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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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Johnny Depp awarded over US$10 million in defamation case victory against ex-wife
Hollywood actor Johnny Depp has won a near-total victory in a defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard. After a trial that lasted 6 weeks, with detailed testimony of the toxic nature of the marriage, the 7-person jury ruled in Depp’s favour for the most part, although it ruled in Heard’s favour on one counter-claim. According to a Reuters report, Depp…
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Thai health ministry says downgrading Covid-19 will take some time
Thailand’s health ministry says the government needs more time before downgrading Covid-19 to a communicable disease requiring close surveillance. In February 2020, the virus was classified as a dangerous communicable disease, in order to enable the Thai authorities to react swiftly to contain the spread. Now, with the situation beginning to ease nationally and globally, officials are working towards downgrading…
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More and more Americans are liking Thailand’s edible insects
More and more Americans are taking a liking to Thailand’s edible insects, according to Thailand Department of International Trade Promotion. The department’s director-general, Phusit Ratanakul Sereroengrit, told TNA that the department found from its survey on Thai export opportunities that insect consumption was growing steadily and significantly in the US. Phusit has suggested that insect products should be marketed through restaurants,…
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Woman accuses Thai politician of sending her unsolicited pictures of his genitals
A Thai woman accuses a famous political party spokesperson of sending her unsolicited photos of his genitals and threats via Facebook. The woman filed a police complaint, with evidence, at Sutthisan Police Station in Bangkok today. She accused the spokesperson of violating the Computer Crimes Act by disseminating obscene material online. The 40 year old victim said the man sent…
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5 million baht fine and 1 year jail sentence for those breaking new data laws
People who break the new data laws face a fine of up to 5 million baht and a 1 year jail sentence. The Royal Thai Police issued this warning ahead of the new Personal Data Protection Act which came into effect today. Under the new law, people can post pictures and video clips of themselves with others for personal purposes…
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As Thailand opens more, police prepare for more international crime
A senior Thai police inspector told Thai media that Royal Thai Police plans to redouble its efforts to fight international crime as the country opens up more and more with the ease in Covid-19 restrictions. The inspector, General Wisanu Prasatthongosot, told Daily News that Thailand is located at a crossroads in the region that makes it an ideal spot for international crimes…
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Record breaking amount of methamphetamine pills seized in Asia
More than one billion methamphetamine pills were seized in East and Southeast Asia last year, according to a report released by the United Nations. The illicit synthetic drug market is constantly evolving in East and southeast Asia, with every country in the region reporting methamphetamine as their drug of greatest concern, according to the UN. The UN’s report says most…
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Thai industry gets high on government’s green hemp policy
The controversial plan to use hemp in the Thai textile industry is part of the government’s green policy. Business plans are already underway by the Commerce Ministry to promote hemp fibre in the Thai textile arena as it offers high potential in the global market. Hemp and cannabis were classified as drugs under Category 5 the Narcotics Act of Thailand,…
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Former Deputy Bangkok Governor says the city has already spent most of the 2022 budget
The Deputy Leader of the Democrat Party and former deputy Bangkok governor, Samart Ratchapolsitte (2004 – 2006), said Bangkok has only of 94 million baht left in its budget, and it might be insufficient for the new Bangkok governor Chandchart Sittiphun to achieve his announced policies. According to the media, Bangkok receives a budget of around 80 billion baht per…
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Pattaya, the land of sex, drugs, and film production?
Pattaya is known for a lot of things- drug busts, violent fights, and other various scandals. But one Thai government agency is hoping to make Pattaya a “City of Film” in the next 5 years, between 2022 and 2027. Can Thailand’s Sin City become a movie-making destination? Thailand’s Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration is promoting the tourist hotspot as…
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UPDATE: Woman falls from Phuket condo, 3 foreign suspects arrested
UPDATE: Police arrest 3 foreigners in relation to death of woman who fell from Phuket condo The woman who fell from the 8th floor of a condominium in Phuket and died yesterday morning has been identified as 37 year old Evgeniia Smirnova of Russian nationality. Police have arrested 3 foreigners who were staying in the same apartment with Evgeniia, inlcuding…
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Bangkok named one of the world’s worst cities for work-life balance
Bangkok is just barely above the bottom of a list of 100 cities across the globe ranked for their work-life balance. Thailand’s capital came in at 96th place on the list. The 4 cities in the world with a worse work-life balance than Bangkok are Sao Paolo, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai, and Cape Town. On the flipside, the cities with the…
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Man accidentally shoots himself in the mouth in northeast Thailand
A man has accidentally shot and killed himself while loading gunpowder into his cap gun at a rubber plantation in Roi Et province, northeast Thailand, yesterday evening. Police suspect he was holding the trigger end of the gun with his toes and blowing gunpowder into the barrel with his mouth when he must have accidentally pulled the trigger. The man’s…
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Thailand’s tourism ranking drops down a notch
Thailand’s place on a list of countries ranked for travel and tourism development has fallen a notch below where it stood last year. Thailand fell from it’s spot in 35th place out of 117 countries in 2021, to 36th place, on the Travel and Tourism Development Index. The index is based on scores from 1-7, where 1 is the worst…
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Pattaya City Mayor election to be re-held in some districts after ballot papers go missing
Chon Buri Provincial Election Commission has announced the cancellation of the Pattaya City mayor’s election result on May 22 because ballot papers had gone missing from polling stations in 2 sub-districts. The new election in those sub-districts will be held on June 12. After 10 years of suspension of mayoral elections, the Pattaya City Mayor election was held on May…
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Bangkok police arrest 6 Taiwanese nationals for crypto fraud
Police in Bangkok have arrested 6 Taiwanese men following a raid on a house in the Prawet district of the capital. The men are accused of conning over 500 people, mostly fellow Taiwanese or Chinese nationals, through fraudulent online cryptocurrency investment schemes. According to a Bangkok Post report, the arrests happened when officers from the Police Cyber Taskforce, accompanied by…
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Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand advises airlines of new entry rules effective today
International airlines have been issued with a notice from the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand, advising them of revised rules for entry to the kingdom from today. CAAT chief, Suttipong Kongpool, says all international airlines serving Thailand are required to screen and categorise passengers into 3 groups. The first group is the fully vaccinated passengers, who, if suspected of having…
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Southern Thai man sentenced to almost 5 decades for terrorism and other charges
Southern Thailand doesn’t look like it’s headed towards peace any time soon. In the latest report on violence in the region, a man in Yala province has been sentenced to 46 years in prison yesterday after he was charged with terrorism, criminal association, and violating the firearms and explosives law. The man, along with 8 other people, was found guilty…
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Proposal to develop Koh Tao, Samui, and Koh Phang Ngan as “entertainment islands”
Another day, another idea, as Thailand desperately tries to revive its decimated tourism sector and by extension, the economy. While things are looking up since entry restrictions were eased, suggestions for further improvement continue to circulate. One such proposal is to develop and market 3 islands in the Gulf of Thailand as an “entertainment cluster”. Tourism operators on Koh Samui,…
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Foreign arrivals in April show things are looking up for tourism, the economy
Things are looking up for the Thai economy, thanks to an increase in foreign and domestic tourism in April, according to the Bank of Thailand. The Bangkok Post also reports a year-on-year increase in consumer spending during the month of April. The easing of travel restrictions has brought more foreign tourists to the kingdom, with numbers up from 210,836 in…
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Pubs, clubs, entertainment venues re-open in Bangkok, 30 other provinces today
From today (or tonight), nightlife resumes in 31 “green zone” and “blue zone” provinces, including Bangkok, Phuket, and Chiang Mai. Pubs, clubs, and other entertainment venues can once more welcome customers, although they must close by midnight. Other stipulations include a ban on crowds and alcohol promotions. In the capital, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has provided entertainment venues with the…
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UPDATE: 12 people exposed to monkeypox forced to quarantine in Thailand
UPDATE: The 12 crew members and passengers who were in close contact with a traveller infected with monkeypox – who stopped off at Bangkok’s Survarnabhumi airport for 2 hours before flying on to Australia – are currently being forced to quarantine in Thailand. The 12 people have already been in enforced quarantine for 7 days and have shown no symptoms…
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ONESIAM skywalk features Universal Design concept to enhance convenience and accessibility
Press Release The ONESIAM elevated skywalk connecting to the Pathumwan Intersection was designed with the concept of Universal Design to cater to the urban lifestyles of the elderly, the disabled, and the general public. Today, it has become an iconic landmark that enhances the positive image and reinforces the symbol of “Universal Design City” for the good quality of life…
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AirAsia launched a “super-app” to compete with the likes of Grab
The popular low-cost Malaysian airline, AirAsia, debuted its “super app” for ride-hailing in Thailand today, which provides a variety of services ranging from car rides similar to Grab, and Bolt, to flight reservations and food ordering, in an already booming industry. There are currently 3,000 registered drivers in the Bangkok metropolis, with ambitions to recruit more as tourism slowly picks…
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Three woman caught smuggling heroin from Thailand into India
Three women were arrested at a hotel in Itarsi, India, with 200 million rupees’ – or 87.8 million baht’s – worth of heroin on Saturday. The women allegedly smuggled the heroin into the Indian city of Bengaluru from Thailand via an international airline, according to India’s Narcotics Control Bureau. The woman managed to get the heroin through both Thai and…
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Ex Thai prisoner convicted of child sex offences willing to be castrated
A high-profile paedophile says he is willing to be castrated to stop him reoffending in the future. Child sex offender Bradley Pen Dragon announced he is happy to be chemically or physically castrated today after he won his release from a prison in Australia. The 62 year old will be allowed to leave prison next month subject to more than…
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BREAKING: Court sentences British man who murdered and chopped up Thai woman
UPDATE: Court sentences British man who murdered and chopped up Thai woman At 1:30pm this afternoon, Kanchanaburi Provincial Court sentenced Shane Kenneth Looker to 8 years in prison for murdering Laxami “Look” Manochat in 2014. The court ordered Shane to pay a total of 12.5 million baht to Look’s family. The court initially sentenced 51 year old Shane to 16…
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Thai man buys 12 pairs of Converse as offerings to god of wealth
A Thai man has bought 12 pairs of Converse sneakers and offered them to the god of wealth in the central province of Ang Thong after his wishes came true. Other locals are now copying the idea, helping the god have his own shoe collection. Yesterday, the media reported that they found a display case placed in front of the…
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Diesel price increase hits motorists in the pocket
Motorists were hit in the pocket once more as the price of diesel fuel increased today by 1 baht to 33 baht a litre. The latest price hike, decided by the Fuel Fund Executive Committee, will remain in place for around a week until the committee meet again on Monday to decide whether the price should be further increased. Director…
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Nude homeless man throws himself in front of speeding lorry in suicide attempt
A naked homeless man threw himself in front of a speeding truck in Pattaya yesterday morning in what looks like a suicide attempt. The male victim sustained serious injuries after being hit by the lorry, while trying to cross a road in the Bang Lamung sub-district, Bang Lamung, Chon Buri. His name and age could not be identified by the…
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