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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Samut Prakan karaoke bar raided, under-age sex workers rounded up
FILE PHOTO Nine alleged sex workers, including two 16 year old and four 17 year olds, have been rounded up at a karaoke bar in Samut Prakan’s Bang Sao Thong district, south of Bangkok. Administrative officials raided the bar after an anti-human trafficking non-governmental organisation complained that the bar might have been providing underage prostitution services. Last night’s 8.30pm raid…
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Annual Red Cross Fair ‘Phuket Brand Phuket Best’ begins
PHOTOS: The Phuket PR Office The Phuket Annual Red Cross fair, under the name ‘Phuket Brand Phuket Best’ kicked off at Saphan Hin last night and runs until January 6. The fair was officially opened last night led by Phuket’s Governor Pakkapong Tawipat. The popular 11 day fair features hundreds of stalls selling local delicacies, knickknacks, clothing and a huge…
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UPDATE: Golf cart accident kills two Koreans in Phitsanulok
by Rob Picheta and Kocha Olarn Two men died after one of their golf carts rammed the other into a river on a course in northern Thailand. CNN reports that the men, who were visiting from South Korea, were golfing with their wives Tuesday in northern Thailand’s Phitsanulok province. While mounting a raft in order to cross the river that…
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Child porn and fraud arrests among festive season stings
by Suriya Patathayo “Eight suspects arrested over child pornography charges.” As the annual ‘silly season’ rolls out, immigration police chief Pol Maj-General Surachate Hakpal in Bangkok wanted to make sure we hadn’t forgotten him. In a media scrum yesterday he reported four recent arrests – “Net Idol” fraud suspects, the arrest of an alleged con artist using the lure of…
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Southern intelligence contradicts Deputy PM over Songkhla bomb motives
The deputy PM General Prawit Wongsuwan, and national security chief, is linking the Wednesday night bomb attacks in Songkhla to local politics in the southern province. This contradicts intelligence units on the ground who suspect the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) were behind the blasts, in an attempt to disturb the southern business hub. The BRN are the main political organisation…
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Patong’s beach road closed for an hour for new year celebrations
The Patong beach road will officially close for an hour as Patong revelers celebrate New Year 2019 at the island’s most famous beach. Thaweewong Road (Beach Road) will close from 11.30pm-12.30am. The closure is meant to be a safety measure to stop the volume of tourists and new year revelers from being run over. But last new year the traffic was…
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NACC finds Prawit innocent in relation to luxury watches
“The controversy erupted late last year when Prawit showed up at a Cabinet meeting sporting a Richard Mille designer wristwatch said to be worth nearly 3 million baht.” The National Anti-Corruption Commission has ruled in favour of Deputy PM General Prawit Wongsuwan, saying he was not guilty of falsely reporting or concealing his assets. The national anti-graft commission’s secretary general Worawit…
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Two Koreans drown in freak golf buggy accident in Phitsanulok
FILE PHOTO Two South Korean men have drowned after their golf buggy collided with one driven by their wives in northern Thailand today. The Guardian reports that the group were on a ferry on Wednesday preparing to cross the river that runs through the course in Phitsanulok province when the men were accidentally rammed by their wives in another. The…
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Seven arrested with 500 kilograms of kratom in Phuket
Officers have arrested seven suspects in possession of 500 kilograms of kratom. Police seized the kratom and made the arrests in Thalang today. Officers arrested three female and four male suspects – 34 year old Prapawadee Sangiem, 30 year old Kemmika Wongkla, 29 Wanidanut Manratoe, 27 year old Nirat Jaeka, 23 year old Tawatchai Chapharb, 23 year old Bakareeya Waehama…
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Blacklisted Egyptian arrested in Krabi, changed one letter in his passport name
An Egyptian man, who had already been blacklisted for 10 years, has now been arrested in Ao Nang, Krabi after entering the country by making a minor change to his name. Krabi Immigration Police Chief Col Supparueak Pankoson says, “27 year old Egyptian man Motazz Aly Mohammed Alyelnoby was arrested on Tuesday.” “We have found that Alyelnoby was suspected of…
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Thailand’s emerging ‘go to’ location for New Year
Tokyo, Paris, New York City… and Chiang Mai. Whilst the first three are perennial favorites to ring in the new year, Chiang Mai has overtaken Thailand’s capital as THE place to be to see in 2019, according to Agoda. Tokyo’s appeal continues with concerts, parades and light shows on offer. For Thais, Chiang Mai overtakes Bangkok’s crown for the top…
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Hua Hin “full for New Year”
Talk News is reporting that a local tourism adviser was expecting 100% occupancy in Hua Hin and Cha-Am hotels at New Year. Though it was not just foreigners but many Thais who were visiting in droves this festive season. Runrot Sileuangsawat was quoted as saying that, at the moment, occupancy rates were an average of 80% in the two seaside…
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Two whale sharks sighted off Kamala Beach
PHOTOS: ชารีพหัวควน VIDEO: Newshawk Phuket Two whale sharks have been spotted off Kamala Beach this week. A Facebook user ‘Niruj Kdtv Kamala’ has posted two photos on his personal facebook with a message reading, “Kamala fishermen have spotted two whale sharks which were swimming with the boat about three nautical miles off Kamala Beach.” Meanwhile, a large whale shark has…
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GoAir expands flights to Phuket with daily operations
Budget passenger carrier GoAir has announced that it is enhancing its operations to Phuket with the launch of daily directly flights from Mumbai, New Delhi and Bengaluru. According to the airline, it expanded the services effective December 22. “At the beginning GoAir started two direct flights per week to Phuket from Delhi, three direct flights per week to Phuket from…
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Religious ceremonies held at the Tsunami Memorial Wall in Mai Khao
Three religions ceremony were held yesterday at the Tsunami Memorial Wall in Mai Khao yesterday commemorating 14 years since the deadly tsunami that struck the island. About 100 people joined the ceremony conducted in the style of three religions – Buddhism, Islam and Christian. Flowers were placed at the wall by survivors and the families and friends of those that perished…
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Hotel room rates remain stagnant whilst Airbnb continues to grow in Thailand
PHOTO: Airbnb As the head-scratching continues as to why traveller aren’t drinking expensive beers in girlie bars and avoiding ‘traditional’ tourist haunts, Airbnb has a record year in Thailand, signaling more problems for the hotel business as tourists seek alternative holiday experiences. As the number of guests continues to trend upwards with more than 1.65 million inbound Airbnb guests to…
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Tsunami survivors gather for the 14th anniversary of the Boxing Day tragedy
Services remembering the tsunami victims were held in six southern coastal provinces of Thailand, because they all shared in this tragedy. On the 14th anniversary of Thailand’s only recorded tsunami, relatives of those killed by the waves gathered yesterday to remember their loved ones. “I lost 11 family members in that tsunami and I could not locate all their bodies,”…
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Thailand approves medical marijuana
CNN reports… Thailand’s interim parliament voted to allow the use of medical cannabis. Recreational use of the drug remains illegal. Lawmaker Somchai Sawangkarn says the passing of an amendment to allow medical marijuana in the country “could be considered as a New Year gift to Thais.” “The amendment (on the Narcotics Bill) was passed on the second and third readings…
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Tourism arrivals in Thailand up 7.5% so far this year
• Chinese tourists are still accounting for nearly a third of arrivals. • Russian, UK and German tourists record strong rises for 2018 • Australian and New Zealand arrivals down just over 1% (average) for the year The Ministry of Tourism and Sports has announced the tourism figures for January-November 2018, providing an accurate indication of what the country can…
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One dead and two injured in ambulance crash in Trang
PHOTOS: The Nation An ambulance has collided into a truck in Trang province today. The crash killed an assistant nurse and injured two others. Police say the accident occurred on a bypass road in the province’s Huai Yot district before 6am. The ambulance belongs to the Wattanapat Hospital Trang. The ambulance was on its way back to the hospital after…
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2 Year old Burmese boy found too late
Photo: Bangkok Post After 9 days of searching, a missing 2 year old Burmese boy has been found dead in a sugar can field in the U Thong district, Suphan Buri, north-west of Bangkok. Yesterday the Suphan Buri Governor ordered some 700 rescuers to meticulously search the plantation for any signs of the boy. The body was found around 4.30…
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More leather back sea turtle eggs found at a Phang Nga beach
About 80-100 eggs have been found after a leather back sea turtle laid eggs on a beach in Tai Mueang, Phang Nga. The mother leather back sea turtle had laid 93 eggs at the beach in Khao Lak, Phang Nga last week. Now, 89 eggs have been carefully moved to a safe area on the beach whilst four eggs had broken.…
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Free internet for low income earners with registered welfare cards
Photo: Backyard Travel The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has announced a project where some 1.8 million registered low-income earners, especially in remote areas, will receive internet in their home for three years. As part of a Universal Service Obligation (USO) project, the aim is to close the ‘digital gap’ providing internet access to 2.1 million households or 6.3…
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Tsunami remembrance ceremony held on Patong Beach
Locals, tourists and provincial dignitaries gathered this morning at Patong Beach for a remembrance ceremony commemorating 14 years since the deadly tsunami that struck the island on the morning of December 26, 2004. The ceremony, presided over by Patong Mayor Chalermluck Kebsup started at nine 9am. Flowers were placed on Patong Beach to remember those that died in the disaster. Official…
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AMLO seizes ‘Phoenix’, plans to sell by auction
The Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) has seized the ‘Phoenix’ which will now be sold by auction. The Thai Immigration Bureau Chief, Lt Gen Surachate Hakparn, has already confirmed that many aspects of the ‘Phoenix’ design and operation were substandard. The issues which made Phoenix illegal and substandard are mostly fixable, including proper marine-grade glass, marine-grade propulsion, proper bulkhead doors, ballasting and approved…
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Medical marijuana is now legal in Thailand
• Possession of marijuana and krathom within legal limits will be allowed for treatment of certain diseases, for first aid or in cases of emergency •The committee has the authority to give permission to requests for production, import and export of marijuana A new law that legitimises the use of marijuana for medical purposes has sailed through the National Legislative Assembly…
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Cabinet passes civil partnership bill for same-sex couples
If you’re at least 20 years old, and one of you has Thai nationality, then, as a same-sex couple, you will soon be able to marry in Thailand. The cabinet has approved the civil partnership Bill, paving the way for Thailand to become the first country in Asia to endorse same-sex marriage. The current Bill, approved by the Cabinet yesterday,…
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Two Russian tourists from Phuket lost in Phang Nga forest, found safe
Officers were searching more than four hours for two Russian tourists who got lost in the Sa Nang Manora Forest Park in Phang Nga last night. But good news, they were both eventually found safe. Phang Nga police were searching for two Russian tourists, a 28 year old Russian woman and 29 year old Russian man. They were found at the…
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Imam shot in Christmas Day shooting outside Pattani mosque
An Imam has been shot dead in front of a Pattani mosque today. Police report that the shooting happened in front of Ban Tha Rab Mosque in Muang district and identified the victim as 45 year old Sama-ae Jehma. Pol Captain Sirisak Wangkulam said Sama-ae led prayers and delivered sermons this morning. He then went to leave the mosque when someone…
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Fire damaged an embroidery shop in Phuket Town, put radio station off air
A fire has damaged an embroidery shop in Phuket Town yesterday afternoon. The damage bill is estimated about many hundred thousand baht. The Thaiger 102.75 FM has its transmitter and tower on the same building. The radio station was off air until 11am this morning as the power had been cut as a precaution. Firefighters were notified of the fire…
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