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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Bangkok’s Khao San Road re-opening for local trade
Bangkok’s Deputy Governor Sakoltee Phattiyakul says the capital’s iconic Khao San Road is set to re-open for trade, targeting the local market of Thais and expats. The street is normally a mecca for international tourists, in particular, younger backpackers making the rite-of-passage pilgrimage through Southeast Asia. There was a pre-Covid botched attempt to meddle with the area’s long-established, and rather…
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Pro-democracy movement raises issues on LGBT and women’s rights
The pro-democracy movement is now shedding light on issues on gender equality and LGBT rights in Thailand. Some people at the September 19 rally in Bangkok were collecting signatures calling on the decriminalisation of abortion and prostitution. Even a booth called “Pussy Gallery” was set up where people could draw colourful vaginas, raising awareness that the colour does not value…
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Thailand beaches may limit visitors until Covid-19 vaccine is available
Beaches and national parks might not fully open to international tourists until a Covid-19 vaccine is available. Around 120 to 150 tourists departing from China are set to arrive in Phuket on October 8 after a 6 month ban on international tourists. They’ll have to go through a 14 day state quarantine, but after that, they may not be able…
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Thailand News Today | Phuket re-opens, TripAdvisor review saga, Samut Prakhan chem spill | Sept 30
Daily TV news about Thailand. Updates and all the latest information from thethaiger.com. Phuket prepares to welcome first Chinese tourists in over 6 months The first group of tourists to arrive under Thailand’s new Special Tourist Visa scheme will land in Phuket on October 8. The flight from Guangzhou in southern China will carry 120 tourists, who will spend their…
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23 Koh Samui hotels seek alternative state quarantine certification
Nearly 2 dozen hotels and resorts in the Thai Gulf island resort of Koh Samui are seeking certification to be alternative state quarantine facilities. Talk of a potential travel bubble scheme to the island is also set for today, the Nation Thailand reports. 8 of the 23 hotels have already gone through a government check and the rest will be…
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How has Thailand avoided the worst of Covid-19? – VIDEO
We examine some of the reasons Thailand has been able to avoid the surges and 2nd waves of Covid-19. Whilst many countries are now suffering a 2nd and 3rd wave of the coronavirus, Thailand has locked itself in a bubble of its own making. Almost zero cases and any new cases coming from repatriates. Now the country has to figure…
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100,000 iLaw bill signatures to be verified, official tells staff to ‘hurry up’
The parliament president says he told staff to “hurry up” the process for verifying more than 100,000 signatures supporting a new constitution amendment bill proposed by a nonprofit organisation and backed by pro-democracy activists. Activists hope the process speeds up so the bill can be scheduled on the agenda for the next parliamentary session. The draft, proposed by Internet Law…
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PM dismisses rumours of alliance with opposition to form new government
Thai PM Prayuth Chan-o-cha has rubbished rumours that the ruling coalition parties plan to join forces with the opposition Pheu Thai party to form a new government. While the PM initially didn’t respond to the question, instead bidding reporters a good day and walking away, he did mumble that he had enough of a headache with just one party. Thai…
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Thailand’s ban on hazardous farming chemicals to remain in place
Despite fears to the contrary among those in favour of it, the ban on paraquat and chlorpyrifos is to remain in place. The Hazardous Substances Committee has confirmed that production, possession, and importing or exporting either substance remains illegal, under legislation introduced on June 1 of this year. Thai PBS World reports that Industry Minister, Suriya Juangroongruangkit, says a discussion…
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Minister calls for all complaints against Sarasas schools to be monitored amid abuse allegations
The Education Minister, Nataphol Teepsuwan, is asking the Office of the Private Education Commission to closely monitor all complaints filed against all Sarasas Witaed School branches around the country. Nation Thailand reports that 34 out of 42 have had complaints filed against them. Allegations of abuse first emerged when the actions of an abusive teacher at a branch of the…
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Immigration police arrest 3 at Bangkok airport, 2 Thais allegedly had fake US visas
Thai immigration police arrested 3 people at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport after immigration officials checked their biometrics system. Police arrested 2 Thai nationals who were attempting to leave the country with fake United States visas and another Thai woman who was allegedly involved in a romance scam gang. The Thai man and woman were caught while going through an immigration check…
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The man who wrote the bad reviews for Koh Chang’s Sea View Resort has a criminal record
In the ongoing stoush between the American, Wesley Barnes, and Koh Chang’s Sea View Resort, the story is now reaching way beyond Thailand’s borders, being reported in mainstream media around the world. Much of the media discussion has focused on whether it is appropriate to be able to sue people over a bad review with criminal defamation. Defamation is a…
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Phuket prepares to welcome first Chinese tourists in over 6 months
The first group of tourists to arrive under Thailand’s new Special Tourist Visa scheme are expected to land in Phuket on October 8. The Bangkok Post reports that a flight from Guangzhou in southern China will carry 120 tourists, who will spend their first 14 days in alternative state quarantine. They are reported to be travelling under the government’s new…
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The world’s Top 10 languages, spoken by native speakers
I battle to speak one language, English, and can barely order my lunch in Thai. And, whilst studying French for 7 years at school, I can only ask a French-speaker for the time or order coffee. Sacre Bleu! The world’s most common languages changes over time and a world interlinked on the internet and aviation, like never before, is making…
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Sarasas school teacher charged with assault for allegedly abusing students
The Nonthaburi teacher, who allegedly beat and mistreated kindergarten students, faces charges of physical assault and violating the Child Protection Act. The charges follow reports of abuse after classroom surveillance camera footage from the Sarasas Witaed Ratchaphruek School spread on the internet. Videos show a teacher, identified as Ornuma “Khru Jum” Plodprong, pushing a child to the ground, dragging another…
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Woman arrested for abandoning newborn baby on a bench in Phuket
Police tracked down and arrested a Burmese woman who allegedly left her newborn baby on a bench in Phuket’s Patong area last week. The mother faces charges of abandoning a baby. The newborn was left in a reusable shopping bag on a bench behind a Krungthai Bank branch. A woman in the area heard the baby crying and found the…
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Thailand News Today | Visa amnesty extended, first STV tourists, teacher sacked | September 29
Daily TV news on thethaiger.com, Thailand News Today. Get your visa figured out by October 31 In a surprise decision that arrived late yesterday afternoon, following a week of denials and threats to prosecute foreigners on overstay, the Thai government has granted another stay of grace to foreigners up to the end of October. Foreigners stuck in Thailand will now be…
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Explosion at new oil refinery kills 2 technicians
An explosion at a Central Thailand oil refinery killed 2 people while technicians were testing out new machines. The GRD Energy oil refinery in Samut Sakhon, just southwest of Bangkok, is less than 2 months old and refines old motor oil into industrial fuel. 8 staff members were working at the refinery this morning, conducting tests on new machinery this…
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Foreign teachers checked by immigration at Sarasas school after alleged student abuse
A foreign English teacher at a Sarasas private school in Nonthaburi was allegedly caught working without a proper visa and work permit after an immigration check. An investigation into all 42 Sarasas schools was prompted after a Thai teacher at the Sarasas Witaed Ratchapreauk School in Nonthaburi was allegedly caught on camera beating kindergarten students. A Filipino English teacher at…
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Russian man allegedly stabs Chiang Mai park officer, tries to break into tourist bungalow
A Russian man has been arrested after he allegedly tried to break into tourist bungalows and stealing property at a Chiang Mai national park and stabbed a park officer with a pair of scissors. The incident follows months of complaints from Thai tourists at the national park reporting missing property. Thai media reports the 32 year old Russian man as…
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Woman and 2 children escape unharmed after car flips over in Pattaya
A woman who lost control of her car, making the vehicle flip over, has had a lucky escape, along with her 2 young children, who were unharmed in the incident. 36 year old Suweena Rodpan says she was driving in the rain, on Pattaya’s Sukhumvit Road, when she lost control of the car due to the wet surface. She subsequently…
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Wife who wanted a divorce allegedly killed by husband in murder-suicide
A woman in the north-eastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima has allegedly been shot dead by her husband because she wanted a divorce. It’s alleged the man then turned the gun on himself, dying from a gunshot wound to the head. Police officers called to a property in the sub-district of Thephalai found the bodies of 46 year old Mongkhol Aksorn,…
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All 42 Sarasas private schools to be investigated after teacher allegedly beat students
All of the 42 Sarasas private schools throughout Thailand will be investigated by the Office of the Private Education Commission, or OPEC, after a teacher was caught on camera allegedly hitting kindergarten students. The teacher, Ornuma “Khru Jum” Plodprong, allegedly beat young students at the Sarasas Witaed Ratchaphruek School in Nonthaburi, a suburb in Bangkok on the western banks of…
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Luxury resort built on national park land given demolition order
“Tear it down, or we will.” That’s the ultimatum officials have given the owner of a luxury resort built on national park land in Kanchanaburi, western Thailand. The Phatsapada Resort, which consists of 17 chalets, has been built on land belonging to Khao Laem National Park. A demolition order, posted outside the property yesterday, gives the owner 7 days in…
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Top 10 must-see towns in Asia
Tropical nights, curious mountain silhouettes, sprawling rice paddies and exotic cuisine. You’ll also find some snow-topped mountains as well. The Thaiger has selected the Top Ten of these camera-worthy towns. Southern Asia is a concoction of the ancient, very modern, traditional and enigmatic. Amongst the islands, megacities and spectacular scenery, there are also some very pretty towns that deserve your days…
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Thailand News Today | Rumours of amnesty extension, 22 new Covid cases | September 28
Daily TV news and updates from around Thailand on The Thaiger and on Youtube at Thaiger TV. 22 new cases of Covid-19 detected in Thailand Out of nowhere, the Thai government’s CCSA has reported 22 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours this morning, raising the country’s total of infections to 3,545. 22 cases is the largest number…
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Teenagers allegedly fired guns into the air, stray bullet kills 16 year old girl
A 19 year old man faces charges of intent to murder for allegedly shooting and killing a teenage girl. The man told police he shot the gun in the sky and did not intend to harm anyone. The stray bullet went through the girl’s heart and also injured her friend. 16 year old Nutthicha Thanthaisong was riding home on a…
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Strong winds “blow” shipping container off a stack and onto a truck, injuring the driver
A truck driver was critically injured after strong winds from last night’s storms caused a shipping container to fall from a 7 storey stack at the Samut Prakan port, south of Bangkok, and smash down onto an 18 wheel truck with the driver inside. Workers rushed to pull the driver, Raphin Noiwanit, out of the crushed truck. They say he…
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Bangkok heist nets gold ornaments valued at 5.6 million baht
Police are searching for a man who allegedly robbed a Bangkok gold shop at gunpoint, stealing gold ornaments valued around 5.6 million baht. The man allegedly pointed a gun at employees, forcing them to hand over 3 trays of gold ornaments. The Yaowarat Krungthep shop is located at the entrance of Tesco Lotus in Bangkok’s Lat Phrao district. Since the…
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More rain fronts on the way around Thailand today and tomorrow
The Thailand Meteorological Department is forecasting more isolated heavy rain over many parts of the country over the next few days. “The monsoonal trough lies across the North, the Central, and the lower Northeast while the moderate southwest monsoon prevails over the Andaman Sea, Thailand and the Gulf. People in the risky areas should beware of severe conditions that may cause…
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