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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Sponsored How to reduce out-of-pocket medical expenses in Thailand?
Managing medical expenses in Thailand is important as healthcare costs continue to rise. The country’s healthcare system includes both public and private options, but even with the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) for citizens, many still face high out-of-pocket medical expenses....
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Farmers resort to household waste water to save their crops in Suphan Buri
PHOTO: Thai PBS Some farmers in Don Jedi district of Suphan Buri, one of Thailand’s “rice bowl” provinces, are turning to using household waste water to irrigate their parched farmland. Suphan Buri is a province immediately north-west of Bangkok. Desperate to save his 3.2 hectares of rice paddy fields in Village 5, Tambon Don Jedi, rice farmer Narong Wongsuwan told…
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Talks resume in the ongoing China-US trade spat
By China Daily – Asia News Network There’s been a resumption of talks in the China-US trade.’war’ Analysts are hoping the restart in talks between top negotiators from both nations will deliver a win-win outcome. China’s Vice-Premier Liu He spoke by phone with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Tuesday. According to reports, officials exchanged views…
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Phuket’s looming high season water crisis
PHOTOS: Siraphat Kanphonngam Water shortages are almost a certainty for Phuket in the next high season with the rainfall for this year’s wet season well below average. The island’s three main catchments – Bang Neow Dam off Srisoonthorn Road, Bang Wad dam in Kathu and Khlong Kratha dam in Chalong – have all increased in their water levels since the dams dropped to…
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Thailand rice exports droop due to strong baht
Rice exports have fallen 12% for the first half of this year, mostly related to the strong Thai currency. An export group says that sales targets for Thai rice will fall short of the 2019 target of 9.5 million tonnes. The Thai Rice Exporters admit they will lucky to reach 9 tonnes in sales this year. Thailand shipped 4.2 million tonnes…
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New airline Vinpearl Air to enter Vietnam’s aviation market
PHOTO: Hà Nội News The Hanoi Department of Planning and Investment in Vietnam granted a business licence to yet another new airline start-up – Vinpearl Air, a member of Vingroup. Vinpearl Air was established on April 22 with headquarters in Hanoi ’s Vinhomes Riverside Long Biên. The airline will have international routes and use 30 aircraft or more. Vingroup and Canada’s CAE Oxford Aviation…
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New Thai cabinet now endorsed by HM The King
PHOTO: Adapted from Bangkok Post The new Thai cabinet has now been formally anointed and confirmed by HM The King The new cabinet members were nominated by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha following months of prevarication and internal squabbles in the 19 member coalition led by Palang Pracharat. The Royal Gazette has named Prawit Wongsuwon, Somkid Jatusripitak and Wissanu Krea-ngam as deputy…
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Police raid Phang Nga drug dealer with more than 100,000 meth pills
Police conduced a drug bust in Phang Nga and seized more than a 100,000 methamphetamine pills, considered a large amount from a southern local drug dealer. Yesterday (July 9), Phang Nga police arrested 28 year old Kittisak Chuanchom, a cable line technician, while he was preparing to distribute amphetamine pills to his ‘customers’. Police found him at a house in…
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Thai junta retains power to detain people without charge
“… though the junta’s orders are being revoked, their impact will still be felt in society.” Opposition politicians and the Thai public are voicing dissatisfaction with the junta’s decision to hang on to its order authorising arbitrary military detention. Even though the junta has announced the revocation of 70+ old NCPO orders, including media intervention and trying cases in military…
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Concrete pieces from Ari BTS station in Bangkok fall on road below
PHOTOS: Isara Ariyachaipanich Concrete panelling has fallen from the Ari skytrain station. Luckily there was no one injured. Isara Ariyachaipanich posted photos on his Facebook page showing a huge slab of concrete laying on the road beneath the structure of the Ari BTS station. The concrete fell onto Phayon Yothin Road, near a local bus station. “It was so good…
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Korean TVs “Law of the Jungle” leaves viewers dismayed about Thai episodes
Thailand’s ‘Post Today’, is reporting that South Korean TV viewers were dismayed when they learned that the production crew and cast of the SBS Television show “Law of the Jungle” had caught protected giant clams while filming the series in Thailand. The topic has become a trending social media topic in Korea. Korean news agency, Yonhap, who interviewed the South…
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UPDATE: Phuket pad thai blamed for putting Perth couple out of action for two years
A Perth couple, Stacey Barnes and her husband Ryan Prigg, who ran their personal wellbeing business, ended up unwell for nearly two years, because of a debilitating parasite that they say they caught whilst holidaying in Thailand in 2017. The have blamed the incident on a rogue plate of pad thai they ate at a food court at an ‘upmarket’…
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Thais fined for failing to report resident foreigners within 24 hours
PHOTO: Naew Na More Thai nationals have been charged and fined for failing to report foreigners who were staying at their accommodations within 24 hours of checking in. The article didn’t specify if they were guest house proprietors, landlords or hotels owners. In any case, someone must register if foreigners are staying at their establishments within 24 hours of check-in. 23 year…
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Pattaya police purge on motorbike rental shops and renters
PHOTOS: Facebook/Sophon Cable Pattaya Police are cracking down on tourists renting motorbikes in the coastal tourist city as well as the shops renting out the bikes. The current purge is in response to recent problems of marauding tourist bike groups making a nuisance of themselves in the seaside tourist city. Sophon Cable reports that rental shops are now attracting attention…
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Dolphin sightings in Phang Nga Bay near Phuket – VIDEO
Rangers working in the Phang Nga Bay Marine National Park have reported sightings of bottlenose dolphins in Phang Nga Bay. They say it’s a good sign, thanks to the extensive rehabilitation of aquatic animals, seagrass and natural vegetation in the area. The rangers managed to take a picture of a 150 centimetre-long dolphin in front of Koh Panyi, Amphur Muang…
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ASEAN commit to eliminating marine plastic
“At present, four ASEAN members are the world’s top ocean polluters, namely Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand.” At the recent 34th ASEAN Summit in Bangkok last month the 10 member states of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asia Nations) adopted “The Bangkok Declaration on Combating Marine Debris in the ASEAN Region” in an effort to eliminate marine plastic debris in the region. ASEAN…
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Thai smartphone users ready for 5G
“50% of the local respondents said they are willing to pay 150 baht extra in fees per month.” 5G, the next generation of phone speed, is on the way and coming to a smartphone near you. A recent survey of 35,000 people around the world shows that there will be as many as 1.9 billion 5G subscribers globally in the…
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Green sea turtle found dead in a fish trap off Krabi national park
PHOTO: thaipost.net Officers from the Nopparat Thara Beach – Phi Phi Islands National Park, yesterday (Monday) removed a metal fish trap from the sea near Koh Met after some fishermen smuggled the trap into the sea. They found a dead green sea turtle trapped inside. The team had to use a bouyancy bag to rescue the turtle body stuck in the fish trap…
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NCPO chief terminates around 100 orders today
PHOTO: มติชน The chief of the NCPO will issue his last command that terminates around 100 coup orders. Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam was commenting today on a meeting with chief coalition whip Wirat Rattanset who spoke to him yesterday about the annulment of orders issued by the NCPO between May 2014 and March this year when Thailand held the general election.…
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TAT Governor predicts 10% revenue rise in 2020
PHOTO: Daily News Yuthasak Suphasorn, governor of Thailand’s Tourism Authority (TAT), says he’s expecting a 10% rise in tourist revenue in 2020 despite global economic uncertainty and a statistical drop in tourism around the country in Q2 of this year. According to Daily News, he confidently predicted that tourists would into Thailand keeping the country in the top 6 of…
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Police say posh private plane is not just for Prawit
Critics are alleging that a new 1.1 billion baht 10 seat luxury private jet is being used solely to transport the current deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan around the country. Yesterday’s reports in Thai media have forced the Royal Thai Police to deny the plane would only serve the needs of the ageing Deputy PM. Accusations first came from the Watchdog Act…
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American Airlines inks deal with Cathay Dragonair for more destinations in SE Asia
American Airlines says they now have a new deal with Hong Kong-based Cathay Dragon Airlines allowing US fliers access to South East Asian hot spots such as Phuket, Chiang Mai, Da Nang and Dhaka, Bangladesh. American’s network also will have more frequent flights to Penang, KL and Hanoi. The deal is said to strengthen American and Oneworld’s ties to Asia, the…
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Thai Mekong People’s Network takes on China over Mekong River management
PHOTO: Airpaz Blog Local residents and environmentalists living along the Thai banks of the Mekong River spent the weekend in hot debate with the Chinese Embassy about Beijing’s utilisation and management of the River. While the embassy accused Thai media of spreading false information on China’s development projects in Southeast Asia’s longest rivers, the Thai Mekong People’s Network fought back,…
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Property developer confidence takes a dive in second quarter 2019
A measurement of real estate developer confidence for the Q2 2019 (April to June) has dropped to 42.2 points from 50.4 points for Q1 2019 (January to March). Thai PBS reports that the second quarter confidence index has fallen below the 50 point median index, reflecting developers’ declining confidence in the economic situation and investment in Thailand. Real estate developers…
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Opposition parties to keep heat on campaign for amendments to Thai Constitution
The seven-party opposition coalition, led by Pheu Thai and Future Forward MPs, is stepping up its campaign to seek public support for its attempts to amend the Constitution and to educate the people about the Thai Constitution. Speaking at a news conference, after a meeting of representatives from the seven opposition parties held yesterday (Monday), Pheu Thai MP Anusorn Iamsa-ard…
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BTS asked to pay 100 billion construction costs in exchange for 30 year concession extension
Manit Techa-apichoke, president of Bangkok Metropolitan Administration-owned Krungthep Thanakhom, says the state firm was empowered by Article 44 of the interim charter to conduct negotiations with the Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS) over the 100 billion baht debt transfer and concession extension. Manit says the negotiation should be completed in about two months. The Nation reports that the BMA will negotiate with…
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Four down, one to go – Phuket’s traffic underpass network nearly complete
The 540 million baht underground tunnel at Chalong Circle has now been officially opened by the Thai PM. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha presided over the official opening yesterday morning. The tunnel, about 350 metres long, travels between Viset Road and Chao Fah West. Above ground the intersection moves traffic around the renovated roundabout where traffic from Kata (Patak Road), Chalong Pier…
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Future Forward legal team submits ‘share-gate’ evidence
PHOTO: Future Forward party secretary-genera, Piyabutr Saengkanokkul In submitting further evidence and clarification over ‘share-gate’, Future Forward party’s legal team has also asked for Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit’s MP status to be reinstated. Thanathorn was suspended from his MP duties when the Constitutional Court decided to accept a case over his alleged media share holdings. The party’s secretary-general Piyabutr Saengkanokkul says, as…
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Miracle magic Thai power generator rubbished by academic
PHOTO: 75 year old Cheun Fanmeik, making power out of cranking a handle – INN News A retired electrical engineer and professor at the Lat Krabang Institute of Technology is slamming the invention of a ‘power generator’ by a Thai pensioner as nonsense. 75 year old Cheun Fanmeik, who used to work at the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, claims he could…
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Thai Justice officials push for action against parents of teenage biker in Chiang Mai
The Thai Justice Ministry is urging police to take action against the parents of a 13 year old boy whose foot was torn off in a crash on a 1000cc Kawasaki motorcycle they bought him. The incident in northern Chiang Mai on July 6 was caught on video that went viral drawing a lot of criticism online. Read The Thaiger story…
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Post-election uncertainties see World Bank downgrade GDP further
Thai GDP growth is projected to fall from 4.1% last year to 3.5% in 2019, according to a World Bank report out today. The Thailand Economic Monitor noted that exports contracted by 4% in the first quarter of 2019 – the first quarterly contraction in three years. Private investment and household consumption continued to grow close to their three-year high, helped…
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