Hot News
Thailand hot news, breaking stories, crime, politics, tourism, and business—stay updated with in-depth reports and exclusive interviews on the latest events across the country. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Thailand news source.
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Sponsored How one hospital visit in Thailand could cost more than your whole trip
Thailand is a favourite spot for travellers who want to enjoy more while spending less. From cheap street food to low-cost hotels and fun attractions, it’s easy to stretch your budget here. But there’s one thing many people don’t think...
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30 new cameras ready to catch traffic running red lights in Bangkok
PHOTO: Daily News 30 major intersections will be fitted with red-light cameras to fine people going through intersections and ignoring red traffic lights. Testing will take place during June and the cameras likely to be operational in July. The cameras will detect the registration plate number and send you an automatic fine through the post. Police say that despite rumours of…
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Ship owner fined 50,000 baht for chemical fire at Laem Chabang port
The Port Authority of Thailand has slapped a 50,000 baht fine on the South Korean owner of a container ship which caught fire at the Laem Chabang deep-sea port on Saturday morning, causing a chemical fire and smoke blanketing surrounding communities. Laem Chabang is just north of Pattaya fronting the Gulf of Thailand. Meanwhile, Thai PBS reports that about 1,000…
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Four Thai marine species announced as ‘reserved animals’
PHOTOS: DMCR / Dr Thon Thamrongnawasawat Bryde’s whale, Omura’s whale, whale sharks and leather back turtles have been added to the list of ‘reserved wild animals’. The new Wild Animal Reservation and Protection Act was announced yesterday. Animal species which included Bryde’s whale, Omura’s whale, whale shark and leather back turtle are now a registered ‘reserved animal’, before they are…
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Democrats walk away from coalition as bickering continues over ministerial portfolios
It was off, then on again. Now it appears that it’s off, but that could change as today continues. The Pro-army Palang Pracharat’s efforts to build a coalition to form a majority government in the new Thai lower house have reached a new stumbling block amid bickering over ministerial portfolios,. Just two days ago the Bhumjaithai and Democrat parties seemed…
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Roll the drums Phuket. Prepare the balloons. Chalong Underpass opens Friday.
But it’s not Friday yet and there have been plenty of other delays. Chalong Circle’s 350 metre underpass should be open on Friday according to local highway officials. The roadworks have profoundly changed business and movement of locals in the southern part of the island for nearly four years. Many businesses were forced to move, others went broke, some residents…
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Suvarnabhumi’s third runway closer to reality
The contracts for the construction of Suvarnabhumi Airport’s third runway are ready to be signed. But it isn’t likely to happen until later this year according to Airports of Thailand (AoT). The AoT president Nitinai Sirismatthakarn says the new 21.7 billion baht third runway, which is included in the airport’s second-phase development plan, was already approved by the cabinet. “It…
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Bryde’s whale found dead off Petchaburi coast
PHOTOS: Troy Beer/Thai Whales An autopsy is being conducted on a dead Bryde’s whales found off the Petchaburi coast in the Gulf of Thailand. The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) report that they were notified of the dead Bryde’s whale being found off the Petchaburi coast yesterday. The female Bryde’s whale is about 10 metres long. It had…
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Thailand travel tax. Good idea but…
by Don Ross – ttrweekly.com “The changes to the law came into effect on May 20. Now, the panic button has been pressed. A workable package and collection process needs to be hammered out and fast.” Thailand is looking to introduce a tourist tax, either on arrival or departure, that will be, according to officials, used to fund accident insurance and…
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Travel’s dynamic changes – A personal perspective
by Andrew J Wood – President SKÅL International Bangkok With the dramatic announcement of the sale of retail travel giant Thomas Cook following the loss of £1.5 billion brings the blight of the travel agent community into the news once more. Last week Wall Street bank Citigroup advised investors to sell shares in the travel company. Confidence that travel agents…
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Democrats cancel meeting to decide if they will join coalition
The posturing between Democrats and Palang Pracharat continues as a call for key ministerial positions by the Democrats is being met with resistance. The Democrats are threatening to pull out of a potential coalition with Palang Pracharat after cancelling a meeting yesterday where members were to decide if they’d join the pro-army alliance. A Democrat source says that there is still…
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Tourism body confident that tourist number will reach 40 million in 2019
Predictions are, despite a few bumps along the way, that the number of tourists coming to Thailand in 2019 will still reach 40 million. The University of the Thai Chambers of Commerce’s Centre for Economic and Business Forecasting is still positives following campaigns promoting tourism in local cities and the extension of the waiver of the visa-on-arrival fee. The Director…
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Patong municipality reports untreated wastewater from Kalim hotel to police – VIDEO
VIDEO: Bong Marquez The video of the untreated wastewater bursting on Kalim beach on Sunday afternoon has caused an official report made to Patong police. A Facebook user “Bong Marquez” posted a video of the black water gurgling up through the sands at Kalim Beach and into the Patong Bay on Sunday. The video has had 230,000 views. Patong’s…
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Port fire damage exceeds 100 million baht
by Pratch Rujivanarom Thailand Port Authority director Kamolsak Phromprayoon says that losses from the huge fire and chemical spill at Laem Chabang Seaport on Saturday are estimated to be more than 100 million baht, while environmental campaigners are urging authorities to demand compensation from the people responsible for carrying the undisclosed hazardous chemicals. On Saturday morning toxic chemical cargo onboard…
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Democrats receive official invitation to join Palang Pracharat
PHOTO: Thai PBS Palang Pracharat have sent an official invitation to the Democrats to join their party. But that’s an invitation to join their political party, not an invitation for drinks and balloons. Party leader Uttama Savanayana and core party members, namely Somsak Thepsuthin, Suriya Juangroongruangkit and party secretary-general Sontirat Sontijirawong, visited the Democrat party’s head office today. They were politely received by…
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Tourist Police raid the C Ekkamai condo to arrest people running rooms as ‘hotel’ – Bangkok
PHOTO: Thai Tourist Police Bureau page on Facebook Follow up to a story last week where residents of a condo tower in Bangkok were complaining that many of the rooms were being run as a quasi-hotel. The Thai Tourist Police Bureau sent 40 officialst to the luxury Bangkok condominium. The raid was actually last Thursday, three days after the story…
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Thailand’s pro-army party hopes to seal deal with Democrats and Bhumjaithai today
PHOTO: The Nation Palang Pracharat, the political party supporting Thailand’s Junta, is hoping it can complete negotiations and make a deal today to which would see it with enough parliamentary seats to keep Prayut Chan-o-cha in power as prime minister. This analysis from a lawmaker who is a board member of the Palang Pracharat party in a Reuters article. The…
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The magic disappearing murky and muddy waters of Pattaya’s Jomtien Beach
PHOTOS: Pattaya Message Officials from Chon Buri Municipality says there is no source of wastewater found after inspections along the canals. The video of the untreated sewage and wastewater gushing into the Gulf of Thailand has accumulated 1.5 million views already. Read more and see the video HERE. The ‘stop gap’ solution was a real STOP GAP solution as they rammed…
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Beam me up Phuket – new space theme hotel for the island
A 150 key space themed hotel is under development in Kathu, Phuket, by a Singaporean group . Located close to the Central Festival and Makro complexes, the project is expected to open next year according to a report in TTG Asia. The One Pioneer – Beyond Space Travel hotel say it’s “highly focused on an outer space storyline and will have…
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Former PM Chuan elected speaker of lower house
If the first item on the new parliament’s agenda is any indication, it’s going to be a very dynamic lower house. Things didn’t go smoothly on the first day. Ex-PM Chuan Leekpai, a Democrat candidate proposed by the pro-junta Phalang Pracharat Party, secured 258 votes to 235 for Pheu Thai nominee Sompong Amornvivat. One MP abstained. Some Pheu Thai PMs…
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Tourist arrivals up, but Chinese down. April 2019 tourist numbers.
The Thai sports and tourism ministry reports that Thailand saw a 3.31% rise in total tourist arrivals in April compared to a year earlier, after a 0.69% decline in March. 3.2 million tourists in April spent about 164 billion baht ($5.15 billion), which is up 3.9% from the month of April in 2018. But visitors from China, Thailand’s biggest feeder…
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100 baht tourist tax to cover basic insurance and repatriation
Every foreign tourist arriving or departing Thailand will be charged 100 baht for basic insurance which would cover money for emergencies and repatriation of their body if they meet with misadventure. As reported yesterday, the Thai Ministry of Tourism and Sports proposes that every foreign tourist visiting Thailand should be charged a levy to cover basic insurance and life insurance.…
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IKEA Thailand launches full online store
“…it took IKEA about two years to study the market demand, develop the infrastructure, and prepare everything before launching their e-commerce service in Southeast Asia.” by Kwanchai Rungfapairsarn IKEA Thailand has announced the official launch of its IKEA Online Store as it gets set to better provide for individual customers across the Kingdom. IKEA Thailand say the seamless online shopping…
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Thanathorn is able to attend this afternoon’s opening of Parliament
PHOTO: Future Forward party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, heading to the opening of Parliament today? Future Forward party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit has been told he can attend the opening of parliament today by His Majesty the King in the conference hall of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But the 41 year old leader of Future Forward is yet to confirm his attendance…
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5G: Welcome to instant internet
5G will change everything. What 2, 3 and 4G have improved on, 5G will revolutionise and open up even more online possibilities. The internet-of-things will become the virtual internet of everything! 5G’s lightning speed will operate in almost real time – so fast it will actually be almost 200 faster than a human’s usual reaction time. But most of us…
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Thanathorn forced to sit out Parliament opening today amid media share controversy
“This is not the time to lose hope. It’s the time to stand against injustice.” – Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit The Constitutional Court has agreed to hear the Election Commission’s plea to disqualify Future Forward leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit from the House of Representatives over his alleged shareholding in media company V-Luck. The judges voted 9-0 to hear the case, and suspended the…
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What to do in Phuket – A Unique Guide
A modern Holiday Membership Club with its flagship office at the luxurious Patong Bay Hill Resort on Hasibpee Hill, Club Unique offers members an endless choice of possibilities as well as an almost limitless array of luxuries across a global platform. While a stay with Club Unique is exceptional in itself, the staff are eager to offer members & guests…
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Koh Lan stinks! Environmentalist calls for limit on tourism.
“The atmosphere at the island’s Ta Waen Beach resembles that of a disaster refugee camp.” An environmental health expert is calling for the number of visitors to Koh Lan in Chon Buri to be cut to less than 5,000 a day to tackle the overwhelming garbage problem. Ko Lan is 10 kilometres off the coast of Pattaya. Sonthi Kotchawat, in…
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Chiang Mai Song Thaew drivers see red over Grab
Chiang Mai’s Grab vs traditional public transport continues. The issue has simmered for two years with occasional outbreaks of violence and an ongoing war of words on social media. Thai PBS reports that the spat has become a major problem again between the public Red Song Thaews and Grab Cars in the northern city. On the one hand members of…
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Coalition talks. And then there were…. THREE
PHOTO: Facebook page of Bhumjaithai leader Anutin Charnvirakul With HM The King opening parliament on May 24, it is hoped that the political horse-trading may be over when the new lower house sits for the first time. The two parties that hold the key to a workable majority coalition are the Democrats and Bhumjaithai. They have been prevaricating for more…
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“Cannabis Walk Thailand” heads south on its 268 kilometre march
PHOTO: Thai PBS 11 civic groups set off yesterday from Phichit in northern Thailand embarking on a 268 kilometre “Cannabis Walk Thailand”. It started yesterday at the Wachiraphotiyarn Monastery. The march will end at Wat Bang Pla More in the central province of Suphan Buri. Campaigners are using the walk to raise awareness of easier access to medicinal cannabis. They’re also highlighting…
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