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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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Cheeky Taoist procession spices up Phuket’s veggie fest
Traditionally coinciding with Phuket’s vegetarian festival, mild-mannered vegans on the island have been treated to the decidedly fleshy delights of a nine-day Taoist festival. Central to the event, or at least central to Instagram postings devoted to the event, are the many outlandish facial piercings on display. Taoist devotees adorn their mouths and faces with metal spikes, swords, skewers and…
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Avalanche strikes mountaineering team in Indian Himalayas, 4 killed
An avalanche struck a mountaineering team in the Indian Himalayas yesterday morning, killing four people. Meanwhile, another 28 people are still missing. The Nehru Institute of Mountaineering said the team had been training on a mountain in the northern state of Uttarakhand. The institute’s statement said the team was returning from a 5,670 metre peak when the avalanche hit. The team…
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Can foreigners legally grow cannabis in Thailand?
The Ministry of Public Health gave away one million cannabis plants to the people of Thailand in June for home cultivation. Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul dished out the plants to celebrate the removal of all parts of the cannabis plant from Thailand’s list of Category 5 illicit narcotics on June 9. The plants were intended to be cultivated for medicinal…
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Ordination ceremony concert goes on despite flood
“The show must go on,” as the old adage goes, and this was certainly the case at a recent ordination ceremony under threat of flooding in Pathum Thani province near Bangkok. The owner of a lighting and sound company, Moo, was hired to set up a concert stage for an ordination ceremony at Samakiyaram Temple in the central province of…
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Young woman killed in hit-and-run in Chon Buri
A young woman was killed in a hit-and-run in Chon Buri’s Sri Racha district on Monday night. A six-wheel truck crashed into a motorbike, crushing 32 year old Saithan Hongthong to death. The incident happened on Map Iang-Laem Chabang Road. An anonymous witness said he saw the truck crash into Saithan before speeding away. The witness did not see the…
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Myanmar youth artists hold art challenge to raise awareness of country’s plight
Myanmar’s youth artists are hosting an art challenge to raise awareness of their country’s continued struggle for democracy. According to Irrawaddy, the challenge is named #Revtober, an off-shoot of the worldwide art challenge of Inktober. The challenge will see daily drawings and paintings that follow a prompt list for the 31 days of October. The artwork will be shared on…
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Disabled lottery seller swindled out of one million baht
A lottery ticket seller with a disability filed a complaint with the police yesterday after a man, pretending to be the President of the Association of the Disabled Union of Thailand, lured her into investing one million baht in lottery tickets. The Secretary of Punyaphat Foundation for Persons with Disabilities yesterday filed a complaint on behalf of the 36 year…
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US, South Korea respond to North Korea’s missile over Japan with bombing drills
In response to North Korea firing an Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile over Japan, the US and South Korea carried out precision bombing drills. South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said the drills aimed to demonstrate the allies’ “capabilities to conduct a precision strike at the origin of provocations.” “With the participation of four South Korean Air Force F-15Ks and four…
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Phuket taxis drivers promise to quit fighting rivals
Representatives of taxi drivers in Phuket met with provincial officials to acknowledge proposals to avoid fights recently reported in the media. Following a recent fight between a traditional taxi driver and an app-based driver in the Kamala district last weekend, Phuket authorities decided to host a meeting to urge local taxi drivers to focus on the reputation of the province.…
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Miss Ukraine slams Miss Grand International promoter
Ukrainian Beauty queen Olga Vasyliv slammed Miss Grand International 2022 promoters as politically insensitive after they assigned a hotel room for her to share with her Russian counterpart Ekaterina Astashenkova. The Thai-based beauty pageant, Miss Grand International, is promoted by famous Thai media celebrity Nawat Itsaragrisil. The pageant was founded in Thailand in 2013 amid a political crisis in the…
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Cracks in road to popular mountain in northern Thailand
Adventurers driving on the road to a popular mountain in northern Thailand might have a few obstacles ahead of them. Those obstacles include cracks in the road, along with possible mudslides. Highway officials warn drivers that the main road is fractured to the Phu Thap Boek mountain in Phetchabun province. The officials said there were cracks and subsidence on the…
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Thai chicken vendor fakes being a lawyer and wins in court
A Thai man who sells chicken for a living in Kamphaeng Phet province, central Thailand, has been arrested for pretending to be a lawyer for several years. He allegedly faked his license to practise law, fought several court cases, and even won a few. The chicken vendor, Pornthep Kachenpak, got away with it for years by “outsourcing.” His method was…
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ASEAN summit in November excludes Burmese junta again
Another ASEAN summit is nearing and the Burmese military junta leader has once again found himself off the guest list. For the second year in a row since the bloody military coup in February of last year, Min Aung Hlaing was not invited to the summit of Southeast Asian nations. Citing a lack of any visible progress in the multi-step…
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Hundreds of water pumps installed for floods in Bangkok and nearby provinces
Thailand’s Royal Irrigation Department is working to fight the floods currently wreaking havoc on Bangkok and its vicinity. Yesterday, the Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister announced that the department installed more than 220 large water pumps to drain water from the capital and its surrounding provinces, Nation Thailand reported. The minister, Chalermchai Sreeon, said the pumps were draining 45 million cubic…
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Phuket taxis fined for yet another fight in front of customers
The battle between traditional taxis and ride-hailing app drivers seems to have reached a boiling point. Yet another fight between taxi drivers in front of customers took place in Phuket. It resulted in charges against both of the drivers and highlights the continuing problem Phuket and other tourist destinations in Thailand face with taxis. This incident took place at a…
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Thai actress believes she was drugged on BTS train
Thai actress Chatchaya “Sara” Charoenchan filed a complaint with the police last week after she fainted on the Bangkok BTS train. Sara believes she was possibly spiked with a drug somehow. The 23 year old actress informed the media that the incident happened on the morning of Thursday, September 30 while she was on her way to take an exam…
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Police patrol Pattaya Beach looking for guns, booze, prostitutes
Police in Pattaya is continuing their commitment to crack down on law-breaking along the beach. They were out on patrol Monday night and added prostitution to the list of illegal activities that they were on the lookout to prevent. The police plan to operate regular patrols and be much more strict on things like drinking on the beach and carrying…
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Phuket Vegetarian Festival wraps up
The Phuket Vegetarian Festival officially wrapped up its last day yesterday. The last day began with street processions in the main city district. The processions started in the morning at the Lor Rong Shrine and headed toward Saphan Hin Public Park. Later in the afternoon, there was a fire-waking ritual from Kathu Shrine. In the evening, there was another fire-walking ritual…
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China warns US with display of aircraft killer nuclear missiles
The Chinese government has aired footage of aircraft carrier nuclear missiles, with military analysts taking it as a warning to the US. The dual-capable Dongfeng missiles are thought to pose a great threat to US aircraft carrier strike groups. The missiles, thought to be China’s most powerful nuclear-capable weapons, were unveiled in footage to mark National Day. But, as tensions…
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Kanye West’s ‘White Lives Matter’ shirt at Paris Fashion Week
Controversial attention-seeking right-wing rapper Kanye West has once again made waves. Kanye hosted a surprise fashion show during Paris Fashion Week where he wore a t-shirt reading “White Lives Matter.” The American rapper made headlines recently after all ties were cut between his Yeezy sneaker line and GAP and Adidas. The unannounced fashion show took place at a secret venue…
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Bangkok asks companies to let employees work from home until October 7
As the Thai capital prepares for another torrential downpour, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) requested that companies allow employees to work from home where possible from October 5 – 7. “City-dwellers prepare for another period of heavy rain. Be wary of certain areas which are prone to flooding. Heavy rain is expected from now until October 7. We ask for…
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Father & 2 year old son shot in Chiang Mai
A father and his two year old son were shot while riding a motorcycle in Chiang Mai in the early hours of this morning. The man died at the scene while his son is in critical condition. Officers from Chai Prakarn Police Station were notified of the incident on Mae Khi Road in the Si Dong Yen sub-district, Chai Prakan…
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Officials predict over 100,000 people at Pattaya International Fireworks Festival
The annual Pattaya International Fireworks Festival is coming up in November, and city officials have made some estimates about how many people will attend. Officials have estimated that over 100,000 domestic and foreign tourists will make their way to the festival. The festival will be held from November 25-26 on Pattaya Beach. If estimates come true, the festival will be…
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Six-legged golden frog brings good fortune in northern Thailand
A six-legged golden frog hopped into a northern Thai man’s life in Phayao province just over a year ago and has brought him good fortune ever since, he told the media today. The special frog jumped into 50 year old Somboon Tuakrua’s house in the Mueang district around a year ago. Somboon said the amphibian was calm and docile, so…
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Mother seeks justice after a monk slapped her son
The mother of a 17 year old schoolboy slapped by a monk in a Buddhist ethics camp in the Isaan province of Udon Thani wants justice for the assault. The provincial chief monk says his subordinate’s action did not violate monk rules. The child’s 33 year old mother, Waranya, is furious with the monk and seeks justice. She urged the…
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Bangkok ranked one of top 5 expat cities
Bangkok is one of the top five expat cities in the world, according to the language learning platform Preply. Thailand’s capital city came in at No.5 on a list of the 60 best cities for expats to live and work. The four cities that beat Bangkok, in order, were Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Tbilisi in Georgia, Lisbon in Portugal, and…
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Woman abandons home after police ignore four burglaries
A homeowner in the Lat Phrao area of Bangkok has abandoned her property after a spate of break-ins ignored by police left her fearing for her life. A picture of the thieves breaking into her house is currently circulating on social media. The Let Me Know If You Wanna Be Famous (อยากดังเดี๋ยวจัดให้รีเทิร์น 5.2) Facebook account posted pictures of the thieving…
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VIDEO: Brave citizens save delivery driver swept away by floods in northeast Thailand
A viral TikTok clip posted on Saturday shows the severity of floods in Srisaket province in northeast Thailand. A group of brave citizens formed a human chain to pull a delivery driver who was swept off the road back to safety. To save himself, the delivery driver had to bid farewell to his motorbike which he depends on to make…
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Japanese warned to take cover over North Korea missile test
Japanese residents were warned to take cover as North Korea launched a ballistic missile over Japan. It was the first time in five years that the nuclear-capable isolated country had taken such action. The missile was launched from North Korea and passed over Japan before plunging into the Pacific Ocean. This is the first time since 2017 that the country…
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Book on Trump reveals casual racism and homophobia
A controversial new book on Donald Trump by a New York Times journalist reveals that an intriguing look into his life from businessman to United States President, from casual racism to homophobia, and fear of dying from Covid-19. The book, Confidence Man, written by Maggie Haberman chronicles Trump’s time as a New York businessman and life during and after his…
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