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 Best facial treatments in Bangkok for radiant skin
If urban life has left your skin feeling as stressed as the Friday evening rush hour, there’s no reason to let it dampen your spirits. The answer to your skin's prayers might just involve less commuting and more pampering. Thankfully,...
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Thailand is most searched destination for Chinese Airbnb guests
Thailand is the most searched destination for Chinese Airbnb guests. According to Airbnb’s data, the Land of Smiles was the most searched spot for Chinese travellers within 24 hours of the government’s announcement on December 26, 2022, to lift inbound quarantine requirements. The entire list of the top 10 search destinations for Chinese tourists includes: Thailand US UK Japan Australia Canada…
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Thai supremo cancels Leicester City’s 7.8 billion baht debt
Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha revealed his long-standing commitment to Leicester City Football Club by cancelling the club’s enormous debt. Aiyawatt, the Leicester chairman, yesterday announced he has cleared the £194 million (7.8 billion baht) debt the Foxes owe to its parent company King Power International (KPI). This was accomplished through a debt-to-equity transfer to KPI, freeing Leicester from its outstanding liabilities. The…
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Pattaya police officer denies fining vape-carrying Chinese tourists
The identity of the senior police sergeant major from Mueang Pattaya Police Station, who illegally fined Chinese tourists for carrying vapes, has been revealed. The suspect officer, referred to as “K” in previous reports, is Police Sergeant Major Nopphakit Pornwatthanakit. Nopphakit denies all allegations. Thai media also reported that Nopphakit has been praised in the past for his good deeds…
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German-Iraqi woman allegedly kills doppelganger to fake her own death
A German-Iraqi woman allegedly killed her doppelganger in order to fake her death. The bizarre murder story circled world news on Tuesday. The woman, identified as 23 year old Sharaban K., allegedly scoured through Instagram to search for a doppelganger as part of a plan to stage her death. Sharaban, a beauty blogger and web influencer based in Munich, came…
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Myanmar activists gather in Bangkok on coup anniversary
Anti-coup protesters gathered in Bangkok and Tokyo yesterday to commemorate the second anniversary of the military coup in Myanmar. The Myanmar military seized power from the government of Aung San Suu Kyi, in a coup d’état that began on the morning of February 1, 2021, when elected members of the ruling party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), were deposed…
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School in Thailand under fire for transporting 100 boy scouts in articulated lorry
A school in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, southern Thailand, is facing backlash after more than 100 boy scouts were crammed into an articulated lorry to go on a school trip. Netizens grew concerned after a clip of an 18-wheel articulated lorry carrying a truckload of children wearing boy scout uniforms circulated on social media. Yesterday, the director of Wat Lam…
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Death toll rises after suicide bomb in Pakistani mosque, expert calls it ‘national security crisis’
UPDATE Following the horrific suicide bombing at a mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan on Monday, the death toll has risen from 59 to at least 100, according to a hospital spokesperson. The spokesperson for Lady Reading Hospital, Muhammad Asim Khan, said that at least 100 people have died following the attack. Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Peshawar Police Moazim Jah Ansari,…
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Krabi hotel accused of favouring foreigners over Thais
Thai tourists condemned a hotel in Krabi for discriminatory service standards after the hotel provided better treatment to foreign guests and neglected domestic tourists. They claimed that the hotel prioritised foreign guests with higher purchasing power over them for financial gain. A Thai man posted three videos on his TikTok account, @thetharm, to share his bad experience at a hotel…
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Political activists seek justice after Pinky allowed to remove EM tag
Political activists in Thailand are seeking permission to get their electronic monitoring (EM) tags removed after the Thai Court granted permission for a female actress, Savika “Pinky” Chaiyadaj, to have her tag removed. Thai activists demand the removal of their EM tags, claiming they have committed no harm, caused no loss, and have not committed fraud or murder. According to…
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Chinese province to allow all citizens to have unlimited children
Amid China’s spiralling crisis with an ageing population and shrinking workforce, one province is making some drastic policy changes. Starting on Wednesday, February 15, the western Chinese province of Sichuan will allow all citizens, including unmarried couples, to register as many children as they want. The province has over 83 million people. While current policies don’t explicitly ban unmarried women…
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Former RTN officer seeks justice after being jailed for 8 years on fake child rapist charge
A former Royal Thai Navy (RTN) officer is seeking justice after he was wrongly branded a child rapist by his ex-girlfriend and her daughter and jailed for eight years on the trumped-up charge. The daughter recently revealed the truth because she alleges she is being abused by her mother. She wants her mother to face the music because of her…
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‘Not possible anyone else was involved’ in Leo Rex’s death in Thailand, says friend
UPDATE The friend who discovered the body of American fitness YouTuber ‘Leo Rex‘ aka ‘Leo and Longevity’ at his home in Pattaya, eastern Thailand, on Monday says it’s “not possible” anyone else was involved in his death. Charles Anthony Hughes – aka ‘Tony Huge’ – released a video statement about the death of 34 year old Laith Abdullah Algaz… “Yes,…
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Tourism council predicts 30 million foreign tourists in Thailand this year
Thailand’s tourist numbers have certainly picked up lately and some groups are very optimistic about numbers this year. The Tourism Industry Council of Thailand predicts that over 30 million foreign tourists will travel to Thailand in 2023, bringing 3 trillion baht to Thailand’s economy. The number of international tourists in Thailand before the Covid-19 pandemic was 40 million in 2019. …
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Police stopped you? Here’s how to handle it
So the Royal Thai Police (RTP) have stopped you and you are worried they might ask for some cash “off the books” to let you go. What do you do in this delicate situation? If you find yourself in a situation where you are stopped by the RTP, it is important to remain calm and follow a few basic guidelines…
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‘Unruly’ Italian passenger tied to her seat on Vistara flight
Vistara cabin crew tied an ‘unruly’ Italian passenger to her seat after she allegedly became violent on a flight from Abu Dhabi to Mumbai in India on Monday. Airline staff alleged in a police complaint that 45 year old Paola Perruccio of Italian nationality assaulted a member of the cabin crew and spat on another mid-air. The complaint alleges that…
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Body of Burmese man swept out to sea found in Koh Samui
UPDATE The body of the Burmese man who was swept out to sea in Koh Samui on Monday has been found, according to a Thai media outlet. The outlet, One News 31, said today in an Instagram post that the man’s body was found at a beach in front of a hotel. The post reads… “The body of the Myanmar…
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Sea nomads win land encroachment case in South Thailand
Sea nomads have won a land encroachment case in South Thailand after a month-long legal battle. The dispute was over a fence blocking access to a school on the island of Koh Lipe. The Ban Koh Adang school is located in a community populated by Thailand’s Moken minority group. The moken are a semi-nomadic Austronesian group that lives in Thai…
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German tourist missing after jump from Pha Ngan ferry
Rescue workers continue to search for a German man who shocked onlookers last night by jumping from a large ferry as it departed Koh Pha Ngan. The man is currently lost at sea as worried friends and community members hope for a happy ending. Last night, the deputy director of Surat Thani province Region 2 Police, was informed by the…
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Pattaya police chief transferred for fining vape carrying Chinese tourists
A senior police sergeant major from Mueng Pattaya Police Station has been transferred to Chon Buri Police Headquarters after admitting he illegally fined Chinese tourists 30,000 baht for carrying vapes. A Professional Tourist Guide Association of Thailand committee member, Paisarn Suethanuwong, revealed the wrongdoing of a Mueng Pattaya Police Station chief on a Channel 3 news show yesterday. Paisarn said…
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Qatar Airways launches thrice daily flights to Phuket
Qatari flag carrier Qatar Airways is launching three flights per day between Doha and Phuket in southern Thailand starting today, February 1, to meet the ever-growing demand. The additional flights bring the airline’s number of services to Thailand up to seven per day, including four flights to and from Bangkok. Doha is a major Middle Eastern transport hub and most…
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Two years ago today: the Burmese military coup
Today marks a cruel and tragic anniversary. It was on this day two years ago that military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing marched his troops on the Burmese capital and overthrew Myanmar’s elected government. They immediately arrested the democratically elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. The conflict between the Burmese military and anti-coup activists has escalated with widespread violence…
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Thailand tourist fee: 300 baht via air, 150 baht via land/sea
Thailand plans to charge foreign arrivals arriving by air a tourist fee of 300 baht (US$9.11) and a fee of 150 baht (US$4.56) for tourists entering the kingdom via land/sea by mid-2023. The 300 baht tourist fee for air arrivals has been in the pipeline for a long time and is set to be enforced in June after facing several Covid-19-related…
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Activists pressure opposition to do away with royal defamation law
Thai activists are pressuring the opposition Pheu Thai Party to do away with the royal defamation law if elected to office this year. The requests come at a time when three demonstrators are seriously ill after going on a hunger strike over the royal defamation law. Two of the activists are currently in the hospital and listed in serious condition. Pheu…
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Prayut tells everyone to calm down over Thai-Cambodian Muay Thai drama
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is telling everyone to calm down regarding the row that was sparked last week between Thailand and Cambodia over the origin of Muay Thai. Cambodia, the host country of the 2023 SEA Games, changed the name of the kickboxing competition from Muay Thai to Kun Khmer and stated that the origin of Muay Thai is Cambodian.…
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Thailand’s skilled workers to get minimum wage hike
Thailand’s Cabinet approved a wage hike for skilled workers in the country. The hike will range from 465 to 700 baht a day for 17 occupations spanning three sectors. According to the Bangkok Post, the Labour Ministry made the proposal which is intended to suit the capabilities of workers in fields that are in high demand. The hope is to end…
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Crazy Russian bites off British woman’s finger in Ko Pha Ngan bean bag row
A leisurely stroll on a Thai beach with two friends and a dog bizarrely evolved into a scene from a horror movie after a crazy Russian woman went berserk, chomped on a British woman’s finger and spat it out. The British woman was walking her dog with a German friend on a beach on Ko Pha Ngan Island when they…
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Grab Thailand reveals foreign tourist trends
Grab Thailand saw a 45% increase in foreign users between Q2 and Q3 in 2022, suggesting a positive outlook for the recovery of the tourism industry. The top five countries foreign Grab users came from are… Indonesia Malaysia Singapore United States Vietnam To meet the needs of foreign users, the ride-hailing super-app focussed on perfecting three key aspects of service:…
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Large waves wash away Burmese man in Koh Samui
A recent tragedy in Koh Samui is a reminder of how dangerous large waves can be in Thailand. Large waves washed away a Burmese man in Koh Samui on Monday. Witnesses said the man was a migrant worker travelling with two other male friends, and the three appeared to be drunk. The three men walked to a viewpoint near the sea.…
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Dusit Thani College lifts its service and tourism job fair to ASEAN level
Press Release It had been an annual practice for Dusit Thani College, a specialized educational institute in hotel management, tourism, and culinary arts under Dusit International, to organize Hospitality Career Day to give opportunities in hospitality industry to the college’s students before expanding the event into a national level last year. The fair, newly named Hospitality Talent Fair, attracted those…
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Corruption Index: world’s improvements flat, Thailand’s slight
In the Corruption Perceptions Index, Thailand is improving, having jumped nine places to the 101st position in 2022. The previous year, the kingdom was 110th according to Transparency International (TI), a German-based nonprofit that measures and fights corruption worldwide. The index works on a scale of 100, with 100 being completely free of corruption and zero being the most corrupt…
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