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 Thailand vs. the West: What expats save on healthcare each year
Healthcare in Thailand is much cheaper than in Western countries, making it a great choice for expatriates looking for affordable medical care. Both public and private healthcare options offer high-quality services, with savings of up to 80% on procedures like...
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Tortured ‘Joker’, spurned Polanski, win top prizes at Venice film festival
“Joaquin Phoenix has remade Batman’s arch-enemy as a “Method psycho, a troublemaker so intense in his cuckoo hostility that even as you’re gawking at his violence, you still feel his pain”. “Joker”, a daring take on the comic book villain starring Joaquin Phoenix, won the Golden Lion for best film at the Venice film festival with Roman Polanski controversially taking…
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The China Syndrome, south east Asia’s tourism dilemma
PHOTO: Lunar New Year celebrations in Bali – Jakarta Post “When China sneezes, the rest of south east asia catches a cold.” From quiet markets in Malaysia, empty rooms in Hanoi’s hotels and barren beaches in Bali, China’s economic slowdown and weakening yuan are sending shockwaves felt across south east Asia’s vacation belt. Thailand is just one of many countries…
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Burmese man stabbed to death by ‘friend’ in Patong, Phuket
PHOTO: Phuket People’s Voice Patong Police have arrested 18 year old Robier Aaron, from Myanmar, after he stabbed another Burmese man, 23 year old ‘Johnny’, to death. The incident happened on Friday night (September 6) at around 9pm in front of a restaurant on Phangmuang Sai Gor Road. Police received a report about the attack and found Johnny’s body stabbed…
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Welcome to Wat Samphran, unlike any Thai temple you’ve seen
The Emerald Buddha? The Grand Palace? Khao San Road? A cruise on the Chao Phraya? And now for something completely different. It’s big, it’s pink and it’s unlike any temple you’ve ever seen. Wat Samphran, aka. The Dragon Temple, is located about 40 kilometres west of the city centre of Bangkok in Nakhon Pathom. Somehow this excessive architectural wonder has…
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Boeing suspends testing of new long-haul 777 jet
“A source close to the matter said a door of the plane blew out during the test.” by Luc Olinga Boeing is suspending testing on its new long-haul 777X aircraft, yet another setback as the US aviation giant tries to rebound from the 737 MAX crisis. The so-called “final load” tests are part of the aircraft certification process, overseen by…
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Ride-sharing services to be legal in Thailand by 2020
PHOTO: Grab Thailand’s Transport Minister says that regulatory guidelines have been drafted to pave the way for legalising ride-hailing services by March next year. Ride-hailing organisations currently operate in “legal limbo”, often finding themselves stopped and fined for not being properly registered. New guidelines will require drivers to have a public driver’s licence, vehicles to be registered and equipped with…
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Bill withdrawal my decision, not Beijing’s, says Hong Kong leader
PHOTO: CNN Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam insists that the withdrawal of a controversial extradition bill was her decision, not Beijing’s. The bill was the spark that ignited months of protests in the territory, with clashes between activists and police frequently turning violent. Lam says that while the decision to withdraw the bill is hers, she has Beijing’s full…
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Man fakes his own kidnapping to get ransom money from parents
PHOTO: Sanook A 27 year old teacher has faked his own abduction in order to con his parents out of 40,000 baht in “ransom” money. The man, known only as “Anucha” called his parents to say he’d been abducted in Udon Thani, northeast Thailand. He claimed a group of men had kidnapped him, after he’d borrowed money from a loan…
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Overhaul of Thai justice system required to deal with prison overcrowding
PHOTO: Scmp.com There are nearly 400,000 people behind bars in Thailand. 70% of the men in prison are there for drug-related offences. In the case of women, it’s 87%. Thailand has the highest number of prisoners in ASEAN, the sixth highest in the world. The notorious overcrowding for which the prisons are known is so bad that an inmate does…
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India’s moon mission control loses contact with spacecraft during landing
India’s moon mission control has lost contact with the unmanned spacecraft moments before it was due to land on the Moon early this morning (Thai time), in a blow to the country’s ambitious low-cost lunar program. India was hoping to become just the fourth country after the US, Russia and China to successfully land on the Moon. But as Indian…
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Thailand’s tourism industry ponders drop of Chinese tourists
Thailand’s tourism authorities are getting jittery as the Kingdom continues to bleed Chinese tourists in the wake of a surging baht. They fear Thailand is losing its reputation as one of the most affordable destinations in south east Asia for Chinese tourists. Thailand’s most popular resorts, Pattaya and Phuket, have been particularly suffering from the discernible drop in Chinese visitors. Chinese tourists have…
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Songkhla businessman shot dead while taking daughter to school
PHOTO: Assawin Pakkawan A building contractor has been killed while taking his four year old to school in Hat Yai yesterday. 34 year old Thammarat Apilimsiriul was taking his young daughter to pre-school in tambon Khon Hong around 7.30am when he was shot in the back. Police say he is the owner of Sirikul Land&House, a major construction company in…
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Foreign companies looking to relocate factories in Vietnam
At this stage in the US-China trade wars, Vietnam is one of the key economic winners from the ongoing fallout. Many companies are shifting their factories to Vietnam, underlining the potential for the strong development of industrial real estate, as reported in Viet Nam News. Savills Vietnam, a property agent, has released its white paper on Vietnam’s industrial real estate…
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Hurricane Dorian downgraded to Category 1 storm
“Dorian should remain a powerful hurricane as the eye of the storm moves near or along the coast of North Carolina.” Hurricane Dorian has weakened to a Category 1 storm this morning as it approached the coast of North Carolina, according to US meteorologists. At the same time, the death toll rises during the mop-up in the Bahamas which felt…
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American woman charged with trafficking ‘baby in bag’ at Manila airport
“The baby, who is now in the custody child welfare services, was born to a Filipino mother in the nation’s south and then flown to Manila.” Philippine authorities have charged an American woman with trying to smuggle a six day old baby out of the country in a bag she wore around her waist as she tried to board a…
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Air Asia flight, from Maldives to Bangkok, returns to Male after engine explodes
A Thai AirAsia Airbus A320-200, flying as FD-178 from Male in the Maldives to Bangkok’s Don Mueang, had just taken off out of Male’s runway 18 when an engine started making “banging noises” and streaks of flames were coming from the engine, prompting the crew to stop the climb at 5000 feet, shut down the engine and return to Male…
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‘Deepfake challenge’. Who is really speaking in that video?
“…new tools are “urgently needed to detect these types of manipulated media.” Technology firms and academics are joining together to launch a “deepfake challenge” to improve tools to detect videos and other media manipulated by AI (Artifical Intelligence). The initiative includes US$10 million from Facebook and aims to curb what is seen as a major threat to the integrity of…
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Starbucks investigate Thai garment factory after underpaid workers exposé
PHOTO: Eater.com An investigation is underway into 4 garment factories in Mae Sot, western Thailand, following the revelation that workers are illegally underpaid. It’s understood the factories provide clothing to Starbucks and U.S. sports gear manufacturer Bauer Hockey. The Thomson Reuters Foundation, who carried out the investigation, spoke to 26 workers from Myanmar, who say they’re paid less than Thailand’s…
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3 drug dealers arrested in Phanason condo, Phuket
Phuket police revealed that they have arrested 3 drug dealers at the Phanason Greenplace condominium complex in the Samkong area, on the road that connects Samkong to Surukul Stadium. One of the suspects already had an arrest warrant out for several crimes before this drug case. The three men include 20 year old Narasak ‘Film’ Sarika, who was arrested with…
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Maya Bay: saving the most famous beach in Thailand
PHOTO: Sarah Buthmann For years, Maya Bay on the island of Koh Phi Phi Leh in Krabi province, has been overrun with visitors. Every day, thousands of tourists competed for space on Thailand’s most famous beach. Having been made famous by the 2000 Leonardo di Caprio movie, The Beach, tourists arrived by the boatload every hour, every day of the…
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Norwegian accused of Phuket murder absconds, manhunt launched
PHOTO: Thaiexaminer.com The Norwegian tourist accused of murdering a British guest at a resort in Karon two weeks ago has absconded while out on bail, police say. Following Roger Bullman’s no-show for his appointment at the Phuket Provincial Court, a police manhunt has been launched and arrest warrant issued. Police say they’re confident he has not fled the country as…
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Thailand’s gold and jewellery exports rise nearly 30%
The export value of gems and jewellery grew by 29.3% in the past seven months despite unfavourable trading terms with the rising baht. The Gem and Jewellery Institute of Thailand director, Duangkamol Jiambutr, puts the value of exports from January to July at US$9 billion or approx. 280 billion baht, a 29.3% increase year on year. Gold exports led the climb,…
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Pattaya leopard is legal, media go and check it out
PHOTOS: 77khaosod There’s a family who own a leopard in their home? We’ll have to go and check that out. So reporters from 77kaoded headed to the house in Na Jomtien in Pattaya where a Thai woman and her foreign husband have been keeping a leopard. Yes, a leopard. A very large cat with spots. This week the couple have…
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Collecting Hurricane Dorian’s dead in the Bahamas: ‘It’s hell everywhere’
by Gilles Clarenne The blue, sun-kissed skies of the Bahamas, more usually associated with a tropical paradise, have returned, yet a glance across Marsh Harbour offers up nothing but horror – the grim aftermath of a cataclysm. 20 people have been identified as dead as a result of the passing hurricane Dorian. “There was a big two-story building over there,”…
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Asian stock markets mostly rise on positive news
“China announced it would resume trade talks with the US in Washington next month.” Most Asian equities and currencies rallied today, building on the previous day’s advance as investors were cheered by a number of positive developments on trade, Hong Kong and Europe. Markets were already on an upward trajectory after the leader of Hong Kong withdrew a controversial extradition…
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Grab rider ‘Pop’ explains what happened when the Bangkok mum stopped him on the motorway
PHOTO: Sanook.com The Grab Food motorcycle rider who stopped to help a mother take her sick son to hospital Bangkok’s heavy traffic on Tuesday has given some more details about his good deed. The child, Nong Pla Wan, is now being treated in hospital and expected to fully recover from the ordeal. Read yesterday’s story and watch the dramatic video HERE. Recalling the…
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Hong Kong’s Carrie Lam asks for dialogue after rejected concessions
by Jerome TAYLOR | Yan ZHAO, Hong Kong, China | AFP Hong Kong’s leader Thursday urged pro-democracy protesters to end their demonstrations after her surprise decision to bow to one of their key demands was condemned as too little, too late. Carrie Lam, the city’s pro-Beijing chief executive, surprised many on Wednesday when after three months of rallies she suddenly…
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Chiang Mai police release Singaporean accused of attacking Thai wife with a scythe
PHOTO: Chiangmaione.com Police have released a Singaporean man accused of using a scythe to attack his Thai wife in a Chiang Mai street. Following the attack, it’s understood that the man called an ambulance to take his wife to hospital, and then surrendered to police. The Singaporean says the couple, who have two young children together, frequently argued about his…
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Police warn about the dangers of visiting Thailand, directly contradicting Tourism Minister
PHOTO: Shutterstock Following the claim of Thailand’s Tourism Minister earlier this week that Thailand is “a completely safe environment”, a spokesman for the Royal Thai Police appears to have directly contradicted that statement. Pol Col Krissana Patanacharoen is warning tourists and business visitors about the dangers of Thailand, after a taxi driver allegedly robbed a Chinese tourist of millions of…
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Proposed amendment to Thailand’s Narcotics Act seeks to legalise cannabis growth at home
PHOTO: commons.wikimedia.org Thailand’s Bhumjaithai party says it will confer with key stakeholders to seek input on a proposed bill to allow people to grow their own cannabis at home. Those being consulted include government officials, medical patients, and traditional medicine practitioners. Party member Supachai Jaisamut says the draft bill proposes an amendment to Thailand’s Narcotics Act that would allow for…
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