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 Thailand vs. the West: What expats save on healthcare each year
Healthcare in Thailand is much cheaper than in Western countries, making it a great choice for expatriates looking for affordable medical care. Both public and private healthcare options offer high-quality services, with savings of up to 80% on procedures like...
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Dead dugong, dolphin found off southern Thai beaches
PHOTO: Manoch Wongsuryrat A three-metre long dugong has been found dead off the coast of Trang in southern Thailand. The total number of dead dugong found this year has reached seven, according to the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources when they spoke to Thai PBS. Fishermen found the mammal and towed it ashore for veterinarians to examine. The dugong…
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German arrested in Phetchabun on Interpol warrant
A 43 year old German man, Sacha Durst, wanted in Germany for fraud and document forgery, has been arrested in the province of Phetchabun, central Thailand, according to Immigration Bureau chief Pol Lt-General Sompong Chingduang. Following a request from their German counterparts, Thai police arrested Sacha Durst who had reportedly been laying low in Thailand since 2015, at a resort in…
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Petition pushing for Prayut’s disqualification as Cabinet member handed to Constitutional Court
PHOTO: The Nation Lower House speaker, Chuan Leekpai, has forwarded a petition to the Constitutional Court calling for the disqualification of PM General Prayut Chan-o-cha as a Cabinet member. The petition, signed by 101 MPs, was handed to Chuan by opposition Pheu Thai Party member Chonlanan Srikieo. The petition suggests that Prayut does not qualify as a Cabinet member, according to…
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PM orders local officials to help Khlong Dan flood victims in Samut Prakhan
The Prime Minister has ordered officials to assist residents in a riverside community which was flooded by a high tide surged through a dike being constructed in Samut Prakhan last night. A deputy government spokesman said that the sudden flooding in the community of about 50 households at Khlong Dan, Bang Bo district, was not caused by the collapse of…
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New Cabinet list submitted for royal approval
The list of Cabinet members has been submitted for royal endorsement, according to Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam. He was speaking after presiding over the opening of Thailand Social Expo 2019 at Impact Muang Thong Thani. Wissanu declined to give further details, saying that any media questions regarding the matter should be directed to PM Prayut Chan-o-cha. He explained to the…
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Thai travel agents post figures showing a drop of 11.5% in inbound traffic
Travel bookings have dropped by 11.46% during the first six months of the year. For the first six months of 2019 the Association of Travel Agents’ member companies handled 2,786,204 customers. That translates into a real loss of 360,470 clients for inbound travel agents based on the turnover of guests at Bangkok’s two gateway airports, Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang. The data is…
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Gulf waters flood into Samut Prakan coastline
High tides last night led to upper Gulf waters flowing over an embankment and flooding the homes of irrigation officials and a nearby community at Samut Prakan, south of Bangkok. Samut Prakan governor Chatchai Uthaiphan says he dispatched officials to help evacuate local residents adding the water was about one-metre high and that officials had helped relocate elderly people and…
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Competition to name dugong calf in Phuket
PHOTO: กรมทรัพยากรทางทะเลและชายฝั่ง The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources in Phuket is inviting members of the public to participate in a contest to name an orphaned baby dugong, found stranded on a beach in Krabi. The dugong calf is now under the care of DMCR vets to save rare marine animals in Phuket. Jatuporn Buruspat, the department’s director-general visited the…
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Thai Stock Exchange best performer in Asia – first six months
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index shows an increase of 6.8% over previous month up to the end of June, marking it as the best performer in Asia. The SET is up 10.6% from the end of 2018 to 1,730.34 points. The average daily trading value of SET and Market for Alternative Investment in June was 60.53 billion baht…
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Pattaya netizens concerned over dead dolphin found by fishermen
Video of a dead dolphin offshore from the coastal city of Pattaya, east of Bangkok, has upset locals. The video shows the dolphin floating in the waters between Pattaya and Koh Larn in the Gulf of Thailand. The Pattaya Mail reports that the mammal became tangled in a fishing net, with the rope caught in its mouth. The net was cut…
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Koh Larn locals urge Pattaya officials to fix their coastal bridge
“Fix the Koh Larn bridge”. That’s the cry from Koh Larn business owners as they demand Pattaya municipal officials to attend to the repair of the Tien Beach bridge. They complain that it’s close to collapsing. Koh Larn is off the coast of Pattaya in the Gulf of Thailand. Pattaya Mail reports that locals say there have been no lights…
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Bangkok locals cry foul after their Chinese opera performance closed down
Residents in a Bangkok community are complaining about a condo project’s ‘official complaints and the police’s intervention which closed down their traditional staging of Chinese operas at the local Chinese shrine. They say the condominium was opened just a few years ago on Soi Narathiwas Ratchanakharin 14, while their traditions have lasted decades. Earlier this week, a Chinese opera performance…
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‘Mun’ makes landfall as heavy rains head towards Thailand’s northern provinces
The Meteorological Department is warning residents in Thaialnd’s north and north east to brace for heavy for heavy rains influenced by tropical storm ‘Mun’ that made landfall in Vietnam this morning, heading west. In a special warning issued at 5am this morning (Thursday), the department says the storm was over the Gulf of Tonkin at 4am and heading for upper…
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Bangkok’s BTS becoming too expensive for Thai passengers
The ultra-useful BTS network around Bangkok is becoming too expensive for many Thais, and is more expensive than international equivalents. The BTS Skytrain system is already too costly when compared to basic wages in Thailand, according to a recent research paper by the The Thailand Development Research Institute. It says that low-income earners can only afford to pay 11.7 baht…
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Foreigner falls from 11th floor of Pattaya condo
PHOTO: Manager Online An unidentified foreigner has fallen to his death from the 11th floor of a Pattaya condo. Emergency responders were called to View Talay 6 Condo just after 6pm last evening (Wednesday) after condo staff reported that a man had died. They told police that the man, believed to be aged between 30 -40, arrived at the condo inquiring…
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Airbnb estimates direct economic impact in Thailand exceeds 33.8 billion baht
• 80 percent of local Airbnb hosts saying they recommend restaurants and cafes to guests • Airbnb guests saying that 46% of their spending occurs in the neighbourhood where they stay. According to new survey findings and an analysis of internal data released today, Airbnb’s host and guest community generated over 33.8 billion baht in estimated direct economic impact in…
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Ja New thanks those that support him and updates his health
PHOTO: Facebook/Sirawith Seritiwat Thai political activist Sirawith Seritiwat, aka. Ja New, has posted on his Facebook page for the first time since last Thursday’s brutal attack in Bangkok. In the post, typed by a friend, Sirawith says that he was touched by everyone’s kindness, acknowledging the activity relating to his case and calling for justice both inside and outside parliament.…
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TAT reach out to the NY Pride March to attract more LGBT tourists to Thailand
The Tourism Authority of Thailand is reaching out to the US LGBT community to help broaden Thailand’s tourism base and attract more travellers. The TAT sent a contingent to New York’s annual pride parade, held on World Pride Day, to lure more tourists to the Kingdom. The parade was held last Sunday. TAT are using the branding “Go Thai Be…
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British tourist drowns at Phuket’s Surin Beach, son in hospital
A British tourist, from Hong Kong, has drowned at Surin beach in Phuket yesterday but his son was saved thanks to the quick actions of a local beachgoer. Choeng Thalay police were alerted at 3pm that a foreign tourist had drowned and another was injured. When police arrived 24 year old Wan Chun Tat had already been rushed to the…
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British expat catches world’s biggest carp in Thailand
PHOTO: Bournemouth News 42 year old John Harvey from the UK has caught a fish that was THAT big! The world’s largest carp was a Siamese carp weighing 232lbs (105 kilograms). It beats the old record by 10lbs (4.5 kilograms). John was fishing at the Palm Tree Lagoon at Chedi Hak, just west of Bangkok. The property investor from the UK…
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A drop in demand leaves Bangkok with a glut of completed new condos
A parliament of owls? A murder of crows? A flock of geese? But what’s the collective noun for a lot of available new condo developments in Bangkok? A glut of Condos? As Thailand’s economy is hit by the double whammy of fallout from US-China trade wars and lingering political instability, stricter mortgage-lending rules are also kicking in creating a buyer’s market in…
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2 killed, 4 others injured in south Thailand bombings and shootings
PHOTO: Thai PBS A Thai para-military ranger and a local villager were killed, along with three other rangers and another villager who were wounded in two related incidents in the forests of Yala, southern Thailand, this morning. A team of para-military rangers was dispatched to the forest in Ban Kuwing, Village 6 of Tambon Baroh after they received a report…
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89 year old Trang grandmother raped by 71 year old neighbour
PHOTOS: Daily News A 71 year old man in Trang has been arrested after confessing to raping an 89 year old neighbour. Daily News reports that Palian police arrived to find that the woman’s granddaughter, Naphawan, had already taken matters into her own hands and beaten up Yap Chaiphak. She admitted to police that she had hit Yap repeatedly with…
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Khon Kaen school evacuated over fears building ‘near collapse’
More than 100 teachers and students have been evacuated from a Khon Kaen school in the north-east. The evacuation was sparked by fears the 40 year old building may collapse. The Ban Lao Nadi School in Khon Kaen’s Muang district was evacuated this morning along with school furniture and teaching materials. Khon Kaen Primary Educational Service Area Office 1 deputy…
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Former OrBorTor President in Phang Nga, and accused pedophile, flees
The former OrBorTor President in Tung Maprao, Tai Muang district in Phang Nga, Suppasak ‘Sak’ Pokaboot, has reportedly fled from his house after having resigned from his position following grave allegations of pedophilia and incriminating video evidence this week. The police went to speak to Suppasak this morning and found that the house was locked. There were a few workers outside…
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Sukhumvit Gallery showcases images from a bygone era in Bangkok
The Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit has launched a photo gallery and Artistic Afternoon Tea themed around Sukhumvit’s rich history. The new photo gallery, in one of Bangkok’s most culturally diverse areas, is giving guests a glimpse into another era with a permanent exhibition on the history of Bangkok’s most important boulevards – Sukhumvit Road. Sukhumvit Gallery, located on the fourth…
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Bank of Thailand tackles surging Thai Baht
In attempts to exert some pressure on the Thai Baht control levers, the Bank of Thailand says it’s scaling back the auction size of short-term bonds. The actions are an attempt to curb the rapid surge of the Thai Baht which hit a six-year high last Monday. The central bank has announced that the reduction of short-term bond supply is…
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‘No problems’ in the Palang Pracharat Party – Thai PM
Move on, nothing to see here… The Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says there is no problem in the Palang Pracharat party which would warrant his intervention. Asked yesterday by waiting reporters whether he will step in to address conflicts in the coalition alliance, caused by the Palang Pracharat’s ‘Sam Mitr’ faction’, the PM snapped back “What problem? No problem.” Interior…
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24 year old woman dies after mysterious electrocution from Bangkok noodle van
PHOTO: Nonthaburi News Association A woman has died after being allegedly electrocuted by a noodle food truck in Nonthaburi’s Bang Yai district last night (Tuesday). The Bang Yai police station learnt that a woman had apparently been electrocuted in front of Soi Bang Lane 23/4 in Tambon Bang Lane around 9pm. The victim has been identified as 24 year old Nipada…
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Fast and Furious filming in Krabi – production begins
The cameras started rolling this week in Krabi as production continues on the latest in the Fast & Furious movie franchise. Filming kicked off for Fast & Furious 9 in a palm plantation in the southern province – and why not, there’s plenty of them. There was a strong security contingent protecting the actors and the plot line, although Krabi…
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