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Thailand hot news, breaking stories, crime, politics, tourism, and business—stay updated with in-depth reports and exclusive interviews on the latest events across the country. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Thailand news source.

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    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...

  • Survey shows that Thais feel “less safe” | Thaiger

    Survey shows that Thais feel “less safe”

    A recent survey by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, the Suan Dusit Poll, shows that Thais are more concerned about their safety than ever before, citing the country’s economic woes as the reason. The poll was conducted from January 15-18 on 1,365 people throughout the Kingdom of varying education levels and occupations. The survey followed a spate of serious crimes in…

  • Two Israeli tourists pickpocketed by Pattaya ladyboys | Thaiger

    Two Israeli tourists pickpocketed by Pattaya ladyboys

    Two Israeli men told Pattaya police that they were robbed by a pair of ladyboys, relieving them of around 2500 baht each. The incident was reported to police on Monday morning. At around 2am the tourists, both 21 year old Israelis, identified as Ahmad Mohammad and 33 year old Mojahad Samir called police to report a pickpocketing theft on Soi 2…

  • Thai PM mulls private car ban in pollution-stricken areas | Thaiger

    Thai PM mulls private car ban in pollution-stricken areas

    “Bangkok’s governor has also signed an order yesterday to close 437 schools in in the city today due to a forecast of higher pollution levels.” The government is considering a ban on private car use in areas affected by hazardous levels of air pollution. The harsh proposal was unveiled Tuesday by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha after a cabinet meeting in Narathiwat. The…

  • Celebrities take to social media and point out Government incompetence over air pollution problem | Thaiger

    Celebrities take to social media and point out Government incompetence over air pollution problem

    “Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha said it’s hard to enforce laws to reduce PM2.5 pollution and blamed the public for the poor air quality.” Thai celebrities have taken to social media in a campaign to show the incompetence of public authorities and the Thai government in handling Bangkok’s pollution problem, indeed the entire central and northern Thailand which is currently suffering air…

  • Opposition will ask NACC to probe Thai PM on three counts | Thaiger

    Opposition will ask NACC to probe Thai PM on three counts

    Seven of Thailand’s opposition parties are demanding that the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) investigate Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha for allegedly breaching the law on three issues. They claim… • The Prime Minister failed to state the sources of the Government’s revenue in its policy statement presented to parliament last year. • The process of selection of senators was illegal due…

  • Thailand’s Future Forward party cleared in surprise Court verdict | Thaiger

    Thailand’s Future Forward party cleared in surprise Court verdict

    The Constitutional Court have beaten their own schedule for a verdict by announcing late this morning a decision that cleared the Future Forward Party of charges that it was attempting to undermine “the democratic system under the monarchy”. The ruling is one of the few that have come out on the side of Government opposition parties in Thailand, and is considered…

  • Future Forward members gather to hear Constitutional Court’s verdict at 2pm | Thaiger

    Future Forward members gather to hear Constitutional Court’s verdict at 2pm

    Members and supporters of Thailand’s Future Forward Party are massing at the party’s headquarters in the on New Phetchaburi Road in Bangkok awaiting the Constitutional Court’s ruling on charges that it has engaged “in activities detrimental to the democratic system”. The case stems from a complain six months ago that Future Forward was involved in the imaginary “Illuminati” group, thought…

  • Citizens help arrest Burmese man breaking into Bangkok ATM | Thaiger

    Citizens help arrest Burmese man breaking into Bangkok ATM

    Breaking into an ATM in broad daylight might not be the best idea, as a Burmese man learned yesterday after his arrest Monday in Bangkok. Officers from the Klong Tan Police Station were called and went to the location to discover the man wearing a black tank top and jeans holding a crowbar, which he was using to tear apart…

  • Coronavirus spreads north and south in China – 139 new cases reported | Thaiger

    Coronavirus spreads north and south in China – 139 new cases reported

    Another 139 new cases of a flu-like disease caused by a new strain of coronavirus in China has shocked health officials. There’s also been a third confirmed death reported today. Worse, the outbreak has now spread beyond Wuhan in central China where the virus was first identified. There have been cases reported in Beijing, a province next door to Shanghai and…

  • Bangkok IT mall fire sparks evacuation | Thaiger

    Bangkok IT mall fire sparks evacuation

    A fire broke out at a Bangkok mall on Sunday, leading to the evacuation of the Fortune Town IT Mall building on Ratchadaphisek Road. No deaths or injuries were reported. Fortune Town is a popular shopping destination for IT and electronics enthusiasts, opposite Central World Plaza and located directly above the Rama 9 MRT station. Traffic Radio reported the fire at…

  • Police question suspect in Lop Buri gold shop shootings | Thaiger

    Police question suspect in Lop Buri gold shop shootings

    Police in the northeastern province of Nong Khai are confident they’ve identified a suspect in the January 9 gold shop robbery and shooting in the central Lop Buri province that killed three people, including a two-year boy, and injured four others. The man was summoned for questioning. National police chief Chakthip Chaijinda says that the man, whose identity is currently…

  • North eastern villagers protest fishy smells from seafood factory wastewater | Thaiger

    North eastern villagers protest fishy smells from seafood factory wastewater

    Villagers in the northern Khon Kaen province are complaining of a seafood “factory” that has been dumping foul smelling wastewater into public drains. Hundreds gathered in the Mueang Kao subdistrict’s Sirirat Village to plea for help from local agencies. The smelly black water spills out from the drains, stinking up homes, and has even travelled into locals fields. Thousands of villagers…

  • Poor air quality dogs the capital, even before the morning’s traffic starts | Thaiger

    Poor air quality dogs the capital, even before the morning’s traffic starts

    Bangkok awakes on Monday, even before the traffic starts choking up the city air and the factories puff their pollution into the Bangkok skies, with appalling air quality. With light winds and hot temperatures, the city is in for another bad day of air quality. Even at 6am this morning Bangkok ranked number 13 in the worst air pollution of…

  • Suspect questioned over the fatal gold heist at Aurora Gold Shop in Lop Buri | Thaiger

    Suspect questioned over the fatal gold heist at Aurora Gold Shop in Lop Buri

    A suspect has been summoned for questioning in Thailand’s north-eastern province of Nong Khai, just south of the Laos border. It’s believed he may be the man who shot and killed three people, and injured four others during a gold shop heist on January 9 in Lop Buri province. The man, whose identity has not been disclosed, matches the suspect’s…

  • More coronavirus cases detected in China, global alert for Chinese New Year | Thaiger

    More coronavirus cases detected in China, global alert for Chinese New Year

    Chinese medical officials have now reported four more cases of the viral pneumonia strain caused by a new coronavirus. The discoveries are causing rising concern that the disease is not fully understand and could spread during the upcoming Chinese New Year holidays. The new virus, originating in the Chinese city of Wuhan – the apparent epicentre of the outbreak –…

  • 82 year old Frenchman killed in motorbike crash with ATV in Phuket | Thaiger

    82 year old Frenchman killed in motorbike crash with ATV in Phuket

    An elderly French man has died after an American woman lost control of her all-terrain vehicle (ATV) and crashed into his motorcycle in Chalong, southern Phuket. The woman was seriously injured. Police say the incident occurred on Soi Klum Yang in Chalong around 4pm on Thursday. The crash involved a red ATV, and a black motorcycle ridden by the 82 year…

  • Tour bus crash in northern Thailand injures 8 | Thaiger

    Tour bus crash in northern Thailand injures 8

    Eight people are injured, one seriously, after a tour bus crashed in northern Thailand’s northern Nan Province yesterday morning. The bus skidded into a mountain slope at a curve in the main city district. Thai media report that the bus was found lying on its side when police and rescue workers arrived at the scene. The 32 year old driver, Yutthapong…

  • Piyabutr acknowledges that Future Forward will probably be disbanded | Thaiger

    Piyabutr acknowledges that Future Forward will probably be disbanded

    Future Forward Party’s secretary-general Piyabutr Saengkanokkul is urging the party’s 60,000 members and other supporters to switch their allegiances to a new party that would be formed if Future Forward ends up being dissolved by the Constitutional Court this week. The hearing by the Constitutional Court is set for Tuesday. Piyabutr acknowledges that the party will likely be disbanded. Thailand’s Constitutional Court has…

  • Nine garbage trucks caught illegally using Bangkok’s public incinerator | Thaiger

    Nine garbage trucks caught illegally using Bangkok’s public incinerator

    Go find your own garbage incinerator! Bangkok governor Aswin Kwanmuang is leading the charge to stop garbage trucks from outside the city using the municipal incinerator, joining city officials in seizing nine garbage trucks from the central province of Samut Sakhon province found illegally dumping trash. “Today we seized nine trucks that carried garbage from Suan Luang and Thamai subdistricts…

  • Second death in China from virus concerns officials with the CNY holidays looming | Thaiger

    Second death in China from virus concerns officials with the CNY holidays looming

    “At least 41 people have now been diagnosed as being infected this latest flu-like strain.” Medical officials in China’s Wuhan city have announced that another man had died after being infected by the new coronavirus strain. Thailand and Japan have now reported new cases of a the Chinese Coronavirus that has already killed two and infected at least 40 in…

  • Nearly 300 bone fragments found in Bangkok pond, police searching for more bodies | Thaiger

    Nearly 300 bone fragments found in Bangkok pond, police searching for more bodies

    288 bone fragments have been retrieved from a pond near the home of a man who was charged last week with murdering his girlfriend and concealing the corpse. Forensic police have now identified most of the bones as ‘human’. The bones are currently being examined at Siriroj Hospital. Up to 20 divers were involved in yesterday’s grisly search. Divers found…

  • Motorcycle ‘win’ drivers charge 380 baht for 4.7 kilometre trip through Bangkok | Thaiger

    Motorcycle ‘win’ drivers charge 380 baht for 4.7 kilometre trip through Bangkok

    It’s not just tourists that get ripped off by the notorious Win drivers in Bangkok (The Thaiger is a regular Grab Bike user but has never had any specific problems with Win drivers). A win-motorcycle user (motorcycle taxi) has related a recent rip off on Thailand’s most popular website, Pantip. The user said they were traveling with another friend from Victory…

  • 50% of Thai trucks checked in Don Mueang belching black smoke | Thaiger

    50% of Thai trucks checked in Don Mueang belching black smoke

    Last April Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha announced that those driving polluting vehicles would face arrest and fines, warning owners of transport businesses they’ll be held responsible for toxic emissions. Now the Department of Land Transport announced it was stepping up measures to bring emission levels from trucks and public transport vehicles within safe limits. The measures are designed to alleviate pollution…

  • “Don’t be f**king nosey.” Government committee meeting turns sour. | Thaiger

    “Don’t be f**king nosey.” Government committee meeting turns sour.

    Strong language ahead… Claws were out at a committee meeting of the House Anti-Corruption and Misconduct Committee. A heated argument started between the committee chairman, Pol Gen Seripisut Temiyavet and two of the committee members, Pareena Kraikupt and Sira Jenjakha. The nasty and noisy spat erupted when Ms. Pareena, a Palang Pracharat MP, asked Seripisut why her petition, demanding an investigation…

  • 2 more alleged call centre scam suspects arrested in Japan | Thaiger

    2 more alleged call centre scam suspects arrested in Japan

    Two men arrested in Japan yesterday stand accused of operating a large-scale call centre scam based in Thailand, bringing the total number of arrests in the case to 28. Japanese police believe 36 year old Kengo Yasutake and 34 year old Shimpei Hirata operated a luxury home in Pattaya, where a team of Japanese men would call people across Japan…

  • Thai political leader proposes legal brothels and sex shops | Thaiger

    Thai political leader proposes legal brothels and sex shops

    A controversial Thai MP is proposing licenced brothels and sex shops as a way of addressing the problem of sexual abuse in Thailand. Mongkolkit Suksintharanont, leader of the Thai Civilised Party and a member of the House committee studying ways to reduce rape and other sexual violations, commented in a Facebook post that he would raise the proposal with committee…

  • Thai Airways’ pilot under investigation for botched landing at Frankfurt | Thaiger

    Thai Airways’ pilot under investigation for botched landing at Frankfurt

    A Thai Airways International pilot, flying for Thailand’s national flag carrier, is currently being investigated by Germany’s BFU (Bundesstelle für Flugunfalluntersuchung), the country’s civil aviation investigators, for flying a Thai Airways plane below the standard altitude as the flight he was piloting, was approaching Frankfurt International Airport. The flight had originated in Phuket. The incident has been related through the…

  • Former head of the National Office of Buddhism has assets valued at nearly 600 million baht | Thaiger

    Former head of the National Office of Buddhism has assets valued at nearly 600 million baht

    Nice work if you can get it. Except you’re working for the National Office of Buddhism. Now the former director of the National Office of Buddhism, Nopparat Benjawattananant, has been pointed out by the National Anti-Corruption Commission for being “unusually wealthy”, having “suspiciously” amassed assets worth about 575 million baht during his four year tenure. NACC secretary-general Worawit Sukboon says that…

  • Police track down “the great Bangkok pantie snatcher” | Thaiger

    Police track down “the great Bangkok pantie snatcher”

    One man’s been busy moving around Bangkok condos and apartments in the northern suburbs and ‘sampling’ a range of women’s underwear and lingerie. But police have curtailed his part-time activities and arrested a 55 year old and charged him with stealing more than 1400 pieces of women’s underwear. He was arrested at a condominium in Bangkok’s Don Muang District, according…

  • 10 ways Thailand is moving to a greener future | Thaiger

    10 ways Thailand is moving to a greener future

    “Green” is not usually the word that comes to mind when speaking of Thailand, especially when you are speaking through a PM2.5 face mask. But with recent attempts to improve the environment and tackle waste, here are some positive changes to shift your attention from air pollution and help you feel good about the decision to live, invest, or retire…