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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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    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?...

  • Tourism is rebounding but travellers expected to spend less

    Tourism is rebounding but travellers expected to spend less

    A government spokesperson is saying that tourism is nearly back to pre-Covid levels, though the Ministry of Tourism and Sports expects travellers will spend less money than previously predicted. Since January, 5 million international travellers have now landed in Thailand, about half the amount the government forecasted by the end of the year. One million tourists entered during September, garnering…

  • Six airlines offer 300 baht discount on domestic flights in Thailand

    Six airlines offer 300 baht discount on domestic flights in Thailand

    Get 300 baht off domestic flights in the Land of Smiles under the project “Discounts All Over the Sky, Fly All Over Thailand.” The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and the Thai Airlines Association jointly launched the special offer in the hopes of stimulating the economy through domestic tourism this high season. Six airlines joined the scheme to offer 300…

  • Anutin aims to clarify cannabis reform bill, not recriminalise it

    Anutin aims to clarify cannabis reform bill, not recriminalise it

    Critics say that the current cannabis laws have led to a raft of abuse of the plant, but Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul insists that no proof has been shown of any improper use. He fought back against the call to reclassify specific parts of the cannabis plant as an illegal narcotic. Decriminalisation did not include a lot of…

  • 4 taxi drivers fined for overcharging and refusing service

    4 taxi drivers fined for overcharging and refusing service

    Tourist police arrested four taxi drivers in Bangkok after discovering they refused to offer a service to passengers and charged overinflated fares without using the metre system. Not only Thai passengers are being refused by Bangkok taxi drivers but tourists face the same issue. They too are ripped off and refused by drivers. Tourist Police Bureau of Thailand spokesperson Apichart…

  • Bangkok thief breaks jaw in fall after stealing 2 amulets

    Bangkok thief breaks jaw in fall after stealing 2 amulets

    A light-fingered Thai thief tried to feign amnesia after he was caught robbing two valuable amulets from a market stall in Bangkok. The thief, Alongkot Tanthien, grabbed the trinkets from a market on the third floor of the SC Plaza market yesterday at the Bangkok Southern Bus Terminal before making his escape. He didn’t get far. The 34 year old…

  • Drug dealer arrested on Bangla, previously threatened tourists with gun

    Drug dealer arrested on Bangla, previously threatened tourists with gun

    Phuket Police arrested a man for drug dealing on Bangla Road after having previously arrested him for threatening tourists with a gun full of blanks. The man, identified as Kittipong, was arrested after a post online claimed that police have been turning a blind eye to his criminal activities. The man was taken into custody with hand-rolled ganja cigarettes, dried…

  • Thailand’s biggest LGBTQ+ wedding planned for Valentine’s Day

    Thailand’s biggest LGBTQ+ wedding planned for Valentine’s Day

    At least 100 LGBTQ+ couples plan to make history this Valentine’s Day when they converge on Bangkok to take part in Thailand’s biggest LGBTQ+ wedding ceremony. The event will be held at the Thai-Japan Bangkok Youth Centre and is hoped to raise awareness of the struggle for gay rights and marriage equality. As of now, same-sex marriages, civil unions, domestic…

  • POLL: Nepotism and favours get promotions, but so does hard work

    POLL: Nepotism and favours get promotions, but so does hard work

    A new poll by the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) found that many government officials thought that nepotism and favours are common in job promotions, but still believe other factors are far more important. The survey found that over 50% believed that promotions were given to the family or friends of those in power, while 73.28% believed it occurred…

  • Plan to phase out importing plastic scrap by 2025

    Plan to phase out importing plastic scrap by 2025

    After two years of discussion, a ban on plastic scrap imports is finally set to roll out in phases over the next three years. The Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Varawut Silpa-archa leads the subcommittee on plastic and electronic waste management, and at a recent meeting, they examined factories that make use of plastic scrap and considered their production…

  • Biden recognises One-China policy and not Taiwan independence

    Biden recognises One-China policy and not Taiwan independence

    United States President Joe Biden is in London today for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II with dignitaries from all over the world and he was in fine contradictory form ahead of the service to be held in Westminster Abbey. The US President answered a number of questions in an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes on whether he would stand…

  • Moon landing: can the space industry revive the Thai economy?

    Moon landing: can the space industry revive the Thai economy?

    The National Innovation Agency urged citizens to understand that the solution to saving the struggling economy may not be found in Thailand, but on the moon. The agency revealed a new launch pad on Friday for the space industry to use in shuttle missions such as a lunar orbit that Thailand has been dreaming of and striving for in recent…

  • Former Thai policeman swindles gold shop, jailed for third time

    Former Thai policeman swindles gold shop, jailed for third time

    A former Thai policeman was arrested in Bangkok on Friday night after he swindled a gold shop. The former policeman, 62 year old Thana Charoennakha, tricked a shop owner in northeast Thailand’s Mukdahan province. Police said Thana first asked the shop owner for a bank account number so that he could transfer money to buy some gold ornaments. The owner…

  • Thailand’s “popcorn gunman” is out of jail after shooting 8 years ago

    Thailand’s “popcorn gunman” is out of jail after shooting 8 years ago

    A Thai shooter known as the “popcorn gunman,” who killed a person and injured three others in 2014, has been released from jail. The man, Vivat Yodprasit, had shot the four people in Bangkok’s Lak Si district during demonstrations against the Yingluck Shinawatra government. Vivat became known as the “popcorn gunman” because photos showed him firing from a rifle hidden…

  • Tour bus incentive by TAT hoped to spur domestic tourism

    Tour bus incentive by TAT hoped to spur domestic tourism

    In their latest effort at pumping up domestic tourism numbers, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is teaming up with bus operators to send out convoys of coaches around the country. The TAT hopes commissioning over 500 tour buses will not only put to work bus drivers and other associated workers but also spur interest for Thai people to hop…

  • World record petrified tree to become geological tourist attraction

    World record petrified tree to become geological tourist attraction

    After being certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest petrified tree trunk log ever found anywhere in the world, officials in the province of Tak are developing plans to turn the tree site into a geological-based world-class tourist attraction. The world record was verified in July in Tak, a northern province of Thailand lying on the…

  • Female suspect in Kyrgyzstani woman’s death arrested in Bangkok

    Female suspect in Kyrgyzstani woman’s death arrested in Bangkok

    UPDATE A female suspect in the case of the Kyrgyzstani woman who plunged to her death in Pattaya on Friday has been arrested yesterday in Bangkok. The victim, 30 year old Anara Seitaleva, died after falling from a hotel balcony on Friday, September 16. Police arrested a 27 year old Chinese woman named Rou Li at a condominium in Bangkok’s…

  • Shrines preparing for Phuket’s upcoming vegetarian festival

    Shrines preparing for Phuket’s upcoming vegetarian festival

    Phuket‘s annual vegetarian festival is right around the corner, coming up on September 26 to October 4. Now, city workers and volunteers are helping Chinese shrines prepare for the festival. Yesterday, teams helped scrub the forecourts of the main shrines participating in the celebration, including the Pud Jor and Jui Tui shrines in the main city district. Phuket’s Vice Governor…

  • Bangkok, Pattaya, and Phuket to open new theme parks

    Bangkok, Pattaya, and Phuket to open new theme parks

    So many businesses in the entertainment sector were flattened by the Covid-19 global pandemic. But with tourism beginning to pick up, and sunny predictions for the fourth quarter after a rained-out third quarter of 2022, theme parks and water parks are pumping money into a flood of new attractions in Thailand in the coming months. Current theme parks have been…

  • Campaigns for the next election can officially begin Sep 24

    Campaigns for the next election can officially begin Sep 24

    Election season is upon us! On September 24, the current term for the House of Representatives will have exactly 180 days left which means the campaigning can officially begin for the next general election. The Election Commission made the announcement yesterday, opening the door for political parties and hopeful candidates to begin their push to be elected. The rules are…

  • American man falls 9 floors to his death outside Bangkok

    American man falls 9 floors to his death outside Bangkok

    An American man met his demise in the greater Bangkok suburb of Nontha Buri after plummeting out of the ninth-floor window of a rental building. For some reason, falling deaths, especially those of foreigners, have been an increasingly common occurrence in Thailand. In this most recent incident, a man that Pak Kret police identified as Mr Campi was reported to…

  • Nok Air suspends new domestic route in Thailand after just six weeks

    Nok Air suspends new domestic route in Thailand after just six weeks

    Nok Air has temporarily suspended all Chiang Mai – Korat flights just six weeks after the route’s inaugural flight on August 2. The suspended route was the only commercial flight going in and out of Isaan’s Nakhon Ratchasima Airport, which is now a ghost town and at risk of closing again. The service had high potential, linking the capital of…

  • Tomb raiders dig up mass grave in search of winning lottery numbers in Thailand

    Tomb raiders dig up mass grave in search of winning lottery numbers in Thailand

    At 4am today, a gang of money-hungry lottery fanatics dug up a mass grave, for people with no relatives, at a cemetery in Mueang district in Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand. The group were searching for the winning numbers of today’s national lottery draw, as evidenced by the incense and equipment used in lottery rituals found strewn around the scene.…

  • Learn how to make weed tea at Bangkok workshop

    Learn how to make weed tea at Bangkok workshop

    Bangkok’s cannabis lovers will get a chance to learn how to make weed tea at an upcoming workshop titled “The New High Tea.” The workshop will be held at the ASAI Bangkok Chinatown hotel on Saturday, September 24, from 5-6.30pm. It will be held in both English and Thai. The event’s page on Ticket Melon says participants will… “Learn about…

  • Gunman shot dead after robbing 2.1 million baht gold necklaces

    Gunman shot dead after robbing 2.1 million baht gold necklaces

    A gunman was shot dead in a shootout with a storeowner after robbing his shop of gold necklaces worth 2.1 million baht in the Isaan province of Nakhon Ratchasima, or Korat. Thirty-five-year-old Prakit Kiawsen held up a gold store at 7.50pm yesterday inside a Lotus supermarket in the Pak Chong district of Korat. He grabbed 34 gold necklaces, worth about…

  • Thailand’s baht weakens against US dollar

    Thailand’s baht weakens against US dollar

    Thailand’s baht has weakened against the US dollar this year. On Wednesday, the conversion rate was 36.73 baht per dollar, having been weakened by 8.8% this year. The baht hit its lowest point in 15 years in July, when the rate was 36.945 baht per dollar. The US dollar has gotten stronger due to a drop in many countries’ foreign…

  • Siam Paragon Bangkok International Fashion Week 2022 (BIFW2022) to be held at Siam Paragon, Siam Center and Siam Discovery

    Siam Paragon Bangkok International Fashion Week 2022 (BIFW2022) to be held at Siam Paragon, Siam Center and Siam Discovery

    Press Release Siam Paragon, a ‘World Class Fashion Destination,’ is the initiator of Siam Paragon Bangkok International Fashion Week, which has long been a key driving force of the Thai fashion industry. This year, the world-class fashion showcase Siam Paragon Bangkok International Fashion Week 2022 (BIFW2022) will feature a grand presentation from over 15 top-notch Thai fashion houses and new…

  • Police ask public to help find person who left dead baby at Phuket temple

    Police ask public to help find person who left dead baby at Phuket temple

    UPDATE Police in Phuket’s Kathu district is asking the public to help track down the person who left a dead baby girl at a temple in the district. Monks found the poor newborn baby girl’s body in a plastic bag under a bodhi tree at Wat Anuphat Kritsadaram in Thung Thong on September 9. The body was already decomposing. Yesterday,…

  • 4 suspects involved in schoolboy shooting, motive is unclear

    4 suspects involved in schoolboy shooting, motive is unclear

    UPDATE: 4 suspects involved in a school shooting, the motive is unclear The police investigation into the shooting of a teenage boy at Wat Lad Pla Dook School uncovered four suspects involved in the incident. Last night, the Superintendent of the Bang Bua Thong Police Station, Pruet Jamroonsart, underlined that the computers at the school were safe to use and…

  • Electric vehicles may need long-term solar power plan

    Electric vehicles may need long-term solar power plan

    As popularity rises with electric vehicles (EVs), future charging options may include solar power. Long-term planning is being pushed by Delta Electronics (Thailand) Plc., as a result of the need to ensure adequate power supplies. One idea is that of using microgrids at charging stations. The electronics manufacturer is suggesting that each charging facility should act as a microgrid that…

  • Putin & Xi strengthen ties amid Western antagonism

    Putin & Xi strengthen ties amid Western antagonism

    China President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin met at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Uzbekistan yesterday where both parties agreed to support and promote their own interests and maintain social, political, and economic stability amid Western antagonism. It was the first time Xi and Putin had seen each other since the Russian leader attended the opening ceremony…