Thailand News
Discover the most recent and relevant news from across Thailand on The Thaiger’s National News page. Covering a wide range of topics, including politics, business, crime, and lifestyle, our dedicated team brings you breaking news, in-depth analysis, and exclusive stories from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.
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Chiang Rai: Border patrol policemen searching cave shafts today
Officials resumed the search operations for the 13 missing footballers in Chiang Rai’s Tham Luang Cave at 7am. Forestry officials, Disaster Prevention and Mitigation officials, border patrol policemen and officials from other agencies started preparing equipment and foods to survey shafts leading to the cave. Some prepared equipment to climb down a 40 metre deep shaft after they climbed down…
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Bangkok: AMLO seizes bank accounts worth 134 million baht
The Anti-Money Laundering Office has sequestered about 134 million baht in bank accounts of four former senior monks implicated in the temple fund embezzlement scandal. Thai PBS is reporting that, according to the AMLO website, the seized cash deposits and bank accounts included: seven bank accounts worth 132 million baht of Phra Phrommasith, former abbot of Wat Saket; one bank…
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Bangkok: PM calls for support in Government reform agenda
The National News Bureau of Thailand reports that the PM is calling for younger Thais to be sympathetic towards the government’s efforts to implement structural reforms. PM Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha called for the support during a speech to youth participants in the Tree of Love music contest. He said that his administration has come up with a national strategy to…
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Songs of hope
Messages of support are pouring in from all corners of the country as the rescue mission for 12 boys and their football coach missing in a Chiang Rai cave reached its sixth day yesterday. Popular singers, YouTube stars and a national artist have lent their moral support to rescue efforts. National artist and a Sea Write winner Nawarat Pongpaiboon penned…
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Update: Chiang Rai search delves deeper into the caves
PHOTO: The Nation In the sixth day of the operation to rescue the 12 young footballers and their coach trapped in Tham Luang cave. Authorities have mobilised all their resources to reach them with the help of rescue teams from several countries, some specialist cave divers, but have face difficult conditions, rough terrains and poor weather. The Chiang Rai governor…
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Chiang Rai: Survival boxes being dropped into cave openings
As rescuers use heavy-duty drilling equipment to drill into the roof of some of the Tham Luang caves where the missing 13 are thought to be stranded, officials are sending in food and survival boxes into the flooded waterways coursing through the tunnels. The Nation is reporting that officials are dropping dozens of plastic boxes containing food, maps and mobile phones…
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Chiang Rai: Thai PM visits Chiang Rai search site
PHOTO: Thai PBS The Thai PM has been visiting the search site at the Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district today. He’s offered hope to the families of the 12 teenage footballers and their coach saying that they will all survive the ordeal as search reaches its sixth day. The PM arrived at Tham Luang-Khunnam Nangnon national park this…
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Tobacco farmers rally at Chiang Mai city hall
Chiang Mai City Life is reporting that tobacco farmers have filed a petition after the Thai Tobacco Authority announced it will cease all purchasing for three years. On June 28 over 300 tobacco farmers and entrepreneurs rallied at the Chiang Mai City Hall to file a petition to the Ministry of Finance regarding an announcement by the Government that the…
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Malaysia: Biggest seizure in history – New Straits Times
PHOTO: New Straits Times “Items included 423 watches worth 78 million Malaysian Ringit, including the most expensive one, a Rolex Paul Newman Daytona worth about 3.5 million Ringit. (1 Malaysian Ringit = ~8 Thai Baht) PBS English is reporting that up to 1.1 billion Malaysian Ringit (about 9 billion baht) worth of cash, jewellery, luxury handbags and watches, as well…
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Chiang Rai: 650 personnel now involved in the search
PHOTOS: The Nation The cave search party grows after another night of rain. Police sniffer dogs have now joined the rescue workers and Border Patrol police looking for access ways to the cave from the mountaintop above. The number of personnel and sniffer dogs involved in the search has reached 650. The search for 12 young footballers and their assistant…
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US teacher, accused of student rape in 1982, extradited from Thailand after 36 years on the run
PHOTO: Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger Former Milton Academy theater program director Reynold Buono appeared in Dedham Superior Court on Wednesday. Buono pleaded not guilty to three counts of rape of a child and three counts of rape of a child with force. The Boston Globe is reporting that 72 year old Reynold Buono, a former drama teacher at Milton Academy…
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Malaysia: Chinese tourists fined for dancing in front of Kota Kinabalu mosque
PHOTO: Facebook/Sabah Info Dancing on crab sculptures, dancing in front of mosques. Chinese will do anything for THAT selfie. Channel News Asia have reported that two Chinese tourists, caught on video dancing in front of a mosque in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, were fined RM25 (200 baht) each. Dance coaches 27 year old Wan Han and 25 year old Zhang Na committed the offence…
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Malaysia: Luxury items seized from ex-Malaysian PM Najib’s residences valued at over 10 billion baht
Straitstimes.com is reporting that Items seized from six premises linked to Malaysia’s ousted PM Najib Razak as part of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) probe are valued between RM900 million and RM1.1 billion (nearly 10 billion THB) – making it the biggest seizure the police has ever made in the country’s history. Police’s Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) chief Amar…
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Bangkok: Amnesty International questions Thailand’s commitment to abolish the death penalty
Khaosod English are reporting that Amnesty International Thailand says that it’s unsure whether the government’s fourth national human rights plan will once again commit to abolition as an explicit goal. Uncertainty is looming over Thailand’s commitment to abolish the death penalty in light of massive public support for capital punishment and the recent surprise execution at the Bang Kwan jail in…
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Bangkok: Nine arrests net 70 million baht in drugs and assets
By Khanathit Srihirundaj Five successful drug busts had led to the arrest of nine suspects along with 700kg of marijuana, 2.8kg of cocaine, 306,000 methamphetamine pills, 2kg of crystal meth or “ice”, four vehicles and 12 cell phones. The evidence was worth over 70 million baht. The announcement today from National police chief General Chakthip Chaijinda. In the first case,…
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Chiang Rai: Army chief says ‘hopes remain high’
The Army Commander in Chief, General Chalermchai Sitthisart says hopes remain high in the search for 12 young football players and their deputy coach who went missing last Saturday afternoon in the flooded Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai province. He was speaking during a visit to the operational site in front of the cave in Mae Sai district. “The…
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Songkhla: Teachers, parents and students protest new school director
Teachers and parents have joined students of a school in Songkhla to protest against the transfer to their school of a new director who has been alleged to already have a tainted image. The demonstration was held this morning (Wednesday) at the Nawamintha Chuthit Thaksin School in Muang district. It was attended by about 2,000 students, teachers and representatives of…
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Chiang Rai: HM The King calls for crowd control in the cave search
By Jakrawan Salaytoo The Thai Interior Minister General Anupong Paojinda has told reporters at Government House in Bangkok that the King shares the public’s concern for the missing party. His Majesty the King has instructed officials to ensure that the crowd gathered outside a Chiang Rai cave does not impede the continuing search for 12 youngsters and their football coach…
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Nakhon Phanom: Up in smoke
Nakhon Phanom’s provincial administration has destroyed 8,700 kilograms of seized marijuana to mark the “International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking”. The drugs were destroyed in a massive fire in a local field. Provincial Governor Somchai Witdamrong chaired the ceremony, held at 9am on the field in front of the Nakhon Phanom rangers’ command. Somchai said the marijuana had…
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Chiang Mai: Mission ‘Rabies’
In response to the increased number of human deaths from rabies in Thailand this year, Mission Rabies was keen to work with the government to protect the communities of Chiang Mai. Upon the kind invitation of Chiang Mai Municipality, San Pong municipality and Khi Lek municipality, Mission Rabies, in combination with WVS Thailand (locally known as WVS Care for Dogs),…
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Chiang Mai: Axe-wielding monk attacks abbot and nun at temple
A small quarrel has led to an abbot being attacked by a monk with an axe in Mae Rim, north-west of Chiang Mai city. Chiang Mai City news reports that the assault took place at Huay Pha Pu in Pong Yaeng, Mae Rim, after a quarrel broke out between an 58 year old monk and a newly appointed acting abbot,…
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Pattaya: Chinese and Vietnamese tourists dotting Pattaya landmark with stickers
Pattaya Update News is reporting that they’ve received numerous complaints from angry locals who are furious with Chinese and Vietnamese tourists for defacing a famous Pattaya landmark. They report that the Asian tourists have been pasting stickers, used to identify tour members and tour groups at the temple of Wat Nong Yai in Bang Lamung. Trees, pillars, walls, vegetation and…
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Chiang Rai: Search area becomes crowded with media and onlookers
The ongoing search in Chiang Rai, where 13 members of a football team are trapped inside by rising floodwaters, is starting to suffer from too much media and local interest. The search of Luang Cave in Tham Luang-Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park is being led by Navy SEAL personnel, who have been joined by teams of experts from universities…
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Chiang Mai: Gas tank explosion kills man, destroys half the house
A faulty gas tank has exploded in the home of a man in Saraphi, south-west of Chiang Mai’s city centre, killing him instantly. The explosion also destroyed half the man’s home. This incident happened over the weekend. Police rushed to the scene at a house in Nong Pheung, Saraphi. Police entered the home and discovered a man who had been…
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Myanmar: Sacked – Top general accused of involvement in Rohingya crackdown
PHOTO: Major General Maung Maung Soe amd defacto Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi Myanmar is accused of a crackdown in Rakhine state that has, so far, forced 700,000 Rohingya to flee. The UN and major western powers describe the crackdown as “ethnic cleansing”. In response, Myanmar’s military now says it’s sacked a top general who was named in fresh EU…
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Phichit: Hundreds affected by Dengue
All 12 districts in the province of Phichit in central Thailand will soon be declared dengue outbreak control zones with 652 cases of dengue fever now reported in the province so far this year. A committee in charge of disease control made the call this week in a bid to integrate efforts by all pertinent government agencies. The committee was…
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Chiang Rai: Search continues for missing teenagers in flooded cave
The desperate search continues today for 12 children and their coach from a local football team who went missing in a Chiang Rai flooded cave on Saturday afternoon. Rescue teams will search to the end of the limestone cave that is believed to be the fourth longest cave in Thailand. So far, searchers have found children’s slippers, footprints and palm…
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Chaiyaphum: 35 year old man stabbed 30 times
A 35 year old Chaiyaphum man has stabbed to death in his bedroom in the Chaturas district, north-east of Bangkok, early today (Tuesday). Police said there appear to have been signs of fighting in Wutthichai Wamin’s room and that he had been hit on the head with a blunt object and stabbed more than 30 times. Chaturas police station was…
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Election date delay mooted
Dates for the forthcoming election, earmarked for February 2019 for the last year, are now in flux again following yesterday’s meeting between potential future political players and the NCPO. The election is likely to take place some time between February 24 and May 5 next year, this from the Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam at yesterday’s meeting. It is the first time…
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Deputy PM Prawit calls the Time Magazine article ‘factually innacurate’
It hasn’t even landed on the magazine stands yet and already the Time magazine article is causing controversy. Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan is denying that the government or the NCPO has banned the distribution and sale of Time magazine’s Asia edition for July 2 issue. Read our story about the Time Prayut feature HERE. Prawit is reported by Thai PBS…
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