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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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    Why retirees in Thailand are choosing long-term health insurance over quick fixes

    Retirees in Thailand are increasingly seeing the importance of health insurance in protecting their well-being during retirement. With insurance requirements for retirement visas and rising healthcare costs, many are moving away from short-term plans and choosing long-term coverage. Long-term health...

  • 6 Vietnamese timber smugglers arrested in Isaan wildlife sanctuary

    6 Vietnamese timber smugglers arrested in Isaan wildlife sanctuary

    Wildlife rangers and officers from Chaiyaphum Police Station arrested six Vietnamese timber smugglers at the weekend at Phu Khiao Wildlife Sanctuary in Chaiyaphum province in the Isaan region of Thailand. The suppression of the Vietnamese timber smuggling gangs started last year after Phu Khiao Wildlife Sanctuary wildlife rangers were notified that a group of Vietnamese men entered the sanctuary to…

  • Recovered Caesium-137 cannister ‘not a threat to local Thai produce’

    Recovered Caesium-137 cannister ‘not a threat to local Thai produce’

    Thai officials say the recently recovered Caesium-137 canister is not a threat to local produce, despite it being smelted. The concerns over the effects of the tube’s radioactive properties were raised as contaminated furnace dust was discovered at a steel plant in Prachin Buri’s Kabin Buri district this week. Out of fear, customers cancelled purchase orders of fruit from the province,…

  • More suspects arrested in phone scam duping Americans out of 3 billion baht

    More suspects arrested in phone scam duping Americans out of 3 billion baht

    More suspects are now in Thai police custody in relation to the phone scam that duped unsuspecting elderly Americans out of 3 billion baht. According to the Bangkok Post, 20 people have been arrested- 15 Thais and five Indian nationals- for their involvement in a phone scam that preyed on Americans. Police say they raided places in the provinces of…

  • Chinese netizens critisised Thai tourism for being expensive and dangerous

    Chinese netizens critisised Thai tourism for being expensive and dangerous

    Chinese netizens criticised Thai tourism for being expensive and dangerous. A Chinese male influencer who claims to be a psychiatrist added Thailand also traps Chinese women in prostitution and is a nation of organ trafficking. Thai tourism was a hot topic on Chinese social media last week. It began when a Chinese media agency published an article on March 13,…

  • Prominent French retiree and Rotarian passes away in Pattaya

    Prominent French retiree and Rotarian passes away in Pattaya

    A prominent French retiree and former Rotarian has reportedly passed away in Pattaya at the age of 85, leaving his loved ones to pen an online obituary. The Frenchman, Pierre Yves Francois Andre Eraud, was born on October 16, 1938. He was described as being a great humanist and as being attached to the respect and benevolence characteristics that are…

  • Thai police shoot dead Phetchaburi gunman after 14 hour standoff, 3 dead, 3 injured

    Thai police shoot dead Phetchaburi gunman after 14 hour standoff, 3 dead, 3 injured

    UPDATE At 4am, SWAT police shot dead the ex-military ranger who went on a gun rampage yesterday killing three people and injuring three more in Petchaburi province in lower central Thailand. Pol. Lt. Gen. Thanayut Wuthiratanayong said that after 14 hours of failed negotiations, the gunman showed no signs of surrender so the police took decisive action to kill him…

  • ADB SEADS 2023: Imagining a Net-Zero ASEAN

    ADB SEADS 2023: Imagining a Net-Zero ASEAN

    Key Takeaways ADB’s fourth Southeast Asia Development Symposium (SEADS) will bring together decision-makers, innovators, and climate leaders from government, industry, academia, and the development sector to discuss practical ways to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. SEADS 2023’s plenary panel discussion, “Financing Net Zero,” will explore measures to bridge the gap in climate financing, and enable countries in ASEAN to attain…

  • Monks on drugs: two monks busted at abandoned Phuket hotel

    Monks on drugs: two monks busted at abandoned Phuket hotel

    For the umpteenth time in Thailand, monks have been busted for having a little too much fun. Two monks were found at an abandoned Phuket hotel on Tuesday, with both testing positive for illegal drugs. A village headman and a head monk found the monks at the abandoned hotel in the Thalang district. The monks were originally from a temple…

  • Potential Thai scammers race to close mule bank accounts as new cybercrime law enacted

    Potential Thai scammers race to close mule bank accounts as new cybercrime law enacted

    Potential Thai scammers, particularly in Nakhon Phanom province, are racing to close suspected mule bank accounts after a new cybercrime law was enacted. According to the Pattaya Mail, the new law took effect on March 17, deeming that those who open a bank account or register a SIM card for a third party for illegal use will face jail time…

  • Safari park in Thailand responds to bungee cord incident that nearly killed Hong Kong tourist

    Safari park in Thailand responds to bungee cord incident that nearly killed Hong Kong tourist

    UPDATE Today, staff from Chang Thai Thappraya Safari Park in Pattaya, Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand, commented on the broken bungee cord incident that nearly killed a tourist from Hong Kong last month. The bungee jump operator, 41 year old Natthaphon Yokcharoen, took reporters to see the scene of the incident, a platform about 30 metres high above a lake. Nattaphon…

  • Angry Thai man stabs wife to death after dispute over saving water

    Angry Thai man stabs wife to death after dispute over saving water

    An angry Thai husband stabbed his wife to death at their home in the northern province of Mae Hong Sorn. The man was reportedly angry after the woman advised him to conserve the water for the upcoming dry season. Police officers and locals are now on the hunt for the murderer who fled into the forest after the incident. Officers…

  • Phuket motorbike accident kills woman, seriously injures man

    Phuket motorbike accident kills woman, seriously injures man

    Another tragic motorbike accident has claimed a life in Phuket. A motorbike accident killed a woman and seriously injured a man on Phuket’s Patong-Kamala road last night. Police were notified of the accident at 9.50pm, The Phuket News reported. Police and emergency responders arrived on the scene about 100 metres away from Panya restaurant. There, they found a blue and…

  • Chinese tourists walk around Chiang Mai in traditional Thai clothes

    Chinese tourists walk around Chiang Mai in traditional Thai clothes

    Chinese tourists in Chiang Mai are walking around in traditional Thai clothes during their sightseeing tours. After three years of travel restrictions due to Covid-19, Chinese tourists have returned to Thailand with a thirst for authentic experiences. This has created a trend in which Chinese tourists stand out in their finery at historical temples and other attractions in the northern…

  • Bangkok Police seize over 5 million baht of fake brand products from Indian mafia store

    Bangkok Police seize over 5 million baht of fake brand products from Indian mafia store

    Bangkok Police conducted a raid on counterfeit band name products at a store on the third floor of MBK shopping mall in Bangkok today and seized goods worth over 5 million baht. The store was reported to be operated by an Indian mafia gang called Babu. The Department of Intellectual Property Protection was alerted to the activities of the Babu…

  • Beagles sniff out smuggled Chinese duck at Bangkok Airport

    Beagles sniff out smuggled Chinese duck at Bangkok Airport

    Thailand‘s sharp-nosed sniffer beagles strike again, this time detecting 7 kilogrammes of illegally imported raw duck at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport that arrived on a flight from China. Sniffer dogs from the Department of Livestock’s Quarantine and Inspection Canine Unit were on duty at the airport looking for any illegal movement of live wildlife and animal carcasses when they uncovered the…

  • Wash off the dictatorship: Protesters splash for a cause

    Wash off the dictatorship: Protesters splash for a cause

    For those who love the splashing water of Songkran but wish it was far more serious and political, a protest held yesterday fits the bill. More than 20 protesters from the United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration, a pro-democracy group, gathered outside the Parliament complex to symbolically “wash off the dictatorship” with water. The rally took place the day after…

  • Police nab Chinese kidnapper at airport before he flees Thailand, 2 hostages saved

    Police nab Chinese kidnapper at airport before he flees Thailand, 2 hostages saved

    Police arrested a Chinese man before he boarded a flight out of Thailand last night. He is one of three men who abducted a Chinese woman and her brother-in-law in Pattaya on Monday for a ransom of 4.7 million baht. The two hostages were saved by police and returned home at 2am today. On Monday, 33 year old Ma Mingshan…

  • Thai businesses expect minimal effect from US Bank collapse

    Thai businesses expect minimal effect from US Bank collapse

    Thai businesses are optimistic that they will experience only minimal impact from the collapse of US banks. A recent survey by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC) interviewed 600 business owners to gauge the economic damage of the US banking turmoil. The survey found that 73.5% believe the effects of the US banking crisis will have only…

  • Passport rip leaves TikTok creator unable to fly to Thailand

    Passport rip leaves TikTok creator unable to fly to Thailand

    A passport rip left a TikTok creator unable to fly to Thailand. Arabella Leat’s holiday plans to Thailand with her mum were ruined due to the small rip on her passport, the UK tabloid Daily Star reported. The young woman was left disappointed and unable to board her flight after airport staff deemed her passport unfit for travel. Arabella posted a TikTok…

  • Thai influencer arrested after promising over-valued gift boxes to customers

    Thai influencer arrested after promising over-valued gift boxes to customers

    Thai influencer Nara Crepe Katoey is under arrest for public fraud over online sales of gift boxes that she promised would be worth more than the prices paid. Nara, whose real name is Aniwat Prathumthin, was picked up in Ayutthaya after the Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for her alleged advertising or encouraging illegal acts, defrauding the public, fraudulent…

  • A gorilla’s plight in Thailand continues after 30 years in a concrete hell

    A gorilla’s plight in Thailand continues after 30 years in a concrete hell

    A gorilla’s disturbing plight in Thailand continues after staying alone atop a Bangkok shopping mall in a zoo that resembles a concrete hell. Bua Noi, dubbed the “world’s loneliest gorilla” has spent 30 years alone at the top of the Bangkok shopping mall of Pata. Over the years, protests and pressure from celebrity campaigners, such as Cher, have not seemed…

  • Russian man arrested in Koh Pha Ngan for overstaying visa 993 days

    Russian man arrested in Koh Pha Ngan for overstaying visa 993 days

    An unidentified Russian man has reportedly been arrested on the island of Koh Pha Ngan for overstaying his visa by 993 days or over 2.5 years. According to TPN National, the 34 year old man was arrested and taken to the Koh Pha Ngan Police Station to face charges of overstaying and will be deported. The arrest followed the Surat…

  • First charter flight from Mahan, Iran makes its way to Phuket

    First charter flight from Mahan, Iran makes its way to Phuket

    The first charter flight from Mahan, Iran, made its way to Phuket on Monday. Mahan Air flight W557/IRM057 landed at Phuket International Airport at 2.30pm. As tourism from the Middle East continues to be a major target market for Thailand, the new charter flight network was warmly welcomed. Officials and staff were on hand to greet passengers as they walked…

  • Chinese woman in Pattaya abducted, 4.7 million baht ransom demanded

    Chinese woman in Pattaya abducted, 4.7 million baht ransom demanded

    A Chinese woman has reportedly been abducted in Pattaya as she went to get her child from school. The suspects have allegedly demanded a 4.7 million baht ransom in exchange for her freedom. Her husband, Ma Mingshan, filed a complaint with the police, saying his 33 year old wife, Shan Qi Qiang, was abducted. The 33 year old man said…

  • ‘Defeat Andaman’ nets 320 arrests, 200,000 meth pills

    ‘Defeat Andaman’ nets 320 arrests, 200,000 meth pills

    Not to be outdone by their counterparts in the south, Region 8 Police carried out an anti-crime operation, titled “Defeat Andaman.” The raids resulted in the seizure of over 200,000 meth pills and 96 firearms with 320 suspects being arrested. Defeat Andaman aims to reduce crime and improve life in the area, despite a name implying the opposite. The operation…

  • Thailand welcomes 5.5 million foreign tourists so far this year

    Thailand welcomes 5.5 million foreign tourists so far this year

    In the first three months of 2023, more than 5.5 million foreign tourists entered Thailand, generating over 200 billion baht for the economy, government spokesperson Trisulee Trisoranakul reported this morning. Between January 1 and March 18, 5,578,721 foreign tourists arrived in Thailand, generating 215 billion baht in tourism revenue, according to data provided by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports.…

  • Phuket Marine Police bust jet ski operators over licenses

    Phuket Marine Police bust jet ski operators over licenses

    Jet skiing is a popular activity for tourists in Phuket, but not all operators seem to be following the rules. The Phuket Marine Police last week busted jet ski operators for crimes involving improper licenses. This news comes as the police have been ramping up jet ski inspections at popular tourist beaches. The six operators on Bang Tao Beach were…

  • 3 police arrested for kidnapping Chinese man and Thai woman

    3 police arrested for kidnapping Chinese man and Thai woman

    Din Daeng Police Station apprehended three police officers from Immigration Division 1 yesterday following allegations made by a Thai woman that they kidnapped and extorted 1 million baht from a Chinese man. The three suspects denied the accusations, and one officer involved in the incident is currently on the run. According to the complaint filed by a 38 year old…

  • Thailand election to be held May 14

    Thailand election to be held May 14

    UPDATE Thailand’s Election Committee (EC) confirmed today that Thailand’s general election will be held on May 14, 2023. The vote will be held on May 14 with early ballots cast on May 7. Over 52 million people are required to vote. The election follows Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s dissolution of the House of Representatives, endorsed by His Majesty King Maha…

  • 10 top destinations near Bangkok for summer and Songkran 2023

    10 top destinations near Bangkok for summer and Songkran 2023

    As the summer season and the Songkran Festival approach Thailand next month, The Thaiger team recommends 10 top destinations to visit in April to escape the hustle and bustle of the city and enjoy a great water fight. The list includes a wide range of interesting places from waterfalls, seas, mountains, and spectacular natural scenery. With Songkran Festival set to…