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 Do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?
Thailand’s healthcare system is well-regarded across Southeast Asia, with options ranging from public hospitals to world-class private facilities. But when it comes to foreign residents or tourists, healthcare access isn’t as straightforward. So, do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?...
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Russian minister appreciates Thailand’s neutrality over Ukraine
The Deputy Prime Minister, and Foreign Affairs Minister of Thailand, Don Pramudwinai, visited Russia this week to celebrate the 125th anniversary of friendship between the two nations and invited President Vladimir Putin to attend Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Thailand in November. Don traveled to Moscow on Wednesday to meet the Foreign Minister of Russia, Sergey Lavrov. After the…
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Thailand joins the world in honouring Queen Elizabeth II
Thailand is joining the world in honouring the UK’s Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away yesterday. The Thai government has now ordered all departments to lower their flags to half mast for three days in her honour, starting on September 11. The Queen had had warm relations with Thailand’s late King, His Majesty Bhumibol Adulyadej. In the past, she had…
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Train smashes into car in eastern Thailand, 1 killed, 3 seriously injured
A car crashed through a barrier and was hit by a train in Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand, at 2am today. One woman was killed in the crash and three more people are seriously injured. Officers at Don Hua Lo Police Station received a report at 2am that a train had hit a car where the road and railway track…
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Koh Chang locals urged to evacuate as more rain predicted
Koh Chang residents in the lowlands and foothills of the island have urged people to evacuate the area after learning more heavy rain is predicted to hit the area following a two-days’ deluge that brought floods and landslides. Heavy rain hit Koh Chang island in Trat province in the eastern part of Thailand on Wednesday and continued for two days.…
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2 baby elephants born at garden in Pattaya
A botanical garden in Pattaya welcomed two adorable new members to its community on September 3. Two baby elephants were born at the Nongnooch Garden Pattaya, which currently cares for 57 elephants. The latest additions to Nongnooch’s elephant family are named Phang Wara Pim, and Phang Manoch. They are the first two calves of 2022. A monk blessed the little…
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Thailand’s MICE industry continues to flourish
Thailand’s resurgence in the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism industry continues to flourish with over 100,000 gatherings recorded this year. The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) reported the nation catalogued about 69,000 arrivals of groups coming from abroad between April to June 2022. The TCEB estimate over 4,000 MICE arrivals this month and predict about 31,000 more…
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9 climbers die on Russian volcano
Nine climbers tragically died this week on a journey up a 4,750 metre high volcano in Russia. Klyuchevskaya Sopka is the highest volcano in Eurasia. Five of the nine people who tragically perished fell to their deaths on Sunday. Russian officials reported that another three died the next morning. This is out of a group of 12 people who had…
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Are face masks still required on domestic flights in Thailand?
The world is moving on from the Covid-19 pandemic, but face masks are still popular in Thailand. You might see people on domestic flights in Thailand wearing masks, but are they mandatory? The Thai government made face masks “voluntary” back in June but still recommends wearing them in crowded spaces. The news was published in the Royal Gazette and said……
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Phuket prisoners could have sentences reduced in new community project
Prisoners in Thailand’s island province of Phuket are being given a chance to have their sentences decreased in a new community project. In the project, called “Public Work for Society,” inmates from Phuket Prison who have shown good behaviour will be selected to do community service work. One day of monitored work reduces the inmates’ sentences by one day. Phuket…
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Hypocritical Liz leads tributes to Queen Elizabeth II
United Kingdom Prime Minister Liz Truss led the tributes to Queen Elizabeth II after Buckingham Palace announced she died last night and appeared to mask her true feelings while a nation mourned the loss of their Queen. The new Tory leader appears to be following in the footsteps of her predecessor Boris Johnson by lying to the British public, the…
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Tourists see solar phenomenon at Phanom Rung Temple
Tourists gathered at Phanom Rung Historical Park in Isaan province of Buriram this morning to observe a solar phenomenon through the 15 doors of the ancient Phanom Rung Temple, an event which happens only four times a year. The Phanom Rung Temple is located on Phanom Rung mountain in the Tapek sub-district, Chaloemprakiat district of Buriram province. The temple, constructed…
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Fire breaks out at Indian restaurant in Patong
A fire broke out at an Indian restaurant in Phuket’s famous tourist town of Patong in the early hours of this morning. Firefighters rushed to the restaurant on Taweewong Road to find it ablaze. The firefighters took 40 minutes to bring the flames under control. The restaurant was damaged, but luckily no injuries were reported. The restaurant owner said there…
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Airbus A380 lands at Thailand’s Don Mueang Airport for the first time ever
An Airbus A380 aircraft landed on the runway at Bangkok’s Don Mueang International rt (DMK) for the first time ever yesterday. The Emirates flight was redirected to Bangkok’s smaller airport due to heavy rainfall disrupting the runway at Suvarnabhumi Airport. At 9.40pm, flight EK363 from Guangzhou in China descended on DMK after the runway became impassible at Suvarnabhumi International Airport,…
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Flood at dangerous level in Rangsit after water pumps fail
Flood levels in the Rangsit district of Pathum Thani province near Bangkok are at a dangerous level after nine water pumps broke down. It will be three days before they are repaired. The official district website revealed the level of water in the Rangsit Canal had risen to 1.8 metres from 1.78 metres this morning. Rangsit had 20 water pumps…
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Phuket man arrested after allegedly beating ex with iron rod in May
Justice is finally being served on one Phuket man who allegedly beat his ex-girlfriend and her friend with an iron rod and held them against their will back in May. Police arrested the 26 year old man, named Worawat, at his residence in Chalong town on Monday. The man, Worawat, allegedly messaged his girlfriend on May 21, asking her to…
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Driver crashes pickup into noodles bar, injuring 17 in central Thailand
Seventeen people were injured after a pickup crashed into a noodles shop in Chantaburi province, in the central part of Thailand. He is suspected of being drunk at the wheel or high on drugs. A CCTV camera in front of the shop showed the vehicle losing control and suddenly crashing into the shop while customers were either standing outside or…
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Thaiger Unfiltered
Here’s a chance for our viewers to ask Jay and Sara any questions they have, and they will answer you with their honest responses unfiltered! Please be kind and appropriate.
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Intoxicated Phuket man whacks cars and houses with iron bar
An intoxicated Phuket man yesterday wreaked havoc in a housing estate in Phuket’s main city district. The man went around whacking cars and houses in an estate with an iron bar that had a sharp end. Residents alerted Wichit Police of the carnage the man caused to damage cars and houses, and the police arrived on the scene to find…
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Japan donates cute trains to Thailand, ready for public use next month
On Tuesday, the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) conducted a trial run of a cute white and purple locomotive donated by Japan. It is one of 17 Kiha 183 passenger trains donated by the Hokkaido Railway Company, which will be used for short tourism routes as soon as next month. Governor of the SRT Nirut Maneephan said the trains will…
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Mother blames Bangkok hospital for the death of her baby
The devastated mother of a stillborn baby blames the hospital near Bangkok where she gave birth for the death of her child. Remarkably, the hospital blames the mother for not trying hard enough. The family of the tragedy is demanding justice after it emerged there was no doctor in the delivery room as the pregnant woman, 25 year old Noi…
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VIDEO: Rain leaks into Thailand’s 12 billion baht Parliament building, again
Rain is pouring through the roof at the Parliament complex in Bangkok’s Dusit district, which opened in May last year and cost 12.28 billion Thai baht to construct, according to former Democrat Party MP Watchara Petthong. The former MP posted a video of an overflowing wheelbarrow and bucket on the drenched floor at the Parliament complex on Facebook yesterday, complaining…
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AirAsia X disagrees with government’s proposed tourism fee
AirAsia X’s chief executive disagrees with the Thai government’s proposal of a tourism fee on flights. Tony Fernandes, the acting group chief executive of AirAsia X says, instead, that the government should bank on the influx of travellers as aiding the economy. He says the tourism fee would be a smaller impact on the economy than an increase in tourism.…
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A week of no tap water leaves Pattaya’s bar owners suffering
Bar owners in the renowned party hub of Pattaya say they have been suffering from a lack of tap water for more than one week. One young bar owner on Soi 7, 26 year old Sasiprap Sirisawat, said her water sometimes works but has a very weak flow. Sasiprap says she and other bar owners in the same area have…
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Cultural officer in central Thailand caught stealing govt money
Another story of corruption in Thailand… A cultural officer in Thailand’s central Ayutthaya province was caught yesterday stealing government money meant to pay for a religious ceremony. The provincial cultural officer, 58 year old Chureeporn, worked with a friend, so far only known as “B,” to steal 80,000 baht from the government. Chureeporn drafted a proposal for the government to…
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Central department stores to get facelift funding
The Central department stores, seen throughout Thailand and other countries, may be looking a lot less shabby as the retail giant has approved a 15 billion baht makeover for its stores. Central Department Store Co, under Central Retail Corporation, has approved the funding as part of its efforts to expand the retail business from 2023 to 2027. Oliver Bron, the…
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Thailand’s caretaker PM caught sleeping on the job
Caretaker Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan was caught sleeping on the job this afternoon. The 77 year old was in Krabi province today overseeing a joint meeting with several water and land use agencies to discuss water management issues when he dozed off. The image quickly went viral on Thai social media and drew a number of cheeky comments. Suthaporn Suriyakarn…
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Thailand to apply alcohol tax to non-alcoholic beer
Not only is Thailand planning on increasing existing tax on all types of alcohol, but it also plans on applying alcohol tax to non-alcoholic beer, according to Director-General of the Revenue Department Ekniti Nitithanprapas. Ekniti said that the department will increase tax on all types of alcohol, in the fiscal year 2023, to help combat alcoholism among Thailand’s youth. More…
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Pakistan flood death toll rises, agencies warn country needs long-term aid
The death toll from Pakistan’s devastating floods continues to rise, and things are getting worse. The official death toll now stands at 1,325, including 466 children. Up to 33 million people have been affected by the floods. Pakistan’s total population is 220.9 million. Now, UN officials are warning that Pakistan’s situation is likely to keep going downhill. The country is…
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Police punish (some of) Bangkok’s school rival fighters
After about 110 students from two rival schools brawled in the middle of Bangkok last month, some of the youngsters are now facing the consequences. About 60 students from Pathumwan Institute of Technology clashed with about 50 students from the Rajamangala University of Technology in the area of Bangkok’s national stadium on August 25. The stadium is located in the…
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3 year old dies after being left in kindergarten van all day in Japan
A three year old girl died after being left inside a kindergarten van for around five hours on Monday in Makinohara, Shizuoka prefecture, in Japan. The young girl, China Kawamoto, is suspected to have died of heatstroke. Yesterday, police searched Kawasaki Kindergarten and the director and principal’s homes, who were arrested under suspicion of professional negligence causing death. The van…
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