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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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Police raid Phang Nga drug dealer with more than 100,000 meth pills
Police conduced a drug bust in Phang Nga and seized more than a 100,000 methamphetamine pills, considered a large amount from a southern local drug dealer. Yesterday (July 9), Phang Nga police arrested 28 year old Kittisak Chuanchom, a cable line technician, while he was preparing to distribute amphetamine pills to his ‘customers’. Police found him at a house in…
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Thai junta retains power to detain people without charge
“… though the junta’s orders are being revoked, their impact will still be felt in society.” Opposition politicians and the Thai public are voicing dissatisfaction with the junta’s decision to hang on to its order authorising arbitrary military detention. Even though the junta has announced the revocation of 70+ old NCPO orders, including media intervention and trying cases in military…
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Thai health authorities investigate Australian couples’ claim of illness after eating pad thai in Phuket
The Thai Disease Control Department says they’re investigation claims by a Perth couple that they went through “two years of hell” after eating a plate of Pad Thai while visiting Phuket on holiday in 2017. Stacey Barnes and Ryan Prigg from Perth, along with their two children, visited Thailand in 2017. Once back in Perth they both began to feel…
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Concrete pieces from Ari BTS station in Bangkok fall on road below
PHOTOS: Isara Ariyachaipanich Concrete panelling has fallen from the Ari skytrain station. Luckily there was no one injured. Isara Ariyachaipanich posted photos on his Facebook page showing a huge slab of concrete laying on the road beneath the structure of the Ari BTS station. The concrete fell onto Phayon Yothin Road, near a local bus station. “It was so good…
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UPDATE: Phuket pad thai blamed for putting Perth couple out of action for two years
A Perth couple, Stacey Barnes and her husband Ryan Prigg, who ran their personal wellbeing business, ended up unwell for nearly two years, because of a debilitating parasite that they say they caught whilst holidaying in Thailand in 2017. The have blamed the incident on a rogue plate of pad thai they ate at a food court at an ‘upmarket’…
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Thais fined for failing to report resident foreigners within 24 hours
PHOTO: Naew Na More Thai nationals have been charged and fined for failing to report foreigners who were staying at their accommodations within 24 hours of checking in. The article didn’t specify if they were guest house proprietors, landlords or hotels owners. In any case, someone must register if foreigners are staying at their establishments within 24 hours of check-in. 23 year…
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Frisky teenagers warned that they are being watched whilst in Thai cinemas
PHOTO: ร่วมแสดงความคิดเห็น Smile, you’re on Chiang Mai’s candid camera. Chiang Mai cinema staff are watching you while you are watching movies at the cinema. But, according to a source at one of the leading northern cinemas, the same is happening around Thailand. And some of the amorous advances are being caught on camera and shared on social media by staff. Chiang…
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Pattaya police purge on motorbike rental shops and renters
PHOTOS: Facebook/Sophon Cable Pattaya Police are cracking down on tourists renting motorbikes in the coastal tourist city as well as the shops renting out the bikes. The current purge is in response to recent problems of marauding tourist bike groups making a nuisance of themselves in the seaside tourist city. Sophon Cable reports that rental shops are now attracting attention…
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ASEAN commit to eliminating marine plastic
“At present, four ASEAN members are the world’s top ocean polluters, namely Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand.” At the recent 34th ASEAN Summit in Bangkok last month the 10 member states of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asia Nations) adopted “The Bangkok Declaration on Combating Marine Debris in the ASEAN Region” in an effort to eliminate marine plastic debris in the region. ASEAN…
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Thai smartphone users ready for 5G
“50% of the local respondents said they are willing to pay 150 baht extra in fees per month.” 5G, the next generation of phone speed, is on the way and coming to a smartphone near you. A recent survey of 35,000 people around the world shows that there will be as many as 1.9 billion 5G subscribers globally in the…
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48 illegal Pakistanis rounded up in Bangkok raid
PHOTO: The Nation Children are among 48 Pakistani nationals rounded up by Bangkok Immigration police this week at an apartment in the Bang Na district. Most had overstayed their visas while several didn’t have any travel documents at all. The raid in Soi Baring netted 26 passport holders and 14 with no documents plus another eight people who carried cards indicating…
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Green sea turtle found dead in a fish trap off Krabi national park
PHOTO: thaipost.net Officers from the Nopparat Thara Beach – Phi Phi Islands National Park, yesterday (Monday) removed a metal fish trap from the sea near Koh Met after some fishermen smuggled the trap into the sea. They found a dead green sea turtle trapped inside. The team had to use a bouyancy bag to rescue the turtle body stuck in the fish trap…
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TAT Governor predicts 10% revenue rise in 2020
PHOTO: Daily News Yuthasak Suphasorn, governor of Thailand’s Tourism Authority (TAT), says he’s expecting a 10% rise in tourist revenue in 2020 despite global economic uncertainty and a statistical drop in tourism around the country in Q2 of this year. According to Daily News, he confidently predicted that tourists would into Thailand keeping the country in the top 6 of…
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Police say posh private plane is not just for Prawit
Critics are alleging that a new 1.1 billion baht 10 seat luxury private jet is being used solely to transport the current deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan around the country. Yesterday’s reports in Thai media have forced the Royal Thai Police to deny the plane would only serve the needs of the ageing Deputy PM. Accusations first came from the Watchdog Act…
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Thai lady fusses over scratch on car while Frenchman lies injured on the road
PHOTO: Raksiamnews Pattaya’s Sawang Boriboon rescue foundation rushed to a housing development to find a French pensioner laying in a pool of blood with head and facial injuries. At the scene they also found the man’s motorbike and a Thai woman fretting over her new Toyota Camry that was scratched on the rear panels. 67 year old Jean Paul 67 was…
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American Airlines inks deal with Cathay Dragonair for more destinations in SE Asia
American Airlines says they now have a new deal with Hong Kong-based Cathay Dragon Airlines allowing US fliers access to South East Asian hot spots such as Phuket, Chiang Mai, Da Nang and Dhaka, Bangladesh. American’s network also will have more frequent flights to Penang, KL and Hanoi. The deal is said to strengthen American and Oneworld’s ties to Asia, the…
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Property developer confidence takes a dive in second quarter 2019
A measurement of real estate developer confidence for the Q2 2019 (April to June) has dropped to 42.2 points from 50.4 points for Q1 2019 (January to March). Thai PBS reports that the second quarter confidence index has fallen below the 50 point median index, reflecting developers’ declining confidence in the economic situation and investment in Thailand. Real estate developers…
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Opposition parties to keep heat on campaign for amendments to Thai Constitution
The seven-party opposition coalition, led by Pheu Thai and Future Forward MPs, is stepping up its campaign to seek public support for its attempts to amend the Constitution and to educate the people about the Thai Constitution. Speaking at a news conference, after a meeting of representatives from the seven opposition parties held yesterday (Monday), Pheu Thai MP Anusorn Iamsa-ard…
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WeWork Labs join hands with local industry to innovate Thailand’s food industry
WeWork Labs today announces its partnership with National Innovation Agency (NIA), SET-listed Thai Union Group and Mahidol University’s Science Faculty for the SPACE-F program that aims to build a sustainable ecosystem to nurture FoodTech startups in Thailand. SPACE-F is the first global FoodTech startup incubator and accelerator in Thailand and will provide innovative services and support to empower the next…
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BTS asked to pay 100 billion construction costs in exchange for 30 year concession extension
Manit Techa-apichoke, president of Bangkok Metropolitan Administration-owned Krungthep Thanakhom, says the state firm was empowered by Article 44 of the interim charter to conduct negotiations with the Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS) over the 100 billion baht debt transfer and concession extension. Manit says the negotiation should be completed in about two months. The Nation reports that the BMA will negotiate with…
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Future Forward legal team submits ‘share-gate’ evidence
PHOTO: Future Forward party secretary-genera, Piyabutr Saengkanokkul In submitting further evidence and clarification over ‘share-gate’, Future Forward party’s legal team has also asked for Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit’s MP status to be reinstated. Thanathorn was suspended from his MP duties when the Constitutional Court decided to accept a case over his alleged media share holdings. The party’s secretary-general Piyabutr Saengkanokkul says, as…
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Miracle magic Thai power generator rubbished by academic
PHOTO: 75 year old Cheun Fanmeik, making power out of cranking a handle – INN News A retired electrical engineer and professor at the Lat Krabang Institute of Technology is slamming the invention of a ‘power generator’ by a Thai pensioner as nonsense. 75 year old Cheun Fanmeik, who used to work at the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, claims he could…
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Aussie couple blame a dodgy pad thai in Thailand for two years of hell
A couple from Perth in Western Australia are blaming a plate of Pad Thai has put them through two years of hell. (The link between the pad thai, though implicated by the couple, and their illness was never fully explained) Stacey Barnes and Ryan Prigg from Perth, along with their two children, visited Thailand for a holiday in 2017. Once…
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Thai Justice officials push for action against parents of teenage biker in Chiang Mai
The Thai Justice Ministry is urging police to take action against the parents of a 13 year old boy whose foot was torn off in a crash on a 1000cc Kawasaki motorcycle they bought him. The incident in northern Chiang Mai on July 6 was caught on video that went viral drawing a lot of criticism online. Read The Thaiger story…
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New EU-Vietnam free trade deal threatens Thailand
PHOTO: Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital, where the new trade deals with the EU were signed last week Vietnam’s new trade deal with the EU is threatening Thailand’s trade and investment. The European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement were signed on June 30 in Hanoi. Thailand has no free trade agreement with the EU so all Thai…
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PM opens Chalong Underpass, visits Yamil and Navy Area 3, Phuket
The Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha, arrived at the PPAO Muang Phuket School in Rawai this morning to conduct the official opening of the Chalong Underpass, after 4 years of prolonged construction. Phuket officials the Rawai Mayor, Aroon Solos and Chalong Mayor, Samran Jindapon, welcomed Gen Prayuth who was accompanied by the PM Office team from Bangkok. https://www.facebook.com/prd5surat/videos/918746461798027/ Locals from Chalong…
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Indian tourists filling the gap as Chinese eschew Thailand
PHOTO: The Vijitt Resort, Rawai, Phuket Thailand’s currently patchy tourism industry, down but not out, is getting some interim support from visitors from the population colossus to its west, India. The new arrivals are filling in the gap, not quite a gaping hole as yet, of bumper arrivals from China. At a beachfront hotel on Phuket’s south west coast, the occupancy…
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Green Island – Thailand’s fully self-sufficient tropical paradise
For those wishing to escape the hectic life, spend a peaceful getaway in the embrace of Thai nature, and take lungfuls of pure air at a place unknown to most tourists, Pha Luai Island is an ideal destination. With a population of only 180 households and situated in Surat Thani’s Ang Thong Islands Marine National Park, just a stone’s throw…
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PM opens Chalong Underpass and meets local supporters in Phuket
PHOTOS & VIDEO: District 5 PR Office The PM arrived at the Chalong Underpass area this morning to officially declare the controversial 350 metre underground road tunnel open. The roadworks took nearly four years to complete and caused financial pain, inconvenience and turmoil for both businesses and residents in the south of the island. The Rawai Mayor Aroon Solos was…
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Thai parliament addresses low prices for farm produce
PHOTO: Low prices for produce, from coconuts to rice, roller to oil palm The new parliament has considered urgent motions on the low prices of farm goods and resolved to set up a 39 member extraordinary House committee to look into the the matter. The new Thai House of Representatives has deliberated 11 urgent motions lodged on the issue of…
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