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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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Sponsored See the best of Northern Thailand this winter on a budget
The Thaiger key takeaways Peak season brings higher prices, but smart planning and local know-how can help you experience Northern Thailand affordably. Chiang Mai, Pai, and Chiang Rai offer plenty of free or low-cost attractions, from temples and canyons to...
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‘Krabi Premium’ launched by the Tourism Authority of Thailand
PHOTO: Sunset Cruise at Nam Mao Bay, Krabi – TAT The Tourism Authority of Thailand Krabi Office is launching its ‘Krabi Premium’ marketing concept aimed at delivering ‘the best of the best’ of the southern Thai province. The TAT says it will offer “meaningful experiences to tourists” to hopefully stimulate spending and generate additional revenue for local communities in the…
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China’s manufacturing sector improves during September
PHOTO: China Daily “Caixin said confidence among goods producers was still subdued as worries persisted over the outcome of China-US trade negotiations.” China’s manufacturing sector showed unexpected signs of improvement during September with two indexes showing that manufacturing activity edged up, despite ongoing trade pressures with the US. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the Purchasing Managers’ Index rose…
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China gives Thai Princess Medal of Friendship in lavish Beijing ceremony
Thailand’s HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn has been awarded the Medal of Friendship from The People’s Republic of China, the highest medal offered to foreigners by China. The presentation ceremony happened yesterday in Beijing in a lavish ceremony held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, before officials and other recipients of the award. The award was given as…
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Samui airport ‘spy cam’ taken offline after police raid home of British expat
FILE PHOTO: panvimanresortkohphangan.com Police, immigration and airport authorities have closed down a ‘spy cam’ that was providing real-time video of activities at Koh Samui’s Airport. Police headed to a house next to the Koh Samui Airport after complaints that a CCTV camera was recording take-offs and landings at the airport. The authorities deemed that the camera could pose a security risk.…
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Ancient human skeletons discovered south of Chiang Mai
Officials from the Fine Arts Office 7 report that they have excavated ancient skeletons in the Wiang Tha Kan archaeological site, in the San Pa Tong district, south of Chiang Mai city. Up to 23 ancient human skeletons, plus the skeleton of a horse, have so far been found. They are estimated to be at least a 1,000 years old.…
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Hong Kong stocks open lower, another weekend of strife ahead
PHOTO: AFP More protests in Hong Kong over the weekend, and threats of interruptions to communist China’s 70th anniversary celebrations starting tomorrow, is weighing heavily on investors this morning. Hong Kong stocks opened lower this morning, extending losses at the end of last week, a day before mass pro-democracy protests planned in the city on communist China’s 70th anniversary. The…
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“Richest man in Khon Kaen” in stand-off with police
PHOTO: Sanook A foreigner, previously covered in the media last week after driving his Ferrari into the rear of a female’s car, and then attacking her, is back in the headlines with another case, again in Khon Kaen, north-east Thailand. According to Sanook, ‘Wesly’ held a knife to his own throat for over 7 hours, but police officers finally persuaded…
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Transport Minister pressures State Railway board to resign
PHOTO: The Nation Board members of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) are expected to tender their resignations to Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob ‘soon’, according to sources to The Nation. There has been speculation for some time that the members have been under pressure to resign, as the minister reportedly wants to reconstitute the board. Among many other issues, the…
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Hong Kong clashes heat up ahead of 70th anniversary party for China
by Yan Zhao & Jasmine Leung “Democracy activists in the financial hub had vowed to ramp up their nearly four-month-long campaign ahead of tomorrow’s National Day celebrations.” Fierce clashes have again broken out between protesters and riot police in Hong Kong as thousands march through the sections of the strife-torn city. It was a day of global protests aimed at…
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Suvarnabhumi villagers still chasing compensation from government after 13 years
PHOTO: Khaosod Villagers living next to Suvarnabhumi Airport have filed a complaint about the noise from the planes. The villagers say they have been suffering from the airport noise for years since the construction of Suvarnabhumi (it opened in September 2006). Leader of the Dinui Yiddee Muslim Community, Saenee Kamsawat, says they are in the process of filing an official…
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Aaaaaw, baby elephant takes a nap
VIDEO: ส่วนประชาสัมพันธ์และเผยแพร่ กรมอุทยานแห่งชาติ สัตว์ป่า และพันธุ์พืช A video of a young baby elephant taking a nap in a Thai national park has won the hearts of thousands of netizens. The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation uploaded on its Facebook page a short video clip that showed a baby elephant taking a nap on the lap of its caretaker. Up…
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17 apprentice students killed in Samut Prakan crash, Thailand
Seventeen students have been killed after their overloaded pick-up truck crashed and overturned in the Bang Phli district of Samut Prakan, east of Bangkok. Police report the incident happened at 1am this morning. A taxi driver from Si Sa Ket has told Thai media that shortly before 1am he saw the pick-up travel out of a Soi “at high speed”…
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Chiang Mai karaoke lounges raided over underage hostesses
PHOTO: Thailand Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Four hostesses under the age of 18 have been discovered working at two karaoke lounges in the San Kamphaeng area of Chiang Mai, east of the main city. Thailand’s ‘Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force’ worked with local immigration and police after a complaint was received. Na Kaew reports that the investigators followed…
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Boris Johnson could be forced to step down as British PM
It will be another battle royale in the British House of Commons next week as opposition law-makers prepare a plan to force the embattled British PM out of office. The British PM Boris Johnson could be forced to step down next week as opposition MPs join forces to replace him with an interim administration in order to secure another Brexit delay…
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Most of Thomas Cook stranded customers back in UK
PHOTO: The Guardian More than half of of the 150,000 holidaymakers left stranded abroad following the collapse of British travel company Thomas Cook are now back in the UK. The local Civil Aviation Authority says that 76,000 people have now been repatriated in the first six days of ‘Operation Matterhorn’ – Britain’s largest peacetime repatriation of its citizens. 178 year…
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Bangkok bus union is opposing plan for private sector operation
PHOTO: Daily News The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority labour union is voicing its strong objection to the Transport Minister over his plans to contract private companies to operate the city’s bus services, and the shelving plans to procure a fleet of 3,000 new buses. Thai PBS reports that the union president, Veerapong Wongwaen, says that the union will submit a…
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‘Pretty’ death shines spotlight on abuse in Thai model and promotions industry
PHOTOS: Facebook/Rachadech Wongthabutr, Instagram/’Lunlabelle’ Thitim The mysterious death of ‘pretty’ Thitima Noraphanpiphat in Bangkok last week is gripping Thailand and highlighting risks women who work in the service and promotions industry face every day. Her dead body was found in the lobby of a Bangkok condo. Police have arrested a male model in connection with the 25 year old’s death last…
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OPINION: Phuket’s Vegetarian Festival is now for the tourists, not the locals
OPINION: Pruth Kulprasit Phuket’s vegetarian Festival is an annual event steeped in ancient Chinese mysticism and fused with local island traditions and Buddhism. It’s a cacophony of noise, spiritualism, body piercing and rather bland vegetarian food. For the tourist or expat that witnesses the parades, fire-walking and ceremonies for the first time it’s a shock to the senses.For local Thai-Chinese,…
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Phuket Vegetarian Festival events 2019 – schedule and history
The annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival, aka. ‘Nine Emperor Gods Festival’, always runs during the ninth lunar month. For expats and tourist ‘newbies’ the Vegetarian Festival is a lot to do with parades, firecrackers, bizarre ceremonies and spiritual mystiques piecing themselves, and little to do with vegetarian food. Whilst we’ve tried to provide a program here, any time schedule at individual…
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Many parts of Ubon Ratchathani remain under water
PHOTO: AFP Local officials say seven districts in Ubon Ratchathani, north-east Thailand, are still flooded, including the districts of Muang, Warin Chamrap and Sawang Weerawong, where the situation is described as serious. Satellite images show that around 140,000 rai of land along the Moon and Chi rivers is still flooded. The flooding, a culmination of storm Podul and tropical depression…
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Discussions between Hong Kong leader and protesters yield little in the way of progress
PHOTO: AFP Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam appeared humble during a meeting where citizens voiced discontent at her ongoing refusal to give in to their demands. The meeting comes after more than three months of often violent anti-government protests in the city. The protests originally began as a result of a proposed bill that would pave the way for…
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Pattaya Indoor Cricket League – Round 3
Round 3 was played at Rugby School in Bang Lamung between PCC (Pattaya Cricket Club) and RST (Rugby School Thailand). There were indoor cricket debutants for both teams: Carl Pohl for RST and Pravit Grover, Edwin Van Rensburg and Andy Holt for PCC. This was yet another very close game where dropped catches, missed run out opportunities and extras were…
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Chinese tourists surge during Phuket’s vegetarian festival
… and it’s not much about vegetarian food. It’s on again, one of the most bizarre festivals on the world’s calendar of WTF events. The Phuket Tourist Association says that the Phuket Vegetarian Festival that runs until October 7, is expected to bring in around 2 billion baht in your revenue. They say that, despite the high value of the…
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Prostitutes in Pattaya, police locate seven foreigners selling illegal services
MONTAGE: Naew Na Immigration officials have done the impossible – they’ve found something police and immigration have often claimed in the past ‘does not exist’. Prostitution in Pattaya. Seven foreigners – shock, horror – were arrested on Tuesday night this week prostituting themselves to locals and tourists in the town’s tourist hotspots. Naew Na reports that “this illegal activity was damaging…
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Thais clamour for the “Chim, Shop, Chai” 1000 baht give-away program
PHOTO: buriramguru.com The “Chim, Shop, Chai” (Eat, Shop, Spend) program has been a resounding success, and it’s still got a another five days or so to go. Thai citizens can apply for the 1000 baht ‘gift’ from the government and spend the money at selected shops anywhere outside their home province. The government only accepts one million applications each day so,…
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Pubs and nightclubs in Pattaya and Bangkok poised to stay open until 4am
The Minister for Tourism and Sports says he’s making headway with plans to allow opening until 4am for ‘some’ tourist areas in Thailand. The proposals were mooted several months ago as a tonic for dropping tourist numbers in some of the traditional holiday ‘hot spots’. Sports and tourism minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn says that details were still being discussed but the plan is now…
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12 month “Medical Visa” proposed among updates to Thai visa offerings
A new visa category is being proposed that could allow people to stay in the Kingdom for up to a year for medical treatments. The so-called “Medical Visa” (Non-MT) would visitors to stay for 12 months. The Thai deputy PM and health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, and the tourism and sports minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn announced yesterday that countries that will benefit are wealthy…
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Japan airlines offering a seat map to avoid screaming kids
“JAL’s seat maps indicate where infants under two are sitting, with a child icon to let other passengers know.” No kidding. Prefer not to sit next to a screaming child on your next long-haul flight? On some Japanese airlines a new seat map warns you where potentially bawling babies and screaming six year olds are sitting. Offered as part of…
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Myanmar switches to international ‘unicode’ on October 1
PHOTO: Cordelia Persen/flickr “October 1 is “U-Day”, when Myanmar officially adopts the new system.” Accessing everything from Wikipedia to Google Maps in Myanmar is about to get a lot easier when the country finally adopts the universal code underpinning phone and online communication next week. Tech experts say the move to bring the country more in step with the rest of…
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Thai government extends free water and electricity services for another year
PHOTO: www.unsplash.com Thailand’s Finance Minister Uttama Savanayana says low-income households will continue to get free electricity and water for another year. The scheme, which assists poorer families, was due to expire at the end of this month. Under the plan, low-income households get up to 230 baht worth of electricity for free each month, along with 100 baht worth of…
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