News
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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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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Badminton player ends up impaled on his house fence
PHOTO: Thai Rath A 16 year old playing badminton last night in Pattaya will be thinking twice before getting up on a roof to retrieve his shuttlecock. He was playing with friends at the teenager’s house when the incident happened. The shuttlecock ended up on the roof so, as you do, 16 year old Thanaporn Suracha jumped up onto the…
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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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Teen fatally stabbed on Bangkok bus
PHOTOS: RuamkatanyuA year three vocation school student has now been charged after allegedly stabbing to death a 12th grade student on a BKK bus last night. 18 year old Kamolchat Saen-aroon died at the Theptharin Hospital after being stabbed about 10 times with a knife. The quick-thinking bus driver of the No 180 bus immediately turned into the Tha Rua…
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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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Staging and structures demolished on beach in Cherng Talay
Structures on a beach in Cherng Talay (map below) have been demolished where a hotel was preparing for a large wedding party over the weekend. Ma-ann Samran, Cheif of the Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organisation (OrBorTor) was notified from locals that wedding party was been prepared on Pan Thri Beach, between Surin Beach and Bang Tao beaches. Officials visited the…
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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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Six marine officials killed as van slams into tree, Chumpon
PHOTO: A van is almost totally destroyed after slamming into a tree on Highway 41 in Sawi district of Chumphon yesterday (Sunday) – Facebook/Chumphon Rescue Volunteers at Khao Ka Rong Investigators are blaming a burst tyre on a passenger van that crashed, killing six Marine Department officials in Chumpon, heading back from Phuket towards Bangkok. The officials were killed and five others…
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Rain-making efforts will continue until end of month in Khon Kaen
The Northeastern Royal Rainmaking Operation Centre is extending the royal rainmaking operation period, as part of air pollution reduction efforts, until the end of February. The Director of the Northeastern Royal Rainmaking Operation Centre, Wassana Wongrat, says the Department of Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation set up a rapid deployment unit to conduct royal rainmaking operations to improve the air…
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Shy baby turtles get a helping hand in Phang Nga
PHOTOS: The Nation Thirty-five new hatchling leatherback turtles, reluctant to leave their nests on Phang Nga’s Ta Sai Beach, have been given a helping hand to find their way to the sea. Marine and Coastal Resources Department officials yesterday noticed that there were signs in the sand that the baby turtles had hatched, but became concerned this morning after none…
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Phuket City mulls water restrictions, again
PHOTO: Bang Wad Dam, Kathu Despite issuing orders for odd/even water restrictions, and then rescinding them the day after, the Phuket City Municipality is again urging residents to take care in the use of their tap water to stretch the available water supply through to the end of the dry season, and has issued its second warning in a week…
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“New drug laws don’t legalise unlicensed marijuana cultivation”
Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has rushed to clarify that the new narcotics law does not legalise the unrestricted planting of marijuana in an apparent response to the Bhumjai Thai political party’s manifesto pledge to legalise marijuana cultivation. The party trotted out the election platform last week during their campaigning. FDA secretary-general Dr. Tharet Kratnairaveewong has clarified that the…
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HM the King recognises Krabi ‘hero’ after 2015 mud rescue
His Majesty the King has sent a gift and necessities to a local fisherman whose rescue of two foreign birdwatchers stuck in mud in 2015 went viral on social media. Captain Khumsup Iamsri, an officer attached to the King’s royal villa, represented the King to visit 47 year old Chat Ubonjinda at his house on Khu Muang road in Tambon…
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Rescuers slam local police for lack of response after body found in Chao Phraya
PHOTOS: @Disater_TH The Rama VII Bridge in Bangkok has long been a location where people have jumped to their death. But its location has also fallen between two jurisdictions and the nearby police argue over who is responsible for receiving and acting on reports on bodies in the river. Yesterday, the body of an unidentified man was pulled from the…
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Plastic surgery furore and first transgender contestant at Miss Universe in Bangkok
PHOTO: Spain’s Angela Ponce becomes first trans woman to compete for Miss Universe After the beauty dust has settled and the glitter is wiped away, it seems all is not well with the latest Miss Universe Pageant. Taking place in Bangkok recently, new revelations have surfaced surrounding one of its entrants and, notably, her plastic surgeon. Aesthetic and rhinoplasty surgeon,…
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BKK road racing crackdown: 78 arrested with illegally modified motorcycles
“…those under 18 will be sent for an attitude adjustment in a military camp for seven days.” Samut Prakan police have arrested 78 motorcyclists and seized 85 motorcycles allegedly modified for road racing. Police staffed the checkpoints on major roads in Samut Prakan last night and into early this morning making the arrests. Samut Prakan police chief Pol Maj Gen…
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A mother and two young daughters killed when their car is hit by a train
A mother and two young daughters have been killed when their car was struck by a train at a railway crossing in Surat Thani’s Phun Pin district this morning. The Nation reports that police say the accident happened at a rail crossing in front of the Tambon Phun Phin Administrative Organisation that is located between Maluan and Thung Pho railway…
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Scrapped: Back to the drawing board for Suvarnabhumi Terminal 2 design
It’s back to the drawing board for the AoT and the new Terminal 2 project at Suvarnabhumi Airport. The contract to design the much needed second terminal has been the subject of a lot of bitter criticism in the Thai architectural community. The board of Airports of Thailand Public Company, the operator of Suvarnabhumi international and five other major airports…
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Disaster zone declared in Lampang after 31 mild tremors
It’s been a week of mild shocks and tremors in Lampang province in northern Thailand. Although there has been no lives lost, there has been a lot of minor damage to structures, mainly in the north of the province. The Wang Nua district, the northern-most district in Lampang province, north-east of Chiang Mai, has been now declared a disaster zone…
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Golden Triangle drug labs increase shipments 1000% – Speed and Ice pouring over the border
The number of seizures of high-purity crystal methamphetamine are surging into northern Thailand. The demand rises and the methods of detection and enforcement also improve. It’s a vicious circle. Authorities say the number of drug seizures have risen 1000% in just the past 2 years, a stark indication of the growth in industrial-scale production in neighboring Myanmar. Some 18.4 tonnes…
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Fake Viagra, sex toys seized in raids on Bangkok street markets
Viagra is facing stiff competition from the markets in Bangkok. Police last night arrested eight foreigners and five Thais for allegedly selling fake viagra and sex toys during a search of 17 locations along Bangkok’s Sukhumvit strip. Immigration Bureau chief Lt Gen Surachate Hakparn says the operation took place late last night and into this morning. Crime suppression police and…
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Phuket tourist decides hotel awning more comfortable than his room
PHOTOS: Rawai Rescue workers / Phuket Tourist Police The Phuket Tourist Police have been notified that a tourist had jumped from a building in Rawai and ended up on a steel awning covering the bottom floor today. But that wasn’t, in fact, what had happened. The local Tourist Police say the owner of the building told staff at the Tourist…
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American backpacker refuses to pay for girl he brought back to hostel, punches staff
An American backpacker tourist, visiting Chiang Mai, had to be restrained after getting into a squabble with hostel staff after being asked to leave the premises. The video of the altercation was shared on Reddit by ‘EatPrayFart’. Following a night out, the backpacker brought a girl back to the mixed dorm room that he shared with nine other people. The report…
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19 year old mother slashes three year old son’s throat in Yasothon
WARNING: This story may be shocking to some readers PHOTO: Sanook A 19 year old mother has used a kitchen knife to slash the throat of her three year old son in Yasothon in Thailand’s north-east. Thairath reports that Yasothon Police were notified of the incident at the woman’s lodgings last night at 7 pm. Police and rescue workers arrived…
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