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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POLL: Nepotism and favours get promotions, but so does hard work
A new poll by the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) found that many government officials thought that nepotism and favours are common in job promotions, but still believe other factors are far more important. The survey found that over 50% believed that promotions were given to the family or friends of those in power, while 73.28% believed it occurred…
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Thai ambassador to London will attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral
The Ambassador of the UK Embassy of Thailand in London, Pisanu Suvanajata, will be the kingdom’s representative at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II today. After allowing mourners to pay respect for four days at Westminster Hall, the coffin of Queen Elizabeth will be transported to the nearby Westminster Abbey at about 10.35am today, London time, 5.35pm Thai time. Yesterday,…
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2 Kuwaiti thugs face jail for attack on a woman & 4 Thai men
Two allegedly drunk Kuwaiti men were arrested on Friday, September 16, after attacking four Thai men who came to the rescue of a woman at a hotel near the Central Embassy in Bangkok. The thugs could face imprisonment of up to two years and a fine of up to 10,000 baht. Last Friday at 4am, police officers from Lumpini Police…
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Biden recognises One-China policy and not Taiwan independence
United States President Joe Biden is in London today for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II with dignitaries from all over the world and he was in fine contradictory form ahead of the service to be held in Westminster Abbey. The US President answered a number of questions in an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes on whether he would stand…
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Former Thai policeman swindles gold shop, jailed for third time
A former Thai policeman was arrested in Bangkok on Friday night after he swindled a gold shop. The former policeman, 62 year old Thana Charoennakha, tricked a shop owner in northeast Thailand’s Mukdahan province. Police said Thana first asked the shop owner for a bank account number so that he could transfer money to buy some gold ornaments. The owner…
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Putin: Russian government is trying to end the Ukraine invasion
Vladimir Putin declared that the Russian government is doing everything it can the end the war in Ukraine as quickly as possible. His remarks came in conversation with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him not to prolong the conflict since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. The conversation took place at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit this week in the…
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Tsunami warning cancelled after Taiwan earthquake
A tsunami warning has been cancelled after an earthquake rocked Taiwan’s southeastern region today. The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a warning for Taiwan after the earthquake but later rescinded the alert. Today’s earthquake struck Taiwan’s rural Yujing district with a 6.9 magnitude, and a depth of 10 kilometres. Photos showed buildings collapsed, and about 20 people were evacuated…
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Experts suggest solutions to Bangkok’s limited flood retention space
Bangkok’s small amount of green space means the city has limited spaces that can be made into flood retention areas. Meanwhile, the country’s heavy rainfall continues to cause chaos. Some experts are suggesting innovative solutions to the problem. An associate professor at Chulalongkorn University says the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration needs to use incentives for land owners to offer their land…
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Thailand’s “popcorn gunman” is out of jail after shooting 8 years ago
A Thai shooter known as the “popcorn gunman,” who killed a person and injured three others in 2014, has been released from jail. The man, Vivat Yodprasit, had shot the four people in Bangkok’s Lak Si district during demonstrations against the Yingluck Shinawatra government. Vivat became known as the “popcorn gunman” because photos showed him firing from a rifle hidden…
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Burmese worker falls to death in Chon Buri
There’s been another incident of a foreigner tragically falling to their death, this time in Chon Buri province. The 41 year old Burmese construction worker, Kying Ngwe, had been working on a new project to build a stairway down Chon Buri Grand Canyon in the main city district. It was there that Kying fell to his death yesterday. A friend…
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Tour bus incentive by TAT hoped to spur domestic tourism
In their latest effort at pumping up domestic tourism numbers, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is teaming up with bus operators to send out convoys of coaches around the country. The TAT hopes commissioning over 500 tour buses will not only put to work bus drivers and other associated workers but also spur interest for Thai people to hop…
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World record petrified tree to become geological tourist attraction
After being certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest petrified tree trunk log ever found anywhere in the world, officials in the province of Tak are developing plans to turn the tree site into a geological-based world-class tourist attraction. The world record was verified in July in Tak, a northern province of Thailand lying on the…
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Heroic teen risks life to save boy electrocuted in NE Thailand flood
A teenager in northeast Thailand risked his life to save a young boy who was electrocuted while wading through a flood. The 12 year old boy had been near a power pole near a school in Udon Thani province on Friday. The teenager, 19 year old student Atthachai Argudom, went in to rescue the boy and ended up suffering electric…
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Female suspect in Kyrgyzstani woman’s death arrested in Bangkok
UPDATE A female suspect in the case of the Kyrgyzstani woman who plunged to her death in Pattaya on Friday has been arrested yesterday in Bangkok. The victim, 30 year old Anara Seitaleva, died after falling from a hotel balcony on Friday, September 16. Police arrested a 27 year old Chinese woman named Rou Li at a condominium in Bangkok’s…
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Anutin on cannabis: Going backwards is not an option
After a cannabis bill aimed at moving the decriminalisation away from recreational use and defining it for medicinal purposes only was shot down this week in the House of Representatives, Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul insists that criminalising the drug again is out of the question. Anutin is the leader of the Bhumjaithai Party who had originally pushed for…
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Shrines preparing for Phuket’s upcoming vegetarian festival
Phuket‘s annual vegetarian festival is right around the corner, coming up on September 26 to October 4. Now, city workers and volunteers are helping Chinese shrines prepare for the festival. Yesterday, teams helped scrub the forecourts of the main shrines participating in the celebration, including the Pud Jor and Jui Tui shrines in the main city district. Phuket’s Vice Governor…
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Hundreds of Phuket public school students receive scholarships
Students at a public school in Phuket are being given more educational opportunities. With funding through various charities and foundations, 418 scholarships were given to students at Satree Phuket School yesterday. The total amount of scholarship money provided added up to almost 1.5 million baht. The president of the foundation organising the scholarships spoke at a ceremony in the school’s…
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Navy rescues foreign passengers in Krabi after yacht trip goes wrong
A yacht trip has gone wrong for a group of foreign passengers in the southern Krabi province on Thursday. The yacht broke down in the middle of the sea, although it is still unclear what caused the yacht to break down. The passengers were left waiting for help from the Royal Thai Navy. Fortunately, the navy arrived on the scene…
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Thai immigration authorities arrested over alleged bribes in illegal fishing case
A group of Thai immigration authorities has been arrested in an alleged bribery case involving illegal fishing that happened last year. The 11 individuals include six immigration police, and five other immigration officials working at marine border and disease control checkpoints. The Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn, announced their arrests yesterday. The group has…
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Campaigns for the next election can officially begin Sep 24
Election season is upon us! On September 24, the current term for the House of Representatives will have exactly 180 days left which means the campaigning can officially begin for the next general election. The Election Commission made the announcement yesterday, opening the door for political parties and hopeful candidates to begin their push to be elected. The rules are…
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American man falls 9 floors to his death outside Bangkok
An American man met his demise in the greater Bangkok suburb of Nontha Buri after plummeting out of the ninth-floor window of a rental building. For some reason, falling deaths, especially those of foreigners, have been an increasingly common occurrence in Thailand. In this most recent incident, a man that Pak Kret police identified as Mr Campi was reported to…
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Eager customers line up for iPhone 14 in Bangkok
Eager customers are crowding Bangkok’s two Apple stores for the new iPhone 14. Since yesterday, tech enthusiasts have been lining up at the stores in Iconsiam, and Central World. Other IT retail shops have also been boosted by iPhone customers. The chief executive of Copperwired said that its pre-booking quotas for the iPhone 14 ran out faster than those of…
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Michelin star croissants in Thailand | Thaiger Podcast Ep.7
Michelin star chef, the youngest chef who worked at the Mandarin Oriental hotel, Le Normandie restaurant, successful entrepreneur, long-term expat, and the owner of the first French bakery in Thailand. Let’s hear the answers from Eric D J Cornielle, our guest for this episode!
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“Sawadee Special” train from KL to Hat Yai for Malaysia Day
A new bridge and several new train routes have been scheduled to accommodate Malaysian tourists entering Thailand. In July, travellers from Malaysia trumped India to become the kingdom’s No.1 visitors according to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. The new routes and bridge will make travel much easier for Malaysians, and now the “Sawadee Special” train directly from Kuala Lumpur…
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Nok Air suspends new domestic route in Thailand after just six weeks
Nok Air has temporarily suspended all Chiang Mai – Korat flights just six weeks after the route’s inaugural flight on August 2. The suspended route was the only commercial flight going in and out of Isaan’s Nakhon Ratchasima Airport, which is now a ghost town and at risk of closing again. The service had high potential, linking the capital of…
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Superstitious Thais queue for days to see famous fortune teller
Dozens of superstitious Thai people come from all over the kingdom and queue for several days just to get their fortune told at a temple in Chiang Mai. They all seek the wisdom of 52 year old Tui, or Sattaphat, a monk at the Tung Yu Temple in Chiang Mai. Tui became famous on Thai social media after hundreds of…
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After viral fight, Chon Buri police insist Bang Saen is not a ‘savage city’
After a vicious fight between a group of young male college students went viral on social media, Chon Buri police insisted that Bang Saen is not a “savage city.” A Facebook video showed a large group of grown men brutally beating a group of college students in the early hours of Wednesday morning. It shows two of the students being…
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Tomb raiders dig up mass grave in search of winning lottery numbers in Thailand
At 4am today, a gang of money-hungry lottery fanatics dug up a mass grave, for people with no relatives, at a cemetery in Mueang district in Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand. The group were searching for the winning numbers of today’s national lottery draw, as evidenced by the incense and equipment used in lottery rituals found strewn around the scene.…
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“Furious” stray dogs anesthetised after chasing Phuket tourists
Three furious stray dogs were anesthetised this week after they chased tourists and residents in Phuket, according to the Phuket City Municipality. The municipality said the dogs had been chasing people near the Toh Sae Hill Public Park in the main city district. The municipality noted that the dogs were not harmed when they were caught. The municipality alerted the…
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Woman almost loses arm after green snake pit viper bite
A teenage girl almost lost her arm after being bitten by a green pit viper snake in Loei, the Isaan province of Thailand. She said she got 90 stitches and was under the treatment for one year and five months. A 19 year old girl, Kanyarat, posted a video of her 1.5-year-long treatment on TikTok on September 15. The post’s headline…
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