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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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Fight leads to fatal shooting in Northeast Thailand
A fight at a liquor store in Northeast Thailand led to a fatal shooting this morning. Two gang members of an illegal money lending gang had gotten into a feud with some young locals in Nakhon Phanom province. The spat occurred in the That Phanom district town. The fight left gang member 33 year old Pittaya with head injuries, among…
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Thousands of Laotian travellers arrive after Thail pass scrapped
Now that Thailand Pass is ‘resting in peace,’ thousands of Laotian travellers are heading to the kingdom. On Friday, the day the Thailand Pass was scrapped, about 3,618 Laotians crossed the Thai-Lao friendship bridge into the northeast city of Nong Khai. About 710 cars with foreign licenses were counted driving into Thailand there. Last month, a government spokesperson said the…
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Goverment’s rough week: Minister with Covid-19, Parliament flood
This just wasn’t the Thai government’s weekend. Another minister tested positive for Covid-19, while the new Parliament complex has flooded. Again. Minister of Industry Suriya Juangroongruangkit announced today that he has tested positive for Covid-19, just days after Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul announced catching the virus. The Industry Minister is fully vaccinated with AstraZeneca and has received a…
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Bangkok is best city in Southeast Asia according to travel mag
Bangkok is at the top of a list of the 2022 10 best cities in Southeast Asia, ranked by travel magazine Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia. The list was published last week. The next 9 best cities in Southeast Asia, in order, are: Singapore, Danang, Kuala Lumpur, Hanoi, Chiang Mai, Hong Kong, Saigon, Phenom Phen, and Jakarta. So why is…
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Thailand Tourism to Boom, is it Asia’s Amsterdam? | Weekend Update
The Thaiger visited a bar in one of the entertainment districts in Bangkok to find a very open and friendly green environment. The PM is very happy with the projected tourist figures for 2022 and cleaning up the cables in Bangkok is a team effort. All this and more on todays Weekend Update.
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Warning to Thai travellers: Don’t take cannabis to other countries
With the decriminalisation of cannabis on June 9, many in Thailand have gone buckwild with the newfound freedom to grow, sell, and partake of the popular plant. The government is taking steps to rein in the free-for-all and bring some regulations and restrictions to its usage, and now they’re warning people to keep in mind that legalisation in Thailand does…
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Burmese military bombs Karen village, kills 2
Peace remains out of sight for minority groups living under the Burmese military. On Friday night, a Burmese fighter jet bombed a Karen village just a few hundred kilometres away from Myanmar’s border with Thailand. Two villagers were killed, 3 were wounded, and 92 were forced to flee to Thailand. Even though the Burmese military had reportedly meant to drop…
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Tropical storm capsizes ship, 27 missing near Hong Kong
Tropical storm Chaba raged through the waters off Hong Kong, capsizing an engineering vessel with a crew of 30 people, most of which are now missing at sea. The powerful storm cracked the ship in half yesterday as the vessel sailed about 160 nautical miles southwest of Hong Kong in the South China Sea. The Hong Kong Government Flying Service…
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Thai PM Prayut ‘positive’ about expected tourist influx
Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says he is confident about the country’s expected tourist influx this year, according to a government spokesperson. Thailand’s CCSA scrapped the Thailand Pass on Friday, July 1. Now, the Tourism and Sports Ministry expects a total of about 9.3 million foreign visitors to arrive in the ‘Land of Smiles’ this year. The compulsory US$10,000 insurance was…
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Proposal for telecom providers to help tidy up Bangkok cables
Bangkok officials proposed at a meeting yesterday that telecom service providers should do their part in tidying up overhead cables around the city. The proposal comes a week after a fatal fire was believed to have been caused by a transformer exploding at a 3 storey shophouse. The fire broke out in a historic market in Bangkok’s Chinatown, killing 2…
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Ups and downs: Man wins lottery then falls to his death down drain
We’ve all had days with ups and downs, but likely not so much as a Nonthaburi man who won the lottery and then encountered a fatal accident. The 56 year old man chose the number 417 and found himself holding a winning lottery ticket. He immediately went out to celebrate with drinks with his friends, but never made it home.…
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Thai and Cambodian officials meet with Burmese junta
Thai and Cambodian officials have been meeting with the Burmese junta in Myanmar’s capital of Naypyitaw this week. A delegation led by Lieutenant General Apichet Suesat of the Royal Thai Army met with Burmese junta leader Min Aung Hlaing. The 2 parties discussed how to help the Burmese military’s peace talks, and establish stability in Myanmar. The Thai delegation met…
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Pattaya Tourist Police find missing elderly American woman
Pattaya Tourist Police yesterday found an elderly American woman who went missing from her home in Bang Lamung district of Chon Buri province. The woman’s family had reported her missing the night before after she had gone on a walk. As the police were searching for the woman, Shirley, she came into the Bang Lamung police station to ask for…
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Travel to Surat Thani, it’s where the fun begins | Jay and Natty’s Adventures
The Thaiger‘s Natty and Jay recently went on a long weekend trip to Thailand’s southern province of Surat Thani, and they’re dying to show our viewers their adventures. People typically see Surat Thani as a passing point to somewhere exciting like Koh Samui, Koh Tao, and Koh Phangan. But The Thaiger’s top news presenters want people to know about Surat…
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Thai Public Health Minister Anutin recovers from Covid-19, to return to office
After testing positive for Covid-19 earlier this week, Thai Public Health Minister Anutin has recovered. The minister is now prepared to return to office on Monday, July 4. Anutin tested positive for the virus earlier this week, after he returned to Thailand from a UNAIDS meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. Anutin and other authorities had attended a general assembly in Paris…
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Appeals Court sentences former Deputy Minister Banyin to death
Following a twisted tale of alleged greed and corruption, former Deputy Minister of Commerce Banyin Tangpakorn has been sentenced to death by the Appeals Court. The ruling increased the earlier life imprisonment sentence for the murder of a judge’s brother in an apparent attempt to sway another court ruling in the deputy minister’s favour. The story sounds like it was…
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Thailand tourism looking up, predictions of 1.5 million per month
After years of devastation due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Thailand looks hopefully toward a resurgence of tourism with the further easing of restrictions starting yesterday. The required Thailand Pass for entry into the country is no longer needed as the restriction was lifted yesterday, with tourism authorities predicting an influx of travellers entering the country as a result. Tourism and Sports…
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Pattaya eyes tourism revival with nightlife until 2am again
Pattaya is expecting a tourism revival now that the government has lifted another Covid-19 restriction and nightlife is allowed to open until 2 am. Pattaya mayor Poramet Ngampichet praised the easement, predicting it will open the door to tourists from around the world including the Middle East and the UK, and about 3 to 4 million tourists from India, who…
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Chon Buri woman jumps from balcony, claims boyfriend held her against her will
A woman in Chon Buri jumped from her balcony last night to escape her boyfriend, who she claims held her against her will in an apartment for about a year. Rescue workers took the 28 year old woman to a local hospital for moderate injuries after she jumped from the third storey balcony. But Nong Prue police told The Pattaya News that…
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UPDATE: Resort in eastern Thailand denies media claims
UPDATE A resort in eastern Thailand has released a statement yesterday denying media claims that police accused its foreign directors of wrongdoing. The statement refuted other claims as well, and said police have not issued arrest warrants on any of the resort’s directors. The accusations are in light of a fire that gutted one of the resort’s villas in March.…
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North Korea says “unusual things” near border caused Covid-19 outbreak
North Korean state media says its Covid-19 outbreak was caused by 2 people touching so-called “unusual things” near the border with South Korea. The state-run agency KCNA did not, however, specify what theses “unusual things” were. KCNA said the 2 people who touched the things were an 18 year old soldier, and a 5 year old child. The two reportedly…
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China and Taiwan offer conflicting views over Hong Kong rule
China President Xi Jingping, and Taiwan Premier Su Tseng-chang offered conflicting views on Hong Kong rule as the mainland celebrated the 25th anniversary of its handover from the United Kingdom. The Taiwan chief claims freedom and democracy have disappeared in Hong Kong as he witnessed scenes of today’s celebration in the city’s business hub from Taipei today. “One only has…
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Songklha welcomes more Malaysian tourists after Thailand pass scrapped
Thailand’s southern province of Songklha has welcomed about 5,000 Malaysian tourists who drove across the border today. Before Thailand Pass was scrapped today, the number of people crossing Sadao checkpoint each day had been averaging 1,000-1,500. Now, the president of Hat Yai Songkhla Hotels Association says hoteliers expect to see 150,000 tourists from Malaysia in July. The president, Sitthiphong Sitthiphatprapha,…
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Police tracking down British nationals after March fire in eastern Thailand
After a fire gutted a resort villa in Thailand’s eastern province of Trat in March, 3 executives are being charged. The charges include causing a fire by negligence, causing damages to people’s property, endangering other persons, and allowing others to use the building for hotel business without obtaining a license from the local officials. The massive fire broke out at…
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Unlicensed pool villa in Pattaya raided by police
Residents living in View Point Village in Bang Lamueng district in Pattaya filed a complaint to the authorities after foreigners caused carnage at an unlicensed pool villa. The Assistant District Officer, Pornchai Sung-iad, investigated the View Point Village, where several houses operate as pool villas and found that a number of locals were concerned that more properties in the area…
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Pink and Yellow monorail lines will be in service in 2023
The lives of Bangkok commuters are about to become a lot easier after news broke yesterday that trial runs were being scheduled in October on the Pink and Yellow monorail lines. The 52.6 billion baht Pink Line is about 14% away from being finished while the 49 billion baht Yellow Line’s construction is 93% complete. Commuters will be able to…
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Storm ‘Chaba’ to impact Thailand, meteorologists say
Thailand’s monsoon season is still alive and kicking, with a new storm potentially on the way to bring more winds and gusty rain to parts of the country from today (Friday) until tomorrow (Saturday), particularly in the north-east areas of the country. The Thai Meteorological Department said a tropical storm ‘Chaba’ is currently moving through the upper South China Sea.…
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Thai healthcare staff demand reduction to 100 hour working week
Thailand’s overworked healthcare professionals have petitioned the leader of the opposition party to help them get better working conditions after it was revealed most of them work about 100 hours a week. The Thai Frontline Physician Confederation yesterday handed a letter to the leader of the Move Forward Party, Pita Limjaroenrat, outlining their demands. Chutinart Chinudomporn, a female Thai doctor…
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Thai bank apps crash on payday causes customer outrage
Siam Commercial Bank joined Bangkok Bank, and TMB Thanachart Bank in causing chaos throughout Thailand this morning when their banking apps crashed. They not only wreaked turmoil throughout the land but they also managed to unite all of its customers – in anger, after their mobile banking systems crashed on the day their salaries were supposed to be transferred into…
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Goodbye, adios, good riddance Thailand Pass – OPINION
From today, July 1, there is no more Thailand Pass. The digital online pre-travel registration for people coming into Thailand has had a checkered history and left a bad taste in the north of many foreigners, and Thais, who have had a poor experience with the digital gateway. After the launch of the Phuket Sandbox on July 1, 2021 –…
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