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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Who is this week’s Champion of Overstayers? – Operation X-Ray Outlaw Foreigner
PHOTOS: Thai Tourist Police Bureau The Thai Tourist Police have executed the 20th raid in their “X-Ray Outlaw Foreigner” campaign. Again, they’ve turned up dozens of foreigners on overstay and people entering the Kingdom illegally. Eighteen schools were raided for illegals including three international schools and 2 language institutes. Pol Maj Gen Surachete Hakpal – aka ‘Big Joke’ in the…
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Thaksin slams Thai ‘democracy’ on the celebration of his birthday
Former Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra is vowing to keep on his “battle for Thailand’s democracy”, despite living in self-exile overseas for around a decade. This announcement from red-shirt media yesterday (August 9). The Peace News Facebook page reports that the ex-premier, overthrown by a military coup in 2006, made a speech during his belated birthday party with his sister, another…
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Storms raise flood threats in 37 provinces
Whilst the flood situation in the far north of the country, bordering the Mekong River, has abated over the past week, the situation is still dire for many other communities around the Kingdom today. Disaster warnings have now been issued as heavy downpours threaten to bring flash floods and landslides to 37 provinces across Thailand. A monsoon storm is predicted…
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Thaiger Radio News – Friday
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Thailand to adopt some of Japan’s road safety measures
PHOTO: The Nation “It was found that Japan had placed importance on measures related to public transports which focus on the standard of transports and equipment and the safety of drivers and passengers.” In an effort to reduce the country’s shameful road toll, the Ministry of Transport says it’s started to implement some of Japan’s road safety measures in Thailand.…
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Thaiger Radio News – Thursday
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Two drug gangs busted
Two big drug hauls today in different parts of the country. Firstly, police arrested six suspects including the alleged drug-trafficking gang leader Phusinthorn Jomtharak, along with over 68,000 methamphetamine pills in Chaiyaphum province. 24 year old Phusinthorn, a Nong Bua Dang district native, was nabbed yesterday (Tuesday) while visiting a drug inmate friend at Chaiyaphum Prison. Police say that Phusinthorn…
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PM says mandatory conscription still required in Thailand
PHOTOS: The Nation Thailand’s PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has reaffirmed the importance of retaining mandatory conscription for Thai men “as soldiers form an indispensable force in time of crisis or emergency”. Thai PBS is reporting that the PM was speaking at a press conference after the weekly Cabinet meeting in response to criticism that mandatory conscription should be scrapped as there…
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Thaiger Radio News – Tuesday
Listen to the daily news from The Thaiger, anytime, anywhere.
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Thaiger Radio News – Monday
Listen to the daily news from The Thaiger, anytime, anywhere.
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Latest ‘Operation X-Ray Outlaw Foreigner’ nets UK and Nigerian overstayers, both over 1,000 days
File Photo The crackdown on serial overstayers continues across the country, including a British national arrested in Phuket. 53 year old Chris Michel was bundled up on Friday morning after it was revealed that he had overstayed his visa by 1077 days, nearly 3 years. 62 foreign nationals were detained in the latest ‘Operation X-Ray Outlaw Foreigner’, targeting 75 locations…
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Heavy rains threaten Phetchaburi dams – weather warnings issued
Heavy rains have battered Thailand’s west, north and north-east over past weeks, causing dams to fill early in the annual wet season, threatening overflows and floods to downstream areas. The Thai Meteorological Department says that from today until August 9… “a monsoonal trough will lie across the upper North and the upper Northeast while the southwest monsoon will strengthen across…
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Jobs for the boys – Women’s groups attack rampant gender bias
“Out of over 10,000 police officers in Thailand, only 400 are women.” Despite the country’s ‘sabai sabai’ attitude towards many issues, rampant sexism and gender-bias still exists across the board, especially in the higher levels of Thai army and police ranks. Three women’s rights groups are urging the Office of the Ombudsman to rule on the validity of a move…
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Yingluck flies to Dubai – “Dubai flight was pre-planned”
“Yingluck reportedly flew from London on Wednesday, just a day after the media reported the Thai government’s extradition request to the UK government.” Former PM minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s flight from London to Dubai on Wednesday had nothing to do with the Thai government’s extradition request to the UK. This explanation from a Pheu Thai Party member yesterday. The flight was…
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Tuk Tuk rally on August 18-19 with an Ayutthaya period costume twist
The Ayutthaya provincial administration is holding a tuk tuk rally on August 18 and 19 to promote tourism to the historical site. Ayutthaya governor Sujin Chaiyachumsak said up to 250 teams of contestants can take part in the rally, for which the application fee is 1,000 baht. At least one member of the team must be dressed in an Ayutthaya…
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NCPO ‘damaged the image of the country’ – Future Forward party
PHOTO: The Nation By Panarat Thepgumpanat and Amy Sawitta Lefevre In a tense stand-off between the establishment and the ‘new guard’, Future Forward party’s brash young leader, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, is firing verbal missives at the NCPO. Reuters is reporting that the new Thai party, headed up by auto-parts billionaire Thanathorn, and aiming to shake up politics, hit back at the ruling…
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49 offenders escape electronic monitoring devices since March 1
By Kesinee Tangkhieo Electronic monitoring devices are another way to keep people out of jail but still limited in their freedoms. But they’re not 100% effective as a survey of the Thai Court of Justice found. The electronic monitoring (EM) devices on 49 of the 1,800 offenders ordered to wear them while freed on bail were found to have been…
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Deadly link: Puppy factories and rabies
(12 minute read) A media release from soidog.org The panic over rabies that erupted at the beginning of this year seems to have died down. Fourteen people have died; dozens of dogs were poisoned and thousands more died after being incarcerated in government pounds as officials across the country stumbled to stamp out the spread of the disease. Yet absolutely nothing…
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Event Round-Up with The Sponsorship Experts – August 2018
by Paul Poole The running craze continues in August with races held throughout the country. The month starts off with Bangkok Airways Phuket Marathon 2018 on August 5 where runners can choose between three distances, 21, 10 and five kilometres, and CIMB Thai Triathlon for ASEAN Day 2018, also on August 5. Perfect for beginners, the event allows participants to…
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Happy Birthday Thaiger – One year old today
Acute self indulgence today as we announce our first major milestone for thethaiger.com. We’re one year old. It was on August 1, 2017 that the fledgling Thaiger company took over the reins of the 23 year old Phuket Gazette and started posting under the new management. Only two weeks before we had received the keys to the toy box and…
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July stats see a small drop in tourists through Thai airports
July 2018 stats from the AoT (Airports Authority of Thailand) indicates that fewer tourists went through Thai airports than expected. Channel 7 News reports that, while there was still an increase of 4% compared to the same month in 2017, the numbers buck the overall trend which has seen an average 9% rise in usage per month since the start…
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Karen spiritual leader Ko-ee gets Thai ID card. Only had to wait 107 years.
PHOTO: Thai PBS Spiritual leader of ethnic Karens of Kaeng Krachan forest in Phetchaburi, 107 year old Ko-ee Meeme, registered for a Thai identity card at the Kaeng Krachang district office yesterday after he was granted Thai citizenship. On hand to witness the ID card registration were Mrs Tuenjai Deethet, a member of the National Human Rights Commission, and children,…
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“I am not a security threat” – Thanathorn Joengrungruangkit
PHOTOS: The Nation Thanathorn Joengrungruangkit, the acting leader of the new Future Forward Party has reported to the Technology Crime Suppression Division to defend himself against allegation filed against him by the NCPO over a Facebook live streaming event, deemed to be critical of the military government. Colonel Burin Thongprapai of the NCPO’s legal affairs department has accused Thanathorn of…
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Thai officials make official request for Yingluck’s extradition
The Thai Government has made an official request to the UK for the extradition of fugitive former PM Yingluck Shinawatra for prosecution back in Thailand. The Thai Embassy in London sent a letter dated July 5 to the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office with attached copies of the Supreme Court verdict in the case against Yingluck along with her arrest…
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Why do Chinese tourists like coming to Thailand?
By Kanjana Lao Nation Graphics A Nielsen Survey has asked Chinese tourists why they like coming to Thailand. Thailand remains popular among Chinese tourists, of all ages, due to its relatively low costs. Despite the Phuket boating tragedy on July 6, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports expect the arrival of Chinese tourists in 2018 to exceed the 2017 total.…
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33 households evacuated in Nan – more landslides feared
PHOTO: Thai PBS As floods and torrential rain continue to plague northern Thailand, including neighbouring regions in Myanmar and Laos, 33 households in a mountainous village in Bo Klua district of the northernmost province of Nan have been ordered to immediately evacuate to a temple five kilometres away for fear that they might be struck by a landslide. Bo Klua…
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Thaksin claims election delays in birthday comments – UK
Thaksin Shinawatra, the fugitive former Thai PM, is still firing missives in exile – this time in comments his 69th birthday in London. A spokesman for the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) yesterday insisted that there was no change in the schedule for the next election. Maj-General Piyapong Klinphan debunked speculation by former PM Thaksin Shinawatra about a change…
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Local rains in Nan and Trat cause devastation – seven killed two missing
Heavy rains in northern Thailand and on the Cambodian border in Trat are causing local emergencies. At least seven villagers have been killed and two others missing after heavy rains triggered a mudslide from a mountain into their valley village in the Bo Klua district of Nan province this morning Saturday). The landslide occurred at the Ban Huay Kham in…
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Two day booze ban finishes tonight at midnight
The sale or serving of alcohol will remain prohibited in Phuket until midnight tonight (Saturday) as part of a nationwide ban commemorating the start of Buddhist Lent. Yesterday (Friday) alcohol was banned for the main Buddhist annual holiday, Asanha Bucha Day. “Alcohol sales are prohibited from midnight Thursday until midnight Saturday.” Alcohol may be sold in only one location: hotels.…
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GPS tourists trackers and mandatory travel insurance – BKK travel fair seminar
PHOTO: South China Morning Post Two great suggestions at a Bangkok travel fair, both aimed at making things easier for Thai authorities without improving safety for tourists. At the Thai Chic Travel Fair seminar held in Bangkok yesterday (Wednesday), officials suggested that making it a mandatory requirement for all foreign visitors to Thailand to have travel insurance would ease the…
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