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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Thailand’s weather may require warmer clothes over next seven days
Thailand’s weather may require warmer clothes over the next seven days as the air is expected to be colder from tomorrow. According to the Thai Meteorological Department, a strong cold front from China will cover northern Thailand from tomorrow until Saturday. The front is expected to cause a 3 to 6-degree Celsius drop in temperatures nationwide except in the south.…
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Japanese government wants to offer additional 80,000 yen to new parents
Japan’s government is wanting to boost the amount given to new parents by 80,000 yen (US$585) to motivate citizens to have more babies. As the country’s birthrate has been declining for some time, the government has tried to find ways to boost family planning. According to the Japan Times, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare currently offer a Childbirth…
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Drunk driver tries to smash through police checkpoint in Pattaya
A drunk driver tried to smash his way through a police checkpoint in Pattaya yesterday. His attempt failed and police arrested the inebriated man. The Pattaya City Police set up the checkpoint after midnight today on North Pattaya Road in Naklua to catch drunk drivers. The operation proved to be successful as several drivers were charged with drunk driving. Pattaya…
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Massage shop owners claim ignorance of underage sex
In Nontha Buri, a couple has been arrested for running a massage shop that was a front for underage sex trafficking. Police have been investigating online advertising that hinted that very young and possibly underage girls were available for services beyond traditional massage. After gathering evidence, police raided and found seven girls between the ages of 15 and 17 years…
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Who is Khru Yun, ‘angel of child protection,’ accused of abuse?
For the last four decades, Montri “Khru Yun” Sintawichai has been known as the “angel of child protection” – but that changed recently. Now, he is facing charges of child abuse, child labour and even human trafficking. Montri denies all the allegations made against him. He said… “I’m hurt, but I’m not going to give up social work.” Thaipbsworld tells…
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Sex toys seized as police arrest 6 Thais on a Pattaya porn set
Police raided a live pornographic studio set up at a condominium in Pattaya yesterday, arrested six people and confiscated recording equipment and sex toys. Police found five men and a woman either participating, filming or livestreaming obscene sexual acts to a Chinese audience in rental room 801, Building D at the Acacia Beach Continental condo in South Pattaya, reported The Daily…
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Biggest joke – Big Joke fired as puppet master Chuvit pulls strings
National police chief Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittiprapas has relieved Pol Gen Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn of command of the “Tuhao” investigation and taken control of the investigation into the crime syndicates run by Chaiyanat Kornchayanant. Big Joke has been fired apparently to appease “supergrass” Chuvit Kamolvisit, who appears now to be the de facto leader of the investigation. Damrongsak said…
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It’s Bank of the Future for Thai consumers
A survey revealed that Thai consumers are quite happy to go “Bank of the Future” to share personal data to get a better digital banking experience. An encouraging sign given e-commerce platform Shopee announced a permanent end to purchases made by bank payment after a Thai customer was hacked via Shopee and lost tens of thousands of baht from a bank account linked to…
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Two of four robbers still missing after gold shop shooting
Two out of four suspects remain at large after an attempted gold shop robbery that ended in a hail of bullets. Four people tried to break into a gold shop in the Muang district of the northern province of Tak on Thursday. But they did not expect to be faced with a shop owner who is a champion marksman. He…
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Demon drink – new kid on the block kills neighbour with stick
Yet another Thai man killed a “friend” “by accident” over a “misunderstanding,” this time involving alcohol, for a change. A Buriram man who did not like being asked to pay for his booze has admitted hitting a drinking buddy over the head with a nailed stick but says he did not expect the blow to kill him. Nang Rong police…
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Tourism milestone: Thailand celebrates 10 millionth visitor
Yesterday marked a milestone for Thailand tourism as the 10 millionth international traveller arrived in the kingdom. Visitors were welcomed at each of Thailand’s seven international airports as well as two land immigration checkpoints. One lucky passenger was showered with gifts at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on hand for the festivities. The landmark was dubbed…
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Cambodian assault victim – ex-wife of Australian boss denies involvement
The ex-wife of an Australian man whose Cambodian employee was assaulted by two Polish men last month has been forced to deny any involvement in the shocking crime. Katanyuta Oche, 49 years old, of Nakhon Ratchasima, told reporters that she heard in media reports that she was accused of involvement in the case in Pattaya. Katanyuta denied knowing the Polish…
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License plate lottery – Today’s lucky number is 45,090,000
The Department of Land Transport’s license plate lottery – and auction of what they laughingly describe as “auspicious” vehicle licence plate numbers – on Saturday produced the highest-ever winning bid at 45.09 million baht (US$1.3 million) for plate number 9 Kor Kor 9999. On Saturday a total of 64 plates were up for auction and another 237 will be offered…
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Coconut farmers fight back with monkey-free certificates
Coconut farmers in Ratchaburi and Samut Sakhon provinces have received Department of Agriculture monkey-free certificates in an attempt to combat a PETA Asia campaign against traditional coconut farming. The certificate confirms that no monkeys were used during collection. PETA Asia found the issue of Thai farmers using monkeys to collect coconuts sufficiently photogenic to bring it to the world’s attention…
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Fearless Facebook page sells counterfeit banknotes
Maybe he didn’t know it was illegal? Thai social media is aflutter over my Facebook page that unabashedly offered counterfeit Thai banknotes for sale. With fake money being offered for sale so brazenly, some people are even questioning whether these counterfeit bills are already in their wallets. The popular Thai page Panda Lab Doctor brought attention to this website with…
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Suthep graft case dismissed by Supreme court
Former Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban has been cleared in a graft case, dismissed by Supreme Court Friday. The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) is to appeal against the ruling acquitting Suthep of massive corruption. Suthep is accused of malfeasance in construction projects for police stations and officers’ living quarters more than a decade ago. NACC chairman Watcharapol Prasarnrajkit said Friday…
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An Azur Air flight circles Phuket for hours, then aborts
An Azur Air flight intended for Russia never made and no one is saying why. The flight took off toward Novosibirsk after a five-hour delay but never made it past the Andaman Sea. It circled for hours and ended up back in Phuket leaving about 200 passengers stranded. Azur Air flight ZF3750 was supposed to depart at 3.50pm yesterday toward…
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UPDATE: Polish men identified after assaulting Cambodian woman
Police in Pattaya have now issued arrest warrants for two Polish men that have been identified in a brutal attack on a young Cambodian woman. She was violently attacked and tortured in Chon Buri province in eastern Thailand. The young woman says she was tricked by Polish men who said they wanted to pay her to draw something. She says…
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Canadian hitman in Phuket killing moves closer to extradition
The Canadian hitman accused of killing a Vancouver gangster in Phuket is one step closer to extradition after a ruling from an Alberta judge. Matthew Dupre was committed to extradition Friday, to be surrendered to Thailand to be tried for his involvement in the death of Jimi Singh Sandhu. Dupre was a member of the Canadian Armed Forces in Afghanistan…
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Pattaya visa legend dies of cancer
The Pattaya expat community is saddened to learn today that one of its most loved members, Darren McGarry, has died suddenly after a long battle with cancer. Manchester-born McGarry was the founder of the successful Pattaya-based visa company Key Visa, reported Pattaya Mail. He established a business in Bangkok before moving to Pattaya almost 30 years ago where he married…
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Transport officials expect tens of thousands of bus travellers in Thailand during three-day weekend.
Transport officials expect tens of thousands of domestic bus travellers in Thailand during the three-day weekend from December 10-12. The managing director of the state-run Transport Co Ltd., Sanyalak Panwattanalikhit, said the company has about 3,000 trips to facilitate during these days. Sanyalak said that over 227,386 people travelled during the last long weekend from December 2-5, for Thai Father’s Day.…
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Twitter investigation discovers mass censorship & blacklisting under previous regime
Elon Musk’s decision to fire most of his staff when he bought Twitter caused much furore on and off the platform but a recent investigation into the staff’s censorship behaviour would make China blush and suggests he was right. The US business magnate, who bought the social media platform on October 27, last week handed over the Twitter files to…
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Teen protestor claims police harassment
A child protestor aged only 13 is claiming he was followed and harassed by police after a protest at Sanam Luang – Democracy Monument – on Fathers’ Day earlier this week. “Oia” (pseudonym) said that on Monday he tried to stage a protest calling for the repeal of the royal defamation law during an event commemorating the birthday of the…
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Eight celebrities to join Japanese tycoon in space venture around the moon
Eight celebrities have been chosen to join eccentric Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa next year on an ambitious plan to fly around the moon. Maezawa announced on Twitter today that he will be accompanied by an unorthodox crew of DJ and producer Steve Aoki of the United States, US YouTuber Tim Dodd, Czech artist Yemi AD, Irish photographer Rhiannon Adam, British…
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Flash flood warning issued for 9 provinces in southern Thailand
Heavy rain and flash flooding is expected to continue on southern Thailand‘s east coast for at least another two days, from December 9-10, according to the Songkhla Meteorological Centre. A monsoon from the northeast is moving southward to the Gulf of Thailand and a second monsoon is moving northward through upper Malaysia, said the centre. Heavy rainfall is expected today,…
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No link between phishing and Shopee transfer scam
E-commerce platform Shopee has stopped Internet bank transfers as a payment method for purchases, as it wants to improve the user experience. The company says the move is unrelated to the case of a buyer’s account being allegedly hacked. In an email to The Thaiger, Shopee said… “The phasing out of manual bank transfers as a payment method on Shopee…
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From soapy king to supersleuth, Chuwit’s rehabilitation
The rehabilitation of soapy massage king Chuwit Kamolvisit continues. The controversial former Thai politician was once the country’s biggest massage parlour owner and fondly known throughout the kingdom as the “tub tycoon.” Chuwit acknowledged paying hefty bribes to many Thai police officers after he was arrested in 2003 but then decided to go legit. The 61 year old sold most of…
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Polish men attack Cambodian woman with acid, knife and hammer in Thailand
A young Cambodian woman says she was brutally attacked by Polish men in Chon Buri province in eastern Thailand. The attackers slashed her with a knife, beat her with a hammer, and threw acid on her face, body, and genitals, leaving her dripping with blood and in need of 260 stitches. Yesterday, the Secretary-General of the People’s Advocacy Team Foundation…
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Thai traffickers trick man into prostitution in Dubai
Thailand’s cruel sex traffickers have struck again. The victim, a man only identified as ‘B,’ said the three traffickers told him he would work as a massage therapist in Dubai last year. On top of a monthly 80,000 baht salary, B was promised free food and accommodation, as well as a free flight. But B was in for a horrific…
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