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 5 ways retirees in Thailand lose money (and how to stop it)
Retiring in Thailand can be affordable and enjoyable, but many retirees lose money due to common mistakes. High living costs, scams, and unexpected expenses can quickly drain savings. There are five ways that retirees in Thailand can lose money and...
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The WHO rename monkeypox to avoid racist stereotypes
In a bid to avoid racism and stigmatisation, the World Health Organization (WHO) is renaming monkeypox, mpox. The WHO will use mpox as a synonym for monkeypox. Both names will be used simultaneously for one year while monkeypox is phased out altogether. The move comes after the United Nations voiced concerns over the way the virus was being reported by…
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Man claims he thought illegal whale bones were wood
After being arrested for possessing parts of a whale skeleton last week, a French man in Rawai countered the charges. He claims that the person who sold him the bones told him they were made out of wood and were not real whale bones. The man, identified as Mr Alain, told police that he had no idea he had illegal…
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Pattaya’s Walk and Eat food festival coming up
Foodies in Pattaya have something to look forward to. The city’s Walk and Eat food festival is coming up, after being cancelled or restricted for years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The long festival will run from December 10 to January 29 at the Naklua fish market in Old Town Naklua. Attendees can sample tasty local dishes, and enjoy concerts…
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Sea turtle choked to death on plastic waste
The Sea Turtle Conservation Centre revealed the dead turtle that washed ashore on a Chon Buri beach yesterday choked to death on plastic waste. Veterinarians at the centre said more than two kilogrammes of waste was found inside the marine reptile when they examined it. About 100 grammes of fishing net, nylon filament, plastic and small nails and other rubbish,…
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Cowardly rapist arrested for a fifth time in Isaan
A serial rapist was arrested for the fifth time on Friday for attacking and sexually assaulting two women in the Isaan province of Ubon Ratchathani. The 41 year old man, named Pathanin Jen, an ex-convict, is also guilty of several thefts in the Isaan province. Footage emerged of Pathanin conducting a cowardly attack on a teenage girl on Sunday, November…
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Russian crewman’s hand cut off in Songkhla ship accident
A Russian crewman’s hand was cut off in a brutal cargo ship accident off Songkhla. A team of doctors and emergency nurses rushed to help the man on Saturday, according to a Facebook post by the Maritime National Interest Administration Center- Sor Chon. The Russian man, 47 year old Evgenii Kriukov, was transferred to the Songkhla Naval Base Hospital. He…
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Murderer offers 100,000 baht to netizens to cut off his EM ankle bracelet
A man found guilty of murder and tagged with an electronic monitoring (EM) ankle bracelet appealed on social media for someone to remove the EM tag and he would reward them with 100,000 baht in cash. He also alleges he bribed the police and his attorney. The murderer’s Facebook post briefly circulated on Thai social media before he took it…
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TAT holds Amazing Thailand Fest 2022 in India
Thailand’s tourism officials held another event to draw visitors to the Land of Smiles, this time in India. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), in cooperation with Team Thailand in India, held the ‘Amazing Thailand Fest 2022’ in New Deli from November 25-27. The event was part of TAT’s campaign Visit Thailand Year 2022: Amazing New Chapters. The festival displayed…
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New direct flight between Muscat and Bangkok
The Sultanate of Oman today announced the introduction of a direct flight between Muscat and Bangkok. From Sunday, December 18, Oman’s budget airline SalamAir will fly directly between Muscat and Bangkok three times per week. Flights from Muscat depart on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Fridays, while return flights from Bangkok are scheduled for Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. Bangkok is SalamAir’s second…
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Elderly Australian amputee abandoned in a hostel receiving care
An elderly foreigner amputee is receiving medical care after being abandoned at a hostel in Bangkok. The 67 year old Australian woman had been dropped off at a hostel in the Bang Rak district by an as-yet unidentified foreign man. He paid for her accommodation in the hostel for two nights but after that, he could not be reached to…
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Man arrested in South Thailand for attempted murder in Phuket
A man has been arrested in South Thailand’s Phatthalung province for attempted murder in Phuket four years ago. The man, 23 year old Thanakorn Phontha, was wanted on arrest warrants issued in January and August 2018. Officers found Thanakorn in his house on Moo 7 in the Srinakarin district, after finding through an investigation that he had been hiding in…
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Pattaya motorcycle taxi rider arrested for sexually harassing Thai singer
A motorcycle taxi rider in Pattaya was arrested today after he allegedly sexually harassed his passenger, a Thai singer named Yanawut “Pearja” Jarearnartiput. The taxi rider denied the allegation claiming he touched the woman in an attempt to keep her from falling off his motorcycle. Last Saturday, November 26, 31 year old singer Pearja posted videos of the incident on…
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Pattaya International Fireworks Festival meets goal of over 100,000 spectators
The Pattaya International Fireworks Festival 2022 has come to a close, and officials say the festival was a success. Pattaya Mayor Poramase Ngampiches said the festival met its goal of bringing back tourists to boost Pattaya’s economy. As expected, the festival drew over 100,000 spectators. Although there were some major traffic delays, there were no reports of other issues during…
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Bank of Thailand to raise interest rates on Wednesday
Bank of Thailand (BOT) Governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput today announced interest rates will be raised on Wednesday to deal with potential inflation increases. Governor Sethaput is expected to raise interest rates by a modest quarter-point to take the benchmark rate to 1.25% underscoring ongoing worries about growth in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy. Thailand’s economy lagged its Southeast Asia contemporaries and is…
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North Korea aims to be world’s top nuclear power after missile test
After recent missile tests, Kim Jong-un says that he aims to make North Korea the biggest nuclear power on the planet according to state media reports. Yesterday the dictator of the isolated country promoted many military officers that worked to launch North Korea’s largest ballistic missile test to date. Kim previously vowed to respond to perceived nuclear threats from the…
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Naked Thai woman under influence of kratom rescued from Bang Pagong River
A naked Thai woman, reportedly drunk from a kratom drink, was fished out of the Bang Pagong River in the central province of Chachoengsao after she took the plunge to do some meditation. Residents, who witnessed the incident, told the rescue team that they saw a woman taking off her clothes before she jumped into the Bang Pagong River near…
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Bangladeshi-Burmese border conference offers model for Thailand
A Bangladeshi-Burmese border conference between security forces finishes today in Myanmar’s capital Nay Pyi Taw. Does Thailand have anything to learn from the Bangladeshis who face perhaps greater problems dealing with the kakistocracy across the river? The situation on the border is tense, due to internal conflict in Myanmar, violations of airspace, terrorism, cross-border crime and the Rohingya refugee problem.…
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Pattaya hotel thieves snatch valuables from Thai and Dutch tourists
Two Pattaya thieves snatched valuables from Thai and Dutch tourists at a hotel early yesterday morning. The incident took place at an unnamed hotel on Soi Pattaya-Naklua 20 in Bang Lamung. The Dutch victim, 37 year old Christian Fuchs, said he placed 4,000 baht in cash on the table in his hotel room before he went to take a shower.…
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Thai gold necklace thief escapes arrest by swimming to Myanmar
A thief stole a gold necklace worth about 150,000 baht from a shop near a police station in Chiang Rai and then escaped arrest by embarking on a death-defying swim across a snake-infested river to Myanmar. Khaosod reported that the theft happened on Saturday, November 26, at a gold shop named Seri Phan in the Mae Sai district of Chiang…
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People of China protest on streets over mainland’s zero-Covid policy
The people of China appear to have had enough of the mainland’s zero-Covid policy. Incredibly, the usually deferential Chinese people were on the streets calling for their nation’s leader, President Xi Jinping, to stand down. It wasn’t anarchy on the mainland streets over the weekend but it wasn’t far off as hundreds of people in several major cities clashed with…
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What makes Tops Fine Food the ideal place to shop for premium food in Bangkok
Grocery shopping is usually considered a chore, but it doesn’t have to be! Tops Fine Food Thailand is changing the game by making grocery shopping an exciting experience. Tops Fine Food is Central Retail’s newest food destination that’ll enhance your shopping experience. According to Stephane Coum, Chief Executive Officer of Food Group, Central Retail, the launch of Tops Fine Food…
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Angry woman sets fire to her boyfriend’s Pattaya room
A Thai woman in Pattaya gave new meaning to the phrase “in the heat of passion.” After accusing her boyfriend of having an affair, the enraged woman set fire to his rented apartment room. The incident took place early yesterday morning in Nong Prue. At about 1.30am, Nong Prue Police were notified of a fire in a rental room on…
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Poll examines sexual violence causes, definitions
A new NIDA Poll has shed some light on what modern Thai society believes is sexual violence and what causes it. The poll, conducted by the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA), asked about what people thought were the major root causes of sexual violence. They also asked whether a variety of scenarios would be considered to fall under that…
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Four members of drug gang arrested in Nakhon Si Thammarat
Four members of a drug gang were arrested in Nakhon Si Thammarat Friday carrying 1.2 million meth pills. The four had brought the pills from the north of the country, according to Pol Maj Gen Somchai Suetortrakul. Police arrested members of the drug gang Somyos Jaidee, 57 years old, and Supiwa Ratsupha, 20 years old, in Khuan. The pair had…
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Why aren’t tourists returning to Khao San Road?
The past few years have been dark for tourism in Thailand and around the world. The Covid-19 global pandemic closed borders and killed tourism in so many crucial areas. Khao San Road, the vibrant, bustling backpacker haven of Thailand’s capital city of Bangkok quickly fell into a desolate ghost town. Now, the last pandemic restrictions have been lifted, and the…
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A burglar, in a hole, in the roof, in the night
A Nakhon Si Thammarat burglar, well-known to authorities, who dropped in from the ceiling rather than breaking in through a window or door was taken to the police by his long-suffering mother following his latest exploits. At about 2am the morning before, a thief had dropped in from the roof of a teacher’s home in the district and demanded 500…
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World Cup to be shown in Thai prison
If you’re a huge fan of crime, but also a huge fan of football, you may have been discouraged from pulling off any heists for fear of missing the FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar. Don’t worry, now you can go out and commit that crime! The director-general of the Corrections Department has announced the World Cup will be shown in…
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UK exports to Japan slump after ‘landmark’ free trade deal
UK exports to Japan have slumped after a “landmark” free-trade deal exacerbated an already awful situation. Sold as Britain’s first major free-trade agreement since Brexit, the deal with Japan has been an abject failure. Trade between Britain and Japan has actually declined since the deal was signed. Trade secretary at the time, Liz Truss – then still believed by some…
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Deep South emergency decree extended 3 months
After a recent car bombing of police apartments in the Deep South province of Narathiwat, the Emergency Situation Administration Committee decided to extend the state of emergency decree in the troubled Southern provinces. The extension means that the current state of emergency will not end on December 20 as scheduled, but will instead continue until March 19 at the earliest.…
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Inmate who escaped Khon Kaen hospital back in custody
An inmate convicted of drug charges who escaped from a Khon Kaen hospital on Friday has been recaptured. He had been taken to Phon Hospital for treatment and in the wee hours of Friday morning made a daring escape. He tried to flee and hide but he was found just 300 metres from the hospital. The 41 year old man…
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