News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond. The Thaiger delivers the latest national news that matters.
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Chiang Mai’s small to medium hotels face challenges
FILE PHOTO (This hotel is not for sale!) Chiang Mai’s small to medium accommodation sector is facing fresh challenges as the tourist mix in the northern city changes, and shrinks in arrival numbers. The fallout from declining tourist arrival numbers, especially Chinese since the Phuket Phoenix tourist boat tragedy in mid-July, is forcing more than 10 small hotels and hostels…
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Monks behaving badly, ending up in hospital
Two monks have become embroiled in a drunken brawl north of Bangkok last night. The two were injured in a skuffle and knife fight after they drank together at their temple in Ang Thong’s Pa Mok district. Local police were called to Wat Amphawan at 11pm. When police arrived they found 52 year old Phra Wannop Roengjai soaked in blood.…
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Man thought he could now sell marijuana legally. Aah, no!
“He thought he could sell it legally.” A man has been arrested for advertising marijuana for sale on YouTube. With all the news about legalising medical marijuana in Thailand, he says he believed it was now legal to sell cannabis in Thailand. The Nation reports that, after police were alerted that a man was cashing in on cannabis on the…
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Car crashes into back of truck in Chon Buri, four killed
A driver and three passengers have all been killed after their car collided with the rear of a truck in Chonburi’s Bang Lamung district early today. Police say the accident happened around 2.30am on the Sukhumvit road in Tambon Bang Lamung of Bang Lamung district, heading towards Sattahip. Emergency responders spent more than half an hour using hydraulic iron cutters…
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Marine Department halts construction of Karon retaining wall
PHOTOS: DMCR Officials from the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources have paused the Karon Beach retaining wall construction project this week. The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources report that officials found that the project was originally aimed at improving the outlook near the Nong Harn Swamp at Karon Beach and to prevent soil running into the sea. The construction…
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The Great Krathong Clean-up
PHOTO: The Nation A total of 841,327 krathong floats, most made with degradable materials, were collected in Bangkok after last night’s celebrations Bangkok Metropolitan Administration governor Aswin Kwanmuang said on Friday. Aswin said BMA workers finished sorting the collected floats at 5am. The floats were collected from the Chao Phraya River and canals and 30 public parks where Loy Krathong…
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Wanted UK brothers arrested during a raid in Chonburi
PHOTO: Thai Immigration Bureau Thai Immigration have filled in the details of an armed night raid earlier this week at a Chonburi hotel. The men arrested have been named as 43 year old Joseph Mulhare and his 38 year old brother Gregory Mulhare. Their arrest followed a cat and mouse game as the pair moved from Pattaya to Bangkok before…
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New passenger terminal and facilities launched Krabi airport
The Minister of Transportation has officially launched a new terminal at the Krabi International Airport this week. Transport Minister Arkom Termpittayapaisith officially officiated at the launch of the new passenger terminal at the airport yesterday. New common-use check-in counters were also launched at the ceremony. Khun Arkom says, “The construction contract has already been running since August 28 last year. The…
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Young man drowns searching for coins in krathong floats
FILE PHOTO A young man has drowned in a canal in Samut Sakhon’s central district early this morning (Friday) while searching for coins in krathong floats left after being launched last night. Police were informed around 1.30 am that the young man had gone missing in the Thahan Rua canal in front of Samut Sakhon provincial hall. A team of…
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Airbnb launches ‘Airbnb Plus’ in Bangkok and Phuket
Airbnb, the community-driven travel platform, welcomes its next stage of growth in Thailand with the launch of Airbnb Plus in Bangkok. Come December, Airbnb Plus will also be available for bookings in Phuket, Asia’s number one resort destination. Airbnb Plus is a selection of homes of the highest quality offered by hosts with great reviews and attention to detail. As…
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Uncertainty in Bangkok’s residential property market – CBRE
CBRE, an international property consultancy company, is reporting ‘looming uncertainty’ in the Bangkok residential property market. Although developers have recently increased their launches of condominiums, sales to Thai buyers have slowed in some locations and are likely to slow further with the coming imposition of tighter mortgage lending. Some developers are trying to find locations where there is real demand from…
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Thaiger Radio News – Friday
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Phuket’s largest Loy Krathong festivities – PHOTOS
Phuket’s largest Loy Krathong parade was held in Phuket Town last night while police ramped up security for the island’s busiest celebrations in Saphan Hin. The Parade was hosted by the Phuket City Municipality and started at 6pm heading along the Phuket Town Road to Saphan Hin. Teachers, students and officers dressed in Thai traditional costumes took part in the…
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Walk on the wild side – the new Mahanakhon SkyWalk
YIKES! Is there anything more terrifying than a ride in a border visa-run passenger van? We think we’ve found it. The Mahanakhon SkyWalk – Thailand’s highest observation deck and rooftop bar at 314 metres high – offers spectacular panoramic views of Bangkok from Thailand’s tallest building. But that’s not the really scary bit. The new premium attraction, now open to…
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Southern Muslim leaders disapprove of LGBT partner bill
“Only in the South has our public forum on the Life Partnership Bill heard opposition.” Muslim leaders in Thailand’s South have rejected the proposed Life Partnership Bill, which would allow LGBT couples to marry. The Nation reports that, if the bill becomes law, the religious leaders say they will not perform marriage rituals for LGBT couples. No religious leader is…
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Three paper factory warehouses catch fire in Samut Prakan
Firefighters continued to tackle a huge fire at a recycled paper factory in Samut Prakan, just south of Bangkok, into the early hours of this morning after flames destroyed three warehouses. Initially, some 100 fire engines were dispatched to the Thai Development Industrial Paper Company in Tambon Thay Ban in Muang district at 8pm last night (Wednesday). At first, firefighters…
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Teenagers lighting up more than their krathongs
For the teenagers who have more on their mind than floating a Krathong tonight… Teenagers are being warned not to engage in inappropriate sexual behaviour or unsafe sex during the Loy Krathong Festival. The Public Health Ministry’s Department of Health deputy chief Dr Bancha Khakhong says that young people usually release flowery floats into rivers and water sources…
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Midday Loy Krathong in Krabi
Locals in Plai Praya, Krabi couldn’t wait until tonight. They’ve floated their ‘Krathongs’ at midday today inside a cave – the only place in Thailand that floats Krathongs inside a cave. At 11am inside the Warin Cave in Plai Praya, Krabi, a local tourist attraction more than 100 locals joined in the Thai traditional ‘Loy Krathong’ festival. Many tourists enjoyed…
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South Korean local company owner falls to his death in Chiang Mai
PHOTO: Sanook Sanook has reported that a Korean man has died after jumping from a flat roof on a department store in Huay Kaew Road, Chiang Mai. CCTV shows the man at the view point yesterday, according to Chang Pheuak police. Three or four other tourists were also enjoying the view at the same location. Another person came onto the…
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Drive Thru Immigration service officially launched
The Phuket Immigration Office yesterday officially launched a Drive Thru Service to help solve crowding problems in the main offices and the lack of parking spaces. The acting chief of Immigration, Maj Gen Surachete Hakparn and the Phuket Immigration Office Chief Col Kathathorn Kamthieng led the officially launch ceremony for ‘Immigration Drive Thru Service’ yesterday. Col Kathathorn says, “The number of foreigners…
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Chiang Mai tourism operators paint gloomy outlook
Tourism in Chiang Mai has been decimated by the downturn in Chinese arrivals. Tour operators and officials are hoping that more Western tourists would fill their place, especially during the next few months. The Chiang Mai News reports that a hotel operator in the Prapokklao area says her business had been terrible the last few months. She was now forced…
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STOP PRESS: Thai woman rips off Thai man
PHOTO MONTAGE: Thai Rath Thai Rath is reporting that a Thai man has learned the hard way; that not every Thai woman on dating apps is a beautiful girl who wants to get to know you. The man says that the woman he met was very pretty and spoke so well. Within two days the couple were chatting on LINE chat,…
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Thaiger Radio News – Thursday
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Police intercept 5 million methamphetamine pills in Chiang Rai
PHOTO: Chiang Rai Times “An estimated 5 million meth pills were found in 13 boxes.” Two suspected drug mules have been arrested in Chiang Rai while allegedly trying to smuggle 5 million methamphetamine pills from a border village. The arrests were made last night (Wednesday) at 9.30pm in the border Mae Saruay district. The arrest were made after police and…
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‘Phoenix’ investigation to wrap up within seven days
Officials say it will take up to seven days to understand the full cause of the Phoenix sinking while evidence continues to be collected. Yesterday the Royal Thai Police Deputy Commander Gen Rungroj Saengkram, acting chief of Immigration, Maj Gen Surachete Hakparn and the Deputy Chinese Consul-General in Songkhla and Director of the China Consulate-General in Phuket Li Chun Foo…
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18 children dead as officials try to fight vaccine denial – Measles outbreak
“Young kids should avoid known infected areas, and patients should be quarantined.” Measles has now infected 2,280 people in the South and killed 18 in the mainly Muslim border provinces already this year. The largest group affected were young children up to the age of four. “Measles vaccination is free and is in line with Islamic principles,” Songkhla’s public-health chief…
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New Suvarnabhumi airport terminal on hold
The AoT (Airports of Thailand) has put the new second terminal plans on hold awaiting reports and opinions from stakeholders and even the International Civil Aviation Organisation. Two key organisations have been fierce critics of the new terminal, well overdue to help take the load off the already-over-capacity main terminal at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. The Architects Council of Thailand…
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Fast-lane online visa system launched at Thai airports
The Immigration Bureau acting commissioner Pol Maj-General Surachate Hakparn has officially launched the e-Visa on Arrival system today that is expected to cut visa processing times to as little as one minute and reverse the downward trend of Chinese tourist visitation. Surachate launched the new system which been trialled at Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang airports since November 15. The launch…
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Weather warning issued for Phuket and the South
Residents of 10 southern provinces are being warned to brace for severe weather conditions due to heavy rains throughout today from the influence of the remnant storm Toraji. Now downgraded to an active low-pressure cell, Toraji covers the lower South and is expected to move through the Andaman Sea today, said the Meteorological Department in its 13th warning about the…
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Three arrested over copycat killings over school rivalry
“The three suspects were arrested on Monday for premeditated murder.” A technical-school student, accused of shooting dead a young man from a rival school on October 12, says they were retaliating for the killing of a former student from their school. Police say one of the three arrested suspects told them his gang from Pathumwan Institute of Technology was avenging…
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