Hot News
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Sponsored Thailand health insurance that covers chronic conditions: What expats need to know
The Thaiger key takeaways Managing chronic conditions in Thailand requires health insurance that covers specialist visits, medications, tests, and hospital stays. Cigna offers high-coverage plans with access to top hospitals, direct billing, and telemedicine support for convenient long-term care. Expats...
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Thai tourism ministry proposes 5 billion baht in tourist stimulus packages
Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn says he will propose new domestic travel stimulus packages valued at 5 billion baht this Friday. The Minister says the aim is to cushion the impact of the coronavirus for the tourism service sector across the country. The Minister says that domestic tourism is “the priority during this difficult time. The government should implement…
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Finance ministry announces new stimulus packages and tax breaks
Thailand’s Finance Ministry has announced a raft of new stimulus measures to help prop up parts of the Thai economy suffering under the impact of the coronavirus. They say the measures will assist “all sectors of Thai society currently affected by the Covid-19 situation”, which arrived at the same time as an economic slowdown, an export slump and drought. The…
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Chon Buri man kills neighbour with metal pipe after being refused a cigarette
Police in Chon Buri province, near Pattaya, arrested a 32 year old Thai man on Monday for allegedly beating his 51 year old neighbour to death with a metal pipe, after the neighbor refused to give him a cigarette. Police were informed of an incident at a home in the Map Pong sub district at 9:30pm. Officers arrived along with…
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Thailand News Today, March 4, 2020
Man arrested with 44 kilograms of marijuana in Phuket A 60 year old man is in custody after he was found collecting 44 kilograms of dried marijuana, valued at about 400,000 baht, from a parcel delivery company in Phuket. Police told a press conference yesterday that officers were tipped off about a large shipment of marijuana arriving in Phuket via…
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Ayuttaya man arrested with pistol, planning to shoot wife and her lover
Police in Ayuttaya, north of Bangkok, yesterday arrested a man carrying an unregistered handgun and ammunition, who told them he was on his way to shoot his wife and her lover a a nearby mall. 45 year old Somkhid Ruennangyaem was pulled over on his motorbike for a search near Naresuan bridge in tambon Pailing, about 11am on Tuesday. Police…
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Saudi man flees Pattaya hospital after alleged attackers show evidence of his debt
A Saudi Arabian man, who was beaten by assailants in Pattaya claiming to be police, has now fled the hospital where he was being treated for his injuries. A Pattaya police spokesman has denied that any officers were involved in the brawl and says police are seeking the man, thought to be in hiding in Pattaya. The Saudi man was…
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Man arrested with 44 kilograms of marijuana in Phuket
A 60 year old man is in custody after he was found collecting 44 kilograms of dried marijuana, valued at about 400,000 baht, from a parcel delivery company in Phuket. Police told a press conference yesterday that officers got a tip that a large shipment of marijuana would arrive in Phuket via a parcel company on February 29. On the…
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Buri Ram MotoGP “postponed indefinitely” over virus fears
In a shocking reversal, the Thai MotoGP 2020, scheduled for March 20-22 in Buri Ram province, has been “postponed indefinitely” due to the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul made the announcement yesterday. Despite earlier reassurances the race would go on, Anutin said the decision to suspend the event was made at…
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Nong Nong forced to lift weights and perform for tourists at a Phuket zoo – VIDEO
A monkey has been filmed lifting weights and doing other ‘tricks’ for tourists at an unnamed zoo in Phuket. Footage was shot by people recording the video for PETA, the global animal rights group, of the monkey being forced to lift weights and do press-ups as entertainment for the island’s tourists. The monkey is an indigenous Macaque species and named ‘Ning…
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Gunman in Manila mall standoff surrenders, releases hostages
Further to a story earlier reported by The Thaiger, a former security guard has released some 30 people and walked out of a Manila shopping mall after hours of gruelling negotiations, ending a day-long hostage crisis in an upscale commercial district. The gunman, identified by police as Archie Paray, a former guard at the complex, left the V-Mall in suburban…
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Samui’s Banyan Tree Hotel acts to protect sea turtle nest
Khun Veeraphat, a waiter at Sands beachfront restaurant on Koh Samui, made a startling discovery on February 13 when he spotted what appeared to be tracks coming from the sea. CCTV footage at Banyan Tree Samui clearly showed a giant sea turtle laying eggs on the beach the night before, then returning to the water. The luxury hotel, located on the…
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Thai Moto GP in Buriram postponed over outbreak fears
Another casualty of the current coronavirus precautions, one of the biggest sporting events in Thailand – the MotoGP 2020 in Buriram. The event was scheduled for March 20-22 in Buri Ram province, north east Thailand, where it has started to gather a huge local and international following. The Deputy PM and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul made the announcement this morning.…
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Pattaya ladyboy attacks American tourist with sodium hydroxide
Pattaya police announced the arrest of a transgender suspect who allegedly attacked an American tourist with sodium hydroxide over the weekend. Sodium hydroxide, also called lye or caustic soda, is a highly corrosive chemical that decomposes proteins at ordinary ambient temperatures and can cause cause severe chemical burns. It’s used in making wood pulp for paper and is a primary…
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Temperatures to rise in the North, storms predicted
Temperatures in the upper parts of Thailand are predicted to creep upward, due to a high pressure cell covering the North. Southerly and southeasterly winds are expected to bring humidity from the South China Sea to the East and Central regions, including Bangkok and environs, while weak easterly winds prevail across the Gulf. Thailand’s Meteorological Department predicts isolated thundershowers for…
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Chiang Mai to see passenger numbers fall by 40% in wake of virus fears
The numbers at Chiang Mai’s international airport will fall 40% to 3.5 million in the first six months of this year if the outbreak of Covid-19 coronavirus drags on until the middle of the year. Chiang Mai airport deputy director Thananrat Prasertsri said late last week that flights to the airport during the period January 1 to February 25 dropped…
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Chiang Mai has the world’s worst air quality for second straight day
Virus or no, you may want to wear a mask if you’re in Chiang Mai today; as of 1:36pm, Airvisual.com has rated air quality there the worst in the world for a second day. Yangon, Kathmandu and Mumbai were close behind. The website showed Chiang Mai’s average pollution at 181, (down from 193 yesterday) meaning particulate matter less than 2.5…
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Man arrested for gunshots at Nontha Buri mall “to intimidate his wife”
In a further development to a story the Thaiger reported earlier, a Thai man has been arrested for firing a gun on Friday at the Central Plaza shopping mall in Nontha Buri, just outside of Bangkok. Police responded swiftly to the shooting and no casualties were reported. “The suspect is 41 years old and he reportedly fired six shots while…
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Students say they’ll increase protests until PM stands down
About 700 students joined a rally last night in front of the auditorium at Bangkok’s Kasetsart University, vowing to escalate their protests until the government of Prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha steps down. University and secondary students have been rallying on or near their campuses since Monday to demand a rewrite of Thailand’s 2017 Constitution and transparent elections. Pro-democracy activist Parit…
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Students warned of limits on free speech, told not to threaten monarchy
Deputy national police spokesman Krisana Pattanacharoen yesterday issued an ominous warning to students participating in the wave of rallies and demonstrations sweeping school campuses across the Kingdom. He says they are free to exercise their right to assembly but cautions them against “touching the institution,” an apparent reference to the monarchy. “The young demonstrators have to decide for themselves whether…
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Four Chinese men arrested for murder of compatriot in Kamphaeng Phet
Four Chinese nationals are in custody today for allegedly killing a Chinese businessman, stuffing his body in a suitcase and dumping it in a river in Thailand’s northern Kamphaeng Phet province, where it was found Tuesday. Krisana Pattanacharoen, deputy spokesman of the Royal Thai Police, made the announcement this afternoon: “The body of Wang Jun, aged 30, was found doubled…
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Justice Ministry to go after drug gangs’ assets
Justice Minister Somsak Thepsuthin says drug syndicate networks along Thai borders, especially in the North, produce drugs worth about 1.9 billion baht annually. Now his ministry has set up a centre to seize their assets as part of an effort to stamp them out. Somsak says the amount of assets and money seized annually is too low: only about 400-500…
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Lao woman kept as a slave for 9 years
The anti-human trafficking division of the Royal Thai Police yesterday arrested a Thai couple in the province of of Samut Sakhon, southwest of Bangkok, for the enslavement of a Lao woman. The couple kept the woman in a storage room and treated her as a slave for nine years. The suspects were identified as 60 year old Suchin Vipusitthikul and…
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World’s largest travel fair, ITB, cancelled in Berlin
Organisers of the world’s biggest travel expo, the ITB travel trade fair in Berlin, have cancelled the event over coronavirus fears. 160,000 visitors were expected to attend this year’s event. “We take our responsibility for the security and the health of our guests, exhibitors and employees very seriously. It is with a heavy heart that we have to look at the…
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A breathtaking travel experience in Thailand is only available for few more days
Thailand, the land of smiles, is well known for its travel destinations and experiences, from unique cuisine to white sand beaches, from elephant camps to breathtaking views. But ironically, one of the best lookout spots in Thailand is also one of the most exclusive. An incredible hike lets tourists enjoy some of the best views in all of Thailand, but…
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PM, cabinet members win confidence vote in Parliament
After four days of debate, and vicious attacks from the opposition, Thailand’s PM Prayut Chan-o-cha and five of his Cabinet easily won a vote of confidence from the House of Representatives this morning. MPs of the Pheu Thai Party, the largest opposition party, who walked out of the chamber near the end of the debate last night after it failing…
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Legend Siam, major Pattaya tourist attraction, closes its doors
The Legend Siam, a major cultural amusement park in Pattaya with shows and cultural attractions about Thailand, has closed and laid off all workers. A statement yesterday said the move was due to the current economic situation in Thailand caused by the coronavirus outbreak. The announcement, in English, read: “Due to the economy in Thailand last year and the COVID…
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‘Watching the Thais’ – understanding Thai culture
Why does a Thai smile at you after crashing into the back of your car? Why do Thais deplore walking? The heat, the heat. What about the weather? Why is everything done as a pack? What is all this ‘face’ stuff about? Lies? Confrontation? Sleeping and shopping? Just what is it with the Thais? What’s it all about? Author and…
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No monkeying around: coronavirus fears mean monkeys in the South are going hungry
It’s not only humans being affected by the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak; monkeys in the southern province of Songkhla, usually dependent on food from tourists, are facing a shortage. Tourists from Singapore and Malaysia, normally abundant in Songkhla, are cancelling tours amid worries over the outbreak, resulting in far less daily food for the monkeys there. Local fruit vendors, taking pity…
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Computer techie arrested for putting spy cams in ladies’ public toilets
A computer technician has been arrested in Pathum Thani, just north of Bangkok, for allegedly setting up spy cams in women’s public toilets. The suspect, 23 year old Nitiwat Muikaeo is said to have sold the videos on social media. The arrest comes after parents lodged complaints with the Technology Crime Suppression Division about videos of their daughters online. Police…
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Smoke from plantation fires continues to choke central and northern Thailand
Smoke from fires, mostly deliberately lit, continue to choke sections of central and northern Thailand today. Light winds are not blowing away the smog and haze produced by the smoke, particularly in the north where Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai have readings today from ‘unhealthy’ too ‘very unhealthy’ – in a range from 170 up to 240 (particles of PM2.5…
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