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 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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Snarky Phuket man claims stealing ex-girlfriend’s car was just a joke
A snarky Phuket man claims that he only stole his ex-girlfriend’s car as a joke. The 54 year old Somsak, stole the car on October 30 from his former girlfriend’s house in a housing estate in the Wichit sub-district of the main city district. Sopawan said she parked the sedan near her house before finding out in the morning that…
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North Korean missile lands near South’s waters for first time, South retaliates
A missile from North Korea today landed close to South Korean waters for the first time since the countries split in 1945, according to South Korean officials. Since then, South Korea retaliated by launching missiles in return. This latest tit-for-tat conflict began after North Korea fired at least 10 missiles to the east and west of the Korean Peninsula. The…
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Australia to sign human trafficking treaty with Thailand
Thailand is set to sign a deal with Australia to counter human trafficking. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is to meet Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong in Bangkok today, as Wong continues her friendship tour of the Pacific. The deal comes as Australia actively seeks deeper engagement with Southeast Asia. The pair are expected to sign off on Australia’s support…
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Vandalised tourist service centre gets makeover in Pattaya
An abandoned vandalised tourist service centre in Pattaya has been cleaned up after several crimes in the area. Pattaya Police, along with City Councilman Nikom Sangkaew, worked together to change the light bulbs and clean up the police box opposite the Royal Garden Plaza on Beach Road. The box has barely offered any services since 2019. Photos by Pattaya Mail…
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Tourism officials plan big campaigns for Chiang Mai
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has several big campaigns planned to draw visitors to the world-renowned province of Chiang Mai during the High Season from November to March. One campaign is titled, “Northern Charm of the Past.” This campaign is centred around the culture of the historic Lanna Kingdom, which Chiang Mai used to be part of. The campaign…
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Colourful Bangkok 2022 – 3 months of arts and concerts
One of the policies of Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt is finally coming to fruition as the city readies itself for several cultural events over the next three months under the Colourful Bangkok 2022 banner. The Colourful Bangkok 2022 project is just one of the 214 campaign policies promised by Chadchart as he ran for mayor earlier this year and one…
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Police officer crashes ‘big bike’ in Bangkok, 1 dead, 2 injured
A police officer crashed his ‘big bike‘ into a barrier on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road in Bangkok this morning, killing himself and seriously injuring his passenger. Another motorbike driver was also injured in the accident. At 12.30am, officers from Sutthisan Police Station received a report of a fatal big bike accident on the Vibhavadi Rangsit Road near the entrance of Vibhavadi…
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Banged up abroad – Sweden’s escaped cobra slips home
A king cobra that escaped from his new home in a Swedish aquarium turned up back in his terrarium about a week after he made his daring midnight escape. Skansen Aquarium in Stockholm said in a Facebook post that the cobra, named Sir Vas, or Sir Hiss (before being clumsily rebranded “Houdini”) had returned of his own free will. The deadly…
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Stunning natural scenery on newly reopened Krabi islands
Nature looks stunning on several islands in Krabi that reopened on October 15 after being closed for restoration for several months. The Mu Ko Lanta National Park is made up of several islands, which boast breathtaking beaches, waterfalls, and other natural wonders. Since the park reopened, staff have continued conservation efforts. A few days after the reopening, park officials held…
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Coming soon – giant asteroid ‘hiding in the sun’ dazzles astronomers
Starry-eyed optimists – or astronomers as they are sometimes known – have found a giant asteroid, lurking near the sun. They hadn’t noticed it before, because the sun was in their eyes. It’s the biggest potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA), – known to some sensationalists as “planet killers” – found in eight years, and has been discovered lurking in the sun’s…
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Naked Brit in Koh Samui wants everyone to “meet with God”
A naked British tourist in Koh Samui reportedly has some strange goals for the world. Koh Samui police found the man in the sea at Baan Mae Nam Beach over the Halloween weekend. Boat operators struggled to help get the man out of the water, and the man even grabbed one operator, shoved him under the water and tried to…
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Phuket murder suspect arrested in Athens
The Greek national, wanted for the murder of a Thai beautician in Phuket, has been reportedly arrested in Athens. Dimitrios ‘Dim’ Chairopoulos was arrested last Thursday, according to the Greek City Times. An arrest report states the 46 year old is “said to be the one who in February 2019, murdered his 43-year-old wife of Niramon ‘Bae’ Aewkaew in Phuket.…
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Chiang Mai to have rubber-tyred tram in 2028
The Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) revealed its plans to finish a rubber-tyred tram project in Chiang Mai by 2028. Construction is expected to start in 2025 with a budget of 9.3 billion baht. The Chiang Mai Mass Rapid Transit project was started in 1994 but the MRTA suspended the project to focus on transport in Bangkok. The…
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Pattaya captors of Chinese man may have had illegal student visas, says “Big Joke”
UPDATE More details are emerging on the kidnapping of a Chinese man in Pattaya in the early hours of Sunday morning. The captors cut off one of the man’s pinky fingers. The man’s captors may be Chinese nationals in Thailand on illegal student visas, according to the Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn. An investigation…
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No masks or PCR needed for World Cup in Qatar says organisers
Good news for football fans traveling to Qatar for the World Cup in just over two weeks’ time – you no longer need a negative PCR or rapid antigen test to enter the Arab country. The Qatar Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) published a statement announcing the relaxation of Covid-19 related measures which take effect from today. “Visitors are no…
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VIDEO: Pit bull attacks in Pattaya
CCTV footage captured the moment a man’s pet pit bull launched and bit a woman inside a condo building in Pattaya, Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand on Saturday. The pit bull and its owner were about to take the lift when the dog, seemingly out of nowhere, launched at a woman walking past and bit her thigh, causing her an…
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Are people worried about events in Thailand after the Korean stampede?
Tourism officials and industry operators are nervously assessing what effect the Halloween stampede in South Korea may have on travellers’ confidence in upcoming events in Thailand. Operators in the tourism industry have asked police and other authorities to be ready for crowd-related incidents. But the vice-president of the Tourism Council of Thailand, Suthiphong Phuenphiphop, says that he does not think…
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Ride a ‘floating train’ from Bangkok to the biggest reservoir in Thailand
The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) invites you to ride the ‘floating train‘ from Hua Lamphong Station in Bangkok to Pa Sak Jolasid Dam – Thailand’s biggest reservoir – in Lop Buri province. The rot fai loi nam (train floating on water) will run every Saturday and Sunday for three months, starting on November 5. The train (no.921) will leave Bangkok…
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First AI crosswalk in Thailand installed in Nonthaburi
The very first artificial intelligence (AI) Smart Crosswalk was installed in Nonthaburi province near Bangkok. Plans for more AI smart systems at pedestrian crossings are in the pipeline at some high-risk spots in Bangkok. According to a study by the Thai Health Promotion Foundation, almost 90% of vehicles don’t stop at a zebra crossing in Bangkok. Questions on road safety…
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Dishonest taxi driver keeps 70,000 baht found in his cab
A passenger filed a complaint to the police against an alleged dishonest taxi driver in Samut Prakarn province near Bangkok after he refused to return the 70,000 baht he found in the cab back to its owner. The taxi driver asked his friend to pretend the cash was hers and kept the money for himself. The passenger, 43 year old…
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Norwegian man arrested for stealing taxi from Krabi Airport in southern Thailand
Thai police did a double take yesterday afternoon when they saw a Norwegian man driving a taxi out of Krabi International Airport in southern Thailand. The thief made the police chase easy by stopping at a convenience store to buy a drink, where he was arrested and detained. At 3.30pm, officers from Huai Yot Police Station in Trang province received…
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Chinese man in Pattaya has finger cut off, allegedly by gang who held him captive
Pattaya Police say that a Chinese man had his finger cut off by a ransom gang who held him captive. The man, 41 year old Ren Haibo, suddenly disappeared at midnight on October 30, according to his Thai girlfriend, 20 year old Alisara Supasiribundit. Alisara said that Ren and his car were both gone. She said Ren’s brother contacted her the…
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Police seize 6 safes from illegal Chinese karaoke venue
UPDATE Officers seized six safes from the illegal Jin Ling Chinese karaoke venue in the Sathorn area of Bangkok as the investigation continues. One of the safes was packed with a mixed drug called Happy Water, which is made by dissolving ecstasy, methamphetamine, diazepam, caffeine, and tramadol – in hot water or mixing them with sweetened drinks. Another one that was opened…
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Russian airlines resume direct flights to Phuket
Tourism in Phuket got another boost from Russian tourists as the first direct flights from Moscow to Phuket International Airport resumed. The airport expects to see an average of 30,000 arrivals per day in November. Ikar Airlines was the first to arrive from Moscow yesterday afternoon, with a flight from Russian national airline Aeroflot landing later at 9.10pm. Ikar is a…
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Largest Indian restaurant in Southeast Asia opens in Pattaya
The largest Indian restaurant in Southeast Asia has opened in Pattaya. The restaurant, named “MumbaiSe,” is located at the Stardice Pub on the Pattaya-Naklua road. The restaurant held its opening ceremony on Saturday night, with many Pattaya officials attending, including Mayor Poramese Ngampiches. The founders are two Indian businessmen who have invested 25 million baht in the restaurant. The restaurant will…
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Pattaya International Bikini Beach Race draws 3,000 runners
Interested in watching a 5-kilometre running race? What if all the runners are scantily clad in bikinis? On Saturday, the Pattaya International Bikini Beach Race was held and welcomed 3,000 participants. The event is thrown each year in Pattaya and welcomes hundreds of tourists. The annual race started in 2015 and is held along the beach in Pattaya. The idea…
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A scammer who posed as police chief arrested in central Thailand
A scammer who posed as a police chief was arrested in Thailand’s central Ayutthaya province on Friday. A team of officers from the Police Cyber Taskforce (PCT) arrested the man, 32 year old Chonwicha Pansamut, in the Wang Noi district, according to the Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB). Authorities have evidence that Chonwicha claimed to be the Chiang Rai city district…
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Royal Caribbean Cruises to dock weekly in Phuket, Thailand
Earlier this month, Royal Caribbean’s Spectrum of the Seas cruise ship docked in Phuket, southern Thailand, for the first time in several years. At an event in Phuket yesterday, Royal Caribbean revealed that the Spectrum would be visiting Phuket once a week in the coming months. Phuket is a ‘core destination’ on Royal Caribbean’s four- to seven-night Southeast Asia cruises,…
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5 security guards on drugs arrested for robbing army residence
Five security guards were arrested yesterday after they robbed an army residence in Bangkok. The thieves stole four lightning rods worth 200,000 baht but only received 16,000 baht for the stolen goods. The group also tested positive for drugs. A soldier in charge of the security of army condominiums, inside the Royal Thai Armed Forces headquarters in the Don Mueng district…
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Koh Samui sees influx of Russian tourism
With flights increasing from Russia to Thailand, Koh Samui is seeing an increase in European travellers. The holiday island expects to see a surge in Russian tourism in particular, especially in December to close out the year. Russian tourism has been a big revenue-producing staple of Koh Samui but was stymied by the Covid-19 pandemic and then the Russian invasion…
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