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 9 most common health issues covered by insurance for expats in Thailand
Thailand is a popular destination for expats due to its affordable lifestyle and excellent healthcare system. However, settling in a new country often brings health concerns. To ensure you’re covered for the most common medical needs, understanding what expat health...
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Police bust drug party at Bangkok gay club for the second time
A gay club in Bangkok that had previously been busted for operating illegally in May has been busted again as police raided a drug party there last night. The large venue on Ramkhamhaeng Soi 21 had generated complaints to the police that people were drinking and doing drugs inside. Officers from the Children and Women’s Welfare Supervision Division as well…
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Covid-19 restrictions eased: domestic flights can fly full
The Ministry of Public Health says domestic airlines will have their capacity limits lifted and be allowed to fly full planes after the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration agreed to remove the limit. Until this new Covid-19 decree, flights were limited to 75% maximum capacity. The director for emergency health hazards and diseases warned that the easing of capacities does…
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Restaurant goes viral as diners enjoy braving the floodwaters
When life gives you lemons… A restaurant in Nonthaburi that had fallen victim to rising floodwaters along the Chao Phraya River turned a negative into a positive as videos went viral showing diners at the restaurant sitting at tables knee-deep in floodwaters. The Chao Phraya International Cafe in the Bangkok suburb Nonthaburi province had already been struggling with the effects…
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Customers at Isaan restaurant face 2 months in jail for drinking alcohol
Customers drinking alcohol at a restaurant in the Isaan province Nakhon Ratchasima reportedly face two-month prison sentences and a 12,500 baht fine. The Bangkok Post reported that Thai police raided the restaurant on Wednesday night and arrested 39 people including customers and staff. Police say the bar was open past the hours set by emergency orders and was serving alcohol.…
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16 million baht worth of knockoff clothing in Bangkok warehouse
A search of a business in southwestern Bangkok yesterday after a tip-off about low-quality knockoff goods being sold online led to the arrest of a Chinese man with 16 million baht of merchandise stored in his warehouse. The Economic Crime Division Police obtained a search warrant for a warehouse on Soi Sakaengam 39/2 in Bang Khun Thian and then raided…
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Hacker arrested after selling data of 600,000 customers
A former employee of a well-known company in Thailand was arrested for a data breach where he allegedly hacked and sold the data of 600,000 customers. The hacker, known as Woraphol, was taken into custody by the Technical Crime Suppression Division after the company the man worked for previously uncovered the data breach and contacted the police. A search warrant…
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TAT 80% revenue recovery plan: get travellers to spend double
While the Tourism Authority of Thailand admits the revenue figures for 2021 are grim and likely won’t improve monumentally in the final quarter, they still have a rosy outlook on the tourism market rebounding over the next few years. The TAT is estimating that by 2023 tourism revenue will have recovered to 80% of the huge numbers seen at its…
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Thailand hotels hopeful on reopening, short-term focus on domestic travellers
With Thailand’s traditional high season approaching, along with plans to reopen more key tourist destinations, hotels and hospitality groups are hoping that the arrival of more tourists this year will provide a much needed boost to the economy. This is especially the case in Bangkok, which is traditionally so reliant on tourism. But with reopening plans having been delayed repeatedly,…
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Thai Lion Air adds more aircraft to fleet as Thailand plans further re-opening
Thai Lion Air is expanding its fleet as Thailand plans to re-open more parts of the country to international travel. The carrier’s chief executive, Aswin Yangkirativorn, says the expanded fleet, which includes 2 Airbus aircraft and 2 Boeing 737s, will serve international destinations. The airline has already taken delivery of the Airbus aircraft, with the Boeing delivery expected before the…
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Nakhon Si Thammarat police: don’t throw eggs at PM Prayut
Perhaps in an effort to do some damage control for today’s visit from PM Prayut Chan-o-cha to inspect flood preparedness in the Southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat, the provincial police released an official warning notice instructing people to be on good behaviour for the prime minister’s visit. After several stops of his flood surveying tour has been met by…
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12 children and a journalist held in riot police officer shooting
A group of 13 people were held for questioning at Din Daeng flats in Bangkok in the early hours of this morning after an incident late last night saw a riot policeman shot. The group rounded up by police consisted of one staff member of an independent media organisation and 12 teenagers and younger children. Tensions have been rising in…
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6 warrants out for death of 1 million swiftlets, theft of bird’s nest
Six arrests have been made in connection with the shocking story last month of caves raided in Phatthalung where 1 million swiftlets were killed and their valuable birds’ nest plundered. Swiftlets, unlike other birds, make their nests entirely out of their own saliva which has been prized, especially in Asian culture, as a healing delicacy. Authorities estimated a 5 billion…
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Domestic tourism hoped to generate 882 billion baht in 2022
Perhaps not putting all of its eggs in the foreign tourism basket, the Thai government has now set a target for domestic tourism revenue next year to reach close to 1 trillion baht. While international travel is slowly finally opening back up in Thailand, it is more of a trickle than a flood, and government officials are looking towards domestic…
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Airport bosses says Don Mueang is prepared for flooding threat
The director of Bangkok’s Don Mueang airport says the facility can cope with the threat of flooding and mechanisms are in place to drain floodwater. According to a Bangkok Post report, Thanee Chuangchoo says the airport has the means to drain excess water from runways, taxi-ways, and the aircraft apron within 3 hours. Thanee says the airport’s drainage system consists…
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Phuket sandbox has welcomed 42,000 international arrivals since July 1
Since the launch of the Phuket sandbox scheme on July 1, the southern island has welcomed over 42,000 foreign visitors to its shores. The Tourism Authority of Thailand has got the calculator out again and according to TAT Phuket director, Nanthasiri Ronnasiri, over 2 billion baht has been generated for the economy. “We set the target at 100,000 visitors because…
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UK ditches “non-essential travel” alert for 32 countries, Thailand remains on red list
The British government has amended its advice to avoid non-essential travel to 32 countries. The Bangkok Post reports that the move comes as countries around the world continue to make progress in fighting the pandemic. However, according to the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Thailand remains on the red list, along with South Africa, Brazil, and Mexico. “The Foreign,…
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Phuket’s Vegetarian Festival schedule 2021
Phuket’s Vegetarian Festival, also known as the Nine Emperor Gods Festival, has arrived. Spanning 10 days from October 5 to the 15, the festival is iconic for those who like exotic and very, very unique cultural events. It’s a commemoration that invites ancient Chinese spirts to come down from the heavens to witness almost 8 days of fire walking, noisy…
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Chiang Mai couple arrested for selling outdoor sex show online
In the continued crackdown in Thailand against sexually explicit material being sold on the internet, a Thai couple has been arrested in Chiang Mai for having sex in public and selling videos of it online. The couple was arrested over an incident that took place in May where they are accused of having sex in public in front of a…
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Activists petition to stop emergency decree being used to curtail freedom of speech
A human rights NGO has petitioned the Civil Court to abolish the government’s use of the emergency decree to quash freedom of expression. The Internet Law Reform Dialogue group filed the petition against the PM, Prayut Chan-o-cha, and the relevant authorities. According to a Bangkok Post report, iLaw manager Yingcheep Atchanond, feminist activist Chutima Tangkliang, and Atthapol Buapat from the…
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Flood warning issued for Bangkok
Despite officials hoping for a reduction in the heavy rainfall and flooding affecting many parts of Thailand, it seems the situation is not easing yet. Residents in Bangkok, along the capital’s Chao Phraya River, have been put on high alert over potential flooding. The Bangkok Post reports that the warning comes as 3,000 cubic metres of water per second flows…
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Former cop accused of torture and murder was involved in seizure of over 400 luxury cars
A man accused of murder and fired from his role as police chief in the northern province of Nakhon Sawan was involved in the confiscation of over 400 luxury cars. According to deputy national police chief, Suchart Thiraswasdi, disgraced former cop Thitisan Utthanaphol was involved in the seizure of 410 high-end vehicles that had been smuggled into Thailand from Malaysia…
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Our take on the new GWM Haval H6 ULTRA
The recent launch of Great Wall Motor’s 2021 Haval H6 ULTRA Hybrid SUV in Thailand, has definitely set car lovers’ tongues wagging. Around 3 months ago, GWM announced it would be introducing the new H6 Haval ULTRA (the top model for the Thai range) with an accompanying theme of ‘It’s Time to CHANGE.’ The SUV is a true hybrid, including…
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Widespread flooding easing across affected provinces
Officials say the widespread flooding that has affected Bangkok and several other provinces is showing signs of easing. However, there are already forecasts of another storm that could affect Thailand from next week. AP News reports that so far, 8 people have been killed by the floods, with 1 woman still missing. Thousands of homes have been affected, across 32…
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Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram are down as the Facebook data centre crashes
Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram are all down on this Monday evening. Users of Facebook’s suite of social media platforms are all non-responsive as millions of users try to access their accounts. Users on mobile, desktop and tablets are all affected. Issues started around 22:44 Thai Time and are currently impacting users worldwide with the hashtag #facebookdown trending on Twitter. We’re…
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Swiss man arrested for allegedly beating a man to death, claiming self-defence
A 63 year old Swiss man was arrested for allegedly beating a Thai man to death. Police say the Swiss national, identified as Rudolf, told officers that the man had come to his home, pointed a gun at his head, and demanded money. Officers say Rudolf confessed to beating the man, but did not intend to kill him, adding that…
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Thai AirAsia operating 20 domestic routes from this month
From this month, Thai AirAsia is resuming a number of domestic routes, as well as introducing new ones. TTR Weekly reports that the low-cost carrier is now operating flights from Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport to Phitsanulok, Nan, Loei, Sakon Nakhon, Surat Thani, Krabi, and Trang. It will also launch a new route from Chiang Mai to Hua Hin from October…
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All countries now eligible for Thailand’s sandbox programme
The Thai government has got rid of its list of “approved countries”, opening up the sandbox tourism programme to fully vaccinated visitors from anywhere in the world. According to a Bangkok Post report, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has welcomed the move, which means Indonesian and Malaysian tourists can now visit the kingdom. Prior to Covid-19, Malaysia was Thailand’s second…
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Thailand to charge foreign arrivals 500 baht “tourism fee” from next year
Despite Thailand struggling to reboot its decimated tourism sector, the government is pushing ahead with a proposed tourism fee – and has increased it by 200 baht. The National Tourism Policy Committee originally approved a fee of 300 baht at the start of this year, which would be used to develop tourism destinations and provide tourists with insurance benefits. According…
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NACC: Trisara resort faces illegal land ownership charges
Following on from last week’s disclosure of a probe into the upscale Sri Panwa property in Phuket, another luxury property, Trisara resort, faces a similar investigation into illegal land ownership by the National Anti-Corruption Commission. The probe by the NACC into Trisara resort named 29 officials involved in the illegal document issuing, with ex-Phuket Vice Governor Weeraway Janpen being singled…
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Floods bring higher prices on vegetables to Vegetarian Festival
The world-famous Phuket Vegetarian Festival is set to begin on Wednesday, but aside from Covid-19, the flooding in Thailand has also proved to be damaging the upcoming festivities by driving up the cost and scarcity of vegetables. The heavy rains from tropical storm Dianmu have damaged many crops including vegetables in the central, north, and northeastern regions. Plus floods have…
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