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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 9 most common health issues covered by insurance for expats in Thailand
Thailand is a popular destination for expats due to its affordable lifestyle and excellent healthcare system. However, settling in a new country often brings health concerns. To ensure you’re covered for the most common medical needs, understanding what expat health...
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Warning to Thai travellers: Don’t take cannabis to other countries
With the decriminalisation of cannabis on June 9, many in Thailand have gone buckwild with the newfound freedom to grow, sell, and partake of the popular plant. The government is taking steps to rein in the free-for-all and bring some regulations and restrictions to its usage, and now they’re warning people to keep in mind that legalisation in Thailand does…
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Burmese military bombs Karen village, kills 2
Peace remains out of sight for minority groups living under the Burmese military. On Friday night, a Burmese fighter jet bombed a Karen village just a few hundred kilometres away from Myanmar’s border with Thailand. Two villagers were killed, 3 were wounded, and 92 were forced to flee to Thailand. Even though the Burmese military had reportedly meant to drop…
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Tropical storm capsizes ship, 27 missing near Hong Kong
Tropical storm Chaba raged through the waters off Hong Kong, capsizing an engineering vessel with a crew of 30 people, most of which are now missing at sea. The powerful storm cracked the ship in half yesterday as the vessel sailed about 160 nautical miles southwest of Hong Kong in the South China Sea. The Hong Kong Government Flying Service…
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Look out for Phuket’s Spider-Man ice cream seller
Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can. An ice cream seller in Phuket’s main city district is putting smiles on children’s faces by dressing up as a super hero. But the man, 35 year old Witoon, has a backstory that’s not so cheerful. He once made his living singing at restaurants and venues, but Covid-19 restrictions changed all that. Left…
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Proposal for telecom providers to help tidy up Bangkok cables
Bangkok officials proposed at a meeting yesterday that telecom service providers should do their part in tidying up overhead cables around the city. The proposal comes a week after a fatal fire was believed to have been caused by a transformer exploding at a 3 storey shophouse. The fire broke out in a historic market in Bangkok’s Chinatown, killing 2…
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Ups and downs: Man wins lottery then falls to his death down drain
We’ve all had days with ups and downs, but likely not so much as a Nonthaburi man who won the lottery and then encountered a fatal accident. The 56 year old man chose the number 417 and found himself holding a winning lottery ticket. He immediately went out to celebrate with drinks with his friends, but never made it home.…
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Thai and Cambodian officials meet with Burmese junta
Thai and Cambodian officials have been meeting with the Burmese junta in Myanmar’s capital of Naypyitaw this week. A delegation led by Lieutenant General Apichet Suesat of the Royal Thai Army met with Burmese junta leader Min Aung Hlaing. The 2 parties discussed how to help the Burmese military’s peace talks, and establish stability in Myanmar. The Thai delegation met…
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Coalition calls for cannabis regulation, ban for youth
If like many, you doubted the legalisation of cannabis without regulation in Thailand as too good to be true, the backlash that has already begun will be no surprise. PM Prayut Chan-o-Cha has already curbed cannabis patents to prevent foreign market domination and banned its use on military sites, while vendors selling joints were shut down on Khaosan Road after…
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Travel to Surat Thani, it’s where the fun begins | Jay and Natty’s Adventures
The Thaiger‘s Natty and Jay recently went on a long weekend trip to Thailand’s southern province of Surat Thani, and they’re dying to show our viewers their adventures. People typically see Surat Thani as a passing point to somewhere exciting like Koh Samui, Koh Tao, and Koh Phangan. But The Thaiger’s top news presenters want people to know about Surat…
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Thai Public Health Minister Anutin recovers from Covid-19, to return to office
After testing positive for Covid-19 earlier this week, Thai Public Health Minister Anutin has recovered. The minister is now prepared to return to office on Monday, July 4. Anutin tested positive for the virus earlier this week, after he returned to Thailand from a UNAIDS meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. Anutin and other authorities had attended a general assembly in Paris…
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Appeals Court sentences former Deputy Minister Banyin to death
Following a twisted tale of alleged greed and corruption, former Deputy Minister of Commerce Banyin Tangpakorn has been sentenced to death by the Appeals Court. The ruling increased the earlier life imprisonment sentence for the murder of a judge’s brother in an apparent attempt to sway another court ruling in the deputy minister’s favour. The story sounds like it was…
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Price of made-to-order food surge in Thailand
Price inflation continues to rear its head in Thailand and across the globe. The latest item to get more expensive is made-to-order food. The average price per dish of made-to-order food bumped up by about 3.7 baht or 6.7% in May, according to a year-on-year comparison by the food delivery app Line Man Wongnai. The report said that dishes with…
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Pattaya eyes tourism revival with nightlife until 2am again
Pattaya is expecting a tourism revival now that the government has lifted another Covid-19 restriction and nightlife is allowed to open until 2 am. Pattaya mayor Poramet Ngampichet praised the easement, predicting it will open the door to tourists from around the world including the Middle East and the UK, and about 3 to 4 million tourists from India, who…
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Chon Buri woman jumps from balcony, claims boyfriend held her against her will
A woman in Chon Buri jumped from her balcony last night to escape her boyfriend, who she claims held her against her will in an apartment for about a year. Rescue workers took the 28 year old woman to a local hospital for moderate injuries after she jumped from the third storey balcony. But Nong Prue police told The Pattaya News that…
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UPDATE: Resort in eastern Thailand denies media claims
UPDATE A resort in eastern Thailand has released a statement yesterday denying media claims that police accused its foreign directors of wrongdoing. The statement refuted other claims as well, and said police have not issued arrest warrants on any of the resort’s directors. The accusations are in light of a fire that gutted one of the resort’s villas in March.…
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Thai taxi drivers protest against extended GrabBike deadline
Bangkok motorcycle Taxi riders and Taxi drivers today burned their orange safety vests in protest of the Transport Ministry’s decision to extend the licence of GrabBike riders for 2 more months. The company announced last week that every one of their Grab riders must register as a public transport operator and change their registration plates from white to yellow if…
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China and Taiwan offer conflicting views over Hong Kong rule
China President Xi Jingping, and Taiwan Premier Su Tseng-chang offered conflicting views on Hong Kong rule as the mainland celebrated the 25th anniversary of its handover from the United Kingdom. The Taiwan chief claims freedom and democracy have disappeared in Hong Kong as he witnessed scenes of today’s celebration in the city’s business hub from Taipei today. “One only has…
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Songklha welcomes more Malaysian tourists after Thailand pass scrapped
Thailand’s southern province of Songklha has welcomed about 5,000 Malaysian tourists who drove across the border today. Before Thailand Pass was scrapped today, the number of people crossing Sadao checkpoint each day had been averaging 1,000-1,500. Now, the president of Hat Yai Songkhla Hotels Association says hoteliers expect to see 150,000 tourists from Malaysia in July. The president, Sitthiphong Sitthiphatprapha,…
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Police tracking down British nationals after March fire in eastern Thailand
After a fire gutted a resort villa in Thailand’s eastern province of Trat in March, 3 executives are being charged. The charges include causing a fire by negligence, causing damages to people’s property, endangering other persons, and allowing others to use the building for hotel business without obtaining a license from the local officials. The massive fire broke out at…
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UPDATE: 19 year old Australian falls to his death at a Phuket hotel
UPDATE Phuket Police, Lieutenant Colonel Kokiat Boonplod, today confirmed there was no foul play involved in the death of 19 year old Australian Joshua Cornell. The teenager fell to his death from the 6th floor of a hotel rooftop in Phuket’s Patong Beach. The roof of a restaurant kitchen next door broke his fall. CCTV footage captured Cornell walking on…
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Pink and Yellow monorail lines will be in service in 2023
The lives of Bangkok commuters are about to become a lot easier after news broke yesterday that trial runs were being scheduled in October on the Pink and Yellow monorail lines. The 52.6 billion baht Pink Line is about 14% away from being finished while the 49 billion baht Yellow Line’s construction is 93% complete. Commuters will be able to…
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Storm ‘Chaba’ to impact Thailand, meteorologists say
Thailand’s monsoon season is still alive and kicking, with a new storm potentially on the way to bring more winds and gusty rain to parts of the country from today (Friday) until tomorrow (Saturday), particularly in the north-east areas of the country. The Thai Meteorological Department said a tropical storm ‘Chaba’ is currently moving through the upper South China Sea.…
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Thai healthcare staff demand reduction to 100 hour working week
Thailand’s overworked healthcare professionals have petitioned the leader of the opposition party to help them get better working conditions after it was revealed most of them work about 100 hours a week. The Thai Frontline Physician Confederation yesterday handed a letter to the leader of the Move Forward Party, Pita Limjaroenrat, outlining their demands. Chutinart Chinudomporn, a female Thai doctor…
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Sri Lanka’s doctors and nurses demand fuel and medicine
Sri Lanka’s medical staff is suffering from a shortage of fuel and medicine. Doctors and nurses say they are struggling to find enough fuel to get to work, even though they are designated, essential workers. On top of this, the island nation is suffering power cuts and shortages of food and medicines. On Wednesday, over 100 medical staff from the…
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Goodbye, adios, good riddance Thailand Pass – OPINION
From today, July 1, there is no more Thailand Pass. The digital online pre-travel registration for people coming into Thailand has had a checkered history and left a bad taste in the north of many foreigners, and Thais, who have had a poor experience with the digital gateway. After the launch of the Phuket Sandbox on July 1, 2021 –…
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Bangkok abbot says he didn’t embezzle 95 million baht
The chief monk at Wat Sutthi Wararam Buddhist temple in Bangkok yesterday insisted he is innocent of any embezzlement charges after a renewed complaint was made against him. The temple’s former accountant, Channarong Phiandi, has made a fresh complaint against the abbot, Phra Sutheerattanabundit, maintaining he embezzled 95 million baht and disposed of a partially cremated corpse into the Chao…
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Royal Thai Air Force sends F-16 fighter jets to check air incursion by Burmese military planes
The Royal Thai Air Force sent 2 F-16 fighter jets to inspect Thai airspace after a MiG 29 fighter jet from Myanmar was detected flying over the Prop Phra district in Tak, the northern province of Thailand. Yesterday, the Royal Thai Airforce reported that an unidentified aircraft was spotted in Thai territorial air space at 11.16am. The plane was later…
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3 Thais caught stealing a taxi in Cambodia
Three Thai nationals, 2 men and a woman, were caught by Cambodian police and have been charged with stealing a taxi while the driver went to use the bathroom. The suspects were detained in the province of Takeo and are being questioned by police officers. According to the taxi driver, Preung Vuth, he was taking the 3 Thais from Kandal…
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China key to Thailand’s tourism industry recovery
The Tourism Council of Thailand yesterday confessed that building up tourism to pre-Covid-19 levels is going to be a challenge to the kingdom despite encouraging signs of recovery this year. And without Chinese tourists, the task remains even harder. The last of Thailand’s Covid-related restrictions were lifted today. Tourists no longer need a Thailand Pass or insurance, and you don’t…
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The ultimate holiday destination at Four Points by Sheraton Phuket Patong Beach Resort
Press Release Four Points by Sheraton Phuket Patong Beach Resort invites all travellers to Phuket. Whether travellers are visiting for work or fun, the hotel is sure to cater to the needs of today’s everyday traveller with its approachable design, stylish comfort and all of the brand’s popular extras. Nestled in a crescent-shaped bay of white sand, overlooking the azure…
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