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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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Tuk tuk driver shot multiple times by rival driver in Songkhla
A Songkhla tuk tuk driver is in critical condition after a rival driver allegedly shot the man multiple times for taking his customers. 40 year old Chaowalit Phuthaksin allegedly shot the driver 9 times from behind just as the driver was calling out to potential customers. When police arrived to the scene, they found 40 year old Sao Phuangthong on…
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Global economics report expects Bangkok to have the highest tourist drop
International travel restrictions have crippled Thailand’s tourism industry so much that Bangkok might end up with the highest loss of tourists out of all the major cities in the world. A report from the global forecasting company Oxford Economics predicts Bangkok will lose about 14.5 million incoming foreign tourists by the end of the year. Cities across the world are…
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Thai Alex Albon scores podium finish in Tuscan Formula One GP
Red Bull will be grateful for the good PR today as British-born, Thai Formula One racer, Alex Albon, thanked the energy drink sponsors for their “faith” after he came third in last night’s incident-prone Tuscan Grand Prix, his first Formula One GP podium finish. The 24 year old finished in third place behind the Mercedes drivers to become the first Thai on…
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Police arrest 14 Laotian migrants for allegedly crossing the border
Border patrol police arrested 14 Laotian migrants who allegedly crossed the Thai-Laos border into Ubon Ratchathani. The arrests come after orders to tighten border security in fear that illegal migrants might carry the coronavirus. Police got a call that a white Toyota van looked suspicious and appeared to be carrying migrants from the border. Officers tracked down the van and found…
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Thailand’s prisons to release thousands monitored with ankle bracelet
Thailand’s prisons are overcrowded. To fix the problem, they’re sending some of the inmates home and monitoring them with ankle bracelets. Just 39 prisoners have been given the electric monitoring, or EM, ankle bracelets, but the Justice Minister says he expects the bracelets to be used on thousands of convicted criminals to free up space in the prisons. 2 former…
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How BTS became the biggest band in the world
Even if you’d been living under a rock you’ve probably heard someone mention the band BTS. The South Korean group has risen up through the ranks of K-Pop – a Korean musical blood sport – since 2013. From very humble beginnings indeed, they’ve risen from pimply youngsters with a dream into a 7-member powerhouse in the world’s pop industry. How…
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Bangkok expo planned to fill 1 million job vacancies
Thailand has a lot of job opportunities. About a million. The Labour Ministry is hosting an expo to connect job seekers, especially recent university graduates, with companies. For recent graduates, a new government initiative co-payment system will take care of half the salary. Job Expo Thailand 2020 will run from September 26 to 28 at Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre,…
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Tourists flock to Sichon temple, worship a spirit known for granting wishes
Thai tourists destinations have gone quiet due to the pandemic, but one southern Thailand temple is thriving. Nakhon Si Thammarat’s Wat Chedi is known for granting wishes, and apparently many come true (although people don’t tend to talk about the ones that don’t come true). It is packed with visitors not just on the weekends, but every day. Visitors worship Ai Khai, the…
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150 million baht makeover for Bangkok klongs
Bangkok’s BMA is poised to spend 150 million baht revamping 15 kilometres of canal network in Thon Buri as part of an initiative to revive Bangkok’s reputation as the Venice of the East, a popular tourist phrase of the past referring to Bangkok’s extensive canal (klong) network, now mostly filled in and replaced with roads. The Bangkok Metropolitan Authority is…
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Malaysia closes main southern checkpoint into Thailand
Malaysia has closed the Bukit Kayu Hitam border checkpoint, the main southern land border into Thailand, across the border from Sadao in Songkhla. Officials say the border is now closed in efforts to control the spread of Covid-19 in the Kedah state. Although passage of people is not allowed, transport and trade, with requisite paperwork, will be allowed to continue.…
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Pattaya hotel chases up Chinese businessmen for 7 million in rent
The Chinese directors of a company, who had rented a 54 room hotel in Pattaya, and not paid rent for 7 months, will now have to pay an estimated 40 million baht compensation to the owners. It appears that the Thai ‘shelf’ company that signed the contract, is still responsible for completing the contract, leaving 2 Thai nominees potentially liable…
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“Thai government refuses to acknowledge the red light economy”
OPINION Thanks to WB for sending us this response to earlier article. The views expressed by WB do not represent The Thaiger, its management or staff. Prostitution is not illegal in Thailand, although many activities associated with it are (brothels, pimping, causing a public nuisance, etc.). Nevertheless, it was estimated to be worth US$6.4 billion a year in revenue (2015),…
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Thai schools look to recruit 20,000 English and Chinese language teachers
Thailand’s Education Minister has announced plans to recruit up to 10,000 native English-speaking teachers. Education Minister Nataphol Teepsuwan says the ministry wants improve Thai students’ English-language proficiency “as soon as the situation is safe to do so”. He also noted that the Ministry also wanted to source up to 10,000 Chinese teachers as well. He noted that there are already 7,000 foreign…
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Lights are out on Ibiza – the world’s party islands go dark
“The party scene, by its nature, is all about getting together, dancing, celebrating ‘closeness’ and being social – the antithesis of social distancing and staying away from other people in the Covid-era.” Some of the world’s tourist islands are suffering badly from the lack of travel, it’s not just Bali and Phuket. The Spanish party island of Ibiza is also…
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Thai Kra Canal – numbers don’t stack up
OPINION The possibility of Thailand being sliced into 2, with a canal running east to west through the middle of the Isthmus of Kra (the Thai section of the Malay Peninsula), is back on the table. There’s a lot of heated response from readers, for and against the plans. Is there an economic model to support the new canal? How…
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Tourism chief appeals for patience, but admits things will “never be the same”
“The primary source markets would be Northeast Asia and the ASEAN countries, with a customer target of people in good health and high-purchasing power.” Patience is not only a virtue, but a necessity, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Yuthasak Supasorn. The TAT chief is appealing to the Thai tourism industry to be “patient, united, and confident in…
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3 to 4 years for tourism revenue to recover, research centre says
It’s going to take years for Thailand’s tourism revenue to recover. A lack of international tourists caused income to drastically drop and it’s going to be at least 3 to 4 years until revenue is back to normal, according to the Krungthai COMPASS Research Centre. Many tourism companies are also changing their marketing approach to stay in business, focusing on a…
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Bangkok DJ infected with more contagious, less severe Covid-19 strain
The Bangkok DJ who recently tested positive for Covid-19 was infected by the G strain, a more contagious, but less severe strain, according to the Department of Medical Sciences director general Opas Karnkawinpong. The strain is mostly found in those returning to Thailand from abroad and detected in quarantine. The G strain isn’t as severe as L strain and the…
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Thai drinkers fight back against online booze ban
The recent confirmation from the government that online sales of alcohol are to be banned is causing outrage among some booze lovers. With officials seemingly obsessed with the perceived evils of alcohol, Thailand already has a ban on the sale of booze before 11am, between 2 – 5pm, and after midnight. It is also illegal to brew your own beer…
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Loan sharks allegedly threatened 8 year old boy
Police are trying to track down 2 men who allegedly trespassed inside someone’s home in Chiang Mai and threatened an 8 year old boy, claiming his mother owes them money. The boy was home alone when the alleged loan sharks parked their black truck and entered the house looking for the mother. When they saw she wasn’t home, they allegedly…
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Hunt for wild tiger sighted at maize plantation in northern Thailand
A drone has been deployed in the hunt for a wild tiger believed to have wandered outside its natural habitat at the Huey Kha Kheng wildlife sanctuary. The sanctuary, in the northern province of Uthai Thani, has brought in forest rangers in an attempt to track down the tiger, whose footprints were spotted in a nearby maize plantation. PHOTO: Thai…
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Police bust factories: Used medical gloves resold and painkillers sold as herbal medicine
Police busted 2 factories. The first allegedly produced medicine illegally, selling medicines containing steroids and painkillers as “herbal medicine.” The other was allegedly repackaging used medical gloves, boxing them up and making them look good as new. In the herbal medicine bust, police seized 400,000 packages of what police say is “fake” herbal medicine under the brand name “Jindamanee.” Instead…
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Kasetsart school bans use of name, logo, at political events on grounds of “neutrality”
A school forming part of Bangkok’s Kasetsart University has banned students from using its name or logo in any political activities. Anti-government protests have been ramping up around the country since mid-July, with a large rally set to take place at Thammasat University in the capital on September 19 (although Thammasat officials have currently denied permission for the demonstration to…
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Tak immigration officials arrest 30 Burmese migrants and Thai driver
Immigration police in the northern province of Tak have arrested 30 Burmese migrants, along with the Thai driver who tried to drive them back into the Kingdom illegally. Police chief Sompong Chingduang says the Burmese nationals crossed the border via the Moei River and were then picked up by a Thai man, named only as Chinathip. He is accused of…
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160 million baht project to renovate Pattaya beach set to begin by year end
A 160 million baht project to renovate Pattaya beach looks set to begin by the end of this year. Yet ANOTHER renovation project in a long list of makeovers for the city’s naturally slim beachfronts. Talks on the project have been ongoing since September 2019 and, while movement may have stalled for a while due to the Covid-19 ‘interruption’, it…
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Myanmar locksdown parts of Yangon as Covid-19 cases spike
Myanmar is responding to its sudden spike in cases by increasing restrictions and curfews in the largest city Yangon. Burmese health authorities have reported another record daily spike in Covid-19 cases. 261 new infections were reported yesterday taking its overall cases to 2,150. Curbs on entry into Yangon and the Burmese capital Naypyitaw are also now in place. The graph…
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Ships want a shortcut: Studies to start on Thai canal and land bridge
Thailand could actually sliced in half by a canal right across the Malay Peninsula, linking the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand. Proposals have been in the works for hundreds of years, but now the idea is popping up again, and alternatives, as shipping companies try and find ways to cut their costs. The Thai government plans to hold…
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Investigators deciding whether or not to pursue “Boss” charges
Officials at the Department of Special Investigation are considering whether to go after Red Bull heir Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya on charges of reckless driving causing death and cocaine abuse. “The Department of Special Investigation is a department of the Ministry of Justice of Thailand. It operates independently of the Royal Thai Police and is tasked with the investigation of certain…
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Thammasat University officials ban September 19 protest
Thammasat University, once a bastion of democratic voices and student expression, has refused permission for an anti-government protest, set to take place on its Tha Phra Chan campus in Bangkok, on September 19. University officials say they are banning the gathering as organisers have “failed to follow the institution’s guidelines” on hosting political events on campus. Officials are referring to…
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Suicides spike during pandemic, police ask social media influencers for help
Suicides are on the rise in Thailand and some say stress brought on by the coronavirus pandemic contributed to the spike in self inflicted deaths. To help prevent the future suicides, mental health officials are asking social media influencers for help. Over a 6 month span, suicides have spiked by about 20%. 2,551 suicide cases were reported in the first…
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