand will be decided. The Office of the Narcotics Control Board is meeting to discuss proposals calling for the plant to once again be classified as a Type 5 drug. But some powerful political figures insist that the board is powerless to stop the legalised proliferation of cannabis. Minister of Public…
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Good citizens return lost leopard cat to national park in northern Thailand
A baby leopard cat who strayed away from Nam Nao National Park in Phetchabun province, northern Thailand, has returned home with the help of some good citizens. Yesterday, the Office of Conservation Area 11 posted photos of an adorable, tiny, striped leopard kitten on Facebook with the caption… “We appreciate the good citizens who brought the #leopardcat (Prionailurus bengalensis), a…
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