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 How to reduce out-of-pocket medical expenses in Thailand?
Managing medical expenses in Thailand is important as healthcare costs continue to rise. The country’s healthcare system includes both public and private options, but even with the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) for citizens, many still face high out-of-pocket medical expenses....
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Pattaya International Fireworks Festival meets goal of over 100,000 spectators
The Pattaya International Fireworks Festival 2022 has come to a close, and officials say the festival was a success. Pattaya Mayor Poramase Ngampiches said the festival met its goal of bringing back tourists to boost Pattaya’s economy. As expected, the festival drew over 100,000 spectators. Although there were some major traffic delays, there were no reports of other issues during…
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Bank of Thailand to raise interest rates on Wednesday
Bank of Thailand (BOT) Governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput today announced interest rates will be raised on Wednesday to deal with potential inflation increases. Governor Sethaput is expected to raise interest rates by a modest quarter-point to take the benchmark rate to 1.25% underscoring ongoing worries about growth in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy. Thailand’s economy lagged its Southeast Asia contemporaries and is…
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Raids on drinking and gambling dens expose Chinese influence
Raids on illegal drinking and gambling dens in Bangkok and Pattaya have done little to solve the problem. Rather, they have drawn attention to the number of Chinese nationals involved in Thailand’s burgeoning organised crime scene. But don’t worry, celebrity sleuth “Big Joke” is on it. Deputy national police chief Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn is ready to prosecute and extradite…
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Cruise brings 600 tourists to Koh Samui
After three years of pandemic-induced quiet, Koh Samui welcomed back its first major cruise ship. Viking Cruises included Koh Samui in their Secrets of Southeast Asia cruise, stopping on Sunday for some 600 passengers to come ashore and explore the Thai tourist island. The large vessel was welcomed as it docked at Nathon Pier on the west coast of Koh…
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Thai gold necklace thief escapes arrest by swimming to Myanmar
A thief stole a gold necklace worth about 150,000 baht from a shop near a police station in Chiang Rai and then escaped arrest by embarking on a death-defying swim across a snake-infested river to Myanmar. Khaosod reported that the theft happened on Saturday, November 26, at a gold shop named Seri Phan in the Mae Sai district of Chiang…
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People of China protest on streets over mainland’s zero-Covid policy
The people of China appear to have had enough of the mainland’s zero-Covid policy. Incredibly, the usually deferential Chinese people were on the streets calling for their nation’s leader, President Xi Jinping, to stand down. It wasn’t anarchy on the mainland streets over the weekend but it wasn’t far off as hundreds of people in several major cities clashed with…
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Iranian Kurdish football player arrested after speaking out
Iranian authorities arrested a former member of the country’s national football team on November 24. Voria Ghafouri was arrested for “insulting the national soccer team and propagandising against the government,” Iranian media reported. Ghafouri, who was not chosen to go to the World Cup, is a member of Iran’s Kurdish ethnic minority. He recently called for an end to the…
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Angry woman sets fire to her boyfriend’s Pattaya room
A Thai woman in Pattaya gave new meaning to the phrase “in the heat of passion.” After accusing her boyfriend of having an affair, the enraged woman set fire to his rented apartment room. The incident took place early yesterday morning in Nong Prue. At about 1.30am, Nong Prue Police were notified of a fire in a rental room on…
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Why aren’t tourists returning to Khao San Road?
The past few years have been dark for tourism in Thailand and around the world. The Covid-19 global pandemic closed borders and killed tourism in so many crucial areas. Khao San Road, the vibrant, bustling backpacker haven of Thailand’s capital city of Bangkok quickly fell into a desolate ghost town. Now, the last pandemic restrictions have been lifted, and the…
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A burglar, in a hole, in the roof, in the night
A Nakhon Si Thammarat burglar, well-known to authorities, who dropped in from the ceiling rather than breaking in through a window or door was taken to the police by his long-suffering mother following his latest exploits. At about 2am the morning before, a thief had dropped in from the roof of a teacher’s home in the district and demanded 500…
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Drug policy outlines by PM, cash rewards to police in busts
The Thai government held an event outlining its plan for stopping the spread of narcotics while simultaneously presenting police with the same sort of reward kickbacks that allowed disgraced police officer Joe Ferrari to amass extreme wealth on a small salary. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha released Thailand’s new urgent narcotics action plan in a special event to discuss drugs in the kingdom.…
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World Cup to be shown in Thai prison
If you’re a huge fan of crime, but also a huge fan of football, you may have been discouraged from pulling off any heists for fear of missing the FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar. Don’t worry, now you can go out and commit that crime! The director-general of the Corrections Department has announced the World Cup will be shown in…
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Russian invasion takes Thailand’s tourism forces by surprise
The Russians are coming! The recent mass Russian invasion of Thailand has taken the country’s tourism forces completely by surprise. Unexpected numbers of tourists from the war-torn county have tourism operators scrambling to cope with an army of independent travellers, more than capable of looking after themselves, and left commentators scrambling to occupy the moral high ground. Despite the ongoing…
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Late night drinking hopes dashed by Alcohol Control Committee
The dream of boozing late into the early hours of the morning is dead, at least for now. The Thai Alcohol Control Committee ruled against the proposal to extend the legal hours for alcohol sales until 4am. The ruling was made after a widespread push gained momentum and support from politicians and business operators, especially in tourist areas. The committee…
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Thai Airways appoint new CEO
Thai Airways appointed CFO Chai Eamsiri as CEO. Chai will take up his new role on February 1. Chai was chosen from 53 internal and external candidates, including domestic and international aviation executives. The recruitment processes involved psychometric testing for leadership capability. Applicants also presented their vision for the company to the selection committee. With an MBA from Kasetsart University…
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Private jet in ‘Tuhao’ case still flying free
The private jet in the “Tuhao” case has not been seized by authorities. The Office of the Narcotics Control Board’s (ONCB) Wichai Chaimongkol yesterday denied that the office had seized the private jet being serviced at Bo Fai airfield in Prachuap Khiri Khan. Chaiyanat Kornchayanant – alias Tuhao, aka “rich guy” – will have his assets seized if the ONCB…
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VIDEO: Naked Russian man walks around with erection in Koh Samui
A naked Russian man was spotted cavorting in Koh Samui yesterday. According to witness Justin Ross Lee, an American expat, the drunk man had somehow managed to find himself in the Secret Garden beach resort mixing with shocked leisure seekers. Lee told The Thaiger… “A drunk guy who was speaking Russian was walking on the beach naked with an erection…
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E-San Music Festival draws thousands to northeast Thailand this weekend
E-san Music Festival returns for a 10th time in Khon Kaen province in northeast Thailand this weekend. At least 100,000 people are expected to attend. The hippie festival, dubbed “Thailand’s Woodstock,” draws Thais and foreign tourists to Khon Kaen year-in-and-year-out. Usually, E-san Music Festival is held at the province’s giant Ubonratana Dam in the Phu Wiang district. However, the dam…
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Somewhere over the rainbow lie Qatar’s homosexuality laws
As the FIFA World Cup, Qatar 2022 spotlights the human rights record of the host, what really is Qatar’s laws on homosexuality? The World Cup is being held in a nation with a reputation for poor human rights which forbids same-sex relations. The tournament would normally unite the world but this one has polarised opinions everywhere. Qatari law calls for…
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14 computer hackers arrested for spamming over 115 govt sites with gambling ads
Fourteen computer crooks were arrested yesterday after hacking into 115 government websites and spamming them with online gambling advertising banners. The Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD), under the Royal Thai Police, discovered last month that dozens of government websites had been spammed with illegal gambling websites. More than 50 gambling websites were spotted on 115 official websites. Most of the…
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Murdered transwoman thrown into canal ‘still alive’ in central Thailand
The court has denied bail to the delivery driver suspected of murdering the transwoman whose body was found floating in a canal in Pathum Thani province just north of Bangkok in central Thailand on Wednesday. The killer picked up 29 year old Piyada “Goya” Sorrakun in his Mazda 2 from Lumpini Park on Tuesday night. In the car, he threatened…
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Hua Hin International Jazz Festival coming up
The Hua Hin International Jazz Festival is coming up, with more than 30 artists from around the world en route to perform at the renowned tourism hotspot. Several local artists and bands will also be performing. The festival will be held from December 2-3 on Suan Son Pradit beach, in front of the Seapine Recreation Centre. Musicians will perform from…
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Tour operators reluctant to fund staff training
Around a quarter of tourism businesses want to increase their workforces, but tour operators are reluctant to fund staff training, concerned about volatile demand. Bosses want taxpayers to pay their training expenses for them, according to the National Institute of Development Administration. Tourism is perhaps the biggest driver of the Thai economy. Employers who can afford to say they want…
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Pattaya International Fireworks Festival 2022 starts today
Pattaya International Fireworks Festival 2022 will illuminate the skyline of Central Pattaya Beach tonight and tomorrow. The festival in Pattaya presents several amazing fireworks displays from countries including Belgium, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Canada. Visitors can sit and enjoy the event along the beach from 7.30pm onward. Beach beds are available at an affordable 50 baht each while restaurants along…
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Media members ask for investigation after police allegedly injure photojournalists at APEC
Members of the media are asking Thailand’s House Committee to investigate police conduct after alleging that they were injured during a clash at the APEC summit. A representative of four photojournalists says they were injured in a clash between anti-government protesters and riot police at last week’s summit in Bangkok. The senior editor of online news outlet The Matter, Pongpiphat Banchanont,…
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Wanted murderer arrested in Thailand after 11 years on the run
A man wanted for the murder of his former mother-in-law has been arrested by police in Nakhon Ratchasima province in northeast Thailand after 11 years on the run. After shooting dead his mother-in-law, he physically assaulted his ex-wife until she was seriously injured and kidnapped their two year old before dumping the young child in the middle of the road.…
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Greenpeace join fishers’ campaign to save Thailand’s mackerel
Greenpeace has joined a campaign to save Thailand’s mackerel from extinction. The Canadian-based independent campaigning group reported that Thai mackerel today is not as abundant and cheap as it was before because of years of unregulated overfishing. As a consequence, the fish sold in the markets are getting smaller, most of it is imported from other countries, and many believe…
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UK stops instalment of Chinese cameras in government buildings over security risks
The UK is stopping the instalment of new Chinese-made cameras in government buildings citing security risks. Such Chinese companies may be subjected to China’s security laws, with Britain advising to disconnect them from core computer networks. According to The Straits Times, the government furthered that such cameras should be removed altogether in a written statement to Parliament. Cabinet Office minister…
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Tuhao refused bail as celebrity wife enters equation
Alleged gangster ‘Tuhao” was refused bail yesterday in Bangkok. The nickname “Tuhao” – Chinese for a rich guy – tells us a lot about Chaiyanat Kornchayanant, a supposedly respectable businessman, known among other rich guys as “rich guy.” What can that possibly mean? In many places, this kind of nickname would mean “broke guy,” but Chaiyanat appears to be anything…
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Polish tourist killed in Phuket vehicle crash
A Polish tourist was tragically killed in a vehicle crash in Phuket’s town of Kamala yesterday. The 69 year old man crashed his motorbike into a taxi car on Patong Road. Rescuers dashed to the scene to find the man lying on the road, having sustained severe head injuries. The taxi car and the motorbike were both damaged. The taxi…
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