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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CIA executive unfit due to alleged torture links in Thailand, says Amnesty
BANGKOK: Amnesty International has called for the review of the appointment of Gina Haspel as deputy director of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) because of her alleged torture links in Thailand. Erika Guevara-Rosas, Director of the Americas at Amnesty International, issued a press statement that Ms Haspel’s appointment could hamper investigations into alleged torture and enforced disappearance at…
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Thai PM receives death threats, orders manhunt
BANGKOK: Prime Minister Gen Prayuth Chan o cha today said that his government has launched a manhunt for people posting death threats against him and his Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan. “I want to ask them [who posted] where they got the information. I think Thai expatriates overseas who regularly insult the Monarchy mentioned the assassination first,”…
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Police cadet orientation marred by exam-cheating arrests
BANGKOK: TEN people suspected to have cheated in a police entrance exam in December were arrested on Tuesday morning as they attended cadet orientation at a Police Club in Bangkok. Arrest warrants were issued for at least 51 students regarding the case last month (story here). “The 10 men, accused of copying exam answers from others, were wanted on charges…
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Govt denies digital surveillance as report alleges ‘spying’
BANGKOK: The government dismissed allegations yesterday that it had violated people’s privacy by conducting surveillance of telephone and Internet communications. Government spokesman Lt Gen Sansern Kaewkamnerd said the government was too busy and did not have time to spy on people. He was responding to a report by the London-based organization ‘Privacy International (PI)’ regarding surveillance in Thailand. The organization,…
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Arrest warrants issued for university students in police scandal
BANGKOK: Dozens of medical and engineering university students now face arrest warrants for their alleged roles in cheating during police officer entrance exams last month at the Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB). Criminal arrest warrants were issued today for about 51 university students and a Bangkok city regulation enforcement officer, after MPB Training Centre Chief Colonel Uthen Nuiphin filed cheating complaints…
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Police chief to probe entrance exam cheating scandal
BANGKOK: National police chief Gen Chakthip Chaijinda said yesterday he would await the results of an internal investigation into cheating before deciding whether to cancel the results of an entrance exam for applicants seeking to be police officers. Gen Chakthip’s comments were made after Col Uthen Nuiphin, chief of the Metropolitan Police Bureau’s Training Center, filed a complaint with the…
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Siriraj to boost breast cancer patient survival
BANGKOK: Siriraj Hospital aims to greatly boost the chances of survival for breast cancer patients within the next five years, one of its senior medical experts said yesterday. Dr Prasit Watanapa, dean and director of Mahidol University’s Siriraj Medical School, said the faculty aimed to ‘defeat’ breast cancer completely for first stage cancer patients with a 100-per-cent survival rate. “For…
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Van numbers to decrease by 2019
BANGKOK: As many as 40,000 inter-provincial passenger vans could be taken off Thailand’s roads by 2019 because they are not appropriate for public transportation, Deputy Prime Minister Wisanu Krue-Ngam said today. PM Wisanu said that the Transport Ministry’s proposal to use Article 44 of the interim charter to immediately tackle the problem with passenger vans did not solely stem from…
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Horrific Chonburi collision spurs talks of change
CHON BURI: The Transport Ministry plans to strictly control passenger vans and replace them with buses after the fiery accident in Chon Buri on Monday caused 25 fatalities. The Bangkok-bound minivan from Chanthaburi ran into a pickup truck loaded with passengers and both vehicles burst into flames, killing 14 people in the van and 11 in the pickup. Two passengers…
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American tourist reunited with stolen possessions
KOH SAMUI: A Thai couple was arrested on Sunday for the theft of an American tourist’s bag from a hotel room in Koh Samui the previous day. Christopher Rusciano, a pilot for American low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines, was staying at Ark Bar Beach Resort, where the incident occurred. “On Saturday night, Mr Rusciano left his room to meet his friend,…
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Demolition execs charged over 4 Bangkok deaths
BANGKOK: Police have charged the managing director and engineer of a demolition firm over the collapse of an eight-storey building in Bangkok that killed four workers on Friday. Boy Ocean Star Company had insisted that it subcontracted the job to another firm, Mega Tools.However, police have charged Boy Ocean Star managing director Mana Kaewmanee and the firm’s engineer Kittipong Yootairomboon…
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Two demolition workers killed in Sukhumvit building collapse
BANGKOK: Two construction workers were killed in Bangkok yesterday when an eight-storey building under demolition on Sukhumvit Soi 87 collapsed. Rescue workers, police and fire-fighters continue their search for the workers this morning, as they are believed to be trapped under the debris. It was initially reported that four workers were in the building, said Noppadol Chaipanya, head of the…
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King Rama X proclaimed
BANGKOK: HIS MAJESTY King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun was proclaimed yesterday as the 10th King of the Chakri Dynasty after he accepted the invitation made by the president of the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) in accordance with His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s will, the Constitution and Palace Law. “I accept the invitation in order to follow His Majesty King Bhumibol’s will…
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EU ‘Green card’ for Thailand expected over IUU fishing
THAILAND: The Kingdom should expect to receive a ‘green card’ from the European Union for its efforts to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, once the EU realizes the real progress the government is making in this regard, according to Steve Trent, executive director of the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF). Mr Trent said the EJF had seen the progress…
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Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn to become King Rama X
BANGKOK: The National Legislative Assembly (NLA) president Pornpetch Wichitcholchai convened a special meeting today and has now announced acknowledgment of the Cabinet’s resolution to invite HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn to accede to the throne. “The NLA, which now functions as the Parliament, has received the Cabinet’s resolution. The NLA president will now invite the Crown Prince to accede to…
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Thailand visa fees to be reduced to B1,000
THAILAND: Visa fees for entering Thailand, including fees for visas on arrival, are to be reduced for three months starting on December 1. The move is intended to boost tourist arrivals, a key economic engine for the country. “The fees will be cut to Bt1,000,” the Tourism Ministry announced yesterday. The change was announced less than two months after visa…
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Bulletin issued on HM the King’s health
BANGKOK: The Bureau of the Royal Household has indicated His Majesty the King’s condition remains unstable and under close monitoring. In its 38th statement issued on the condition of HM the King, the Bureau of the Royal Household indicated that the team of doctors providing treatment to His Majesty on Tuesday diagnosed a further drop in his blood pressure, a…
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What’s different about The Thaiger?
The Thaiger is growing fast, reaching out beyond Phuket to cover the rest of Thailand as well. We will still be posting at least five stories a day for our Phuket readers but will be adding other regions of the Kingdom as well so we become a truly national portal. • In May 2018, alone, we grew our online audience…
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What’s different about The Thaiger
The Thaiger, from it’s inception, was crafted to be a lean, mean media machine. The Thaiger doesn’t have a head office (although we’re based in Kathu, Phuket), instead it is a network of people from around the country who access the platform and post stories for you. All the media is written and designed to be accurate and easily consumed…
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The Thaiger reaches far and wide
Modern marketing is all about ‘reach’ – how many people are seeing/hearing/reading your ads – and targeting your customers. The Thaiger is an effective tool to do both. Our platforms are measurable and promise to provide you with superior effective reach at a price you can afford with a reputation and quality to match your product. Every package from The…
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Victim of Bangkok gang may be elderly European
PHUKET: A scan of body parts found in a refrigerator during a raid last week on a building in Bangkok’s Sukhumvit Soi 56 suggests it was an elderly European man who was dismembered by an electric saw, Dr Udomsak Hoonwichit, of Chulalongkorn University’s faculty of medicine, said yesterday. The deceased man’s DNA will be collected for identification and given to…
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Bangkok surpasses London as world’s top destination city
BANGKOK: The Thai capital, projected to welcome 21.47 million international inbound visitors this year, has been awarded the ‘World’s Best City Award’ for the fourth year in a row. The awards are organized by Travel and Leisure magazine. According to the annual Mastercard Global Destinations Cities Index released today, Bangkok edges out second-ranked London, which is set to welcome 19.88…
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Jehovah’s Witness to hold national convention
PHUKET: Members of the church of Jehovah’s Witness from Phuket and throughout Thailand are meeting in Bangkok from Friday September 30 to Sunday October 2 for a multinational convention titled ‘Remain Loyal to Jehovah!’. The convention, to be held at Thurakit Bandit University on Prachachuen Road in the Lak Si district of the capital, is one of a series of…
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Train bombing may derail peace talks
THAILAND: Thais in the deep South continue to endure regular violent attacks, despite ongoing peace talks in Malaysia. Trains operating in Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat have been suspended for 10 days after another bomb exploded on the railway line on Friday. The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) ordered the temporary suspension of train services to the three southernmost provinces in…
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Mother of man killed in Samui cries for justice two years on
KOH SAMUI: The mother of a German man who was killed two years ago in a bloody altercation in Koh Samui has written a letter pleading with Thai authorities to try those responsible for her son’s death, while bemoaning a lack of progress made on the case. Volker Schwartges was 46 years old when he was brutally stabbed, allegedly by…
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Toddler killed by home-made bomb
PRACHIN BURI: A 14-month-old girl was killed and her grandmother injured when the toddler picked up a home-made bomb in their home in Prachin Buri’s Sri Maha Pho district yesterday. Police and bomb squad personnel rushed to the scene at about 10:30am. The grandmother, Jamnian Budda, 39, lost her right arm in the explosion. The child, named as Thidarat Sang-ondee,…
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Dad publicly embarrasses daughter after Pokemon bike accident
CHIANG MAI: A vocational college student has been severely injured because she looked at her friend’s mobile phone to see a newly-caught Pokemon monster while driving her motorbike. The accident in Chiang Mai became the talk of the town in cyberspace after the girl’s father angrily posted a message on his Facebook wall to reprimand his daughter. The father said…
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Bomb wounds eight in downtown Trang
TRANG: At least eight people were injured after a bomb exploded at a walking street market in downtown Trang city today. The blast occurred while vendors were setting up their stalls along Ruenrom Road, on the same street as the Trang Provincial Justice Office, less than a block away from City Hall. Police have cordoned off the area, and are…
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Thai students snag multiple awards at international math competition
BANGKOK: Thai students snagged 50 prizes at the International Mathematics Contest (IMC) 2016 held in Singapore last month, returning home this week with five gold, 10 silver and 20 bronze medals. They also won 13 special prizes plus two Grand Champion awards. Thanisorn Auttawetchakul from Chulalongkorn University’s Demonstration Elementary School and Vorapas Meejitpaisarn from the Bangkok Christian College were named…
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Bomb attacks in south ahead of vote
SONGKHLA: Four border policemen and a civilian were injured in a double bombing attack in Saba Yoi in Songkhla yesterday morning. Two village defence volunteers suffered minor injuries when a third bomb exploded in front of a school in Khok Pho in Pattani the same day. The policemen were injured in the first explosion at about 7am in Ban Daru…
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