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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Pattaya transgender foundation concerned about stereotypes following thefts
A foundation in Pattaya is concerned about stereotypes against transgender people. This news follows a series of thefts against Indian tourists this year, many by transgender people. Most of the thefts involve transgender people snatching gold necklaces off tourists’ necks. However, there was also an incident this week when an Indian tourist said a transgender person stole his wallet. One…
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Drunk Russian man smashes glass door on Pattaya gogo bar
After not being able to pay his tab in a Pattaya gogo bar, a drunk Russian tourist went on a rampage, smashing the bar’s glass door and punching a security guard. The incident took place at Dolls, a girlie bar on Pattaya Walking Street late last night involving a 25 year old Russian man identified only as Viago. Pattaya police…
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Naked couple found dead in deep grave in Northern Thailand
The bodies of an unnamed couple have been discovered in a freshly dug grave in Chok Chai district Nakhon Ratchasima province, northeastern Thailand. The man and woman were found on Thursday evening by a local villager who had been foraging in the woods. He stumbled over some freshly-dug soil covered with branches near Ban Don Lai village in tambon Tha…
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Thailand Cabinet appoints a moral guardian
Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda probably breathed a sigh of relief yesterday as the Cabinet embarked upon a mini reshuffle. There was something of a mini coup against Anupong from within his party at last week’s censure debate and it was expected he would be replaced by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha after he received the most no-confidence votes with 212. But…
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Travel packages mired by pricey airfare, slowing tourism recovery
Many that have been eagerly awaiting the full reopening of Thailand and the return of tourism, did not anticipate the severe cost of airfare and travel packages that has come with it. Now, tourism recovery in Thailand is threatened by the staggeringly high cost to fly, pricing many would-be travellers out of the trip. The president of the Thai Travel…
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10 million baht kidnapping of businessman by Chinese crooks is comedy of errors
The botched 10 million baht kidnapping of a Vanuatu businessman by three Chinese gangsters had the hallmarks of a blockbuster comedy movie stamped all over it. The hostage and ransom demand situation may not have been funny to the businessman and his girlfriend but the situation was pure slapstick and would not look out of place on the silver screen.…
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130 tonnes of imported waste going back to Australia
Many expats living in Thailand are shocked when they see locals dumping their trash on the side of the road, but it turns out there is a much bigger perpetrator of illegal dumping in the kingdom. The Inter-Pacific Paper Company was caught by Thai authorities shipping 130 tonnes of illegal waste to Thailand from Australia. The Department of Customs contacted…
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Heavy rain kills 2 elephants at a Thailand national park
Tragedy hit Khao Yai National Park this week when park rangers discovered the carcasses of two dead elephants among the rocks near Heo Narok Waterfall. Access now has been closed to the waterfall in Nakhon Ratchasima Province as rangers try to remove the bodies. Khao Yai National Park chief Chaiya Huaihongthong yesterday revealed that the elephants died as a result…
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Thieves rob French millionaire’s house at gunpoint in northeast Thailand
Four thieves armed with guns and knives broke into a French millionaire’s house in the northeastern province of Chaiyaphum in the early hours of Monday morning and robbed millions of baht’s worth of cash and assets. The single-story home in the Noen Sa-nga district is jointly owned by 39 year old Waritsara Poobkhonthot and her French husband Stephane Greco, the…
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Tenfold tourist increase due after Thailand-Saudi route opens
Thailand is expecting a tenfold increase in visitors from Saudi Arabia after the launch of the Bangkok to Jeddah route on August 19. Deputy government spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek estimates that the upcoming launch of the direct air route between the holy city of Mecca and the Kingdom of Thailand’s capital city will push up the number of visitors from 30,000…
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Thai celebs join Olympic Day Walk-Run fun at Pattaya Beach
A number of famous Thai celebrities have signed up to make an appearance at the Olympic Day Walk-Run of 2022 at Pattaya Beach in Chon Buri. The final of the Olympic Day Walk-Run of 2022, which is scheduled to kick off at 6pm on Saturday, September 10, will be attended by Thai actors Phakin “Tono” Khamwilaisak, and Nuttanicha “Nicha” Dungwattanawanich,…
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Mayor of Pattaya expects 80,000 tourists to visit Koh Larn this holiday
Pattaya is expected to be bustling with tourists from today until Sunday, in celebration of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun’s 70th birthday today. Mayor of Pattaya Poramet Ngampichet estimates that a whopping 80,000 tourists will travel to Koh Larn island off the coast of Pattaya in the eastern province of Chon Buri during the four-day royal birthday weekend from…
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Thailand deny Uyghurs deportation to China
Fears Thailand is in the process of deporting asylum-seeking Uyghurs back to China have been denied by the government. News broke yesterday that dozens of Uyghurs from all around Thailand had been rounded up and impounded in a detention facility in Bangkok, raising fears among non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that the government plans to deport them back to China. It sparked…
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Wanted Taiwanese call centre scammer extradited from Albania to Thailand
A Taiwanese man wanted for allegedly scamming Thai victims from a call centre operation in Dubai arrived at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport yesterday afternoon to face Thailand’s justice system after being arrested in Albania in September. Tzu Yuan Kuo – or “Ayen” – was the “deputy leader” of a call centre gang scamming victims in Thailand, Japan and Malaysia from Dubai…
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UPDATE: Body of foreigner found dead in Phuket is US man
UPDATE: The foreigner’s body that was found in waters off Yanui Beach in Phuket’s main city district yesterday morning has been named as US citizen John Joseph Sheridan. The 74 year old’s body was discovered floating in the water after he apparently fell on sharp rocks and bled to death. Fisherman found Sheridan, from Pennsylvania, floating on the rocky part of the shore…
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Patient dies after the route of emergency rescue van blocked
A heartless nurse who blocked the path of an ambulance, and therefore delayed its journey to help a critical patient, is threatening to sue the emergency services and netizens who criticised her after she complained about the ambulance. The patient later died because the emergency service van did not get there in time. Tal Sulawan, a practical nurse in the…
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Thailand has 2 of the world’s most beautiful beaches, UK newspaper says
After all these years, Thailand continues to be renowned for its breathtaking beaches. Thailand has two of the “World’s 20 Most Beautiful Beaches” on a list published by UK’s Daily Star newspaper. Thailand’s Sunrise Beach was ranked in sixth place, and Maya Bay came in at 12th place on the list. Both beaches are located in South Thailand. Sunrise Beach is…
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Irony of mini coup not lost on Thailand’s Interior Minister
The irony doesn’t appear to be lost on Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda that there was something of a mini coup against him from within his party at last week’s censure debate. Gen Anupong, of course, is one of the three generals at the centre of the military coup which took place in Thailand in May 2014 along with Prime Minister…
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Indian tourist in Pattaya claims his wallet with 17,000 baht stolen
In the continuing plague of Indian tourists claiming they had high-value items stolen from them on the streets of Pattaya late at night, an Indian tourist reported that his wallet, along with 17,000 baht inside, was stolen by a transgender person. The 29 year old tourist said that he was in Central Pattaya last night at around 1am when someone…
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Thailand’s cannabis cottage industry set to fly high
Yesterday, Thailand’s Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul once again defended his decision to decriminalize cannabis. Calls to reverse or suspend the legislation, by physicians, doctors, universities, and religious groups, fell on deaf ears and hundreds of new cannabis-related businesses in the kingdom breathed a sigh of relief. The decriminalization of the drug on June 6 has led to something of…
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Pattaya’s Jomtien Beach planning temporary vendor zone
Pattaya officials have plans for a temporary solution to the drama over Jomtien Beach’s vendors. Earlier this year, a new stretch of the beach was created for tourists to enjoy. But merchants, local businesses, and hawkers quickly moved onto the area setting up stalls, tables, chairs, etc., denying access to people wanting to use the sandy area. Since then, the…
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A debt-ridden Thai woman seeks help after spiky durian assault
A Thai woman in the northern province of Lamphun has asked for media help after she was assaulted with some durian fruit because of a loan shark debt. The woman, Duangduen, revealed she borrowed about 20,000 baht from a money lender to open a shop with a friend last year. But things spiraled out of control and the interest repayment…
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Businessman rejects rumours of arrest over marijuana seizure at Bangkok airport
A businessman is rejecting rumours that he was arrested after customs seized his marijuana products at a Bangkok airport. Customs at Suvarnabhumi airport seized 5.3 kilograms of illegally imported marijuana flowers and hemp products from him earlier this week. He had allegedly smuggled the products in from the US. The suspect, who many Thais call ‘Tom Kreuasophon,’ is known by…
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Thai Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul forced to defend his ‘cannabis’ policy
Thailand’s Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul is being backed into a corner by physicians, hundreds of doctors, foundations, universities, and religious groups over his botched decriminalisation of cannabis policy. Anutin is refusing to back down from the introduction of new laws that decriminalised cannabis on June 6, despite mounting calls for the policy to be suspended amid confusion, misinterpretation, and…
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No more monkey business! Phuket monkeys lose tourists from monkeypox scare
Phuket’s monkeys are missing out on their usual feedings from tourists at Koh Siray island’s monkey viewpoint. At the viewpoint, tourists usually buy fruit from vendors to feed to the roughly 200 monkeys there. But following Phuket’s recent monkeypox scare, after a Nigerian man was found to have the virus, fewer tourists are coming to feed their furry friends. Local…
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Pheu Thai Party leader’s car kills woman crossing road
A 77 year old woman in Amnat Charoen died this morning after being hit by a car carrying the Pheu Thai party leader Khathathep Tejadejruangkul. Khathathep was on his way to Ubon Ratchathani Airport to catch a flight to Bangkok where he was scheduled to attend a House meeting. But his driver, 32 year old Sergeant Wirayut Phariwong, hit Pua…
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Anti-Fake News Centre investigated 16,843 of 800 million posts
Fake news has become one of the most continuously pervasive problems plaguing Thailand and the rest of the world. From its creation in November of 2019 up until July 20 of this year, Thailand’s Anti-Fake News Centre has sifted through 800 million messages and opened 16,843 cases to investigate and verify information, misinformation, and disinformation. Of the nearly 17,000 fact…
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Samui Summer Jazz Festivals raises THB100K for island charity Sisters on Samui (SOS)
Press Release The recent Samui Summer Jazz Festival 2022 held in June and organised by SKÃ…L International Koh Samui, has donated Thai Baht 100,000 to its charity partner, the Sisters on Samui Foundation (SOS). Funds raised through ticket sales, venues, generous sponsors and the musicians themselves contributed to this donation. The Samui Summer Jazz Festival 2022 ran from June 7-12…
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Nine alleged pedophiles arrested in Northern Thailand
Police yesterday arrested nine alleged pedophile men for having sex with underage girls in Kalasin province. The arrests were part of a bigger sex trafficking and child sexual exploitation operation in Kalasin province, in Northern Thailand. Police from the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division (ATPD) apprehended the suspects in the northeastern province yesterday. The ATPD reported that one of the suspects…
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Mor Prom to transition from Covid to a full healthcare app
Developed and evolved during the pandemic to be an all-purpose Covid-19 centre, the Mor Prom mobile app will now be transitioned into a new life as Thailand’s online health platform. The app was created as a Covid infection tracker, but quickly evolved into a source of coronavirus information, vaccine appointment scheduling and confirming, and a communication tool for the government…
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