News
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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1.3 million meth pills worth 39 million baht found by Mekong
A village security team patrolling the banks of the Mekong River in Nong Khai province discovered three large packages containing around 1.3 million methamphetamine pills worth over 39 million baht on March 20. Police believe the drugs were part of a trafficking network’s attempt to move narcotics deeper into the country. The find was announced at a press conference at…
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Department of Disease Control targets online nicotine pouch sellers
Thailand’s Department of Disease Control (DDC) has lodged a complaint over the alleged online sale of nicotine pouches, after monitoring found the products were being advertised and sold digitally, with further checks pointing to a physical shop in Pathum Thani. Speaking yesterday, March 21, deputy director-general of the DDC Anek Moong-om-klang said that on March 17, he assigned investigators at…
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Teen severely beaten in Saraburi over 90 baht debt
A 15 year old girl in Saraburi suffered a fractured skull after being beaten by a group of four teenagers, reportedly over an unpaid debt of 90 baht for a shirt. The victim, known by the pseudonym Mook, was found with bruising across her face and body. She is currently receiving treatment at Saraburi Hospital. Her 58 year old grandmother,…
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Longtail boat overturns off Krabi coast, two tourists taken to hospital
A longtail boat capsized at sea on the route between Ko Poda and Ao Nam Mao Pier in Krabi yesterday afternoon, March 21, prompting Hat Noppharat Thara–Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park officials to dispatch staff to assist tourists. The national park said it was notified at about 3.29pm that a boat had overturned while travelling from Ko Poda towards…
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Senate committee to vote on revoking Thailand-Cambodia land pact
A special Senate committee is set to vote on Monday, March 24 on whether to recommend cancelling the Thailand-Cambodia Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) 43, which covers land boundary demarcation. This follows the committee’s earlier vote to recommend scrapping MoU 44, which pertains to maritime and offshore areas. Noppadol Inna, chairman of the Senate committee evaluating the pros and cons of…
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Thai election commission defends ballot design amid court scrutiny
Thailand’s Election Commission (EC) has defended its use of barcodes and QR codes on election ballots, insisting that voting remains free, fair, and confidential amid growing scrutiny over the practice. The Constitutional Court is currently reviewing a petition questioning whether these tracking features violate constitutional principles. EC Secretary-General Sawaeng Boonmee said the commission is awaiting a court summons to provide…
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Chinese national arrested in Bangkok for police impersonation scam
A Chinese national has been arrested at a Bangkok hotel on suspicion of impersonating a police officer to extort millions of baht from Thai victims, following the earlier arrest of an accomplice. Police from Chachoengsao province, acting on a court warrant, detained the suspect in his room at a hotel in the Huai Khwang district yesterday. Officers seized 5,484,200 baht…
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Thai influencer sentenced for online gambling promotion
A 24 year old social media influencer has been sentenced to six months in prison for promoting an illegal online gambling website to her nearly one million followers. Narumon “Mind” was found to have used her Facebook account, verified by Meta and boasting over 740,000 followers, to advertise a gambling site through her story posts in exchange for significant payments.…
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Severe weather warning issued for 40 Thai provinces
Thailand’s Meteorological Department has warned of severe weather tomorrow, with thunderstorms, hail, and strong winds forecast across 40 provinces, with the northeast among the worst-affected regions. Over the next 24 hours, the upper part of Thailand will experience hot daytime weather. Rainfall is set to increase in the northeast and east, with thunderstorms, strong winds, and occasional hail forecast for…
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Finland tops World Happiness Report in 2026, Thailand slips 3 places
Finland has been ranked the world’s happiest country for a ninth consecutive year in the World Happiness Report 2026, while Thailand fell three places from 49th last year to 52nd this year. The report, published by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford on March 19, said the top three countries were Finland, Iceland and Denmark. Costa Rica…
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Thai man rapes and blackmails ex-girlfriend over unpaid debt
A Thai man surrendered to Bangkok police after he raped his ex-girlfriend in a public bathroom and later blackmailed her with the explicit videos to pressure her over an unpaid debt of about 700,000 baht. The suspect, 28 year old Jirapas Kangwankrai, turned himself in at Tha Kham Police Station on Wednesday, March 18, after public attention intensified over a…
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Mum on the run in Asia TikToker jailed after return to UK from Thailand
A British TikToker known online as “Mum on the run in Asia” was sentenced to 26 months in prison for drug offences after returning to the UK from Thailand. The TikTok user, Ellis Matthews, left the UK in 2021 and travelled to Thailand while pregnant. She later attracted attention online for a controversial video posted last year on her TikTok…
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FUSO Thailand reshapes organisational structure with new CEO and CFO appointments, accelerating full-force commercial vehicle strategy
FUSO Commercial Vehicles (Thailand) Ltd. (FCVT) has announced a significant corporate restructuring, adjusting its reporting line directly to the Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC) in Japan. The company has appointed two Thai senior executives: Jakkrapong Santirat as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Thitipol Wongthanakul as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), to drive the FUSO brand strategy in Thailand’s commercial vehicle…
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Foreign woman attacked by transwomen on Phuket’s Bangla Road
A group of Thai transwomen physically assaulted a foreign woman on Bangla Road in Patong, Phuket, after the foreigner allegedly caused a disturbance and provoked conflicts. The video of the incident did not specify the date or time, but showed a foreign woman, believed to be Russian, confronting several Thai transwomen on the street. The foreigner, wearing an elephant-pattern skirt, is…
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SRT Red Line Salaya–Nakhon Pathom extension mapped for 2033 opening
Thailand’s State Railway of Thailand (SRT) is advancing plans for the Red Line Salaya–Nakhon Pathom extension, a proposed 25.3-kilometre route with a target opening year of 2033. SRT is also moving ahead with two Red Line extensions scheduled to begin construction in 2026, with contract signings planned for March and June 2026. The projects include the northern extension from Rangsit…
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Naked foreigner held for public disturbance and property damage in Pattaya
Police arrested a naked foreigner in Pattaya after causing a roadside disturbance and damaging a decorative statue outside a resident’s home. Officers from Mueang Pattaya Police Station were called to Thap Phaya Road near Soi Phra Tamnak 5 after reports of a naked foreign man walking along the street and appearing heavily intoxicated. His identity and nationality were not disclosed. Police said the…
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Thailand News | Parliament elects Anutin as Thailand’s Prime Minister, rare 25-Satang Coin from 1999 valued at 5,000 Baht
Today we’ll be talking about Thailand’s parliament electing a new prime minister, a viral moment of a man riding a horse in Ang Thong, and Bangkok’s safety plans for Khao San Road ahead of Songkran 2026.We’ll also cover an online debate over whether Thailand is overrated, a tourist brawl in Patong, and a rare 25-satang coin now valued at thousands…
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Foreigner breaks left leg in off-road bike accident in Pattaya
Thai rescue workers spent more than four hours helping a foreign man who broke his leg after crashing his off-road bike in a remote area in Pattaya yesterday, March 19. The incident happened near the Huai Khun Jit Reservoir in the Khao Mai Kaew area of Bang Lamung district, Pattaya. Rescuers from the Sawang Borriboon Dhammasatan Foundation walked more than…
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Netherlands Embassy Bangkok relocation set for August
The Embassy of the Netherlands in Thailand announced it will relocate its Bangkok office to Dusit Central Park in August, ending its long-standing presence on Wireless Road, one of the city’s prime areas. The embassy is currently based on a 32,000-square-metre plot in Soi Tonson off Wireless Road (Witthayu Road), an area known for its greenery and concentration of major…
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HKTDC launches GreenBiz HK campaign in Bangkok
The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) organised the GreenBiz HK campaign in Bangkok, comprising a GreenBiz HK Forum with dedicated thematic sessions, networking events and business matching meetings, alongside a Hong Kong Green Team delegation. The campaign aims to foster collaboration between Hong Kong and Thailand in the green economy. One of the highlights, the GreenBiz HK Forum, was…
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Ang Thong man rides horse through village in search of petrol
A horse farm owner in Ang Thong today, March 19, resorted to riding his horse through his village with a fuel can to search for petrol, after vehicles used to feed and transport horses ran out of fuel. The incident took place at Cowboy Farm in Ban Phran subdistrict, Sawaeng Ha district, where the farm’s owner, San Kongwet, said he…
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Thai woman reports missing accessories after Bangkok to Shanghai flight
A Thai woman shared her experience online to warn other travellers after she said designer accessories went missing from her suitcase during a flight from Bangkok to China. The woman posted in the Facebook group เที่ยวเองเซี่ยงไฮ้ Shanghai (travel to Shanghai on your own) on Monday, March 16. She said the incident happened on a trip from Suvarnabhumi International Airport to…
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Bangkok prepares safety plan for Khaosan Road Songkran 2026
Bangkok officials have agreed on a joint plan to manage safety and traffic for Songkran celebrations on Khaosan Road this year, with multiple agencies coordinating measures ahead of the 2026 festival, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration said. Speaking at Bangkok City Hall today, March 19, Bangkok Deputy Permanent Secretary Thanit Tanbuaklee said Phra Nakhon District Office had coordinated with multiple agencies…
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Labour Ministry confirms Thai worker killed in attack in Israel
A Thai national working in Israel was killed yesterday, March 18, amid escalating conflict in the region, prompting Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to urge Thai citizens to move away from high-risk areas for safety. Labour Minister Trinuch Thienthong said today, March 19, that officials at the Royal Thai Embassy in Tel Aviv confirmed the death of the Thai worker, Chaiwat…
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Rare 25-satang coin from 1999 valued at up to 5,000 baht
A Thai jewellery shop has offered to pay up to 5,000 baht for a rare 25-satang coin, provided it was minted in 1999 (B.E. 2542), prompting many to search old containers in hopes of finding the rare coin. Panan Jewellery, a famous coin-buying shop, posted a video on its Facebook page saying it is buying 25-satang coins from that year…
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Loei Hospital theft uncovered after ventilator stands found in river, a year later
Parts of medical equipment found in the Loei River led police to uncover a theft of ventilators from Loei Hospital. A medical worker is named as the suspect and remains at large. Residents reported to officers at Mueang Loei Police Station on March 17 after discovering parts of medical equipment in the river under a bridge in Kud Pong sub-district. Later,…
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UAE property market slows sharply as deals fall 51% month on month
Property transactions in the UAE have slowed sharply since the latest conflict in the Middle East began, according to investment bank Goldman Sachs, which said rising regional uncertainty is starting to weigh directly on homebuyer demand. The war is now entering its third week and has increased volatility across financial and energy assets in the region. Goldman Sachs analysts, led…
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Parliament elects Anutin as Thailand’s 32nd Prime Minister
Bhumjaithai Party leader Anutin Charnvirakul was elected Thailand’s 32nd Prime Minister (PM) during a Parliamentary vote held today, March 19. Anutin previously served as PM after former PM Partongtar Shinawatra was removed from office over a leaked phone conversation with Hun Sen. He later announced the dissolution of Parliament on December 11 last year, leading to the General Election on…
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Influencer’s stolen safe found damaged, two suspects arrested
Police in Nakhon Ratchasima today, March 19, arrested two suspects over the theft of a safe belonging to an influencer after it disappeared from a luxury condominium in Korat and was later found damaged. Investigators detained two men in the city before taking them to a disposal site in the Jo Ho area, where the safe was found damaged after…
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2 men leave 2 transwomen at Pattaya hotel without paying
Two men escaped from a hotel in Pattaya, leaving behind two Thai transwomen at the accommodation without paying on March 17. The 52 year old woman, Wan, who runs a hotel in the Jomtien area, shared CCTV footage of the suspects with The Pattaya News. She said one man was Thai, while the second was believed to be Chinese. Wan…
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