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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Sponsored Could bitcoin serve as a hedge against US Tariffs?
If you hold a certain amount of bitcoin or whether you’re planning to buy some soon, you must be wondering what impact the US tariffs have on the coveted crypto’s price. A market analysis by Inky Cho, Financial Markets Strategist...
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Graham needs a triple bypass. Doesn’t have health insurance.
The plight of a British man highlights the risks for foreigners living in Thailand without health or medical insurance. Story by ThaiVisa… Graham Briar, who uploads videos about life in rural Thailand to his YouTube channel Graham & Pie, urgently needs a triple heart bypass operation but with no medical insurance and not enough money to pay for surgery he…
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Frenchman confesses to murdering Italian love rival. Re-enactment yesterday.
The much publicised murder of an Italian man, in which his Thai ex-wife and her French boyfriend have been implicated, apparently has been solved after police said the Frenchman had confessed to the killing. Pol Colonel Chaisathien Maneechak, from Bung Nara Police Station in Phichit province, said French national 34 year old Rigaux Amaury had confessed to stabbing to death…
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Drug arrest in Yala links to bigger network
Police announced on Tuesday the arrest the previous day of a local man in Yala’s Muang district and seized 30,000 “yaba” amphetamine pills valued at 2.4 million baht on the street and said they would continue to investigate to apprehend the man’s accomplices. Yala police chief Pol Maj-General Krisada Kaewchandee told a press conference that police had arrested a rubber-tapper…
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Thai woman, French boyfriend blame each other for Italian’s murder
A Thai woman and her French boyfriend have turned on each other after their arrests, with each blaming the other for the murder of the woman’s Italian ex-husband. 38 year old Rujira Eiumlamai told police after her arrest yesterday that she was innocent of the murder, saying it had been perpetrated by her French boyfriend, 34 year old Rigaux Amaury…
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THAIGER TODAY Monday, January 29
Krabi coal fire plant hearings get no opposition | Frenchman nabbed over Italian’s murder in Tak | Thailand voted the Number One ranking of the list of Best Countries to Start a Business | Anxious wait for Thai fishing ‘yellow card’ to lifted | Wildlife Selfie Code launched | ‘Upcycling the oceans’ event pulls nearly a tonne of rubbish off…
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Workers seek help after ‘false promise’ of jobs in Australia
Fourteen workers in Chaiyaphum filed complaints with police on Monday stating that they had been cheated by a man who charged them money based on a promise to find them jobs in Australia. The workers filed the complaint at Muang Chaiyaphum Police Station at 9.30am, with the acting Chaiyaphum job-placement officer, Thawatchai Upanan, receiving the complaints at the station. The…
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Back to the future. Democrats looking over their shoulder for election candidate.
By SOMROUTAI SAPSOMBOON The future of Chuan Leekpai, the Democrat Party’s chief adviser and former leader, is the subject of speculation as some muse that he will return as its chief ahead of the next general election. The speculation stems from two separate assumptions – that the Democrats and the Pheu Thai Party may join forces to prevent the junta’s…
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The guessing game. Weaving an election strategy.
The government’s most senior figures – the prime minister and his first deputy – have sent conflicting signals as to when the next general election will be held. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha said during his trip to India yesterday that he acknowledged the possibility of an election delay following the passage of the revised MPs election bill. But he said the…
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2019 Thai election looking more likely
The National Legislative Assembly (NLA) late on Thursday passed the MPs election bill with a clause that delays it coming into effect for 90 days after its promulgation. The members voted 213 to zero with four abstentions. The bill was passed after almost 14 hours of deliberations on Thursday. In the second reading of the bill, the stipulation deferring its…
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Six illegal ‘foreign-owned’ hostels closed on Koh Pha Ngan
Troops and police arrested two foreigners and four Thais on Wednesday for allegedly running six hostels without licence on the tourist destination Koh Pha Ngan in Surat Thani province. A Dutch man and an Italian man were arrested and charged with operating hotels without licence and carrying out business prohibited to aliens. The four Thais were charged with acting as…
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THAIGER TODAY Thursday, January 25
THAIGER TODAY, Thursday, January 25…. The ‘S’ word in Bangkok | Why can’t our taxis work like this? | AIDS levels dropping in ASEAN | PM pleads with media to drop Prawit ‘chatter’ | Charged Israeli mobsters heading to Samui to recreate crime | Philippines volcano sparks evacuations.
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UPDATE: Prawit “not obliged to declare assets”
Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan would not be required to declare his extravagant watch collection as assets under the anti-graft law if the watches did not belong to him, National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) secretary-general Worawit Sukboon said yesterday. At an NACC press briefing yesterday, Worawit said that if the watches belonged to Prawit, he would have to explain when he…
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Thailand’s Kane Shepherd setting the pace in the Formula Gulf Academy
Held at the billion dollar facility built on Yas Island specifically to host Abu Dhabi’s Formula One World Championship Grand Prix events, Rounds 3 & 4 were dominated by one of Thailand’s most promising young racing drivers, Kane Shepherd. Kane, who is also contesting the SEA F4 championship, was back in the UAE to gain valuable coaching from Formula Gulf…
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Thailand’s opium cultivation “down by 40%”
The cultivation of opium is on the decline in Thailand, but the illegal practice persists in several northern districts, the Office of the Narcotics Control Board reported this week. Secretary-general Sirinya Sitdhichai cited remote rural highlands in Chiang Mai’s Om Koi, Mae Taeng and Chiang Dao districts and in Tak’s Umphang, Mae Ramat and Tha Song Yang districts as places…
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THAIGER TODAY Tuesday, January 23
3 killed and many more injured in latest Yala bombing | Another bus with Chinese tourists ends up in a road ditch in Chiang Mai | Later on the Israeli mob hit on Samui | Central Pattana introduce cashless technology at 4,000 stores | Bullets flying in Hat Yai yesterday | Exports up 9.9% over past 12 months.
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THAIGER TODAY Monday, January 22
Israeli hit squad kills one in Koh Samui | ‘Taxi OK’ App and reforms launched this Thursday | Spot checks at Chalong Pier reveal shortcomings on some boats | Couple arrested at Don Mueang after alleged murder in Pichit | Total of four arrested over Phuket Airport baggage thefts.
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Two Israelis arrested over suspected mob hit in Samui
Two Israeli men were arrested at Don Muang International Airport on Sunday night for allegedly stabbing to death a fellow Israeli and seriously injuring his girlfriend on Koh Samui earlier in the day. Police said 24 year old Dolev Zuarez and 26 year old Eval Bokal were arrested soon after arriving at the airport at 9.30pm. They had flown to…
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Moto GP will generate 1 billion baht for Thailand
Sports Authority of Thailand Governor Sakon Wannapong says more than 1 billion baht will be generated by the PTT Thailand motorcycling Grand Prix at the Buri Ram International Circuit this October. The SAT boss said a huge income would be generated during the competition between October 5-7 in the northeastern province. Thailand has a three-year-contract to host the MotoGP and must pay around 400…
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UK to shift visa approvals from Bangkok to New Delhi
United Kingdom Visa and Immigration (UKVI) will relocate its visa approval centre from Bangkok to New Delhi, starting in June this year. The move is part of UKVI’s longstanding global strategy to modernise its visa operations and consolidate visa decision-making in large regional hubs, said a press release issued by the British Embassy to Thailand on Friday. There will be…
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Cops raid BKK pub, still open at 4am
Police raided a pub on Sukhumvit Soi 22 in Bangkok Thursday morning after it stayed open well past the mandated 2am closing time. Tally, on the ground floor of the Holiday Inn in Vadhana district, was still open at 4am when police arrived, about 200 patrons drinking and dancing. Twenty of them tested positive for illicit drugs and were taken…
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The big three. 2018 elections for Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia.
In 2018 there will be three elections in our immediate region – the much-predicted (and confirmed by the Thai PM) Thai election, another in Cambodia and one in Malaysia. All have their very local versions of democracy which will shape the outcomes. All are vital tests for the region’s fragile democracies. Cambodia Cambodia’s national elections are scheduled for July 29.…
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THAIGER TODAY Thursday, January 18
Fire destroys two motorbike shops near Surakul Stadium | Two Russians robbed of their Bitcoin in condo raid | Governor urges better supervision of boat safety by marine office | DSI dismiss their raid on Bangkok brothel is politically motivated | Thailand’s sex trade valued at over 200 billion baht | Krabi council calls for limit on numbers at Maya…
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THAIGER TODAY Wednesday, January 17
Second boat incident in three days | Prawit’s offering to resign if found guilty of ‘wrongdoing’ | Smart Visa details | Krabi and Thepa coal plants ‘still happening’ | PM puts hold on cannabis crops | Tax breaks for Thai families having babies.
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THAIGER TODAY Tuesday, January 16
The investigation starts into Sunday’s boat explosion | NACC asks posters to ‘go steady’ on Prawit’s watches | Armoured vehicle kills one, injures three in Pattani | American & Russian nabbed selling drugs on Koh Phangan | ‘Poshtels’ are the latest accommodation trend.
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THAIGER TODAY Monday, January 15
Chinese tourists recovering after boat explosion near Phi Phi | Ban for hydrogen-filled balloons | Human trafficking investigation at Victoria Secret massage parlour in BKK | Jail-break at remand centre in Songkhla | Jealous husband murders wife | Monkey cheeks being installed near Saphan Hin to help with floods
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Confidence in teachers survey – Thai Teacher Day tomorrow
Many of us are involved in education, either directly or indirectly, here on the island. Many expats work with schools, many of us have children attending schools and others work in association with school activities or have partners in the local education system. Tomorrow is Thai Teacher Day and a new survey has come out reflecting what people think about…
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Jealous man arrested over murder of wife in Bangkok
By Kittipong Maneerit A man has confessed to killing his bar-worker wife last Thursday over jealousy and a money dispute. 27 year old Mingkwan Rattanapetch known as Saranya, was strangled inside her apartment in Bangkok. Her husband, 22 year old Noppadon Singhachote has told police that he got angry when Saranya quarrelled with him over money and threatened to leave…
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Powered paraglider crashes in provincial Children’s Day celebrations
A powered paraglider fell and landed on a palm tree in Chumphon province during a show to mark National Children’s Day on Saturday morning. The accident happened at 10am behind the Tambon Haad Yai Administrative Organisation in Lang Suan district, tambon officials said. 47 year old Sathaporn Rakbamrung who was flying the paraglider, escaped without injuries. He performed a show…
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A third of Thai children are ‘disadvantaged’
More than one in three children in Thailand are in disadvantaged groups – this according to the Mental Health Department’s director-general, Dr Squadron-Leader Boonruang Triruangworawat. “Of 13.82 million children (below 18 years of age), at least 5 million are underprivileged,” Boonruang said. He said 80 per cent of underprivileged children were financially poor and about six per cent were from…
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