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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 Why long-term expats in Thailand say insurance is worth every baht
Thailand’s warm weather, low cost of living, and good healthcare attract many long-term expats, including retirees and remote workers. Life here feels easy and affordable, but medical costs can be high if something goes wrong. Private hospitals are popular because...
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Bangkok blitz: Over 1.3 million fake goods seized in massive raid
In a sweeping six-month crackdown, the Department of Intellectual Property (DIP) has seized over 1.3 million counterfeit items in raids across Bangkok and beyond. The campaign has already triggered 139 legal cases, signalling a renewed push to clean up the country’s notorious counterfeit trade. “This is a serious issue,” said DIP Director General Nusara Kanjanakul. “It impacts not only consumer…
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Stars, stripes and tourist gripes as Trump hikes visa fee kick off
Tourists, locals, and ex-pats in Thailand are being warned to brace for a wallet-busting new visa fee, after Donald Trump slapped a stinging US$250 charge on would-be visitors, just in time to cash in on the flood of sports fans heading to America. The controversial visa integrity fee has sparked outrage, with critics accusing the US president of using global…
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Fire erupts on 6th floor of Bangkok building, cause under investigation
A fire broke out in a building on Sukhumvit 71 Road in Bangkok early this morning, July 22. Fortunately, no fatalities or injuries were reported. Officers from Khlong Ton Police Station were alerted to the fire at 4.59am and rushed to the scene with a team of firefighters. The blaze erupted on the sixth floor of a building named Yang…
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Senator faces 10 years jail for using false professor title
A Thai senator could be booted from Parliament and jailed for up to 10 years after being caught falsely claiming the title of Professor during her campaign. The Election Commission (EC) has ruled that 45 year old Keskamol Pleansamai, a physician-turned-politician, wrongfully used the academic title in her Senate election application last year, a violation that could land her in…
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Storm Wipha brings heavy rain and strong winds to Thailand
The Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) today forecasted heavy to very heavy rainfall across Thailand over the next 24 hours, with strong winds and potential flash floods in some areas. Tropical storm Wipha is expected to make landfall in northern Vietnam today. In the north of Thailand, thunderstorms are expected to cover 80% of the area with strong winds and heavy…
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Curry con! Food delivery driver spices up with bogus food order
A slick scammer posing as a food delivery rider cooked up a brazen heist at a humble curry stall in Pattaya, vanishing with a bag of cash after placing a fake order for nearly 30 meals. The early-morning con unfolded at 5.06am yesterday, July 21, when 30 year old Anirut Thiamtha was manning his family’s Chef Basil Curry Rice Shop…
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The rise of fintech in Thailand: technology vs traditional banking
Thailand’s financial landscape is undergoing a profound transformation. At the heart of this evolution is the meteoric rise of financial technology (fintech), a sector that disrupts the traditional banking model. And also reshapes consumer behaviour and the competitive landscape. Mobile-first platforms, e-wallets, and digital lending services have become mainstream. And the battle between fintech and traditional banks intensifies. And it…
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Paws and pay: Pooch turns cashier in Ang Thong diner (video)
A five year old dog in the central province of Ang Thong has become an Internet sensation for his unexpected skills as a cashier, helping his owner, who runs a restaurant, collect payments from customers. The male dog, Cocoa, is beloved by locals who dine at the restaurant in Sam Ko district, Ang Thong. Cocoa always stands beside diners, waiting…
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Two men injured as motorbike crashes into Thailand canal
Two young men in Thailand were injured after their motorbike veered off an unlit, narrow road and fell into a canal in Wichit late on the Saturday night, July 19. Emergency services from the Kusoldharm Phuket Foundation responded to the incident in Soi Thida at approximately 11.45pm. Upon arrival, they found the two men in a canal about 4 metres…
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Wipha wallop: Landslide fears as storm lashes Thailand
A tropical storm-turned-downpour is putting large swathes of Thailand on red alert, with officials warning of landslides and flash floods across 21 provinces as Typhoon Wipha wreaks havoc. The Department of Mineral Resources sounded the alarm following days of relentless rain, urging locals and volunteers to stay vigilant until at least Thursday, July 24, as soggy hillsides teeter on the…
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Elderly CEO donates over 100 million baht to Ang Thong Hospital
Thai netizens praised an elderly CEO who donated more than 108 million baht to a hospital in the central province of Ang Thong. The official Facebook page of Ang Thong Hospital expressed gratitude to the elderly Thai man, Somnuk Suksrikan, on Friday, July 18. The hospital reported that Somnuk donated 10 kidney dialysis machines, valued at approximately 5 million baht,…
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Free trade or free fall? Thailand struggles to keep up with Vietnam in US talks
Thailand is falling behind Vietnam in trade talks with the United States and could be forced to make tough choices if it wants to stay in the economic game, a top economist has warned. According to international trade expert Somjai Phagaphasvivat, Thailand’s lack of wide-ranging free trade agreements (FTAs) is putting it at a disadvantage compared to Vietnam, which has…
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Class acts: Chinese scammers pose as students in pensioner con
Crooks running a slick online scam from a swanky Chiang Mai villa posed as students while fleecing elderly Chinese pensioners out of millions, in yet another twist to Thailand’s growing cybercrime crisis. Three suspected ringleaders have been nicked and 17 others detained after Thai police swooped on a luxury pool villa in Hang Dong, uncovering a Chinese-led operation that preyed…
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Thai transwoman arrested behind 50 million baht job scam
Police arrested a Thai transwoman at a market in Bangkok for orchestrating an overseas job scam that reportedly caused damages totalling between 40 and 50 million baht. A representative of the 250 to 300 victims sought help from the Pavena Foundation for Women and Children. According to the representative, victims were deceived into paying between 150,000 and 200,000 baht each…
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Chon Buri burglary: Elderly woman’s home looted, gold and amulets stolen
A burglary in Chon Buri on July 19 left a 70 year old woman in distress after a thief looted her home, stealing gold jewellery, over 100 Buddhist amulets, and thousands of baht in coins. The incident took place at a residence in Tambon Khao Mai Kaew. The victim, Phanthong Khampongjai, discovered the theft after returning home from chatting with…
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Quake mistake: Tycoon named in deadly Bangkok building collapse probe
Bangkok police have wrapped up their investigation into the deadly collapse of the State Audit Office (SAO) building, with 23 big names, including a top tycoon, now facing possible criminal charges over the catastrophic disaster. The SAO tower, a 30-storey structure still under construction, came crashing down on March 28 after a 4.5-magnitude earthquake rattled the capital, leaving at least…
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2 year old Thai boy loses life in wasp attack, child’s father seriously injured
A two year old Thai boy lost his life while his father sustained serious injuries in a wasp attack in the Isaan province of Nakhon Ratchasima on Saturday, July 19. The tragic incident was reported by the local news agency Bua Yai Ban Chan. The agency stated that the young boy was attacked by a swarm of wasps and later…
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Bangkok electric train fare capped at 20 baht from 2025
Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit confirmed that the maximum fare for the Bangkok metropolitan electric train network would be capped at 20 baht per journey starting October 1, 2025. The initiative will cover eight lines, spanning 13 routes, totalling 276.84 kilometres and 194 stations. On July 18, Suriya met with Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt and private sector…
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Holiday blues: Thailand tourism hits bump in the flight path
Thailand’s golden age of tourism seems a distant memory as the Land of Smiles battles to reclaim its pre-pandemic glory. While neighbours like Vietnam and Malaysia have soared past their 2019 highs, Thailand’s tourist engine has stalled and experts warn it might be years before the country climbs back into the global travel top tier. Thailand welcomed 35.5 million foreign…
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Domestic blitz: Pattaya couple left battered in weekend bust-up
A misunderstanding between a husband and wife at the weekend resulted in both sustaining injuries during a heated argument in Pattaya. The incident took place at 10.30pm, Saturday, July 19, in a residence on Soi Ban Lang 7. The Sawang Boriboon Thammasathan Foundation’s rescue team responded to the scene after receiving reports of the altercation. Upon arrival, the rescue team…
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Student survives fifth-floor fall at Nakhon Ratchasima university
A 19 year old university student survived a fall from the fifth floor of a building at a well-known university in Nakhon Ratchasima. Emergency services promptly arrived at the scene to investigate the incident. The student’s friends shared insights into the moments leading up to the incident. Police Colonel Sutthinan Khongchamdee of Mueang Nakhon Ratchasima Police Station received a report of…
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Japanese tourist dodges necklace-nicking trans gang in Pattaya
A Japanese tourist had a narrow escape in the early hours of this morning after a group of transgender sex workers allegedly tried to rob him during a flirty encounter on Pattaya’s notorious Walking Street. The incident, reported at 4.46am, today, July 21, unfolded right in the heart of the city’s raucous red-light district. The victim, a man in his…
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Thai engineers clear mines after explosion near Cambodia border
Combat engineers initiated mine-clearing efforts in the Chong Bok area, near the Thai-Cambodian border in Ubon Ratchathani province, following a landmine explosion that injured three Thai soldiers on July 16. The Second Army Region, overseeing the northeast, reported that Suranaree Task Force combat engineers started operations yesterday, July 20. This was in response to reports of approximately 100 landmines found…
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No place for predators: Phuket cracks down on child sex tourism
From five-star hotels to beachside bars, tourism bosses in Phuket are being told to open their eyes and shut the door on child sex tourism and human trafficking in a bold new campaign to protect the island’s most vulnerable. Local government officials in Phuket have launched a hard-hitting initiative aimed at stamping out child sexual exploitation in Thailand’s most visited…
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Severe storm in Nakhon Si Thammarat causes city-wide blackout
A severe storm in Nakhon Si Thammarat caused multiple high-voltage power poles to topple, leading to a city-wide blackout. An 18 year old barista, Sirinapa, was hospitalised after fainting from shock, while another incident involved a motorcyclist narrowly escaping injury when a pole collapsed. The intense rainfall and strong winds hit the Pak Nakhon subdistrict in Mueang district at 3.30pm,…
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Arab tourist tries to impress woman but crashes motorcycle into Phuket pharmacy
An Arab tourist crashed a rented motorcycle into a pharmacy in Phuket on Friday, July 18, after allegedly riding at high speed and performing a wheelie to impress a woman. Channel 7 reported that the incident occurred at a pharmacy on Patong Beach Road in the Kathu district of Phuket. Witnesses told the media that they saw the pharmacist running…
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Bikini banzai! Japanese man fined for racy roadshow in Thailand
A Japanese man has become the most infamous man in Hat Yai after donning a bikini, hopping on a motorbike and dancing his way into a public indecency charge. The 62 year old pensioner turned heads and ruffled feathers in southern Thailand this week after being fined for performing provocative street dances in a bikini while riding around Hat Yai…
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Chinese woman killed by falling tree on Phuket beach (video)
A Chinese woman lost her life after being struck by a falling tree during a heavy thunderstorm in Phuket yesterday, July 20. Her husband sustained minor injuries in the incident. Officers from Chalong Police Station responded to the fatal tree fall at approximately 5.30pm on Koh Hey Beach in Chalong sub-district, Mueang district, Phuket. Locals who witnessed the incident already…
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Royal nut: Rare Coco de Mer haul cracks global record in Pattaya
It’s the world’s biggest, and rarest, seed, shaped like a voluptuous behind and worth a fortune. Now a Pattaya garden has stunned the globe by harvesting a million-baht bounty of the legendary Coco de Mer. Nong Nooch Tropical Garden in Pattaya has made horticultural history after successfully processing nine rare Coco de Mer fruits, yielding ten valuable seeds, including one…
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Eight arrested for murder after Pathum Thani firearm robbery
Eight people, between 12 to 21 years old, have been apprehended for their involvement in the murder and robbery of a 17 year old named Reef in Pathum Thani yesterday, July 20. The group allegedly used a gun to shoot Reef during a pre-arranged meeting to buy firearms. The incident occurred on Leab Klong L 1-2 Road in Klong Song,…
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