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 to reduce out-of-pocket medical expenses in Thailand?
Managing medical expenses in Thailand is important as healthcare costs continue to rise. The country’s healthcare system includes both public and private options, but even with the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) for citizens, many still face high out-of-pocket medical expenses....
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Dam contaminated with heavy metals in Chachoengsao
PHOTO: Thai PBS World People living around a small dam in Khao Hin Sorn district of Chachoengsao, directly east of Bangkok, are being told to stop using water from the reservoir after it was discovered that it is contaminated with heavy metals. Officials of the Royal Irrigation Department took water and soil samples from the Royally-initiated reservoir for tests, which…
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1000 gather in Phuket to join the global cry on climate change
Asia’s largest travel and tourism sustainability event, opened in Phuket yesterday, as Southeast Asia’s hospitality industry came together in a spirit of collaboration to tackle the critical environmental issues facing resort destinations across the region. A year on from the inaugural edition of PHIST, the event continues to grow. A record attendance of 1,000 delegates attended the full-day event, held…
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Minister pledges to sort out Thailand’s export procedures in wake of New Zealand drugs bust
PHOTO: www.chiangraitimes.com Following the seizure in New Zealand last month of shipping containers from Thailand packed with drugs, Deputy Transport Minister Athirat Rattanaset says the country must improve its maritime export procedures. He was speaking at a meeting with exporters, saying the drugs bust in New Zealand has had a negative impact on Thailand’s image and calling on them for…
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Thailand planning new rules and speed restrictions for big bikes
PHOTO: www.geonoise.co.th The Deputy Permanent Secretary for Transport, Chirute Visalachitra says new rules are being introduced for big bikes, including a ban on “lane-splitting” and a lower speed limit in built-up areas. Lane-splitting is the practice of riding between vehicles, with the Transport Ministry saying that under new rules, riders of big bikes will have to remain behind vehicles that…
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Bangkok sewage water home to all sorts
PHOTO: Sanook You never know what you’ll find in the sewage system of Bangkok… Thai Residents reports that Sunsern Ruengrit, a municipal worker in the capital, says the system is supposed to only store water, before the water treatment process begins. Instead, it’s home to a variety of garbage, including plastic and glass bottles, cigarette butts, food, oil and fat,…
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Thomas Cook demise will affect British tourism to Thailand for the rest of 2019
“British tourists have contribute between 900,000 – 1,000,000 tourists to Thailand annually for the past seven years.” The failure of the British Thomas Cook travel business will cut the numbers of arrivals from Britain to Thailand for the remainder of this year. Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand says they are also assessing a drop in northern-European…
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Thai PM addresses UN Climate Action Summit, pledges ASEAN support
PHOTO: www.mfa.go.th Thai PM General Prayut Chan-o-cha says the ASEAN region is committed to working with the international community to tackle the issue of climate change. Addressing the UN’s Climate Action Summit in New York, the PM was speaking in his capacity as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Expressing his admiration for the UN secretary general’s efforts…
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Wanted American found hiding in Thailand
PHOTO: The Nation An American wanted for serious crimes in his home country has been tracked down to Hua Hin, in a joint operation involving Thai Immigration Police and Homeland Security Investigations, the investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security in the U.S. Thai Residents reports that the man, known only as Derrick, is wanted in the states of…
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Tech giants ramp up systems to detect and remove extremist content
PHOTO: Police officers near the Masjid Al Noor mosque, site of one of the mass shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand in March – Associated Press by Shaun Tandon The world’s largest social media empires led by Facebook say they are ramping up an industry body that will weed out extremist content, looking to put procedures in place…
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Chim-Shop-Chai – more than a million already register for the latest Thai stimulus package
Interest in the government’s latest stimulus package has been massive with online portals being battered by people wanting to know more about how they can get their hands on the 1000 baht give-away from the Thai government. More than a million people have already registered to join the government’s Chim-Shop-Chai (Taste-Shop-Spend) program, where they will receive a 1000 baht to…
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Thai pro-democracy body calls on UN to investigate ‘military government in disguise’
PHOTOS: Facebook: Jaran Ditapichai/Kritsada Akkhapracha Jaran Ditapichai, the president of the Association of Thai Democrats without Borders’ has written to the UN yesterday asking the international body to investigate the government of Thai PM General Prayut Chan-o-cha. The Nation reports that Jaran personally dropped the submission at a letterbox near the UN headquarters in New York and recorded the action with…
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SUV driver flees crash scene after killing two on Bangkok ring road
PHOTO: Sanook.com Police in Bangkok are looking for the driver of a Ford Everest who jumped over a wall and fled the scene after colliding with a Mitsubishi Mirage, killing two people. Witnesses told police that the collision happened when the driver of the black SUV was trying to pass on the left-hand shoulder of the road. According to Sanook.com,…
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Shake-up at the top in Thai state enterprises – Transport Minister
PHOTO: BTS station – YouTube In a major management shakeup in Thai state enterprises, the transport minister has now appointed a new chairmen to the boards of the Port Authority of Thailand, the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) and the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMA). The list of new chairmen has been…
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Prayut meets up with Thai expats in New York ahead of UN meetings today
PHOTOS: ศ.ดร.นฤมล ภิญโญสินวัฒน์ Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has been meeting Thai expats in New York before his attending the UN Climate Summit and other meetings this week. Prayut and his entourage, including Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai, arrived at the Plaza Athenee Hotel on the 64th street yesterday around midday on a sunny New York day. Prayut was welcomed by Nipon…
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UK travel icon Thomas Cook bankrupt, stranding tourists
PHOTO: Axios.com “This marks a deeply sad day for the company which pioneered package holidays and made travel possible for millions of people around the world.” British travel giant Thomas Cook declared bankruptcy today after failing to reach a last-ditch rescue deal. The collapse triggers the UK’s biggest repatriation since World War II to bring back stranded passengers. The 178 year…
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UK travel giant Thomas Cook collapses leaving 150,000 holiday-makers stranded
PHOTO: Bye bye Thomas Cook – The Independent Thomas Cook, the iconic British travel and airline company, has collapsed after last-minute negotiations failed to find a solution for the debt-ridden company. The tour operator’s failure affects 22,000 jobs worldwide, including 9,000 in the UK alone. Thomas Cook had been operating for 178 years. The company is now bankrupt. The collapse…
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Salaries of more than 100k proposed for Thailand’s high-speed train drivers
PHOTO: www.scmp.com The drivers of Thailand’s high-speed trains will need to be highly skilled, a ministerial level committee says, suggesting they be paid similar salaries to those of airline pilots. Thai Rath reports that drivers of high-speed trains will face the same amount of stress and responsibility as airline pilots do and in order to attract the most skilled drivers,…
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36 Thai provinces to be hit by heavy rain, sharp drop in temperatures
PHOTO: www.kohsamuisunset.com The Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) says that between now and Thursday, 36 Thai provinces can expect to be hit by heavy rains, strong winds, and thundershowers, with a sharp drop in temperatures predicted in some regions. The rough weather is due to a monsoon trough currently sitting over the Central, the East and the lower Northeast, a low…
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Significant developments in cannabis farming in Thailand
PHOTO: www.growbarato.net In what’s thought to be the first-ever industrial scale manufacturing facility for medical cannabis within the Asean Region, Maejo University in Chiang Mai has planted 12,000 cannabis sprouts – the largest lot in the country. It’s hoped the result will eventually be 1 million bottles, each containing 5ml of cannabis oil, by February. Senior officials from the Ministry…
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The youth are revolting. ‘Millions’ protest in kid-power global climate strike
PHOTO: Greta Thunberg leads kids and adults from 150 countries in massive climate strike today – Sarah Silbiger by Peter Hutchison “We are the future and we deserve better,” 12 year old Lilly Satidtanasarn, known as “Thailand’s Greta” for her campaign against plastic bags in malls. Masses of children skipped school to join a global strike against climate change that teen…
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Finance Ministry launches 100 billion stimulus package to kickstart sagging economy
PHOTO: thailandshoppingdining.com The Government is kicking off a new stimulus package valued at 100 billion baht to “stimulate the grassroots economy”. Prasong Poontaneat, permanent secretary of the Finance Ministry reported that the government is preparing a brand-new stimulus package. “The Finance Ministry and related agencies will spend more than 100 billion baht on approximately 30 million low-income households nationwide.” The…
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Thai MP rich list
PHOTO: The Nation The National Anti-Corruption Commission has published a who’s who list of Thailand’s richest politicians. The NACC has reported the personal finances of 80 MPs. The personal finances report is an addition to the NACC’s previous report of 415 MPs who had earlier submitted their asset lists in July. Notable MPs whose assets and debts have been revealed…
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6 year old Burmese boy dies from bike-pickup truck crash
SOURCE: khaosod.co.th A 6 year old Burmese boy has died following a motorcycle accident when his parents crashed the vehicle onto a pick-up truck earlier this week. He died in the intensive care ward at Vachira Hospital yesterday morning (Thursday) The accident occurred on September 15 near Soi Pramote, Chaofa West Road, Chalong. The boy’s father, 39 year old Thein…
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More arrest warrants issued over Bangkok’s August bomb attacks
PHOTO: Voice of America The Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for five more suspects yesterday over their alleged involvement in the simultaneous bomb and arson attacks in Bangkok back on August 2. Police presented evidence against them to the court yesterday to obtain warrants for their arrest. They are accused of being members of an unlawful syndicate and collaborating to carry…
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Thailand’s August exports fall further than expected
Some more lumpy economic news for Thialand as the focus is on the monthly customs clearances to provide a compass for the country’s economy. Customs-cleared exports dropped in August 4% compared to the same month a year earlier. Exports unexpectedly rose in July, according to the commerce ministry today. The decline in August has shown itself to be greater than…
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Food delivery and online shopping apps are Thailand’s most used innovations
PHOTO: iStock A poll conducted by The Energy Policy and Planning Office (EPPO) at the Ministry of Energy has revealed Thailand’s most used technological innovations. The poll, carried out last July, studied innovation usage among Thai people from all age groups and professions, and was aimed at promoting the usage of energy-efficient innovations. It was divided into four categories: Frequently…
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Our oceans are key to fighting climate change
by Amélie Bottollier-Depois and Marlowe Hood “There are at least three types of actions humans can take to help repair the damage and ensure that oceans don’t turn from friend to foe.” Humanity must heal oceans made sick by climate change and pollution to protect marine life and to save itself, experts warned days before the release of a major…
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US vaping-related illnesses surpasses 500
The links between vaping and critical lung disease appear to becoming more frequent and obvious although health authorities are struggling to find the ‘smoking gun’ that is the actual cause of the current list of cases. More than 500 people have been diagnosed with vaping-related breathing illnesses. An eighth death has also been reported. The US Food and Drug Administration says…
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Man dressed as postman robs shop while claiming to be carrying a bomb
PHOTO: Bangkok Post A man has walked into a gold shop in Samut Prakan, south of Bangkok, dressed as a postman and claiming to be carrying a bomb. He then proceeded to rob the store. Thai Residents reports that the man entered the shop, located inside a Thai Watsadu store, carrying a Thailand Post delivery box. He threatened staff and…
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Future Forward secretary-general floats idea of another debate
PHOTO: Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, Party leader of Future Forward Party – AFP Future Forward secretary-general Piyabutr Saengkanokkul says the Opposition will consider the option of holding another parliamentary debate over the next 3 months. His statement comes after what was generally considered an unsatisfactory response from the PM and other cabinet members during Wednesday’s debate. Piyabutr is not ready to let the matter…
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