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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Nearly one million meth tablets seized in police sting in Songkhla
Police have intercepted an enormous shipment of almost one million methamphetamine tablets with a street value of 48 million baht from a pick-up truck in Songkhla. Police say they were acting on a tipoff. They headed to Tambon Jataen to wait for a pickup truck they were told would be delivering the illicit cargo to southern provinces. A pickup up…
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Songkran storms on the way for the Northern and Central regions
Songkran is the time to farewell the hot season and welcome in the forthcoming wet season but the actual weather is wasting no time getting in on the celebrations. The Thai Meteorological Department is warning people in the Central and Northern parts of the country to brace for another round of summer storms from April 15-18. In an announcement yesterday…
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Rayong supercharged by China’s ‘Belt and Road’
FILE PHOTO: U-Tapao Airport Bill Barnett from c9hotelworks.com reports… China’s massive outward bound economic expansion is now experiencing a massive impact on Thailand’s enormous infrastructure initiative, the EEC (Eastern Economic Corridor). A clear example of this is in the country’s Rayong province, which last year hosted 7 million visitors. According to consulting group C9 Hotelworks newly released Rayong Hotel Market…
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Murder, rape, dead bodies in pools – The toll of dead young British tourists visiting Thailand
PHOTO: Luke Miller (left) was found dead at the bottom of a pool in Koh Tao in 2016 Why is there a mounting toll of young Brits dying, often in mysterious circumstances, in Thailand? 60 or so unexplained, or poorly explained, deaths in just 24 months actually. Britian’s Daily Mail Online has dug deep into the vault of strange disappearances and…
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Two fatal accidents in the same spot within 12 hours – Tak
Two fatal bus accidents have taken place at exactly the same spot in Tak province within a 12 hour period topping off a horror two weeks for buses and passenger vans on Thai roads. And Songkran starts tomorrow, the most dangerous time on Thailand’s roads each year. Victims of the second tragedy were actually officials inspecting the scene of the…
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Manhunt on for six suspects in the Sungai Golok attacks
Army offices and local police are now hunting down six men for suspected involvement in last night’s attacks in Narathiwat. The six men are suspected of being involved in bomb explosions at three residential areas in Sungai Golok district, injuring 13 people. (Sungai Golok is the last town in Thailand before you cross over the Malaysian border) Police also note…
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6 killed, 44 injured in another bus crash in Tak
Another crash, again involving a bus carrying Burmese workers back home for Songkran. Six Burmese migrants have killed and 44 others were injured when a bus taking them from Tak to Chachoengsao lost control and crashed down a roadside hill last night (Monday). Pol Capt Kiarttisak Boonplong, deputy inspector of Mae Thor police station, said 28 of the injured workers…
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EU set to change its tune on Thai fishing
Yesterday southern fishermen in Songkhla, Pattani and Trang were threatening to go on strike if the Thai government didn’t lift restrictions imposed on them to help satisfy demands by the EU over illegal fishing practices. Today a representative from the EU is pouring praise on the Thai government for its actions to clean up the industry. Smells fishy!? The Nation…
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Southern violence injures four – attacks in Sungai Golok and Pattani
Violence continues in two deep southern provinces last night (Monday), injuring at least four people. Initial reports said that at least four people were injured when bomb attacks hit Narathiwat’s Sungai Golok district and Pattani provinces. In Sungai Kolok, the bomb attacks took place in two areas, injuring at least three. In Pattani, the explosion seriously injured a volunteer, identified…
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Thailand’s zoo horrors captured by British photographer
PHOTO: Aaron Gekoski A British photographer has had a sickening series of photos published in thesun.co.uk after witnessing what he described as “a wildlife house of horrors”. 37 year old environmental photojournalist Aaron Gekoski says he witnessed the shows on a tour of Thailand’s zoos and will now campaign for more restrictions over the industry. In the article he claims……
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“100% interest in 15 days.” Fraudster rips off students.
22 year old Bangkok student ‘Tanya’, along with a Phuket friend who’s still at high school, have made a complaint with crime suppression police to complain about a Thai woman who has ripped them off in a fake loan scheme. They claim that they’ve been conned out of 24,500 baht but say they believe there are 200 victims involved in…
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Insurgents fire on police checkpoints in Narathiwat
Southern insurgents have fired at roadside checkpoints in two locations and a marine post in Narathiwat’s Bacho district last night (Sunday). No one was injured in the three attacks. Police and a unit of marines went to inspect the location of the attacks this morning (Monday). Police say that insurgents fired at the road checkpoint in Ban Batu village in…
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656 homes damaged by Spring storms
The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation are reporting that the summer storms in the north, north-east and central regions have created damage across 17 provinces during April 2-April 6. The Department’s Director-General reports that storms caused damages to a total of 656 homes in 34 districts. Bangkok was hit by summer storms on Saturday night with torrential rain in…
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Take an air-conditioned rest on Songkran roads this year
Police have prepared air-conditioned accommodation for motorists who might feel tired after a long drive during the Songkran holidays, a police chief said on Monday. Highway police commander Pol Maj Gen Chut Sukkaewnarong says toilet facilities would also be made available for motorists but added that since the number of temporary accommodation spots was limited, motorists were advised to check…
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100 million worth of heroin seized at Bangkok shipping port
PHOTO: Thai Customs Department You can’t accuse Thai Customs officials of sleeping on the job. Yesterday (Sunday) they seized 28 kilograms of heroin with a street value of around 100 million. The heroin was hidden in rubber pillows bound for Hong Kong. Customs officials staffing X-Ray machine at the Klong Toey port say they noticed something suspicious amongst the shipment…
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Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit – Risk-taking billionaire pursuing social justice
New blood politician Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit may have led his family auto-parts business to international success but he remains a socialist in his economic philosophy and a political liberal, with a passion for social justice. The 40 year old has been in the spotlight for less than two months since he announced the formation of the new Future Forward Party. But…
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Kids from around Asia head to Pattaya for Thai Optimist National Championships
PHOTO: Thailand Optimist National Championships – Guy Nowell By Duncan Worthington Thailand’s premier youth sailing event is just around the corner. The Thailand Optimist National Championships, held as part of the Top of the Gulf Regatta, will see more than 100 youngsters from around Thailand and Asia compete over three days (April 29 to May 1, 2018) in Pattaya. First sailed…
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Cooler weather surprises central & northern Thailand
PHOTO: The Pinoy Legacy Thais in many provinces are surprised about the sudden cool spell that has brought them relief from the sweltering summer heat. According to the Meteorological Department, Thailand’s summer officially began on March 3 (we admit to being totally unaware how they arrive at this date). But instead of experiencing almost unbearable heat, as they expect to,…
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We’re in for a bumper Songkran this year
Economists are predicting a bumper Songkran festival this year due to a number of factors. he University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce’s Centre for Economic and Business Forecasting says surveys indicate that Thai new year revellers are showing greater willingness to spend more this year. They estimate there will be 3-5% growth in spending which they predict will bring…
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Merging Thailand’s emergency phone numbers to 191
Gen. Chakthip Chaijindra, chief of Thai Police, says they are setting up a new emergency service centre to bring together all the nation’s mergence hotlines into just one. The whole of Thailand will have just a single emergency hotline – 191. The call centre and emergency response system will co-ordinate responses to all distress calls for crimes, emergencies, fires or traffic…
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Customs scraps order requiring Thai travellers to declare valuables
The Thai Customs Department says it will scrap an order that requires Thais leaving the country to declare their personal belongings they take out of the country so that they won’t be taxed when they return. The requirement was heavily criticised when it was announced because the procedure of declaration at the international airports would be complicated and time consuming adding…
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1 killed, 11 injured in Lampang bus crash
A bus hostess was killed and 11 passengers were injured when a Bangkok-Chiang Rai bus ran off the road and hit trees early today (Friday). Police said the accident happened at 5am on the Ngao-Song road in Ban Poh village in Tambon Ban Pong in Lampang’s Ngow district. The bus hostess, Penpit Jarujit, died at the scene. The 11 injured…
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Pattaya’s Belarusian sex coach charged with prostitution
FILE PHOTO Anastasia Vashukevich, (AKA Nastya Rybka) the Belarusian ‘sex expert’ who claims to have insider dirt on Russian attempts to meddle in the US election, has been charged with prostitution. Last month she went public asking the US to help her out from her predicament, detained in a Thai prison in Bangkok, in exchanged for information on alleged ties between…
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Police getting ready for Songkran – national initiatives to increase safety over the holiday
The Royal Thai Police are launching various safety and security measures, including a vacation home-watch scheme, for the upcoming Songkran holidays. Among the measures are preparedness of the Bangkok-based 191 Emergency Call Centre (Phanfa), which is in the process of being upgraded to a national-level centre linking related agencies to ensure help arrives within 10 minutes of a call. Tourist…
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French citizen arrested in Pattaya allegedly seeking to profit from child porn
A 64 year old French man, wanted by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), was arrested yesterday (Thursday) on charges related to child pornography in Chon Buri province. The arrest of suspect Rachid Abdel Kader, and the search of his house in Soi Rung Land in Southern Pattaya, involved a collaboration between the FBI, Thailand’s Department of Special Investigation…
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Scoot airline flight returns to Singapore after alleged bomb threat
File Photo Channel News Asia is reporting that budget carrier Scoot Airlines say that one of its flights bound for Thailand has returned safely to Singapore after an alleged bomb threat. Scoot say flight TR634, heading for Hat Yai, was escorted back by Singapore’s air force and that the airline was “working closely with the authorities” for necessary follow-up to ensure…
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20% of Yala men reporting for the conscription lottery test positive for drugs
It’s conscription season where Thai men over 21 have to submit for the annual lottery. Military personnel were shocked to find a hidden problem with Yala’s young men who fronted up for the military conscription lottery yesterday. More than 100 young men appearing for the first day of military conscription in Muang Yala on Tuesday tested positive for illicit drugs,…
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Arms smuggler or getting ready for a crime? Songkhla resident nabbed in Satun.
PHOTO: Thai PBS A 35 year old resident old has been arrested for being found in possession of a submachine gun and 4,500 rounds of ammunition. He was nabbed at a checkpoint in Satun. Police thought he was behaving suspiciously so checked the back of his pick-up and discovered the cache of ammunition hidden in the spare tyre compartment. Along…
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Thai Meteorology warns about bad weather from tomorrow
The TMD are warning residents in the North, Northeast, and Central regions of Thailand, including Bangkok, as well as the East of summer thunderstorms with gusty winds, possible hail and isolated heavy rain tomorrow and Friday. In yesterday’s weather warning the Thai Meteorological Department says a high-pressure system from China would cover upper Thailand and a westerly trough would prevail…
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