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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 health insurance costs more each year and how expats in Thailand can save more money

    Each year, many expats living in Thailand see their health insurance premiums go up and often without a clear reason. This can be frustrating, especially when you're trying to plan your budget. But by understanding why prices rise and learning...

  • Thai Airways celebrates 59 years of operations | Thaiger

    Thai Airways celebrates 59 years of operations

    Thai Airways International has recognised the airlines’ long-serving staff with certificates at a ceremony to mark the 59th anniversary. Thai Airways president, Sumeth Damrongchaitham, presided over a ceremony to present certificates and souvenirs to staff who have completed 35 years and 25 years of service with the national airline. The certificates were also given to staff who were commended by…

  • Royal Coronation – HM The King grants grand audience | Thaiger

    Royal Coronation – HM The King grants grand audience

    His Majesty the King has granted a grand audience to members of the Royal Family, the Privy Council and the Cabinet, as well as foreign dignitaries. At 2.59pm, King Maha Vajiralongkorn grants grand audience. They gathered to offer their best wishes to His Majesty at Amarindra Vinicchaya Throne Hall. HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn led the group to congratulate the King…

  • Royal Coronation – Saturday Highlights – PHOTOS | Thaiger

    Royal Coronation – Saturday Highlights – PHOTOS

    “I shall continue, protect and reign with righteousness for the benefit of the people.” 11.50am: The King goes to the Bhadrapitha Throne and sits under the Royal Nine-tiered Umbrella, where the Chief Brahmin presents him with the Royal Golden Plaque of His Majesty’s official title, the Royal Regalia, the Ancient and Auspicious Orders and the Weapons of Sovereignty. 12.40pm: Their…

  • Royal Coronation – Saturday Afternoon ceremonies | Thaiger

    Royal Coronation – Saturday Afternoon ceremonies

    After the Crowning and Investiture Ceremony, HM presents the First Royal Command. 1.19pm The ceremony of Assumption of the Royal Residence takes place at Chakrabat Biman Royal Residence. The purpose of the ceremony is to symbolically take up the royal residence. 2pm HM the King grants an audience to members of the Royal Family, the Privy Council, and the Thai…

  • Summer storms forecast for the central and north of Thailand | Thaiger

    Summer storms forecast for the central and north of Thailand

    The Thai Meteorological is warning provinces in the North, Northeast, Central and East about the threat of ‘summer storms’ until Monday. The latest storm warning was issued at 5am today. The Thai department said the thunderstorms were being caused by a high pressure system from China that covers the upper part of the Northeast and the South China Sea, while…

  • Royal Coronation – Saturday Morning ceremony – VIDEO | Thaiger

    Royal Coronation – Saturday Morning ceremony – VIDEO

    The Royal Purification, or the “Song Muratha Bhisek” Ceremony, takes place at Chakrabat Biman Royal Residence. “Muratha Bhisek” refers to the action of pouring holy water over the head of the king. It is followed by the Anointment Ceremony at Baisal Daksin Throne Hall. Then His Majesty the King proceeds to the Bhadrapitha Throne and sits under the Royal Nine-tiered…

  • Royal Coronation – Schedule of events | Thaiger

    Royal Coronation – Schedule of events

    The Coronation of HM King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun will run over three days from Saturday, May 4 to Monday, May 6. The actual coronation takes place on the first day. Here is the latest LIVE link to the ceremony, mostly in English… The Coronation ritual so far The collection of sacred waters from different sources around the Kingdom, followed by the consecration…

  • Future Forward candidates deny claims of media shares, again | Thaiger

    Future Forward candidates deny claims of media shares, again

    Future Forward party candidates have again denied a pro-Junta activist’s accusations that some of their members have shares in media companies. Srisuwan Chanya, describing himself as a social activist, earlier this week asked the Election Commission to take legal action against 11 candidates of the party, claiming they owned shares in media firms. If a candidate is found guilty of the…

  • Facebook bans political fanatics and conspiracy theorists | Thaiger

    Facebook bans political fanatics and conspiracy theorists

    Facebook is banning prominent US conspiracy theorists like the Infowars founder Alex Jones and the outspoken activist Louis Farrakhan in its crackdown on hate speech and fake content. Others blocked from Facebook and Instagram (owned by Facebook) were Milo Yiannopoulos, a high-profile right-wing provocateur; Paul Nehlen, a political candidate espousing white supremacist views; and conspiracy theorists Paul Joseph Watson and…

  • Bangkok resplendent in yellow for this weekend’s Royal Coronation | Thaiger

    Bangkok resplendent in yellow for this weekend’s Royal Coronation

    Decorations are adorn houses and buildings around Rattanakosin Island, lining the route of the Liap Phranakhon Royal procession, as people prepare to celebrate this once-in-a-lifetime spectacle. The last time Bangkokians welcomed a newly-coronated King was on May 7, 1950. With help and funds from City Hall for renovation and decoration, properties along the route look new and lively. Portraits of…

  • Huawei grows 41%, Apple tanks in China | Thaiger

    Huawei grows 41%, Apple tanks in China

    PHOTO: Huawei remains a popular brand in Thailand with models at both ends of the price spectrum Huawei has dominated the Chinese smartphone market in Q1 2019, taking a record 34% share as rivals Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi and Apple all struggled. Huawei may feeling the heat from a US-led campaign against the Chinese tech company, but in China its smartphones are outselling…

  • Thai property startup FazWaz heads overseas | Thaiger

    Thai property startup FazWaz heads overseas

    FazWaz, the Phuket startup that has built a tech-first platform to take on Thailand’s real estate giants, is announcing its overseas expansion today. The move underscores just how far and fast the company has moved since being founded in 2015 in the small beach town of Kamala in Phuket. While real estate markets go up and down, FazWaz has definitely…

  • Weather warnings for northern and central summer storms | Thaiger

    Weather warnings for northern and central summer storms

    The Thai Meteorological Department yesterday has announced some more weather warnings for summer storms in upper Thailand and the South China Sea. From May 3-6, a high pressure system from China will extend to upper Thailand and the South China Sea. The southwesterly prevailing winds in upper Thailand will strengthen and the weather continue to be hot over upper Thailand.”…

  • Cabinet announces 13.2 billion baht handouts, also property and tourism stimulus | Thaiger

    Cabinet announces 13.2 billion baht handouts, also property and tourism stimulus

    The Thai Cabinet has given the go ahead to 13.2 billion baht in social welfare spending to low income-earners. The payments would go to parents with children still in school, disabled people and farmers. The same meeting also announced tax packages to boost the real estate and tourism sectors. A spokesperson for the PM’s Office says that under the welfare card…

  • His Majesty marries Suthida and names her Queen, days before coronation | Thaiger

    His Majesty marries Suthida and names her Queen, days before coronation

    FILE PHOTO: Queen Suthida with His Majesty the King and Prince Dipangkorn Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn announced earlier this evening that he has married his bodyguard, Gen. Suthida Vajiralongkorn na Ayudhya, and named her Queen Suthida, just days before the Royal Coronation this weekend. The announcement was made tonight in the Royal Gazette. In 2014 HM appointed Suthida Tidjai, a…

  • A new Queen for Thailand | Thaiger

    A new Queen for Thailand

    His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun has issued a Royal Command declaring General Suthida Vajiralongkorn na Ayudhya to be Queen of Thailand, effective as of May 1st. According to the Royal Gazette, HM the King has married General Suthida Vajiralongkorn na Ayudhya “legally and in accordance with Royal tradition.” The new Queen is regarded as a member of the Royal…

  • Facebook revamp. Less about business, more about people and relationships. | Thaiger

    Facebook revamp. Less about business, more about people and relationships.

    Facebook is aiming to foster real-world relationships and make the platform a more intimate place for groups of friends. Facebook’s shift comes response to criticism over failing to curb misinformation and manipulation of the platform used by 2.3 billion people, and missteps on its handling of private user data. The new strategy will emphasise private communications and small groups according to…

  • Phuket’s recent rains allow PWA to restore mains pressure around the island | Thaiger

    Phuket’s recent rains allow PWA to restore mains pressure around the island

    The Chief of Phuket’s Provincial Waterworks Authority says that water pressure to most areas across the island has been restored (but The Thaiger is still getting reports from residents in Kamala and parts of Kathu about low flow or still no water mains pressure). Phuket Town recorded nearly 80mm of rainfall on Saturday night when heavy rains, the first for…

  • Future Forward’s Thanathorn says he’s confident he will be endorsed as an MP | Thaiger

    Future Forward’s Thanathorn says he’s confident he will be endorsed as an MP

    Thanathorn had prepared some 27 items of evidence to prove to the poll authority that he had divested his media shares on January 8, well before he registered to run in the election that took place a month later. A defiant Future Forward leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit emerged from yesterday’s marathon ‘chat’ with the Election Commission over charges he still owned…

  • Boeing 737 Max ‘sensor’ issues flagged 216 times to the US FAA | Thaiger

    Boeing 737 Max ‘sensor’ issues flagged 216 times to the US FAA

    A small sensor, sitting just outside the cockpit of the Boeing 737 Max jets, was previously flagged in more than 200 incident reports submitted to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). But Boeing admits it did not flight-test the scenario which may have caused the crashes of two of its brand new jets – one in Ethiopia and one in…

  • Thanathorn says other MPs now in the firing line, including from Phalang Pracharat | Thaiger

    Thanathorn says other MPs now in the firing line, including from Phalang Pracharat

    PHOTO: Future Forward’s Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit emerges defiant after spending six hours with the EC yesterday – The Nation by Kas Chanwanpen The political tactics of going after Future Forward leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit and other party members for alleged shareholdings in media companies, could come back to haunt the pro-junta camp after a similar allegation was made against one of its…

  • Baby dugong rescued in Krabi, taken back to its Trang home – VIDEO | Thaiger

    Baby dugong rescued in Krabi, taken back to its Trang home – VIDEO

    PHOTOS/VIDEO: DMCR A baby dugong, found on a Krabi beach, has been taken back to its home. The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources is reporting that yesterday the dugong was taken back to its home in Trang. “The dugong is aged around two to three years old. It is 120 centimetres long. No wounds were found on the dugong.…

  • Beware: Fake coronation brooches being sold | Thaiger

    Beware: Fake coronation brooches being sold

    PHOTO: NNT The Office of the Permanent Secretary, under the PM’s Office, is warning manufacturers and sellers of fake coronation brooches that they could be jailed for up to 20 years and fined up to 400,000 baht. Sompas Nilphan, says the government has assigned his agency to produce and sell the coronation brooches to the general public. “All proceeds from…

  • Phuket Airport passenger arrivals dip | Thaiger

    Phuket Airport passenger arrivals dip

    by Bill Barnett, c9Hotelworks.com To date, 2019 is shaping up to be a slightly volatile year for tourism to the island. Passenger arrivals at Phuket International Airport rose 1% year-on-year in January, but took a step backwards in February with a substantial 6% decline. While we are still early in the year, overall visitor arrivals to Thailand on a country-wide…

  • EC dogged by new controversy after poll re-run in Nakhon Pathom | Thaiger

    EC dogged by new controversy after poll re-run in Nakhon Pathom

    Five times they counted and five times they got different results. The re-run of the election and the counting of votes in Nakhon Pathom, west of Bangkok, couldn’t have gone worse for the Election Commission, coming under fire from all directions over irregularities, forced recounts and hundreds of small errors in the counting process. The credibility has come under renewed…

  • BTS match long-standing Beatles’ record and reach the Top 6 in 26 countries with new album | Thaiger

    BTS match long-standing Beatles’ record and reach the Top 6 in 26 countries with new album

    South Korean band BTS is making waves across music charts around the world. Their new album ‘Map of the Soul – Persona’ has matched a long-standing Beatles record of having three number one albums on the US Billboard chart in one year. The all-male band comprises RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook, all aged between 22 and 27…

  • Chon Buri marine officials take action against Sattahip tour guide – VIDEO | Thaiger

    Chon Buri marine officials take action against Sattahip tour guide – VIDEO

    PHOTOS/VIDEO: Go-Eco Phuket The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) officials have made an official report to Sattahip Police in Chon Buri after a video clip of a man, acting as a tour guide pulling up a sea flower where an Anemone Fish was hiding inside for tourists, became viral in social media yesterday. The video clip was posted…

  • The Coronation of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn | Thaiger

    The Coronation of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn

    PHOTO: His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn together with his father, the Late King Bhumibol Adulyadej Special report from our media partners, The Nation This Saturday, May 4, is the start of a three day ceremony to crown His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn as he ascends the throne as King Rama X, succeeding his beloved father, His Majesty the late King Bhumibol…

  • IndiGo pulls non-stop flights between Phuket and Bengaluru | Thaiger

    IndiGo pulls non-stop flights between Phuket and Bengaluru

    ‘Commercial non-viability’ is the official reason given for the pulling of the twice-weekly non-stop flights between Bengaluru, India and Phuket by IndiGo Airline. The airline’s six weekly non-stop flights between Delhi and Phuket will continue. “Phuket is a key market for IndiGo and we see great potential in the growth of tourism between India and Phuket. We will explore various…

  • Tourists injured as minivan flips over in Krabi | Thaiger

    Tourists injured as minivan flips over in Krabi

    Indian tourists have sustained minor injuries after the minivan they were traveling in over-turned in Krabi on the way back to Ao Nang from Phuket. Ao Nang Police were notified of the incident on Nong Talay – Khao Thong Road in Mueang Krabi District yesterday at 10.30am. Police and emergency responders arrived to find the passenger van flipped over, on…