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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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9 most common health issues covered by insurance for expats in Thailand
Thailand is a popular destination for expats due to its affordable lifestyle and excellent healthcare system. However, settling in a new country often brings health concerns. To ensure you’re covered for the most common medical needs, understanding what expat health...
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Officials bust Patong hookah venue over violations
Officials busted a Patong hookah venue on Friday night following complaints. The raid at Crystal Club on Bangla Road was ordered by Phuket Governor Narong, along with other officials. During the raid at around 11.30pm, officials seized a total of 52 hookah sets along with shisha and other equipment, and handed it to police, The Phuket News reported. The officials…
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Coral Rehabilitation for Divers Volunteers protects reefs
A new Coral Rehabilitation for a Divers Volunteers training program in Phuket has attracted several foreign divers interested in the restoration project. The course aims to provide participants with knowledge of how to operate procedures in coral rehabilitation following academic principles. The program, created by the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) and the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) has…
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2 Phuket restaurants busted with protected marine life
In Phuket, two floating restaurants have been busted possessing protected marine life in violation of environmental laws. The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) inspected floating restaurants in Phuket on Friday to check whether they had protected marine life and found a stash. Social media posts shared the findings online. The DMCR inspection found that both restaurants had ornamental…
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Chinese tourists bring Thai school uniform trend to famous spots in Phuket
Chinese tourists have now brought the new trend of dressing up in Thai school uniforms to famous spots in downtown Phuket. These hotspots include Museum Phuket, ThaiRath reported yesterday. The museum is a well known landmark with its clock standing high above the main building. Chinese tourists also enjoyed taking photos of themselves dressed in Thai school uniforms at Chiang Mai…
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American injured in Pattaya car crash
An American man was injured in a Pattaya car crash this week. The man, 68 year old David Andrew Rogers, rear-ended an 18-wheeler rig with his pickup truck, Pattaya Mail reported. The collision caused Rogers’s Nissan Navara to flip. The incident happened on Tuesday, March 7 on Sukhumvit Road in front of Srisuvit School, located north of Rong Po market.…
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Do your part: sign up as a Phuket Tourist Police volunteer
For all the armchair activists and online commenters saying the police should take more action, now is your chance to help. The Phuket Tourist Police are looking for a few good men and women. They have announced that they are seeking foreign volunteers to assist with law enforcement on the island. But don’t delay – the last day to submit…
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Ghibli Park bars men from takes sexy pics with statues
It’s ok to love statues, but it’s not ok to LOVE statues. Visitors to Japan’s Ghibli Park will be prohibited from taking inappropriate photos with statues of characters from beloved animated films. The restriction comes after photos of men pretending to sexually assault young female characters were posted on Twitter last month. The photographs in question depicted a visitor capturing…
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Bank of Thailand announces new biometric scans for mobile banking
The Bank of Thailand announced new measures to protect consumers from cyber risks in mobile banking transactions. Biometric scans, such as facial scans, will be required for high-value transactions, including digital money transfers of over 50,000 baht per transaction, transfers over 200,000 baht per day, and credit transfer amounts of over 50,000 baht per transaction. Banks must adopt these measures…
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Gary Lineker’s colleagues come out in solidarity, refuse to do MOTD
Gary Lineker’s colleagues have downed tools and come out in solidarity after the BBC removed him as Match of the Day (MOTD) presenter following comments he made about the British government’s racist immigration policy. The 62 year old host of the BBC’s flagship show announced in a Twitter post on Tuesday to his 8.7 million followers, that the language used by…
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Bullets found on plane cause evacuation in Korea
A few stray bullets are enough to ruin an entire flight. Yesterday a Korean Air plane was evacuated after two live bullets were discovered on board. The incident took place at Incheon International Airport in South Korea. The plane was bound for Manila and had 230 passengers on board at the time. The discovery of the bullets resulted in the…
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Body spotted off Phuket believed to be missing Romanian diver
Nearly two months after the search for the Romanian diver who went missing at sea off Phuket ended, officials believe that his body has been found. A body was spotted floating off Phuket’s Koh Kaew island yesterday, The Phuket News reported. At 12.30pm, an unnamed boat captain told Chalong Police that he found a legless body in the water some…
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Sattahip resort ordered to close for land encroachment
A lesson that never seems to be learned time and time again in Thailand: if you’re breaking the law, maybe don’t advertise it on social media. A luxury resort in the Sattahip district of Chon Buri has been ordered to close due to land encroachment after recently posted advertisements on social media for sea-view rooms. Star Over Sea received the…
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Snake catcher wrangles king cobra at farang’s house in Krabi, Thailand (video)
A snake catcher makes wrangling a king cobra look like a piece of snake in a clip filmed at a farang’s house in Krabi, southern Thailand, last week. A foreigner living in the Ao Nang area of Krabi walked outside to find a venomous 3.5-metre-long king cobra (ngoo jong ang) lying in the garden in front of his one-storey house.…
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Singaporean man attacked by Chinese businessman in BangkokÂ
A Singaporean man sought help from a well-known lawyer after Thai police ignored an attack by a Chinese businessman in Bangkok six months ago. The Singaporean alleges police are ignoring the assault because the Chinese man has financial and political influence. The Singaporean man named Tony urged the Thai lawyer, Ronnarong Kaewphet, to help him follow up on the assault…
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Annual report finds Thai prisons well below international standards
An annual report has found that Thai prisons in 2022 were well below international standards. The no-governmental organisation, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the Union for Civil Liberty released the report yesterday, according to Prachatai English. The report findings show that the aftermath of the Covid-19 outbreak led to authorities making little progress in implementing lessons learned…
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Another meeting with French consul on French motorbikers in Phuket
There’s been yet another meeting with the French Consul in Phuket addressing the issue of dangerous motorbike driving by French nationals on the island. This is after the former French Consul in Phuket met with Patong Police over the issue just last month. The Honorary Consul of France in Phuket, Alain Faudot, along with the Consul at the French Embassy…
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Report says most migrants to Thailand are undocumented
A report by the International Organisation for Migration says most migrants in Thailand come for work and are largely undocumented. According to Thai PBS World, the organisation studied Cambodian and Myanmar migrants living in Tak, Rayong, Ranong, Chanthaburi, and Trat provinces between August and October 2022. It found that 92% of those migrants come to Thailand for work, with another…
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Thai woman suffers for 6 years after surgeon leaves drill bit inside her leg
A Thai woman is rallying for justice after a doctor at Saraburi Hospital in central Thailand left a broken drill bit inside her leg during surgery more than six years ago, taking away her ability to walk and causing her years of unbearable pain. Yesterday, the Social Justice Campaign Network took 57 year old Chantra Wutthiyanan, in a wheelchair, to…
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Thai officials arrest overstaying French woman in Koh Pha Ngan
Thai officials arrested an overstaying French woman in Koh Pha Ngan this week. Sura Thani Immigration officers said in a Facebook post that they arrested the woman on Monday in front of the Bounty Resort on 85/1 Moo 8. The woman, 36 year old Myriam Naima Bakhoury, overstayed her visa by six days, the officers said. She was taken to…
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Two men in Indonesia face charges – one for masturbating in his car, the other for filming it
An incident in Indonesia may be a case of “snitches get stitches.” After filming and turning in a man caught masturbating in public in his car, the man who took the video may face pornography charges. Indonesia is not exactly known for its liberal stance on sex and morality and both the masturbator and his Peeping Tom videographer are facing…
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Man defends himself after 7 fake ID cards with his identity used in crimes
A Thai man visited Lad Ya Police Station yesterday to defend himself after seven fake identification (ID) cards featuring his picture and personal information were used by criminals. The victim, Pakin Sookprapan, said he faces 12 criminal charges that he is unaware of. A picture of the fake ID cards was widely shared on Thai social media. The cards had…
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Chon Buri woman dies in motorbike crash, young daughter seriously injured
A tragic motorbike crash in the Sri Racha district of Chon Buri claimed the life of a woman and left her young daughter seriously injured. The incident occurred on Wednesday in the Nongkham sub-district. Rescuers and Nongkham Police arrived on the scene, where they found 41 year old Potjaman Chuklin and her seven year old daughter with severe injuries. Both…
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Dead dolphin washes ashore in Koh Samui
Tragic news hit Koh Samui island yesterday when reports confirmed a dead dolphin was found washed ashore. The unfortunate discovery was made at Hua Thanon Beach in the Maret sub-district on the southeastern side of the island. The dead dolphin was reported to the Samui District Offices yesterday, prompting officers to investigate the incident. Upon arriving at the beach, the…
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Oxford Dictionary lists ‘pad thai’ as an international word joining ‘sushi’ and ‘pizza’
Pad thai is a national dish of Thailand loved so much worldwide that it has made it into the online Oxford Dictionary, gaining the same international status as the words “sushi” and “pizza.” Under the category “Food” the website Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries defines pad thai as… “pad thai: noun “A dish from Thailand made with a type of noodles made…
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Thailand’s air pollution leads to 200,000 hospital admissions in past week
Thailand’s current air pollution levels have led to 200,000 hospital admissions over the past week. As heavy find dust blankets the north, northeast and greater Bangkok, the Health Ministry says dust levels are at an unsafe level. The Ministry says those who were admitted to the hospital are suffering from pollution-related respiratory problems. Since the start of 2023, more than…
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Injured drunk man bites friends and rescuers who try to help him
It took several police officers, rescue workers, and friends to calm an unruly, out-of-control drunk who kept biting those trying to help after he cut his hand on a broken glass bottle. The Chacherngsao Rescue Team responded to a report of a pickup accident on the Bangna-Trat Road in Chacherngsao province near Bangkok. Upon arrival, they found a bronze Isuzu…
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Thailand ranks low in freedom, democracy report
The latest report by a US non-profit organization ranked Thailand low in freedom and democracy, contradicting a Democracy Index poll last week. Washington-based Freedom House, an organization that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights revealed Thailand has slightly improved but work still needs to be done. The US democracy research group said yesterday that Thailand…
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Thai plus-size pageant ladies have eating contest with an elephant
A group of Thai plus-size beauty pageant contestants partook in an eating contest with an elephant yesterday in the northeast Nakhon Ratchasima province. The Miss Jumbo Queen beauty pageant is not just about celebrating plus-size beauty, it also aims to boost Nakhon Ratchasima’s tourism and help society. The contestants are taking part in several charitable causes, one of which is…
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Traffic police caught on TikTok video punching motorcycle rider on road
A TikTok video has gone viral of a traffic police officer punching a motorcycle rider as she approached him at high speed on a road in the central province of Kanchanaburi. Luckily, the rider managed to maintain control of her vehicle and did not fall. The officer visited the victim yesterday to apologise and give her a gift. Footage from…
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Two Thai destinations win awards in Germany for sustainable tourism
Two Thai destinations have won prestigious awards in Germany for sustainable tourism. The destinations are the island of Koh Mak, located in the eastern Trat province, and Huay Pu Keng village in the northern Mae Hong Son province. The two picturesque locations won top spots at the Green Destinations Story Awards held at ITB Berlin 2023 in Germany. The awards…
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