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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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Police search for suspect after man shot, critically injured near Chon Buri shipyard
Police are searching for a suspect who allegedly shot a 37 year old man near a shipyard in Chon Buri’s Banglamung district. Son Kuengsamrong was found lying on the ground with a bullet wound just below his rib cage. He was taken to the hospital and is in critical condition. A truck driver passing by yesterday afternoon noticed Son lying…
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Thai police to verify “Boss” whereabouts with UAE embassy
Following recent reports that the elusive Red Bull heir, Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya, is living in Dubai, Thai police say they’re writing to the UAE embassy to verify the claims (the embassy is in Witthayu road… we can send you the address if you need so you can ‘drop in’ and have a chat). Boss is wanted in relation to a…
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Toilets might be a problem at tomorrow’s pro-democracy rally
The pesky issue of student’s Numbers 1s and Number 2s has become a potential problem for protest organisers. Toilets might be hard to find at tomorrow’s pro-democracy rally. Activists say the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration is refusing to provide mobile toilets for the rally at Bangkok’s Democracy Monument. (Although in the past, protest organisers have arranged the toilets for their events.)…
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Barriers to be installed at train crossings nationwide in wake of Chachoengsao tragedy – VIDEO
Following a major collision between a train and a bus in the eastern province of Chachoengsao on Sunday, officials plan to review and install barriers at train crossings around the country. 18 people died and 44 were injured when a freight train collided with a chartered bus near Khlong Kwaeng Klan railway station. It’s understood the bus passengers were on…
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Mobile testing units dispatched to Tak after Burmese drivers test positive
After 3 Burmese lorry drivers tested positive for Covid-19 in the northern province of Tak, officials have sent mobile testing units to the Mae Sot district to test around 4,000 Thais and Burmese in high-risk border areas. Mae Sot mayor, Thoetkiat Shinsoranan, says all residents are being told to stay home as much as possible. The Bangkok Post reports that…
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King Bhumibol Adulyadej – in remembrance of the “Father of Thailand”
His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej was Thailand’s monarch for just over 70 years. At the time of his passing in October 2016, King Bhumibol was the world’s longest-serving head of state and the longest-reigning monarch in Thai history. Amongst his many other gifts, he was was revered as a calming and compassionate influence, overseeing Thailand’s stormy political history in the second half of the…
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Border schools close for cleaning, thousands test for Covid-19 after Burmese truck drivers test positive
Nearly a dozen schools in Tak’s Mae Sot district closed today to be disinfected and around 4,000 people in the community are expected to be tested for Covid-19 after 3 Burmese cargo truck drivers tested positive for the virus after crossing through a border checkpoint. Those in communities deemed at high-risk have been told not to leave their home, unless…
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Where’s Boss? Wanted Red Bull heir spotted in Dubai
Some say they’ve spotted the wanted Red Bull heir in Dubai. Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya has an Interpol Red Notice out for his arrest and is wanted for allegedly killing a police officer in 2012 when he sped his Ferrari through Bangkok’s Thong Lo area, allegedly running over and dragging the police officer down the street. While Thai media reported the…
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Covid-19 could lead to a crisis worse than the 1997 Asian financial crisis
With debt relief measures set to expire this month, Thailand’s financial woes, brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, might end up being worse that the 1997 Asian financial crisis, known in Thailand as the Tom Yam Kung crisis, according to the Bangkok Commercial Asset Management. The 1997 Asian financial crisis started in Thailand with the financial collapse of the Thai…
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UPDATE: Broken railway crossing signal contributed to fatal bus-train collision east of Bangkok
A broken crossing signal led to the fatal collision yesterday, where a freight train smashed into a charter bus, killing 18 bus passengers and injuring another 44. Officials from the department as well as the State Railway of Thailand governor visited the site after the accident and say the broken crossing signal “contributed to the fatal incident”. The bus was…
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Thammasat students ask for 3 days off class to participate in protest
With the next pro-democracy protest planned for this Wednesday, students are asking Thammasat University officials to cancel classes for 3 days so the students can take part in the rally. The rally is expected to start at 2pm on Wednesday at Bangkok’s Democracy Monument, not far from the University’s Tha Prachan Campus, but no end time has been announced. The…
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Woman arrested for scamming 500 Burmese workers, promising visa extensions
A woman has been arrested after allegedly promising more than 500 Burmese workers that she could extend their visas, collecting a total of more 6 million baht from the workers for her apparent “services.” The more than 500 workers filed a report with police after the woman allegedly falsely advertised that she could issue the Burmese migrants new passports and…
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4 Burmese men arrested after crossing Moei River to Thailand
Tak border patrols have arrested 4 Burmese men who allegedly waded across the Moei River, crossing the natural border into Thailand illegally. Border officials have tightened their patrol since Myanmar reported a second wave of Covid-19 cases in August, and even more after this past weekend when 3 Burmese truck drivers tested positive for Covid-19 after entering Thailand through the…
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Thai Airways seeks to conserve finances by offering unpaid leave, early retirement
Thailand’s long-suffering national carrier is trying to conserve what cash it has by offering staff early retirement or unpaid leave. Thai Airways says it’s seeking to reduce its workforce in an attempt to stretch its finances to April 2021. According to a Bangkok Post report, acting president Chansin Treenuchagron says 80% of the airline’s employees have agreed to salary cuts…
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Thailand’s land bridge plan still floating
Deputy government spokeswoman Traisuree Taisaranakul says the government is still mulling the idea of a land bridge between the southern provinces of Ranong and Chumphon. The project’s aim would be to improve the infrastructure in the region by connecting the Gulf of Thailand directly with the Andaman Sea, “thereby making the Kingdom more competitive”. In a report in the Bangkok…
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Chiang Mai woman arrested for allegedly hiring hitman to kill her ex-husband
A 63 year old Chiang Mai woman has been arrested for allegedly hiring a hitman to kill her ex-husband because she wanted his life insurance payout. Bualoi Tala is also being investigated for her alleged involvement in other possible murders after a number of people died after being poisoned and Bualoi received payouts from their life insurance policies. Police say…
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The Pattaya to Hua Hin bridge. Government discusses 900 billion baht investment.
The government is looking into a so-called “Thai Bridge” that would connect Pattaya to Hua Hin, an estimated 900 billion baht investment. The project would be part of the Eastern Economic Corridor development plan aimed at improving the transportation and infrastructure in Thailand. The 900 billion baht investment is expected to take 10 years to financially implement, according to chairperson…
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UPDATE: Covid-19 visitor entry around the region
Around the region there are many countries starting to re-open their borders to allow some business or diplomatic visitors, even tourists, to enter their national borders. The situation is changing frequently and we’d urge you to contact the national embassies in your countries before making any concrete arrangements or paying money for airfares or accommodation before you clarify the situation,…
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8,000 homes inundated in Nakhon Ratchasima after 2 days of torrential rain
The Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is urging emergency services and the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation in the Pak Chong district of Nakhon Ratchasima, in Thailand’s north east, to urgently attend to the suffering of the region’s flood victims. Flooding has cut electricity and water supplies to several areas around the district. 8,000+ houses have been flooded after the overflowing…
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UPDATE: 18 dead, 44 injured, bus collides with train in Chachoengsao
A bus has collided with a train next to Khlong Kwaeng Klan railway station, killing 18 passengers and injuring 44. The incident happened just after 8am this morning. The chartered bus was carrying some 60 factory workers to a Buddhist ceremony and was crossing a railway track when it was struck by a freight train headed to Samut Prakhan, south of…
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New Bangkok BTS line to start running in December
A new Bangkok public transport monorail extension, the BTS Gold Line, is expected to start running before the end of the year. The scheduled run is the first phase of the BTS Gold Line to be rolled out along the Chao Phraya River in the Bang Phlad district. The new 1.72 kilometre BTS line will link Krung Thon Buriskytrain station…
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Attackers of hospital emergency ward receive prison sentences
Attackers of a hospital’s emergency ward in July have received prison sentences from the Samut Prakan Court. The 2 men attacked medical staff at the emergency ward at Vibharam Chaiprakarn Hospital in Phra Pradaeng district, south of Bangkok, on the night of July 19. The incidents were due to 2 rival gangs fighting with members showing up at the hospital…
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74 Thais in quarantine after Burmese truck driver tests positive for Covid-19
74 Thais are now in quarantine after coming in close contact with 2 Burmese truck drivers, who had since tested positive for Covid-19, in Thailand’s northwestern Tak province. According to an unnamed, female doctor’s Facebook post yesterday, all 74 Thais were given PCR tests and told to enter home quarantine for at least 14 days, and are being monitored by Thai…
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2 new cases, Covid-19 update (Sunday)
Thailand’s CCSA has reported 2 new cases of Covid-19 today, with a Thai soldier returning from South Sudan included in the daily report of new cases. The total of Covid-19 positive cases in Thailand sits at 3,636 with reported deaths remaining unchanged at 59. The 36 year old Thai soldier tested positive on his 4th test on Friday after returning…
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UPDATE: 18 dead, 44 injured, bus collides with train in Chachoengsao
A bus has collided with a train next to Khlong Kwaeng Klan railway station, killing 18 passengers and injuring 44. The incident happened just after 8am this morning. Earlier it was reported in Thai PBS World that 20 people had died. The incident in Chachoengsao province, about 50 kilometres east of Bangkok, occurred as passengers were on their way to…
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Timeline of a pandemic – the early days of Covid-19
The most critical time in the Covid-19 story is obviously early January this year, when either confusion or a lack of concrete knowledge, caused delays in public information about the seriousness of a possible new coronavirus. It was, indeed, a novel coronavirus, difficult to identify without a history or a published RNA sequence for comparison. In the last weeks of…
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Bangkok police warn protesters not to block King’s motorcade in October 14 protest
Bangkok police are warning political demonstrators not to block His Majesty the King’s motorcade in their upcoming protest event on October 14. Thailand’s King is set to preside over the graduation ceremony for Level 6 and 9 Pali scholars at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. Thailand’s deputy national police chief, Damrongsak Kittiprapat, says to cope with the demonstration, police…
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Minor International Chairman calls for major overhaul of Thailand’s ASQ
Minor International’s outspoken Chairman, Bill Heinecke, has penned an open letter to Thailand’s Public Health Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul. The thrust of the letter is that the current ASQ and general quarantine requirements and restrictions, is making any recovery of the country’s tourism and hospitality industry. Minor hotels have already serviced 2,500 guest as part of the Thai government’s Alternative State…
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China’s economy expected to grow 1.6% in 2020 – World Bank
Much the world is currently seeing continuing surges of new Covid-19 cases, some countries are well into their 2nd wave. Meanwhile China is quietly getting it’s industrial engine and economy going again as new cases. In fact China’s number of ‘active cases’ has been dropping since April, and now is fewer than 200 total cases across the country. Along with…
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Air Asia diversifies from an airline brand to e-commerce powerhouse
Airasia.com has revealed its greatly extended new online brand identity online as “ASEAN’s super app”, completing what it calls a “transformation from digital airline to comprehensive lifestyle platform”. The airasia.com ASEAN super app combines a host of related online experiences in a “faster and more convenient user experience” with over 15 types of products and services under 3 main headings…
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