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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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  • A quick guide to the Year of the Rat

    A quick guide to the Year of the Rat

    It’s the biggest annual celebration of all and sparks off a yearly exodus from the cities of China as families head home, or in many case to travel to other provinces or overseas during the two week festival. 25% of the 7.7 billion world population will Chinese New Year from today. The holiday is also called Lunar New Year and…

  • Air purifiers installed at Victory Monument whilst southern winds blow the smoke north

    Air purifiers installed at Victory Monument whilst southern winds blow the smoke north

    The Nation reports that the Rajaprajanukron Foundation, under Royal Patronage, installed four air- purifiers yesterday around the Victory Monument area in a trial of their effectiveness in filtering out PM2.5 dust particles. Silpasuay Raweesaengsoon, permanent secretary of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration says the machines can purify polluted air at the rate of two cubic metres per second. “Placed in areas…

  • Sugar industry asks the government to subsidise harvesting machinery

    Sugar industry asks the government to subsidise harvesting machinery

    Sugar factories are campaigning to cut and harvest raw sugarcane, instead of boring it first, for processing. The conglomerates are recommending that the government offer funding at low interest rates to farmers to buy harvesters as the prices of the equipment are quite high (6-12 million baht). They are also urging the government to purchase electricity from biomass power plants…

  • Shakedown rocks the top levels of the Royal Thai Police

    Shakedown rocks the top levels of the Royal Thai Police

    The upper echelons of the Royal Thai Police Force has been rattled by some high-profile shakedowns that have been ordered by executive order from the Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha. Starting with the former immigration chief, Pol Lt-Gen Surachat Hakparn, the PM has ordered him to “adhere strictly to the ethical code and discipline expected of all civil servants” Earlier this…

  • SCAM – Thailand’s PM2.5 micron smoke screen

    SCAM – Thailand’s PM2.5 micron smoke screen

    It’s cars, it’s the polluting buses, it’s people burning too many incense sticks. Every year it’s the same culprits in Bangkok, people driving their cars too much, polluting factories and old buses belching black smoke. All those things contribute to city pollution but are far from the main problem. So the government, reactive as usual, rolls out its PR machine…

  • Prasitthichai speaks to the Thai media, “killings were unintentional”

    Prasitthichai speaks to the Thai media, “killings were unintentional”

    In a bizarre sequence of events, Thai media were able to directly question the suspect, who has allegedly confessed, of the cold-blooded murders of three, whilst injuring four others, on January 9 at a Lop Buri gold shop. School principal Prasitthichai “Golf” Khaokaew is reported to have told police that he robbed the gold shop because he had financial problems…

  • Man survives drive-by shooting and crash, credits his Buddhist amulet

    Man survives drive-by shooting and crash, credits his Buddhist amulet

    A Pattaya man who was fired upon and crashed into a power pole early yesterday morning is thanking his lucky Buddha and crediting his Buddhist amulet with saving his life. 30 year old Waranyoo Kaewmala’s car was shot nine times, yet somehow miraculously escaped unharmed. Bang Lamung Police were notified of the incident at 2am rushed to the scene to…

  • 3 arrested for selling fake gold in Khon Kaen

    3 arrested for selling fake gold in Khon Kaen

    Three men are now in police custody in the north-eastern province of Khon Kaen for selling fake gold to gold shops. 42 year old Suparb from Udon Thani province, 41 year old Pakorn from Bangkok and 30 year old Thanakorn from Surin Province were arrested after police received complaints of fake gold chains being sold to several shops in the…

  • Lone gunman tells police he killed to “spice up his boring life”

    Lone gunman tells police he killed to “spice up his boring life”

    So how did Thai police track down and arrest the suspect, who has allegedly confessed, accused of a brutal and callous robbery and shooting which resulted in the death of three with four other injured? The suspect was arrested following an intensive 14 days of forensic investigation. 38 year old school principal, Prasitthichai Khaokaew, is now in custody, suspected of…

  • Baht will continue to remain strong throughout 2020

    Baht will continue to remain strong throughout 2020

    The Thai baht will continue to maintain its strength for the rest of 2020. It will remain strong, propelled by the increased surpluses in the Thai current account and the country’s trade balance. Kobsidthi Silpachai, KBank’s head of capital markets research, predicts that the Thai baht will float around 29.75 against the US dollar for the first half of 2020,…

  • Arrested Lop Buri murder suspect was a provincial headmaster

    Arrested Lop Buri murder suspect was a provincial headmaster

    The director (headmaster) of a Sing Buri school is now in police custody as a suspect in the case of the lone of being the lone gunman in a gold shop robbery at the Robinson’s Shopping Centre in Lop Buri province on January 9. Three people, including a two year old boy, were shot and killed, another four were injured…

  • Thailand’s PM2.5 micron elephant in the room – OPINION

    Thailand’s PM2.5 micron elephant in the room – OPINION

    It’s cars, it’s the polluting buses, it’s people burning too many incense sticks. Every year it’s the same culprits in Bangkok, people driving their cars too much, polluting factories and old diesel buses belching black smoke. All those things contribute to city pollution but are far from the main problem. So the government, reactive as usual, rolls out its PR…

  • School headmaster arrested and charged over the Lop Buri gold shop shootings

    School headmaster arrested and charged over the Lop Buri gold shop shootings

    Police have arrested a man in conjunction with the Lopburi gold shop shootings on January 9. The man is a 38 years old school headmaster from Sing Buri, the adjoining province to the west of Lop Buri in central Thailand. Police report that he has confessed to the shooting of the customers and staff, resulting in three deaths, including a two year old…

  • Survey shows that Thais feel “less safe”

    Survey shows that Thais feel “less safe”

    A recent survey by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, the Suan Dusit Poll, shows that Thais are more concerned about their safety than ever before, citing the country’s economic woes as the reason. The poll was conducted from January 15-18 on 1,365 people throughout the Kingdom of varying education levels and occupations. The survey followed a spate of serious crimes in…

  • Two Israeli tourists pickpocketed by Pattaya ladyboys

    Two Israeli tourists pickpocketed by Pattaya ladyboys

    Two Israeli men told Pattaya police that they were robbed by a pair of ladyboys, relieving them of around 2500 baht each. The incident was reported to police on Monday morning. At around 2am the tourists, both 21 year old Israelis, identified as Ahmad Mohammad and 33 year old Mojahad Samir called police to report a pickpocketing theft on Soi 2…

  • Thai PM mulls private car ban in pollution-stricken areas

    Thai PM mulls private car ban in pollution-stricken areas

    “Bangkok’s governor has also signed an order yesterday to close 437 schools in in the city today due to a forecast of higher pollution levels.” The government is considering a ban on private car use in areas affected by hazardous levels of air pollution. The harsh proposal was unveiled Tuesday by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha after a cabinet meeting in Narathiwat. The…

  • Pattaya man in coma after being shot in argument with ex-girlfriend’s father

    Pattaya man in coma after being shot in argument with ex-girlfriend’s father

    A man remains in a coma in Pattaya after sustaining serious injuries from a gunshot during an argument with his ex-girlfriend’s father on Saturday night. Police and emergency responders arrived at the scene in Banglamung district to find 29 year old Anucha Jansrithong with a gunshot wound. 20 year old Phonthip Ployboot told police that Anucha is her ex-boyfriend and alleged…

  • Opposition will ask NACC to probe Thai PM on three counts

    Opposition will ask NACC to probe Thai PM on three counts

    Seven of Thailand’s opposition parties are demanding that the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) investigate Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha for allegedly breaching the law on three issues. They claim… • The Prime Minister failed to state the sources of the Government’s revenue in its policy statement presented to parliament last year. • The process of selection of senators was illegal due…

  • Thailand’s Future Forward party cleared in surprise Court verdict

    Thailand’s Future Forward party cleared in surprise Court verdict

    The Constitutional Court have beaten their own schedule for a verdict by announcing late this morning a decision that cleared the Future Forward Party of charges that it was attempting to undermine “the democratic system under the monarchy”. The ruling is one of the few that have come out on the side of Government opposition parties in Thailand, and is considered…

  • Future Forward members gather to hear Constitutional Court’s verdict at 2pm

    Future Forward members gather to hear Constitutional Court’s verdict at 2pm

    Members and supporters of Thailand’s Future Forward Party are massing at the party’s headquarters in the on New Phetchaburi Road in Bangkok awaiting the Constitutional Court’s ruling on charges that it has engaged “in activities detrimental to the democratic system”. The case stems from a complain six months ago that Future Forward was involved in the imaginary “Illuminati” group, thought…

  • 32 year old British patient recovering in Phuket, suspected Coronavirus victim

    32 year old British patient recovering in Phuket, suspected Coronavirus victim

    UPDATE HERE. A British tourist is reported to be fighting for his life in a Phuket hospital. He could be the first Western victim of the coronavirus strain sweeping through China, according to Doctors at the hospital, but is yet to be confirmed. This latest coronavirus, related to the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) and MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome)…

  • Coronavirus spreads north and south in China – 139 new cases reported

    Coronavirus spreads north and south in China – 139 new cases reported

    Another 139 new cases of a flu-like disease caused by a new strain of coronavirus in China has shocked health officials. There’s also been a third confirmed death reported today. Worse, the outbreak has now spread beyond Wuhan in central China where the virus was first identified. There have been cases reported in Beijing, a province next door to Shanghai and…

  • Bangkok IT mall fire sparks evacuation

    Bangkok IT mall fire sparks evacuation

    A fire broke out at a Bangkok mall on Sunday, leading to the evacuation of the Fortune Town IT Mall building on Ratchadaphisek Road. No deaths or injuries were reported. Fortune Town is a popular shopping destination for IT and electronics enthusiasts, opposite Central World Plaza and located directly above the Rama 9 MRT station. Traffic Radio reported the fire at…

  • Police question suspect in Lop Buri gold shop shootings

    Police question suspect in Lop Buri gold shop shootings

    Police in the northeastern province of Nong Khai are confident they’ve identified a suspect in the January 9 gold shop robbery and shooting in the central Lop Buri province that killed three people, including a two-year boy, and injured four others. The man was summoned for questioning. National police chief Chakthip Chaijinda says that the man, whose identity is currently…

  • Future Forward prepare for probable disbandment by the Thai Constitutional Court

    Future Forward prepare for probable disbandment by the Thai Constitutional Court

    The Future Forward Party is bracing itself for, what they expect, will end up in the disbandment of their political party when the Constitution Court meets tomorrow. Over the weekend the party’s secretary-general Piyabutr Saengkanokkul denied accusations that his party is trying to overthrow the Thai regime, an allegation made by Dr. Natthaporn Toprayoon, a former advisor to the chief…

  • Poor air quality dogs the capital, even before the morning’s traffic starts

    Poor air quality dogs the capital, even before the morning’s traffic starts

    Bangkok awakes on Monday, even before the traffic starts choking up the city air and the factories puff their pollution into the Bangkok skies, with appalling air quality. With light winds and hot temperatures, the city is in for another bad day of air quality. Even at 6am this morning Bangkok ranked number 13 in the worst air pollution of…

  • Suspect questioned over the fatal gold heist at Aurora Gold Shop in Lop Buri

    Suspect questioned over the fatal gold heist at Aurora Gold Shop in Lop Buri

    A suspect has been summoned for questioning in Thailand’s north-eastern province of Nong Khai, just south of the Laos border. It’s believed he may be the man who shot and killed three people, and injured four others during a gold shop heist on January 9 in Lop Buri province. The man, whose identity has not been disclosed, matches the suspect’s…

  • More coronavirus cases detected in China, global alert for Chinese New Year

    More coronavirus cases detected in China, global alert for Chinese New Year

    Chinese medical officials have now reported four more cases of the viral pneumonia strain caused by a new coronavirus. The discoveries are causing rising concern that the disease is not fully understand and could spread during the upcoming Chinese New Year holidays. The new virus, originating in the Chinese city of Wuhan – the apparent epicentre of the outbreak –…

  • Dutchman jailed for 100 years in Thailand for money laundering is released

    Dutchman jailed for 100 years in Thailand for money laundering is released

    A Dutch citizen who was jailed for 100 years in Thailand, is now on his way home after years of campaigning for his release. His sentence was reduced to 75 years on appeal and later to 50 years by the Supreme court. Johan van Laarhoven, who ran several cannabis “coffee shops” in Holland, was jailed in Thailand for money laundering, along…

  • Tour bus crash in northern Thailand injures 8

    Tour bus crash in northern Thailand injures 8

    Eight people are injured, one seriously, after a tour bus crashed in northern Thailand’s northern Nan Province yesterday morning. The bus skidded into a mountain slope at a curve in the main city district. Thai media report that the bus was found lying on its side when police and rescue workers arrived at the scene. The 32 year old driver, Yutthapong…