Hot News
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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Sponsored How one hospital visit in Thailand could cost more than your whole trip
Thailand is a favourite spot for travellers who want to enjoy more while spending less. From cheap street food to low-cost hotels and fun attractions, it’s easy to stretch your budget here. But there’s one thing many people don’t think...
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Transgender queen crowned in Pattaya
“This is for you, I made this for you.” The crowd was smaller and there were temperature checks for attendees, but the show went on: Mexico’s Valentina Fluchaire was crowned as the winner of what is billed as the world’s biggest transgender pageant yesterday in Pattaya. To allay fears over the Covid-19 coronavirus, the entire venue in the seaside resort…
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Ayutthaya mother and son drug gang, police seize 5 million meth pills
A mother and son, suspected to be part of a larger central Thailand drug gang, have been arrested after 5 million methamphetamine pills were discovered inside a rented rooms in Prainracha, Ayutthaya, north of Bangkok. Officials searched the property on March 6, noting that there were two bedrooms in bad repair with sacks of pills strewn around the rooms. Sacks…
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100 kilograms of crystal meth wash ashore in Thailand’s southeast
It’s been a busy week for the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), as police in Trat province seized 100 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, or “ice,” found washed ashore on two beaches. Nineteen packets of the drug were found on Koh Mak beach, and another 81 packs on Koh Kut beach. Trat is the easternmost province along the Thai…
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Help is on the way: 100 billion baht stimulus package passed
Eyeing the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on the nation’s already battered economy, the government yesterday approved a stimulus package, anticipated to cost more than 100 billion baht. The package was approved in a meeting of the Council of Economic Ministers, led by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, and will be forwarded to the cabinet for approval on Tuesday. After the…
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Top of the Gulf Regatta cancelled over virus fears
Adding to a rapidly growing list, including Songkran celebrations around the nation, and dealing yet another blow to Thailand’s reeling tourism sector, the Top of the Gulf Regatta has become the latest event to fall victim to the coronavirus threat. Organisers Ocean Marina announced yesterday that this year’s race is cancelled. The Regatta was scheduled to run from May 1-5.…
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No Songkran for Pattaya this year
Pattaya’s mayor today confirmed that Pattaya is cancelling virtually all official Songkran activities for this year due to concerns over the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak. This includes the Wan Lai Festival scheduled for April 19, the single biggest event on the city’s calendar, which attracts up to a half million tourists, both Thai and foreign, in what many consider Thailand’s wildest…
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2000 baht handouts for low-income Thais
Thailand’s Council of Economic Ministers today endorsed a Finance Ministry proposal to provide low-income Thais 2000 baht each via an e-payment channel. Finance Minister Uttama Savanayana said after a meeting this afternoon that there will be a 1000 payment for two consecutive months for low-income earners, farmers and freelancers. The number of people eligible has yet to be calculated. The…
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Government launches “Have problems, consult the PM” charm offensive
Thailand’s government yesterday launched a new program, dubbed “Have Problems, Consult the PM,” to allow the public to voice grievances and problems directly to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. Prayut welcomed groups representing farmers, civil society and independent entrepreneurs at Government House. The PM told them that the program is his own initiative at a time of challenges, including Thailand’s economic…
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North to see thunderstorms, rains predicted for Bangkok
Thailand’s Meteorological Department today says there is a possibility of thunderstorms, gusty winds and even hail in the North, the Northeast, the Central and East regions, due to a low pressure area covering the lower North and Central regions and a high pressure system from China in the Northeast. In the South, less rain is predicted. The department advises people…
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Health minister won’t say why quarantine order deleted, Facebook account inactive
Health minister Anutin Charnvirakul yesterday declined to explain why he removed an order requiring people arriving from 9 countries and 2 Chinese territories designated as high risk areas for the Covid-19 virus to be placed in self-quarantine. According to the quickly deleted document posted on his official Facebook page (now inactive), the nine destinations are “disease areas” and people arriving…
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Students say they were bilked as long distance “technical school” closes
Students of a Thai technical school are crying foul after the “college” shut down without bestowing them with their diplomas. They allege the college charged expensive tuition fees then shut down. One student, 27 year old Suchada Krahothong, said she paid 50,000 baht for a one year course at the college, advertised as a “special program.” But despite regularly attending…
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March 2020, the Thai month of cancellations
March will end up as the long month of cancellations. With Songkran looming, one of the busiest times for travel in Thailand, and increasingly one of the biggest annual tourist magnets to the Kingdom, cancelling Songkran would take Thailand into unchartered tourism and economic territory. Fears, real or imagined, are forcing companies and governments to assess their risks associated with…
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Chon Buri’s Bangsaen district cancels all official Songkran activities
Saen Suk Municipality in Chon Buri province, near Pattaya, has cancelled the Wan Lai (Songkran) Festival activities scheduled for April 16-17. Narongchai Khunpluem, President of Saen Suk Municipality, made the announcement today via social media. Khunpluem says the cancellation is due to concern about the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus and the government’s general instruction to avoid mass gatherings. The…
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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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Teacher suspended for sexual abuse at Nakhon Pathom school
A teacher in Nakhon Pathom province just west of Bangkok, identified by students as a serial sexual predator, has been suspended an education official said yesterday. The teacher at Matthayom Than Bin Kamphaeng Saen School, whose name was not supplied, was transferred to an inactive post and placed under investigation, according to secretary-general of the Office of Basic Education Commission,…
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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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Bangkok motorbike taxi drivers attack Grab driver in broad daylight – VIDEO
Three motorbike taxi drivers (‘win’ drivers) have been fined after attacking a Grab bike driver carrying a passenger in Bangkok’s Khlong Tan district. The Grab driver reported to police that at 8:30am yesterday, he was picking up a customer at a condominium in Phra Khanong. He says a local taxi motorbike driver in front of the condo allegedly stopped him…
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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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What is 5G? Everything you should know about the next-gen mobile.
So what is 5G? 5G literally means fifth-generation wireless technology. The successor to 4G, the biggest changes include higher speeds, lower latency, and the ability to connect more devices at once. The benefits of 5G aren’t limited to its use. Qualcomm is predicting a $12.3 trillion economic boost worldwide, with 22 million new jobs thanks to both the infrastructure and…
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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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Biker killed, 5 injured in bike/van crash south of Bangkok
One man is dead and another 5 passengers injured after a big bike the man was driving slammed into a van making a U-turn along Old Sukhumvit road in the main business district. The incident occurred at about 8pm in tambon Bang Pu Mai, on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand, south of Bangkok. 32 year old Paveena Ratpipop, a…
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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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