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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. The Thaiger delivers the latest national news that matters.

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  • Phuket’s aircraft selfies to be moved from end of runway

    Phuket’s aircraft selfies to be moved from end of runway

    PHOTO: Teerasak Saksritawee Phuket airport authorities are looking to restrict photography of aircraft from the northern end of Nai Yang beach, at the western end of the single Phuket International Airport runway. The beach has been a popular photo opportunity for visitors but is causing additional aviation safety concerns as the photography and airport traffic increase. Phuket Airport deputy director…

  • Long queues and poor arrangements greet early Thai voters in KL

    Long queues and poor arrangements greet early Thai voters in KL

    PHOTO: Thai PBS A long queue of waiting voters spilled out of the Thai embassy compound in Kuala Lumpur during yesterday’s early voting. Over 4,000 Thai nationals working in Malaysia turned up at the Thai embassy in KL yesterday to cast their ballots. The actual Thai election day is on March 24 but foreign embassies provide opportunities for Thai expats to cast their vote…

  • Chachoengsao man killed by grenade explosion on Facebook Live

    Chachoengsao man killed by grenade explosion on Facebook Live

    PHOTO: M79 grenades and launcher A man was killed by a grenade explosion at a border patrol police base in Chachoengsao whilst trying to catch wild chickens. Chachoengsao is directly east of Bangkok. The 28 year old, Apisit Kerdlarpphol, was killed after entering the prohibited army training zone and broadcasting his exploits live on his Facebook page. Police say they discovered…

  • “Waiter, there’s a cockroach in my beer!” Drama in Pattaya

    “Waiter, there’s a cockroach in my beer!” Drama in Pattaya

    PHOTOS: Daily News Big drama in Pattaya! • A female customer has taken to Facebook to complain, despite not having to pay. • A staff member has offered her resignation. • A deputy manager denies that it was ‘their’ cockroach. • And Terminal 21 has taken it all very seriously and issued a letter promising further action. Behind all this…

  • Stray dogs to be rounded up on Jomtien Beach

    Stray dogs to be rounded up on Jomtien Beach

    The Pattaya Mail is reporting that local officials have instructed Pattaya’s dog catchers to round up ‘dangerous’ stray dogs that have been roaming in packs around Jomtien Beach, south of Pattaya. Deputy Mayor Manote Nongyai and other officials visited the beach two weeks ago and confirmed the many complaints about aggressive soi dogs chasing tourists, defecating on sidewalks and “making…

  • Three died, three injured in Chiang Mai road crash

    Three died, three injured in Chiang Mai road crash

    Three people were killed and three others injured when their car hit a power pole on the Chiang Mai-Hod road in Chiang Mai’s Doi Lor district early today (Saturday). The vehicle overturned after it hit the pole. Emergency responders and rescuers from the Putthasawan Nopparat Foundation had to use iron cutters (Jaws of Life) to extract the bodies from the vehicle.…

  • Is Thailand falling behind in the startup race? Techsauce Global Summit Bangkok

    Is Thailand falling behind in the startup race? Techsauce Global Summit Bangkok

    PHOTO: Oranuch Lerdsuwankij, CEO and co-founder of summit organiser Techsauce Media by Asina Pornwasin Oranuch Lerdsuwankij, CEO and co-founder of summit organiser Techsauce Media, underlined the forthcoming conference’s importance as a platform for tech enthusiasts across different industries to discuss digital knowledge, ideas and experiences. She says the summit is bringing tangible changes to the tech ecosystem across Thailand and…

  • Chiang Rai motorcyclist flees police leaving behind a bag with 200,000 meth pills

    Chiang Rai motorcyclist flees police leaving behind a bag with 200,000 meth pills

    FILE PHOTO 200,000 methamphetamine pills have been seized following a road chase in Chiang Rai’s Thoeng district but, again, the suspect managed to flee. A unit of rangers from the 31st Ranger Taskforce staked out at a bypass road along the Thai-Lao border in Ban Khun Huay Krai village. They say they spotted a speeding motorcycle at 9.30pm last night…

  • The maths of March 24 – Thailand Election 2019

    The maths of March 24 – Thailand Election 2019

    by Tim Newton The views of the writer do not necessarily reflect the views of The Thaiger or its business partners. Since it was first formed in 2008, along with the previous incarnations that swept Thaksin Shinawatra to power in the early 2000s, the Pheu Thai party has remained the dominant force in Thai politics. In 2011 it brought Thaksin’s…

  • Water restrictions on the agenda again as Phuket’s dams get low

    Water restrictions on the agenda again as Phuket’s dams get low

    The Phuket Water Authority, swinging wildly between ‘water restrictions’ and ‘there is plenty of water’, now says that water restrictions are again on the cards in a raft of suggestions being put to the Phuket Governor. The chief of the Provincial Waterworks Authority, Graisorn Mahamad, has raised the prospect of water restrictions (again) following the PM Prayut Chan-o-cha ordering water…

  • Bangkok rolls out new ‘user-friendly’ bus stop signs

    Bangkok rolls out new ‘user-friendly’ bus stop signs

    The Bangkok Governor says the installation of 30 new “user-friendly” bus stop signs around the city will help save people from getting lost. Aswin Kwanmuang says the idea was presented during Bangkok Design Week last year by a civic group called May Day. Both sides of the signs show the numbers of the buses on the route, emergency phone numbers and…

  • 47 year old shot dead in Narathiwat over drug conflict

    47 year old shot dead in Narathiwat over drug conflict

    A man was shot and killed in Narathiwat last night over an alleged drug-trafficking conflict. Police believe the death is not part of the southern insurgency that has continues to plague Thailand’s deep South for more than a decade. “But the killers may want to disguise their crime as a security case,” according to police. The shooting was reported to…

  • Shooting yourself in the foot, literally – Suvarnabhumi police station

    Shooting yourself in the foot, literally – Suvarnabhumi police station

    A gun cleaner has shot himself in the leg outside Bangkok’s main airport police station. The 40 year old gun cleaner, Damrongkiat, a trader who sells uniforms and insignia to police and cleans their weapons, had already worked on three guns at the time without any problems. Next it was a Glock 9mm. Damrongkiat says he forgot to remove the…

  • Ocean Property launch first Phuket development

    Ocean Property launch first Phuket development

    Thai real estate developer, Ocean Property, are continuing to expand outside of the capital with the launch of their first real estate development in Phuket – a townhome and modern commercial home office project “Ocean Town Muang-Ratsada”. Located in the heart of Phuket providing owners with easy access to all major infrastructure and island facilities, prices start from just 2.69…

  • Netflix scores production coup with major documentary about cave rescue

    Netflix scores production coup with major documentary about cave rescue

    The world’s leading TV streaming service ‘Netflix’ is bringing the drama of the Tham Luang cave rescue to the small screen. The 13 young football players will net around 3 million baht each, with other monies going to other volunteer services and foundations. The international rescue of the 13 young footballers, who were trapped for nearly two weeks in a…

  • Bangkok gold shop thief gets away with jewellry valued at 3 million baht

    Bangkok gold shop thief gets away with jewellry valued at 3 million baht

    by Kittipong Maneerit A gold shop at a Big C in Rama 4, Bangkok’s Khlong Toei district, was robbed yesterday afternoon.Police are searching for a man in his mid-30s, wearing a shaggy wig, who stole gold ornaments worth a combined 3 million baht.The thief is described by police as about 35, 170 centimetres in height, heavyset and wearing a wig…

  • UPDATE: Arrest warrant issued for Patong taxi driver killer

    UPDATE: Arrest warrant issued for Patong taxi driver killer

    An arrest warrant has been issued for the taxi driver who shot dead a fellow driver in Patong yesterday morning. The Patong Police were notified of the incident at 10.20am at a taxi stand on Phra Metta Road in Patong. Read more about yesterday’s daylight murder HERE and an update HERE. The Phuket Provincial Police Investigator Chief Col Akanit Danpitaksard says, “At…

  • 31 year old British man stuck in Koh Samui hospital

    31 year old British man stuck in Koh Samui hospital

    by Jane Tyler – Birmingham Mail PHOTOS: Facebook/Liam Workman Liam Workman, who bought a one-way ticket to Thailand to “start a new life” last December is now critically ill in a Samui hospital with brain injuries following an alleged a hit-and-run motorcycle crash. Now relatives of Liam are desperate to raise at least £3,000 (125,000 baht) for medical treatment and fly…

  • Two more king cobras caught in Kathu, Phuket – VIDEO

    Two more king cobras caught in Kathu, Phuket – VIDEO

    PHOTOS: Pannakorn Pongpao/Kathu Rescue Foundation/Kusoldharm Rescue Foundation Two 3-5 five metre king cobras have been caught at a Burmese worker’s house in Kathu, close to where another of the large reptiles was caught last weekend. Read more about the first snake caught in and around the camp HERE. Kusoldharm Rescue workers were notified that a king cobra was discovered by a…

  • Phuket hotels under pressure to perform

    Phuket hotels under pressure to perform

    by Bill Barnett C9 Hotelworks Despite registering a record high 9 million passenger arrivals at the island’s gateway international airport in 2018, performance data is indicating that a slowdown in its double-digit growth rates over the past few years is on the horizon for Thailand’s resort destination of Phuket. While airport arrivals grew 8% year-on-year, the gains posted were at…

  • Bangkok’s Asoke overpass closes for maintenance

    Bangkok’s Asoke overpass closes for maintenance

    BKK motorists, put these dates in your diary. The busy Asoke Overpass at Bangkok’s Phetchburi-Ratchadapisek intersection will be closed from March 9 to September 4. A source at the BMA says the overpass will be closed for maintenance and upgrades to the structures capacity. They say the six month closure will allow major strengthening of the 40 year old overpass,…

  • Constitutional Court dissolves Thai Raksa Chart party and bans party members

    Constitutional Court dissolves Thai Raksa Chart party and bans party members

    The Thai Constitutional Court has ordered the dissolution of Thai Raksa Chart Party for naming Prince Ubolratana, a member of the Royal Family, as its prime ministerial candidate. The Court claims this action undermined Thailand’s constitutional monarchy. The court has also banned all 14 members of the party’s executive board from politics for 10 years in a stunning decision that…

  • Tourist ransacks hotel bathroom before falling from second floor

    Tourist ransacks hotel bathroom before falling from second floor

    An unidentified western tourist has ransacked a Pattaya hotel toilet before injuring three policemen who tried to arrest him. The tourist was then badly injured when he fell from the second floor of the hotel trying to escape through a window of the hotel in South Pattaya. Police, at this stage, have been unable to identify the man and are…

  • Three men arrested and 1.2 million methamphetamine pills seized

    Three men arrested and 1.2 million methamphetamine pills seized

    by Kornkamon Aksorndech | PHOTOS: The Nation Three men have been arrested on suspicion on trafficking 1,214,000 meth pills in raids on two houses in tambon Bang Khamod in Saraburi’s Ban Mor district. Saraburi is north-east of Bangkok. The suspects, 34 year old Thawat Meechob, 28 year old Narin La-ongsin and 31 year old Nipat Waraput were arrested at the…

  • Italian man attacked with a hammer in road rage incident

    Italian man attacked with a hammer in road rage incident

    Police are hunting for a Thai motorist who attacked an Italian motorcyclist with a hammer in Chon Buri, breaking his arm. The victim was 40 year old Denti Samuele who was taken to the Chon Buri Hospital after the assault. The incident happened in front of the Lotus shopping mall in Tambon Samed, Chon Buri last night around 10pm. The…

  • Taxi driver shot dead over taxi queue disagreement in Patong

    Taxi driver shot dead over taxi queue disagreement in Patong

    A taxi driver has been shot dead in Patong this morning. The Patong Police were notified of the incident at 10.20am at a taxi stand on Phra Metta Road in Patong. Patong Police report that the suspect’s shooter was 48 year old Paradorn Puchaiyan. The injured 46 year old Songpon Suwansa-ard was taken to Patong Hospital where he was pronounced…

  • Woman decapitated as Bangkok bus careers out of control off bridge downramp

    Woman decapitated as Bangkok bus careers out of control off bridge downramp

    PHOTOS: matichon.co.th A 33 year old woman has died after a bus, on Route 115 in Bangkok, suffered ‘brake failure’ (sigh) on the down-ramp of a bridge in Bangkapi, Bangkok. Thai Rath describes the grisly scene as the victim’s decapitated body lay in the middle of the road and human remains splattering roadside vendors. ‘Benjawan Muangkate’ had been crushed between…

  • Drunk woman recovered from lagoon in Rassada

    Drunk woman recovered from lagoon in Rassada

    PHOTOS: Tan Promedic Phuket Police have reported that a drunk woman walked straight into a lagoon in Rassada last night. Rescue workers helped to bring her back to shore before she drowned. She was rambling about wanting to see a mythical creature. Kusoldharm rescue worker were notified at 10.30pm that someone had walked into the lagoon in Soi Paneang in…

  • Cooking spotted eagle ray is OK – Fisheries spokesperson

    Cooking spotted eagle ray is OK – Fisheries spokesperson

    “The use of spotted eagle rays as a main ingredient in a reality TV cooking show is not illegal, though the aquatic animal should be conserved rather than consumed.” This from the Deputy Fisheries Department Director General Arunchai Puthcharoen. He referred to controversy over the use of eagle rays as the main ingredient in the Thai MasterChef program, raising concerns…

  • Fire engulfs textile factory in Chon Buri

    Fire engulfs textile factory in Chon Buri

    PHOTO: The Nation A fire has partially destroyed two warehouses at a textile factory in Chon Buri’s Ban Bueng district, north-east of Pattaya. The fire started at the Dtex Industry Company factory in Moo 1 village in Tambon Map Phai before 6:30am yesterday morning. Ten fire engines arrived when the fire had swept through the first warehouse, whose roof collapsed,…