Thailand News
Discover the most recent and relevant news from across Thailand on The Thaiger’s National News page. Covering a wide range of topics, including politics, business, crime, and lifestyle, our dedicated team brings you breaking news, in-depth analysis, and exclusive stories from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.
Stay informed about the latest developments in Thai society, economy, and culture, as well as updates on travel, tourism, and expat life. With The Thaiger, you’ll never miss out on the essential news that matters to you.
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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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THAIGER TODAY Friday, February 23
Greenpeace demands something is done about BKK air quality | Premchai doesn’t turn up to yesterday’s interview with police | A lift falls at Maxx Hotel in capital | Woman lied about Taxi driver attack | Driveway dispute forces closure of nearby markets | Pick-up hits elephant | Chinese tourist falls off Kamala villa rooftop.
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THAIGER TODAY Thursday, February 22
Opening day of Thailand Yacht Show | Prawit extends chat with NACC, again | Best & worst roads in Asia | Chonburi boy gets foot stuck in drain | TaT seeking assistance from counterparts in China to curb tourist behaviour | King Cobra season in Krabi | 4G speeds around the world | Latest in the Great Driveway Drama |…
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THAIGER TODAY Wednesday, February 21
Four die in a Krabi road smash | More of the Bangkok driveway-blocking drama | A BIG find on a Gulf beach | Suthep announces new political party | New engine-size tax for motorbikes | Government caves into power plant protesters.
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Bangkok’s Great Driveway Drama – surrounding markets ordered closed
The Bangkok governor has ordered the immediate temporary closure of five markets operating in Seri Villa housing project in Prawet district, in a bid to find an acceptable solution to the decade-long dispute between residents and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) over the presence of the markets. https://www.facebook.com/phuketgazette/videos/1620839177993904/ Governor Asawin Kwanmuang said on Wednesday that he would set up a…
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Suthep’s party to support Prayut as post-election PM
From The Nation Suthep Thaugsuban, core leader of the now-defunct People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC), plans to found a political party to support Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha becoming premier after the next general election, a former Democrat party-list MP has claimed. Watchara Petchthong said on Tuesday that the party would be named the People’s Democratic Reform Committee Foundation, of…
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THAIGER TODAY Tuesday, February 20
Woman NOT happy with pick-up parked over her driveway | Car chase for two Nigerians on Cambodian border | Vandals leaving their mark in Krabi | How NOT to reverse a container truck | 23 tourists stung by jellyfish | 62 year long-term resident in Pattaya giving back to his community. Coming to you from the Floating Donut in Laguna…
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THAIGER TODAY Monday, February 19
Airport has 200,000 passengers in one day | Bikie gang member locked out of Australia after visit to Pattaya | German and Thai held over under-age prostitution | Popular farang YouTuber dies | Phuket’s Ao Po Grand Marina gets dragged into Premchai investigation | Four soldiers injured in explosion in Narathiwat | 7/11 looking to introduce ‘Seven Bank’ banking in…
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Public cynical about justice for ‘influential people’ – Survey
Although the investigation into construction tycoon Premchai Karnasuta’s alleged illegal hunting is ongoing, the public says they have little confidence that he will ever be punished if found guilty. Nearly two-thirds, or 64.2 per cent, of people recently surveyed believe the case, where Premchai and three others are accused of poaching and possessing wildlife in a Kanchanaburi wildlife park, will…
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Personal grudge behind killing of rubber tapper in South – Police
An elderly rubber tapper was shot dead early on Sunday morning in a rubber plantation in Narathiwat’s Yi Ngor district. Police suspect the fatal shooting might stem from a personal conflict, although they have not ruled out issues related to the deep South’s unrest and national security as a possible motive. Following a 6.20am report of a homicide, police went…
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Senior DSI official faces probe over alleged rape, extortion
A disciplinary investigation is to begin next week into claims that a Department of Special Investigations official took a video of him raping a 38 year old Pattaya businesswoman at gunpoint in May 2015 and then used the tape to blackmail and extort 2 million baht from the woman. Justice Ministry deputy permanent secretary Thawatchai Thaikhiew said yesterday that the…
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Kalasin rape, shooting suspect turns himself in
The 29 year old suspect, who allegedly shot a male third-year university student in the cheek in Kalasin’s Na Mon district early on Tuesday morning before abducting and raping a female sophomore student, has surrendered to police this afternoon (February 16). Rubber tapper Thisanu Phonarat, surrendered to Kam Moung police officers at a gas station belonging to his elder sister.…
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THAIGER TODAY Friday, February 16
Gong Xi Fah Cai! | Bangkok’s pollution moves further north | New 50 kph speed zones in the capital | Alleged Kalasin rapist/shooter on the loose | Premchai’s gone missing | Authorities NOT going to close Maya Bay | Cambodian parliament introduces new laws restricting free speech | 74 year old Brit found on deserted island off Chumpon.
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National manhunt after rape, shooting suspect evades police
An arrest warrant has been issued for a 29-year-old suspect accused of shooting a male third-year university student in the cheek in Kalasin’s Na Mon district and abducting and raping a female sophomore student. The female student was later released in a Phuphan forest early Tuesday morning. Thisanu Thonarat was described as armed and dangerous, Kalasin police chief Pol Maj-General…
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Police suspect illegal abortion clinic in Hua Hin
Prachuap Khiri Khan police are gathering evidence to apply for a court’s permission to search a clinic suspected of providing illegal abortion services in Muang Hua Hin municipality, following Tuesday’s discovery of four foetuses in garbage bins near a convenience store in Soi Hua Hin 68. Hua Hin superintendent Pol Colonel Sitthichai Srisopacharoenrat said police were tracking a male suspect…
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THAIGER TODAY Thursday, February 15
‘Heavy traffic is causing pollution in BKK’ – Genius! | Thaksin and Yingluck now in HK | Witness of Australian ‘manslaughter’ in Pattaya speaks up | Changes to the collection of immigration data | UK Foreign Secretary jokes about Thailand’s sex tourism | Thailand mums are wanting smaller families | Encoached buildings on Koh Phi Phi being demolished.
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Keeping track of foreigners in Thailand – new e-passport data to be used
The Immigration Bureau and the Interior Ministry have been instructed to speed up the implementation of a single-platform online database of foreigners entering and leaving the Kingdom. The order was given by Deputy PM General Prawit Wongsuwan when he chaired the meeting of the fifth government committee in charge of bureaucratic reforms at Government House. “The single platform database would…
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Yingluck lobbying for a chat with Japanese PM
National Legislative Assembly whip Somchai Sawangkarn has revealed that a diplomatic source in Japan told him Yingluck Shinawatra has been trying to meet Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The source also told Somchai that the fugitive former premier was also seeking to meet old business and political connections in Japan and planned to call a press conference in late February…
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THAIGER TODAY Wednesday, February 14
Another Chinese tour bus crash on the notorious Patong Hill | Pollution levels starting to fall in BKK | UN Refugee Chief speaks out about repatriation of Rohingya | Thai Education Minister apologises to Prawit | British government questions Thailand over prison conditions | Three white tiger cubs get their first public outing | And where do all the Valentine’s…
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83 year old man accused of raping four year old
An 83 year old man was arrested in Nakhon Si Thammarat’s Muang district this morning over an accusation that he allegedly raped the four year old daughter of an in-law niece on February 2. The girl sustained such serious injuries from the alleged rape that she had to be treated at Maharat Nakhon Si Thammarat Hospital, and was only discharged…
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Thaksin and Yingluck in Japan – Deputy PM
Deputy PM, Defence Minister and luxury watch enthusiast, General Prawit Wongsuwan, says that former PMs Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra are currently in Japan. Without further elaboration, Prawit added that he has ordered responsible agencies to look into the matter. He was speaking in Vientianne during his official visit to the country at the invitation of Lao government. Photos of Thaksin…
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Education Minister asked to answer for his comments over the Prawit ‘watch’ scandal
A close aide of Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan has expressed shock over a remark by Education Minister Teerakiat Jareonsettasin that apparently attacks his boss. The aide, who asked not to be named, was referring to a remark by Teerakiat that apparently criticised the country’s response to the Prawit watch scandal. Teerakiat said he would step…
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THAIGER TODAY Tuesday, February 13
American hands himself into police over Pattaya ‘manslaughter’ | Phuket market bans smoking | UK’s Foreign Secretary visits Thailand | Road death statistics continue to rise | Coal plant protestors go on hunger strike | Greenpeace says stop BKK smog at the source.
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Getting ready for the big one – Myanmar’s earthquake threat
Special report from partners Voice of America Last month, the residents of Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, felt a strong bump in the night. Their national leaders in Naypyidaw, the country’s thinly populated capital, were also stirred from their sleep. A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck between the two cities, in the early hours of January 12. The Southeast Asian country is…
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Seeding the skies over Bangkok to ‘make’ rain to help with smog
The Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation Department is preparing to seed clouds above Bangkok in an attempt to ease the capital’s smog problems. Haze has spread over the capital over the past few days, causing a health hazard for vulnerable people, and leading Agriculture and Cooperatives minister Grisada Boonrach to order that rainmaking operations be carried out. Two of the…
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