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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 Digital nomading in Chiang Mai? What US$1,000 a month really gets you
Chiang Mai has become a popular destination for digital nomads due to its low living costs, rich culture, and active remote work community. The city offers affordable housing, tasty food, reliable internet, and many co-working spaces, making it a great...
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30-day curfew for Songkhla following a surge in Covid-19 cases
Officials in Songkhla have announced a 30-day curfew in an effort to fight a surge of Covid-19 infections in the southern province. According to a Bangkok Post report, the provincial communicable disease committee has confirmed the curfew, which came into effect last night and is in place until July 29. Governor Jaruwat Kliangklao says residents must remain home between the…
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Petrol station heist possibly inside job
Last week, a petrol station in the Bang Bon district of Bangkok was robbed. New information has come to light to suggest that the robbery was an inside job. “Information” has come out that the petrol station employee acted as a lookout while his friend burglarised the station. Police arrested the main suspect “James” on Tuesday and interrogated him, but…
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Government urged to provide booster shots in sandbox destinations
Tourism representatives are calling on the government to provide vaccine boosters for people who live in sandbox destinations. Chamnan Srisawat, president of the Tourism Council of Thailand, says the country can’t wait for the virus to disappear completely and the only solution is for residents in sandbox areas to get maximum protection against new variants and outbreaks. “Herd immunity across…
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Thursday Covid Update: Record high of 57 deaths; 5,533 new infections
5,533 new Covid-19 cases and a record high of 57 Covid-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Since April 1, the latest and most severe wave of the virus in Thailand, the CCSA has reported 235,971 Covid-19 cases. Out of the new cases, 44 were reported in correctional facilities, showing an improvement in the Covid…
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Officials defend dine-in ban amid fears of a fourth wave
The government’s Covid-19 task force has defended new restrictions that ban dining in at restaurants, saying the country is heading into a fourth wave of the virus. According to a Bangkok Post report, Natthapol Nakpanich from the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration says the Delta variant is now spreading across the country. Acting on the advice of healthcare experts, the…
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Phuket opens – Around 300 seats sold for July 1 arrival flights
Officially, Phuket is open again. The doors are now open to vaccinated international travellers. Driving north along Thepkasattri Road this morning around 6.45am was a convoy of 15 white passenger vans, vans which haven’t really seen the light of day, ferrying tourists around the island, since April or May last year. Today they are being pressed into service for a…
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Finnish judges acquit Danish man of 1987 Baltic ferry murder
A Danish man accused of bludgeoning a German backpacker to death on a Baltic Sea cruise more than three decades ago was set free by judges in Finland on Wednesday. Prosecutors accused the 52-year-old, identified in court only as Herman H, of killing Klaus Schelkle, 20, and attempting to murder his girlfriend Bettina Taxis. The fatal incident took place on…
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Nicaraguan President Ortega eyes dictatorship
It was late evening when Miguel Mora heard a loud banging at his door. His wife, who was in the process of putting their son to bed, remembers the moment well. Police officers stormed inside, took Miguel Mora and locked him up. He runs Nicaragua’s opposition news platform 100% Noticias. His work landed him in jail in 2018. Now, he…
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At former Indigenous schools, Canada unearths a brutal history
WARNING: This story contains details some readers may find distressing Dustin Ross Fiddler was raised with these stories. They are not new. He heard them from his grandparents, his parents, the elders in his community, countless uncles and aunts — stories of the stolen children who never came home. “This was something that was truth and knowledge to Indigenous people.…
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Small businesses fear Phuket Sandbox will leave them behind
With the Phuket Sandbox reopening just hours away, many businesses in the tourist-reliant province hopefully await the return of foreign travellers and the restart of the economy. But while businesses that had the financial means to weather the long-term closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic prepare excitedly, many smaller businesses that lacked the funding to revive themselves are not nearly…
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How Nigeria arrested secessionist leader Nnamdi Kanu
Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of a group that has called for the independence of Biafra from Nigeria, was presented before a federal high court in Abuja on Tuesday, days after his arrest at an undisclosed location. “Nnamdi Kanu has been intercepted. … He has been brought back to Nigeria in order to continue facing trial after disappearing,” said Justice Minister…
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COVID: Kashmir’s transgender community left to fend for themselves
A series of lockdowns have barred transgender people from working in the wedding industry. Ostracized from society and without access to government aid, many are on the verge of starvation. SOURCE: DW News
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China’s Communist Party after 100 years now at the ‘forefront’ of global politics
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is preparing to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its 1921 founding on Thursday with nationwide festivities and fanfare. Banners and billboards touting the leadership’s success have been set up in the weeks leading up to July 1, and the CCP staged an extravagant performance on Monday at the National Stadium in Beijing. The CCP is…
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World in Progress: Brazil’s controversial land bill spells disaster for the indigenous
Indigenous people in Brazil have come under threat as miners and loggers continue to invade their lands. A bill limiting indigenous land rights is threatening their livelihoods even further. It’s backed by the country’s powerful farm lobby and President Jair Bolsonaro. Critics say it would be the biggest set-back for the indigenous since their rights were enshrined in the 1988…
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World in Progress: Brazil’s controversial land bill to spell disaster for the indigenous
Indigenous people in Brazil have come under threat as miners and loggers continue to invade their lands. A bill limiting indigenous land rights is threatening their livelihoods even further. It’s backed by the country’s powerful farm lobby and President Jair Bolsonaro. Critics say it would be the biggest set-back for the indigenous since their rights were enshrined in the 1988…
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New details in the Phuket Sandbox Royal Gazette publication
By now we’ve all read (and re-read and re-read) the general rules of the Phuket Sandbox reopening tomorrow. If you haven’t, one of our numerous previous stories has the full text in English released by Phuket’s governor. But with the Royal Gazette finally publishing the reopening, making it legal and 100% approved just 1 day before the opening, a few…
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Woman killed while trying to cross the road in Nakhon Si Thammarat
A woman was hit by a car while she was crossing the road in the Na Bon district of Nakhon Si Thammarat this morning, says police. Veerayuth Rakthai, a police chief investigator says the victim was a Myanmar national identified as 54 year old “Chan” and says she worked at a rubber plantation. According to Thai media, Chan was attempting…
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Police officer that allegedly drunkenly shot noodle seller changes plea to not guilty
The (former) Phuket police officer that allegedly drunkenly shot Aroon Thongplab, a 25 year noodle seller, is now pleading not guilty. He plans to see his day in court, instead. Pornthep Channarong allegedly shot Aroon in the stomach last Febrraury as Aroon was retrieving a noodle bowl from a customer. Pornthep was soon relieved of duty and currently faces charges…
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Bangkok airport police stop Chinese with babies, seize fake birth certificates
Police are investigating a suspected illegal surrogacy operation after 2 Chinese nationals were stopped at a Bangkok airport as they were attempting to leave the country with 2 baby boys. Police say they seized fake birth certificates. The Chinese nationals were at the Suvarnabhumi Airport with the 6 month old and 1 year old boys. Airport officers stopped and checked…
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Government urged to get mRNA vaccines over Sinovac
The Thai government is being urged to get mRNA vaccines in preference to the CoronaVac vaccines from Sinovac in China. The Infectious Disease Association of Thailand points to reported efficacy concerns of the Sinovac vaccine, especially toward new variants like the Delta one. Today, the IDAT sent a letter to Thailand’s PM, Prayut Chan-o-cha. They stated that Sinovac is a…
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Australia extends its lockdown
Australia has extended its own lockdown and social distancing measures to further parts of the country, today. 4 major cities are currently under a strict lockdown in an attempt to halt the outbreak of the more contagious Delta variant. About 1 in 2 Australians are already stuck under stay at home orders. Millions of other inhabitants have to adhere to…
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2 illegal Chinese immigrants in Tak arrested eluding quarantine
In the northwestern province of Tak, where Covid-19 cases are surging, 2 illegal Chinese immigrants who snuck out of quarantine were arrested in Mae Sot Town today. The pair were found wandering in town and taken into custody by army members of the 4th Infantry Regiment. In Tambon Mae Ku, the two migrant workers, Zhang Yong Lyu and Liu Wei,…
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Rayong governor orders nightly beach closures to curb the spread of Covid-19
Starting today, all beaches on the coastal province Rayong, near Pattaya, will be closed to the public during the night and early morning hours. The beach closures are an effort to prevent the spread of Covid-19 after the province reported an uptick in infections. Rayong governor Charnna Iamsaeng signed an order earlier this week to close the beaches from 8pm…
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Tourism jobs continue to be lost – nearly 1 million in 2021
It’s easy to look scornfully at the government and tourism industry’s rose-tinted predictions of the Phuket Sandbox reopening and further return of international tourism to Thailand by the end of the year. But a look at the current statistics for the battered tourism industry helps explain the need for hope. This quarter, 550,000 jobs were lost in the tourism industry.…
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Phuket announces it had 5 new cases of Covid yesterday and 1 death
Yesterday, Phuket announced it had 5 new Covid infections and its 7th death, a 72 year old man. Dr Kusak Kukiattikoon the chief of the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office (PPHO) corroborated the news that Phuket had 5 new Covid infections as well as the 7th death. Dr Kusak spoke in a live broadcast this morning where he was joined…
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US and NATO withdraw from an Afghanistan still at war
On April 14, United States President Joe Biden told Americans when their country’s longest war would finally end: “I’m now the fourth US president to preside over American troop presence in Afghanistan: two Republicans, two Democrats. I will not pass this responsibility on to a fifth.” Biden delivered his address in the White House Treaty Room. It was in this…
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US and NATO withdraw from an Afghanistan still at war: What you need to know
On April 14, United States President Joe Biden told Americans when their country’s longest war would finally end: “I’m now the fourth US president to preside over American troop presence in Afghanistan: two Republicans, two Democrats. I will not pass this responsibility on to a fifth.” Biden delivered his address in the White House Treaty Room. It was in this…
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New study:Moderna effective against Delta variant
A new lab study shows that the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Moderna is reasonably effective against the growing Delta variant first identified in India. The study found that the vaccine was only slightly less effective against the newer strain than it is against the original Covid-19 virus. The study tested blood serum from 8 subjects who had finished their second…
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Man robs a gold shop with a kitchen knife
Last night in the central Thai province Pathum Thani, a man used a knife to rob a gold shop in the Lam Luk Ka district. He got away with 60 baht weight of gold necklaces. Pitch Suwatikul, a local police officer says the robbery happened about 7:20 pm at the Bangkok Gold shop on the 2nd floor of a Tesco…
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Thailand tourism officials predict best and worst case scenarios for reopening
The best-case scenario in Thailand’s reopening… 3 million foreign tourist arrivals this year, Tourism Council of Thailand says. It’s a far cry from the around 40 million welcomed to Thailand in 2019. But with Phuket set to reopening tomorrow under the “Sandbox” travel model, and other areas posed to reopen later this year, tourism officials guess, that in the best…
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