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.
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Sponsored Long-term life in Thailand? 5 reasons private health insurance pays off in the long run
Thailand is a great place for expats and retirees, offering a warm climate, affordable living, and rich culture. However, healthcare can be tricky for foreigners since they aren’t eligible for public health coverage, and private care can be expensive. Private...
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Breakfast in Rome. Dinner in Bangkok.
Air Italy has touched down in Bangkok for the first time as it launches four weekly services into the Big Mango. The company intends to increase services to five weekly by the end of October. Bangkok is Air Italy’s third new international route launched this summer following launches in New York and Miami. It’s the airlines’ first route in Asia. The…
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‘Romantic conflicts’ suspected in murder of Chinese woman
A 28 year old Chinese woman, found dead at the Ton Nga Chang waterfall in Songkhla’s Hat Yai district on September 20, is suspected to have been murdered by a male compatriot and two accomplices. This revelation from the Deputy Tourist Police Bureau Commissioner Pol Maj-General Surachate Hakparn today. Police suspect a romantic conflict as a motive for the murder…
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Director and security chief of Don Mueang suspended over assault of Chinese tourist
“Immigration police dismissed the tourist’s claim that immigration officials had demanded 2,000 baht from him for a visa on arrival in addition to the normal fee of 2,000 baht.” The Director of Bangkok’s Don Mueang international airport, as well as the director for security, have been suspended from active duty for at least 30 days pending an investigation into an…
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Typhoon Trami cuts across Japan
Another powerful typhoon is unleashing heavy rain and winds on southern Japan as it slowly trudges its way north-east toward the Japan’s main islands and population centres this morning. Typhoon Trami is the equivalent of Category 2 hurricane. It passed over the Ryukyu Islands on Friday evening after taking a slow right-hand track and heading north out of the Pacific…
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Death toll approaches 400 in Sulawesi earthquake aftermath
Rescuers are still struggling to reach remote communities on the island of Sulawesi hit by an earthquake and tsunami just before 6pm, local time, on Friday. A spokesperson of the local disaster agency has confirmed that the official death toll is now up to 384, almost all from the coastal township of Palu as a result of a tsunami. A…
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Pit stops laid on for race fans at MotoGP in Buriram
It’s on next weekend and Buriram is gearing up for the arrival of 100,000+ visitors. Thailand Immigration officials are also setting up home this week to handle the influx of international visitors and the teams as they arrive. But if you’re driving, take your Honda. AP Honda has agreed to provide special hospitality services and activities for visitors to the…
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Thaiger Radio News – Sunday
Listen to the daily news from The Thaiger, anytime, anywhere…
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Wet wet wet at the Phetchabun’s ‘Um Phra Dam Nam Festival’
The ‘Um Phra Dam Nam Festival’, one of the world’s most unique Buddhist festivals held annually in Phetchabun in Central Thailand. It’s scheduled from October 7 to 12 at Trai Phum temple and at the pier of Bot Chanaman temple. Translated from Thai, Um Phra Dam Nam literally means ‘diving while holding Buddha’s image’. According to local legend, the festival began when…
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Bangkok and Phuket on the list of the World’s ‘Top City For Visitor Spending’
According to Mastercard’s annual Destination Cities Index, Bangkok has earned the position as the world’s most visited tourist destination once again in 2017. Phuket also got into the Top 10 list of tourist money magnets. The Thai capital attracted over 20 million visitors over the past year, more than both London (19.83 million) and Paris (17.44 million). But despite scoring…
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Four whale sharks hunting off Prachuap Khiri Khan
Four whale sharks have been spotted near Koh Talu, three kilometres off the coast of southern Prachuap Khuru Khan over the past week. The surprise appearance of the quartet of hunting whale sharks caused excitement to groups of tourists and divers on board speed boats on their way from a pier at Klong Chamuang, Ban Nong Samet of Bang Saphan…
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25 year old Australian, who shot himself in Sakoo, dies
The young Australian man who shot himself in the right temple at a Sakoo shooting range yesterday afternoon, has died as a result of his injuries. The man shot himself at the Asian Shooting Range, just south of the Phuket International Airport. The man, 25 year old Jayden Antony Cook, had arrived in Phuket on September 25 for a month’s…
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Official travel warnings about Phuket issued by the Chinese Embassy
“The embassy reminds Chinese tourists to follow the rules while in Thailand and to stay out of the water when authorities put red flags on beaches, indicating the marine situation is dangerous.” The Chinese Embassy in Bangkok is telling travellers to take particular care in Thailand’s southern resort provinces of Phuket, Phang-Nga and Krabi. The embassy has issued an official…
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Central’s new volcano goes up in flames
VIDEOS: Kristopher and Toribio One of Central Floresta’s new themed feature attractions has been totally guttered today in a dramatic fire that started just after opening time this morning. The ‘Tribhum’ attraction, a walk-thru theme park, scheduled to open before the end of the year, burnt fiercely as the outer skin of the ‘volcano’ caught fire and kept burning until…
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Thai mothers caving to superstition or private hospital wishes when having babies
by Kornwaree Panyasuppakun and Tim Newton “Many babies in Thailand are born to suit ‘auspicious days’ or the Obstetrician’s golf plans.” The expectant mother reported to the private hospital in Phuket where she and her husband had decided to have their first baby. When she walked in for her appointment with the Obstetrician the first question was when she wanted to…
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Thaiger Radio News – Saturday
Listen to the daily news from The Thaiger, anytime, anywhere…
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Large earthquake in Sulawesi. Palu struck by tsunami.
Another Indonesian earthquake, this time a shallow 7.5 magnitude tremor that was more powerful than the quakes that killed hundreds on Lombok island during July and August, has hit the central Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Rescuers are still scrambling to reach villages in central Indonesia to assess the damage after the earthquake hit, causing buildings to fall down and triggering…
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Chinese woman’s death at a Hat Yai waterfall is now a murder investigation
An investigation into the mysterious death of a Chinese woman at a waterfall in near Hat Yai has now become an official murder investigation. A Chinese man has emerged as a prime suspect and Thai police also seeking evidence in China and working with Chinese police. Tourist Police Division’s deputy commander Pol Maj-General Surachate Hakparn says that he was soon…
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Australian tourist shoots himself at a Sakoo shooting range
A 25 year old Australian tourist has sustained serious injuries following a gunshot at a shooting range in Sakoo today. Sakoo is a Tambon near the Phuket International Airport. The Phuket Tourist Police report that they were notified from the Sakoo Police at 2pm that a male Australian tourist, later identified as Cook Jayden Antony, used an automatic handgun to…
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Loei mothers file complaint about local abbot sexually abusing their sons
Four Loei mothers have filed a complaint with police today accusing the local abbot of a monastic centre of sexually abusing their sons. They told Khok Ngam police that the abbot in Tambon Phone Sung, Dan Sai district, had molested their sons while they were novices there. One woman (name withheld by police) says her 17 year old son was…
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Happy Birthday Sweet 17
PHOTO: The Nation Happy birthday Lin Hui. Lin Hui is one of the stars of Thailand’s ‘panda frenzy’ a decade ago. Today she’s 17 years old and fans assembled at the Chiang Mai Zoo to sing “Happy Birthday” and maybe share some special birthday bamboo. Lin Hui’s mate Chuang Chuang got in on the fun as well, sharing her birthday…
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Thaiger Radio News – Friday
Listen to the daily news from The Thaiger, anytime, anywhere…
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Suspect questioned in alleged waterfall murder in Hat Yai
PHOTO: Sanook An investigation into the death of 28 year old Chinese tourist Lei Jiang at the Tone Nga Chang falls in Hat Yai in Thailand’s south has turned up some fresh evidence. A rock that may have been used as a murder weapon, as well as possible bloodstains, have been found in the area. While an accident or suicide has…
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Pattaya gambling raid finds dice, money. And sex drugs.
PHOTOS: Sanook Police raiding yet another suspected gambling den. Expect to find gamblers and gambling paraphernalia. Right? Pattaya police were conducting a routine raid on a noisy gambling den when they found more than just gamblers and cards. Apart from the usual dice, note pads and money, police turned up 317 large packets of ‘sex drugs’ in both gel and…
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Thai tiger farms investigated for links to black market
Thailand’s tiger facilities have come under international scrutiny amid suggestions many there are many farms taking part in the illicit trading of the endangered species. The committee on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) now plans to appoint a non-governmental organisation to collect data on the population and conditions of captive-bred tigers…
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Snap for Stray exhibition @ Limelight Avenue
The Soi Dog Foundation has mounted the ‘Snap for Stray’ Photo Exhibition which will run until September 29 at Limelight Avenue in Phuket Town. The exhibition gathers 40 beautiful photographs from contestants of the Snap for Stray Photo Contest held earlier last month. The exhibition aims to change peoples’ attitude about stray dogs, showing them that strays can be lovely,…
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Chonburi road rager gets 10 years for killing a 17 year old
PHOTO: Suthep Poshsomboon reporting to police following last year’s road rage incident “Following several punches by the 17 year old boy, a gunshot was heard” The Chonburi Provincial Court has handed down a 10 year jail term to an engineer who shot dead a teenage schoolboy in a high-profile road rage incident last year. Suthep Poshsomboon was also fined 2,000 baht…
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388 suspected tuberculosis cases found at Phitsanulok prisons
Up to 388 inmates at two prisons in Phitsanulok have been found to have signs of tuberculosis. This revelation from public health officials after they performed lung x-rays on the inmates. Doctor Rattaphum Champhunot, assistant chief public health officer for Phitsanulok, says the latest x-ray examinations were performed earlier this month. At Phitsanulok Prison, 2,959 inmates received the x-ray and…
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Australian living in Chiang Mai hangs himself from a roadside tree
An Australian man is believed to have hanged himself from a tree on a roadside in Chiang Mai’s Hang Dong district this morning. The man has been identified as Nicholas James Watek. A passer-by called the Hang Dong police around 9.30am after he saw the man hanging from a tree on Soi Bon Kai Doi Tham in Ban Doi Tham village…
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Foreigner sets fire to his house then tries to jump off cliff
A foreign man, who set fire to a house he was living in with his Thai wife, tried to jump off a cliff in Rawai this morning. Firefighters were notified about the incident at a house in Rawai earlier today. When firefighters arrived at the scene, the house was already well ablaze. It took half an hour to put out…
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Police hunting for Phuket coffee shop thief
Phuket police are hunting for a thief who has broken into a coffee shop in Thalang this week. Thalang Police were notified of the incident at the coffee shop inside PTT gas station on Thepkrasattri Road, northbound in Thalang. Panada Molee, a coffee shop staff member, told police that she had closed the coffee shop at 8pm on Tuesday night…
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