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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Mugabe’s body leaves Singapore, headed back to Zimbabwe
A hearse carrying the body of Zimbabwe’s ex-president Robert Mugabe left a funeral parlour in Singapore this morning bound for an airport. His body will be repatriated to Zimbabwe for burial. Mugabe, a guerrilla leader who swept to power after Zimbabwe’s independence from Britain and went on to rule for 37 years until he was ousted in 2017, died last Friday,…
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Three-airport high-speed train project stumbles forward
One of the delayed Thai high-speed rail projects is now closer to being inked by the State Railway of Thailand and CP Holding’s joint venture, once an agreement on some key details of the public-private partnership project are reached. The new railway service will connect Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang international airports, with U-Tapao in Rayong, serving Pattaya and the…
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iPhone 11 launch – Apple cuts prices, new services
by Glenn Chapman “The new iPhones are jam-packed with new capabilities and an incredible new design.” – Tim Cook Apple unveiled its iPhone 11 models last night (Thai time) with a price cut for the most basic models while also laying out plans for streaming and gaming services as it bids to weather the slump in the global smartphone market.…
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Foreign tourists stop to help Chiang Dao local after motorcycle incident
Thai social media in the northern city has been full of praise for a foreign man and woman who responded to an incident in Chiang Dao, north of Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai News reports that the couple got out of their vehicle and helped with first aid before emergency teams and the police arrived on the scene and helped get…
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Immigration police conduct spot-check of Nana area of Bangkok
PHOTOS: Naew Na Immigration police headed to the Nana area of Bangkok to inspect businesses and operators last night in the popular market zone. The ‘walk thru’ started at 8 pm as Immigration police visited Sois 3 – 5 along Sukhumvit Road checking on foreign workers and work permits. Immigration officials say there were no arrests during their unannounced visit.…
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Pound lifted by British PM’s latest defeat, Asian equities struggle
The British pound bounced today after UK PM Boris Johnson again failed to get MPs to back a snap election, while Asian equities drifted as investors await a key European Central Bank meeting and developments in the China-US trade talks. Just before Westminster lawmakers broke up for five weeks they inflicted yet another defeat on the new PM, who has…
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Thai government introduces new TM30T, to keep track of Thais
PHOTO: One of the new test shopping centre locations for the new Waer Areuw program The Thai government is introducing a new method of cracking down on home-made criminals. In a reversal of its former policy “Good guys in, bad guys in”, the government’s criminal enhancement department is phasing in the new laws that will require Thai to report their…
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Myanmar adopts NASA’s malaria-predicting tech
“Several drug-resistant strains of Malaria are taking hold across south east Asia and it is feared these could migrate to Africa where more than 90% of cases globally occur.” NASA is developing a new technique to forecast malaria outbreaks in Myanmar from space, as the emergence of new drug-resistant strains in Southeast Asia threatens efforts to wipe out the deadly…
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Murder accused under police hospital watch to face charges “soon”
Police confirm that a man accused of killing his 21 year old girlfriend is currently undergoing hospital treatment after trying to take his own life but will soon be brought to court to face charges. Krissanachok “Ole Wanjeab” Chaichana, aged 30, attempted suicide after killing his girlfriend during an argument. He was arrested in the victim’s car, while drinking toilet…
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Phuket Governor requests 38 million baht to finally finish Provincial Hall
The Governor of Phuket, Phakaphong Tavipatana, confirms he has requested 38 million baht for the long-awaited completion of Phuket Provincial Hall on the south side of Phuket town. Last October, he had asked for a new contractor to be appointed by December, but that never happened. It’s understood he has now filed a request with the Ministry of Interior in…
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UN director says more needs to be done to fight corruption in Thailand
The chief of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Renaud Meyer, is calling on Thailand’s lawmakers to do more to fight corruption. While acknowledging the country’s efforts so far, he says certain influential figures and groups are a stumbling block to creating a less corrupt society. He was speaking at a conference jointly organised by the UNDP, along with the…
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Thai Government fails to properly address flood victims – Thanathorn
FILE PHOTO Embattled Future Forward Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit has slammed the government for its handling of the current flood situation in the north-east and central Thailand. Speaking in a panel debate on amendment of the Constitution at Khon Kaen University on Sunday, he said he had visited people in Yasothon and Roi Et provinces in past days. He found…
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Opposition says Thammanat should not have been appointed minister
PHOTO: Bangkok Post “It is old stuff from the opposing political group. I know all of them. Don’t pay any attention to them. I do not give them any importance.” A government opposition spokesman, Adisorn Piangkate, says he would not have appointed Captain Thammanat Prompow as deputy agriculture minister if he were the PM due to the minister’s “tainted record”. He…
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Thai Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce call for overhaul of TM30 laws
PHOTO: Stanley Kang, chairman of the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce in Thailand, spoke to the Bangkok Post about their concerns over the TM30 debacle Speaking to the Bangkok Post, chairman of the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce Stanley Kang, says the government needs to review the enforcement of the draconian TM30 (and TM28) immigration reporting regulations The TM30, and…
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Thailand’s War on Sugar, taxes double
The Excise Department says that taxes on sugary drinks will double from October 1, with drinks containing 10 to 14 grams of sugar being taxed at 1 baht per 100 millilitres instead of 0.5 baht per 100 millilitre. But he promises this higher tax won’t be passed on to consumers. Nattakorn Utensut, the department’s deputy spokesman, says most producers of…
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China’s exports fell last month in lead up to next month’s trade talks
China’s exports fell 1% on-year last month amid the bruising trade war with the US that is disrupting markets in the world’s top two economies. The drop comes after a surprise 3.3% rebound in July despite the year-long battle with the US and weakening global demand. But economists cited by Bloomberg had forecast a 2.2% rise ahead of the release of…
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HM Queen Sirikit returns to hospital for examination
Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, the Queen Mother, has been admitted to Chulalongkorn Hospital in Bangkok for follow-up examinations. According to the announcement from the Bureau of the Royal Household, which was issued yesterday, the Queen Mother was admitted to Chulalongkorn University on Saturday on the advice of doctors for a previously scheduled follow-up on her condition and some additional examinations.…
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Police shoot and kill chef in North Pattaya hotel car park
PHOTO: Naew Na Police are continuing their investigations after a fatal shooting by a police officer in the car park of a North Pattaya hotel last Friday night. Four witnesses were interviewed over the weekend. Naew Na reports that a chef armed with a knife was shot in the head after allegedly resisting police arrest. Patrol officers had responded to…
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Weekend flooding threatens provinces in the Chao Phraya basin
PHOTO: tna.mcot.net The Royal Irrigation Department has issued an urgent flood alert for seven provinces as more water is released from the reservoirs feeding the Chao Phraya dam at Chai Nat province in central Thailand (map below). Residents in the seven provinces are being advised to monitor water levels closely as the water is released. Uthai Thani, Chai Nat, Sing…
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Morning peak chaos in Tokyo after typhoon Faxai passes through
by Kyoko Hasegawa, PHOTOS: AFP “Authorities said more than 2,000 people had taken refuge in shelters opened to accommodate those complying with the evacuation advisories.” A powerful typhoon that battered Tokyo overnight with ferocious winds and driving rain caused is causing commuter this morning, with trains halted and more than 100 flights cancelled. Typhoon Faxai, packing winds of up to…
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Suicide bomber explodes bomb at Philippine army base, Jolo Island
PHOTO: AFP/Ted Aljibe “No group has yet claimed the attack, which came a day after an IS-claimed bombing wounded eight at a market on the island of Mindanao.” A suicide bomber, dressed in a traditional Muslim woman’s abaya gown, has died after detonating a bomb outside a military camp in the southern Philippines. No other casualties were reported, authorities said.…
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Wyndham adds two more hotels for Phuket’s south
PHOTOS: Artists impressions of the new Wyndham Nai Harn Resort Phuket Global hotel group Wyndham has announced two more Phuket pipeline hotels. The announcement follows a long list of new developments and openings over the next few years on the island. First for Wyndham, is a 353 key property named the Wyndham Nai Harn Resort Phuket at the popular southern west-coast…
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Police arrest Chiang Rai woman with thousands of counterfeit US$100 bills
PHOTOS: Facebook/32nd Border Patrol Police Counterfeit US dollar banknotes valued more than 16 million baht have been seized at a Chiang Rai house after police organised a sting. A 54 year old woman was arrested over the matter last Thursday. The sting followed a tip off to border patrol police about the fake USD notes being circulated around tambon Rim…
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“If you want to shoot me, get on with it,” British grandmother
A British woman facing the firing squad in Indonesia told British reporters from her Bali prison “if you want to shoot me get on with it”. She faces execution for drug smuggling. The 62 year old drug mule grandmother has abandoned any further legal battles to avoid a date with the firing squad. Lindsay Sandiford was sentenced to death for attempting…
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Dengue fever in Thailand: 3 dead in Bangkok since January 2019
PHOTO: Tripsavvy.com Bangkok Metropolitan Administration governor Aswin Kwanmuang says 4,903 residents have been infected with the dengue virus so far this year, with 3 deaths. In 2011, there were 10 deaths, with 8,699 having contracted the virus, so while there has been noticeable improvement, the current rate of infection is still worrying. Governor Aswin says that the areas which have…
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Hundreds of Pattaya tour guides rounded up in crackdown
PHOTOS: Sophon Cable TV A crackdown by the tourist police in Pattaya had resulted in 475 tour guides being fined for disregarding regulations related to tour company business, since the start of 2019. Sophon Cable TV report that local tourist police chief Lt-Col Piyapong Ensarn says eighteen illegal tour guides face a year in prison or fines up to 100,000…
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450 vaping-related cases now reported in the US, 3 deaths, possible links to THC
…and US health officials are trying to isolate the possible causes and if they can link the cases to any particular chemical or product vapers use. Vaping is currently illegal in Thailand with tourists prevented bringing in vaping-related products and refills, and crackdowns on local sellers frequent. Meanwhile, US health officials say they’re now aware of at least 450 possible…
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Phuket’s Katathani Beach Resort land under investigation
The Katathani Phuket Beach Resort, sprawled along Kata Noi’s small beach on Phuket, is the latest subject of investigation by the Phuket Provincial Land Office. The investigation team has been given 30 days to complete its review by the Phuket Governor. The latest investigations are the latest in a tit-for-tat battle between the owners of the Katathani Phuket Beach Resort…
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Suvarnabhumi baggage handler arrested over 20,000 baht theft
PHOTO: sanook.com A South Korean tourist was savvy enough to photograph all her holiday money before travelling to Thialand. Her precaution has led to the arrest of a baggage handler at Suvarnabhumi. The South Korean woman took the precaution of photographing all her Thai baht before putting it in a wallet in checked luggage on her flight. When Lee Soyeong travelled…
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iPhone shares the spotlight with new services at Apple’s annual showcase
by Glenn Chapman The iPhone will be front and center at Apple’s upcoming media presentation even as the California tech giant steps up its efforts in content and services for its devices. In its trademark, tight-lipped style, Apple disclosed little about its plans for Tuesday’s event at its headquarters in the Silicon Valley city of Cupertino. For years now, Apple…
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