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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 Do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?
Thailand’s healthcare system is well-regarded across Southeast Asia, with options ranging from public hospitals to world-class private facilities. But when it comes to foreign residents or tourists, healthcare access isn’t as straightforward. So, do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?...
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Monk allegedly sexually abused 12 year old boy
A Phetchaburi monk allegedly sexually abused a 12 year old boy, police say. The sixth grade student told police the monk sexually abused him 3 times. A complaint was filed by the boy’s mother and representatives from a child rights foundation. The boy is from a remote village in Hua Hin called Pa La-u where the monk would often visit…
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Thailand’s retail and property markets adapt and move online
Tourism, property, retail – 3 sectors of the Thai economy that have taken a huge hit from the impact of lockdowns and border closures. Whilst most of the lockdown provisions are now lifted, the borders remain mostly closed and the economy ‘sluggish’ at best. The first half of 2020 has been one of the most challenging periods that Thailand retail…
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Bangkok man allegedly kills 1, injures another in fight outside liquor store
A man allegedly attacked and stabbed a man to death outside a Bangkok liquor store in the Don Muang district. Another man was stabbed and severely injured when he stepped in to break up the fight. 46 year old Itthiphol Sunsomboon died at the scene after suffering from 4 knife wounds to his chest. Emergency responders tried to resuscitate the…
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Want to go to prison? Thailand’s prisons may become tourist attractions
Yes. Really. Prisons could become more like zoos in Thailand as those locked behind bars could become part of a grand plan to turn dozens of prisons into tourist attractions. Sounds bizarre, but it’s a real proposal from the Justice Minister Somsak Thepsuthin who announced the idea yesterday. 72 of Thailand’s 143 prisons could be open to tourists as soon…
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Student activist arrested on charges from protesting
Police arrested a student while he protesting outside a market PM Prayut Chan-o-cha was visiting. The student Panupong Jadnok, known as Mike Rayong, was holding up a sign saying “1,000 rai sea reclamation. What will Rayong people get?” Apparently Mike’s land reclamation protest didn’t have much to do with his arrest. He had an arrest warrant for his role in…
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Student representatives accuse teachers of bullying, call on Education Ministry to act
Student groups have met with officials at the Thai Education Ministry and submitted a letter urging the ministry to take action against teachers they accuse of intimidation. The students say they are being bullied for expressing their political views at school. There’s been an outbreak of student involvement in the pro-democracy voices in the country. It has spread from the…
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Hong Kong resumes travel bubble discussions with Thailand and Japan
Hong Kong’s commerce chief, Edward Yau, says the Special Administrative Region is once again chatting to Thailand authorities, and Japan, regarding the possible formation of “travel bubbles”. The talks were suspended last month as Hong Kong battled a third wave ‘spike’ of the Covid-19 virus. Now, the idea of mutually beneficial travel agreements is back on the table, subject to a…
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Facebook blocks page critical of the Thai Monarchy
“Access to this group has been restricted within Thailand pursuant to a legal request from the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society.” Facebook has blocked a popular group page that’s known for being critical of the Thai Monarchy. The social media platform may have faced defamation charges from the Thai government if the content was not taken down. The group…
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14 dead, 75 injured in southern Philippines suicide bomb attacks
More violence in the southern Philippines as Islamic militants exploded powerful bombs in the region yesterday. At least 14 soldiers and civilians were killed, and another 75 injured, despite all the additional security – Islamic State militants have made threats in recent weeks. At least 5 soldiers and 4 civilians were killed as a result of the first attack near…
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Pranked: FoodPanda delivers dozens of coffee orders to random Phuket neighborhood
Coffee with dash of cream? More like a dash chaos. One Phuket street was crowded FoodPanda delivery drivers yesterday, all with the same order. Coffee. Lots of coffee. It’s estimated that a prankster ordered nearly 100 cups of coffee along with waffles and noodles to a random neighborhood. One resident posted on Facebook that she received an order for 13…
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Cabling fire cuts comms and electricity to parts of Pattaya
Wondering what happened to your Netflix and power today? Parts of Pattaya were in blackout for a few hours whilst some communications and internet went down. Communication cables randomly caught fire and caused power outages in some parts of Pattaya after fire took hold of a congregation of black cabling. . The lack cabling caught fire from unknown causes around…
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Thailand plans for global cannabis trade
Thailand is getting into the global cannabis trade. Government officials are drafting up a law that would consider medical cannabis as an economic crop, meaning it would be allowed to be exported to other countries. They plan to reach markets in throughout Asia, Europe and the United States. The draft also focuses on the cultivation of cannabis and Thai hemp.…
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Floods wash up the North, Northeast prepares as Mekong rises
Heavy rains and flooding in Northern Thailand damaged homes and killed 1 resident. 2 people are reported missing. The Nation Thailand did not report the details of the death, but says the “flood crisis” affected 10 provinces and more than 7,000 homes in the area. Flood victims are being rescued and brought to higher ground by the Department of Disaster…
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Student charged with fatal recklessness for cheerleader’s death
A university student is charged with fatal recklessness after she allegedly ordered a cheerleader at practice to run until she collapsed. 19 year old Phornphiphat “Nong Mint” Eaddam, a first year student at Rajabhat University in Phuket, died at a local hospital. The second year student known as Prae allegedly forced the first year student to run 8 laps at…
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Monarchy critic faces charges for Facebook page
A popular critic of Thailand and Thai politics is facing charges for a Facebook group he runs that is critical of the Thai Monarchy. The private group “Royalist Marketplace,” run by Pavin Chachavalpongpun, has more than 1 million followers. Some of the supporters have been spotted at recent pro-democracy protests holding Royalist Marketplace signs. A complaint was filed by Ministry…
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Phuket’s ‘safe and sealed’ plan does nothing for the majority of the island’s hospitality sector
OPINION Damned if they do and damed if they don’t. Thailand is now taking a decisive step towards reopenits its borders to tourists with a pilot project in Phuket this October. The pilot precedes the annual high-season, and if successful, then will form the basis of a wider push for re-opening the country’s borders to the lucrative tourist market. TAT…
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Expats should be able to share in the government’s tourism incentive programs
by Expat Life Newly elected President of the Thailand Hotels Association and Vice President of Sukosol Hotels, Marisa Sukosol, was asked what her thoughts were about the Thailand Together government travel stimulus campaign. Although close to 5 million people have registered, only 600,000 hotel rooms have been booked at this stage, well below initial estimates. “The project would have more bookings if…
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Teenager allegedly stole 2 million baht from high schoolers
A teenage girl allegedly stole a total of 2 million baht from her younger peers in the Isaan province Khon Kaen. Around 10 students, all 14 to 16 years old, filed police reports with help from their parents. Thai media reports the 17 year old girl’s name as Wawa. She allegedly ran a savings reward scheme at the local high…
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Bangkok hosts Thailand’s first Andy Warhol exhibition
Bangkok is hosting Thailand’s first exhibition of original art from renowned pop artist, Andy Warhol, who would have turned 92 this month. The exhibition will include one of his most famous creations, Campbell’s Soup Cans, with a total of 128 pieces going on show. A report in Thai PBS World says the exhibition, which has taken 2 years to plan,…
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3 died, others hospitalised in Northeast Thailand crash
3 people died and 9 were injured in a car accident during a heavy rain storm yesterday in Ubon Ratchathani, Northeast Thailand. Police say a pickup truck lost control and slid across the road into another lane heading the opposite direction. The truck was then hit on its side by an on-coming van headed west toward Si Sa Ket. The…
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Singapore lifts restrictions, travellers from New Zealand and Brunei allowed
Some major border restrictions are lifting in Singapore. Those in New Zealand or Brunei who want to spend a holiday in Singapore can do so starting September 1. There will no requirement for those travellers to do a 2 week quarantine. Those in Singapore will also be allowed to travel to both New Zealand and Brunei. Yes, it’s a travel bubble…
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Pattaya business and tourism official calls for more government help during Covid crisis
Pattaya is in desperate need of more government assistance, according to the president of the Pattaya Business and Tourism Association. Despite getting a spurt of additional visitors from Bangkok each weekend, the general visitor economy remains perilously low. Speaking to reporters, Ekasit Ngampichet says Pattaya business owners face several challenges as a result of the fallout from Covid-19. “I would…
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Thai expats show their support for local pro-democracy protests
The protests have been popping up around Thailand, and overseas. Support of the pro-democracy demands by students and activists has spread beyond the borders of Thailand. A group, calling themselves ‘Thais Rise Up” in Scotland says they are holding their own rally at the end of this week in Edinburgh with same demands – to call for the dissolution of the…
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North cleans up after wet weekend
5 provinces in Thailand’s North – Chiang Mai, Phayao, Lampang, Nan and Phrae – all suffered serious flooding on Saturday, causing damage in 15 districts, 189 villages and more than 1,400 households. Nan province suffered the most, with 960 households in 6 subdistricts damaged and 1 person dead. Officials in Chiang Mai warned visitors and residents to stay away from…
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Report: US President Trump’s sister slams him as “cruel” and “a liar” in secret recordings
In a shock revelation, secretly made recordings reveal that Maryanne Trump Barry, the older sister of US President Donald Trump, described him as “cruel” and a “liar”, whose lack of principles meant he could “not be trusted.” The recordings, obtained by the Washington Post, were published yesterday. They are the latest unflattering insider account to target the president, but instead…
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Murder suspect captured after motorbike crash
Police in the southern province of Surat Thani say a man with 3 arrest warrants, 1 each for for murder, attempted murder and robbery, was caught after a motorcycle incident in the early hours of this morning in the city’s central district. The Surat Thani police chief said that at about 12.10am a motorcycle ran off the road at a…
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Pattaya tipped to stage huge airshow in 2023
Officials in Pattaya confirmed this week that the resort town is slated to hold a major international airshow in 2023 at the U-Tapao airport. The event is expected to attract tens of thousands of visitors and to be the biggest-ever airshow in Asia. A spokesman for the Pattaya City Business and Tourism Association confirmed the announcement and said the show…
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Khon Kaen sees second rally in 3 days
Khon Kaen, 1 of the “big 4” cities of Isaan in Thailand’s northeast, saw a brief anti-government demonstration in its central district last night, the second in 3 days. The rally at the democracy monument on Srichan road in the Khon Kaen municipal area started at around 9pm. A group of students and and supporters of the Free People group…
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1 injured as Udon Thani bus slips of wet road
A bus in Isaan’s Udon Thani province slipped off the road and onto is side in heavy rain last night, seriously injuring a passenger. All 19 passengers, some with minor injuries, and the driver were safely rescued, and no deaths were reported. The injured passenger was sent to hospital. Police and rescue staff were alerted to the incident, on Mittraphap…
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Grandmother sentenced for pimping granddaughter
A grandmother in Thailand’s South has been given a 55 year prison sentence for offering her 14 year old granddaughter for sex to a local politician. The Foundation for Children, Youth and Families announced yesterday that the court handed the sentence to the defendant, identified as Sakol Phodee, on Wednesday. Chuwit Jantaros, secretary-general of the foundation said the court found…
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