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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Prachasamakkee villagers block land office from measuring land border
During a visit at the Prachasamakkee Community today (December 7), the team at the Phuket Provincial Land Office and the lawyer of the plaintiff against the villagers were not allowed to check the measurement of the village land to make a plan to file to the court. The villagers claim that the 77 defendants haven’t had any appointment for the…
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PHUKET KING’S CUP – Day Three report. Lay day today.
Perfect breezes at 12-15 knots on top of two whole days of strong wind had the swells riding higher today, and conditions that were way more “Rock ‘n’ Roll”. Kevin Whitcraft’s THA72 crew has a very credible early claim on regatta glory, as does Team Kata Rocks (Peter Dyer’s Madam Butterfly) in IRC2. Premier Class, IRC1, the one-design Pulse 600…
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THAIGER TODAY Thursday, December 7
Two fallen electrical poles cause traffic disruption this morning | Severe flooding in Nakhon Si Thammarat | No 3-Star Michelin restaurants in BKK | NACC chasing an explanation from Prawit | Phramongkutklao Hospital bomber sent to jail.
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Patong Tunnel update
Patong Mayor, Chalermluck Kebsup, has provided an update about progress on the long-mooted infrastructure project. She says the proposal has now passed the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) stage and will be considered by the main planning committee soon. “After we checked with the Expressway Authority of Thailand, who is responsible for the project, we found out that the tunnel project…
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THURSDAY MORNING BRIEFING – All your news in 3 minutes
A lot of rain overnight so there has been some wet and slippery roads around the island this morning. Patong Police Station, as usual, suffers when there’s heavy rain. More racing down at Kata today for the Phuket King’s Cup. Nakhon Si Thammarat is really copping heavy rains and our Deputy PM is being asked ‘please explain’ about his ‘bling’.…
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No Michelin Three Star restaurants in Bangkok
The inaugural Michelin Guide Bangkok on Wednesday announced 14 one-starred and three two-starred restaurants at its debut at Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok. No restaurant was awarded the ultimate accolade of three stars. Making its debut at the Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok on Wednesday, the first edition of the Michelin Guide Bangkok announced the 14 restaurants that have been awarded one…
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Phuket Governor visits dog shelter to check on renovations
Phuket’s Governor, Norapat Plodthong, visited the Suan Pa Bang Kanun Dog Shelter yesterday (December 5) to check on the progress of its renovation. The renovations includes both exterior and interior work as well as management systems and infrastructure such as dog faeces management system, an animal clinic project, clinic building construction and the office and food donation centre. The renovations…
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Phuket locals protest over community land claim
About 100 villagers from the Prachasamakkee community gathered at the Phuket provincial hall at 9 am today (December 6) to call for their rights to live on the land of the community, after 70 villagers have been sued by a person claiming to be the landlord. The protest was led by the community leader, Surasak Tainapriew, alongside the secretary of…
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THAIGER TODAY Wednesday, December 6
THAIGER TODAY. Wednesday, December 6. Heat on the Deputy PM to explain his expensive watch | Pattaya driver tests positive to drugs | Floods starting to abate | 2 missing after Nakhon Si Thammarat bus gets swept away | Big drug hauls in BKK and Songkhla.
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Car crash in Krabi kills six
A pickup truck traveling from Trang province to Krabi lost control and hit an electric pole, killing all 6 passengers last night (December 5). The pick up truck driven by a retired policeman, 61 year old Prayad Jongrak, with other 5 family members, was found crashed into the high-voltage electric pole on Petchakasem Road heading towards Krabi in Nuaklong district.…
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Positive drug test – awaiting confirmation of epilepsy claim
A man who claims he suffered an epileptic seizure that caused him to lose control of his car and kill two people and injure 15 others in Pattaya on Monday, was under the influence of drugs at the time, police said yesterday. 44 year old Akkaradej Udomrat will face an additional charge of driving while under the influence after police…
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WEDNESDAY MORNING BRIEFING – All your news in 3 minutes
Day three of the Phuket King’s Cup today and fresh winds are waiting for the 83-strong fleet off Kata. Our Deputy PM has got into hot water over a flashy watch, a mother is being asked to explain why she chained up her daughter and a truck has fallen on a passenger van killing two in Chiang Mai. Welcome to…
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Four-year absence of leatherback turtles at Phuket nesting beaches
With the leatherback turtle already listed internationally as a critically endangered species, the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department yesterday expressed serious concern that none of the animals had returned to beaches in Phuket and Phang-nga to lay eggs since 2013. Director-general Thanya Netithammakun raised the alarm over the survival of the leatherbacks, as there have no reports of…
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7 year old girl chained up by her mother
After pictures of a 7 year old Myanmar girl chained went viral in social media, Phuket Social Development and Human Security officers visited the scene today (December 5), which is a room in an apartment in Phuket Town. The girl and her 9 year old brother are safe at Phuket Children and Family Shelter. “We got the report last night…
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Official opening of Wang Kee On Waterfall in Patong
At 9 am today (December 5), Patong Mayor, Chalermluck Kebsup, hosted the official opening of Wang Kee On Waterfall as the new attraction in Patong, even though it’s been there all the time. “As today is the birthday of The Late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, we agreed to officially open the waterfall to the public on this special day. Patong Municipality…
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THAIGER TODAY Tuesday, December 5
THAIGER TODAY. Tuesday, December 5. Tragic Pattaya road accidents prompts questions | Songkhla schools closed because of flooding | Wang Kee Aon waterfall re-opens in Patong | Fake bomb causes security alert at Myanmar Embassy | Toon meets the PM.
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Don says he knows nothing about Yingluck British passport
Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai has denied a report of unknown origin that Britain had granted fugitive ex-premier Yingluck Shinawatra a passport. Don said before Monday’s Cabinet meeting that his ministry had no such information and that the British Embassy had not informed the Thai government of any such action. “I don’t want to speculate on or anticipate anything,” he said.…
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TUESDAY MORNING BRIEFING – All your news in 3 minutes
It’s a public holiday today. It’s Father’s Day and National Day in Thailand, both proclaimed as celebrations of the birthday of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. It’s also the World Soil Day, named by the United Nations as a day to commemorate the late King’s work in the area of land conservation and crop development. All public offices are closed…
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Phuket King’s Cup – Racing Day One. Plenty of wind!
Plenty of wind on Day One and the rest of the week is shaping up well in the wind department. Race Day One kicked off with some of the best conditions seen at the PKCR in recent years, winds around 19 knots and more of the same anticipated tomorrow. A total of 83 keelboats and multihulls took to the waves,…
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Social media blowback in Myanmar for Pope. Meanwhile international aid dries up for refugee camps on the Thai-Myanmar border.
PHOTO: Voice of America Pope Francis’s embrace of the Rohingya during a trip to Bangladesh has sparked some angry comment on social media in Myanmar, where just days earlier he chose not to publicly air their plight. On Friday the head of the Catholic church met a group of refugees from Myanmar’s stateless Muslim minority in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka.…
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Jail, plus a fine, for taking alcohol into national parks
Tourists risk a jail term plus a fine if they step into national parks with alcohol beverages. Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation’s director-general Thanya Netithammakun yesterday warned tourists to stay alcohol-free inside national parks. “Offenders are liable to one month in jail and/or a maximum fine of ]1,000 Baht,” he said. Thanya said he had instructed all…
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New direct route to Phuket from Korat – NewGen Airways
Every week it seems that there are more and more direct flights to Phuket, both domestic and international. While it’s a by-product of the growing numbers of tourists coming to the island it also provides locals more chances to get off the ‘rock’ from time to time, flying direct to more places on the map. Now we can fly to…
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MONDAY MORNING BRIEFING – All your news in 3 minutes
First day of the Phuket King’s Cup at Kata today, the island’s most prestigious and popular yacht racing regatta. We wish all competitors fair winds and good sailing for the week. Winds are expected to be up to 20 knots from the ENE. Sure there will be plenty of ‘bubbly beverages’ flowing around Kata this week during the regatta. Not…
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Phuket King’s Cup kicks off today
(left to right) M.L. Tridhosyuth Devakul; Kevin Whitcraft, President of the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta Organizing Committee; Norapat Plodthong, Phuket Governor; Rear Admiral Arkom Tang-on, Deputy Commander, Third Naval Area Command, the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand representative and Chairman of Kata Group Resorts Pramookpisitt Achariyachai join the opening ceremony of the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta 31th at Beyond Resort…
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SUNDAY MORNING BRIEFING – All your news in 3 minutes
Welcome to your Sunday news briefing Phuket. Surrounding Phuket Province, many large areas in the south are mopping up serious flooding in the wake of heavy rains all last week – from Chumpon to Yala, mostly along the Gulf of Thailand coast. But Phuket’s been largely spared the extreme rains although it’s been mostly cloudy with moderate rain over the…
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Mega projects to shape Bangkok’s skyline – Thailand Tourism Forum 2018
The Thailand Tourism Forum (TTF) returns for its seventh annual edition on January 22, 2018, gathering more than 650 hotel industry professionals at the InterContinental Hotel Bangkok to discuss the mega-projects that are reshaping Bangkok’s cityscape. Running under the theme ‘Megacity Bangkok – A Tourism and Hotel Futurescape’, TTF 2018 will focus on the redevelopment of the thriving Thai capital.…
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Viral video exposes an alleged call-centre scam
A viral video clip has prompted police to track down the man whose bank account is apparently used by a fraudulent call centre. Investigators from the Muang Lampang Police Station on Friday headed to the house of 37 year old Poonsawat Khamphira to question him over his role in the alleged scam. “I was paid 1,000 Baht to open this…
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SATURDAY MORNING BRIEFING – All your news in 3 minutes
Welcome to the weekend. As usual you can start your day with all the main local news stories from Phuket and Thailand. During the day we also have weather updates every 30 minutes on The Thaiger 102.75 FM (download the free App on your phone). Southern floods claim two, one missing A highly regarded nurse of 12 years service in…
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Conference reports on Phuket’s drop in road death stats
In the decade previous, 1997-2006, Phuket was among Thailand’s five worst provinces in terms of death and injury resulting from road accidents. The dramatic reduction in accidents and casualties has been credited to a focus on accident-prone locations (where crashes were cut by 30 per cent), strict law enforcement using speed guns, breathalysers and cameras at intersections (leading to 10…
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THAIGER TODAY Friday, December 1
Weather watch – more rain on the way | Government says it hasn’t made a final decision on Thepa | Exports and tourism stats are up | World AIDS Day – Thailand still has challenges | Forensic report on dead cadet unfinished | Explosion in Narathiwat injures two.
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