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Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.
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Sponsored Weekend road trip routes across Thailand [2025]
Weekend road trips in Thailand are a great way to enjoy beautiful scenery, local culture, and quick getaways without much travel time. From winding mountain routes in the north to coastal drives in the south, every journey brings new sights...
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Investigation into mine explosion on a Phang Nga Bay bird’s-nest concession island
by Sittichai Sikhawat Police have launched an investigation into an explosion at a bird’s-nest concession area in Phang Nga bay, where one man was killed and another injured on Monday night. The island is Koh Lao Dua, six kilometres north of Koh Yao Noi. Story HERE (one man has died since The Thaiger story). 25 year old Boodrod Thongdee died…
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Choosing sides. Abhisit Vejjajiva will have to choose after Sunday.
PHOTO: The Nation Sunday’s election will not be the end, it will only be another episode in a two-decade long drama as Thailand struggles with democracy and attempts to throw off the shackles of nearly a century of military tampering in political affairs. Thailand’s oldest political party, the Democrats, head into Sunday’s election with leader Abhisit Vejjajiva facing some tough…
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“I’m sorry” – Premchai granted bail
“There is one thing. I am sorry.” PHOTO: Thai PBS Thailand’s billionaire construction magnate says he was “sorry” after being granted bail following yesterday’s court verdict that set a prison sentence of 16 months for illegal hunting in the Thungyai Naresuan wildlife sanctuary in far north-west Thailand. Three others were also found guilty and given jail terms by the court. Yong…
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Phuket Town Beauty spa shooter kills himself in Saphan Hin
UPDATE: The suspect in this morning’s shootings, 53 year old Chana Rodket from Songkhla, has shot and killed himself in Saphan His this afternoon. He was a housekeeper a the beauty spa where the shooting took place. Earlier, a South Korean man and Thai woman were injured in a shooting at a beauty spa near Naka Market in Phuket Town.…
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Two shot in Phuket Town beauty spa this morning
A South Korean man and Thai woman have been injured in spa shooting in Phuket Town. The two sustained serious injuries from bullet wounds after having been shot at the spa in Wichit today. Wichit Police reports that they was notified of an incident at ‘The Beauty Spa’ in Wichit at 10.30am this morning. Police and emergency responders arrived at…
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Two injured after stepping on suspected mines at a Krabi island
Two Thai men have sustained serious injuries after stepping on a mine at an island near Ao Nang, Krabi. The Ao Nang Police were notified about the two men being injured from the incident in Ao Nang at 6pm last night. 35 year old Somchaai Longj sustained injuries on his legs, shoulder and a broken leg from the explosion and…
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Specialist clinics for pollution-related symptoms to be set up around the country
The Public Health Ministry says they are now preparing to set up specialised clinics to treat patients suffering from pollution-related symptoms in the northern parts of the country. “At present, we have just one such clinic in the country. So, we have decided to introduce many more,” according to permanent secretary Dr Sukhum Karnchanapimai. He made the pledge in response…
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Japanese tourist re-united with his bag and valuables
PHOTO: The Pattaya News A Japanese tourist has offered his sincere thanks to a minivan driver, Pattaya’s Tourist Police and the Department of Land Transport. The Pattaya News reports that 46 year old Japanese tourist Ryochi Mihashi had taken a minivan ride from Rayong to South Pattaya but left his bag in the van. The bag contained 4,100 baht, US$440, 56,000…
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Female killed, 24 passengers injured in Korat bus crash
PHOTOS: Thai RathAn inter-provincial Khon Kaen-Bangkok bus slammed into the back of a truck on a Nakhon Ratchasima road early this morning. The collision killing the bus hostess and injured 24 passengers. It is the latest in a series of inter-provincial bus crashes over the past week. The Pak Chong police station was alerted at 2.30am to the accident on…
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Premchai imprisoned for 16 months – Kanchanaburi
PHOTO: Premchai arrives for this morning’s verdict – Khaosod English Premchai Karnasutra, the Thai construction tycoon, has been imprisoned for 16 months after the verdict on the long running case was announced in court this morning. The Thong Pha Phum Provincial Court has sentenced Premchai to 16 months in prison for weapons-related charges and conspiring to poach wildlife. The court…
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Siam Songkran Festival lights up this year’s Songkran in Bangkok
Sick of running around Bangkok with your 200 baht Tesco water pistol? Combine the annual water festival with a world class music festival instead. Welcome to Siam Songkran, Thailand’s newest four-day Songkran festival set to be held April 12 – 15 at Bangkok’s largest city centre entertainment zone, SHOW DC Arena. A time of tradition, Songkran is also a time…
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TAT expects 2.3 million tourists for this year’s Songkran
The Tourism Authority of Thailand is expecting more than 2.3 million local and foreign tourists will join the various Songkran celebrations this year. They say that should generate 20 billion baht+ in revenue for tourism and tourism-related services. TAT’s Governor Yuthasak Supasorn says 300,000 international arrivals are expected to celebrate the five day festival starting April 12, along with two…
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Thailand releases Burmese migrant activist, will deport him
PHOTO: Facebook/Ye Min- Migrants workers wearing T-shirts with the image of Ye Min wait for his release in front of the court in Samut Prakan, Thailand A prominent Burmese migrant activist Ko Ye Min, one of founders of the Aid Alliance Committee in Thailand, has been released from jail pending deportation by a Thai court. “Ko Ye Min was freed…
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Officers follow-up on slow loris tout on Phuket beach – VIDEO
Phuket officials are searching for a ‘loris tout’ who was offering photographs with a slow loris at a Kata beach. (Some video of a slow loris below) ‘Angelina Bratukhina’ posted a video with a message read “Where are the police??!! It’s right now at Kata Noi beach.” The man was offering photos with the slow loris for 200 -300 baht…
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Six per cent of Thai university students have attempted suicide
Recent research reveals a disturbing finding that over 6 per cent of university students have attempted suicide. The study findings have been highlighted after several students killed themselves in recent weeks. “From research on university students’ depression during the past three to four years, it can be concluded that 6.4 per cent of students turned suicidal and tried to take…
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Court to rule on Premchai poaching case today
The Thong Phaphume provincial court in Thailand’s western province of Kanchanaburi will deliver its long-awaited verdict in the illegal hunting case on the billionaire Thai construction tycoon Premchai Karnasuta today. He, and his hunting party, is charged with killing protected species. The alleged offence took place on February 3 last year in Kanchanaburi’s Thungyai Naresuan wildlife sanctuary. They were arrested by…
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Pre-Songkran inspections of public buses and their drivers
The Land Transport Department has started the inspection of drivers and mechanical condition of public transport vehicles at bus stations ahead of the Songkran holiday period next month. The period, aka. the ‘seven days of danger’, is notorious for a marked increase in road accidents due to much higher traffic levels as Thai’s head home for celebrations. On the first…
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Porsche driver charged with reckless driving after death of two women
Bangkok Police have charged a Porsche driver who crashed into a motorcycle, killing two women, one of them also losing her unborn baby and being rushed to hospital, only to die soon after. The accident also damaged a roadside motorcycle-repair shop. The original report from The Thaiger HERE. Police announced that Somkiat Pakdeenok had been charged with reckless driving causing…
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Water shut offs to hit parts of Cherng Talay for two weeks
The Phuket Water Authority (PWA) has announced that water supply in some areas of Cherng Talay will be shut off from March 19 – 31 at ‘some times’ during the day. Water will be shut off while work is being carried out on moving main water pipes. Areas to be affected include parts of Cherng Talay. “Residents in these areas should save…
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King Power’s duty free monopoly under review
King Power Duty Free’s monopoly of duty free concessions at some of Thailand’s busiest airports may be coming to an end. The Thai PM has warned against the “monopolisation” of the country’s airport duty free sector ordering a review of the auctioning process that could threaten the multi-billion-dollar empire of current concession holder King Power. Thailand expects to welcome over…
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American falls to his death from a Chiang Mai apartment
An American man has fallen to his death from the balcony of his room on the tenth floor of a condo building in Chiang Mai’s main city district early this morning (Monday). The Muang Chiang Mai police station says they were alerted at 1.50 am to the death of 60 year old Ruben Ponce at the Astra Condominium on Chang…
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BTS launch their new album on April 12, appear on Saturday Night Live the next day. Why this matters.
The music business is about to have another one of those seismic shifts in the next month as the power of the music business continues to dribble away from western record company influences to a more democratic, social media-driven, business model. In the past two years, mainly, a small South Korean production house has re-tooled the massive world music business…
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Wastewater runs freely into sea in Krabi
The Krabi provincial government appears to be attempting a ‘band-aid’ solution to stop wastewater running freely onto one of the most popular beaches in the region. For now, Krabi canal is releasing waste water straight into sea at Ao Nang Beach. Tourists in Ao Nang have reported that a catchment is being dug where waste water is freely flowing into…
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Will it be same same but different after this Sunday’s vote?
Thailand’s military junta, which has ruled the Land of Smiles since snatching control in a coup in 2014, is now trying to bring its leader, Prayut Chan-o-cha, back as an ‘elected’ PM in next week’s election. The NCPO has cobbled together an ambitious economic plan that’s rests on a 1.7 trillion baht (US$54 billion) spending spree to revive competitiveness in…
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One dead, kids injured in school bus accident in Prachinburi
Photo: Prachinburi PR Office A bus has crashed just north-east of Bangkok, killing one and injuring another 10. Wangkhon Police in Prachinburi were notified of the accident at 4:40am early today. The bus was travelling from Nong Bua Lamphu, north east of Thailand, to Prachinburi. The bus was carrying 20 high school students and 19 teachers. When the bus arrived…
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Thai driver puts in an excellent weekend at Australian GP finishing 14th
PHOTO: Alex Albon makes a splash in Melbourne with the first crash of the season and then a sparkling result against the odds Alex Albon, the Thai-English F1 driver, says he was was satisfied with yesterday’s work in Melbourne after the first Thai driver in Formula 1’s modern era threatened a huge shock before settling for a respectable 14th place…
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Preliminary data suggests ‘similarities’ to Lion Air incident – Ethiopian Airlines crash
PHOTO: The ‘black box’ data recorder arrived in Paris last week Preliminary data analysis from the black boxes of last week’s Ethiopian Airlines plane crash has revealed “similarities” to last October’s Lion Air incident. Ethiopian Minister of Transport, Dagmawit Moges, says that investigators recovered all relevant data from the data recorders on board the fateful final flight of the Boeing 737…
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Chiang Mai love triangle leads to stabbing attack – two dead
A woman’s husband and the woman’s young male lover were both killed after a short fight at an apartment building in Chiang Mai. The deaths were reported to the Chang Phuak Police Station at 7am yesterday morning (Sunday). 57 year old Samruay Sukjui and 28 year old Banphot Pimpa both died of knife wounds. Samruay’s younger brother, Charoensap Sukjui, told…
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25 year old electrical contractor electrocuted in Chalong, Phuket
FILE PHOTO A 25 year old electrical contractor has died after accidentally touching a high voltage power cabling in Chalong. Police say that the power was still connected when the man was working. Pakasit Raksakam was working on the cabling when he accidentally touched a cable that was still live, according to fellow contractors working nearby. Rescue workers arrived on Soi Na…
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Thais vote today as registered absentees in the lead up to next week’s election
PHOTO: 98 year old Prem Tinsulanonda, president of the Privy Council – Bangkok Post Arlina Arshad, Regional Correspondent – Straits Times Hundreds of thousands of voters across Thailand are heading out today to cast early ballots, a week ahead the country’s first general election – the first time Thais have voted since 2011 and since the military took control in…
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