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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London to New York in under 4 hours – Will there ever be another Concorde?
We’d flown in propeller-powered planes, then jets. Supersonic was the next evolutionary step in flying people around the world as the 1960s came to a close. Now, 50 years after Concorde’s early flights, supersonic flight is again just another aviation pipe dream as we pack into our cheap ‘flying buses’ which are not much different from the first successful commercial jets…
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Will the Flying-V be the shape of passenger travel in the future?
Since the first Boeing 707 (Dash 80) had its test flight in 1955, and earlier the UK’s De Havilland Comet in 1949, not much has changed in the way of passenger jet configuration – long, thin fuselage, wings, jet engines hanging underneath, with a big tail and rudder. Since then it’s been a gradual evolution of the same theme (we’ve…
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PM denies government split over toxic chemical ban
As officials continue to debate a recently-introduced ban on paraquat and chlorpyrifos, the PM, Prayut Chan-o-cha denies the government is split on the matter. He points out that coalition governments will always have differing viewpoints and that such differences will not affect the administration’s overall unity. Currently Glyphosate hasn’t been included in the ban. “Our core priorities are public health…
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Phuket launches app, passengers rate taxi drivers
How was your taxi ride? Passengers will soon be able to rate their Phuket taxi drivers using a new smartphone application. The province’s project “Hello Taxi Happy Phuket” involves 300 drivers aimed at maintaining standards like fair pricing. Customers will be able to rate their ride experience on the app and driver’s will be scored on their service. So, if…
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Domestic tourists give Pattaya a boost over holiday weekend
There has been some respite for Pattaya’s battered tourism sector over the 4 day long weekend, as domestic tourists visit the city for the extended break. The public holidays on Friday, September 4, and Monday, September 7, are replacements for the Songkran festival that was cancelled in April as a result of Covid-19. But the water fights were put on…
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Opposition party does U-turn on senate powers
The Pheu Thai Party says it will now back a proposal submitted by the Kao Klai party to strip the Senate of powers to elect the PM. Abolishing such authority would involve an amendment to the country’s Constitution, which Somkid Chuakong from Pheu Thai says his party is not opposed to. Both the vocal anti-government protest groups, Free People and…
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Students gather at Education Ministry, issue ultimatum
“Thai education has made us puppets. We are not robots of the system; we are the youth and have the right to express ourselves.” The Education Ministry in Bangkok has been chosen as the stage for another student rally, with around 300 young people, from 50 schools, gathering there yesterday afternoon. The students have been repeating their 3 key demands,…
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Phuket re-opening could be postponed
The Tourism Authority of Thailand says plans to re-open Phuket to foreign tourists could be delayed as a result of the country’s first local case of Covid-19 in over 3 months in Bangkok. TAT governor, Yuthasak Supasorn, was speaking as officials visited the island to meet with local businesses and discuss disease prevention measures and preparations for a scheduled October…
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Thai traffic jam as tourists wait for the Koh Chang ferry
There’s been a traffic jam in, of all places, Trat, as impatient domestic tourists waited for the ferry to head to Koh Chang from the mainland. The island was invaded by Thais getting out of town for the long LONG weekend and, despite the forward bookings, the traffic police and ferry operator weren’t ready for the onslaught. The long weekend…
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Thousands head to Koh Chang, 3 hour wait for island ferry
Cars full of tourists headed to Koh Chang waited for hours in a 2 kilometre long line to get on the ferry to the island. More than 10,000 people are expected to visit the island for the 4-day weekend. Many have Friday and Monday off work as substitute holiday time for Songkran which was cancelled in April due to coronavirus…
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Chicken or the beef? Thai Airways opens up pop-up restaurants serving their airline food.
“Please return to your seat, pull down your tray table and prepare for the in-flight catering.” If you can’t make money by flying people on jets, set up a restaurant selling your airline food instead. Now Thai Airways has transformed its old cafeteria in Bangkok into a pop-up restaurant serving, well, the same airline food they used to serve during flights.…
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2 foreigners arrested for allegedly selling illegal guns, grenades
Police arrested a Singaporean and an Indonesian man for allegedly selling illegal guns, explosives and ammunition after police found bullets, grenades and handguns in a condominium in Bangkok’s Huay Khwang district. The Singaporean man, known as 26 year old Bink, and the Indonesian, known as 32 year old Aiden, are facing charges of possession and selling of guns and explosives without…
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Food services return to Thailand’s domestic flights
If you’ve travelled on a Thai domestic flight recently you’ll know that it’s been a relatively boring experience. One the safety demo is over, that’s the last you see of the flight attendants as they head to the back of the plane and chat – there’s been nothing else for them to do because of the ban on food and…
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Police arrest 7 for alleged face mask scam
Police arrested 7 people allegedly involved in a multi-million baht scam selling face masks online and not delivering them. The Royal Thai Police teamed up with police in Seoul and Hong Kong for the investigation. Police say 3 Thai women and 4 Cameroon nationals were arrested on fraud charges. The transnational investigation started when complaints were filed by people in…
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Belgian arrested after living and working in Thailand without a passport for 4 years
A 49 year old Belgian man has been arrested by Thai immigration police after being discovered living in the Kingdom without a passport. The man was reported to be living in an apartment at Wang Thonglang, a north east suburb of Bangkok. Officials started an investigation into a “good looking European man” that spoke fluent Thai and discovered that the man has…
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Thailand enters space race, air force satellite launched
Thailand has entered the space race. The Royal Thai Air Force launched its first satellite into space yesterday morning. The satellite will be used for general data collecting as well as for security purposes in efforts to prevent foreign countries from spying on Thailand. The nanosatellite, Napa-1, was launched at the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana. It was one…
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50 tonnes of dodgy durian seized and destroyed in China
In a move that will attract thanks from 1000s of westerners, China has destroyed nearly 50 tonnes of illegally imported durian, valued around 5.5 million baht. The durians had been smuggled into China. Shiokou, a border town in Cao Bang Province in Vietnam, was where the dodgy durian was intercepted. The land port has been operating since 1792 and plays…
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5 key recommendations emerge from Boss investigation
5 proposals have been made by an independent panel as the government mops up the recent internal investigations into the mishandling of the “Boss” case. The Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission has been given the task of implementing the 5 key recommendations made by panels that have examined the botched investigations over the hit-and-run case against Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya, grandson of…
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Holiday plans cancelled at border district, Koh Samui expects tourist boom
People are cancelling their trips to a Kanchanaburi district for the 4-day weekend after a coronavirus scare at a local school. Koh Samui is expecting the opposite. The southern province Surat Thani is expecting such a large influx in tourists that some airlines and ferries have doubled their services for the holiday. In Thong Pha Phum, Kanchanaburi’s border district, the…
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Bangkok cop under fire after releasing inmate
A Bangkok police officer is looking at potential criminal charges after he allegedly let a drug suspect go free and took her to a hotel. Some reports claim officer Pot Boontip made a deal with the inmate, trading sex for freedom. The officer says that part of the story isn’t true. Boontip says he took the 48 year old woman…
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Burmese man seriously injured after violent attack in Pattaya
A Burmese man has been hospitalised in Pattaya after being violently attacked by a group of unidentified men in the main city area. The Pattaya News reports that the 32 year old man, named only as ‘Aree’, sustained several injuries, including one to his left eye, after being beaten with a belt with a metal buckle. The attack occurred around…
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Government approves new stimulus measures for labour market, tourism
The Centre for Economic Situation Administration has given the go-ahead to a number of new stimulus measures proposed by the Finance Ministry and aimed at the jobs market and the domestic tourism sector. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday presided over a meeting with Danucha Pichayanan from the National Economic and Social Development Council, where officials approved new measures it’s hoped will…
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Thailand’s Health Minister optimistic about admitting business travellers
The Thai Public Health Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, admits Thailand is caught between a rock and a hard place and can’t go on locking all foreigners out forever, in an effort to prevent a resurgence of the Covid-19 virus. “We will either die of the disease or of hunger, so we have to face the challenge.” He adds that the Kingdom…
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PM’s daughters sue 100 people for defamation
Rumours spreading over social media about the Thai PM’s twin daughters are so far from the truth that the twins have filed a lawsuit against more than 100 people for defamation. Lawyer Apiwat Khanthong, representing twins Thanya and Nittha Chan-o-cha, says more than 100 social media accounts are facing libel charges under Thailand’s Computer Crime Act and the Criminal Code.…
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Foreigners arrested over eco-vandalism off Koh Phangan
A Hungarian and Dutch man have been arrested for picking up sea animals and taking photos with them whilst diving off Koh Phangan in the Gulf of Thailand. They then posted them on social media, probably oblivious to their potentially criminal act. Police described the two as “long-stayers on Koh Phangan”. Their selfies sparked plenty of outrage from Thai netizens…
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Australia falls into a recession, global economies at a loss
“Our record run of 28 consecutive years of economic growth has now officially come to an end. The cause: a once-in-a-century pandemic.” Just about everyone hit from the coronavirus pandemic. Businesses closed. Many lost their jobs. Paychecks were cut. Economies across the globe slipped into recession and Australia is now added to that list. The country reported it has sunk…
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Russian arrested for selling medicine illegally at Pattaya drugstore
Police arrested a Russian man who was allegedly sold medicines and cosmetics illegally at a Pattaya pharmacy. Police raided the “Dr. Holland” shop on Jomtien Beach Road and found 64 medicines and supplement products that they say violated Thai law or were improperly licensed. 46 year old Kirll Tarasov allegedly ran the Dr. Holland shop and police believe he is…
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Don Mueang falling below passenger goal
Despite the return to the skies by many of Thailand’s domestic airlines – Thai Air Asia, Thai Lion Air, Thai VietJet, Nok Air Thai Smile, Bangkok Air – Don Mueang Airport has been quiet with only a third of the passengers they’re used to. The Bangkok airport, mostly serving the budget airlines, is even falling below the conservative goals they…
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Expats arrested after posing for selfies while handling protected sea creatures
A Dutch man and a Hungarian national are in custody after picking up protected sea creatures while diving off Koh Pha Ngan in the southern province of Surat Thani. Nation Thailand reports that the Hungarian man, named as Attila Ott, is a scuba diving instructor, who owns the Pink Panther Scuba Dive Club on the island. The Dutch man has…
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Eva Air pushes back Phuket flights to July 2021
A new timetable from Taiwan’s Eva Air indicates a delay to the planned resumption of direct flights between Taipei and Phuket, which had recently been tentatively pencilled in for March 2021. The new schedule now lists the flights as operating from July 1 next year with the airline’s website taking bookings from that date. The delay is indicative of the…
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