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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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Restrictions imposed in areas at risk of a “public health crisis,” spokesperson says
Disease control restrictions have tightened in Bangkok and surrounding provinces which are at risk of becoming a “public health crisis,” according to a Thai government spokesperson. The restrictions were published in the Royal Gazette over the weekend and went into effect today. Of the restrictions set for the next 30 days, restaurants in Bangkok and surrounding provinces are prohibited from…
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Monday Covid Update: 5,406 new cases; provincial totals
A significant uptick of 5,406 new Covid-19 cases was recorded today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, just as new restrictions are taking effect in Bangkok and other “dark red” provinces to curb the spread of the virus. Of the 249,853 Covid-19 cases recorded in Thailand since the start of the pandemic last year, the recent and most severe…
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France could ease path to parenthood for single and lesbian women
When Benedicte Blanchet, a 40-year-old who lives in a Paris suburb, decided that she wanted to have a child on her own and not wait to meet the right man, nothing prepared her for the costly obstacle course that was to follow. Under existing laws in France, which are among the strictest in western Europe, only heterosexual couples who are…
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Covid-19 screening centre in Bangkok temporarily closed to migrant workers
After many migrant workers infected with Covid-19 were reportedly abandoned at the Public Health Ministry’s Pre-Admission Centre in Bangkok, it is now temporarily closed to migrant workers. The centre is used to screen people who are infected with the virus before sending them to a facility for treatment. Apparently, a number of workers have been dropped off at the centres.…
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Open Pattaya’s bars! Business owners protest bans on city bars and clubs | VIDEO
The situation for many of Pattaya’s clubs and bars, the cornerstone of the city’s economy, is dire. One of the most prolific bar owners is Bryan Flowers from Nightwish Group. He wants his staff to remain employed as he sees the city’s economy and workers suffer. He is also asking the media to stop publishing raw stats and numbers each…
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Asymptomatic patients in Bangkok can self-isolate at home while waiting for hospital bed
Amid an ongoing shortage of hospital beds, the Medical Services Department has agreed that asymptomatic Covid-19 patients in the Bangkok area can self-isolate at home until a bed becomes available. According to a Thai PBS World report, department chief Somsak Akkasilp says each patient will be provided with a thermometer and oximeter, allowing them to monitor their symptoms. Patients considered…
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Monday Covid Update: 5,406 new cases and 22 deaths
In an uptick in daily Covid-19 cases, 5,406 infections were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Since April 1, the latest and most severe wave of Covid-19 in Thailand, the CCSA has reported 220,990 Covid-19 cases. Today, the CCSA also logged 22 more deaths related to Covid-19. Out of today’s count, only 9 were detected in correctional…
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Tourism Minister threatens to cancel travel stimulus if only some operators benefit
Thailand’s Tourism and Sports Minister says if all operators cannot benefit from a domestic travel stimulus scheme, it may be cancelled. Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn says he will meet with the Tourism Authority of Thailand to ensure everyone in the sector can be helped by the scheme. According to the Bangkok Post, the government plans to launch the Tour Teaw Thai scheme…
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Businesses in dark red zones appeal for government aid
Businesses that have been affected by the latest round of Covid-19 restrictions imposed in Bangkok and 9 other provinces are appealing for state aid. New measures aimed at curbing the spread of the virus come into force today, in Bangkok, Nakhon Pathom, Nonthaburi, Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon, Pathum Thani, Narathiwat, Songkhla, Pattani, and Yala. They include a ban on eating…
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Bereaved families remember loved ones lost in Miami building collapse – VIDEO
At least 9 people have now been confirmed dead in the condominium collapse in Florida last Thursday. As the rescue operation continues, Reuters reports that relatives of those confirmed killed are remembering their loved ones. Among the dead was a woman whose teenage son survived the collapse, an elderly couple about to celebrate 59 years of marriage, and a devoted…
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Partiers arrested in raid Covid-19 tested, awaiting court Monday
After the raid on 2 nightclubs masquerading at restaurants in Pattaya that resulted in 121 arrests, the group of arrested partygoers are all being tested for Covid-19 while awaiting court hearings. The raids of The Garden 168 and Mo Salah Bar and Restaurant late Friday night into early Saturday morning found a mix of Thais and foreigners drinking, smoking shisha,…
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Saudi Arabia reforms: Royal power play or meaningful change?
Over the past month, Saudi Arabia has been announcing new social reforms almost every week. Earlier this month, Saudi Arabian authorities slightly amended a law to allow adult women to live independently, without first having to get permission from their father or other male kin. A few days after that, other officials declared that women could register to go on…
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LGBTQ troops and vets go to war with homophobia in Ukraine
The silence inside a makeshift cinema in the heart of Kyiv was shattered with the crash of a windowpane. Fireworks flashed. Homophobic attackers were attempting to besiege the screening of a film about the lives of LGBTQ people. The assailants threw tear gas and pyrotechnics. A member of the audience jumped up onto the windowsill and began throwing the projectiles…
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Gunshots on Jomtien Beach road, no injuries.
Gunshots rang out in the normally peaceful streets running along Jomtien Beach, frightening people in the neighbourhood but not injuring anybody. The incident took place early yesterday morning when an as-yet-unidentified man fired several shots in public along the beach road. The man is said to have fired off several rounds of gunshots from inside his car around 2:30 am…
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Dept of Medical Sciences warns against antibody testing kits
The National Department of Medical Sciences is speaking out against a growing trend of people trying to self-test regarding Covid-19. They are warning people against using home antibody testing kits in order to test the effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccine after they have received their inoculations. The Department warns that not only could test results be inaccurate, but a misunderstanding…
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Wife wins case against police husband’s mistress, awarded 200,000 baht
She has been shamed by the whole country all throughout the media. This is worth more than the money that she must pay. A woman in the Central province of Chai Nat, has won a case against her husband’s mistress with Juvenile and Family Court ordering ordering the mistress to pay 200,000 baht in damages to the “rightful wife”. 33…
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Cuba’s COVID vaccine rivals BioNTech-Pfizer, Moderna
In a measure of its ambitious efforts to be vaccine self-reliant, Cuba has named one of its homegrown jabs Abdala, after a famous dramatic verse by independence hero and national icon Jose Marti. In the verse, the young hero, Abdala, heads to war to defend his fatherland, full of patriotic fervor no matter how strong and powerful the enemy. From…
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What’s that wind smell like to you? Myanmar authorities blaze drugs valued at $670 mil US dollars
Yesterday, Myanmar authorities set an assortment of drugs on fire throughout the country. The drugs were valued, collectively, at $670 million US dollars, or about 20,100,000,000 baht. The Myanmar authorities blazed opium, heroin, and methamphetamine. Their narcotics suppression experts say drug syndicates have used ingenuity to get around Covid-19 travel restrictions and are still very much open for business. There…
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Poll: Majority of Thai people against 120 day reopening plan
Who isn’t excited about the 120 day reopening plan announced by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha last week? Turns out nearly 74% of people in Thailand, that’s who. In a new poll by the National Institute of Development Administration, the majority of people surveyed were against the reopening in less than 4 months (the PM made his 12 day call last Tuesday).…
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Former military conscript arrested for Child pornography in Tak
Police in the northern Thai province of Tak have arrested a child pornography distributor. They seized thousands of digital files that included both underage girls and “underage women”. Cyber crime police and local police raided a house. They arrested a 28 year old person identified as “Mr Olarn”. They seized a computer, a mobile phone and a bank passbook. The…
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Laos gets in on high speed rail project
Laos is entering a monthly meeting that was previously just Thailand and China. They will go over progress updates on plans to join Thailand to China with a high speed rail system in Thailand with Vientiane. The agreement was decided at no later than the 29th meeting of the joint committee last Friday. A proposal was suggested by the Thai…
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Activist group seeks to dissolve ruling Palang Pracharath Party, PM’s resignation
An activist group that goes by the name Prachachon Khonthai (People Of Thailand, or POT), say they are filing a petition to dissolve the ruling Palang Pracharath Party next week. The 30 members strong group had come together yesterday on Phitsanulok Road, Bangkok. They gathered surrounded by 300 nearby police officers. The leader, Nititorn Lamlua, who was previously a People’s…
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As Phuket opens, Bangkok, 9 provinces face new restrictions
Things are changing next week in the level of severity of the rules and restrictions for Covid-19 safety and control. No, we’re not talking about loosening all the restrictions in the Phuket Sandbox reopening, we’re referring to partial lockdowns in Bangkok and 9 other provinces around Thailand to battle rising Covid-19 infections. The Royal Gazette published today the new restrictions…
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Military, police deployed to seal off nearly 600 construction worker camps
As Thailand polishes up the immigration desks to welcome back international travellers from this Thursday, the military and police are being deployed to seal off nearly 600 construction worker camps in the Bangkok and inner provincial area to ensure the inhabitants don’t leave before their camps are sealed off as a prevention measure against the latest Covid outbreaks. The Thai…
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Chiang Rai police looking for robbers who grabbed gold valued over 3 million baht | VIDEO
Police in the northern Thai province of Chiang Rai are searching for 2 suspects who allegedly robbed gold chains valued over 3 million baht from a gold shop. The suspects reportedly fled the scene on a motorbike. The robbery happened yesterday afternoon. Around 2:30, the robbers fired multiple shots from a handgun to intimidate the Yaowarat Sinthawee gold shop staff.…
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Welcome back home: Phuket’s message to the world, echoes its X-Factor, its people
“As the countdown to the Sandbox hits seven days, resort island pays tribute to its real-life tourism attraction.” OPINION by Bill Barnett, c9hotelworks.com Tourism eyes around the world are focused on a resort island in Thailand this week for the reopening of international, vaccinated travel to the Phuket Sandbox. A key emerging storyline from the island’s frenzied runaway to July…
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Covid UPDATE Sunday: 3,995 new cases and 42 deaths
For Sunday the public health department have announced another 3,995 new infections and 42 Covid-related deaths. Only 45 more cases were detected in Thai prisons, a sharp drop off from a few weeks ago when the daily cases from prisons were in the 100s. The main outbreaks around Thailand are occurring in the capital, adjoining provinces, and provinces directly to…
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Multiple business associations oppose lack of Bangkok lockdown
After the government announced yesterday a one-month closure of construction camps, the Federation of Thai Industries and many other business associations complained that the action was too weak. The FTI and other business groups believe that a full lockdown is necessary to control Covid-19 outbreaks in Bangkok and half-measures like this are ineffective at best. The federation is one of…
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14 Burmese arrested in Kanchanaburi after illegal border crossing
Last night, 14 Burmese people where are arrested in Kanchanaburi after an illegal crossing at the Thai-Burmese border. Border patrol security forces near Huai Nam Khao village in Muang district discovered a suspicious pickup truck driving yesterday evening around 8 pm. Local police officers and soldiers patrolling the border region pulled over the truck and discovered 14 Burmese Nationals inside.…
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Malaysian businessman found dead in his parked car
The body of a missing Malaysian businessman was found dead in his car parked near a fish pond in Samut Prakan an apparent suicide. The 43 year old man was found dead in the car with the engine still running, and with a still-warm charcoal stove in the passenger seat beside him. Wong Chen Hoe, a Malaysian national, was discovered…
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