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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Bryde’s whales thrill tourists off Chumpon coast
People along the shore of Pathiu district in southern Chumphon province have been treated to the sight of a pair of Bryde’s whales today (Tuesday). The whales – commonly referred to as Bruda whales because of the pronunciation of the Norwegian name Bryde – surfaced repeatedly for about an hour near Koh Ran Ped and Koh Ran Kai, about…
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Two race shoot-out brings 2018 Top of the Gulf Regatta to an end
PHOTOS: Guy Nowell The 2018 Top of the Gulf Regatta has lived up to its reputation for delivering close and competitive racing, and this year the weather made the racing even tougher. Over the past four days sailors have experienced everything from moments of becalm to 25 knot squalls, thunder and lightening, and blue skies indicative of sailing in the…
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Not this year – PM rejects activists calls for a 2018 election
The Thai PM is playing down rallies by pro-democracy groups planned for this month to press the NCPO to hold the long-delayed election this year. Prayut Chan-o-cha is insisting that the election would have to be held next year following a conclusion by the junta-appointed legislative assembly to delay the implementation of the MP election laws. “I have told the…
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Pattaya tour boat operators continue to use beachfront
Many boats have continued to use the beachfront area to pick up and drop off tourists despite being ordered to resume using Chon Buri’s Southern Pattaya Pier (Laem Balihai) from today (Tuesday). Boat owners had been using the beach temporarily during the restoration of the pier. They claimed they could not switch back to using the pier as they were…
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Tenants and landlords. Things change from today.
If you rent property in Thailand there are new guidelines for tenants and landlords that come into effect from today. Mostly good news but there are a few exceptions that you will need to be aware of. The days of the unscrupulous landlord may be partly over. With thanks to Thailandproperty.news and Tilleke & Gibbons, leading south east asian lawyers, here’s a…
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One man dead and 3,300 homes damaged by a week of storms
File photo The toll on property has been heavy following a week of storms around the central, north-east and northern regions. One man has died and more than 3,300 houses damaged by windstorms and thunderstorms from April 23-28. According to the director-general of Public Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, windstorms struck 32 provinces, 84 districts, 172 tambon and 393 villages,…
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Seven year old Trang Twins marry in a big ceremony
Translated from Thai Tharaporn and Tharapong – seven year olds – are the children of Natthapong and Pilanthana Pankhong who own a big agricultural equipment supply firm in the southern Thai town. The twins were married in a lavish ceremony. Some 1000 guests turned up for the ceremony that is held to satisfy old beliefs that by so doing the…
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Brits behaving badly
British nationals are more likely to be arrested in Thailand than in any other overseas country, official figures reveal. However, it’s in Spain and the USA where the highest number of arrests of British nationals were recorded. According to the most recent stats available, which record the period from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016, a total of 194…
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Peeling back the red tape – Thailand 4.0
A committee tasked with propelling needed reforms under the Thailand 4.0 policy on Monday heard progress updates from state bodies in a meeting chaired by PM General Prayut Chan-o-cha. A series of measures must be implemented to aid in the nation’s digital transformation including, this August, cancelling state agency requirements for photocopies of the Thai national ID card and household…
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The Good Shepherd Phuket Learning Centre requires urgent funding
The fate of the Good Shepherd Learning Centre Phuket is a matter of concern. The Centre has an urgent need to obtain sustainable funds to continue operations as its initial period of regular, committed funding will cease in May 2018. At The Good Shepherd Learning Centre they provide basic education i.e. science, mathematics and language skills in Thai, Burmese and…
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Police look into deaths linked to Lyn-brand weight-loss products
Fresh on the heels of an investigation into Magic Skin beauty products, police are now looking at another well-known brand, Lyn, after its weight-loss products were allegedly found to contain two dangerous substances. Deputy national police chief Pol General Weerachai Songmetta says the products might contain the appetite suppressant Sibutramine and the laxative Bisacodyl. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)…
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20 injured after bus flips over near Surat Thani
A Bangkok – Khanom bus has ran off Highway 41 and crashed into a tree alongside the road injuring about 20 passengers this morning (Monday). (UPDATE: 19 confirmed injured) Thai PBS reports that the bus was heading from Bangkok on the way to Nakhon Si Thammarat with 36 passengers when it ran off the highway in Chaya district of Surat…
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Huge rally in Chiang Mai protesting judges’ homes on Doi Suthep mountain
PHOTO: Chiang Rai Times Around 1,000 people have rallied in Chiang Mai yesterday to protest the homes being built for Thai judges on forested land on Doi Suthep mountain. The protest is one of the largest protests against the government ever staged. Public frustration has been mounting over the project since aerial images started circulating on social media earlier this…
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Day Two – Top of the Gulf Regatta
PHOTOS: Guy Nowell What a difference a day makes. Yesterday’s grey skies and consistent rain was replaced with hope this morning as blue skies hinted of a better day to come. A full fleet of boats headed out to their respective start lines as 120+ Optimists and more than 70 in the Single-Handed Monohull Dinghy and Double-Handed Monohull Dinghy classes…
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Half a ton of marijuana seized in Mekong sting
A total of 490 kilograms of dried marijuana worth 15 million baht in street value has been seized by Thai authorities in Bung Kan province in the far north-east of Thailand on the Mekong River, Saturday, but the suspected Laotian smugglers managed to flee. Bung Kan Customs checkpoint head Prasongsak Boonma said the four Laotian smugglers, who were bringing sacks…
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Day 1 of 2018 Top of the Gulf Regatta
PHOTOS: Guy Nowell The blue skies and tropical conditions for which the Top of the Gulf Regatta is known failed to show up on Day 1 as a downpour which started the evening before never let up all day, making it a grey and wet start to the regatta. That, however, didn’t dampen spirits as the Race Officer kept the…
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Who’s keeping Thailand’s beaches clean?
PHOTO: Daily News Every week there are volunteers heading to the beaches of Phuket to pick up rubbish, mostly washed ashore and landing on the beaches. Some of it has washed out Phuket’s drains and just making its way back to shore. Other rubbish comes from passing boats and fishing fleets. One group, Clean The Beach Bootcamp, organised bi-weekly by…
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Romance gang busted by tourist police
Tourist Police and 191 Special Branch Police have busted an alleged Nigerian romance scam gang and arrested a Negerian man for fraud charges during the ongoing investigation. Thai PBS are reporting that Light Chinezurum was presented to the media yesterday (April 27) after being caught by tourist police for luring several women into an online relationship and convincing them to transfer…
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Storms hit Bangkok and Central regions
The Big Mango got a battering last night whilst rains are expected sometime on Phuket during Saturday and Sunday, but not the torrential rains that hit Bangkok. Heavy rains and strong winds hit several areas of the capital last night. A bus stop on Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road, outside the head office of petroleum giant PTT, collapsed as a result of strong…
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Police interview Magic Skin ‘spokespersons’ and ‘influencers’
Four Thai actresses have testified “as witnesses” to police about their role in product review advertisements for the Magic Skin cosmetic and food-supplement brand at the centre of allegations of fraudulent and misleading product labelling and marketing, according to national police deputy chief Pol General Weerachai Songmetta. Pitchanart “May” Sakhakorn, Napapa “Patt” Tantrakul, Orapan “Aoffy Maxim” Dansiriwattanakun, and Nonthaporn “Ying…
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Heavy penalties on the way for drivers blocking ambulances
Motorists failing to get out of the way for ambulances may face harsher punishments for “endangerment to others” as netizens join with the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) and the police to get tough on offenders. The fine for blocking an ambulance could be raised from the current 500 to 10,000 baht or as high as 20,000 baht if the NLA…
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Woman’s throat slit by hanging cable in Khon Kaen
Police are investigating how a fibre optic cable detached from overhead attachments and ended up killing a woman motorcyclist. 40 year old Maneenetr Charoenngao was killed when she ran into the dangling cabling, almost decapitating her and slashing her throat. Muang Khon Kaen deputy inspector Pol Capt Singha Hong-on said it was a small, sharp, fibre-optic cable insulated with hard…
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Fake food and cosmetic products in Thai markets
Thai PBS is reporting that the FTI’s food supplements industry club is coming under scrutiny following police and officials from the Food and Drugs Administration raided several major manufacturing plants and found huge quantities of substandard and fake cosmetic and food supplements. The Federation of Thai Industries is claiming that 40% of food supplements and cosmetic products sold in markets…
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Korean summit kicks off tomorrow
The Korea Herald is reporting that a momentous meeting is about to take place, tomorrow in fact, between the leaders of two (technically) warring nations – North Korea and South Korea. South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will meet at the Military Demarcation Line in Panmunjeom at 9:30am Friday, Moon’s chief of staff Im Jong-seok…
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Two villagers shot dead in Yala
In the most recent violence in Thailand’s deep south, a former village head and his friend have been gunned down in Yala province last evening (Wednesday), according to Police. The two were shot by an unknown number of suspected insurgents using M16 rifles on the main road in Ban Kuber Kuaroh village, Tambon Jakwa, in Raman district at around…
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37 billion baht motorway planned – Had Yai to Malaysian border
PHOTO: Had Yai commercial district The Thai government plans to build a 62km motorway in the southern province of Songkhla, from Had Yai to the Malaysian border in a bid to boost bilateral trade and cross-border tourism Estimates put the trade value in the region at around 500 billion baht per year according to the Transport Minister Arkham Termpitayapaisit. The…
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Sales, exports, production – Thai car business growing
Car sales are likely to exceed 900,000 units by the end of 2018. This is according to the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) saying that production and sales have been picking up. The automobile club president, Surapong Paisitpatanapong, says the general outlook of the industry is improving with both production and sales, both for local and export markets with March sales…
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Gambling crackdown ahead of World Cup
With the 2018 World Cup in Russia fast approaching, the Royal Thai Police are launching a special centre tasked with cracking down on online football gambling. It will operate from May 1 according to the deputy national police chief Chalermkiat Srivorakhan during a video-conference linking the RTP head office in Bangkok to regional police offices. The multi-unit centre’s proactive approach…
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15 year old succumbs to rabies infection in Nong Kai
A 15 year old from Nong Kai has become Thailand’s eighth victim to die from rabies. Nong Kai is on the Lao border in Thailand’s far north east. She was scratched by her newly adopted puppy on the neck five months ago and died on April 20 at the Nong Khai hospital. According to her family the teenager had raised…
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Same sex marriage laws likely to be passed in the lifetime of current government
After years of calls by sexual-diversity groups, a new law that would allow registered life partnership for same-sex couples is in the making. Supporters expect it to be promulgated within the lifetime of the present government. For proponents, the long-awaited legislation is viewed as the first i-mportant step towards legal same-sex marriage in Thailand in the future. Sexual diversity groups…
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