Thailand News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, and lifestyle—get breaking updates from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond. Stay informed on Thai society, economy, tourism, and expat life with The Thaiger.
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Sponsored 10 biggest challenges retirees face in Thailand (and how to overcome them)
Retiring in Thailand comes with many benefits, like warm weather, affordable living, and a rich culture. However, it also brings challenges. Retirees must deal with visa rules, healthcare costs, language barriers, and cultural differences. Rising medical expenses, required insurance, and...
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240,000 methamphetamine pills seized after northern car chase
Police have seized a huge haul of 240,000 methamphetamine pills after a hot pursuit of drug smugglers near Chiang Rai yesterday morning. Acting on a tipoff that a substantial shipment of ya ba was to be smuggled across from Myanmar into Mae Sai, heading south for the capital, police immediately set up road blocks to intervene. At about 1am yesterday…
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NIDA poll shows 81 percent of Thais admire Prayut
The majority of respondents in a NIDA poll are giving PM Prayut Chan-o-cha good poll numbers for his administration’s performance over the past three years following the 2014 coup. Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan was also named the most impressive Cabinet member in the same survey. The poll by the National Institute of Development Administration says that 49 per cent of…
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Southern violence moving further north. Former Minister recommends martial law in Songkhla.
In the aftermath of a truck robbery in which one hostage and one suspect were killed, officials are now floating the idea of reintroducing martial law in the southern provinces – specifically districts in Songkhla. Thavorn Senniam, former deputy interior minister and former member of Songkhla’s House of Representatives, says that the government should consider declaring martial law in some…
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New ‘smart visa’. No work permit, annual reporting.
We’ve just had the announcement of the new ten year ‘Geeza Visa’, the long-term ‘retirement’ visa. Now the Thai Cabinet has just announced plans for a new ‘Smart Visa’. Under the new Smart Visa, people can stay in Thailand, along with their spouse and children if applicable, for up to four years. The big change here is that you won’t…
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Vaping could get you ten years in a Thai prison
Vaping, the popular alternative to smoking cigarettes, might be OK where you come from, but in Thailand sucking on your favourite ‘vape’, or even bringing them into the country, could put put you in a Thai prison for ten years. It’s not a new law, with the import of electronic cigarettes and shisha being banned back in October 2014, but…
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Muslim insurgents suspected in this morning’s bombing outside police living quarters
Muslim insurgents are suspected in the detonation of a car bomb in front of a row of townhouses, the official living quarters of staff at Pattani’s Mayo Police Station. No one was killed or injured in this morning’s bomb attack. Luckily police spotted the vehicle while it was being parked around 4am. The official barracks for the local police are…
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Para-sailing ‘beat up’ in UK press
OPINION A story from metro.co.uk shows a ‘terrified toddler’ being ‘forced’ to take a parasailing flight on Patong Beach. The headlines blasts ‘Father forces terrified toddler to go paragliding with him in Thailand’. In the ‘Beat Up of The Day’, the Metro article has somehow turned a bad parenting story into a Patong Beach and Parasail Operator-bashing session. It might certainly…
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Air Asia under fire over racial discrimination at Don Mueang
A Bangkok expat has taken to social media to share an open letter to Tony Fernandes, CEO of AirAsia, after facing what he describes as “Racial Discrimination” by airline staff at Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok. Philip Culbertson describes in detail how check-in staff questioned his group for an hour, demanding to see US$800 each from his wife and…
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Ten year ‘Geeza Visa’ now available for Retirees in Thailand.
The 10-year visa for foreign retirees is now available at an Immigration office near you. Despite the top Immigration officer’s announcement today many offices are unaware of the change and new availability of the 10 year visa option. Lt. Gen. Natthathorn Prohsunthorn says the new visa comes in two installments, each lasting five years. Foreigners from 14 countries who meet…
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THAIGER TODAY @ Ao Sane Beach. Wednesday, August 16
We headed down to Ao Sane Beach today to check out the controversial villa | Red-light cameras are working TOO well | Security officers will be protecting Supreme Court Judges leading up to the Yingluck verdict.
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Supreme Court Judges under protection in lead up to Yingluck verdict
Security officers will be sent to guard judges in the high-profile case involving former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra to maintain order ahead of the announcement of a verdict. The panel of nine judges hearing the case in the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders, and their residences, will be under guard until after the court delivers its verdict…
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THAIGER TODAY Tuesday, August 15
Soggy start to Tuesday | Government pushing ahead with media controls | Bombardier Monorail coming to BKK | Activists urging Government to come up with long-term flood solutions | Belgian couple accuse ‘police’ of scam.
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Send in the cavalry. Extra immigration staff being sent to Don Meuang and Suvarnabhumi
About 200 immigration officials from immigration offices around the country are being rallied and sent to the beleaguered Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang international airports in the hope of coping with the incoming traffic. Both airports have been shamed into action after social media posts have snapped photos of hordes of unprocessed incoming tourists waiting to be processed by Immigration officials.…
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Belgian couple fleeced of 100 Euro by ‘police’ in BKK
A Belgian couple are claiming they were detained and robbed by Bangkok police on the last day of their holiday. 28 year olds Maxime Kempeneer and Noel Borgs are making big news in Euro social media. According to their story, the robbery happened on August 10. Maxime says the couple had been backpacking and were in Bangkok to catch their…
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Six day ultimatum – Cambodia to Laos.
Cambodia’s PM has issued a six-day “ultimatum” to Laos – to remove a group of troops who have allegedly trespassed across their border, or face a military response. “We don’t want to have a dispute with Laos, but we also cannot allow the situation remain like this anymore,” said PM Sen, adding that he was running out of patience with…
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Demands for recovery of Thai student bodies in California
Several Thai associations in California will gather today to call for US authorities to speed up the recovery of the bodies of two Thai students and their rental car, according to a respresentative. The comments were made in a video posted by by Siam Town US’s Facebook page. The gathering would include representatives of at least five Thai associations in…
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Don Mueang Airport immigration processing times. Idea #78.
The ideas are coming thick and fast now, a week after an estimated 4,000 passengers had to wait nearly five hours to be processed at Don Mueang Airport, the capital’s secondary airport catering mainly for budget airlines. last Saturday night. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is ordering Royal Thai Air Force officers to help speed up the process at airport immigration…
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Pattaya taxi driver knocks out foreigner
A Pattaya cabbie has flattened an unidentified foreigner, punching him in the face and knocking him unconscious. Police headed to Pattaya Soi 2 and found the 40 year old farang recovering next to the footpath after locals had dragged him off the road. Emergency volunteers treated him at the scene before transporting him to hospital. For his part, the 46…
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Protest brewing over slow response to a search for missing Thai students in the US
American authorities are facing protests if they don’t expedite the retrieval of the bodies of two Thai postgraduate students believed to have died in a car crash almost two weeks ago in California, the Thai Consulate in Los Angeles has said. Protests are planned in Fresno county, the scene of the accident, and Los Angeles, as frustration mounts with the…
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SEA Games starting on August 19
The Malaysian South East Asian Games contingent has one aim – one, one, one. The target is to win 111 gold medals and be the top gun of the 29th SEA Games, which is being hosted by the country from Aug 19 to 30. The target was announced by Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin after Prime Minister Datuk Seri…
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US Embassy in Bangok offers condolences
The US Embassy in Bangkok has expressed condolences to the families and friends of the two Thai students that appear to have been involved in a tragic accident in California. In its two-sentence statement, the Embassy said: “We are closely following the situation and express our heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the two Thai students involved in…
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Want to win 100,000 baht? Name the new skywalk.
In case you’ve been away or just not read the news for a few weeks, Bangkok has a stunning new walkway above the Pathum Wan intersection. It’s cost 300 million baht and taken two years to construct. But it’s now open and become the new place-to-meet-friends in the capital. But the Skywalk doesn’t have a name. The Bangkok Metropolitan Authority…
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Four hour wait to get through Don Mueang Immigration
Immigration officials are investigating how passengers had to wait for more than four hours at Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok. One passenger says she took four hours and 20 minutes to clear immigration and noted than many were getting weak and suffering because of the poor ventilation. People in the queue were posting that there were only 3 immigration…
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Dissent in Paradise
EDITORIAL The recent silent protest at the country’s most prestigious university in Bangkok, THAT photo of a student in a chokehold from a lecturer and the subsequent publicity, has wider implications than just a sore neck and a university in PR panic. There’s been a lot of media blow-back on the venerated Chulalongkorn University after it was revealed a…
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THAIGER TODAY Thursday, August 4
Phra Dhammajayo fled to Europe?, all quiet after Day One of new Patong parking restrictions, salvage attempt for car rented by two Thai students missing in US, Airport Director refutes claims in a FB post and more rain on the way for flood-inundated north and northeast.
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Two Thais missing in California
Two Thais remain missing after their car was found submerged in a river at the bottom a cliff in California. Foreign Affairs representative, Busadee Santipitakswith, from the Thai consulate in Los Angeles, is working with LA Police to find Thiwadee Saengsuriyarit and her friend. At this stage we only know her friend’s name as ‘Golf’. The pair went missing last…
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Former Abbot Phra Dhammajayo fled to Europe?
Former Abbot Phra Dhammajayo may have fled the country. The DSI (Department of Special Investigations) says they have evidence that he may have bolted to Europe with the help of some of his followers. The Government raided the sprawling ‘space-age’ Dhammakaya Temple headquarters, just north of Bangkok, back in February but came out empty-handed. Authorities have vowed to bring the…
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Sakon Nakhon floods easing. Authorities worried about more rain.
The country’s disaster warning system needs to be reformed, experts emphasized yesterday, as there was no warning for the recent flash flood in Sakon Nakhon that resulted from heavy downpours and leakage in a local reservoir. Meanwhile, experts have reassured the public that there will be no big flood similar to the disaster in 2011, because there was no indication…
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Congratulations Mareeya Poonlertlarp, our new Miss Thailand 2017
25 year old Mareeya Poonlertlarp is a half-Thai, half-Swedish model, and has been crowned Miss Thailand Universe 2017 at Siam Paragon Hall in Bangkok. Marayee is 183cm tall, a postgraduate in marketing from the Stockholm Business School and claims to be fluent in four languages – Thai, Swedish, English and Mandarin. She has won one million baht, a diamond tiara…
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‘World Day against Trafficking in Persons’. Thailand in the middle of the world’s human trafficking hot spot.
Today is ‘World Day against Trafficking in Persons’ – a day where we reflect on the many victims of trafficking who live among us, but have been forced into silence due to threats to their life, retaliation against their family, feelings of hopelessness, or being enslaved and physically unable to speak out. The day has special meaning in Thailand where…
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