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.
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Sponsored See the best of Northern Thailand this winter on a budget
The Thaiger key takeaways Peak season brings higher prices, but smart planning and local know-how can help you experience Northern Thailand affordably. Chiang Mai, Pai, and Chiang Rai offer plenty of free or low-cost attractions, from temples and canyons to...
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Rescuers remove 4 metre python from Chon Buri car
A 4 metre long python has been carefully extracted from a car in Chon Buri’s central city district. It took rescue workers around 2 hours to locate and remove the reluctant reptile. Earlier, the snake was spotted by an unnamed local motorist, who stopped traffic to let the python safely cross Bypass Road in the Huay Kapi area. Afterwards it made…
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Thai agriculture minister to take a delegation on a coconut harvesting tour
The ‘Monkey Business’ story has drawn a lot of attention following the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ companies about alleged abuse and misuse of trained macaque monkeys to pick Thai coconuts for commercial purposes. After a week of articles, videos and debate about the relative merits of using monkeys to pick coconuts, the Thai Agriculture Minister formerly invited…
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US ambassador vows to help Thailand combat human trafficking
The US ambassador to Thailand is pledging to help Thailand achieve its goal to be upgraded from Tier 2 to Tier 1 in the annual US Trafficking in Persons Report. The report divides countries into tiers based on their compliance with standards outlined in the US Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. Tier 1 comprises countries whose governments fully comply…
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Two-car collision in Pattaya as flying plastic bag obscures driver’s vision
A woman whose vehicle ploughed into the back of another, causing it to flip upside down, says her vision was obscured by a garbage bag landing on her windscreen. 35 year old Supaphon Puttaraksa says she panicked and lost control of her car, crashing into another vehicle travelling in front of her. That car was being driven by 55 year…
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Covid-19 UPDATE: Friday, July 10
Today the total number of Covid-19 patients in the world has nearly reached 12.4 million with over 557,000 people succumbing to the effects of the disease. Nearly 7.2 million people are registered as ‘recovered’ from their bout of Covid-19. The numbers of new cases, worldwide, is accelerating. The current hotspots are the US, Brazil, India, South Africa and Mexico –…
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Amnesty International says Myanmar bombing civilians
Myanmar is bombing its own people, according to Amnesty International. The human rights watchdog says it has evidence that indiscriminate airstrikes by Myanmar’s military, also known as the Tatmadaw, are killing civilians, including children, amid a worsening armed conflict in the country’s Rakhine and Chin States. The attacks, and other serious human rights violations, are taking place in towns and…
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Desperate Thais stuck in the UK make plea to return home
A Thai doctor based in the UK is appealing to the Thai government to allow Thai citizens currently stranded in the country to return home. Ekaphum Chamnanrabiabkij is a practising doctor in Bicester, in the English county of Oxfordshire, and has become something of a spokesman for his stranded compatriots who find themselves locked out of Thailand during the Covid-19…
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State quarantine for Thais entering Singapore, while harder hit nations get a pass
Singapore’s government will continue to require that all Thai arrivals to the city-state undergo a 14 day mandatory state quarantine before being allowed to enter the country and mingle with the general population. Singapore, which has 45,298 total cases, says that Thais must serve their “Stay Home Notice” at dedicated government quarantine facilities. Arrivals from China, which has seen a total…
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Facebook group names and shames “farang prices”
In days gone by, a foreigner visiting a national park or tourist site could often expect to be charged several times the price charged to a local. Now, thanks to a Facebook community naming and shaming venues that apply “farang prices” to foreign visitors, those days are, well, numbered. Members of the 2PriceThailand Facebook group are warning each other about…
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Separate tragedies across the nation
Tragedy has struck around the nation in separate incidents. In the Hat Yai district of the southern Songkhla province, the bodies of the owners of the locally well known Nattharika Furniture were discovered this morning by a relative who had been instructed to show up at the shop at 6am. In an apparent suicide pact, 55 year old Somsak, and…
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Blaze destroys part of historic Si Ayutthaya temple
Wat Chang Thong, built in the Ayutthaya period, has suffered severe fire damage last night as a blaze gutted one of its teak pavilions. Damage is estimated at 20 million baht. Police say the inferno at the temple in tambon Ko Rian, Si Ayutthaya district was reported about 9pm. The area is about 2 hours north of Bangkok city. Some…
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Guinean man held for alleged rape of a minor in Bangkok
A man from the western African nation of Guinea was arrested at a McDonald’s in Bangkok’s Bang Rak area for allegedly raping a 17 year old girl. 58 year old Mamady Keita, reportedly a ruby trader, is accused of luring the girl to a hotel in the Phya Thai area and assaulting her. The girl told police that she’d been…
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Russian man found hanged in Pattaya shophouse
A 45 year old Russian man has been found dead in a Jomtien shophouse. The man was discovered just after midnight today, hanging from the doorknob of his third floor rented apartment. Police say he was due to leave Thailand today bound for Russia. Pattaya City Police were notified of the incident just after midnight by the landlord in Jomtien, just…
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Activists want Thailand to lead total ban on wildlife trade
With the Covid-19 pandemic continuing to sweep the globe and the World Health Organisation saying 75% of all emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic, campaigners against wildlife crime say Thailand could become a global leader in helping to prevent pandemics by cracking down on poaching and ceasing to be a gateway for illegal wildlife trade. Activists believe this could help stop…
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Outgoing army chief says no plans for US base on Thai soil
Outgoing army chief Apirat Kongsompong, is denying that the US is seeking to establish a military base on Thai soil. At a press briefing, Apirat said that Thai and US troops have only carried out joint military drills, code-named Cobra Gold, and nothing more. The drills are a multinational exercise held annually in Thailand. Apirat insisted the US did not…
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Mother and son rescued as car swept away in Pattaya’s flash floods – VIDEO
A woman and her son have had a lucky escape after the vehicle, which they were travelling in, was carried away by floodwaters in Pattaya. The city reported extensive flash flooding as a result of heavy downpours, with the worst of it around Soi Khao Noi, Pattaya Beach Road, and Pattaya Third Road. The heavy rains lasted for up to…
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US Covid-19 cases surge past 3 million
Over 3 million people in the US have now tested positive for Covid-19 since the start of the outbreak (3,158,932 as of midday Thai time). Nearly 135,000 deaths have been recorded and the country is now facing an acceleration of new cases in a number of key states, notably Florida, Texas, California, Arizona, Georgia and Tennessee. On a positive note,…
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Yala ramps up security after fatal shooting of volunteer ranger
Following yesterday’s fatal shooting of a volunteer ranger in Thailand’s southern Yala province, security in the province’s Muang district has been stepped up. Buddhist communities are being warned to exercise “increased caution” and to be careful of strangers, as authorities are bracing for potential attacks by southern insurgents. The volunteer ranger was identified as 43 year old Nikorn Sombatthong, who…
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AOT considering joint venture with Thai Airways to keep services running
The company that runs 6 of Thailand’s airports says it wants to work with Thai Airways to ensure airport services can continue while the national carrier goes through a “rehabilitation” process and struggles with the loss of business caused by the Covid-19 crisis. Airports of Thailand president Nitinai Sirismatthakarn says the AOT board is in talks about a joint venture…
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Doctors say Covid-19 first wave may be over, but warn against complacency
A spokesman for the Department of Disease Control says the “first wave” of the Covid-19 outbreak in Thailand is over after the country seeing no cases of community transmissions for 44 straight days. Dr Anupong Sujariyakul warned, however, that the kingdom must be prepared for the possibility of a second wave, as the contagion is still spreading in many parts…
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Phuket officials visit Kamala restaurant after customer charged 6,750 baht
A seafood restaurant in Kamala, a west coast town in Phuket, has received strong criticism on social media after trying to charge a customer 6,750 baht for a takeaway meal. 3,000 baht of the bill was a “cooking fee”. Lalita Chaiyasit took to social media to vent her disbelief after receiving the bill. She says she was on holiday with…
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UPDATE: Thai Cabinet approves civil partnership bill
NOTE: Yesterday, The Thaiger referred to the bill as allowing “same sex marriage”. Our headline was incorrect. We have corrected the story with updated information. We apologise for the error. The Thai cabinet yesterday endorsed a bill allowing registration of same-sex couples, as well as legal amendments to ensure same-sex couples have the same rights and privileges as opposite-sex couples.…
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Chiang Mai-Chiang Rai highway closed by flooding again – VIDEO
There seems no end in sight for the construction of the Chiang Mai-Chiang Rai highway as yet another night of severe rains caused massive flooding in the Doi Saket district. The bypass and the road were underwater, creating a traffic pandemonium. The police came to the scene and began suggesting alternative routes. As the waters subsided the road was opened again,…
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UPDATE: Thai Cabinet approves civil partnership bill
The Thai cabinet has today endorsed a bill allowing registration of same-sex couples, as well as legal amendments to ensure same-sex couples have the same rights and privileges as opposite-sex couples. The bill and the amendment will now be put to a vote in the Thai parliament. The government’s deputy spokeswoman says the new Civil Partnership Bill and the amendment…
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AirAsia’s wings may be clipped permanently
Malaysia’s budget airline AirAsia could become the next casualty of the Covid19 pandemic, which has grounded fleets around the world and already forced the demise of NokScoot, another regional budget carrier. AirAsia’s auditor is warning that the airline’s future is in “significant doubt” due to the collapse in demand for air travel caused by the coronavirus and regional governments closing borders.…
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What will happen to foreigners with expired visas after July 31?
Before you read further, seeking a definitive answer, we don’t have one. But stranded foreigners, who have been able to stay in Thailand via a visa amnesty, have an approaching D-Day – July 31, 2020. This is the sunset of the current amnesty for foreigners who have, through no fault of their own, been stuck in Thailand whilst the borders…
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Thai activist cries foul on government over US diplomat skirting quarantine
A transparency campaigner dubbed ” Thailand’s complainer-in-chief ” is accusing the government of negligence for allowing the chief of the US army to enter the country without having to go through a mandatory quarantine upon arriving. Activist Srisuwan Janya says he fears the visit of a delegation from the country with by far the most Covid-19 cases (not to mention…
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Volunteer ranger shot dead in Yala
Police report that a volunteer ranger has been shot dead by a gunman on a motorcycle in the Raman district of the southern border province of Yala this morning. According to a radio report called into the Thathong police station, the attack occurred about 8:45am in front of Prachanukroh 41 School on the Kotabaru-Thung Yang Daeng road. Witnesses say 43…
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First post-Covid flight from China lands in Bangkok
The first charter flight from China to Thailand has landed in Bangkok, after Thailand partially lifted its 3 month ban on foreign arrivals on July 1. Yesterday, a Spring Airlines flight flew 31 Thai nationals and 21 members of a Chinese company in Thailand from Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International airport. All foreigners, except those with work…
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Man arrested for repeatedly raping stepdaughter in Nakhon Si Thammarat
Police in southern Thailand have arrested a 38 year old man and charged him with the repeated rape of his young stepdaughter, along with illegal drug use. Officers of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division and local police arrested the man at his house in Nakhon Si Thammarat province yesterday. The arrest follows a complaint filed by the girl’s grandmother. She…
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