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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Druggie arrested after inviting netizens to take crystal meth
A man off his head on crystal meth was arrested six hours after he posted a video of himself using the crazy drug, also known as Yaba, on social media and invited others to try it. The confused druggie said he wanted to promote crystal meth on social media just once in his life even if it is illegal to…
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E-San Music Festival draws thousands to northeast Thailand this weekend
E-san Music Festival returns for a 10th time in Khon Kaen province in northeast Thailand this weekend. At least 100,000 people are expected to attend. The hippie festival, dubbed “Thailand’s Woodstock,” draws Thais and foreign tourists to Khon Kaen year-in-and-year-out. Usually, E-san Music Festival is held at the province’s giant Ubonratana Dam in the Phu Wiang district. However, the dam…
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Man savaged to death by his pet wild boar
A 68 year old man was savaged to death by his pet wild boar. The boar was later shot dead by the victim’s neighbour after the beast tried to carry out another attack. A neighbour notified police that the victim, Amnuay Suriwong, was attacked by the wild boar in the Ang Thong sub-district of Kampaengphet province. Amnuay was already dead…
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14 computer hackers arrested for spamming over 115 govt sites with gambling ads
Fourteen computer crooks were arrested yesterday after hacking into 115 government websites and spamming them with online gambling advertising banners. The Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD), under the Royal Thai Police, discovered last month that dozens of government websites had been spammed with illegal gambling websites. More than 50 gambling websites were spotted on 115 official websites. Most of the…
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Hua Hin International Jazz Festival coming up
The Hua Hin International Jazz Festival is coming up, with more than 30 artists from around the world en route to perform at the renowned tourism hotspot. Several local artists and bands will also be performing. The festival will be held from December 2-3 on Suan Son Pradit beach, in front of the Seapine Recreation Centre. Musicians will perform from…
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Pattaya International Fireworks Festival 2022 starts today
Pattaya International Fireworks Festival 2022 will illuminate the skyline of Central Pattaya Beach tonight and tomorrow. The festival in Pattaya presents several amazing fireworks displays from countries including Belgium, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Canada. Visitors can sit and enjoy the event along the beach from 7.30pm onward. Beach beds are available at an affordable 50 baht each while restaurants along…
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Mainland researcher writes that Chinese created Egyptian civilisations and then deletes it after backlash
A Chinese mainland researcher is garnering backlash after penning an article stating that his country created Egyptian civilisations. The article has caused an online backlash, prompting him to delete it amid triggering a formal investigation. Senior researcher, Yu Ruijun, at the Culture and Tourism Bureau of Zhangjiakou city in Hebei province, claimed that there was “a great deal of evidence…
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Wanted murderer arrested in Thailand after 11 years on the run
A man wanted for the murder of his former mother-in-law has been arrested by police in Nakhon Ratchasima province in northeast Thailand after 11 years on the run. After shooting dead his mother-in-law, he physically assaulted his ex-wife until she was seriously injured and kidnapped their two year old before dumping the young child in the middle of the road.…
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Greenpeace join fishers’ campaign to save Thailand’s mackerel
Greenpeace has joined a campaign to save Thailand’s mackerel from extinction. The Canadian-based independent campaigning group reported that Thai mackerel today is not as abundant and cheap as it was before because of years of unregulated overfishing. As a consequence, the fish sold in the markets are getting smaller, most of it is imported from other countries, and many believe…
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UK stops instalment of Chinese cameras in government buildings over security risks
The UK is stopping the instalment of new Chinese-made cameras in government buildings citing security risks. Such Chinese companies may be subjected to China’s security laws, with Britain advising to disconnect them from core computer networks. According to The Straits Times, the government furthered that such cameras should be removed altogether in a written statement to Parliament. Cabinet Office minister…
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High-risk drivers to get full access to Tesla’s driver assistance system
High-risk drivers in North America are now allowed full access to Tesla’s controversial driver-assistance system in a move that has some questioning the company’s intentions. Previously, the feature was only approved for buyers who were considered safe drivers, whatever that means, in North America, but now it is available to all. CEO Elon Musk says the Full Self-Driving (FSD) Beta…
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‘Fake’ seed blamed for Thailand’s disgrace in rice Olympiad
“Fake” seed has been blamed for Thailand’s embarrassing second place in last week’s international rice Olympiad in Phuket. Following national humiliation at the hands of Cambodian farmers, a government investigation into the disaster blamed “fake seed” for the disgrace. Natthakit Khongthip, the man carrying the can for the catastrophe, on Thursday described the offending seed behind Thailand’s national as “inauthentic.”…
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THAI & Bangkok Airways ordered to fix chaotic delayed luggage, or else!
Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob warned Thai Airways and Bangkok Airways to swiftly deal with the delayed luggage problem at the kingdom’s airports within one month otherwise he will replace their baggage handlers with another company. Saksayam visited Suvarnabhumi Airport yesterday to follow up on complaints of crowded terminals, long queues at the taxi service counter, passport check-in counter lines, and…
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Thai Airways increases flights to Singapore
Next month, Thai Airways will increase its Bangkok – Singapore roundtrip frequency from 21 times per week to 28 times per week. The extra flights will help meet the high demand during the festive season. Commencing December 12, THAI’s Bangkok – Singapore service will run four times every day as follows… Flight TG403 will leave Bangkok at 8am and land…
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Polish tourist killed in Phuket vehicle crash
A Polish tourist was tragically killed in a vehicle crash in Phuket’s town of Kamala yesterday. The 69 year old man crashed his motorbike into a taxi car on Patong Road. Rescuers dashed to the scene to find the man lying on the road, having sustained severe head injuries. The taxi car and the motorbike were both damaged. The taxi…
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Cheating husband says he ‘didn’t mean to’ shoot wife in head in southern Thailand
UPDATE Southern Thailand gangster Mack Tung Jin told police that he “never intended” to shoot his wife in the head in Nakhon Si Thammarat province on Sunday. He said it was an accident. Police arrested 30 year old Mack the next day at a resort in Krabi province, accompanied by a 17 year old girl, and detained him for questioning.…
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Farmer sets car on fire and drives into government building in northeast Thailand
A farmer from Buriram province in northeast Thailand put five gallons of gasoline in his truck, set it on fire with fireworks, and drove it into Buriram Legal Execution Office yesterday. He says his wife’s land was wrongfully seized and sold at auction and no one will help him get justice. At around 11am, 58 year old Manop from Phutthaisong…
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Man charged with murder of a transwoman found dead in canal
A male delivery rider was arrested in connection with the dead transwoman found in a canal in Pathum Thani province yesterday and charged with murder. If found guilty he could face the death penalty. The identity of the transwoman’s body, which was found in the Song Canal yesterday, was confirmed as 29 year old Piyada Sorrakun. Her mobile phone, a…
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Tourists and seagulls flock to each other at a sandbar in central Thailand
Tourists and seagulls are flocking to each other at a sandbar in central Thailand. At Don Hoi Lot, a sandbar in Samut Songkhram province, crowds of excited tourists are gathering to feed the birds fried chicken and pork skins from 5pm until sunset. Hundreds of seagulls arrived at Don Hoi Lot late last month, according to locals. Tourists are excited…
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Drivers advised to check cars after faulty Takata airbags cause 3 deaths in Thailand
Car drivers in Thailand are being advised to check their airbags after three Thai people were killed and another three were seriously injured by faulty airbags from now-defunct Japanese automotive parts company Takata Corporation. This isn’t a new issue. The first defective airbag accident transpired in 2008 and since then 32 known fatalities have been recorded causing over 100 million…
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Afghanistan’s public floggings remain popular entertainment
Afghanistan’s public floggings have regained their popularity with spectators since becoming more commonplace in recent months. Twelve people, including three women, were flogged in front of a rapt crowd of thousands of onlookers at a football stadium in Afghanistan this week. The convicts had been found guilty of crimes including adultery, robbery and homosexuality, a Taliban official told the BBC.…
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China’s Covid numbers hit record high
The number of Covid-19 cases in China has hit a record high, major news outlets reported today. Yesterday, the country recorded 31,527 cases while Beijing recorded its fourth Covid-related death since last weekend. China’s previous Covid peak had been around 28,000 cases when Shanghai was locked down. Virus cases are being recorded in 31 provinces. Officials have tried to avoid…
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Another Tinder crypto-scammer arrested
Police have arrested another Tinder crypto-scammer, the seventh member of a gang of fraudsters who allegedly dupe people into investing in a fake cryptocurrency scheme using fake profiles on dating apps. Chinese national Baoxun Zhan, 35 years old, was arrested outside the government complex on Chaeng Wattana Road in Thung Song Hong on Wednesday. Zhan will face charges of collusion…
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3 children aged 8 escape a school kidnapping plot in Thailand
Three children in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat escaped a school kidnapping plot. Two suspects, a man and a woman, entered a schoolyard in the Thung Song district of Nakhon Si Thammarat in southern Thailand and tried to snatch three eight year old children. The children, one girl and two boys, told the police and their parents that…
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The 2023 MICHELIN Guide Thailand celebrates 5 new one MICHELIN Star Restaurants
Press Release A total of 441 entries are featured: 6 two MICHELIN Stars, 29 one MICHELIN Star, 189 Bib Gourmand, and 217 recommended venues. Out of 111 new entries, 69 are from four representative cities of Thailand’s Northeast or “Isan” region (Nakhon Ratchasima, Khon Kaen, Ubon Ratchathani, and Udon Thani), newly covered in the 2023 edition. With 2 new additions,…
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Man dies trying to eat a coconut in central Thailand
A Thai man died trying to retrieve a coconut from a palm tree at his home in Samut Sakhon province in central Thailand on Tuesday. Officers from Krathum Baen Police Station and rescue workers from the Ruan Katanyu Foundation travelled to a home in Moo 11 in Om Noi subdistrict to investigate the death of 45 year old Sunthorn from…
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Myanmar junta’s release of political prisoners may not be indicative of a changing mindset
Myanmar’s National Unity Government foreign minister is warning the international community over the recent military’s release of 402 political inmates. Daw Zin Mar Aung’s warning contradicted the ASEAN special envoy for Myanmar’s embracement of the act by saying such a move cannot be regarded as a change in the junta’s mindset. “I would like to warn the international community not…
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Blaze guts foreigner’s car in Phuket
A blaze gutted a foreigner’s car in Phuket’s main city district on Tuesday night. Koh Kaew firefighters rushed to the scene on Number 3013 Road to find the car engulfed in flames. It took the firefighters about 10 minutes to bring the blaze under control. The car was destroyed, but luckily the driver escaped uninjured. The cause of the fire…
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CCTV across Phuket to be integrated as part of “Phuket Crime-Free”
Phuket Governor Narong launched a new initiative earlier this week called “Phuket Crime-Free.” As part of the initiative, Phuket officials are making some innovations on the island province’s CCTV networks. CCTV networks across Phuket will now be integrated into one system. On Tuesday, there was a mass signing of an MoU between agencies and government offices involved. This included 12…
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Thai pro car racer fined 1,000 baht for writing-off Ferrari worth 25 million baht in Bangkok
A skilled professional car racer faces a 1,000 baht fine after smashing a friend’s precious red Ferrari worth 25 million baht (US$695,000) into a tree in Bangkok yesterday. The driver, Nawin “Gaga” Yasri, was sent to hospital with a back injury while the expensive car is a write-off. An officer from Don Mueng Police Station rushed to Phahonyothin Road in…
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