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 Do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?
Thailand’s healthcare system is well-regarded across Southeast Asia, with options ranging from public hospitals to world-class private facilities. But when it comes to foreign residents or tourists, healthcare access isn’t as straightforward. So, do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?...
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After pipeline spills, Rayong officials say beach is “still unsafe”
After 3 separate oil spills from the same company within a month, Rayong officials say the Mae Ramphueng beach is still unsafe. Health officials tested urine samples of officials who had to collect the oil. Out of 534 officials, 3 showed unsafe levels of volatile compounds. 18 other officials still await their results. The Rayong Pollution Control Centre also said…
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Mor Prom’s chatbot gives you free Covid-19 advice and online diagnosis
A chatbot has been added to the Covid-19 application, Mor Prom. The update allows users to examine information about their Covid-19 symptoms, and it’s about 85% accurate according to an assistant to the public health minister. “The Mor Prom chatbot is not a medical diagnosis but it helps those who are infected with Covid-19 if they should seek urgent treatment.” Users…
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Tourists complain of more scams at a free public carpark at Pattaya’s Bali Hai Pier
Residents and Thai tourists are again complaining to Pattaya authorities saying that they were charged a parking fee at a ‘free’ public carpark at the Bali Hai Pier. The residents report there was a group of people around the carpark and demanding a fee of 300 baht per day from the drivers. Many tourists, both Thais and foreigners, weren’t aware…
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Thailand’s businesses appeal to government to lower labour import cost
Thai businesses say they need more workers, and have appealed to the Labour Ministry to reduce costs of importing migrant workers from surrounding countries like Myanmar and Cambodia. Labour ministers said business operators are concerned that if not enough workers are brought in on time, their businesses won’t be able to meet orders and will have to pay fines. PM…
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UPDATE: Junior policeman admits guilt over 9 charges relating to Bangkok zebra crossing death
UPDATE: In an evening session, Pol L/C Norawich Buadok admitted guilt to the nine charges laid over the incident on January 21 where opthalmologist Waraluck Supawatjariyakul was hit and killed when the officer’s Ducati motorbike hit her on a zebra crossing in downtown Ratchethewi, Bangkok. The nine charges include driving a vehicle with no licence plate, using a vehicle without…
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TAT says Phuket sandbox has generated over 43 billion baht in revenue
The Phuket sandbox scheme has so far generated over 43 billion baht in revenue, with visitor numbers steadily increasing. So says the Phuket office of the TAT, in a Bangkok Post report today. According to TAT Phuket director, Nanthasiri Ronnasiri, the sandbox scheme initially welcomed around 300 foreign tourists a day when it first launched last July. Since then, that…
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Tourism businesses respond angrily to Covid alert being increased to Level 4
Thailand’s tourism operators have slammed the government’s decision to raise the Covid-19 alert to Level 4, accusing officials of damaging domestic travel sentiment. They say people should be allowed to move to “living with the virus” instead of being discouraged from travel and taking a backward step in Thailand’s recovery. Chamnan Srisawat from the Tourism Council of Thailand says the…
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Police arrest key suspect in Nakhon Nayok murders
Standing shirtless in the sun on the roadside, a local man in Nakhom Nayok had a rude awakening this morning when police arrested him as a key suspect in the murder of two men and the wounding of another earlier this month. The man was arrested this morning when around 300 local and provincial officers searched the Bang Somboon area…
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PM Prayut insists former police investigator into human trafficking in Thailand can return from exile
Following the human trafficking of Rohingya people at the border of Thailand and Malaysia reported yesterday, PM Prayut declared that Thailand “was serious about human trafficking”, and the situation was “improving”. He also said that the former Thai policeman in exile in Australia, who shared the story about the case back in 2015, left the country “by himself “and insisted…
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Prosecutors decide today if officer who fatally struck pedestrian will stand trial
Prosecutors will today decide whether to indict a police officer who fatally struck a pedestrian while riding a Ducati motorbike at speed. Norawich Buadokw was off duty and riding the un-licenced superbike when he hit Bangkok ophthalmologist Dr Waraluck Supawatjariyakul on a pedestrian crossing. The incident happened on Phaya Thai Road in the Ratchathewi district of the capital on January…
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Thailand’s long road back to ’normal’
OPINION Thailand is lagging behind the rest of the world with its turn tackling the Omicron variants of the coronavirus. The sudden surge, peaking, then dropping numbers of cases that define the waves of Omicron around the world have had their peaks at different times, in different countries. For the world, the peak was on January 21, for the US…
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Saudi Arabia will have flights to Thailand available starting February 28
After Thailand and Saudi Arabia patched things up last month after decades of cold relations, flights from Saudi Arabia to Thailand will be available starting on February 28. Thai International Airways also plans to have direct flights between Bangkok and Riyadh in May. Thai tourism authorities have set a lofty goal of 20 billion baht from an expected 200,000 Saudi…
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Thailand will purchase stealth jets if United States okays
Thailand will purchase Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth jets if the United States approves it. In January, Thailand set aside US$413 million for four jets, but one Thai air marshal said Thailand wants to buy as many as eight. A US State Department spokesperson said the department doesn’t confirm or comment on proposed transfers or sales until congress has been formally…
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Is the new Boeing 737 Max safe to fly? New Netflix documentary argues the case against Boeing
A new Netflix documentary, directed by Rory Kennedy, is a withering and forensic critique of the Boeing company and their complicit cover up of problems with their new Boeing 737 Max aircraft. “Downfall: The Case Against Boeing” lacks overt drama or re-enactments of screaming passengers, but it catalogues a two decade-long decent from a company paranoid about safety to a…
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Rights groups urge United States to ban fishing nets made by Thai prisoners
A December investigation by the the Thomson Reuters foundation discovered that jails across Thailand are illegally forcing prisoners to make fishing nets for private companies, including those that export to the United States. Former prisoners Reuters interviewed said guards beat them, disallowed them to shower, and pushed back their release dates if they didn’t meet strict targets. Now, Thai and…
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Thai officials talk of replacing second PCR test for Test & Go entry with ATK
Day 5 requirements of Thailand’s Test & Go entry scheme has been discouraging some potential tourists from travelling to Thailand. Not only is a second RT-PCT test needed on the fifth day of their stay (the first test on arrival), but travellers are required to book a night at a hotel approved by the Safety and Health Administration while the…
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Launch of Bangkok’s two new electric rail lines delayed
Due to construction material complications, the debut of Bangkok’s two new electric rail lines, the Yellow and Pink lines, scheduled for later this year, is likely to be pushed back until no later than next year, according to Bangkok Mass Transit System. The delay will give contractors extra time to deal with obstacles and hurdles in importing construction materials from…
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Expats want to leave Hong Kong- but that’s an expensive thing to do
After two years of Covid-19 restrictions and political crackdowns in Hong Kong, expats there want to leave. But doing that costs a lot of money in shipping, and pet relocations. It’s not just finances that keep Hong Kong Expats from moving. People who move often have to wait months after shipping their belongings to actually receive them. Hong Kong has…
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Thai officials say to “look out for” illegal migrant workers amidst Covid-19 surge
This morning, a government spokesman said people in border provinces have been told to “look out for” illegal migrant workers as governors prepare for an increase in Covid-19 infections. He also said people should report “suspicious looking strangers” to authorities. He said police and labour officials have been told to check and make sure factories aren’t hiring illegal migrants, and…
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UK pedicab driver adopts tuk tuk tactics, forced to return lassies’ swindled quid
A pedicab driver in London who swindled two female passengers out of 180 pounds has been forced to return the money, after the Westminster City Council requested a crackdown on the city’s bicycle rickshaw “nuisance.” The driver originally charged 18 pounds for a 3 minutes trip, but then increased the price by a factor of 10 at the last minute,…
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Tourism operators submit letter to PM calling for all entry restrictions to be lifted
A number of groups representing tourism operators in the south and east of the country, as well as the Thai Hotels Association, are calling for all entry restrictions to be lifted from next month. The Bangkok Post reports that the groups have written an open letter to PM Prayut Chan-o-cha and other government officials, calling for the country to be…
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Thailand’s hotel operators call for PCR testing on arrival to be dropped
The Thai Hotels Association says the government must drop the PCR testing requirement for foreign visitors if there’s going to be any hope of salvaging the country’s tourism industry. THA president Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi says demand for the revamped Test & Go scheme is lower now than when it was first launched in November, due to high season coming to…
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Global Electric Vehicle sales up 109% last year
In new research on the global electric vehicle market, Canalys estimates that 6.5 million electric vehicles (EVs) were sold worldwide in 2021, up 109% on 2020. EVs include fully electric and plug-in hybrid passenger cars. The total global car market grew just 4% in 2021 as it continued to struggle with Covid-19 restrictions and chip shortages. EV sales represented 9%…
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Another leak found in underwater oil pipeline off the Rayong coast
Another oil leak in the pipeline off the coast of Rayong has been reported by the Star Petroleum Refining Public Company, which has sent a letter to the Map Ta Phut Provincial Police Station asking permission to repair the pipe and prevent further environmental damage. Since late January, oil leaking from the pipes have polluted Rayong’s Mae Ramphueng Beach, with…
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How internet-addicted are Thais? A new report finds out.
You guessed right, Thais are more internet-addicted than the average person around the world. A report by an analyst group called DataReportal found that in 2021, Thais spent an average of nine hours and six minutes a day on the internet. The global average was almost seven hours per day. Out of that time, an average of five hours and…
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PM Prayut orders Thailand Pass to be improved, says tourists are essential
After some glitches with the Thailand Pass, which is required to enter the country, the system is being improved to make it more convenient for those travelling to Thailand. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha ordered government agencies to quickly fix the system to ensure there are no delays with the approval process, adding that foreign tourism is essential for reviving Thailand’s economy,…
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Pattaya tourism officials pin hopes on proposed travel bubble with India
Pattaya is looking to India to salvage what’s left of tourism during the forthcoming low season, as Thailand plans a travel bubble with the South Asian nation. According to a Bangkok Post report, the Tourism Authority of Thailand is preparing a marketing plan targeting would-be visitors from India. The country is one of the few short-haul markets that doesn’t require…
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It’s official: Vietnam will reopen to tourists on March 15
In a move made three months earlier than planned, Vietnam will completely reopen to tourists starting March 15. Visitors to the country will still have to quarantine for 24 hours, and test negative for Covid-19 before departure and upon arrival. The Vietnamese government said in a statement that the reopening is part of its new response to controlling Covid-19, which…
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3 men arrested after allegedly selling tiger, leopard skins to undercover police
Three men were arrested yesterday after they were allegedly caught selling clouded leopard and tiger hides to an undercover officer. Along with three live leopard kittens, tiger and leopard hides valued at two million baht were seized by national park officers and police at a resort in Kanchanaburi, which borders Myanmar. Officers had received a tip that illegal wildlife traders…
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Thailand’s crazy cannabis laws explained
Thailand’s recent changes to the laws around cannabis have sparked confusion across the country, with many questioning, “Is weed legal now?” Well.. not the weed that will cause a high. There’s a limit on the plant’s psychoactive component, known as THC, so you won’t get stoned when you order a cannabis-infused tea or dish topped with a pot leaf. Those…
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