News
Stay up-to-date with the latest news from across Thailand and beyond with The Thaiger. Our dedicated team brings you breaking news, in-depth analysis, and exclusive stories from this stunning part of the world, covering a diverse range of topics, including local politics, business, culture, and tourism. Keep yourself informed about the Kingdom’s rich history, stunning landscapes, and thriving expat communities, as well as updates on events, attractions, and transportation.
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Baggage handlers arrested over thefts at Phuket airport
Police arrested two worker at the Phuket International Airport and their alleged accomplice over the theft of passengers’ belongings, said Sakhu Police Station superintendent Pol Colonel Jirasak Siamsak on Sunday. 29 year old Nirut Saksri and 30 year old Manock Nakphojit, plus alleged accomplice 23 year old Chakrit Chanprasert, were arrested and some 100 stolen items recovered, including computer notebooks,…
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“Limit visits to marine national parks to six million”
A leading marine biologist has proposed to the government to limit visitors to marine national parks to 6 million a year to lessen impact on its ecological environment. Thon Thamrongnawasawat, deputy dean at the Fisheries Faculty of Kasetsart University, made his proposal at the meeting of the Marine and Coastal Resources Policy Management Committee chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Gen…
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Not all cryptocurrencies are the same
By Asina Pornwasin Thai companies wanting to raise public funds via Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) using cryptocurrencies should be required to follow the strict rules and regulations on Initial Public Offerings (IPOs), currently applied to stocks and other financial instruments, said experts. The cryptocurrency hype in Thailand has stepped up following an announcement from listed Thai firm Jaymart’s J Venture…
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Buggy crash at Ao Po Pier
A buggy with passengers crashed into Ao Po Long-tail Boat Club yesterday (January 19) resulting into 10 people being injured. All the injured are Chinese tourists who have already been sent to Thalang Hospital. The driver, 39 year old Pongthep Lawan, said that after he picked up his passengers from the boat returning from Naka Yai Island, the buggy stopped…
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Three foreigners, one Thai arrested for drug possession in Kamala
Kamala police arrested 27 year old Viktor Dvinsky from Russia and 22 year old Berezina Vladystava with 14.44 grams of cocaine, 2 amphetamine pills, 17.66 grams of marijuana. Police also seized an iPhone and $2,400 and 11,000 Baht in cash. They were charged for possession and trading of illicit drugs. After the two were arrested, police extended the investigation and…
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UK to shift visa approvals from Bangkok to New Delhi
United Kingdom Visa and Immigration (UKVI) will relocate its visa approval centre from Bangkok to New Delhi, starting in June this year. The move is part of UKVI’s longstanding global strategy to modernise its visa operations and consolidate visa decision-making in large regional hubs, said a press release issued by the British Embassy to Thailand on Friday. There will be…
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Machete road rage in Phuket
The video of a pickup driver pulling out a machete to threaten another driver after being ‘tooted’ has gone viral. The man has since been arrested. He is being investigated by Muang Phuket police, along with the evidence, his 77cm-long machete. The 2 minute video shows the bronze pick-up truck that was driving in the middle lane cutting in front…
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THAIGER TODAY Friday, January 19
Chinese swimmer drowns off Karon Beach | Police raid of BKK pub over late 4am closing time | Prawit promises free airing of World Cup games in Thailand | Workers get a new minimum wage | Enormous drug/assets haul from 59 locations. Plus the weekend’s forecast.
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Cops raid BKK pub, still open at 4am
Police raided a pub on Sukhumvit Soi 22 in Bangkok Thursday morning after it stayed open well past the mandated 2am closing time. Tally, on the ground floor of the Holiday Inn in Vadhana district, was still open at 4am when police arrived, about 200 patrons drinking and dancing. Twenty of them tested positive for illicit drugs and were taken…
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That was 2017. This is 2018. Thai Economy
by Patrick Cooke, Regional Editor for Asia. Rising overseas demand for goods and services pushed Thailand’s GDP towards five-year highs in 2017, with business-friendly fiscal policies and planned spending on infrastructure expected to support further expansion in 2018. The Thai economy improved over the course of 2017, recording year-on-year growth of 3.3% in the first quarter, 3.8% in the second…
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The big three. 2018 elections for Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia.
In 2018 there will be three elections in our immediate region – the much-predicted (and confirmed by the Thai PM) Thai election, another in Cambodia and one in Malaysia. All have their very local versions of democracy which will shape the outcomes. All are vital tests for the region’s fragile democracies. Cambodia Cambodia’s national elections are scheduled for July 29.…
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UPDATE: Blaze near Surakul Stadium damages local shops
The fire started in the electric cabling curled up on the electric pole in front of a motorcycle garage and damaged the shop, including many motorbikes. The total loss, according to police attending the scene, following discussions with the proprietors, is at least 300,000 Baht. (We counted more than 20 motorcycles and parts in the shops so the estimate appears…
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Thomas Cook Airlines flight attendant dies in Phuket hotel room
PHOTO: The deceased was working as a flight attendant for Thomas Cook Airlines and was on a layover in Phuket Saku police received a report yesterday (January 17) that an airline staff member from Thomas Cook, a 28 year old Finnish woman, died in her hotel room. At the scene, police found her body wearing only a black bra without any trace…
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Fire destroys two motorbike shops near the Darasamuth intersection
There’s been a fire, on the opposite side of the road between the Darasamuth School at the Central Festival underpass (Darasamuth Intersection) and Surakul Stadium, around 9am this morning. Two adjacent motorbike shops caught fire – there was an electrical work truck working on the electrical pole in front of the shops at the time. Emergency responders attended the scene…
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Boat Lagoon Yachting announces mega shipment of private yachts
Boat Lagoon Yachting, Thailand’s largest importer and distributor of luxury yachts, has made history in the region’s yachting industry with the importation of the largest single shipment of luxury yachts, worth over 1,400 million baht. The shipment comprises nine luxury yachts manufactured in the UK by Princess Yachts, with sizes ranging from 19 metres to a superyacht of over 30…
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Russian gang drain a couple’s Bitcoin account in a Phuket condo
A Russian couple have spoken to Thai police claiming that fellow-Russians, posing as Interpol, had entered their condominium and forced them to give passwords before stealing nearly 4 million baht in Bitcoin. 23 year old Maxsim Latsoka and 28 year old Anna Nikurina were returning home on Monday night. When they entered their fourth floor condo in Muang district they…
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Krabi officials to limit the number of tourists to Maya Bay
Following thousands of tourists pouring into Maya Bay during the tourism high season and over-crowding the beach on a daily basis, the President of Krabi Industry Council, Aekawit Pinyothammanotai, said today (January 17) that the number of tourists will have to be controlled. “The number of tourists traveling to Krabi beaches keeps increasing while the resources remain the same; this…
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Future of money or a fraud? Deconstructing Bitcoin in the region.
By Asia News Network, NEW DELHI Bitcoin’s popularity in Asia has had a positive influence on other alternative cryptocurrencies such as ethereum and litecoin. Clearly there is a great demand for such digital money, even though its volatility hurts. Asia has reacted both warmly and violently to the rising interest and craze in cryptocurrencies. Asian regulators have either outrightly banned the…
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UPDATE: Boat collision off at entrance to Royal Phuket Marina channel
From yesterday… Two boats have crashed at the entrance to the Royal Phuket Marina in the channel. Boats named ‘Pimracha’ and ‘Sattakamol’ collided just off the coast resulting in six injuries including one Thai man and 5 Italian tourists. The accident happened at the entrance to the channel leading to the Royal Phuket Marina at 4:30pm. Two of the tourists…
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THAIGER TODAY Wednesday, January 17
Second boat incident in three days | Prawit’s offering to resign if found guilty of ‘wrongdoing’ | Smart Visa details | Krabi and Thepa coal plants ‘still happening’ | PM puts hold on cannabis crops | Tax breaks for Thai families having babies.
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Three nabbed over fake goods and items seized in Karon
An undocumented migrant from Myanmar and two others from Cambodia have been arrested in Karon for selling pirated goods. The arrests, in a bid to suppress copyright violations, were made by a joint operation of Interior Ministry officials, troops and naval officers led by Muang Phuket assistant district chief Danai Jaikheng yesterday (Tuesday). The three were arrested at a roadside…
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Smart visa available from February 1
The Thai Cabinet has approved a new “smart visa” to lure specialists to work in 10 targeted industries. Applications for the smart visa will begin on February 1. Kobsak Pootrakool, minister of the Prime Minister’s Office, said the targeted industries included Thai-based industries known as the First S-Curve and new industries dubbed the New S-Curve. First S-Curve industries include next-generation…
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Mercedes driver knocks out hotel security guard in Patong
A bar owner in Patong, 37 year old Chana Thammawichai, the owner of the Mercedes in the video on social media, punched a hotel security guard, 27 year old Jetsada Thong-Iad, just because the guard didn’t open the barrier for him. Khun Chana has been arrested. The 4 minute footage of the attack shows that the man driving his convertible…
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Member of a Phuket gang arrested after attempted murder
Police have arrested 18 year old Pisut ‘Jojo’ Pohthong with a gun that he possesses illegally (a hand-made ‘Pradit’) and seven .38 bullets, in a house on Srisutat Road in Rassada. This arrest follows an incident that happened on January 1 when Jojo’s gang opened fire on the rival gang at the Queen Sirikit’s 72nd Anniversary Chalerm Prakiat Park (Dragon…
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THAIGER TODAY Tuesday, January 16
The investigation starts into Sunday’s boat explosion | NACC asks posters to ‘go steady’ on Prawit’s watches | Armoured vehicle kills one, injures three in Pattani | American & Russian nabbed selling drugs on Koh Phangan | ‘Poshtels’ are the latest accommodation trend.
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Boat debris discovered and tagged off Viking Cave, Koh Phi Phi
King Poseidon 959 debris found in front of Viking Cave A team of Hat Noppharat Thara–Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park officers, Krabi Marine officers, Forensic Police and divers explored the debris of King Poseidon yesterday (January 15), which washed up on a reef in front of the Viking Cave tourist attraction. The debris was about 200 metres…
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UPDATE: Two passengers and the captain of King Poseidon remain in ICU
The Deputy Director of Krabi Nakarin International Hospital, Doctor Sunthorn Fongfung, revealed today (January 15) that the two patients remaining at the hospital’s ICU including Xu Xin and Wu Zhi An are still under close care from the medical team and will have to remain in the hospital for at least 20 days as 50% of their bodies are burnt…
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‘Poshtels’ pushing into Southeast Asia’s budget and economy hotel space
PHOTO: Agoda.com by Bill Banett, c9hotelworks.com A new market report question’s if cookie-cutter hotel groups will again fall asleep at the wheel as they did with online travel agents and Airbnb Call them ‘poshtels’, hostels or hybrid hotels, but one of the most exciting travel spaces across Asia is the emergence of socially-focused accommodation. Not only have millennials embraced the…
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UPDATE: Phi Phi boat explosion
Authorities have been visiting injured passengers and staff of ‘King Poseidon’ in Phuket and Krabi while a meeting regarding the accident will be held today (January 15) chaired by Phuket’s Governor as well as an investigation at the accident scene by Krabi authorities. The ‘King Poseidon’ was a 3-engine speed boat with 28 year old Kriengkrai Boonsri as the captain.…
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Confidence in teachers survey – Thai Teacher Day tomorrow
Many of us are involved in education, either directly or indirectly, here on the island. Many expats work with schools, many of us have children attending schools and others work in association with school activities or have partners in the local education system. Tomorrow is Thai Teacher Day and a new survey has come out reflecting what people think about…
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