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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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21 Vietnamese fishermen taken for coronavirus testing in Songkhla
21 Vietnamese crew from four Vietnamese fishing boats looking for sea cucumbers have been taken ashore to a Songkhla Navy hospital by Royal Thai Navy officials last night. They are being quarantined whilst being tested for coronavirus. Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class Holothuroidea. They are marine animals with a leathery skin and an elongated body containing a single, branched…
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Three Thai lottery winners take home 6 million baht each
781403. That’s the magic six numbers you needed for yesterday’s lottery, which would award you with a grand prize of 6 million baht if you had a winning lottery ticket. Three people won, a convenience store owner in Nakhon Ratchasima and married couple from Rayong. Suwarn Sinthao bought her ticket hoping to win a three-number prize of 4,000 baht but…
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Toilet paper vs bum gun – which one is better?
Put down your knife and fork. We’re going to talk about bumguns, arse-blasters and Number 2s. Let’s take a moment and travel to a western country and sit on the toilet. We do whatever we need to do and then… where’s the water gun? Instead you’re confronted with a roll of toilet paper, patterned or otherwise (why?!) Asian people have been…
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Police say the ‘Skullbreaker Challenge’ could lead to injury, death and jail terms
Thai Police are warning teenagers against copycat versions of a idiotic and dangerous craze known as the ‘Skullbreaker Challenge’ citing victims ending up with spine and head injuries. And even death. The online fad, gaining notoriety on social media, involves tricking someone into jumping into the air before friends on either side kick the player’s legs out causing them to fall heavily…
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Thailand welcomes cruise ship shunned in Vietnam over virus fears
German cruise ship AIDAvita has been welcomed in Thailand, days after it was blocked from docking in Vietnam due to fears of the COVID-19 coronavirus spreading across the region. Authorities in Vietnam’s Quang Ninh province, home to UNESCO world heritage site Ha Long Bay, barred passengers on the AIDAvita from disembarking on Thursday, according to the Vietnam News Agency. Germany’s…
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A week after Korat massacre, questions remain
A week after a rogue soldier went on a shooting spree, killing 29 and injuring 58, no one seems willing to take responsibility for the Army’s lack of security, which allowed the man to raid an armoury, steal weapons of war and kill and maim innocent civilians, Thailand Today reports. The massacre has prompted many, from all walks of life,…
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Disabled Belgian man busted by Chon Buri’s “smart car”
A 57 year old Belgian man, who is disabled and uses a walker for mobility, was arrested earlier this week in Chon Buri province for overstaying his visa. Immigration officers found the man behind the Burapha hospital in the Bang Saen area on Thursday. They were using Chonburi Immigration’s new “smart car,” which allegedly identified the man using facial recognition…
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Thai Army chief promises overhaul of army business involvement and practices
Thailand’s Army commander in chief General Apirat Kongsompong is planning a dramatic make-over to the inner workings of the Thai military’s business operations. The moves are in the wake of last weekend’s mass shooting in Nakhon Ratchasima on February 8 where 29 people were shot and killed by an armed soldier (who was also shot and killed). 58 other were…
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Man claims he was attacked and robbed by “foreigners”
A student in Chiang Mai says he was mugged by “foreigners from Europe.” Twenty-four year old Theerapat Saen-in posted his alleged ordeal on Thai social media earlier this week. According to his post he was taking photographs at a view point on Doi Suthep when he was approached by “farangs.” He says they bashed him on the head with a…
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Heroin smuggler busted in Chiang Rai
A man has been arrested in Chiang Rai’s airport attempting to smuggle heroin. 27 year old Jatuporn Saeuan was searched and detained before boarding a flight to Bangkok when security officers found his behaviour suspicious. Security officers say Jatuporn “kept wandering back and forth in front of the entrance” to Mae Fah Luang Airport, so they asked demanded to inspect…
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“Tourist arrivals to plunge 50% in first half of 2020” – Thai Tourism Minister
Thailand’s Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn has painted a gloomy outlook for Thailand’s previously-robust tourism industry. He says he expects tourist arrivals to plunge by 50% in the first half of 2020 because of the coronavirus outbreak. His predictions are born out by sluggish arrival numbers at the country’s main airports, hotel forward bookings and ‘landing slots’ cancelled by international…
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New coronavirus case confirmed in Thailand, brings total to 34
A new case of the coronavirus (covid-19) has now been confirmed in Thailand which brings the total in the country to 34 since the start of this year. The public health ministry made the announcement yesterday. The new case is a 35 year old Thai female, a medical personnel, who was infected after contact with a patient, Suwanchai Wattanayingcharoenchia, according…
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German man falls to his death from Pattaya condo
A German man is dead after falling from a condominium in Jomtien, Pattaya, yesterday. Police learned of the incident, in Soi Na Jomtien 18, at 6pm and rushed to the scene with rescue workers and local media to find the body of a 78 year old German national . Police told the media the man had health issues. No sign…
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Thousands gather for merit-making ceremony in Korat
Tens of thousands of mostly residents of Nakhon Ratchasima attended a Buddhist merit making ceremony in Korat today to pay tribute to the late King Narai the Great, founder and heroine of the north eastern province, Thao Suranaree, during the early days of the Chakri Dynasty, and to remember the victims of the mass shooting last Saturday. The gunman was…
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Korat shooter video goes viral
A video, purportedly showing the soldier in last weekend’s mass shooting killing an army private before taking guns and ammunition from an armoury, has gone viral today. It comes after a week of editorials and public condemnation of the behaviour of netizens and media who shared gruesome images of the slaughter. The three minute clip, the authenticity of which has…
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‘Leaving Thailand’ – From Phuket with love and heartaches
“In his new memoir “Leaving Thailand,” a former journalist, film tech and Phuket resident looks back on his life and loves in the kingdom that continue to haunt and inspire him.” By Jim Algie I’m wary of memoirs set in Thailand in which a sex-starved Western man descends on the country to get caught up in the carnal circus of…
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Coronavirus UPDATE: WHO fights the ‘infodemic’, recession fears in Europe
A total number of 67,100 cases of Coronavirus (covid-2019) have now been confirmed worldwide, along with 1,526 deaths reported and 8,193 people recovered. The number of reported full recoveries is now over 5 times the rate of reported deaths, and continues to rise each day. The infodemic… On top of the spread of the virus, there has been increasingly dangerous…
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Singapore megachurch suspends services, goes online
Facing a burgeoning crisis in the southeast Asian island-state, Singapore’s biggest megachurch, with a congregation of 16,000, will stop holding services this weekend due to the rising number of coronavirus cases and instead broadcast its lively, gospel-style message online. City Harvest Church is one of the most profitable churches in Asia, but has been embroiled in a corruption scandal in…
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Families of 27 Korat victims to get 1 million baht
Families of 27 of the people killed in last Saturday’s mass shooting in Nakhon Ratchasima will receive a million baht in compensation from the government. Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, who chairs a committee to decide such settlements, said today that no money has been earmarked for two of the fatalities, over which there is a “dispute,” or for the…
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Coronavirus UPDATE: Vietnam village quarantined, worldwide cases reach 64,448
Latest coronavirus stats Infected patients worldwide reaches 64,448 whilst the death toll from the coronavirus has plateaued in the past 24 hours to 1,383. According to the Chinese National Health Commission, the current number of infections of coronavirus (aka. covid-2019) in mainland China is 63,8591, up some 5,000 from the day before. 7,101 patients have now full recovered. There are at…
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MS Westerdam passengers, all cleared, alight in Cambodia
Passengers of the MS Westerdam, the cruise ship that spent two weeks at sea after being turned away by five countries including Thailand, over fears that someone aboard might have the COVID-19 coronavirus, finally disembarked today. The ship, carrying 1,455 passengers and 802 crew, docked in the Cambodian port town of Sihanoukville yesterday. It anchored offshore in the morning to…
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UPDATE: Shooter arrested. Shots fired around Chulalongkorn University this morning
UPDATE Police say that a 40 year old man has now been caught after a series of shots, more than 20 according to eye witnesses this morning. Shots were fired from a sports clothing store in Sio Chula 10, close to Chulalongkhorn University, in Bangkok’s Pratumnam district. No one was injured. (Video of the stand-off below from the Bangkok Post)…
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Slurpees, phonecard top-ups, snacks and now you can do your washing
…well, in one store anyway. Maybe more to come. You can pay your bills there, buy a Slurpee, get a good coffee and, now, do you washing too. A Bangkok 7-Eleven store has rolled out its own laundry service, not that anyone is going to be actually doing your laundry, but they will provide the washing machines. The laundromat at a…
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Chonburi immigration introduces “smart car” to check foreigners’ visa status
Overstayers and ne’er-do-wells beware: Thai media are reporting that Chon Buri immigration sent a brand new BMW “smart car” into action, with state of the art electronics onboard, to verify the status of foreigners in and around Pattaya. By “smart’ it’s basically some Pattaya cops riding around in an expensive car with a laptop. We presume that if the car…
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Thai Embassy in Beijing ordered to care for 3 locals stranded in Wuhan
Thailand’s Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai yesterday ordered the Thai embassy in Beijing to take care of three Thai citizens stranded in Wuhan, the epicentre of the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak. The three didn’t join the 138 Thai evacuees who returned on February 4. One of the three is a woman who overstayed her visa and has yet to pay the fine.…
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German man saved from 2nd-floor jump in Pattaya
A German man was saved after trying to jump from a second floor room in South Pattaya yesterday. Pattaya police were notified of the incident at 12:30pm yesterday. Police, emergency responders and local media rushed the scene. The 60 year old German man, identified as Nolte Uwe, was sitting on the balcony of a room on the second floor of a…
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Terminal 21 Korat, scene of mass shooting, reopens with prayers
Four days after the mass shooting that left dead and more than 50 injured, the public turned out this morning to reopen Terminal 21 shopping centre in Nakhon Ratchasima, the scene of the carnage, in hope of raising spirits. Terminal 21 in Korat reopened its doors today to thousands of people who came to pray and make offerings to more…
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Coronavirus UPDATE – sharp increase in cases, UK officials battle to contain a new threat
There’s been a sharp spike in new cases of coronavirus, principally in the central Chinese province of Hubei. There are now 60,373 world cases, 59,805 in China. 1,369 people have died and over 6,000 recovered. 242 new deaths were recorded yesterday, the deadliest day since the start of the outbreak. So what’s behind the big rise? It’s not actually a spike…
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Phuket’s cruise ship arrivals to be screened for coronavirus
Over 4,000 tourists and ship crews arrive in Phuket today, on two separate cruise liners, one from Hong Kong and one out of Singapore. There has been a sudden surge of interest in arriving cruise ships after the cruise boat still anchored in Yokohama Bay with a cluster The Seabourn Ovation arrived from Hong Kong just after 7am this morning…
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Teen kills friend with homemade gun
A 17 year old boy is dead after he was accidentally shot by a friend with a homemade hand gun in the western province of Kanchanaburi. His teenage friend was showing off the gun to a group of friends early Wednesday morning. Police say the shooting was reported about 4:20am and occurred in a rented room in Kanchanaburi. Police and…
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