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 Do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?
Thailand’s healthcare system is well-regarded across Southeast Asia, with options ranging from public hospitals to world-class private facilities. But when it comes to foreign residents or tourists, healthcare access isn’t as straightforward. So, do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?...
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Tribunal upholds sentence of last surviving Khmer Rouge leader
A United Nations-backed tribunal in Cambodia upheld the sentence of the last surviving Khmer Rouge genocide leader. The 91-year-old Khieu Samphan had appealed the sentence but the court wasn’t having it. In 2018, Samphan and another top-ranking official named Nuon Chea, who died in 2019, were sentenced to life imprisonment after the court found them guilty of crimes against humanity.…
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Tourism fee to go to Cabinet to enact or delay
The controversial 300-baht tourism fee is set to be reviewed by the Cabinet at the end of the month. They may decide to enact it or postpone the implementation to a later date. But, according to the Minister of Tourism and Sports Pipat Ratchakitprakarn, the fee is not going away. He says it is already set in law and can’t…
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John Cena breaks world record for most wishes granted in foundation
WWE superstar John Cena has broken another record, but this time it isn’t in the ring. Cena is now the world record holder of the most wishes granted through the Make-A-Wish foundation, with 650 wishes fulfilled. The foundation helps children who have been diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses by granting their wishes. Some choose to meet a celebrity, give a gift…
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Popular Chiang Mai waterfall closed due to flooding
A popular waterfall for tourists in Chiang Mai has closed due to flooding, the National News Bureau of Thailand reported on Monday. The waterfall is located in Doi Inthanon National Park. Floodwaters have also strongly damaged several stores in the Chom Thong district, according to park officials. Locals from the nearby Khun Khun Klang village were seen moving their belongings…
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Embassy warns citizens not to take cannabis from Thailand into Malaysia
The Malaysian Embassy in Thailand sent out a warning to remind citizens that taking cannabis across the border into Malaysia is illegal. Thailand became the first Southeast Asian country to decriminalise the plant back in June, which is now widely accessible in every nook and cranny of the nation. As soon as Thailand legalised weed, the Malaysian government banned its citizens…
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NASA crashes DART spacecraft into distant asteroid
A crashed spacecraft normally calls for mourning, not celebration, but this one could potentially save the world. NASA officials at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland cheered yesterday as they watched a live feed of their Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft smashing into a faraway asteroid. The planned collision was the ship’s explosive conclusion and 10…
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Thailand’s northeast braced as Typhoon Noru slams Vietnam
Typhoon Noru slammed into Vietnam today forcing hundreds of thousands of people to take shelter after the country imposed a mandatory curfew. High-rise buildings shook in Danang, as winds have been compared to that of a category five hurricane. Wind speeds were clocked between 103 and 117 kilometres per hour. According to authorities, almost half of Vietnam’s airports have been…
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Canadian gangster in Phuket killing faces death penalty in Thailand
Thai police are convinced that Canadian Matthew Dupre and accomplice Gene Karl Lahrkamp gunned down Vancouver gangster Jimi Singh Sandhu on the island of Phuket in February. The extradition hearing of a former member of Dupre began in Edmonton on September 27. Dupre is on the run from Thai police who claim the Alberta man took part in the killing…
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Knife-wielding tuk tuk driver says he is the victim in brawl over passengers
An 84 year old tuk tuk driver claimed that he was attacked by younger drivers because of a row over passengers. The alleged offenders defended themselves saying they were threatened by a knife first. The elderly tuk tuk driver, Pichit Sawanwijit, filed a complaint at Mueng Udon Thani Police Station saying he was attacked by three younger tuk tuk drivers…
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VIDEO: Nine cars in three days fly off ‘cursed’ road in eastern Thailand
Shocking CCTV footage reveals a total of nine vehicles losing control in the same place on a highway in Chachoengsao province, eastern Thailand, between September 24 – 26. Security cameras at a used car dealership on Suwinthawong Road in Mueang district captured nine vehicles losing control, seemingly out of nowhere, and spinning off the road. Most of the cars ended…
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Crocodile found skinned on Chon Buri beach
Animal protection services are looking into the case of a crocodile carcass found skinned on a beach in Chon Buri province. The 1 metre long skinned croc was found on September 24 on Pha Daeng Beach in Sri Racha district. The poor croc had been skinned from its neck to the tip of its tail. An anonymous local who found…
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Politicians urged to wear Thai suits to save energy
A Thai minister urged politicians and government officials to avoid wearing suits and ties and opt for Thai-fabric clothes instead. The minister says Thai fabric is suited to the kingdom’s climate and would help the government save energy. The Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Varawut Silpa-archa, said at yesterday’s Cabinet meeting that he wants to introduce energy-saving measures to…
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Naga Fireball Festival is coming to Isaan on October 10
Organisers of the annual Naga Fireball Festival are hoping the gala will once again recapture the imagination of all visitors after a couple of barren Covid-19 pandemic years. The festival is back in the Isaan province of Nong Khai on October 10 and promotors are predicting a bonanza event that will help boost the provincial economy by 70% to 80%.…
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Thailand’s weak baht could have a silver lining in the tourism industry, THA says
There might be a silver lining to Thailand’s weakening baht for the tourism industry. The president of the Thai Hotels Association (THA) says the weakening baht is one of several factors making Thai tourism more attractive in post-pandemic times. THA president Marissa Nunbhakdi says that now the ‘Test & Go’ and ‘Thailand Pass’ schemes have been scrapped, momentum has built…
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Plane PA system emits moans ‘between an orgasm and vomiting’
If you are a frequent flyer, you are probably used to tuning out the plane PA system. You know how to fasten your safety belt and put on an oxygen mask, right? But what if it was entirely different – and extremely awkward – sounds coming over the PA? A passenger recorded a now-viral video on a flight from Los…
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Siam Paragon Bangkok International Fashion Week 2022
Siam Paragon, a ‘World Class Fashion Destination,’ the initiator of Siam Paragon Bangkok International Fashion Week, has long been a key driving force of Thai fashion industry. This year, the world class fashion showcase Siam Paragon Bangkok International Fashion Week 2022 (BIFW2022) has featured grand presentation from over 15 top-notch Thai fashion houses and new generation designers. BIFW2022 has been…
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Venomous snake emerges from parcel at sorting office in Thailand
An extremely venomous snake escaped from a parcel at a sorting office in Kanchanaburi province, western Thailand, yesterday. One has to ask, what did the intended receiver do to deserve such a life-threatening package? Post office staff said the one-metre long stripy snake slithered out from a pile of parcels at the sorting office in Tha Muang district. When staff…
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Line Man Wongnai now Thailand’s largest tech startup
Line Man Wongnai became Thailand’s largest tech startup by valuation thanks to a new round of funding. Singapore sovereign wealth fund, Capital Market Company (GIC), led the latest funding round that managed to raise 10.1 billion baht for the Thai food delivery app and in doing so made it Thailand’s latest unicorn company. Line, Taiwan Mobile, BRV Capital Management and PTT…
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Customer buys brand new Honda PCX motorbike with coins in eastern Thailand
Employees at a motorbike shop in Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand, couldn’t believe it when a customer asked if he could pay for a brand spanking new Honda PCX – for a price of 102,500 baht – with coins. Most people in Thailand have a pile of pennies they don’t know what to do with, but not nearly enough to…
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Drug chase ends in flipped car, 6 million spilled Yaba pills
Chiang Rai police chased suspected drug traffickers until a truck flipped and nearly six million Yaba pills spilled out. The drug bust was the culmination of an ongoing drug smuggling investigation by the police. Several suspects are still wanted in connection to the incident that was reported yesterday. Police had been alerted to a group of drug traffickers earlier and…
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Edward Snowden received Russian citizenship
Controversial American whistleblower Edward Snowden has been granted Russian citizenship by Vladimir Putin. The former United States intelligence contractor fled to Russia for his safety after revealing to the public secret surveillance programmes the US National Security Agency had been running on its citizens. While US and Russian relationships are strained over the invasion of Ukraine, Putin included Snowden on…
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American told to stop riding go-kart in Chiang Mai
Police and residents in Chiang Mai urged an American man to stop riding his yellow single-seat go-kart on a public road after highlighting the danger he poses to himself and others. A dash cam video of the yellow single-seat go-kart was uploaded to Thai social media on September 21. The kart is seen dashing down the left lane of the…
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Thailand legalises abortion up to 20 weeks
Thailand is extending the legal limit of abortion from 12 to 20 weeks. The new law will come into effect 30 days after its announcement by the Ministry of Public Health in the Royal Gazette, which was published yesterday, September 26. The new law stipulates that pregnant women in Thailand may legally abort a pregnancy up to 20 weeks so…
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Nasal spray to prevent Covid hits stores October 1
Hibiocy announced the release of their anti-Covid nasal spray, set to hit the shelves on October 1. The spray is a homegrown invention, developed in Thailand by medical researchers at the faculty of medicine at Chulalongkorn University. The design blocks Covid from entering the body through the nose. The company producing it is a subsidiary of Rojukiss International, and its…
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Foreign gang allegedly extorts Russian couple of crypto worth US$50k in Thailand
A Russian couple in Koh Samui in southern Thailand claims that a gang of six foreign men – including Russians, Kazakhs and a German – extorted them of cryptocurrency worth US$50,000, or 1.89 million baht. On Sunday, 31 year old Evgeny Abdullin and his wife Ekaterina Abdullin filed a complaint at Koh Samui Police Station. The couple said that six…
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Meatfest will host meat cooking and eating contests in Pattaya
Perhaps in response to the Phuket Vegetarian Festival getting underway this week, Pattaya has announced a different type of festival: Meatfest. The barbeque event is scheduled to take place on October 29 and 30. It is being billed as the first BBQ and music festival in Thailand. Jaybees Bar in Jomtien, in the Bang Lamung district of Chon Buri province,…
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Shopee Thailand to lay off about 10% of employees
Shopee started a major restructuring charge and it includes plans to lay off more employees of Shopee Thailand. About 10% of jobs will be cut, and it is expected to affect about 100 employees. The Singaporean multinational technology company, a subsidiary of Sea Limited, has restructured its business in many countries this year to make the company more self-sufficient, they…
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VIDEO: Colossal crocodile stomps through road in eastern Thailand
A colossal crocodile was spotted stomping through the rainy streets of Chachoengsao province in eastern Thailand last week. Locals driving through the rain in Bang Kaew district did a double take when they realised what they initially thought was a monitor lizard was a crocodile. A clip reveals the 2 metre long beast sauntering through the road in heavy rain…
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Phuket Vegetarian Festival underway, avoid firecrackers
The Phuket Vegetarian Festival officially kicked off and will last for nine days. The festival launched yesterday with Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul in attendance at the opening ceremony. The ceremony began the festival which will run daily until October 4. Anutin, who also serves as Deputy Prime Minister and is considered a potential Bhumjaithai Party candidate for prime…
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Burmese beauty queen granted safe haven in Canada
The former Burmese beauty queen denied entry to Thailand last week has been granted a safe haven in Canada. The 23 year old Han Lay tried to seek asylum in Thailand last Thursday when she landed at Suvarnabhumi Airport from Vietnam after being allegedly targeted by the Myanmar ruling military junta following a speech she made during the Miss Grand International 2020…
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