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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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China punishes Taiwan farmers for Pelosi visit
Taiwan is still feeling the fallout from the visit of US politician Nancy Pelosi in August. China’s response to Taiwan accepting the US House of Representatives Speaker was to punish the country with a series of economic measures such as blocking the imports of more than 2,000 different Taiwanese foodstuffs, including pomelos. Understandably, Taiwan’s farmers are suffering from the ban.…
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US points fingers at Russia and China over North Korea’s latest actions
The United States is pointing fingers at Russia and China over North Korea’s recent ballistic missile launches as it says the two countries are enabling the latter. Of the accusations, the US says the countries are protecting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un by shielding him from more UN Security Council sanctions. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US Ambassador to the UN, says…
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100 elephants could be evacuated from camp in central Thailand due to floods
Thailand’s beloved national animal is another victim of the country’s floods. In the central province of Ayutthaya, officials are preparing to possibly evacuate about 100 elephants from a camp after a river overflowed. The Lopburi River had risen 30 centimetres as of yesterday morning, Nation Thailand reported. The flooding from the overflow impacted houses in Ayutthaya’s main city district, as…
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Fans stage simulation of Tangmo’s death in protest of law activist’s defamation case
Crime investigation activist Atchariya Ruangrattanapong travelled to Mueang Nonthaburi Police Station this morning to acknowledge accusations of defamation filed against him. He and two others are accused of making a blasphemous statement about the autopsy results of famous actress Tangmo, who died in suspicious circumstances in the Chao Phraya River in February. The 54 year old activist’s fans staged a…
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4 Chinese fishermen lost at sea rescued near Phuket
A Royal Thai Navy (RTN) Area 3 team rescued four Chinese fishermen lost at sea near Racha Noi Island in Phuket. The owner of the fishing boat sought help from the RTN after the four Chinese fishermen, who rented his fishing boat named SAO, went to sea at 5am yesterday but didn’t come back. The worried boat owner told the…
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Two lost children found on Pattaya’s Walking Street
Two lost children were found on Pattaya’s famous Walking Street yesterday. A Good Samaritan alerted Pattaya Tourist Police when he saw a three year old boy and five month old girl near a pumping station in front of the street. The children were alone with two bags of clothes. The police tried to find the children’s parents, but were unsuccessful,…
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Cheeky Taoist procession spices up Phuket’s veggie fest
Traditionally coinciding with Phuket’s vegetarian festival, mild-mannered vegans on the island have been treated to the decidedly fleshy delights of a nine-day Taoist festival. Central to the event, or at least central to Instagram postings devoted to the event, are the many outlandish facial piercings on display. Taoist devotees adorn their mouths and faces with metal spikes, swords, skewers and…
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Avalanche strikes mountaineering team in Indian Himalayas, 4 killed
An avalanche struck a mountaineering team in the Indian Himalayas yesterday morning, killing four people. Meanwhile, another 28 people are still missing. The Nehru Institute of Mountaineering said the team had been training on a mountain in the northern state of Uttarakhand. The institute’s statement said the team was returning from a 5,670 metre peak when the avalanche hit. The team…
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Ordination ceremony concert goes on despite flood
“The show must go on,” as the old adage goes, and this was certainly the case at a recent ordination ceremony under threat of flooding in Pathum Thani province near Bangkok. The owner of a lighting and sound company, Moo, was hired to set up a concert stage for an ordination ceremony at Samakiyaram Temple in the central province of…
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Flooding may impact Thailand’s tourism recovery
Hopes for Thailand’s tourism industry to recover are being challenged by the worst flooding the kingdom has seen in years. With large areas of croplands being suffocated by seasonal storms and rising rivers, food prices are at risk of increasing while tourism recovery is undoubtedly being slowed. According to Bangkok Post, popular tourist destinations are now being flooded by heavy…
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Young woman killed in hit-and-run in Chon Buri
A young woman was killed in a hit-and-run in Chon Buri’s Sri Racha district on Monday night. A six-wheel truck crashed into a motorbike, crushing 32 year old Saithan Hongthong to death. The incident happened on Map Iang-Laem Chabang Road. An anonymous witness said he saw the truck crash into Saithan before speeding away. The witness did not see the…
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Myanmar youth artists hold art challenge to raise awareness of country’s plight
Myanmar’s youth artists are hosting an art challenge to raise awareness of their country’s continued struggle for democracy. According to Irrawaddy, the challenge is named #Revtober, an off-shoot of the worldwide art challenge of Inktober. The challenge will see daily drawings and paintings that follow a prompt list for the 31 days of October. The artwork will be shared on…
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US, South Korea respond to North Korea’s missile over Japan with bombing drills
In response to North Korea firing an Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile over Japan, the US and South Korea carried out precision bombing drills. South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said the drills aimed to demonstrate the allies’ “capabilities to conduct a precision strike at the origin of provocations.” “With the participation of four South Korean Air Force F-15Ks and four…
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Angelina Jolie claims Brad Pitt abused her and their children
Angelina Jolie has accused her ex-husband Brad Pitt of physically and emotionally abusing her and their six children, several news outlets reported today. Jolie’s court papers allege that Pitt began to shout at her while their family was on a private plane in 2016. They say Pitt told her she was “too deferential” to their children. The papers say Pitt…
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Phuket taxis drivers promise to quit fighting rivals
Representatives of taxi drivers in Phuket met with provincial officials to acknowledge proposals to avoid fights recently reported in the media. Following a recent fight between a traditional taxi driver and an app-based driver in the Kamala district last weekend, Phuket authorities decided to host a meeting to urge local taxi drivers to focus on the reputation of the province.…
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Miss Ukraine slams Miss Grand International promoter
Ukrainian Beauty queen Olga Vasyliv slammed Miss Grand International 2022 promoters as politically insensitive after they assigned a hotel room for her to share with her Russian counterpart Ekaterina Astashenkova. The Thai-based beauty pageant, Miss Grand International, is promoted by famous Thai media celebrity Nawat Itsaragrisil. The pageant was founded in Thailand in 2013 amid a political crisis in the…
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Thai chicken vendor fakes being a lawyer and wins in court
A Thai man who sells chicken for a living in Kamphaeng Phet province, central Thailand, has been arrested for pretending to be a lawyer for several years. He allegedly faked his license to practise law, fought several court cases, and even won a few. The chicken vendor, Pornthep Kachenpak, got away with it for years by “outsourcing.” His method was…
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VIDEO: PM Prayut gives army veteran a haircut in northeast Thailand
Prime Minister of Thailand Prayut Chan-o-cha showed off his barbering skills yesterday at the Second Army Area in Ubon Ratchathani province. PM Prayut stopped to give an army veteran a trim during his inspection of the flood situation in northeast Thailand. The 66 year old army veteran joked that he was not as handsome as PM Prayut, who complimented the…
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ASEAN summit in November excludes Burmese junta again
Another ASEAN summit is nearing and the Burmese military junta leader has once again found himself off the guest list. For the second year in a row since the bloody military coup in February of last year, Min Aung Hlaing was not invited to the summit of Southeast Asian nations. Citing a lack of any visible progress in the multi-step…
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Hundreds of water pumps installed for floods in Bangkok and nearby provinces
Thailand’s Royal Irrigation Department is working to fight the floods currently wreaking havoc on Bangkok and its vicinity. Yesterday, the Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister announced that the department installed more than 220 large water pumps to drain water from the capital and its surrounding provinces, Nation Thailand reported. The minister, Chalermchai Sreeon, said the pumps were draining 45 million cubic…
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Thai actress believes she was drugged on BTS train
Thai actress Chatchaya “Sara” Charoenchan filed a complaint with the police last week after she fainted on the Bangkok BTS train. Sara believes she was possibly spiked with a drug somehow. The 23 year old actress informed the media that the incident happened on the morning of Thursday, September 30 while she was on her way to take an exam…
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French President Macron accepts invitation to APEC meeting in Thailand
President of France Emmanuel Macron sent a letter to Prime Minister of Thailand Prayut Chan-o-cha on Monday confirming his attendance at the upcoming Asia Pacific Cooperation (APEC) summit in Bangkok next month from November 18-19. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Thanee Saengrat confirmed Macron’s attendance this morning. In the letter, Macron said he was looking forward to…
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Police patrol Pattaya Beach looking for guns, booze, prostitutes
Police in Pattaya is continuing their commitment to crack down on law-breaking along the beach. They were out on patrol Monday night and added prostitution to the list of illegal activities that they were on the lookout to prevent. The police plan to operate regular patrols and be much more strict on things like drinking on the beach and carrying…
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Phuket Vegetarian Festival wraps up
The Phuket Vegetarian Festival officially wrapped up its last day yesterday. The last day began with street processions in the main city district. The processions started in the morning at the Lor Rong Shrine and headed toward Saphan Hin Public Park. Later in the afternoon, there was a fire-waking ritual from Kathu Shrine. In the evening, there was another fire-walking ritual…
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Kanye West’s ‘White Lives Matter’ shirt at Paris Fashion Week
Controversial attention-seeking right-wing rapper Kanye West has once again made waves. Kanye hosted a surprise fashion show during Paris Fashion Week where he wore a t-shirt reading “White Lives Matter.” The American rapper made headlines recently after all ties were cut between his Yeezy sneaker line and GAP and Adidas. The unannounced fashion show took place at a secret venue…
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Tangmo defendant repays vow with 5-metre Ultraman figure
A defendant from the Tangmo case, Tanupat “Por’’ Lerttaweewit, repaid a vow he made at a famous temple in the southern part of Thailand by offering a 5-metre Ultraman figure. Thai netizens believe he made a wish related to the Tangmo case after Tangmo’s mother agreed to accept compensation and dropped murder charges. The Kom Chad Luek platform reported that…
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Bangkok asks companies to let employees work from home until October 7
As the Thai capital prepares for another torrential downpour, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) requested that companies allow employees to work from home where possible from October 5 – 7. “City-dwellers prepare for another period of heavy rain. Be wary of certain areas which are prone to flooding. Heavy rain is expected from now until October 7. We ask for…
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Father & 2 year old son shot in Chiang Mai
A father and his two year old son were shot while riding a motorcycle in Chiang Mai in the early hours of this morning. The man died at the scene while his son is in critical condition. Officers from Chai Prakarn Police Station were notified of the incident on Mae Khi Road in the Si Dong Yen sub-district, Chai Prakan…
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Six-legged golden frog brings good fortune in northern Thailand
A six-legged golden frog hopped into a northern Thai man’s life in Phayao province just over a year ago and has brought him good fortune ever since, he told the media today. The special frog jumped into 50 year old Somboon Tuakrua’s house in the Mueang district around a year ago. Somboon said the amphibian was calm and docile, so…
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British Embassy Bangkok to hold a conference on tourism safety and security
This is a one-day conference bringing together the Phuket tourism industry, Thai government departments and the international community to discuss matters relating to tourism safety and security in Phuket. The following topics will be discussed: Security Awareness and Crime Prevention Protective Security Incident Response Panel Discussion: Emerging Consular Trends Post Covid-19 Tourism Industry Cyber Risks Engaging Embassies and Consulates Event…
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