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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 Is private health insurance in Thailand worth it? Real costs vs risks explained
Thailand has a strong healthcare system with both public and private options. Public hospitals offer affordable care, but many people, including expats, choose private health insurance for faster service, modern facilities, and more treatment choices. To decide if private health...
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The future is now: 5G taking off in Thailand
5G… we’ve all heard aboutit, but what is it, really? 5G literally means fifth-generation wireless technology. As the successor to 4G, the biggest changes include higher speeds, almost zero latency (the delay in transfer of data once an instruction has been given), and the ability to connect more devices at once. However, the benefits of 5G aren’t limited to its…
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CCTV captures man stealing lingerie in Sri Racha
Police are reviewing CCTV footage in the Bueang sub-district of Sri Racha after a man allegedly was caught on video stealing 5 pieces of lingerie from a clothesline from a woman’s rental room. The owner of the lingerie, whose name has been withheld, said she has seen the man around before and thinks he may live in the same soi…
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Thailand to allow medical tourism within 2 weeks
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration announced today that Thailand’s medical tourism and wellness programs will go ahead despite the controversy swirling around 2 Covid-19 cases this week – in Bangkok and in Rayong. CCSA spokesman Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin says the Ministry of Public Health will announce a list of hospitals that pass its criteria next week, and the first…
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Pattaya mayor on the defensive over recent floods
Struggling with severe drought just months ago, Pattaya is now facing the opposite problem. The city’s mayor has addressed criticism on social media this week regarding widespread flooding last week during a significant rainfall, telling The Pattaya News and media yesterday that the heavy rain flooded several areas, including Soi Khao Noi, the town’s railway road as well as other…
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Deputy PM Somkid, top economic team resign
Deputy PM Somkid Jatusripitak, widely considered Thailand’s economic tzar, has resigned, along with 3 ministers working for him, paving the way for the long-rumoured cabinet reshuffle by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha of the government’s economic team. The 3 others are Finance Minister Uttama Savanayana, the energy minister and the minister of higher education, science, research, and innovation. The deputy secretary-general of…
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Koh Samet park official allegedly attacked “for no reason” in Chon Buri
A national park officer has suffered head injuries after he was allegedly attacked last night by a group of teenagers in Chon Buri. He told Banglamung police there was no apparent reason for the assault. Police were notified of the incident,at a house in Baan Phuthai, at around 10:30pm. Police, emergency responders and reporters arrived to find Phonsuwan Arunsri, a…
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Nonthaburi man says pythons ate 20 of his cats
It took snake catchers 15 minutes to capture a 4 metre long python after a scrap dealer in Nonthaburi, just north of Bangkok, discovered it at his store in the province’s Pak Kret sub-district yesterday. The snake weighed in at 15 kilograms and the handlers say it put up a fierce fight, even breaking some of their equipment. The dealer…
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A recovering China faces worst floods in decades
As China is still reeling from economic impacts of Covid-19, a new struggle has ensued as the nation is now seeing the worst flooding in decades which have destroyed the homes and livelihoods of millions. The devastating floods have impacted 38 million people. According to the Ministry of Emergency Management, some 2.24 million people have been displaced, with 141 people…
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Foreign embassies stop issuing visa extension letters
A number of embassies in Bangkok are saying that they won’t issue any further visa extension letters for their citizens when Thailand’s visa amnesty expires on July 31. An announcement published last week by the US embassy said American citizens residing in Thailand will have to decide whether to stay or leave, as it will no longer provide extension of…
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Flight restrictions clarified amid new Covid-19 fears
Due to the recent imported cases of Covid-19 , which included a 9 year old girl from Sudan and an Egyptian soldier who breached quarantine to go shopping in Rayong province, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is clarifying the entry process for several groups of foreigners. Thailand is currently not accepting general tourists or travellers and is unlikely to in…
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Thailand’s domestic tourism provided 4 times the number of international travellers in 2019
Thailand has had plenty of interruptions to its tourism industry over the past two decades… There was that other coronavirus scare, ‘SARS’, in 2003, the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, the global recession and riots in Thailand in 2009, major flooding at the end of 2011, political demonstration in 2013 and 2014, the bloodless military coup of May, 2014, the bombing…
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“Let us stay – Why can’t Thai Immigration extend our visas?”
OPINION The current visa amnesty, and what will happen to foreigners after its conclusion (at this stage on July 31), is a constant source of confusion and stress for many foreigners. Some were truly stranded in the Kingdom when the borders were closed and flights become limited for a return to their home countries. Others decided to stay in the…
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Visa amnesty, looming July 31 deadline in Thailand
NOTE: This post is not designed to scare anyone, but simply prompt foreigners, currently in Thailand, about the situation with visas. There is a list of all embassies in Thailand at the end of this article. The Thai government has had a visa amnesty in force that has allowed foreigners to stay in Thailand during the Covid-19 outbreak. It automatically extended…
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Cambodian accused of compatriot’s murder on fishing boat
A Cambodian crewman is accused of murdering a fellow national on a fishing boat off the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat in the Gulf of Thailand. The deputy chief of Tha Sala police said the skipper of the fishing boat reported the death by calling in via radio. The alleged killer, 41 year old Long Nai, was handed over…
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Opposition party threatened with boycott over comments about “haircut” teacher
The president of The Association of Secondary School Administrators says the group will boycott the Kao Klai party unless one of its members apologises for comments he made about the teacher at the centre of the “ugly haircut” debacle. In a report in Thai PBS World, Ratchachai Sornsuwan calls Wirote Lakhana-adisorn’s comments offensive and demands an apology. The MP has…
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Entertainment industry calls for 2am closing times
A leading representative of Thailand’s entertainment and nightlife industry is urging the Department of Disease Control to allow the country’s entertainment venues to close at 2 am instead of the current closing time of midnight. The meeting was held yesterday at the Chatuchak Newspaper building and called “Brainstorming to help save the economy and revive tourism.” Thanawat Srisuk, the industry…
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Poll shows most Thais still oppose foreign arrivals
A recent survey carried out by the National Institute of Development Administration, or Nida Poll, shows that a majority of Thais still oppose opening the country to foreigners, even if they’re not infected with Covid-19, saying the global coronavirus situation is still very serious. The poll was conducted on July 6-8 on 1,251 people aged 18 and over, of various…
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1 dead, 6 injured by bee stings in Chantaburi – VIDEO
A woman is dead and 6 irrigation workers are in hospital after they accidentally disturbed a large nest of bees yesterday while clearing grass on the side of the road in the eastern border province of Chanthaburi. Police learned of the incident in the Laem Sing district yesterday afternoon. A 43 year old woman, identified as Nongnuch Tangman, was pronounced…
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Koh Lan to get “neo” branding to attract tourists
The popular resort island of Koh Lan, about 8 kilometres off the Pattaya coast in the Gulf of Thailand, will become “Neo Koh Lan”, as Pattaya is being upgraded as a tourism and investment hub under the Thai government’s poster economic project, the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) scheme. Pattaya’s mayor says the island, along with Koh Sichang (north of Koh Lan)…
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Chon Buri and eastern provinces brace for heavy localised rain storms
Thailand’s Meteorological Department is forecasting “isolated heavy rains for the Eastern part of Thailand” in the forecast period, including Chon Buri. “The southwest monsoon prevails across the Andaman Sea and Thailand cause less rain in the North, the Northeast and the Central. The easterly wind and the southeasterly wind prevail over the Northeast, the East and the South because isolated…
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Travel bubbles may be postponed “indefinitely”
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand now says the proposed “travel bubble” scheme, which could have allowed limited numbers of tourist arrivals from designated “low risk” countries, may have to be “postponed indefinitely”, after its 3 target partners – China, Japan and South Korea – experienced new outbreaks of Covid-19. On Tuesday, the CAAT’s director-general told reporters he expected Thailand…
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Former PM Abhisit, Thanathorn promote welfare state in Thailand
A former PM of Thailand is criticising the administration of PM Prayut Chan-o-cha for what he called the “lack of improvement in people’s livelihoods” and the absence of a solid welfare system. Former PM Abhisit Vejjajiva made the comment during a seminar on socio-economic issues yesterday. The seminar was organised by We Fair, a group advocating turning Thailand into a…
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Sexual assault, not theft, motive for spiked water bottles – Police
In an unexpected development to a story which has recently made headlines, police in Nonthaburi, just north of Bangkok, now claim sex, rather than theft, was the likely motivation behind the cases of spiked water bottles of joggers at a public park. On Friday police announced progress in the investigation into cases at the park in the government complex, following…
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One third of tourism businesses could go under due to Covid-19
The president of the Tourism Council of Thailand is warning that close to a third of tourism-related businesses are likely to be permanently shuttered in the second half of this year, due to the impact of the Covid-19 crisis. Chairat Trirattanajarasporn says many will simply run out of liquidity to keep their businesses afloat and be forced to close up…
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Police in Chon Buri display huge cache of seized weapon
Officers of Thailand’s Police Region 2, covering the entire eastern region, displayed a huge cache of weapons seized so far in a crackdown this month. The news was released yesterday at a press briefing at the Region 2 headquarters in Chon Buri. From July 3-9, police of Region 2, comprising 8 provinces: Chanthaburi, Chachoengsao, Chon Buri, Trad, Nakhon Nayok, Prachin…
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Motorcyclist, gazing at phone, plummets from Bangkok bridge
A man is dead after plummeting 10 metres from Bangkok’s Rama 3 bridge yesterday. Police and rescue workers were called to an area below the bridge and found the body of a 43 year old motorcyclist, identified only as “Kiatpong.” Still on the bridge was his Honda Zoomer-X scooter, and there was evidence of scratches along the bridge wall. He appeared…
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Rare big cats spotted in Thai national park
The Facebook page of Khlong Lan National Park in Thailand’s northwestern Kamphaeng Phet province, report that camera traps, set up to track the population of tigers, instead managed to capture a sighting of a black panther and leopard. “The appearance of the panther and leopard prove that the forest has become more abundant and attracted the return of these animals…
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Bangkok online booze peddlers busted, 2 million baht in untaxed alcohol seized
Last week the country’s top alcohol regulator approved a draft law to ban online alcohol sales. Yesterday, synchronised raids on 2 Bangkok addresses resulted in 6 arrests and the seizure of of foreign liquor and wine valued at 2 million baht. The first raid was a house used as a distribution centre in Ram Intra Soi 61. 5 men and women…
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Bangkok clinics in 72 million baht fraud scandal
The National Health Security Office has registered a complaint against 18 clinics in Bangkok, and thousands of patients will be questioned by police investigating an alleged 72 million baht in fraudulent claims under the government’s 30 baht scheme, also known as the “gold card” scheme. Police said yesterday that as many as 10,000 patients of the rogue clinics may be…
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Thai Airasia ponders second Bangkok hub
Despite reports that Air Asia’s future is in doubt, Thai AirAsia says it’s considering making Suvarnabhumi airport its new hub, alongside its already established hub in Don Mueang Airport, to increase revenue and broaden its traveller appeal. The executive chairman of Asia Aviation, the largest shareholder of TAA, says the airline is conducting a feasibility study on the move to…
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