News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond. The Thaiger delivers the latest national news that matters.
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Sponsored 5 ways retirees in Thailand lose money (and how to stop it)
Retiring in Thailand can be affordable and enjoyable, but many retirees lose money due to common mistakes. High living costs, scams, and unexpected expenses can quickly drain savings. There are five ways that retirees in Thailand can lose money and...
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Songkhla Muslims against plan for Chinese goddess statue on mountain
In Thailand’s tense Deep South, Muslim communities are speaking out against a plan to build a statue of a Chinese goddess on a mountain in Thepa district. The company planning to build it is TPI Polene Power Plc, a power plant operator. Many in the community around the mountain are Muslims, and an imam, who asked to remain anonymous, said…
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North Korea prepared to use nuclear weapons at ‘any time’ if provoked
Kim Jong-un has warned the world that North Korea is ready to use nuclear weapons against foreign powers at ‘any time’ if provoked. In a state-televised military parade held in Pyongyang on Monday, the North Korean leader pledged to develop nuclear forces as quickly as possible… “If any forces try to violate the fundamental interests of our state, our nuclear…
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Phuket gets ready to shift into ‘endemic’ stage
Phuket Governor Narong announced in a meeting yesterday that the island province is getting ready to shift into an ‘endemic’ stage for its Covid-19 situation. At the meeting, held at Phuket Provincial Hall, it was noted that Phuket recorded an average of 162 cases a day. 87.7% of those were local infections. Only 2-3% of people confirmed infected required hospital…
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Thai ex boxer allegedly steals British tourist’s bag in Krabi
Police in Krabi arrested a former boxer at a house in Meuang district today for allegedly stealing a British tourist’s bag. The British man, 23 year old Fraser William, said he left his bag on the beach when he and his friend went swimming on Sunday. The bag had 5,000 baht in cash, along with credit cards and the key…
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As tourists return, Pattaya’s Walking Street set to close to cars again
Pattaya officials say that starting tomorrow (Thursday), the city’s tourist magnet, Walking Street, will close to cars again, as it did in pre-Covid days. This news comes as more former bars have opened as ‘restaurants’, a loop hole in the Thai government’s Covid restrictions that’s been forced on bar owners so they can get their businesses open again. From 7pm…
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Myanmar’s ex-leader Suu Kyi sentenced to 5 years in prison
Ousted leader of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi has been found guilty of corruption and sentenced to five years in prison by a court in Myanmar, according to an anonymous source with access to her trial, which is being tightly controlled by the junta. The charge was the first of 11 corruption charges filed against her, so her prison sentence…
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Wednesday Covid Update: 14,887 new cases; provincial totals
125 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 28,144 with 6,446 of those fatalities since the start of this year. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 14,887 new Covid-19 cases and 18,919 recoveries. There are now 162,967 people in Thailand being treated for Covid-19. The trend of new Covid infections…
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Canadian man to be deported from Bali for naked dance on volcano
They say fame comes at a price. It definitely did for one Canadian man in Bali who posted a viral video of himself dancing naked on a volcano believed to be sacred by the Balinese. After his little stunt, he is set to be deported from the Indonesian island. Craigen reportedly posted a video of himself doing a Maori dance…
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Don’t get sick at Suvarnabhumi Airport! Emergency response can be pricey.
A Thai man has posted the story about his father, saying his father was a taxi driver and became ill while waiting for passengers at Suvarnabhumi Airport. He claimed the airport allowed only their ’emergency response team’ to transport his father to a nearby hospital and charged him a hefty 13,000 baht for the pleasure! He added that poor people…
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Man becomes first person ever to rollerblade across Thailand
A Thai man set a new record on Sunday by becoming the first person in the world to rollerblade from the northernmost to the southernmost tip of Thailand. The man’s journey from Mae Sai district in Chiang Rai to Betong district in Yala covered 2,051 kilometres and took 55 days. People have famously run the same route and many Thai’s…
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Koh Samui eyes European tourists following cancellation of Test & Go
Samui is eyeing European tourists after the Thai government confirmed the Test & Go entry program is being ditched from the end of April. On Koh Samui, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has met with local tourism associations, as well as over 30 leading European travel agencies. The get-together was to showcase several tourism attractions, activities, and hotels on the…
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Thai virologist calls for young children to be protected as under 5s die of Covid-19
A leading Thai virologist is calling on parents to protect children under the age of 5 from contracting Covid-19, as there is no vaccine to protect them. According to a Thai PBS World report, Dr Yong Poovorawan from Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Medicine, so far this year, 51 children have died of Covid-19, 39 of whom were under the age…
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China warns Thailand to fix durian Covid-19 problem or face export ban
Officials at the Mohan border checkpoint in China have given Thailand 5 days to fix the issue of Covid-19 traces being found on exported durian. According to a Nation Thailand report, Chinese officials have threatened to slap an export ban on Thai durian if the problem is not resolved. Sanchai Puranachaikiri from the Thai Fresh Fruit Traders and Exporters Association…
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Tourism Authority of Thailand sticking to target of 300,000 visitors a month
With a glass half-full in one hand, and a calculator in the other, the Tourism Authority of Thailand is confident the country will see 300,000 tourists a month – potentially more towards the end of the year. Yuthasak Supasorn says his agency will meet with tourism operators on April 29, to discuss promotional strategies for the international market. He remains…
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Sun will be directly overhead at noon today in Thailand
Grab your parasols. For a few minutes at noon today, pedestrians in Thailand won’t see their shadows on the sidewalk. That’s because at exactly 12:16pm, April 27, the sun will appear directly overhead in the Land of Smiles. However, the Meteorological Department says this does not guarantee that Wednesday will be the hottest day of the year, due to forecasted…
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Hotels urge government to reconsider collection of land tax as they fight to survive
The Thai Hotels Association is petitioning the government to reconsider collecting the full rate of land and building tax this year. THA president Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi says imposing the levy will have a serious impact on businesses fighting for survival. “The government should carefully look at the context, as hotel revenue remains much lower than the value of properties, especially…
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Thai government promotes the 5 Fs: Food, films, fashion, fighting and festivals
The Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Commerce responded to the policy to promote Thailand’s ‘soft power’ from PM Prayut and has launched Thailand’s “5 Fs soft power,” which aims to promote five major Thai cultures to international eyes… food, films, fashion, fighting and festivals. “Soft power” is indirect or spontaneous promotion of Thai culture by celebrities, sportspeople and…
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Thai authorities warn of jail time for catching or selling protected geckos
Rumours in Thailand saying geckos can sell for up to 1 million baht, depending on their size, might actually be true. Many Thai people have caught and sold geckos as a full-time job. But now the nation’s gecko hunters and sellers have to be more cautious since the authorities issued a warning, saying some geckos are on the wildlife preservation…
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US company opens medical marijuana clinic in Thailand
A US cannabis company has jointly opened a medical marijuana clinic in Thailand, making it the first foreign franchise to do so. The clinic, located on Bangkok’s Sukhumvit Soi 13, treats Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, cancer, eating disorders and insomnia. The clinic predicts that changes to Thai laws in July will allow them to give patients THC-dominant products for research purposes. Smoking…
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Tangmo: Police conclude Thai actress died of ‘recklessness’, 6 suspects charged
Following a monthslong investigation into the death of Thai actress Nida “Tangmo” Patcharaveerapong, police have finally charged all 5 of her boating buddies, plus a man who allegedly coached them, with various offences, including recklessness leading to death, lying to police and concealing evidence. At a press conference today at the headquarters of Provincial Police Region 1 in Bangkok, police…
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Photographer beaten by ‘royalists’ near Democracy Monument
A photographer called Nattaphon, who works for a media agency, is still waiting for justice after being allegedly attacked by a group of ultra royalists near the Democracy Monument last week. He suffered bruises on his back, neck and upper arms. Just after he finished working and was packing up, he noticed a man wearing a long sleeve shirt and…
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Hundreds queue for free food handouts in Pattaya
Images of hundreds of residents queuing up to receive free bags of rice and other dried foods on April 23 2022 in Pattaya suggest that Thailand’s economy still has a long way to go on the road to recovery. During “lockdown” in Pattaya in 2020, huge crowds of people queuing for 200 baht food and drinks handouts from Rom Pho…
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All Thailand-Myanmar border checkpoints closed, massively affecting trade
Myanmar had closed down all of the checkpoints along the Thai-Myanmar border since April 23. Business owners have cried foul saying that they might lose up to 500,000 baht per day and wanted the Thai government to coordinate with Burmese authorities to solve the problem. After the car bomb exploding on the first Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge on April 23, Thai officials…
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1,000 Thai students fail exams due to ‘misunderstanding’
Around 1,000 Thai students have failed their exams to get into university after an exam supervisor told the students that they didn’t have to write down their names and serial numbers on their exam sheets. They believed what he had said and followed the instructions. Unfortunately, the Council of University Presidents of Thailand declined to mark their exam papers since…
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Prinn hands himself in to ‘acknowledge’ sexual abuse allegations
Former Democrat Party deputy leader Prinn Panitchpakdi handed himself over to police at Phetchaburi Police Station today at around 9am to “acknowledge” another complaint of sexual harassment filed against him. At 9am today, 45 year old Prinn handed himself over to Phetchaburi Police Station to be questioned by superintendent Pol. Col. Wanchai Khaoram. Prinn turned himself in to “acknowledge” the…
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Tuesday Covid Update: 13,816 new cases; provincial totals
120 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA in Thailand today, raising the pandemic’s total death toll in Thailand to 28,019 with 6,321 of those fatalities since the start of this year. In the 24 hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 13,816 new Covid-19 cases and 21,072 recoveries. There are now 167,124 people in Thailand being treated for Covid-19. Out of…
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GPS tracking collars for Thai elephants to follow their activities
Thailand’s wildlife authorities have successfully tracked and tagged a third of the wild elephant in the Phu Luang wildlife sanctuary in the north-eastern province of Loei (near the Laos border) attaching a GPS collar which will follow the elephant’s activities after many had left their normal grazing grounds for food. The GPS collars are being attached to 5 elephants and…
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More than 2,000 locals queue up to claim Covid-19 insurance after companies go broke
More than 2,000 Thais queued up at Suan Lum Night Bazaar Ratchdapisek in Bangkok to claim money from their Covid-19 insurance. Thais use the phrase “Found-Paid-Done” for the collection of insurance monies owed to them. The office of the Thai Insurance Commission is adjacent to the Suan Lum Night Bazaar. Some people had slept in front of the building for…
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Thai government “E-Cigarettes won’t be legalised in Thailand”
The Minister of Public Health, Anutin Charnvirakul, insists that the government won’t legalise e-cigarettes any time soon. He accepted that the current laws couldn’t control the spread or popularity of e-cigarettes at this time, but he said he had already assigned the National Tobacco Control Committee to work on the laws and revise them to control the use and sale…
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Country with biggest penis size revealed… it’s not Thailand
In a recent survey conducted by online pharmacy From Mars comparing erect penis sizes in 86 countries, Thai penises were ranked as the 7th smallest in the world (#80). The average erect Thai penis measures in at 4.27 inches (10.8cm). We’re not sure on the accuracy of the measurements, or how they performed them. Some of the measurements may be…
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