News
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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Air Asia mea culpa over bike unloading
AirAsia has apologised to cyclists whose bicycles were seen to be poorly handled by ramp staff in a viral video. As a gesture of goodwill the low-cost airline is waiving all fees to transport bicycles for April, said its CEO Riad Asmat. “As a cyclist myself, I was pretty disturbed when I saw the actions of our staff. Rest assured,…
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“US-China trade war will hurt Thai exports” – Economist
By Wichit Chaitrong, The Nation The Government has been urged to brace for the impact from a possible trade war between the United States and China with US President Donald Trump planning to impose tariffs on many Chinese goods and China vowing to retaliate. Sompop Manarungsan, veteran economist and president of the Panyapiwat Institute of Management, yesterday said he was…
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Phuket gets Number Two in list of Top Asian Destinations
The trip advisor list of Asia’s top 25 destinations is in. Good news… Thailand has five locations in the Top 25 reader-voted list. Bad news, Thailand’s not Number One. The Indonesian island of Bali has come in Number One with Phuket in Number Two spot. Hanoi in Vietnam is in Number 3, Cambodia’s Siam Reap Number 5 and the mega-city…
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THAIGER TODAY Friday, March 23
Another bus crash of students in Ayutthaya | Ladyboys behaving badly in Pattaya | Phuket to become foam-packaging free| Top 25 toast destinations in Asia | Land Transport office wants to crack down on double decker buses | Thailand’s tourist numbers on the rise and rise.
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More drug crackdowns in Krabi
Krabi Police held a press conference yesterday (March 22) to announce that two alleged drug mafia gang leaders had been arrested in Krabi with almost 20,000 amphetamine pills and 2 million Baht worth of assets. The two drug dealers, including 43 year old Wirote ‘Bang Lai’ Khaokham and 25 year old Nantanat ‘Fa’ Ratchaniyom, who are Krabi residents, were arrested…
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Livestock Department promises NO “Set Zero”
The Department of Livestock Development (DLD) is giving assurances to the Soi Dog Foundation that the department will not follow a policy of “Set Zero” – wiping out all stray dogs in Thailand. The assurance that there will be no countrywide slaughter came from the DLD’s Director of the Division of Veterinary Quarantine and Inspection, Dr Burin Sorasithisooksakul. It came…
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Governor rolls up his sleeves in a clean-up day at Phuket’s stray dog shelter
Phuket’s Governor, Norapat Plodthong, led a big group of officials and volunteers along with staff from Phuket’s Soi Dog Foundation to cleanup, paint and donate their time at Phuket’s Stray Dog Shelter yesterday (March 20). The Governor rolled up his sleeves and worked along with the other volunteers to give the shelter a well-needed publicly-funded home for Phuket’s strays. The…
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THAIGER TODAY Thursday, March 22
16 dead following bus crash in Nakhon Ratchasima | Prawit may be invited in for a ‘chat’, NACC | Pattaya attackers charged by police | No water splashing on main roads for Songkran this year | Another tour bus crash in Phang Nga and a fatal accident on notorious Patong Hill | Austrian drowns in Pattaya | Young British traveller…
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Water truck careers off Patong Hill, killing one
There’s been another fatal accident on Patong Hill this morning (March 22). So far there’s been one fatality reported with another critically injured. A fully-loaded water truck has slipped over the side after crashing through the roadside barriers and fallen down the roadside cliff on the Kathu side. Long traffic delays in and out of Patong as a result, particularly…
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Anonymous corpse retrieved floating near Rawai
A dead body, which is believed to be of a western man, has been discovered floating near Koh Kaewpissadan, on the west coast of Rawai yesterday (March 21). Police from Chalong station, Marine Police, Forensic Police and a medical team from Vachira Hospital as well as Phuket Ruamjai rescue team went out to collect the body with a boat belonging…
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Police ban water splashing on main roads for Songkran
The Royal Thai Police are looking to impose a total ban on water splashing activities on main and secondary roads throughout Thailand during from April 11-17, the Songkran holiday break. They are citing road safety as the reason for the drastic plans. In phuket, in the past, Chao Fah east and west, Viset Road in Rawai and parts of Thepkasattri…
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Nakhon Ratchasima bus crash kills 16
At least 16 people were killed on Wednesday evening when their double-deck coach crashed with a 18-wheel truck before slamming into roadside shops in in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Wang Nam Khieo district, 300 kilometres north-east of Bangkok, and ending up in a ditch. Witnesses say that the driver of the coach survived the accident and fled from the scene. The accident…
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Soi Dog calls for probe after temple dog poisoning
Soi Dog Foundation (SDF) today called for a full investigation into the poisoning of dogs and puppies in front of children at a school and on temple grounds in Nakhon Sri Thammarat province, and called for an end to such atrocities. Video of the killings has gone viral on Facebook, with more than a million views by today. The SDF…
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Van carrying Swedish tourists smashes into truck in Phang Nga
Just one day after a double fatality in a tour bus in Phang Nga (story HERE) another passenger van has crashed into the back of a 10 wheel truck on the Phetkasem highway in the Takua Thung district, Phang Nga. The truck was carrying seven Swedish tourists, three have been injured. Yesterday, a passenger van carrying Chinese tourists crashed into…
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Krabi finds 6 rabies-infected dogs
Krabi Provincial Public Health Office have announced a warning to local residents after finding 6 dogs with rabies infection yesterday (March 20). Officials are reminding all people that if they are bitten, scratched or licked by stray dog or cat, to seek medical attention and get a rabies PEP vaccine. The Chief of Krabi Provincial Public Health Office, Dr. Apichai…
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THAIGER TODAY Wednesday, March 21
Soi Dog Foundation comments about Rabies ‘scare’ | HM The King visits exhibition of gifts celebrating 200 years of bilateral relations with the US | Phang Nha gunman rounded up by locals | PM calls for political parties to ‘tow the line’ with setting election date | Investigation continues into fatal Phang Nga tour bus crash | Premchai’s wife charged…
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Rabies: Genuine outbreak or misinformed panic?
By Phuket’s Soi Dog Foundation Over the past few weeks, rabies has dominated social media in Thailand. The debate has been covered – and in some cases inflamed – by the traditional print and broadcast media across the country. Some people are now advocating what has been described as “Set Zero”, a massive country-wide slaughter or impounding of all stray…
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Takuapa hitman bailed up by locals
A 50 year old hitman, Banjong Chaisawad, was caught by local people in Takuapa District, Phang Nga, after shooting two men who were working on a fishing raft at the time. Ban Namkem Police received a report yesterday (March 19) about two men being shot, including 39 year old Sudkhet Samranrat, who was shot in his lower ribs, near his…
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Truck crashes into motorcycle and kills 63 year old
A 10-wheel truck has crashed into a motorcycle and killed a 63 year old woman, Nunoi Kraisat, instantly. After an investigation, Muang Phuket Police found that the motorcyclist was riding with her niece at the back heading to the Piboon Sawaddee School for a graduation ceremony. She stopped to wait to turn right while the truck followed and hit the…
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Chinese tour van crashed, kills two in Phang Nga
A Chinese tour van crashed this morning in Kokkloy, Phang Nga, just north of Phuket, into a 18-wheel, truck resulting in two casualties and seven injuries. The van, full of passengers, was traveling from Phuket to a pier in Phang Nga. At the scene, the truck was making a U-turn and the van crashed into the back of the truck.
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THAIGER TODAY Tuesday, March 20
MH370 has NOT been found | Bar owner in Pattaya bashed unconscious | 10 million baht worth of marijuana seized in Chumpon | Officials concerned over damage on Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao | Nok Air being asked to ‘please explain’ over poor on-time record | 103 ‘practice bombs’ found near Vachira Hospital Bangkok.
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Marine rescue workshop underway in Phuket
The Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Phuket Office, held a marine rescue workshop at the Dara Hotel in Kathu this morning (March 19) chaired by Deputy Secretary General of the ministry, Santi Pawai. The workshop was aiming to teach attendees about methods to deal with divers and customers in case of emergency, both underwater and on the surface, in the…
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THAIGER TODAY Monday, March 19
Wrist band ID for tourists and facial recognition tech. for 7-11s | DNA results are in for the Premchai case | PM encourages Thais to wear traditional costumes when in public | Chiang Mai air pollution ‘sixth worst in the world’ | Fire in BKK factory | Scaffolding collapse on BKK worksite.
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Migrant workers registered with iris scan technology
Five southern coastal provinces with large numbers of migrant workers have pioneered the use of iris scans in the registration procedure, the governor of Samut Nakhon announced today (Monday). Prapas Malakan said labourers on fishing trawlers, at fish and seafood processing factories and at related industrial establishments had undergone the scans in his province and in Samut Prakan, Rayong, Ranong…
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Dual pricing. Fair or price gouging?
Photo TIT – This Is Thailand Facebook page Thailand’s dual pricing policy continues with, it seems, a completely random application of the system. In some places flashing your Work Permit might get you an exemption so you can pay local price but there is no consistency. What are your experiences with dual pricing? Do you think it’s fair? If we’re…
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Chiang Mai – the sixth worst air pollution in the world
Air pollution in the North continues to be critical, with small dust particles of 2.5 microns in size (PM2.5) exceeding safe limits at almost every air-quality testing station. The Pollution Control Department (PCD) revealed on Sunday that although PM2.5 levels had dropped from the previous day at almost every station, the amounts were still higher than safe standards. On average,…
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30 million baht to be spent on Rawai wastewater treatment
Following the complaint about wastewater in front of the Fisherman Way Village in Rawai being released into the public water in Chalong Bay, Phuket’s Governor has announced that Rawai Municipality is preparing to spend 30 million Baht on building a public water treatment lagoon. “The area is located in Rawai Municipality, in front of Fisherman Way Village. There are 2…
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From Thaksin to Thanathorn – 20 years of political soap opera
COMMENT by Tim Newton New political parties are being registered at break-neck speed following the easing of the Junta’s ban on political activities. Most of the new parties will falter at the start line, unable to come up with the required minimum membership or capital to fund their campaigns. As new parties, they’re all going to have to fight for…
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More wi-fi hotspots and ‘tourist tags’ – Phuket Smart City
Phuket will increase the number of hotspots for free Wi-Fi Internet connection to 1,000 around the island as part of its ambition to turn the island into a “smart city”, according to Thailand’s digital economy minister. The province may also develop an electronic wristband system for foreign tourists so their identity and location would be known in case of untoward…
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Now, a SEVEN metre python!
A video posted on YouTube shows Pathum Thani snake catchers round up a seven metre long, almost 100 kilogram, python from near the yard of a PTT gas depot in Khlong Luang district, just north of Bangkok. Amnat Saengsawang said it was the biggest snake he has captured in 30 years of doing the job. Click to watch the video…
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