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 9 most common health issues covered by insurance for expats in Thailand
Thailand is a popular destination for expats due to its affordable lifestyle and excellent healthcare system. However, settling in a new country often brings health concerns. To ensure you’re covered for the most common medical needs, understanding what expat health...
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Tour guide who can’t speak Thai arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport – VIDEO
A tour guide, with a license but who can’t speak Thai, has been arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport Officers are investigating the tour guide arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport this week. The tour guide has a legal guide license but was unable to speak Thai during questioning. The Tourist Police at the airport then arrested the man at the terminal. The tour…
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People hospitalised after car slams into parked motorbikes in Pattaya
PHOTO: We Love Pattaya A number of people are now recovering in hospital after a car slammed into a row of motorbikes parked along the Pattaya Beach Road. The incident took place at around 11am this morning (Tuesday). Video footage shows a badly damaged black Toyota Fortuner that had crashed into the parked motorbikes. Images shared to the We Love Pattaya…
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Exam students, interrupted by violent ordination revellers, can resit their test
“The monk, Phra Monthien, said he was so horrified when he heard about what had happened.” A dozen or so students, interrupted when a Bangkok school was attacked on Sunday by a group of 50 angry men running a rowdy ordination next door, will be given a chance to resit the important examination they were taking at the time. The…
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AirAsia adds more Thailand-Vietnam flights
PHOTO: The Golden Bridge in the Ba Na Hills, near Da Nang Thai AirAsia says it’s adding new routes linking Thailand to destinations in Vietnam, as it seeks to increase its market share in the Mekong Region – Cambodia, Southern China provinces, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam The latest promotion supports the launch of a service from Chiang Mai in North…
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History of Thailand’s Southern Insurgency
Whenever there’s news about violence in southern Thailand, Thaiger readers may wonder who’s fighting who, and why. So we present a brief history of the insurgency which has gripped Thailand’s southernmost provinces for decades. The area has been coined the ‘deep south’ or the ‘restive south’ and has become, statistically, a more bloody conflict than the situation on the Gaza…
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Finnish boy, attacked by dogs, released from Krabi hospital
The five year old Finnish boy, who was attacked by stray dogs at Ao Nong Beach last week in Krabi, has been released from a hospital. Read more about the attack HERE. The Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha paid a visit to the Finnish boy last week. Read more HERE. His Majesty the King sent a vase of flowers and gifts to the…
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Chinese tourist rescued after choking on water in Koh Similans
PHOTOS: DNP A female Chinese tourist was rescued after choking on water at Koh Payu, in the middle of the Similan National Park island group, yesterday. The head of Similan Natioanl Park Ruamsin Manajongjaroen says that national park officers were notified about a Chinese tourist, 63 year old Gou Shifeng, who had got into difficulty whilst swimming at Koh Payu…
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Weather for February 26
Bangkok Morning thunderstorms. High 32ºC. Winds S at 15 to 25 km/h. Chance of rain 40%. Phuket Generally clear. High 32ºC. Winds ESE at 15 to 30 km/h. Chiang Mai Generally clear. High 36ºC. Winds S at 10 to 15 km/h. pattaya Morning thunderstorms. High 30ºC. Winds S at 15 to 25 km/h. Chance of rain 40%. Hua Hin Partly…
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Huawei continues investing in Thailand
PHOTO: Huawei president for SE Asia, James Wu during media conference at MWC 2019 in Barcelona, Spain. by Somluck Srimalee, The Nation Chinese tech giant Huawei Group has set aside an investment budget of US$81 million (2.5 billion baht) for Southeast Asia towards ICT enablement from 2019-21, focusing on OpenLabs, enabling cloud developers and cultivating ICT talent, James Wu, said.…
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Langkawi ferry bursts into flames – passengers safe – VIDEO
by Bernama/The Star – Asia News Network A passenger ferry travelling from the Kuah Ferry Terminal to Kuala Perlis in Langkawi island in Malaysia had to be evacuated after the passenger cabin filled with choking smoke. All the passengers were rescued by a nearby tour boat and local fishing boats. “The ferry stopped in the middle of the sea and we saw smoke…
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Counterfeit items valued over 1 million baht destroyed
8,904 counterfeit items, with a potential street value over one million baht, including prohibited imported goods, have been torched at the incinerator in Phuket Town today. The destruction of the fake goods was held this afternoon and led by Phuket Customs Office Chief Kanjana Suwachino. The goods seized were from 94 recent cases of seizures – in total 8,904 items valued around 1,015,272…
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Foreign couple drinking on top of Chiang Mai’s historic wall
PHOTO: Chiang Mai News Chiang Mai, tourists and historic sites just don’t seem to mix well. This time, two people are in trouble after they were photographed having a drink sitting casually on top of one of Chiang Mai’s historic walls. The Chiang Mai News Facebook page is calling on the authorities to take action. As usual, netizens saw the…
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Temple revellers interrupt school exam in Bangkok
It’s been a Dharma drama after men celebrating a next door ordination ceremony didn’t respond well to the adjacent school asking them to turn down the music. 20 men, aged 18 to 41, have turned themselves in over the course of several hours last night and this morning to deny accusations that they’d assaulted teachers and students at a Bangkok…
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Eleven passengers recovered from dive boat after it hit rocks off Koh Similan group
PHOTOS: Phang Nga DDPM Four foreigners and seven Thai boat crew have been saved after a diving boat collided with rocks off the Similans yesterday morning. Similan National Park officials were informed that the diving boat, named ‘Panthip 2’, had collided with rocks off Lek Beach near Koh Miang in the Similan island group at 2.45am yesterday. National Park official…
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Thai AirAsia looking to purchase stake in local rival Nok Air
Having a cashed-up and aggressive competitor looking to buy a stake in Nok Air will send more shudders down the corridors of the lumbering local behometh, Thai Airways. Asia Aviation, the majority shareholders of Thailand’s low-cost Air Asia franchise Thai AirAsia, says it was considering buying a stake in local rival Nok Airlines. The announcement has sent Nok’s share prices…
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Come into my world. Tribhum is now open.
“Tribhum – The Mystical Three Worlds” is Phuket’s newest tourist attraction situated in the new Central Floresta. It’s a 3D walkthrough adventure theme park in which visitors are transported into a mystical realm of Siamese legend and fantasy. “Tribhum” is pronounced try-POOM (with soft ‘OO’ sound). Located on the roadside of the new Central Floresta, “Tribhum – The Mystical Three…
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Locals and business operators protest luxury condo in Kata Noi
Business operators and locals in Kata Noi have marched to protest a luxury condo construction. Kata Noi locals were led by executive president of the Kata Thani Collection hotels group, Sombat Adiset. The protest aimed to halt the construction which has already begun. Khun Sombat says, “This started two years ago and locals have been fighting to stop the construction…
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Undoing a 90 year ban on female monks
STORY & PHOTOS: Kate Geraghty Perspective from Sydney Morning Herald writer Kate Geraghty. It’s not only western religions that bar woman from participation in religious teachings. It’s 4am and the odd rooster is crowing in the cool hours before day breaks and three saffron-robed monks from the all-female Songdhammakalyani Monastery are making their way through the back streets of Nakhon Pathom,…
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Krabi’s Naga Fest 2019 coming soon
The Krabi private and public sector, in conjunction with the Tourism Authority of Thailand, are holding the Krabi Naga Fest 2019 from March 1-3 on the Khlong Muang Beach in Krabi. Under the theme of ‘Breezing Beach & Music’, the event’s three day program offers festival goers a wide variety of activities to enjoy including performances by well-known pop-jazz musicians…
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New points system for traffic violations comes into force mid-year
Keeping your license will now be a bit more complicated under amendments to the Thai Road Traffic Act. But good drivers have nothing to worry about. There’s now a new points system added to the Road Traffic Act which will come into force when it’s finally announced in the Royal Gazette. The National Legislative Assembly sat yesterday to vote the…
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Weather for February 25
Bangkok Partly cloudy. High 33ºC. Winds S at 15 to 30 km/h. Phuket Generally clear. High 32ºC. Winds SE at 15 to 30 km/h. Chiang Mai Generally clear. High 37ºC. Winds S at 10 to 15 km/h. pattaya Morning thunderstorms. High 31ºC. Winds S at 15 to 30 km/h. Chance of rain 50%. Hua Hin Partly cloudy. High 32ºC. Winds…
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Burmese man missing in dam in Chalong
Two Burmese men were swimming in a lagoon in Chalong last night. As of this this morning, one of them remains missing. Kusoldharm rescue workers were notified of the incident at the Klong Katha reservoir behind Wat Luang Pu Supa (Silsuparam Temple) at 4pm last night. At the scene they spoke to a 23 year old Burmese man named ‘Joe’,…
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Six marine officials killed as van slams into tree, Chumpon
PHOTO: A van is almost totally destroyed after slamming into a tree on Highway 41 in Sawi district of Chumphon yesterday (Sunday) – Facebook/Chumphon Rescue Volunteers at Khao Ka Rong Investigators are blaming a burst tyre on a passenger van that crashed, killing six Marine Department officials in Chumpon, heading back from Phuket towards Bangkok. The officials were killed and five others…
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Rain-making efforts will continue until end of month in Khon Kaen
The Northeastern Royal Rainmaking Operation Centre is extending the royal rainmaking operation period, as part of air pollution reduction efforts, until the end of February. The Director of the Northeastern Royal Rainmaking Operation Centre, Wassana Wongrat, says the Department of Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation set up a rapid deployment unit to conduct royal rainmaking operations to improve the air…
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Tourist finds old tunnel on Koh Samui
PHOTOS: Sanook Authorities are investigating a 100 meters long, 3.5 meters wide and 5 meters high tunnel that had been contstructed from one side of Ban Tai hill to the other. The tunnel was found in the Mae Nam area. After local Samui authorities dug into their paperwork they determined that the area was private land bought by a developer from a…
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Phuket City mulls water restrictions, again
PHOTO: Bang Wad Dam, Kathu Despite issuing orders for odd/even water restrictions, and then rescinding them the day after, the Phuket City Municipality is again urging residents to take care in the use of their tap water to stretch the available water supply through to the end of the dry season, and has issued its second warning in a week…
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“New drug laws don’t legalise unlicensed marijuana cultivation”
Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has rushed to clarify that the new narcotics law does not legalise the unrestricted planting of marijuana in an apparent response to the Bhumjai Thai political party’s manifesto pledge to legalise marijuana cultivation. The party trotted out the election platform last week during their campaigning. FDA secretary-general Dr. Tharet Kratnairaveewong has clarified that the…
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HM the King recognises Krabi ‘hero’ after 2015 mud rescue
His Majesty the King has sent a gift and necessities to a local fisherman whose rescue of two foreign birdwatchers stuck in mud in 2015 went viral on social media. Captain Khumsup Iamsri, an officer attached to the King’s royal villa, represented the King to visit 47 year old Chat Ubonjinda at his house on Khu Muang road in Tambon…
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Strong baht a concern for Thai hotel sector
by Bill Barnett Thailand’s baht performance against Asian currencies in 2018, was unmatched, with the exception of the Japanese yen. Commenting on the trend financial news Bloomberg have highlighted that in 2019, a further 4% in growth this year have it sitting at the top of the table. Oddly, one of the underlying factors stimulating the baht’s appreciation is the…
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Plastic surgery furore and first transgender contestant at Miss Universe in Bangkok
PHOTO: Spain’s Angela Ponce becomes first trans woman to compete for Miss Universe After the beauty dust has settled and the glitter is wiped away, it seems all is not well with the latest Miss Universe Pageant. Taking place in Bangkok recently, new revelations have surfaced surrounding one of its entrants and, notably, her plastic surgeon. Aesthetic and rhinoplasty surgeon,…
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