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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Thai Airways cancels flights to Pakistan and Europe, temporary
Thai Airways International has cancelled all flights to and from Pakistan and Europe after Pakistan closed its airspace amid rising tensions with India. Latest in the tensions between India and Pakistan HERE. The flights cancelled on Wednesday night were TG341 and TG342 on the Bangkok-Karachi-Bangkok route, the TG345 and TG 346 Bangkok-Lahore-Bangkok flights and TG349 and TG350 Bangkok-Islamabad-Bangkok flights. Thai…
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Tham Luang cave diver John Volanthen awarded medal by Queen Elizabeth
PHOTO: Evening Standard One of the cave divers who helped to rescue the 13 Thai footballers has been awarded the George Medal by Queen Elizabeth II for showing “great courage”. John Volanthen was honoured in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace in London. Diver John Volanthen and his colleague Richard Stanton were the first to find the stranded team, which led to…
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Firearms and drugs seized in southern provinces crackdown
A huge stash of iIllegal firearms and drugs have been seized this month in an upper southern province crackdown. There was a press conference held at the Police Region 8 headquarters in Mai Khao today to show and tell. Region 8 Police Deputy Commander Maj Gen Wanchai Eaksorapit says, “There has been a major crackdown this month in Surat Thani,…
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Car-polish warehouse destroyed in Pattaya blaze
One person has been injured after a fires wept through a Pattaya warehouse full of car polish last night (Tuesday). Police say the fire at Pim Pattaya Company in Chon Buri’s Bang Lamung district got started around 7pm. Fire-fighters spent two hours bringing the blaze under control, but not before the roof of the warehouse collapsed. The injured man, an…
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Construction of luxury condo development in Kata continues despite local protests
The Owner of the luxury condominium in Kata has confirmed that that the land is legal and the construction will continue, despite protests from locals and business competitors. Business operators and community in Kata Noi marched in protest about the construction of the luxury condo development. Read more about the protest HERE. Manasanan Nararattanawee, managing director of Kata Beach Company, the…
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Phuket Police investigating attack on Chinese passengers by taxi driver
Phuket Police are investigating an incident where Chinese passengers were allegedly attacked by a taxi driver in Patong this morning. Cherng Talay Police report that they were notified from some Chinese tourists that they had been attacked by a taxi driver after they were unable to negotiate a taxi fee from Patong to Cherng Talay. They were staying at a…
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Drunk British man with prosthetic arm responsible for Pattaya roadside crash – VIDEO
PHOTO: Sanook An allegedly drunk British man, with a prosthetic arm, was responsible for yesterday’s Pattaya incident when a black SUV plowed into motorbikes parked on the side of the road. Read The Thaiger story HERE. Sanook reports that the Toyota Fortuner that ran into the line of motorbikes, injuring many people along the way, was driven by a British man. 15 motorbikes…
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74 year old German arrested for alleged murder of teenage Thai wife in 2010
A 74 year old German, accused of stabbing his much younger wife to death, has been arrested after nine years on the run. Siam Rath reports that Heinz Jurgen Theil has been arrested in Chiang Rai province and is now in custody, charged with murder. Police say Theil is accused of stabbing his 17 year old wife, Janjira Jantapool, in…
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National Geographic tries to secure rights to produce Tham Luang rescue doco
National Geographic has made top level contact with the government-appointed Creative Media Committee to negotiate shooting a documentary about last July’s dramatic rescue operation at the Tham Luang caves in Chiang Rai. British diver Rick Stanton, who was actively involved in the complicated rescue operation to save the 13 young Mu Pa footballers, says that the British cave diving team wrote a letter to the…
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Foreign woman jumps into the water chasing ferry in Koh Lanta – VIDEO
A foreign woman has jumped into the sea in Krabi chasing a departing ferry. The boat captain Jennarong Srisuksai says, “The foreign woman was travelling with her boyfriend. They were too late for the car ferry.” “When the boat was already moving away from the pier at Koh Lanta, the woman leapt out of the car and jumped towards the…
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Air quality in 9 northern provinces worse in March-April
Smog problems in nine of Thailand’s northern provinces is forecast to get worse during the next two months due to forest fires. This is despite a complete ban on the open burning of vegetation or trash. Chongklai Worapongsathorn, deputy director-general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plants Conservation spoke to local fire fighters before they are sent to…
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Weather for February 27
Bangkok Partly cloudy. High 33ºC. Winds S at 10 to 15 km/h. Phuket Partly cloudy. High 33ºC. Winds ESE at 15 to 30 km/h. Chiang Mai Generally clear. High 36ºC. Winds SSE and variable. pattaya Partly cloudy. High 30ºC. Winds SSW at 15 to 25 km/h. Hua Hin Partly cloudy. High 31ºC. Winds SE at 15 to 25 km/h. Ko…
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Day One in the second Trump-Kim summit in Vietnam
PHOTO: A fake Kim Jong-un has been deported from Hanoi, Vietnam in the lead up to the second Trump-Kim Summit. Vietnam is letting fake Trump stay though.by The Korea Herald – Asia News NetworkUS President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will meet for two hours today in the first day of their second summit, according to Yonhap news agency.…
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Phitsanulok man arrested for sex blackmail of 200 women
A man in Phitsanulok province has been arrested for allegedly luring some 200 women to videotape sex on their phones and later extorting them for money. Pol Lt-General Surachate Hakparn, in his role leading Thailand’s Action Taskforce for Information Technology Crime Suppression (TACCTICS), held a media conference yesterday to announce the arrest of 35 year old Kittisak Nimboonchuen. Surachate says…
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PM disses debates “I just don’t see the necessity to take part”
by Kas Chanwanpen A prime ministerial candidate is refusing to take part in any of the televised political debates in the lead up to the election on March 24. Dismissing growing calls to join the up-coming round of debates, NCPO chief General Prayut Chan-o-cha has affirmed that he attached no importance to the calls for him to outline his vision,…
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Lemon-sized hailstones hit 700 homes around Udon Thani
by Seksanti Kalayanawisut “Some of the hailstones were as big as a lemon.” Udon Thani provincial authorities have inspected around 700 homes in Mueang, Phen, Ban Phue, Si That and Kumphawapi districts that were damaged in a freak hailstorm last night. At Tambon Nikhom Songkhro in Mueang district, Udon Thani deputy governor Pramote Thanyapheud led officials to check out damage…
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Dutch man arrested in Chon Buri on trafficking and overstay charges
PHOTOS: Immigration Bureau Immigration officers have arrested a Dutch man in Chon Buri following an Interpol posting and notification. The Immigration Bureau reports that Jacob Jan Schipper from the Netherlands has been arrested for human trafficking, operated a smuggling ring and tax avoidance. He was arrested at a condominium in Sattahip, Chon Buri. When he was found Immigration police also seized cash…
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Tour guide who can’t speak Thai arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport – VIDEO
A tour guide, with a license but who can’t speak Thai, has been arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport Officers are investigating the tour guide arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport this week. The tour guide has a legal guide license but was unable to speak Thai during questioning. The Tourist Police at the airport then arrested the man at the terminal. The tour…
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People hospitalised after car slams into parked motorbikes in Pattaya
PHOTO: We Love Pattaya A number of people are now recovering in hospital after a car slammed into a row of motorbikes parked along the Pattaya Beach Road. The incident took place at around 11am this morning (Tuesday). Video footage shows a badly damaged black Toyota Fortuner that had crashed into the parked motorbikes. Images shared to the We Love Pattaya…
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Exam students, interrupted by violent ordination revellers, can resit their test
“The monk, Phra Monthien, said he was so horrified when he heard about what had happened.” A dozen or so students, interrupted when a Bangkok school was attacked on Sunday by a group of 50 angry men running a rowdy ordination next door, will be given a chance to resit the important examination they were taking at the time. The…
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Rolling his way to Narathiwat raising funds for southern hospitals
PHOTO: ‘Uncle Mee’ during one his fund-raisers last year – The Nation A wheelchair user is on his way in a mega southern journey from Chiang Mai to Narathiwat in the south to raise funds for three hospitals in the southern border provinces. 56 year old Sathit Jantharangsi, or Uncle Mee, reached Phitsanulok last night and was heading to Nakhon…
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History of Thailand’s Southern Insurgency
Whenever there’s news about violence in southern Thailand, Thaiger readers may wonder who’s fighting who, and why. So we present a brief history of the insurgency which has gripped Thailand’s southernmost provinces for decades. The area has been coined the ‘deep south’ or the ‘restive south’ and has become, statistically, a more bloody conflict than the situation on the Gaza…
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Finnish boy, attacked by dogs, released from Krabi hospital
The five year old Finnish boy, who was attacked by stray dogs at Ao Nong Beach last week in Krabi, has been released from a hospital. Read more about the attack HERE. The Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha paid a visit to the Finnish boy last week. Read more HERE. His Majesty the King sent a vase of flowers and gifts to the…
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Chinese tourist rescued after choking on water in Koh Similans
PHOTOS: DNP A female Chinese tourist was rescued after choking on water at Koh Payu, in the middle of the Similan National Park island group, yesterday. The head of Similan Natioanl Park Ruamsin Manajongjaroen says that national park officers were notified about a Chinese tourist, 63 year old Gou Shifeng, who had got into difficulty whilst swimming at Koh Payu…
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Body of missing Burmese man found in reservoir in Chalong
The body of a Burmese man, who had been missing since Sunday night, has been found. Two Burmese men were swimming in a lagoon in Chalong late on Sunday afternoon. Searching was stopped at midnight on Sunday and resumed yesterday. Read more about the missing man HERE. Searching continued yesterday from noon. At 6.45pm the body of the Burmese man was found…
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Huawei continues investing in Thailand
PHOTO: Huawei president for SE Asia, James Wu during media conference at MWC 2019 in Barcelona, Spain. by Somluck Srimalee, The Nation Chinese tech giant Huawei Group has set aside an investment budget of US$81 million (2.5 billion baht) for Southeast Asia towards ICT enablement from 2019-21, focusing on OpenLabs, enabling cloud developers and cultivating ICT talent, James Wu, said.…
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Langkawi ferry bursts into flames – passengers safe – VIDEO
by Bernama/The Star – Asia News Network A passenger ferry travelling from the Kuah Ferry Terminal to Kuala Perlis in Langkawi island in Malaysia had to be evacuated after the passenger cabin filled with choking smoke. All the passengers were rescued by a nearby tour boat and local fishing boats. “The ferry stopped in the middle of the sea and we saw smoke…
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Counterfeit items valued over 1 million baht destroyed
8,904 counterfeit items, with a potential street value over one million baht, including prohibited imported goods, have been torched at the incinerator in Phuket Town today. The destruction of the fake goods was held this afternoon and led by Phuket Customs Office Chief Kanjana Suwachino. The goods seized were from 94 recent cases of seizures – in total 8,904 items valued around 1,015,272…
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Badminton player ends up impaled on his house fence
PHOTO: Thai Rath A 16 year old playing badminton last night in Pattaya will be thinking twice before getting up on a roof to retrieve his shuttlecock. He was playing with friends at the teenager’s house when the incident happened. The shuttlecock ended up on the roof so, as you do, 16 year old Thanaporn Suracha jumped up onto the…
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Temple revellers interrupt school exam in Bangkok
It’s been a Dharma drama after men celebrating a next door ordination ceremony didn’t respond well to the adjacent school asking them to turn down the music. 20 men, aged 18 to 41, have turned themselves in over the course of several hours last night and this morning to deny accusations that they’d assaulted teachers and students at a Bangkok…
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