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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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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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Using religion in your election campaign is OK: Election Commission
The Election Commission (EC) has ruled that it is acceptable to use religion and religious symbolism while campaigning for the upcoming general election. EC secretary-general Jarungwit Phumma said this decision was made in response to a petition from a Buddhist coordination centre, which questioned a candidate’s use of the Lord Buddha in his campaign banner. “Using religion is not against…
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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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Southern ranger killed, two injured in Yala bomb ambush
PHOTOS: The Nation Southern insurgents have detonated a home-made bomb in a roadside ambush of a patrol unit of rangers in Yala’s Bannang Sata district. The fatal incident happened this morning, killing one ranger and injuring another. Yala provincial police were informed of the blast at 9.25am. It occurred on the main road in Tambon Bacho’s Ban Ubae village. 33…
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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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AirAsia adds more Thailand-Vietnam flights
PHOTO: The Golden Bridge in the Ba Na Hills, near Da Nang Thai AirAsia says it’s adding new routes linking Thailand to destinations in Vietnam, as it seeks to increase its market share in the Mekong Region – Cambodia, Southern China provinces, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam The latest promotion supports the launch of a service from Chiang Mai in North…
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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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Weather for February 26
Bangkok Morning thunderstorms. High 32ºC. Winds S at 15 to 25 km/h. Chance of rain 40%. Phuket Generally clear. High 32ºC. Winds ESE at 15 to 30 km/h. Chiang Mai Generally clear. High 36ºC. Winds S at 10 to 15 km/h. pattaya Morning thunderstorms. High 30ºC. Winds S at 15 to 25 km/h. Chance of rain 40%. Hua Hin Partly…
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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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Foreign couple drinking on top of Chiang Mai’s historic wall
PHOTO: Chiang Mai News Chiang Mai, tourists and historic sites just don’t seem to mix well. This time, two people are in trouble after they were photographed having a drink sitting casually on top of one of Chiang Mai’s historic walls. The Chiang Mai News Facebook page is calling on the authorities to take action. As usual, netizens saw 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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Eleven passengers recovered from dive boat after it hit rocks off Koh Similan group
PHOTOS: Phang Nga DDPM Four foreigners and seven Thai boat crew have been saved after a diving boat collided with rocks off the Similans yesterday morning. Similan National Park officials were informed that the diving boat, named ‘Panthip 2’, had collided with rocks off Lek Beach near Koh Miang in the Similan island group at 2.45am yesterday. National Park official…
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Thai AirAsia looking to purchase stake in local rival Nok Air
Having a cashed-up and aggressive competitor looking to buy a stake in Nok Air will send more shudders down the corridors of the lumbering local behometh, Thai Airways. Asia Aviation, the majority shareholders of Thailand’s low-cost Air Asia franchise Thai AirAsia, says it was considering buying a stake in local rival Nok Airlines. The announcement has sent Nok’s share prices…
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Come into my world. Tribhum is now open.
“Tribhum – The Mystical Three Worlds” is Phuket’s newest tourist attraction situated in the new Central Floresta. It’s a 3D walkthrough adventure theme park in which visitors are transported into a mystical realm of Siamese legend and fantasy. “Tribhum” is pronounced try-POOM (with soft ‘OO’ sound). Located on the roadside of the new Central Floresta, “Tribhum – The Mystical Three…
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Locals and business operators protest luxury condo in Kata Noi
Business operators and locals in Kata Noi have marched to protest a luxury condo construction. Kata Noi locals were led by executive president of the Kata Thani Collection hotels group, Sombat Adiset. The protest aimed to halt the construction which has already begun. Khun Sombat says, “This started two years ago and locals have been fighting to stop the construction…
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Undoing a 90 year ban on female monks
STORY & PHOTOS: Kate Geraghty Perspective from Sydney Morning Herald writer Kate Geraghty. It’s not only western religions that bar woman from participation in religious teachings. It’s 4am and the odd rooster is crowing in the cool hours before day breaks and three saffron-robed monks from the all-female Songdhammakalyani Monastery are making their way through the back streets of Nakhon Pathom,…
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Krabi’s Naga Fest 2019 coming soon
The Krabi private and public sector, in conjunction with the Tourism Authority of Thailand, are holding the Krabi Naga Fest 2019 from March 1-3 on the Khlong Muang Beach in Krabi. Under the theme of ‘Breezing Beach & Music’, the event’s three day program offers festival goers a wide variety of activities to enjoy including performances by well-known pop-jazz musicians…
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New points system for traffic violations comes into force mid-year
Keeping your license will now be a bit more complicated under amendments to the Thai Road Traffic Act. But good drivers have nothing to worry about. There’s now a new points system added to the Road Traffic Act which will come into force when it’s finally announced in the Royal Gazette. The National Legislative Assembly sat yesterday to vote the…
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Weather for February 25
Bangkok Partly cloudy. High 33ºC. Winds S at 15 to 30 km/h. Phuket Generally clear. High 32ºC. Winds SE at 15 to 30 km/h. Chiang Mai Generally clear. High 37ºC. Winds S at 10 to 15 km/h. pattaya Morning thunderstorms. High 31ºC. Winds S at 15 to 30 km/h. Chance of rain 50%. Hua Hin Partly cloudy. High 32ºC. Winds…
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Burmese man missing in dam in Chalong
Two Burmese men were swimming in a lagoon in Chalong last night. As of this this morning, one of them remains missing. Kusoldharm rescue workers were notified of the incident at the Klong Katha reservoir behind Wat Luang Pu Supa (Silsuparam Temple) at 4pm last night. At the scene they spoke to a 23 year old Burmese man named ‘Joe’,…
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