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.
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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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Thailand passes new laws to reduce begging
Thailand is aiming to purge itself of beggars in the latest laws to outlaw the practice. General Anantaporn Kanjanarat, head of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (MSDHS), says his agency would co-ordinate with the National Office of Buddhism to ask for co-operation from temples to educate the public about appropriate merit-making and to stop them from giving…
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Facebook bans political fanatics and conspiracy theorists
Facebook is banning prominent US conspiracy theorists like the Infowars founder Alex Jones and the outspoken activist Louis Farrakhan in its crackdown on hate speech and fake content. Others blocked from Facebook and Instagram (owned by Facebook) were Milo Yiannopoulos, a high-profile right-wing provocateur; Paul Nehlen, a political candidate espousing white supremacist views; and conspiracy theorists Paul Joseph Watson and…
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Thailand event round up – May
with The Sponsorship Experts Those with a love for shopping should head to Pattaya for the Thailand One Stop Shopping Expo Pattaya, on until May 5. With more than 47,000 square metres of floor space, TOSSE Pattaya is Thailand’s largest shopping expo with departments showcasing everything from Wedding, Electronics, Garden & Pet Baby & Family and Fashion. The Samui Regatta…
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Fire destroys apartment in Rassada
Fire has gutted an apartment in Rassada this morning. Staff at the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation heard about the fire at the apartment in Soi Sakornket in Rassada at 7.45 this morning. Three fire engines arrived at the apartment on the ground floor of the building. Fire and smoke had totally engulfed the room. It took firefighters about…
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Huawei grows 41%, Apple tanks in China
PHOTO: Huawei remains a popular brand in Thailand with models at both ends of the price spectrum Huawei has dominated the Chinese smartphone market in Q1 2019, taking a record 34% share as rivals Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi and Apple all struggled. Huawei may feeling the heat from a US-led campaign against the Chinese tech company, but in China its smartphones are outselling…
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British man injured after stabbing in Wichit, Phuket
Police are investigating after a British man was stabbed by a teenage suspect in front of a restaurant in Wichit last night. Wichit Police were notified of the incident in the parking area of a restaurant on Chao Fah West Road at 7pm last night. Police report that they arrived and staff told them that the injured man had already been…
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Python swallows a goat in Satun – VIDEO
PHOTOS: Sathaphon Samadee / Song Tai Satun Newspaper A python has swallowed a baby goat in Satun in southern Thailand. Song Tai Satun Newspapers reports that a staff member at the Tanyongpoe Tambol Administrative Organisation in Satun was notified of the incident yesterday. Rescue workers arrived at a rubber plantation to find the three metre python, with a noticeable bulge…
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Leaning Tower of Sathorn: not cracked or leaning says Sathorn district chief
PHOTO: Daily News The district chief in Bangkok’s swish Sathorn district has been forced to come out publicly declaring a luxury 72 story condominium development under construction in her area was neither cracked nor leaning. The false claims were made in social media after a minor fire in the building’s basement. Daily News reports that Chuleeporn Wongphiphat responded to online…
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Songkhla man accused of human trafficking of Burmese
FILE PHOTO A Songkhla man has been arrested for allegedly being a member of a human trafficking ring that has been smuggling Burmese migrants into Malaysia across the southern border. 60 year old Thammasak Boonyarit was arrested at a house in Songkhla’s Hat Yai district under an arrest warrant issued by the Chumphon Court. The arrest was made a day…
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Thai property startup FazWaz heads overseas
FazWaz, the Phuket startup that has built a tech-first platform to take on Thailand’s real estate giants, is announcing its overseas expansion today. The move underscores just how far and fast the company has moved since being founded in 2015 in the small beach town of Kamala in Phuket. While real estate markets go up and down, FazWaz has definitely…
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76 year old Swiss man found dead in his Khon Kaen home
PHOTO: Srinakharin Khon Kaen Hospital where the man’s body has been taken for autopsy A 76 year old Swiss man has been found dead in his home in Khon Kaen’s city district. Police and a doctor from Srinakharin Khon Kaen Hospital headed to the house in Tambon Muang Kao after neighbours noticed a strong smell coming from the house. The…
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German man found dead at house in Rawai
A 73 year old German man has been found dead inside a house in Rawai. The Chalong Police were notified of the situation at a house in Rawai at 1pm yesterday. Police and rescue workers arrived at the house to find the body of a foreign man who was later identified as a 73 year old German man (The Thaiger…
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Three metre king cobra caught in Trang – VIDEO
PHOTOS/VIDEO: Thai South News A three and a half metre king cobra has been caught in Trang, in southern Thailand. Thai South News reports that yesterday at 5pm rescue workers were notified that the king cobra had been found inside a toilet of a mosque in Palean, Trang. Rescue workers arrived at the scene to find the cobra hiding behind…
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Cabinet announces 13.2 billion baht handouts, also property and tourism stimulus
The Thai Cabinet has given the go ahead to 13.2 billion baht in social welfare spending to low income-earners. The payments would go to parents with children still in school, disabled people and farmers. The same meeting also announced tax packages to boost the real estate and tourism sectors. A spokesperson for the PM’s Office says that under the welfare card…
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Fishing crew release Manta rays after getting snared in their nets
A fishing boat has released two giant Manta rays, tangled in its nets, back to the Andaman Sea off Phang Nga’s Kura Buri. The crew have won wide praise for releasing the snared rays. Thana Ketsa-ard, owner of the Thanakorn 99 fishing boat, posted a video on Facebook at 12.30am on Tuesday night showing his workers rescuing the two Manta…
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Seven tonnes of durian handed out for Labour Day in Samut Sakhon
by Natthanan Sirisantiworakul Thousands attended Wat Thamai in Samut Sakhon, west of Bangkok, to eat seven tonnes of free durian that the temple had prepared as treats for workers on Labour Day. A 3km traffic jam formed outside the temple, while a ceremony was organised at 9am to make merit for His Majesty the late King Rama IX and for…
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Thailand’s first Rabies death for the year
PHOTOS: PR Office The first death from rabies this year was in Surin, north of Thailand. The Public Relation Department today reported that Dr. Suwannachai Wattanaying- Charoenchai, Director-General of the Department of Disease Control says, “We were notified that a 32 year old man in Surin has died from rabies.” “Before he died he was being treated for fever and was…
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Phuket’s recent rains allow PWA to restore mains pressure around the island
The Chief of Phuket’s Provincial Waterworks Authority says that water pressure to most areas across the island has been restored (but The Thaiger is still getting reports from residents in Kamala and parts of Kathu about low flow or still no water mains pressure). Phuket Town recorded nearly 80mm of rainfall on Saturday night when heavy rains, the first for…
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Aussie lifeguards and Navy conduct local lifesaver program
PHOTO: The HMAS Canberra and HMAS Newcastle sit off Patong Bay as Navy officers conduct the beach activities yesterday. Surf Life Saving Australia and the Australian Navy have joined with Phuket’s lifeguards for some marine safety training at Patong Beach. About 100 young people and teenagers from around the island joined in the training as part of the project ‘Australia…
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Future Forward’s Thanathorn says he’s confident he will be endorsed as an MP
Thanathorn had prepared some 27 items of evidence to prove to the poll authority that he had divested his media shares on January 8, well before he registered to run in the election that took place a month later. A defiant Future Forward leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit emerged from yesterday’s marathon ‘chat’ with the Election Commission over charges he still owned…
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Thai business sector drops 2019 export projections by 1%
The Thai Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade are revising down Thailand’s 2019 export growth projections from 3.1% to 2.1%. They say several unfavorable external factors are contributing to the revised outlook. Thai PBS reports that Mr. Sanan Aung-ubonkul, vice president of TCC and BoT, says that, in order to maintain the 3.1% growth projection, the value of monthly…
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Thanathorn says other MPs now in the firing line, including from Phalang Pracharat
PHOTO: Future Forward’s Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit emerges defiant after spending six hours with the EC yesterday – The Nation by Kas Chanwanpen The political tactics of going after Future Forward leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit and other party members for alleged shareholdings in media companies, could come back to haunt the pro-junta camp after a similar allegation was made against one of its…
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Netflix and ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ production team announce cave rescue project
PHOTO: Yahoo.com Netflix, the most popular TV streaming service in Thailand, are teaming up with the producers of the hit film “Crazy Rich Asians” for a production about the rescue of the MuPa (Wild Boar) football team from Chiang Rai’s Tham Luang caves last July. The 12 young men and their coach were trapped in a flooded cave after going…
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25 year old arrested over theft of gold jewellery valued over 2 million baht in Pattaya
PHOTOS: The Nation An employee of a hotel in Pattaya has been arrested over the alleged robbery of a gold shop in Pattaya. He netted 1.65 kilograms of gold jewellery with a value of 2.18 million baht at the weekend. 35 year old Sornchai Nilsonthi is accused of robbing the Suppatra Yaowaraj gold shop at the Big C shopping mall…
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Woman dies, girl injured in Krabi collision – VIDEO
VIDEO: Tankhao Krabi A female motorbike driver has died while the young girl passenger sustained serious injury after the motorbike tried a risky crossing on the road when it collided with a pickup in Krabi. Krabi City Police and Krabi Pitak rescue workers arrived to find the body of a woman who was later identified as 23 year old Wilaiwan…
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Fake drugs, Bangkok raid
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning people about the use of unlicensed or fake treatments that could lead to serious or even fatal side effects. This follows the seizure of 2 million unlicensed pills worth 5 million baht from a Bangkok medication manufacturer. A police source says the confiscated medicines likely comprised corticosteroids, erectile dysfunction-treating medicine and sleeping…
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49 passengers on Bangkok-Phuket bus as it skids off road in Surat Thani
PHOTOS: Newshawk Phuket An express bus which was traveling from Bangkok to Phuket has skidded off the road in Surat Thani. 49 passengers escaped injury following the wayward bus careering off the main road into roadside gravel and bushes. Newshawk Phuket reports that, at 7.47am this morning, a bus travelling from Bangkok heading to Phuket skidded off the road in…
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12 women rescued from human trafficking ring at Malaysia border
Officials have raided a karaoke bar in Narathiwat’s Sungai Kolok district, on the Malaysian border, rescuing 12 Lao women from prostitution. The raid against the Relax Pub in the border town was carried out at 8.30pm last night by officials from the Provincial Administration Department and DSI (Department of Special Investigation), as well as staff of an international non-governmental organisation.…
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Police continue investigation into French diplomat’s plunge from BTS station
Police say the investigation into the death of a French diplomat, believed to have deliberately jumped off a BTS train platform at the Saphan Taksin station yesterday, will continue. 56 year old Arnaud Jean-Claude Dubus died from head injuries after plunging from a platform at the elevated BTS station in the Sathon district at about 4pm. He was the deputy information chief…
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Phuket Airport passenger arrivals dip
by Bill Barnett, c9Hotelworks.com To date, 2019 is shaping up to be a slightly volatile year for tourism to the island. Passenger arrivals at Phuket International Airport rose 1% year-on-year in January, but took a step backwards in February with a substantial 6% decline. While we are still early in the year, overall visitor arrivals to Thailand on a country-wide…
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