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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Welcome to Patong Carnival 2018 – PHOTOS
Our photographer Kritsada was hard at work last night. Here’s a bit of the atmosphere from last night’s Patong Carnival annual opening night parade…
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Drought declared in five Khon Kaen districts
Whilst parts of Thailand suffered floods and overflowing dams during August and September, other parts of the country are now facing drought conditions as we head into the dry season. Khon Kaen Governor Somsak Jungtrakul has declared five districts drought disaster zones. Somsak said on Friday there had been no rain for months in Pol, Nong Song Hong, Ban Had, Waeng…
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Local tour guides protest over illegal tour guides
Phuket tour guides today protested at the Phuket Provincial City Hall over illegal tour guides they say are taking their jobs. About 100 Phuket tour guides protested in front of the Phuket Provincial City Hall and handed a letter to Phuket’s Vice Governor Tanyawat Chanpinit pleading for fairness in the situation. President of Andaman Tour Guide Association, Krit Thepbamrung, who…
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Poll restrictions to be relaxed in December
The Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has distanced himself from a claim by his deputy Somkid Jatusripitak that the next head of government would “look similar” to the current one. General Prawit Wongsuwan, another deputy premier, said Somkid had shared the same thoughts as “many of us” although he would not specify what he thought regarding the matter. General Prayut was…
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Thaiger Radio News – Friday
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730 more foreigners rounded up in nationwide crackdowns
Immigration police have carried out their latest nationwide raid, rounding up foreigners living illegally in Thailand. There were 730 more arrests yesterday. Pol Maj Gen Itthipol Itthisarnronnachai, deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, told the media at 1am this morning (Friday) the results of the 38th “X-Ray Outlaw Foreigner” operation. Itthitpol said the operation focused on 238 areas around the…
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“Pilots were very funny, very smart, very nice guys” – Lion Air boss
PHOTO: Indonesian media agency Indonesia’s national search and rescue agency says it’s located the crashed Lion Air plane’s landing gear, wheels and a large section of the fuselage. Investigators have also found the flight data recorder, the “black box,” from Lion Air Flight JT610. The data recorder, more than anything else, will likely provide vital information about the plane’s functions…
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Phuket Carnival 2018 kicks off in a blaze of colour
More Than 30,000 oThai and foreign tourists, as well as Phuket residents lined the streets of Patong last night to usher in the annual Patong Carnival, held each year to mark the beginning of the tourism high season. Titled “Colorful of Patong Beach”, the grand opening parade was a lot better than the Organiser’s grammar. Joining in the opening ceremony…
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Pattaya hotel ablaze, guests head for the exits
PHOTO: Channel 3 A fire at a well-known hotel in Pattaya’s Jomtien Beach caused panic in the early hours yesterday as guests were plunged into darkness and corridors began filling with smoke. The Pattaya police station was alerted that a blaze had broken out at 1.30am at the Grand Jomtien Palace Hotel in Tambon Nong Plue of Chon Buri’s Bang…
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Koh Tarutao archipelago is plastic-free
Tarutao Islands National Park has been declared as an area free of plastic and styrofoam containers for the current tourist season. Assistant Park Director Kittipong Sanui said during the launching ceremony of Satun Andaman Tourism Season that the Department of Natural Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation has imposed a ban on the use and import of once-used plastic and styrofoam…
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Power outage to hit parts of Patong tomorrow
The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) says they’re going to have scheduled blackouts in parts of Patong tomorrow. Residents of Patong are being advised that there will be scheduled power outages during the day as the PEA continues its work on high power voltage systems in the area. Areas to be effected include… Near Patong Police Station to Sawaddi Hotel…
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Suspects arrested with methamphetamine pills and kratom in Phuket
Sakhu Police have arrested three suspects and seized 8,498 methamphetamine pills and liquid kratom. Police have arrested 36 year old Nikorn ‘Mui’ Jantawong from Phuket. Police seized 8,498 methamphetamine pills. He has been charged with illegal possession of Category 1 Drugs with intent to sell. The arrest came after police received a tip-off that Nikorn was selling drugs in the…
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More than 130 kids rounded up in Saraburi pub raid
More than 130 illicit drug users along with 128 underage drinkers were nabbed in a raid on a pub in Saraburi early this morning (Thursday). Saraburi is about a two hour drive north of Bangkok. Provincial and juvenile protection officers raided the Lang Khao Pub in Tambon Huay Sai of Nong Kae district at 1am and found it packed with…
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Thailand drops a notch in the ‘ease of doing business’ world ranking
The World Bank has declared that Thailand’s ranking in ease of doing business has dropped to 27th, one place down from last year’s 26th place. Thailand’s Ease of Doing Business (EODB) score, an absolute measure of the country’s progress toward global best practice, reached 78.45 this year, up from 77.39 last year. But some of the other countries above it…
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Thaiger Radio News – Thursday
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Two suspects arrested over Chalong robbery
Police have arrested two suspects who robbed a shop in Chalong and sped away with cash and a gold necklace last week on October 23. Chalong Police were originally notified about thentwo suspects robbing the shop in Soi Songkhun in Chalong. Read about the original reports HERE. Yesterday Police arrested 27 year old Puwanart ‘Nam’ Maneechot from Phuket following the issuing…
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282K methamphetamine pills seized in Krabi
Krabi police have seized 282,000 methamphetamine pills with a street value of around 15 million baht. The methamphetamine pills were paid with cars to launder money. Krabi Police have arrested four suspects – 33 year old Khwanchai ‘Mark’ Boonjan from Chumphon, 38 year old Sutane ‘Ple’ Puangpen from Krabi, Narongdet ‘Khai’ Pankarn from Chumphon and 29 year old Visit ‘Wha’…
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Female Russian jumps from her condominium in Wichit
A female Russian has died after jumping from a condominium in Wichit this afternoon. Wichit Police were notified around 1.30pm. The incident was also widely reported on social media. Wichit Police, along with the Phuket Tourist Police and rescue workers, arrived at the seven story condominium. A body of a 48 year old female Russian (name withheld at this stage)…
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No more overstayers, no more corruption at Immigration – Hakparn
Put a big red circle around “October 31, 2018” on your calendar. It was the day it was announced that corrupt practices are over at the country’s immigration offices and the number of overstayers by the end of November in the Kingdom will be precisely “zero”. Thailand’s newly appointed immigration chief Maj-Gen Surachate Hakparn and deputy Immigration chief Gen Srivara…
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New flat-fee taxi service to start 2019 after fare hike refused
A new taxi service offering unlimited rides for a flat monthly fee of 10,200 baht is set to be launched early next year in Bangkok and surrounding provinces. A total of 2,000 professional taxi drivers and association members will make up the new My Taxi Co fleet, which customers could hail via a smartphone App, according to association president Worapol…
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Tourists grafitti Chiang Mai caves
Chiang Mai authorities are trying to find the people responsible for graffiti in a Chiang Mai cave. Police are threatening to prosecute the offenders and seek jail terms for anyone who is caught. Chiang Mai News is reporting that foreign names have been scratched in the walls of a cave at the Mok Fa waterfall in the Doi Suthep – Pui…
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Phuket Carnival at Patong “ready to rock Phuket”
The five day Patong annual carnival, this year themed “The Colours of Patong Beach”, starts tomorrow. The annual Patong Carnival is a celebration marking the beginning of the high season in Phuket. The carnival is usually held right at the beginning of November when the weather is starting to get sunnier. The carnival is run by the Patong Municipality and…
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Thaiger Radio News – Wednesday
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44 national assembly reps support bill to decriminalise ‘medical marijuana’
A total of 44 members of the Thai National Legislative Assembly have signed in support of a draft bill to decriminalise marijuana for medical purpose by deleting cannabis from the Category 5 list of narcotic drugs, said Mr Somchai Sawaengkarn, secretary of the NLA’s extraordinary committee on parliamentary affairs. He says the decision to push for a separate bill to…
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3 Vietnamese boats seized, 14 crew arrested
A Royal Thai Navy patrol boat has seized three Vietnamese fishing vessels and arrested 14 crew members for illegally ‘raking’ the seabed for sea cucumbers in the Gulf of Thailand. The three boats were spotted and ordered to surrender by HTMS Khamronsin on Monday. The Navy ship forced the vessels back to the port of the Songkhla-based Navy Area 2…
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Black box recovered as probe begins into cause of Vichai crash
UK Air accident investigators have begun the slow process of ascertaining the cause of the helicopter crash on Saturday that took the lives of King Power chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and four other people. The sombre inquiry coincided with the opening of a book of condolences at Leicester City’s King Power Stadium, where fans flocked to leave tributes to the man…
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10 children have died from southern measles outbreak
The measles outbreak in Yala has worsened with 859 children now having been infected and the death toll standing at 10 cases, Betong district health official Wongwit Akarawarothai said on Tuesday. Wongwit joined other health officials in knocking on doors to have people in Ban Na Kor (Moo 9) in Tambon Ai Yer Weng vaccinated, resulting in 75 children under…
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Prachuap Khiri Khan’s 9.6 million baht blue car park
Bike lanes are being added in popular locations around the country, at great expense, for the pleasure and safety of the growing number of bicyclists in Thailand. But sometimes no one tells the car drivers who think the new bike lanes are just a colorful place to park their cars. A 9.6 million baht, 2.9 kilometre long bicycle lane along…
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Man shot dead in a krathom brew party
A man has been shot dead in Nakhon Si Thammarat’s Chulabhorn district after a dispute broke out during a ‘krathom brew drinking party’ early today. The victim, identified as 29 year old Sathit Changnam was shot 11 times all over is body. Several spent shells of 9mm pistol bullets were found at the scene – a shophouse in Moo 4…
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Storm forces Army helicopter into emergency landing
FILE PHOTO: Bell Helicopters 212 of the Royal Thai Army at Khon Kaen An Army helicopter flying senior military officers from Surat Thani to Ranong provinces has been forced to make an emergency landing in Chumphon this morning because of a thunderstorm cell that developed quickly along the route. The Bell 212 helicopter encountered sudden heavy rains, forcing it to…
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