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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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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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Thailand’s first monkeypox case is identified in Phuket tourist
Thailand has recorded its first case of monkeypox, the 71st country in the world during this recent outbreak, only the fourth since the start of the 21st century. The virus has only been endemic in a few Central African countries up to this stage. The 27 year old man, who had been travelling from Nigeria, was confirmed with monkeypox after…
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Thai mother turns blind eye as daughter raped by stepfather
An alleged pedophile offered the father of a 12 year old girl he raped 100,000 baht in cash to buy his silence. The father refused. The rapist was in fact the teenage girl’s 59 year old stepfather and lived with the child’s birth mother who ignored the abuse. The girl said her mother knew everything but asked her not to…
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Elephant stabs mahout to death with its tusks in southern Thailand
An elephant stabbed its mahout – or elephant trainer – to death with its tusks yesterday morning in Nahkhon Si Thammarat province in southern Thailand. The elephant stood watch over the man’s corpse for hours, said police. Yesterday at 10.30am, officers from Chawang Police Station received a report that a man had died after he was pierced by his own…
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Thailand’s DDC says boy with Covid-19 who died also had MIS-C
The DDC said today that a young child who died in central Thailand this week, who had Covid-19, also had Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children. The DDC’s director-general, Dr Opart Karnkawinpong, said doctors at Pathum Thani Hospital tried their best to save the six year old boy. He said they couldn’t save him because he also had MIS-C, and was…
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Oldest giant male panda on earth dies in Hong Kong
Wildlife lovers have a reason to mourn, now that the oldest giant male panda on earth has died today in Hong Kong. The panda, named An An, was 35 years old when he passed away today at Ocean Park. The giant panda believed to have lived the longest was a female panda who died at 38 years old in 2016.…
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Bedraggled rats can’t cope in Bangkok floods
Even rats couldn’t cope with the treacherous knee-deep flash floods which struck several areas of Bangkok last night. Bedraggled rats piled up on top of each other on the side of Sukhumvit Road, which was hit particularly badly by the floods after hours of continuous and heavy rainfall. Rats are excellent swimmers and can tread water for up to three…
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ICONSIAM to unveil ICS, a ‘Mixed-Use Lifestyle Town,’ featuring retail, office and hotel facilities linked to the BTS Gold Line
Press Release ICONSIAM, a world-class landmark located on the majestic Chao Phraya River – a joint-venture between three leading retail and real-estate developers: “Siam Piwat, Magnolia and CP,” is set to unveil ICS, a ‘Mixed-Use Lifestyle Town’ developed to amplify the thriving potential of the Thonburi area. ICS fosters an integration of urbanity and community that truly reflects today’s lifestyle…
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Alleged gold necklace thief on the loose in Phuket
It turns out Pattaya isn’t the only spot in Thailand where thieves snatch pricey gold necklaces. One woman in Phuket says a thief on a motorbike grabbed her gold necklace worth about 35,000 baht last night. The victim, 25 year old Kawissara, said she was also driving her motorbike when the thief drove by and snatched her necklace off her…
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Floods sweep pickup into dam in eastern Thailand, 1 survives and 2 missing
Floods swept an ice delivery pickup truck into a dam in Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand, in the early hours of this morning. The driver managed to escape and swim to safety but two Burmese labourers are still missing. Police from Bo Win Police Station received a call at 5.30am to say that two people were missing after a vehicle…
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University in Bangkok suspends lectures following floods
Thailand’s heavy rains have hit Bangkok hard, and one university in the capital has even suspended lectures today due to flooding. Ramkhamhaeng University announced on its Facebook page today that lectures on both of its campuses are cancelled due to flooding inside and outside the compound. One of the university’s campuses is located on Ramkhamhaeng road in the city’s east.…
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Woman carries sharp knife onto Vietnam Airlines flight
A Vietnamese woman managed to get a sharp knife through airport security and aboard a domestic Vietnam Airlines flight on Monday. The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has launched an investigation into the incident. An elderly lady is pictured peeling fruit with a sharp 20 centimetre knife on Vietnam Airlines flight VN208 from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi…
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Thaksin hints he lives rent free inside Thailand PM Prayut’s head
Exiled Thaksin Shinawatra poked fun at Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha hinting he is living rent free inside the Thai premier’s head. The former Thailand PM took a humorous swipe at the current prime minister on a social media platform saying he is “obsessed” with him after PM Prayut mentioned Thaksin on the first day of the censure debate on Tuesday.…
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British Airways flights to Thailand suspended until 2023
British Airways isn’t heading back to Bangkok until at least next year. Tour operators were hoping the British flagship carrier would be adding regular flights again between Heathrow and Bangkok in time for Thailand’s high season, just when the winter kicks in in the UK. British Airways was originally set to resume flights in November this year but has now…
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Nok Air to make Chiang Mai a new global destination hub
Nok Air announced it is turning Chaing Mai International Airport, in the northern province of Chaing Mai, into a new hub of domestic and global routes. The airline yesterday invited Chaing Mai Governor, Wuttiphum Julangkun, and the media to a press conference at Chiang Mai City Hall, at the Chang Phueak in the Mueng Chiang Mai District, to discuss the…
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‘Whiskey prevents Covid-19’ claims monk caught drink driving in northeast Thailand
Police caught a Buddhist monk as drunk as a skunk driving a pickup truck in Loei province, northeast Thailand, yesterday at 9.30am. The monk claims his concoction of rice whiskey and lemons prevents Covid-19. Yesterday morning, police from Loei Provincial Police Station received a report that a drunk monk was asking people for money and “causing mayhem” around the market…
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Thailand admits using surveillance to spy on democracy activists
Less than a day after police denied using the Israeli-made Pegasus spyware to track Thai democracy activists a government minister admitted Thailand does use surveillance to monitor individuals. Successive Thai governments have been accused by Human rights groups of using broad definitions of national security as a pretext to prosecute or suppress the activities of their main rivals. And on…
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Heavy rains cause disruption around Thailand, Bangkok commuters deluged
Yes, it is the wet season. And, just in case you doubted it, Mother Nature has thrown down the rain in buckets to make sure you don’t forget, including Bangkok overnight. The Thai Meteorological Department has issued warnings of “isolated heavy to very heavy rain in most parts of the country” up to July 24. Some parts of the country,…
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Bang Saen Beach near Pattaya to ban drinking and smoking
Officials in Chon Buri province plan to ban the drinking of alcohol and smoking on Bang Saen Beach so they can develop the stretch as a model tourist attraction. The Thai Health Promotion Foundation, Saensuk Municipality of Muenf Chon Buri District, and the National Institute of Development Administration yesterday announced the project to upgrade Bang Saen Beach into a tourist…
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Four year old witness helps police catch gamblers in central Thailand
Police could not contain their laughter during an interview with a four year old witness to a crime in central Thailand yesterday. The innocent child gave police important information about a group of gamblers, including his parents, during a raid at a house in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province in central Thailand. Yesterday, police received a complaint that a group…
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Several roads flooded as heavy rain hits Bangkok
Bangkok suffered from heavy rainfall last night. Several communities and roads were swamped due to the high water levels, which reached more than 30 centimetres. The Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt visited several different flood areas last night to find solutions to prevent and solve future floods in the capital. At 1am today, the media reported that more than five roads…
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Singaporean swindlers have fled to Thailand
A Singaporean couple wanted for swindling US$22 million from customers has fled to Thailand. The Singaporean man, Pi Jiapeng, and his Thai wife, Pansuk Siriwipa, hid in a lorry container as they made their escape from the police and Interpol after conning more than 200 customers out of their hard-earned cash for luxury goods that were not delivered. The Singapore…
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Thailand’s Zipmex crypto exchange blocks transfers and withdrawals
Another cryptocurrency exchange is in trouble, blocking withdrawals of both cash and crypto from its platform as go 6pm last night. Zipmex Thailand, a crypto-trading platform, has announced that the withdrawal of baht and cryptocurrency on its platform “has been suspended temporarily”. In the announcement, the CEO outlined a number of difficulties and challenges facing the Thai crypto exchange. He…
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Sri Lanka former PM now president, some protesters still aren’t happy
Sri Lanka’s parliament yesterday elected former PM Ranil Wickremesinghe as the country’s new president. He won 134 votes from a possible 223. This news comes after protesters set fire to Ranil’s house on July 9, and also stormed the presidential palace in Colombo. After over 100,000 enraged protesters stormed the palace, former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country and has…
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Phuket residents welcome the new ‘Khao Daeng Glass Bridge’ to be built in Rawai
A community meeting in Rawai on Tuesday agreed to get behind the latest tourist attraction, the Khao Daeng Glass Bridge, a new viewpoint and tourism focus for the quieter south of the island. President of Phuket Provincial Administration Organisation, Rewat Areerob, presented details about the new attraction and said it was good to have the Rawai community backing the project.…
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New variant detected in Thailand, doctor calls out CCSA for under-reporting infections
The latest sub-variant of the Covid-19 virus, BA 2.75, has been detected in the southern Thai province of Trang. Like BA.4 and BA.5, the more recent BA. 2.75 sub-variant is a more transmissible sub-variant of the Omicron strain. The new sub-variant was first detected in India in early June and had already spread to 14 other countries, including Japan, Germany,…
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UPDATE: Poisonous gas another cause of death in Bangkok sewer tragedy
UPDATE Another worker from the Bangkok sewer tragedy died in hospital this afternoon. Officials said the cause of death could be a combination of electrocution, a lack of air, and poisonous gas in the sewer. In total, three electrical workers died, 26 year old Thosapol Faksawat, 23 year old Warawut U-Nath, and 37 year old Direk Intarangsee who lost his…
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Pattaya mayor launches task force to fix issues around the city
Vowing to take action, Pattaya Mayor Poramese Ngampiches assembled a task force to address many issues plaguing the city. After selecting dozens of people to work on the project, the mayor assembled his task force for the first time yesterday to send the 68 members around the city to look into problems. The 68 city officials fanned out across Pattaya…
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New plans to help Pattaya’s homeless reintegrate in society
Pattaya officials are trying new ways to improve the city’s issues with homelessness. Deputy Mayor Wuttisak Rueimkitkan led a campaign launch yesterday, with help from the Chonburi Homeless Protection Center. The campaign’s goal is to help integrate homeless people back into society. Wuttisak had two groups of city officials look for homeless people around Pattaya Beach Road and Pattaya Second…
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Three Asian countries have the most useful passport
For years, Europe has had the most powerful passports for travelling, but as the world emerges in the post-Covid-19 era, three countries in Asia hold the top spots now. Japan holds the top spot, with Japanese passport holders having easy access to 193 different countries. Singapore and South Korea are tied for second with 192 countries easily accessed with a…
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18 passengers rescued after ferry explodes off South Thailand coast
Eighteen people were rescued after a ferry exploded on its way from Chumpon to Koh Tao today at about 2.30pm. All 18 passengers suffered injuries. The ferry, named Lom Phraya, caught fire about 4-5 kilometres off the coast of the Haad Sai Ree sub-district, Mueng district in Chumpon province in the south of Thailand. The rescue team reported on its…
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