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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Coalition calls for cannabis regulation, ban for youth
If like many, you doubted the legalisation of cannabis without regulation in Thailand as too good to be true, the backlash that has already begun will be no surprise. PM Prayut Chan-o-Cha has already curbed cannabis patents to prevent foreign market domination and banned its use on military sites, while vendors selling joints were shut down on Khaosan Road after…
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Travel to Surat Thani, it’s where the fun begins | Jay and Natty’s Adventures
The Thaiger‘s Natty and Jay recently went on a long weekend trip to Thailand’s southern province of Surat Thani, and they’re dying to show our viewers their adventures. People typically see Surat Thani as a passing point to somewhere exciting like Koh Samui, Koh Tao, and Koh Phangan. But The Thaiger’s top news presenters want people to know about Surat…
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Appeals Court sentences former Deputy Minister Banyin to death
Following a twisted tale of alleged greed and corruption, former Deputy Minister of Commerce Banyin Tangpakorn has been sentenced to death by the Appeals Court. The ruling increased the earlier life imprisonment sentence for the murder of a judge’s brother in an apparent attempt to sway another court ruling in the deputy minister’s favour. The story sounds like it was…
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Price of made-to-order food surge in Thailand
Price inflation continues to rear its head in Thailand and across the globe. The latest item to get more expensive is made-to-order food. The average price per dish of made-to-order food bumped up by about 3.7 baht or 6.7% in May, according to a year-on-year comparison by the food delivery app Line Man Wongnai. The report said that dishes with…
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Pattaya eyes tourism revival with nightlife until 2am again
Pattaya is expecting a tourism revival now that the government has lifted another Covid-19 restriction and nightlife is allowed to open until 2 am. Pattaya mayor Poramet Ngampichet praised the easement, predicting it will open the door to tourists from around the world including the Middle East and the UK, and about 3 to 4 million tourists from India, who…
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UPDATE: Resort in eastern Thailand denies media claims
UPDATE A resort in eastern Thailand has released a statement yesterday denying media claims that police accused its foreign directors of wrongdoing. The statement refuted other claims as well, and said police have not issued arrest warrants on any of the resort’s directors. The accusations are in light of a fire that gutted one of the resort’s villas in March.…
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Thai taxi drivers protest against extended GrabBike deadline
Bangkok motorcycle Taxi riders and Taxi drivers today burned their orange safety vests in protest of the Transport Ministry’s decision to extend the licence of GrabBike riders for 2 more months. The company announced last week that every one of their Grab riders must register as a public transport operator and change their registration plates from white to yellow if…
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Police tracking down British nationals after March fire in eastern Thailand
After a fire gutted a resort villa in Thailand’s eastern province of Trat in March, 3 executives are being charged. The charges include causing a fire by negligence, causing damages to people’s property, endangering other persons, and allowing others to use the building for hotel business without obtaining a license from the local officials. The massive fire broke out at…
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Pink and Yellow monorail lines will be in service in 2023
The lives of Bangkok commuters are about to become a lot easier after news broke yesterday that trial runs were being scheduled in October on the Pink and Yellow monorail lines. The 52.6 billion baht Pink Line is about 14% away from being finished while the 49 billion baht Yellow Line’s construction is 93% complete. Commuters will be able to…
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Storm ‘Chaba’ to impact Thailand, meteorologists say
Thailand’s monsoon season is still alive and kicking, with a new storm potentially on the way to bring more winds and gusty rain to parts of the country from today (Friday) until tomorrow (Saturday), particularly in the north-east areas of the country. The Thai Meteorological Department said a tropical storm ‘Chaba’ is currently moving through the upper South China Sea.…
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Sri Lanka’s doctors and nurses demand fuel and medicine
Sri Lanka’s medical staff is suffering from a shortage of fuel and medicine. Doctors and nurses say they are struggling to find enough fuel to get to work, even though they are designated, essential workers. On top of this, the island nation is suffering power cuts and shortages of food and medicines. On Wednesday, over 100 medical staff from the…
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Thai bank apps crash on payday causes customer outrage
Siam Commercial Bank joined Bangkok Bank, and TMB Thanachart Bank in causing chaos throughout Thailand this morning when their banking apps crashed. They not only wreaked turmoil throughout the land but they also managed to unite all of its customers – in anger, after their mobile banking systems crashed on the day their salaries were supposed to be transferred into…
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Bangkok abbot says he didn’t embezzle 95 million baht
The chief monk at Wat Sutthi Wararam Buddhist temple in Bangkok yesterday insisted he is innocent of any embezzlement charges after a renewed complaint was made against him. The temple’s former accountant, Channarong Phiandi, has made a fresh complaint against the abbot, Phra Sutheerattanabundit, maintaining he embezzled 95 million baht and disposed of a partially cremated corpse into the Chao…
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Thailand’s Prayut orders drug crackdown
Thailand’s PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered a crackdown on illegal drugs in the country. At an anti-drug award ceremony yesterday, Prayut urged local officials to continue cracking down on drug rings, as well as their financial supporters. However, the PM also stressed that rehabilitating addicts need occupational training to help them rebuild their lives. Prayut also brought up the need…
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Pattaya Police add more patrols to stop theft against Indian tourists
Pattaya Police are working toward promises to end gold theft against tourists, particularly Indian tourists. Between last night and this morning, Pattaya Police and tourist police walked up and down Beach Road. Tourist Police Lieutenant Thanaphat Klebe-Udom said officers were interviewing “suspiciously” loitering individuals at random. But Thanaphat said police are especially interviewing loiterers who are transgender. He said officers…
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China key to Thailand’s tourism industry recovery
The Tourism Council of Thailand yesterday confessed that building up tourism to pre-Covid-19 levels is going to be a challenge to the kingdom despite encouraging signs of recovery this year. And without Chinese tourists, the task remains even harder. The last of Thailand’s Covid-related restrictions were lifted today. Tourists no longer need a Thailand Pass or insurance, and you don’t…
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Police close joints on Khao San Road for selling cannabis without a licence
Police have closed all shops selling cannabis on Khao San Road in Bangkok for operating without a license on a public road. The police told the businesses that selling cannabis wasn’t wrong, but it is illegal without permission to do so. Since cannabis was decriminalised on June 9 and removed from the Public Health Ministry’s narcotics category, cannabis shops have…
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Thailand’s magical festivals, but which one is the best?
There are so many magical festivals on Thailand’s calendar it’s difficult to choose the best one. But being involved in one of these celebrated events is always enjoyable. It’s also a fantastic way of learning about the tradition and culture in the Land of Smiles. Here is a list of festivals The Thaiger recommends you experience when you’re in Thailand.…
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Gold snatcher on the loose in central Thailand
Police are on the hunt for a gold armed robber in central Thailand. The man held up a gold shop in the province of Pathum Thani this morning, stealing 6 necklaces. Altogether, the necklaces were worth about 450,000 baht. The thief snatched the pricey necklaces from a shop in a Tesco Lotus mall in the Thayaburi district. A shop employee,…
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Thai PM tells nation to buckle up for ‘winds of change’
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday became all metaphorical at the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) Expo 2022, “Shaping Future Industries for Stronger Thailand,” likening the kingdom to a “car” and how the nation needs to face up to “the winds of change.” The 68 year old called for more innovation from his fellow countrymen to meet the needs of evolving technological…
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Chiang Mai protestors send Prayut a message, despite thousands of police
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha received a message after visiting the northern province of Chiang Mai yesterday. A group of protestors known as Kiat Lampang ‘greeted’ Prayut outside the airport. The group had announced on its Facebook page… “Come and welcome and chase out Prayut! At the international airport, Chiang Mai, today will definitely follow and chase him all day.” Prayut later…
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Bangkok open-air film festival is free to moviegoers next month
Bangkok’s open-air film festival, Krung Thep Klang Plang, which means Bangkok open-air theatres, rolls out the red carpet for the whole month of July. The open-air theaters will be held at a number of different locations throughout the city, and the first event kicks off on July 7 at Laan Kon Mueng space in front of the Bangkok City Hall,…
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Suspected pork smuggling scandal in central Thailand
There’s been a suspected pork smuggling scandal in central Thailand’s Nakhon Pathom province yesterday. The country’s Livestock Development Department found 59 tonnes of pork in a cold storage facility. The department found 1,510 boxes of pork legs from Poland. It found 1,433 boxes of pork labeled with the Brazilian brand Seara. It found 500 boxes of pork under the German…
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Thai Police ordered to pay 3.4 million baht for torturing teenager
South Bangkok Civil Court yesterday ordered The Royal Thai Police to pay about 3.4 million baht in compensation for the false imprisonment and brutal torture of a teenager in 2009. Rittirong Chuenchit was arrested by Prachin Buri Police’s criminal investigation team on January 28, 2009, for suspected theft. During the investigation, police tried to extract a confession from the victim,…
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Pattaya police make more promises to stop gold theft against Indian tourists
Police are making more promises to end Pattaya’s problem with gold theft against Indian tourists. This news follows a string of incidents where thieves have snatched gold necklaces from Indian travellers in recent months. Suspects often flirt with the tourists and touch them, asking them to come to their hotel with them. Victims often realise they have been robbed after…
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Thai Airways has sold 11 of its old aircraft, 26 to go
Thai Airways has managed to sell the first 11 aircraft out of a total of 37 it has put up for sale as part of its bankruptcy recovery program. The airline’s acting president, Chansin Treenuchagron, ay Thailand’s transport minister has permitted Thai Airways to sell 1 older Boeing 737-400 plane and 10 Boeing 747-400 ‘Jumbo’ jets. Thai Airways had found…
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Officials to build new sky walk and glass terrace in Phuket
Officials in Phuket plan to build 2 new structures in different parts of the island province. A skywalk is planned for Phuket’s southern village of Rawai, and a glass terrace is planned for Surin Beach in the northern Thalang district. The President of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organisation, Rewat Areerob, said that Phuket is trying to build more landmarks to…
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UPDATE: Former Special Branch Officer names police involved in illegal casino operation
UPDATE An ex-Special Branch Bureau officer has revealed the names of police involved in the operation of an illegal casino in Bangkok that was raided last Friday and denies he had any part of it. Former Pol Lt Col Santana Prayoonrat was discharged from the police service 20 years ago after obstructing officers from making arrests in regards to an…
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3 year old one of several Thai children recovering from cannabis-related incidents
The Royal College of Paediatricians of Thailand and the Paediatrics Society of Thailand has reported a spate of serious health-threatening, cannabis-related cases involving a 3 year old child and several other children. Only last week Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt revealed his fears for the health and safety of Thailand’s children after the decriminalisation of cannabis on June 9 while a…
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Phuket welcomes more than 1.7 million travellers so far in 2022
The southern Thai island of Phuket welcomed more than 1.7 million visitors from January to the end of May, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Phuket office. Phuket, the most reliant of Thai provinces for a steady flow of tourists, has suffered over the past 2 years and has relied on the government’s travel stimulus packages to keep some…
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