Thailand News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, and lifestyle—get breaking updates from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond. Stay informed on Thai society, economy, tourism, and expat life with The Thaiger.
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Banned! Dart board ban now in effect across Thailand. Bars urged to get boards registered.
Thailand’s ban on bars and entertainment venues allowing punters to play darts is now in affect nationwide. In January, officials in Pattaya raided bars along Soi 6 to confiscate the ‘illegal’ dart boards.Bar owners and staff were told that venues must now have a dart board license if they wanted to be able to allow customers to play the popular…
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500kg of garbage washed onto national park beach every day
From 400 to 500 kilograms of garbage had been washed by waves onto a beach on Koh Rung in the Mu Koh Chang National Park in Trat each morning during the past week, the park chief said today (Monday). Kosit Nilrat said he had assigned 17 officials to clean up the beach at Ao Bor of Koh Rung every morning…
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THAIGER TODAY Monday, March 12
New faces on the political scene | Rabies Epidemic Zone for Nonthaburi and Bangkok | Fire in Pattaya’s Walking Street | 27 tourists arrested on island near Ranong | Spate of drownings over weekend | Guy in hospital with amnesia, ummm, actually wanted by police… BUSTED!
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The new face of Thai politics?
The so-called “new blood” political party to be led by “pro-democracy” billionaire Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit has promised to be an alternative to lead the conflict-plagued country out of the cycle of political division. The 39 year old auto-parts tycoon admitted that he had been described as “another Thaksin Shinawatra”, but asked for time to prove himself. “There’s no way to prove…
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Fire in Pattaya’s Walking Street. Two injured.
Bars in Walking Street Pattaya were in flames last night (Saturday) after a transformer exploded in the packed red light district. Two tourists were rushed to hospital. Witnesses say there was a large explosion around 10pm. The blaze quickly spread to neighbouring bars as motorbikes parked on the street burst into flames as well. Dozens of bars in a plaza…
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90 arrested, 74 motorcycles seized in crackdown
Bangkok police arrested 90 motorcyclists and pillion riders and seized 74 modified motorcycles in a crackdown on street racing on Bangkok’s streets. At the end of the operation on Friday night, tourist police deputy chief Pol Lt-General Surachet Hakpal held a press conference at 2.30am early on Saturday on the main ground in front of Tesco Lotus Extra on Rama…
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Nearly 1300 houses damaged after week of ‘freak storms’
The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation says that summer storms have damaged 1,293 houses in 24 Thai provinces. And one person has been killed as a result of the storms, primarily in the north-east and central provinces. The storms have hit the 24 provinces between March 5-8. The director-general, Chayapol Thitisakdi, says summer storms have hit 189 villages in 57…
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THAIGER TODAY Friday, March 9
Freak storm cells caught on video | Changes for renters and landlords | Russian tourist run over and killed in Pattaya | Raid on Chiang Mai house selling dodgy health supplements | Rabies situation – under control but under watch.
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Rama X banknotes go into circulation from April 6
The first banknotes bearing a portrait of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn will be issued on April 6, Chakri Day. The Bank of Thailand announced on Thursday that, in accordance with permission granted by the palace, it would release banknotes bearing an image of King Rama X that day in the denominations of 20, 50 and 100 baht 500 baht…
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Accelerating Rabies vaccinations in Trang
There have been three deaths in Kalasin province linked to Rabies. And some suspected cases around Bangkok. The vaccination program in Trang brings it all a bit closer to home. Phairoj Intharasri, chief livestock officer in the southern province, said Muang, Huay Yod, Palian and Wang Wiset districts have been on rabies alerts since late February or March. His office…
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Has Alexa been laughing at you?
Voice recognition personal assistants are all the rage at the moment, sometimes with hilarious results. Alexa is a offering from Amzon and might be having the last laugh. (By the way Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos was found to be the world’s richest man in a Bloomberg article today). Anyway, Amazon is promising to keep virtual assistant Alexa from spontaneously cackling,…
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THAIGER TODAY Thursday, March 8
Freak storm hits Nakhon Pratom uprooting power poles | 7 Russians arrested in a Phuket kidnapping incident | Re-enactment of Premchai’s alleged bribery conversation | Chinese tourist assaulted in Krabi | New tourism plan for Thailand’s west coast including a high speed train.
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E-commerce sites will be blocked if they don’t pay local VAT
Do you shop online? Plenty do, and increasingly retail is heading offshore and the main winners are Thai Post. A legal loophole, allowing foreign e-commerce companies to avoid paying Thai VAT, may soon be plugged with new legislation. But the Thai Revenue Department is threatening to block giant foreign e-commerce websites if they don’t pay VAT taxes in the future,…
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THAIGER TODAY Tuesday, March 6
More details about alleged ‘tapes’ from Belarus escort | ‘Freak storms’ for central and northern Thailand | Latest in ‘furious aunties’ case | Smog ‘very bad’ in north | 69 year Dutchman and 19 year old Thai in custody over prostitution and human trafficking | Labour Department being asked to ‘fast track’ migrant registration | Krabi Airport runway repairs on…
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What does Anastasia Vashukevich know?
PHOTOS: Instagram The raid on a ‘sex seminar’ in love-making in Pattaya last week has grown into an international story of intrigue with links to the ‘Russia-meddling-in-US-election’ ongoing investigation. A Belarusian escort, with close ties to a powerful Russian oligarch said from behind bars in Bangkok, yesterday that she had more than 16 hours of audio recordings that could help…
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Oscar winners – 2018 Academy Awards
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Mary J. Blige, “Mudbound” Allison Janney, “I, Tonya” *WINNER Lesley Manville, “Phantom Thread” Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird” Octavia Spencer, “The Shape of Water” ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Willem Dafoe, “The Florida Project” Woody Harrelson, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” Richard Jenkins, “The Shape of Water” Christopher Plummer, “All the Money in the World” Sam…
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THAIGER TODAY Monday, March 5
Thai police getting a ‘make-over’ | Outrigger resorts being sold to Singha Estate | New flights, new locations meanwhile Thai Airways struggling | Parents being urged to watch kids while swimming | 79% approve of poll next February | 40 year old hunter shoots relative.
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Thai Airways continues to struggle against newer, nimble competitors
Fierce competition and rising fuel costs are said to be the main cause of Thai Airway’s tough last year. Thai’s operating profit for the last year was down nearly 30% to 2,856 million baht. This included the parent airline and all its subsidiaries. The main culprit, according to TTR Weekly, was a 24.2% increase in fuel prices for its planes.…
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Over 40 new parties registered in one day
By Kas Chanwanpen As many as 42 groups of people requested to establish new political parties on the first day of pre-registration organised by the Election Commission (EC) yesterday. The EC’s head office at Government Complex was full of energy as hundreds of prospective party founders and their supporters lined up to reserve the names and logos of new parties.…
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THAIGER TODAY Friday, March 2
TAT says we shouldn’t focus attention on sex tourism | NCPO warns protestors about Pinocchio masks | March 1 kicks off hot-season and registration of new political parties | Academics warn about coral restoration off Patong | Doctor in Hua Hin arrested over abortion clinic | Fake watch vendors arrested in Pattaya.
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Pattaya detained Belarusian escort says she has dirt in the Trump-Russia case
A Belarusian woman who was arrested in Pattaya over the weekend is seeking assistance from the United States, claiming she has information about links between Russia and US President Donald Trump, the Washington Post has reported. Anastasia Vashukevich, an escort service worker from Belarus – who became well known after filming a yacht trip with Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska and…
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THAIGER TODAY Wednesday, February 28
PM responds to ‘sex tourism’ remarks | Extra long Songkran | Shoot-out on Samui’s Chaweng Beach | Big crackdown on illegal immigrants along Soi Cowboy last night | High-speed rail gets go ahead between Don Mueang and Rayong | PM pushes election date forward to February | Two Americans held in Chiang Mai over fake US bills.
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Pushing the election date forward, again
By Wasamon Audjarint and Kas Chanwenpen Faced with mounting pressure from critics and the international community, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday said the next election would be held “no later than” next February. While making his latest promise about the election date, however, Prayut also warned that it would also depend on the situation at the time. “I am not making…
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Five day Songkran
The Cabinet today (Tuesday) has given the green light for a five-day “Songkran Festival” holiday from April 12 to 16. To accommodate people travelling up-country to visit their hometowns, and to stimulate nationwide tourism, the Cabinet allowed Thursday, April 12, as an additional holiday on top of the festival time from April 13 to 16. As traffic congestion is expected…
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More than 100 new political parties poised to launch next month
PHOTO: Suthep Thaugsuban by Attayuth Bootsripoom More than 100 new political parties are expected to launch next month after registration opens on Friday. It will be the first time since the military coup in May 2014 that political activities will be officially allowed. A junta order signed by Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha last December allows new political parties to…
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THAIGER TODAY Monday, February 26
59% of those polled don’t want a political party with Prayut as leader | Repairs to Phuket Airport runway | More carnage on Patong Hill | Poorly planned ATM snatch it Krabi | January’s numbers for new cars and tourism | Toon hands over the cash – 1.3 billion baht | Police raid Russian sex classes in Pattaya.
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January by numbers – Car registrations and tourist numbers up
The Land Transport Department has reported 268,989 new cars and motorcycles for January 2018. This included 167,039 motorcycles, 63,646 sedans, 24,117 pickup trucks, 1,129 7-seat-plus cars, 939 buses operating on fixed routes, 724 buses which do not operate on fixed routes and 5,731 trucks, according to Thai PBS. That pushes the total number of registered vehicles in Thailand to 38,428,304.…
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We’re going to see more of the three-fingered salute
Thai PM General Prayut Chan-o-cha said he will call a meeting of relevant parties to discuss and decide an appropriate and acceptable date for the next general election. The public in recent weeks has witnessed a series of delays in the passing and enforcing of laws and other legal manoeuvres that have raised doubts over the timing of the next…
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Spate of attacks in the deep south ahead of visit to discuss southern security
There’s been a spate of violence in the south last night with houses, shops, checkpoints and security bases coming under attack in all three of the deep south provinces – Songkhla, Pattani and Narathiwat. In all, there were more than 10 incidents – car tyres burning, shootings and houses and shop being set on fire. With no injuries reported security…
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Cobra Gold skews military focus away from China
By Wasamon Audjarint Against the background of China’s increasing power and assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific, the United States is seeking to intensify Cobra Gold, the largest regional joint military exercise, that is annually hosted by Thailand. “I believe that Cobra Gold should look for ways to increase the complexity and scope of the exercise every year because we work closely…
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