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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 Long-term life in Thailand? 5 reasons private health insurance pays off in the long run
Thailand is a great place for expats and retirees, offering a warm climate, affordable living, and rich culture. However, healthcare can be tricky for foreigners since they aren’t eligible for public health coverage, and private care can be expensive. Private...
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Tour bus incentive by TAT hoped to spur domestic tourism
In their latest effort at pumping up domestic tourism numbers, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is teaming up with bus operators to send out convoys of coaches around the country. The TAT hopes commissioning over 500 tour buses will not only put to work bus drivers and other associated workers but also spur interest for Thai people to hop…
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World record petrified tree to become geological tourist attraction
After being certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest petrified tree trunk log ever found anywhere in the world, officials in the province of Tak are developing plans to turn the tree site into a geological-based world-class tourist attraction. The world record was verified in July in Tak, a northern province of Thailand lying on the…
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Owner arrested in reminiscent fire in Vietnam karaoke bar
The owner of a karaoke bar in Vietnam has been arrested after a fire broke out which resulted in the death of 32 people. The tragedy took place north of Ho Chi Minh City on September 7, just one month after a reminiscent fire at the Mountain B Pub that claimed the lives of 23 people in Thailand and brought…
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Heroic teen risks life to save boy electrocuted in NE Thailand flood
A teenager in northeast Thailand risked his life to save a young boy who was electrocuted while wading through a flood. The 12 year old boy had been near a power pole near a school in Udon Thani province on Friday. The teenager, 19 year old student Atthachai Argudom, went in to rescue the boy and ended up suffering electric…
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Anutin on cannabis: Going backwards is not an option
After a cannabis bill aimed at moving the decriminalisation away from recreational use and defining it for medicinal purposes only was shot down this week in the House of Representatives, Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul insists that criminalising the drug again is out of the question. Anutin is the leader of the Bhumjaithai Party who had originally pushed for…
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Shrines preparing for Phuket’s upcoming vegetarian festival
Phuket‘s annual vegetarian festival is right around the corner, coming up on September 26 to October 4. Now, city workers and volunteers are helping Chinese shrines prepare for the festival. Yesterday, teams helped scrub the forecourts of the main shrines participating in the celebration, including the Pud Jor and Jui Tui shrines in the main city district. Phuket’s Vice Governor…
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Bangkok, Pattaya, and Phuket to open new theme parks
So many businesses in the entertainment sector were flattened by the Covid-19 global pandemic. But with tourism beginning to pick up, and sunny predictions for the fourth quarter after a rained-out third quarter of 2022, theme parks and water parks are pumping money into a flood of new attractions in Thailand in the coming months. Current theme parks have been…
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Hundreds of Phuket public school students receive scholarships
Students at a public school in Phuket are being given more educational opportunities. With funding through various charities and foundations, 418 scholarships were given to students at Satree Phuket School yesterday. The total amount of scholarship money provided added up to almost 1.5 million baht. The president of the foundation organising the scholarships spoke at a ceremony in the school’s…
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Thai immigration authorities arrested over alleged bribes in illegal fishing case
A group of Thai immigration authorities has been arrested in an alleged bribery case involving illegal fishing that happened last year. The 11 individuals include six immigration police, and five other immigration officials working at marine border and disease control checkpoints. The Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn, announced their arrests yesterday. The group has…
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Campaigns for the next election can officially begin Sep 24
Election season is upon us! On September 24, the current term for the House of Representatives will have exactly 180 days left which means the campaigning can officially begin for the next general election. The Election Commission made the announcement yesterday, opening the door for political parties and hopeful candidates to begin their push to be elected. The rules are…
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Greek man collapses and dies in Pattaya hotel
A Greek man collapsed and died on Thursday night in a Pattaya hotel in Chon Buri’s Bang Lamung district. Hotel security said the man, 54 year old Konstantinos, had appeared to be drunk when he came to sit down on a couch in the lobby. They said he had tried to get back up, but he then collapsed to the floor…
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American man falls 9 floors to his death outside Bangkok
An American man met his demise in the greater Bangkok suburb of Nontha Buri after plummeting out of the ninth-floor window of a rental building. For some reason, falling deaths, especially those of foreigners, have been an increasingly common occurrence in Thailand. In this most recent incident, a man that Pak Kret police identified as Mr Campi was reported to…
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Michelin star croissants in Thailand | Thaiger Podcast Ep.7
Michelin star chef, the youngest chef who worked at the Mandarin Oriental hotel, Le Normandie restaurant, successful entrepreneur, long-term expat, and the owner of the first French bakery in Thailand. Let’s hear the answers from Eric D J Cornielle, our guest for this episode!
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“Sawadee Special” train from KL to Hat Yai for Malaysia Day
A new bridge and several new train routes have been scheduled to accommodate Malaysian tourists entering Thailand. In July, travellers from Malaysia trumped India to become the kingdom’s No.1 visitors according to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. The new routes and bridge will make travel much easier for Malaysians, and now the “Sawadee Special” train directly from Kuala Lumpur…
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Kyrgyzstani woman found dead in Pattaya reported trouble with Chinese gangster
A Kyrgyzstani woman who plunged to her death in Pattaya yesterday had previously reported problems with a Chinese gangster. The 30 year old woman died after falling from a hotel balcony. This was after she had recently filed a report to Pattaya police saying she was defrauded by a Chinese gangster to be a prostitute. An American man had owned…
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Nok Air suspends new domestic route in Thailand after just six weeks
Nok Air has temporarily suspended all Chiang Mai – Korat flights just six weeks after the route’s inaugural flight on August 2. The suspended route was the only commercial flight going in and out of Isaan’s Nakhon Ratchasima Airport, which is now a ghost town and at risk of closing again. The service had high potential, linking the capital of…
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After viral fight, Chon Buri police insist Bang Saen is not a ‘savage city’
After a vicious fight between a group of young male college students went viral on social media, Chon Buri police insisted that Bang Saen is not a “savage city.” A Facebook video showed a large group of grown men brutally beating a group of college students in the early hours of Wednesday morning. It shows two of the students being…
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Tomb raiders dig up mass grave in search of winning lottery numbers in Thailand
At 4am today, a gang of money-hungry lottery fanatics dug up a mass grave, for people with no relatives, at a cemetery in Mueang district in Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand. The group were searching for the winning numbers of today’s national lottery draw, as evidenced by the incense and equipment used in lottery rituals found strewn around the scene.…
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Learn how to make weed tea at Bangkok workshop
Bangkok’s cannabis lovers will get a chance to learn how to make weed tea at an upcoming workshop titled “The New High Tea.” The workshop will be held at the ASAI Bangkok Chinatown hotel on Saturday, September 24, from 5-6.30pm. It will be held in both English and Thai. The event’s page on Ticket Melon says participants will… “Learn about…
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“Furious” stray dogs anesthetised after chasing Phuket tourists
Three furious stray dogs were anesthetised this week after they chased tourists and residents in Phuket, according to the Phuket City Municipality. The municipality said the dogs had been chasing people near the Toh Sae Hill Public Park in the main city district. The municipality noted that the dogs were not harmed when they were caught. The municipality alerted the…
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Thai woman ‘clicks one link’ and loses 40 years of savings in terrifying tax scam
A 63 year old woman from Trang province in southern Thailand says she “clicked one link” on Tuesday morning and lost her life savings of 1.5 million baht in the blink of an eye. Nis went from having millions in her bank account – which she saved up by selling pork at a market for 40 years – to just…
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Thailand’s baht weakens against US dollar
Thailand’s baht has weakened against the US dollar this year. On Wednesday, the conversion rate was 36.73 baht per dollar, having been weakened by 8.8% this year. The baht hit its lowest point in 15 years in July, when the rate was 36.945 baht per dollar. The US dollar has gotten stronger due to a drop in many countries’ foreign…
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DDC reveals Thailand recorded its eighth monkeypox case
Thailand recorded yet another monkeypox case today the Department of Disease Control Department (DDC) revealed. It takes the kingdom’s total cases up to eight. DDC Director General Dr Opas Karnkawinpong reported the latest case is a 23 year old Thai man who returned to Thailand from Qatar this week. Dr Opas revealed the Thai man had developed the usual monkeypox…
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Siam Paragon Bangkok International Fashion Week 2022 (BIFW2022) to be held at Siam Paragon, Siam Center and Siam Discovery
Press Release Siam Paragon, a ‘World Class Fashion Destination,’ is the initiator of Siam Paragon Bangkok International Fashion Week, which has long been a key driving force of the Thai fashion industry. This year, the world-class fashion showcase Siam Paragon Bangkok International Fashion Week 2022 (BIFW2022) will feature a grand presentation from over 15 top-notch Thai fashion houses and new…
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Queen Elizabeth II’s interpreter during royal visit to Thailand turns 101 years old
Yesterday, a glamorous 101 year old lady in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, reflected on her experience of interpreting for Queen Elizabeth II during Her Majesty’s visit to Thailand 50 years ago. Srithong Ariwong is pictured in a red outfit alongside Queen Elizabeth and Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip in the northern province of Chiang Mai on February 14, 1972. Queen…
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Police ask public to help find person who left dead baby at Phuket temple
UPDATE Police in Phuket’s Kathu district is asking the public to help track down the person who left a dead baby girl at a temple in the district. Monks found the poor newborn baby girl’s body in a plastic bag under a bodhi tree at Wat Anuphat Kritsadaram in Thung Thong on September 9. The body was already decomposing. Yesterday,…
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4 suspects involved in schoolboy shooting, motive is unclear
UPDATE: 4 suspects involved in a school shooting, the motive is unclear The police investigation into the shooting of a teenage boy at Wat Lad Pla Dook School uncovered four suspects involved in the incident. Last night, the Superintendent of the Bang Bua Thong Police Station, Pruet Jamroonsart, underlined that the computers at the school were safe to use and…
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US man arrested for trafficking fentanyl into Thailand
A man from the United States has been arrested for trafficking fentanyl – an opioid deadlier than heroin – and other illicit drugs into Thailand. Police also arrested a Thai woman in connection with the case. It is the first time Thailand has made arrests for fentanyl trafficking, according to the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB). In a…
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Electric vehicles may need long-term solar power plan
As popularity rises with electric vehicles (EVs), future charging options may include solar power. Long-term planning is being pushed by Delta Electronics (Thailand) Plc., as a result of the need to ensure adequate power supplies. One idea is that of using microgrids at charging stations. The electronics manufacturer is suggesting that each charging facility should act as a microgrid that…
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Putin & Xi strengthen ties amid Western antagonism
China President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin met at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Uzbekistan yesterday where both parties agreed to support and promote their own interests and maintain social, political, and economic stability amid Western antagonism. It was the first time Xi and Putin had seen each other since the Russian leader attended the opening ceremony…
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