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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Hot hotel trends – Branded residences
by Bill Barnett of c9hotelworks.com Asia’s property developers are jumping into bed with hotel groups as branded residences flourish. Southeast Asia’s real estate love affair between property developers and hotel brands is morphing into a feeding frenzy. With nearly 100 mainstream hotel residence projects and over 21,000 units completed, the next three years is set to take the sector into…
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Political activities may be allowed after October
The junta would discuss loosening its grip on political activities after this month, once the Royal Cremation had passed, said secretary-general of the National Council for Peace and Order General Chalermchai Sitthisart. Chalermchai, also the Army Chief, said the junta would discuss to what extent politicians would be allowed to carry out political activities, given that the political party law…
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THAIGER TODAY Wednesday, October 11
No buts, no butts on beaches | Prayut confirms election date | Thailand’s most profitable national parks | Ofo wants its share-bikes back | Four tonne drug haul in Thai/Australian sting.
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Reports that Yingluck has asylum status in the UK
Just when you thought we were going to have a Shinawatra-free day, Foreign Affairs Minister Don Pramudwinai says his ministry would need to verify news reports that former PM Yingluck Shinawatra had gained asylum status in the United Kingdom. Don asked people not to jump the gun and pressure the ministry to take action. He personally preferred to avoid using…
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Koh Phi Phi – Thailand’s most profitable national park
Phi Phi Islands is the most profitable national park in the nation for 2 years in a row. Had Nopparat Thara – Phi Phi Island National Park has officially reached the highest income among the national parks across the country this year with 669 million Baht. The statistic were revealed by the Department of Nature, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP)…
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Banning the butt – cigarette ban on Phuket’s beaches
What is the most numerous item found at the many beach cleans organised by groups around the island? Plastic bottle? Straws? Flip-flops? plastic bags? No. It’s cigarette butts. People smoking on the beach and leaving their butts in the sand are a major contributor to the island’s beach rubbish problem. And it’s not just Phuket. Beaches around the kingdom have…
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Second tragedy – another car found in California’s Kings Canyon
The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office in California has retrieved the bodies of two Chinese passengers and the wreckage of their rental Ford Focus that have been submerged in King’s River since early August. The vehicle was found near where a car containing two Thai students came to rest after plunging off a cliff in late July. The passengers were identified…
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Taking the bang out of this year’s Vegetarian Festival
This year’s Vegetarian Festival will still be taking place between October 20 – 28. But organisers have been asked to ‘tone it down’ (how do you tone down the Vegetarian Festival?!) and restrict parades until the last day only in respect of the funeral for the Late King Bhumibol Adulyadej in Bangkok. Whilst the festival is meant to be about…
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International Aviation body removes red flag for Thailand
PHOTO: Nikkei Asian Review Thailand’s aviation sector is set to grow at a higher rate after the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) removed its red flag over safety issues, signifying the agency’s satisfaction with measures taken over the past three years to address concerns. Chula Sukmanop, director-general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) Office, said ICAO officials had…
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Yingluck pondering asylum in UK, France or Germany
Latest from The Nation Fugitive former PM Yingluck Shinawatra is considering applying for political asylum in the United Kingdom, Germany or France, a source from her legal team said yesterday. The preference is UK, where she is now residing on a tourist visa, the source said, but declined to elaborate which passport she is using. The source said the UK…
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More legal challenges for Thaksin
Ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra faces mounting legal problems following the new Attorney-General Khemchai Chutiwong’s announcement yesterday that he would reactivate many of the cases that had been suspended against the fugitive. The new law on criminal procedures for political office holders, which came into force on September 28, authorised the Office of Attorney-General to proceed with cases in…
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THAIGER TODAY Friday, October 6
Election delayed until 2019 | Laypang won’t be released to the wild | Kasikorn Bank has revised it’s predictions for Thai economy | Big drug haul in Phuket Town | Janitor gets special surprise from students.
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“Elections delayed until 2019” – Thai PM
Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha has told the Thai community during his visit to the United States that the election should take place in 2019, many months later than the junta-appointed legislators had predicted. Prayut spoke after he told US President Donald Trump on Monday that the election date would be announced next year without any further postponement. He said…
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Economic forecasts being revised upwards
Kasikorn Research Centre has revised upwards its forecast for the nation’s GDP growth this year to 3.7 per cent from the previous projection of 3.4 per cent. Exports and a strong recovery in the tourism sector are the main drivers of the increased growth, said the centre’s managing director, Charl Kengchon on Thursday at a press conference on “Thai Economic…
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THAIGER TODAY Thursday, October 5
It’s a bomb, an old bomb | Joint statement from White House mentions new Thai elections | Civil aviation ‘report card’ verdict soon | Swarms of pink fire jellyfish at Koh Gai | Tesco Lotus closing 1,900 stores on October 26.
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“Unacceptable… for such a large commercial aircraft to be missing”
It’s been three and a half years since Malaysian Airlines flight 370 vanished. Investigators say it is “inconceivable” that we still have no idea what happened to the plane, the passengers or the crew. Despite speculation, conspiracy theories, extensive searches, data analysis, books and pressure from the families of the missing passengers, almost nothing is still know all these years…
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Deadline looms for international aviation report card
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is expected to deliver its verdict soon on whether it will lift its “red flag” on Thailand’s aviation safety status, deputy Army spokesperson Colonel Sirichan Ngathong said on Wednesday. The ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission visited Thailand from September 20-27, to inspect and evaluate the country’s new aviation safety regulatory system. Sirichan said the mission…
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THAIGER TODAY Wednesday, October 4
Suspicious ‘torpedo’ shaped object at Nai Yang Beach | Roadworks on Kaw Sim Bee Road | Final two days to pay respects at Grand Palace | Retiring teachers being offered short-term contracts | Rohingya suspicious of Myanmar Government offers | PM Prayut and US President Trump talk trade and elections.
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Rohingya’s refugees suspicious of Myanmar’s assurances to allow them back
The plight of Myanmar’s Rohingya continues to be parlous despite aid agencies and the UN getting more access to the region and the flood of refugees flowing over the border into Bangladesh. But Rohingya Muslims, now in Bangladesh, remain sceptical about their chances of ever going back to Myanmar, even though the government there is offering assurances it will accept…
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And the next Thailand election date is… ?
Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan on Tuesday refused to confirm the election date despite the fact that Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha has informed US President Donald Trump that it will take place next year. Prawit, who chaired the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, said the election date depended on the completion of the four organic laws necessary for it…
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12 million people have visited Grand Palace to pay last respects
With two days remaining for citizens to pay their last respects to His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej at the Grand Palace in Bangkok, the number of people who have viewed the Royal Urn has topped 12 million. The Royal Household Bureau on Tuesday reported that 12,443,890 mourners had visited the Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall in the past…
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THAIGER TODAY Tuesday, October 3
‘Trade talk’ between Prayut and Donald at White House | Police have issued a Blue Notice to Interpol over Yingluck’s disappearance | Thailand looking to revise it’s GDP predictions | Khon Kaen bus driver caught using his phone whilst driving.
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The Prayut and Donald Show – official meeting at the White House
Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha on Monday met US President Donald Trump in the White House’s Oval Office. Prayut began by offering his condolences to Trump on the disasters caused by hurricanes hitting Texas and Puerto Rico towards which the Thai government and the private sector had sent humanitarian assistance. The PM said Thailand was ready to do more, according…
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JetStar flight makes an emergency landing at Chiang Mai
A Jetstar Airways plane flying from Vietnam made an emergency landing at Chiang Mai International Airport at 11.46am on Monday, officials said. The flight had taken off from Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi heading to India, they said. The Chiang Mai airport received the emergency landing request at 11:20am, and the plane landed safely. The plane had 181 passengers…
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Solving Samui’s rubbish problem
Opinion by Su Buchanan, Samui Times Fully funded green energy project could solve Samui’s garbage problem but will the Surat Thani Governor allow it? The escalating garbage problem in Koh Samui is no secret. Since the incinerator broke down over 8 years ago the piles of untreated garbage now tops 300,000 tons. The damage to the environment is undeniable yet…
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THAIGER TODAY Monday, October 2
Coming from Bang Wad in Kathu today… A 23 year old Chinese tourist, Shi Yieing, drowned over the weekend | US President and the Thai PM meet today in Washington for talks | More pink fire jellyfish found off Koh Hong | Sunday’s Run 2Gether in Phuket Town a high success.
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Things you need to know if you’re travelling to Thailand and Bangkok in October
During this month there will be a lot of small and larger changes as Thailand gets ready to bid a sad, final farewell to the much-loved and revered HM King Bhumibol who passed on October 13 last year. Most of the changes will be around Bangkok, especially the Sanam Luang Park area around the Grand Palace. But there will also…
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Phang Nga family pleas for Bangkok bombing suspect to be sent back for trial
The family of Wanna Suansan, from Phang Nga, (Wanna is a suspect in the Ratchaprasong/Erawan Shrine bomb case), is calling for her return to Thailand after she has given birth and raised 2 children in Turkey’s immigration prison over the past 2 years. Right before the bomb, which happened in the middle of Bangkok at Ratchaprasong intersection on August 17,…
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Where’s Yingluck? CNN report contradicts Thai PM
Thailand’s former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is in London and seeking political asylum in the United Kingdom, a source in her Pheu Thai Party told CNN on Thursday. The Supreme Court convicted Yingluck on Wednesday of dereliction of duty over a controversial rice subsidy program and sentenced her to five years in prison. The scheme cost Thailand billions of dollars.…
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