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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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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THAIGER TODAY Thursday, January 18
Fire destroys two motorbike shops near Surakul Stadium | Two Russians robbed of their Bitcoin in condo raid | Governor urges better supervision of boat safety by marine office | DSI dismiss their raid on Bangkok brothel is politically motivated | Thailand’s sex trade valued at over 200 billion baht | Krabi council calls for limit on numbers at Maya…
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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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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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“Careless captain may be the cause of boat explosion,” Krabi Police
The Krabi Governor held a meeting yesterday to discuss about marine safety with the boat companies and tourism companies in the wake of Sunday’s boat explosion off Koh Phi Phi Ley. The meeting agreed on measures to cover pre-incident, during the incident and post-incident, to improve the rescue efficiency and to encourage trust among tourists. An information ‘central HQ’ that…
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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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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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Bottlenose dolphin at Phuket dolphin show gives birth to ‘Nattya’
The General Manager of the Phuket dolphin show has revealed that the dolphin named Alice has given birth to her first baby bottlenose dolphin (calf) after about 10 months of pregnancy, on January 13. “Our team is very excited to see this very smart mammal give birth to a baby in our place. The baby is very healthy and playful…
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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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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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Mystery of beached ‘Elysion’ solved
The mystery of the boat beached on an Aceh beach (original post below) has been solved with this message from the man who was aboard the yacht when the decision was made to abandon it…. “I sailed ‘Elysion’, a Belgian registered yacht, from Phuket (Thailand) to Langkawi, Malaysia but had to abandon the vessel about 40 nautical miles west from…
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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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‘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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THAIGER TODAY Monday, January 15
Chinese tourists recovering after boat explosion near Phi Phi | Ban for hydrogen-filled balloons | Human trafficking investigation at Victoria Secret massage parlour in BKK | Jail-break at remand centre in Songkhla | Jealous husband murders wife | Monkey cheeks being installed near Saphan Hin to help with floods
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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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Boat fire off Koh Phi Phi – Chinese tourists injured
A speedboat named ‘King Poseidon’ carrying 31 passengers exploded this morning (January 14) in front of Viking Bay on Koh Phi Phi Ley. Injuries have been reported from the accident. https://www.facebook.com/phuketgazette/videos/1580631392014683/ There were 26 Chinese (23 adults and 3 children) plus 5 Thais who are the crew staff. There are five reported to be severely injured at this stage with…
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From ping-pongs to the real-deal. The evolution of sex-shows in Bangla Road.
PLEASE NOTE: This article contains material that may offend some readers. Thailand, despite it’s many natural wonders, superb street cuisine, vibrant culture and (mostly) warm weather, still has a reputation well-earned. Let’s call it the three Ps – Patpong, Pattaya and Patong. Whereas, say ten years ago, you could visit a few go go bars, see an occasional ping pong…
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SUNDAY MORNING HEADLINES – All your local news in 3 minutes
Hope you enjoyed Children’s Day activities yesterday. Certainly a lot of activities around Phuket. If you want to check out the longer stories, click on the headlines. Looks like a mostly fine but cloudy day ahead. Here’s some of the main news stories, locally and around the region this Sunday morning… Children’s Day favourite at Government House Thailand yesterday celebrated National…
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Thai men first same-sex couple to marry in Queensland, Australia
Two Thai men were among the first same-sex couples in Queensland to get married following passage of Australia’s historic marriage equality bill. While many Australian same-sex couples chose to celebrate New Year’s 2018 by getting married, 37 year old Jarrukit Somjich from Chiang Rai and 49 year old Kiticha Srijad from Pathum Thani wed right after the bill passed in…
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A third of Thai children are ‘disadvantaged’
More than one in three children in Thailand are in disadvantaged groups – this according to the Mental Health Department’s director-general, Dr Squadron-Leader Boonruang Triruangworawat. “Of 13.82 million children (below 18 years of age), at least 5 million are underprivileged,” Boonruang said. He said 80 per cent of underprivileged children were financially poor and about six per cent were from…
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SATURDAY MORNING HEADLINES – All your news in 3 minutes
Welcome to your weekend. Your Saturday ‘Boat Lagoon Weekend’ is on tonight from 6pm. Plenty of fun and food for all ages. For our weekend headlines, just click on the heading for the full story. Here are today’s main Phuket and Thai headlines… Two Thai men wed in Queensland Australia Two Thai men have been among the first same-sex couples…
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Bangsaray. Idyllic beaches, tropical retreat. But where is it?
Ever heard of Bangsaray? It’s about 20 kilometres south of ‘Sin City’, Pattaya, and, so far has seemed to retain much of its charm. Remember Pattaya wasn’t much more than a haphazard fishing village 40 years ago (it might be argued that it’s not a fishing village any more but still haphazard). 20 kilometres appears to make a large difference…
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THAIGER TODAY Friday, January 12
Would you pay 40 baht for a small bottle of water in Thailand? | Prawit’s watch collection knows no bounds | Chalong ‘drifters’ hand themselves in | Committee set up to manage the Layan beach foreshore | Bangkok sends it’s cable underground…eventually | Dismantling begins of the Royal Crematorium in Sanam Luang.
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Anti-graft activist passes on 16 more watch pics to the NACC
Anti-graft activist Srisuwan Janya yesterday provided more evidence to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) about another 16 watches seen worn by Deputy PM General Prawit Wongsuwan, adding to information on three other watches he had already submitted. Srisuwan asked the NACC to ask the Customs Department to provide information on the multi-million-baht watches regarding the payment of customs duties. “This…
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FRIDAY MORNING HEADLINES – All your news in 3 minutes
Chalong racers charged over drifting The 10 drivers, who have been drifting their cars and spinning wheels in Chalong, generally disturbing the locals, handed themselves into Police last night. They are accused of reckless driving, blocking the traffic way and disturbing the public. The 10 cars were seized by the police. The video on Facebook showing the group in Chalong’s…
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