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 Is private health insurance in Thailand worth it? Real costs vs risks explained
Thailand has a strong healthcare system with both public and private options. Public hospitals offer affordable care, but many people, including expats, choose private health insurance for faster service, modern facilities, and more treatment choices. To decide if private health...
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Pattaya police re-arrest ex-US marine with PTSD
Police in Pattaya’s Jomtien district have arrested an American who allegedly caused a public nuisance at a condominium there last night. Police were notified of the incident at 11:30pm. Officers and reporters arrived at a room on the eighth floor of the condo to find a foreign man who was “in a state of distress.” He was talking incoherently and,…
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Thai Airways has officially lost its state enterprise status
The State Enterprise Policy Committee announced that Thai Airways has lost its state enterprise status after the Vayupak Fund bought a 3.17% stake from the Finance Ministry yesterday. The purchase was undertaken at a price of 4.90 baht per share, with a trade worth 285.2 million baht, leaving the national carrier owning 48% of its own shares and stripping its…
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Police say mom forced toddler to drink bleach “to make him look ill”
Police in in Pathum Thani, just north of Bangkok, have arrested a woman for allegedly forcing her toddler to swallow bleach to make him look ill for an online advertisement selling her health products. A police source says the boy has been rescued and is now under the care of a shelter for children in the province. The mother, identified…
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Armed thief breaks into Pattaya toy shop – VIDEO
Pattaya Police are searching for a thief who was seen on security footage driving a motorbike with a sidecar, who broke into a toy shop. They believe the man was carrying a firearm. 26 year old Saifon Tanawong, a staff member at the shop, told police and The Pattaya News that at 2:30am the thief stole a computer tablet valued…
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Foreigner handing out cash in Pattaya robbed of more than 10,000 baht – VIDEO
A thief who snatched a bundle of 1,000 baht notes from a foreigner handing out cash to desperate people in Pattaya has been caught on video, according to an eyewitness at the scene. Musician Pom Santana said the clip, posted on his Facebook page, captures the aftermath of the incident at Jomtien beach, as people queuing for the cash handout look…
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Surat Thani police extortion case – police chief promises swift and thorough investigation
Police in the southern Surat Thani province have been ordered to speed up their internal investigation into allegations that 3 of their officers demanded 5 million baht from a trader to drop charges relating to the purchase of seafood from local fishermen. The report will be submitted to the National Anti-Corruption Commission. A spokesman said today that the investigation is…
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Cyclone Amphan’s death toll climbs to 83 in India and Bangladesh – VIDEO
Today the clean up starts in the aftermath of Cyclone Amphan after it reached the coastline Wednesday evening and started heading inland. In parts of Bangladesh and West Bengal (eastern India boarding Bangladesh), at least 83 people have died. It’s affected some 10 million Indian and Bangladeshi people, leaving countless homeless. With winds around 170 kilometre per hour, most of…
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Man arrested for growing 1,200 cannabis plants
Police have arrested a man growing 1,200 cannabis plants in Eastern Thailand this morning. After a tip about the illegal marijuana plantation, police raided and uprooted the hundreds of cannabis plants, reporting that they weighed over 500 kilograms, according to Bangkok Post. The marijuana was planted on land near the Pang Sida National Park, in Sa Kaeo. The farm covered…
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Thailand’s property market set to experience brokerage megashift
by Bill Barnett It’s clear that Thailand’s real estate sector is expected to undergo a megashift as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and search for a ‘new normal’, if that’s even possible. That said, one of the country’s leading PropTech groups FazWaz says the crisis has only accelerated dynamic charges to the sector that have been bubbling to the…
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Thai prison governor fired for allowing inmate conjugal visit
Should prisoners get a little love? Not in Thailand apparently. Recently, a prison governor was booted after he allowed an inmate to have a conjugal visit. Typically, a conjugal visit in Western countries means the inmate and the visitor are in a private room together with a sofa or bed, sometimes a TV. In this case, the inmate at the…
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Thai Chamber of Commerce warns 10 million jobs in peril if lock-down persists
The Thai Chamber of Commerce is appealing for businesses to be allowed to reopen ASAP, warning that if the lock-down goes on much longer, an estimated 10 million people could lose their jobs. The Pattaya News reports that TCC Chairman, Kalin Sarasin, says businesses should be allowed to reopen provided they abide by new public health measures. He says the…
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Animal activists claim police officer killed beloved campus dog
A Thai animal rights group is accusing a Chiang Mai police officer of abusing and killing a beloved dog, Tia, a stray adopted by students at Chiang Mai University. Watchdog Thailand, based in Chiang Mai, investigated the incident after the dog’s body was found last week and recently reported their findings to police, according to Nation Thailand. The autopsy of…
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Thai Airways to lay off 30% of its staff
“THAI will stop repaying all debt and start from scratch.” The government announced today that Thai Airways will have to dismiss more than 6,000 employees after entering into receivership proceedings and a debt moratorium of 200 billion baht. The Cabinet decided to push Thai Airways into a bankruptcy procedure under the Bankruptcy Act and ordered the Ministry of Finance to…
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Government claims they’re serious about northern air pollution
Thailand’s northern provinces, particularly Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, suffer mightily during the annual plantation burning season, infamously known as “smoky season,” when farmers there and in neighbouring Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia burn their fields in preparation for the next harvest. The season lasts from January to April, and during that time Chiang Mai often rates as having the worst…
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19 kilograms of crystal meth, valued around 10 million baht, seized on Thai train
2 people are in custody and 19 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine or “ya ice” has been seized after it was discovered in their bags on an express train from Bangkok to the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat last night. 22 year old Ekkapong Kaewsa, of Bangkok, and his female companion 23 year old Methanee Suparb from Si Sa Ket,…
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International postal services resume to some countries
Thailand’s postal service is resuming international deliveries to a variety of destinations as the Covid-19 situation in many countries has improved and many local and national governments have eased lockdown measures. Thailand Post announced the resumption of the service on its Facebook page yesterday. EMS World service will be available in 11 countries – Bhutan, China, Hong Kong, South Korea,…
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State of emergency likely to remain through June
Despite the reopening of many businesses and a loosening of the national curfew, Thailand’s national state of emergency appears set to remain in effect for at least another month, as authorities are “still not confident” about the nation’s recovery from the Covid-19 crisis, according to a military source. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha met yesterday with military top brass to address the…
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Thai car production hits 30 year low
As late as last year, the automotive industry in Thailand was the largest in Southeast Asia and the twelfth largest in the world, with an annual output of around 2 million vehicles. But in April this year, Thailand’s car production hit its lowest level in 30 years – just 24,711 units – amid weak global demand, factory shutdowns and widespread…
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Man steals one million baht to pay off gambling debts
What would you do if you were broke and owed 800,000 baht in gambling debts? Rob a bank? Seems like the start of a movie, but that’s basically what happened earlier this week in Northern Thailand. On Monday, 2 men robbed a car at gunpoint in front of Bangkok Bank Branch in Chiang Saen and sped off on their motorbike, Thai media…
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Cyclone Amphan: Crossed the coast and now saturating India and Bangladesh
Cyclone Amphan made reached the coastline late yesterday afternoon near the Indian town of Digha, on India’s eastern coast, near the border with Bangladesh. As the storm marched up the Bay of Bengal since the weekend, strengthening, thousands of people were evacuated as a precaution for the major storm system. Millions of other have taken shelter or made their way…
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18 year old daughter allegedly raped multiple times by father
Thai media report that an 18 year old girl was raped multiple times over 8 years by her own father. The victim, identified only as “Mali,” filed a complaint with police in the northern province of Lamphun, just south of Chiang Mai, alleging that her 38 year old father ‘O’ had been raping her since she was 11 years old.…
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‘New normal’ seen in shopping malls across Bangkok
Part of the ‘new normal’, in times of Covid-19 in Thailand, involves redesigning traditional ways of doing things and changing daily life to stay safe and virus free. Today The Standard has revealed a few things that you might see in the near future. To minimise the risk of the spread of Covid-19 in elevators, engineers have created a new,…
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Chon Buri pedestrian dies in hit-and-run incident
A hit-and-run incident early this morning has left an unidentified male pedestrian, believed to be Thai, dead in Chon Buri’s Banglamung district. Police were notified of the incident at around 12:30am Authorities, emergency responders and The Pattaya News rushed to the scene to find the body of a man, believed to be Thai, estimated to be 35 -40 years old,…
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Temple closes to mark decade since redshirt crackdown
A Bangkok temple, where 6 people were shot and killed by the military during the 2010 “redshirt” political protests, has closed during the tragic event’s 10 year anniversary. A sign was put in front of Wat Pathum Wanaram saying it was closed for “disinfection,” according to Khaosod. But many see the significance of the closure relating to the events a…
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Thai Airways’ credit rating downgraded
The credit rating for Thai Airways will be downgraded before bankruptcy restructuring takes place. Tris Rating (Thai Rating and Information Services) has downgraded the company rating for Thai Airways and its rating for Thai Airway’s senior unsecured debentures from “BBB” to “C” while maintaining a negative Credit Alert. Following the government’s resolution yesterday it seems that the national carrier has…
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Ex high ranking Buddhist officials convicted of embezzling millions
5 former National Office of Buddhism officials, including a former chief, have been found guilty of stealing 21 million baht from the organisation back in 2015. The Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases convicted the 5 of embezzlement and sentenced them to prison. They are also required to repay 21 million baht to the NOB. The convicted were…
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Redshirts leader says “justice will never be served” over 2010 military crackdown
The leader of the “Redshirts”, political activists supportive of former Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra, says the military government will never be held to account for a 2010 crackdown that cost the lives of nearly 100 people, most of them civilians. His comments come just days after a spokesman for the Democrat Party, a member of the ruling coalition, claimed the…
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Most of Thailand placed on storm alert
As Thailand continues to feel the effects of cyclone Amphan, officials in Bangkok and 62 of Thailand’s 76 provinces have been ordered to monitor for possibilities of flash flooding and other impacts until tomorrow, according to director-general of the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department. Authorities say 223 households in Nan, Lampang, Kalasin, Surin, Amnat Charoen, and Uthai Thani have already…
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Cabinet gives the green light for Thai Airways to file for bankruptcy
Today PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has announced that the Cabinet approved the proposal from the Ministry of Transport that Thai Airways can file for bankruptcy at the Central Bankruptcy Court in order to be rehabilitated under the Bankruptcy Act. “It was the best course to help the troubled airline back onto its feet. Under the rehabilitation plan, Thai Airways will not…
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“Amazing Trusted Thailand” – tourism rebrands
International tourists still can’t enter Thailand, so the country is using this time to rebrand their tourism promotions. The aim is to add some “trust” in regards to the country’s health profile with hopes that tourists will visit Thailand worry-free. Tourism is going from the “Amazing Thailand” brand to “Amazing Trusted Thailand.” The intention is that they want tourists to…
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