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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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Sponsored 5 ways retirees in Thailand lose money (and how to stop it)
Retiring in Thailand can be affordable and enjoyable, but many retirees lose money due to common mistakes. High living costs, scams, and unexpected expenses can quickly drain savings. There are five ways that retirees in Thailand can lose money and...
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Ceremony launches “Seven Days of Danger” for Phuket roads
The yearly road safety campaign for the holiday week called “Seven Days of Danger” was officially launched in Phuket yesterday. The week is from December 29 to January 4, when each year the rush of holiday travellers on the roads leads to an increase in accidents and road deaths. A ceremony hosted at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday, led by Phuket…
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Thailand’s national park chief released on bail for 400,000 baht
Thailand‘s National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) released the Chief of National Parks Rutchada Suriyakul Na Ayutya on bail for 400,000 baht this morning after detaining him on corruption charges yesterday. After interrogating Rutchada and collecting collateral of 400,000 baht, NACC officials agreed to release Rutchada, citing that he is not considered a flight risk due to having a stable and high-ranking…
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Royal Thai Police ordered to find Red Bull Heir and deliver justice
The Thai prime minister wrapped up the government’s last Cabinet meeting of 2022 by demanding the Royal Thai Police (RTP) find Red Bull Heir Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya and prosecute him. The 37 year old fled Thailand over ten years ago after a hit-and-run incident killed a police officer, Wichian Klanprasert, in Bangkok, on September 3, 2012. Boss, then 27, was…
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CNN selects Bangkok and ICONSIAM’s firework shows as one of world’s 10 ‘Great Places for an unforgettable New Year’s Eve’
CNN has selected Bangkok as one of the world’s 10 ‘Greats Places for an unforgettable New Year’s Eve and listed ICONSIAM’s magnificent fireworks display at the “Amazing Thailand Countdown” as an ‘amazing fireworks show’ and place at which to ring in the New Year. The recognition reinforces ICONSIAM as Thailand’s premier ‘Global Countdown Destination’ after many years of standing out…
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Italian man fined 3000 baht for showing genitals to children
Police nabbed an Italian man who was attempting to flee Thailand after being accused of showing his genitals to children in Pattaya. Police caught up with him just as he was boarding a flight out of Thailand and took him into custody. But he was let go after he paid a 3,000 baht fine and was told not to come…
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Thai park ranger ‘Chaiwat’ working in civil service despite murder charges
Despite Thai park ranger Chaiwat Limlikitaksorn being accused of murdering Karen activist Porlajee “Billy” Rakchongcharoen in western Thailand in 2014, he is still working in the civil service. According to Section 101 of Thailand’s Civil Service Act (2008), any civil servant with criminal charges pressed against them should be suspended from government service pending the result of the investigation. In…
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Govt official allegedly caught red-handed accepting bribes
Police today allegedly caught a government official red-handed accepting a bribe when they swooped to arrest the man at his Bangkok office. Officers raiding the premises also confiscated 5 million baht from the official’s office, reported Bangkok Post. Counter Corruption Division (CCD) commander Pol Maj Gen Jaroonkiat Pankaew, and his team, arrested Rutchada Suriyakul Na Ayutya, the head of the…
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Woman arrested for keeping protected birds as pets
A woman in the southern province of Chumphon faces up to five years in jail and a fine of up to 500,000 baht for keeping 37 protected birds as pets without permission. The woman insisted that she did not buy or obtain the birds illegally, the birds came to her of their own free will so decided to care for…
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Downhill cycling banned in Doi Inthanon National Park
Fearing a string of preventable injuries and deaths, authorities have banned all downhill cycling in the mountainous Doi Inthanon National Park. The park, located in the Chom Thong district of Chiang Mai province, is popular for its scenic nature and picturesque mountains. But slippery roads and dangerous driving conditions have the potential for deadly accidents for those riding their bicycles…
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China opening up a boost for Thailand tourism
China yesterday announced it will reopen its borders and abandon its strict Covid-19 quarantine for travellers and mainland citizens on January 8. The announcement signals great news for Thailand as the kingdom continues to prosper from the worldwide relaxation of Covid restrictions. Chinese visitors topped the nation’s No.1 tourist charts before the pandemic outbreak in 2020. From 2014 there had…
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Screening for drunk driving to reduce new year holiday road deaths
Drunk driving is a fairly constant problem in Thailand, like many other places worldwide. It’s so prevalent during the holiday season, that Phuket holds an annual road safety campaign known as ‘Seven Days of Danger.’ The campaign is held around the new year holiday from December 29 to January 4. The government announced new strict screening of drivers over the…
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Bangkok hailed one of the top 10 places in the world to spend New Year’s Eve
Bangkok has been hailed as one of the top 10 places in the world to spend New Year’s Eve while riverside shopping mall ICONSIAM is recommended as the No.1 spot to enjoy a fireworks display and countdown to the upcoming new year. US multinational news channel CNN produced a list of 10 Great Places to Spend New Year’s Eve. The…
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Bangkok court grants bail to Tuhao’s wife for 2 million baht
Southern Bangkok Criminal Court granted bail to Pol. Col. Wanthanaree Kornchayanan – the wife of Chinese gangster Tuhao – for securities of 2 million baht this afternoon. Yannawa Police arrested and detained Wanthanaree and nine others yesterday on transnational drug and money laundering charges. The court does not usually grant bail to those accused on such serious charges in case…
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Phuket remembers anniversary of Indian Ocean Tsunami
Today marks the anniversary of one of the deadliest natural disasters ever to befall mankind. The Indian Ocean Tsunami, also known as The Boxing Day Tsunami, struck Phuket and the surrounding areas at 10am on December 26, 2004. In the province and neighbouring provinces, religious ceremonies were held today to mark the 18th anniversary of the deadly tsunami. Religious ceremonies…
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Mall of America shooting: one dead, five arrested
A shooting at the largest shopping centre in the United States is the latest in the unrelenting gun violence epidemic in the country. Police have now arrested five suspects in connection with a shooting inside the Mall of America, a massive shopping centre that draws tourists nationwide to Bloomington, Minnesota. The shooting occurred on Friday evening when apparently two groups…
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Scientists discover secret of see-thru frogs
Scientists have discovered the secret of how frogs found in South and Central America have the ability to turn themselves almost transparent, according to a report in the journal Science. During the day, these nocturnal frogs sleep by hanging underneath tree leaves. Their delicate, greenish transparent forms don’t cast shadows, rendering them almost invisible to birds and other predators passing…
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Foreign man fornicates with Thai woman on Pattaya street ‘for 30 minutes’
A foreign tourist and a Thai woman were spotted fornicating against an electricity pole near a busy intersection in Pattaya “for 30 minutes” early this morning. At 4am, reporters received explicit video evidence of a foreign man and a Thai woman having sex on the roadside in central Pattaya’s Bang Lamung district in Chon Buri province. Locals are urging police…
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Meteorological Department head, corruption, blamed for navy ship sinking
In the wake of the devastating navy ship sinking last month, someone needs to take the blame. Yesterday, the Pheu Thai Party declared that the person accountable for the tragedy of the HTMS 442 Sukhothai is the weatherman. The director-general of the Meteorological Department of Thailand is being blamed for not providing a more accurate report of the dangerous weather.…
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Where to celebrate New Year’s Eve in Bangkok 2023
Let’s usher in the new year with a bang as the eventful year of 2022 is coming to an end. If you’re crossing over to 2023 in the eventful city of Bangkok, know you’re in for the best new year celebration. Bangkok is filled with a myriad of New Year’s Eve happenings; delicious dining options, rooftop bars with breathtaking sky…
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Police ordered not to name nationalities, arrest Swedish man with gun and meth
The Royal Thai police have given foreign troublemakers a bit of a Christmas gift. In an order put out late on Christmas Eve, the RTP told all provincial police bureaus to no longer release to the media the nationality of any foreigner arrested in Thailand. A spokesperson for the Royal Thai Police said that people accused of a crime in…
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Bitcoin mine raided over suspiciously big electricity bill
A commercial building in Nang Rong district, Buri Ram, has been running up a suspiciously big electricity bill. The premises – two storey-building with two shop fronts – were raided by police Sunday, is a search for an illegal bitcoin mining operation. China’s recent ban and crackdown on cryptocurrency has fuelled a cryptocurrency mining boom in Thailand as small investors…
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Road accidents involving motor bikes on the rise in Phuket
As we head into what has become known in Thailand as the “Seven Days of Danger” – the holiday period from December 24 to January 4 that always sees an increase in road deaths – a new report initiative is shedding light on an increase in motorbike accidents in Phuket. The Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation has begun releasing a report…
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Dern Rim Lay Festival on Kata Beach today
Phuket is celebrating the holiday with the launch of a number of Christmas and New Year’s events, starting with the Dern Rim Lay @ Kata Festival. The festival began yesterday and continues now in Karon on Kata Beach. Street stalls line the beach and around 150 vendors are offering food and shopping to the thousands of locals, residents, expats, and…
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Tuhao, wife reunited for Christmas in prison
Police have arrested Pol Col Wanthanaree Kornchayanan, niece of Pol Gen Pracha Promnok, the former national police chief who acted as Yingluck Shinawatra’s deputy prime minister, and wife of alleged Chinese gangster Chaiyanat “Tuhao” Kornchayanant. Officers from the Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB) arrived at a luxury condominium in Bangkok on Saturday afternoon to arrest Wanthanaree and six others. As is…
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No official plans to cancel countdown parties
The government of Thailand has not officially cancelled any New Year celebrations, the Tourism Authority of Thailand informed. The TAT said all New Year’s countdown events can operate as planned, though some provinces and areas have chosen to scale back their parties. Perhaps most notably, the chief of the Khao San Road Business Association has announced a cancellation of the…
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Prayut to run for new party as PM
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is to run as the PM candidate for a new party in the next election. Prayut will be after another term under the banner of the Ruam Thai Sang Chart (RTSC) party, a move that could divide the pro-military and conservative bases in the next election. Prayut insisted that he has a close bond with the…
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A Christmas tradition: Santa elephants at school
In central Thailand, school children were thrilled with a visit from a very Thai version of Santa Claus. The school kids were thrilled as the group of elephant trainers dressed as Santa led their elephants to greet the children and distribute Christmas gifts yesterday. The uniquely Thai experience saw nearly 2,000 children receive presents of toys, dolls, balloons, and candies,…
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International tourism 2022: 11.5 million foreign arrivals
The Tourism Authority of Thailand says that, now that they’ve blown past their 2022 target of 10 million international travellers, they are now predicting 11.5 million by the end of the year. This is 15% above their projections which seemed overly hopeful earlier in the year. From the beginning of the year through December 20, 10.9 million foreign tourists have…
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Holiday bus tickets escaping Bangkok close to selling out
More than 90% of bus tickets heading out of Bangkok for the holidays on December 28 and 29 had been sold by yesterday evening. Most advance bookings are for travel to Chiang Mai, Nakhon Phanom in the Northeast and Hat Yai in the South. Sanlak Panwatanalikit, managing director of the state transport company, said Thursday that about 55,000 passengers will…
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Southern Thai woman caught with 70 bizarre animal carcasses
Police arrested a woman from Songkhla province in southern Thailand for selling protected wildlife carcasses as ingredients for “exotic dishes.” Officers seized nearly 70 animal carcasses including monitor lizards, pangolins, langur monkeys, squirrels, mouse-deers, and civets. Yesterday, the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Division was tipped off that a passenger was carrying protected wildlife on a train from Sukirin district in…
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