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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Government launch mental health app to combat depression
A mental health evaluation app by the Department of Mental Health, and collaborators, has been developed to identify the early signs of depression. The app can be downloaded to your smartphone as part of the Mor Prom application. In Thailand, more than 1.5 million people suffer from depression, with over 4,000 cases of suicide every year. Another 53,000 people have…
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Jealous policeman murders wife and daughter before committing suicide
A police lieutenant driven by a jealous rage murdered his wife and teenage daughter before committing suicide. Officers from Tung Kru Police Station were called to a resident’s home, in Soi Pracha Uthit 54 in Bangkok, yesterday morning and found the body of 57 year old Pongsakorn Thawekaew and his 39 year old wife, Benjawan Wuttisarn, in one bedroom, and…
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Why your flights are getting more expensive, not cheaper
There’s a short-term situation and a longer-term evolution that will make your flights more expensive than they were in the past. If we briefly look back at the past 65 years of world aviation, there has been a slow, incremental decrease in passenger seat prices on flights. That was until the start of 2020. For the modern era (despite the…
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Thai tourism targets half a million Korean visitors by end of the year
The Tourism Authority of Thailand aims to draw in over 500,000 South Korean travellers in 2022 and hopes to increase that to 1.3 million next year. This comes after the easing of travel restrictions in South Korea and Thailand. In 2019, South Korea was an important market for Thailand, with around 1.9 million visitors bringing in 75 billion baht in…
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Thai police given new power to arrest fine-avoiding motorists
A new regulation has given power to the Royal Thai Police to arrest people who fail to pay their driving penalties on time. Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, Pol Maj Gen Jirasan Kaewsaeng-ek, says if motorists do not pay their fines, a warrant for their arrest will be filed. If a motorist receives a ticket, either in person…
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Thailand No.3 in the global electronic payment hit parade
A new study by ACI Worldwide, Global Data, and the Centre for Economics and Business Research, revealed Thailand is in the world’s top 3 nations in terms of electronic payment transactions. Thailand last year recorded 9.7 billion real-time electronic payment transactions, putting it in 3rd position globally after India (48.6 billion times) and China (18.5 billion times). Deputy government spokesperson…
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Chinese woman dies in road accident in Bangkok
A young Chinese woman was struck and killed while crossing the road in Bangkok in the early hours of this morning. The woman was crossing over the 3 lane road at Ratchavipha intersection on Ratchadapisek Road in Chatuchak district when she was struck by a car at around 00:50am. Police are checking CCTV cameras to confirm the details of the…
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BMTA bus driver uses umbrella to keep rain out of his cab
A bus driver has embarrassed his bosses at Bangkok Mass Transit Authority by driving his vehicle while holding an umbrella over his head to keep the rain off. The bus driver uploaded the picture of himself on Facebook to show his bosses the old bus he drives desperately requires some much-needed maintenance. Unsurprisingly the post went viral. The picture was…
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Cathay Pacific plants 999 mangrove trees in Thailand
Hong Kong’s flag carrier Cathay Pacific has planted 999 mangrove trees in the Khlong Khon Mangrove Forest in Samut Songkram, central Thailand as part of its “1 Ticket, 1 Tree” initiative. The airline launched the initiative last year, committing to planting 1 tree for every plane ticket bought in a one-month period. About 50 volunteers, including Cathay Pacific staff and…
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Airline passengers to reach 83% of pre-pandemic figures in 2023
The International Air Transport Association is confident global airline passenger numbers will reach 83% of pre-pandemic figures in 2023, and the aviation industry’s recovery to profitability will be “within grasp” next year despite ongoing uncertainties. The Covid-19 outbreak caused chaos in the aviation industry, with passenger numbers falling by 60% in 2020 and 50% in 2021. Over the course of…
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Giant honey bees swarm home in southern Thailand
A man from Krabi, southern Thailand, was left terrified and thankfully unharmed after tens of thousands of giant honey bees – or Apis dorsata – swarmed his home on Sunday. Thailand’s giant honey bees have been called “the most dangerous stinging insects on earth” by Cornell University apiculturist Roger Morse. Somchai Kaewkasorn, a Department of Highways official, was watching television…
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That sinking feeling – the Maldives is building a new ‘floating’ country
Run out of space? No problem. Just build another room. In the case of an entire country that is sinking into the Indian Ocean, the situation becomes a bit more acute. Technically, the Maldives isn’t sinking, the sea levels are rising and slowly swamping the low-lying Indian Ocean nation, scattered south west of India. The Maldives, a country of some…
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Cannabis use is banned on Thai university campuses
The use of cannabis for recreation and cannabis-infused foods and beverages have been banned on the campuses of universities and agencies in Thailand announced the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research, and Innovation. MHESI Minister Anek Laothamatas signed a statement aimed at restricting the use of cannabis in those facilities with immediate effect. The tertiary education rollback is just the…
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Bangkok police hoodwinked by crafty anti-government protestors
Crafty anti-government protestors hoodwinked police into thinking they were holding a “car mob” rally at the Democracy Monument while they gathered to demonstrate instead at Victory Monument, some 6 kilometres away and a 20 minute drive. Knowing police watch their every move on social media, dissident groups Lai Lung Tu (Prayut Get Out) and Kon Daeng Patiwat (Red Shirt Revolution),…
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Thai government should reconsider 2pm to 5pm alcohol ban
Secretary-general of the Kla Party, Atavit Suwannapakdee, believes the government should lift the restriction on selling alcohol from 2pm to 5pm to help the tourism industry recover, adding there are no rules restricting the hours of alcohol sales in any other Southeast Asian country. “Thailand used to attract 40 million tourists a year, generating 3 trillion baht in revenue, but…
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Russia-Ukraine conflict excuse for energy hike
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues to be the excuse by utilities suppliers to raise energy prices. The Energy Regulatory Commission today announced the power tariff would increase to a record high of 4.4 baht per kilowatt-hour (unit) between September and December meaning Thai residents face higher bills. The ERC says the higher power tariff, which is made up…
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Foreigner stabbed in Pattaya refuses hospital treatment
An unidentified foreign man was stabbed near Walking Street in Pattaya in the early hours of yesterday morning. Despite bleeding heavily, the man refused to get his wounds treated at hospital. He refused to explain what happened or give personal details to the police. Eyewitnesses told police that a physical fight broke out between two foreign men who had been…
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Come fly with me in Thailand, with a face mask – OPINION
July 1 is looming as the day Thailand really opens up again, with all the ‘Covid’ paperwork (aka. The Thailand Pass) being binned. They’re even scrapping the TM6 form, at least in the short to medium term (maybe permanently?). But if you want a reminder about some of Thailand’s more hypocritical and absurd Covid restrictions, just go for a flight,…
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Bangkok man steals gold valued at 2 million baht after his crypto stash tanked
The impact of the crypto crisis is rearing its head in Bangkok. Yesterday, a man stole necklaces valued at 2 million baht from a gold shop in Phra Nakhon district of Thailand’s capital city. The man entered the gold shop before pulling out a gun, waving it at staff and customers. The shop’s owner, staff, and customers all fled to…
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Thailand’s Criminal Court issues warrants for alleged Taiwan murder accomplices
The Thai man who murdered a pregnant woman and her husband in Taiwan might not have acted alone. Thailand’s Criminal Court has now issued arrest warrants for 2 alleged accomplices. Now, police from the Crime Suppression Division are on the hunt for the 2 alleged partners in crime. This news comes after the prime suspect, 35 year old “Santi”, handed…
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Poll shows that Thais like ‘soft power’
Thais are liking their government’s new ‘soft power’ promotion of the Kingdom to the rest of the world and to boost the local economy. The idea of soft promotion, or indirect promotion, took off after young rapper ‘Milli’ promoted the country’s signature sticky rice and mango dish in April. In the scheme, Thai authorities aim to promote the ‘5 Fs’…
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Phuket teens promised cash prizes for anti-drug slogans
Cash prizes might be a new way to motivate Phuket’s youngsters to stay off drugs. Or make a new way to bring up the topic and discuss it in a more positive environment. Teens and pre-teens in Phuket’s Kathu district have been invited to compete for the best anti-drug slogan. The grand prize winner who comes up with the best…
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Bangkok’s protestors keep up the fight against Prayut
Bangkok’s anti-government protestors are keeping up the fight to pressure Thailand’s PM Prayut Chan-o-cha to step down. Protestors staged their “Second Walk to Chase Tu” last night, moving from Royal Thai Police headquarters to Din Daeng intersection in the centre of Bangkok. The spot is close to Prayut’s residence ‘Tu’ and ‘Uncle Tu’ are Prayut’s nicknames, often used not so…
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Phuket Zoo to close down following Covid-19 economic destruction
Phuket Zoo is the latest casualty of Covid-19 restrictions’ devastation on the island province’s tourism economy. The zoo is closing down, and all its animals have been sent to new homes, according to the owner. The zoo’s owner and operator, 42 year old Suriya Tanthaweewong, told The Phuket News this week that the zoo started to close when the pandemic broke…
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‘Phuket Durian Fair’ promotes Thailand’s popular fruit for tourism
Hold your nose. Agriculture officials in Phuket have opened the ‘Phuket Durian Fair’ this week, seeking to promote the famous Thai fruit to bring income to local farmers. The Phuket Provincial Agriculture Office held the opening event in front of its offices on Narisorn Road in the island province’s main city district. The late Anthony Bourdain once said of the…
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‘Travellers’ caught smuggling cocaine worth millions of baht to Phuket and Bangkok
The big bad international criminals Thai police warned of earlier this month have made their way to Bangkok and Phuket. Four ‘travellers’ have been caught smuggling cocaine valued at millions of baht into Phuket and Bangkok in the past 2 weeks. A South African man allegedly smuggled in 1.5 kilograms of cocaine, valued at 4.5 million baht, to Phuket International…
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Young whale spotted caught in rubbish in Phuket
Another damning video is exposing the danger of Thailand’s pollution towards its wildlife, this time in Phuket. On Thursday, a fisherman spotted a young sperm whale stuck in rubbish near Phuket’s Racha Island. The fisherman, Pongsakorn Naksaard, posted a photo and 2 videos of the poor creature on Facebook. One of the videos shows the pile of rubbish more clearly.…
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More drama with Pattaya’s Jomtien Beach vendors
There’s been more drama between beach goers and vendors at Jomtien Beach in the south of Pattaya. A photo posted earlier this week on the Facbeook page ‘Footpath Thai Style’ raised alarm bells about the lack of walking space available on the beach. The photo shows the beach crowded due to street vendors, entrepreneurial locals and other beachgoers. In April,…
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