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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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Cocktail? Bangkok hotel sets Guinness Record for largest Negroni
Bottom’s up! A hotel in Bangkok can now claim a boozy new Guinness World Record after their bar mixed up the world’s largest Negroni cocktail. The ambitious Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok Hotel built a huge container to house the popular Italian cocktail and pumped over 630 litres into it to break the record. Made of equal parts gin, vermouth, and Campari,…
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Teen escapes house fire in Pattaya by climbing balcony
A Pattaya teenager climbed down from his balcony to just barely escape a fire that broke out in his home in the early hours of Monday morning. The boy, 16 year old Poramet Soratavorn, sensed the smell of smoke when he was on the second floor of his house in Royal Park Village on Thepprasit Road. Poramet ran downstairs to find…
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BREAKING: Shooting in Thai army building in Bangkok, 2 dead, 1 injured
At 8.45am, a Sergeant Major opened fire in the Royal Thai Army College on Thoddamri Road in Bangkok’s Dusit district, killing two soldiers and seriously injuring one more. The gunman has been arrested. The army chief shot one of his colleagues in the head who has since died at Vajira Hospital. The deceased have been identified as Sergeant Major Nopporat…
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UK police condemed for arresting anti-monarchy activists
Labour MP Zarah Sultana and a number of civil liberties campaigners have conveyed their dismay after heavy-handed police officers this week cracked down on anti-monarchy activists following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Several peaceful protestors were seen holding up placards with “Not my King” and “Abolish the Monarchy” written on them in Edinburgh, London, and Oxford causing police to…
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Phuket school director denies assault allegations
UPDATE The Phuket school director who last week was accused of physically assaulting an eight year old is denying the allegations. This news comes after a relative of the boy claimed that on September 8, the director pushed the boy’s head into a wall. He also allegedly used his hands to forcefully open her nephew’s mouth. The Phuket Provincial Educational…
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China Airlines opens a new route to Chiang Mai
China Airlines yesterday announced the good news that it intends to launch flights to Chiang Mai in Thailand. The bad news is that it won’t happen until next year. The Taiwan-based airline revealed on the day it reopened its borders that flights to the northern city of Chiang Mai take off on January 20 next year. Flight CI851 from Taiwan…
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Thailand orders 20th Century Fox to pay 10 million baht to restore Maya Bay
Today, Thailand’s Supreme Court ruled that Hollywood movie company 20th Century Fox – now renamed 20th Century Studios – is required to pay 10 million baht in environmental damages caused by the movie “The Beach” (2000) starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Filming for “The Beach” began at Maya Bay at the Phi Phi Islands in Krabi province, southern Thailand, in 1998. The…
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Thai govt increase minimum wage by 5% starting on October 1
The Thai Cabinet today agreed to increase the minimum wage throughout the country by 5%. The highest rate is 354 baht per day in Chon Buri, Rayong, and Phuket. The new rate will come into effect on October 1. Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin discussed the topic at today’s Cabinet meeting and it was approved. It is the first time in…
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Thailand to build another bridge to Malaysia
The Thai government has reiterated its plan to build a new bridge over the narrow Golok River, which will serve as another border crossing. The Thai and Malaysian governments hope that the bridge, which will connect Sungai Golok district in Narathiwat province to Kelantan in Malaysia, will boost tourism and trade ties between the bordering countries. The new bridge will…
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Bangkok taxi drivers protest fuel increases outside the Ministry of Energy
Furious Bangkok taxi drivers today protested against the price hike of autogas, LPG and NGV, in front of the Ministry of Energy. The President of the Thai Taxi Association, Witune Naewpanich, urged the government to support them after the recent price increases. Witune announced taxi drivers’ income decreased because of the pandemic because no one used them during Covid-19. He…
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Crocodile rocks up on the dinner table in flooded Khon Kaen
Floods may be causing chaos in most parts of Thailand at the moment but to some residents in the Isaan province of Khon Kaen it is providing food for thought, or rather thoughts of food, crocodiles as food. A number of residents in the Non Daeng sub-district, Non Sila district, urged farm owners to take greater care of their crocodiles…
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Pro-wakeskater charged with causing danger for surfing in Bangkok floods
UPDATE Pro-wakeskater Daniel Grant has been charged with causing danger to traffic – violating Thailand’s Traffic Act and Highway Act – for his surfing stunt in the Bangkok floods on Friday. The 24 year old half-Thai, half-English watersports champion was summoned to Khlong Luang Police Station this morning to acknowledge the allegations made against him by police after they saw…
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Residents urged to stop clogging Bangkok’s sewers & canals
The Drainage and Sewerage Department appealed to Bangkok residents, street food vendors, restaurants, and construction sites to stop clogging up the capital’s drains after fatbergs, concrete blocks, mattresses and furniture were found in the city’s sewers. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) also urged residents to stop throwing household items into the city’s rivers and canals, saying the garbage is blocking…
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Businesses encroaching Layan Beach in Phuket get final eviction notice
Phuket officials handed a final eviction notice to four businesses illegally occupying Layan Beach. Their patience finally snapped after a string of notices were ignored dating back to 2017. They now have to remove all structures from three kilometres of public land by the end of the month. Several businesses have been operating along 178 rai of beachfront land for…
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Favipiravir: DMS says Thai Covid study contradicts US study
A top respiratory specialist in Thailand spoke out on Friday about a study in the Clinical Infectious Diseases Journal last month saying that not only does the antiviral medication Favipiravir not seem to help fight Covid-19, but it can lead to patients getting gout. Now the Department of Medical Sciences is defending the use of Favipiravir in Thailand to treat…
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Ex-con released from jail recalled to finish his porridge after gaff
An ex-con legally released seven months ago has been recalled to the jail in the northern province of Payao after a gaff by the Department of Corrections (DOC). He refuses to return. The DOC admitted they made a mistake and wrongly calculated the years of imprisonment so recalled the former convict to finish his porridge. Teeraphat Sophon was originally jailed…
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Thai woman hires delivery driver to investigate her boyfriend’s alleged affair
Yesterday, A LINE Man driver working in Nonthaburi province, central Thailand, revealed how he ended up working as a spy for a customer who thought her boyfriend was having an affair. LINE Man provides food, grocery, parcel delivery, messenger and taxi services – and in this case, detective services. Back in July, Mr A (pseudonym) was working a normal night…
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Thailand’s nonpartisan stance sensible in China-US Cold War
Thailand yesterday was urged to maintain its neutrality as tensions between the globe’s two economic giants, China and the United States, continue to gather pace. Thailand last week was criticized for maintaining a neutral stance regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict as the West continues to impose sanctions on the former Soviet state. The kingdom has been also condemned in the past…
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Rain flooding likely to dampen third quarter flood of tourism
Thailand has been ecstatic to finally welcome back tourists – mostly – but now, after the pandemic, a new threat to tourism has emerged. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said it expects a normally profitable third quarter to be muted by the flooding in 21 provinces across Thailand. The floods are expected to affect corporate travel especially. Much of…
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Alleged Thai ‘love scammer’ denied bail in Australia
A Thai national detained in Sydney, Australia, for allegedly committing “romance fraud” was denied bail yesterday. Siriluck Fatima Chimmalee is accused of stealing from men she met online through a dating app. She is facing trial for over 100 charges of fraud. Police say 30 year old Siriluck allegedly pretended to be a registered remitter and charged customers steep inflation…
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The return of the begpacker sparks online debate
While the Covid-19 pandemic brought tourism to a screeching halt in Thailand much to the detriment of millions of people’s livelihood and the country’s economy, one thing that the majority of people did not seem to miss has now reared its ugly head again. Social media erupted over the return of the much-maligned begpacker trend as photos of one in…
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Thai Interior Minister plays down flood warnings
The Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) today announced another day of heavy downpours, flooding, and traffic chaos throughout the country and told the kingdom to brace itself. The Interior Minister on the other hand played it down and said there was nothing to worry about. The TMD made known it is 70% likely that the nation will be hit by another…
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VIDEO: King cobra slithers into closet in southern Thailand
A terrified homeowner in Trang province, southern Thailand, woke up yesterday morning to find a 2.1 metre long king cobra taking a nap in his wardrobe. He locked the snake inside the closet and urgently called a rescue team for help. At 9am, a snake rescue foundation received a request for help from a villager in Palian district and deployed…
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Kiwi PM admits her country will ditch British crown in her lifetime
New Zealand will become a republic Kiwi Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern admitted today, but not any time soon. The 42 year old New Zealand PM believes the southwestern Pacific Ocean Island country will ditch the UK monarchy in her lifetime but added she wasn’t going to rush into it at the moment. “There’s been a debate, probably for a number…
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Man complains after 23 taxi drivers in Bangkok refuse to serve him
An angry Thai man slammed Bangkok taxis on his TikTok account for favouring foreigners after 23 cab drivers refused to take him on a journey that was less than 15 minutes. The man said that taxi drivers in the Asoke area only wanted to serve foreign passengers because they can rip them off with expensive fares. The Thai TikToker, @iceprapadang,…
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4 billion baht budget to tackle HIV & STDs in Thailand’s teens
Thai teenagers are more at risk of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and HIV infection than adults says the Thai government and that is why it has approved a budget of nearly four million baht to tackle the issue. The Deputy Spokeswoman of the PM Office, Ratchada Thanadirek, revealed that people aged between 15 to 24 years old are more likely…
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Kayaking tourists swept out to sea in eastern Thailand, 1 dies and 1 survives
Two tourists were swept out to sea while kayaking in Rayong province, eastern Thailand, yesterday afternoon. One of the men drowned and the other clung to his friend’s body all night in the open sea until he was rescued by a passing fishing boat this morning. Three tourists, all of mixed Thai and Taiwanese nationality, travelled on holiday to Koh…
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Queen Elizabeth II’s favourite son to look after her dear dogs
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson announced that Prince Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson are to look after Queen Elizabeth II’s beloved corgis. The corgis, Muick and Sandy, were given to the Queen by the Duke of York and his daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, last year. The 62 year old prince wanted to cheer up his mother while her…
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Chiang Mai hosts Thai style Halloween to make merit for ghosts
Thai people in the Mae Jo Town Municipality of the San Sai district in Chiang Mai province joined the northern Thai-style Halloween event and parade on Saturday to make merit for ghosts and souls from hell. People in the northern part of Thailand believe that ghosts and souls rise from hell to visit their relatives and ask for merits on…
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Helicopter crash in Malaysia reported pilot alive, then dead
Yesterday above the skies of Malaysia, a helicopter mysteriously disappeared as air traffic control lost all contact. This morning the helicopter’s pilot was reportedly found alive in the wreckage only to be declared dead later on. At 11.37am yesterday, the helicopter took off from Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, also known as Subang Airport – a secondary airport of the…
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