Thailand News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, and lifestyle—get breaking updates from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond. Stay informed on Thai society, economy, tourism, and expat life with The Thaiger.
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Sponsored How to reduce out-of-pocket medical expenses in Thailand?
Managing medical expenses in Thailand is important as healthcare costs continue to rise. The country’s healthcare system includes both public and private options, but even with the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) for citizens, many still face high out-of-pocket medical expenses....
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Bolt vs Win motorbike taxi gang violence continues in Pattaya
Violence between rivalling motorbike taxi operators continues in Pattaya, eastern Thailand, where three ‘Win‘ drivers were injured after being beaten with a baseball bat and an iron bar, allegedly by Bolt drivers. Yesterday evening, a brawl broke out between three Bolt drivers and three Win drivers at Thappraya Soi 7, South Pattaya, Bang Lamung district, Chon Buri province, near Jomtien…
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Huge waves in the southern Thai sea destroys beach and 200 palm trees
Thap Sakae Beach and 200 palm trees in the southern province of Prachup Khiri Khan were devastated as huge waves battered its shoreline yesterday morning. According to Thap Sakae sub-district chief Maria Phaopratarn, the waves and wind at Thap Sakae Beach in the southern province of Prachup Khiri Khan were unusually strong yesterday morning and began to subside around 4pm.…
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Fugitive Thaksin reveals his forthcoming return to Thailand, again
Thaksin Shinawatra, former prime minister, fugitive from justice and dynastic overlord, has spoken of his coming return to Thailand, and how it will happen without help from Pheu Thai or the ruling Palang Pracharath Party. The saviour’s coming will be announced by daughter Paetongtarn, herself an aspirant PM. The latest of many declarations on his forthcoming return to Thailand came…
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Thai man mistakes friend for wild boar and shoots him dead
A Thai man shot dead his best friend in the forest in Lampang province in northern Thailand yesterday morning. Distraught, the gunman said he thought his friend was a wild boar. At 7am, officers from Mae Tha Police Station were informed of a fatal shooting in the forest on the mountain in Wan Ngern subdistrict. At the scene, officers found…
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Longtail boat sinks in Thailand: Pregnant Malay woman and child die, 2 survive
A longtail boat carrying a family of Malaysian tourists sank off the coast of Krabi province in southern Thailand yesterday. A 36 year old pregnant woman and her six year old child died while the father and Thai boat operator survived with the help of a local fisherman. A young fisherman, 21 year old Warit Changmin, went out fishing for…
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Bank of Thailand increases interest rates, again!
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of Thailand insists that it had to hike its policy interest rate by 0.25% to 1.50% yesterday for the fourth consecutive time to curb high inflation. MPC Committee Secretary Piti Disyatat reported that the committee was unanimous in its decision. “Under a gradual policy normalisation, rate hikes could take place for a…
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Thai livestock department hits back at rumours of fake Chinese eggs
Thailand’s Department of Livestock is hitting back against rumours that the country is importing fake eggs from China. This is after a video went viral on social media showing a factory in China that makes ‘century eggs.’ The video’s text says the Chinese delicacy can be made with a variety of eggs including duck, chicken, or quail eggs. It then…
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Thailand beats foreign arrivals goal for 2022
Thailand has reportedly beaten its goal for foreign arrivals in 2022 after seeing a total of 11.15 million tourists enter the country last year. Initially, the kingdom had set a goal for 10 million tourists to arrive in 2022. But, as the world opened up after the Covid-19 pandemic, the country saw a significant jump in arrivals compared to 2021’s…
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Thai police swiftly arrest thief who robbed German tourist
Netizens are praising the work of police in Sukhothai in central Thailand for tracking down and arresting a thief who robbed a German tourist in just 30 minutes and reuniting her with all of the stolen items. Not only did police crack the case, but one investigating officer interrogated the thief and posted the video on his TikTok account earlier today.…
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2 Chinese tourists injured after fight at bar in Chiang Mai
Two Chinese citizens were injured after two groups of Chinese tourists brawled at the end of a boxing match at a bar in Chiang Mai. The fight also caused a heavy backlog of traffic near Tha Phae Gate. Members of the Ruamlanna Chiang Mai Rescue Association rushed to the bar on Loi Kroh Road near Chiang Mai Old City after…
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Thailand promotes tourism with subsidies, vouchers nationwide
Thailand is promoting tourism by offering rate subsidies on hotels and food vouchers at participating businesses nationwide. According to Bangkok Post, the Thai Cabinet approved a budget of 3.95 billion baht to stimulate tourism, which includes 2.02 billion baht set aside for food-tour vouchers and room discounts of up to 40%. Under the government’s “We Travel Together” campaign, 560 hotel…
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Thai netizens predict lucky lottery numbers based on diamond eye cat
Thai netizens are predicting lucky lottery numbers based on an unusual cat with a diamond eye. TikTok clips that went viral today show the cat’s peculiar, piercingly bright left eye. Some netizens predicted lucky numbers for the February 1 lottery based on the TikTok user’s name, @user3026088746242. They have also predicted numbers associated with cats, mainly four, eight, and seven. Many…
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Leopard undergoes successful surgery in Thailand
Veterinarians successfully removed a large tumour from a leopard‘s face in Suphan Buri province in central Thailand yesterday. The big cat is recovering well from the surgery. Officials from the Bueng Chawak Non-Hunting Area reported that a 15 year old male leopard named Tree, weighing 51.5 kilogrammes, was operated on yesterday at the Bang Chawak Wildlife Management Centre. Tree was…
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Mother drowns in Pattaya pond where she previously ‘heard a voice’ (video)
A mother tragically drowned in a Pattaya pond on Monday night. The woman, 49 year old Amnuay Khemram, had gone into the pond twice in the past after she heard a voice telling her to walk into it, according to her son, 26 year old Thammarong Khemram. Thammarong said his mother went missing from their home at 11am on Monday.…
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Thai Cabinet approves electricity bill discounts over next four months
The Thai Cabinet has approved electricity bill discounts over the next four months for more than 19 million households. According to the Bangkok Post, the discounts will span from the remainder of this month (January) to April, 2023. Deputy Secretary-General to the prime minister, Anucha Burapahaisri, says the discounts have been approved to help with the high power tariff. Households…
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Monkeys in central Thailand being trafficked abroad
A caretaker of the Khao Nor Temple in the central province of Nakhon Sawan urges authorities to investigate wildlife traffickers after the temple’s monkeys disappeared and over 50 tranquillizer darts were discovered in the area. Khao Nor Temple is a popular attraction among domestic tourists. Thais usually visit the area to climb the limestone mountain inside the temple and enjoy…
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Thai police seize 1.1 tonnes of crystal meth in just one week
Southeast Asia‘s synthetic drugs trade is booming with Thai police seizing over one tonne of crystal meth (“Ice”) in just one week. Police displayed the fruits of their hard work – 1.145 tonnes of seized methamphetamine disguised as Chinese tea – at the Narcotics Suppression Bureau in Bangkok yesterday. The crystal meth was produced in neighbouring countries and smuggled into…
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Sawasdee by AoT app adding e-payment, calendar
The “Sawasdee by AoT” app is continuing to grow, with new features stretching outside the scope of airports. Sky ICT, an aviation technology firm, announced that it will be adding an e-payment feature to the app by April. Sawasdee by AoT now includes 64 active features and growing. Coming next? The payment feature and tourism calendars for different popular regions.…
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Thailand Film Office reports record-breaking year for Thai movie industry
The Thailand Film Office (TFO) reported 2022 was a record-breaking year for the Thai movie industry despite a sluggish start to the new calendar year because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The TFO compiled a list of impressive statistics for filming foreign movies in the Land of Smiles for 2022. It recorded that film crews shot 348 different types of movies…
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Lifeguards save foreign tourist from drowning in Pattaya
Tragedy was avoided on Jomtien beach in Pattaya, eastern Thailand, yesterday thanks to the expert skills of Pattaya City lifeguards who acted quickly to save a foreign tourist from drowning. At 3pm, the Sawang Boon Rescue Foundation was informed that a foreign tourist was dragged out of the sea unconscious near the entrance of Soi 16 at Jomtien Beach in…
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Officials remove fence from Phuket beach following complaints
There’s been another incident involving a business allegedly encroaching on a Phuket beach. Officials removed a fence from Kamala Beach following several complaints that the fence encroached upon the beach. The business accused of encroaching on the beach is a beach bed operator. Law enforcement officers inspected the area where the operator was ordered to remove the fence from the…
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Russian tourists spot foreigner’s body floating off Pattaya beach
Russian tourists spotted a foreigner’s body floating off a Pattaya beach as they were sunbathing on Monday. A hotel clerk said the tourists rushed to tell him to call the police after they discovered the body floating in the sea. Pattaya Police and rescuers arrived to retrieve the man’s body at Wong Amat Beach in front of Soi 16 in…
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Thailand VIP packages offered on Chinese e-commerce platform Taobao
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) insists no VIP service packages or fast passes have been made available for purchase in China despite a Thai travel blogger revealing that those services and elite visas are indeed available to buy on the Chinese e-commerce platform Taobao. Thai police are already under fire over the scandalous video of three police officers escorting…
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Thief leaves an apology note in Chiang Mai, Thailand
A thief stole over 12,000 baht from an electrical appliances store in Chiang Mai province in northern Thailand on Sunday morning and left behind a note apologising for his crime. CCTV footage captures a masked assailant, a man estimated to be around 30 years old, breaking into an electrical appliance store next to Wat Tha Mai-i Temple in Chiang Mai’s…
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Locals point out dangerous railway crossing in central Thailand
More than 50 people gathered to point out the dangers presented by a railway crossing in the Photaram district of Racha Buri province, central Thailand, this morning. Firstly, the crossing has no automatic barriers or lights to warn cars or pedestrians when a train is coming. Secondly, the “slope” up to the crossing is so poorly constructed that even pickup…
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SRT plans to buy new train engines after viral video reveals new station swirling in smoke
The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) announced plans to buy new engines for its trains after a viral video showed Bangkok’s new central train station swirling with smoke and air pollution. Banpong Station’s YouTube channel released a video on Thursday, January 19 of the new Bangkok Aphiwat Central Station full of smoke. The video caption said… “The first express train…
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“A Night to Remember: Witness the Magic of Brighton College Bangkok’s ‘Grease’ Performance”
SPONSORED Brighton College Bangkok held a special event to celebrate the release of the hit musical movie Grease. The school hosted a viewing of the iconic film and a live performance of the musical, allowing students to experience the movie in a new and exciting way. The event was a great success, with students of all ages enjoying the show.…
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Thai woman pays to save pig from slaughter, plans to give it to temple
A Thai woman paid to save a pig from being slaughtered yesterday and plans to give the pig to monks at a temple. The pig reportedly fell off the back of a lorry in the central Nakhon Nayok province on its way to be slaughtered. After the pig fell off the truck, it made its way to the car park…
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Thailand’s Surat Thani Airport welcomes chartered flight from Taiwan
A chartered Thai Lion Air flight carrying 143 tourists from Taiwan landed at Surat Thani Airport in southern Thailand yesterday. It was the first chartered flight to land on the airport’s runway in three years. Surat Thani Governor Wichawut Jinto welcomed passengers on flight SL-7391 from Taipei yesterday evening, handing out flower garlands and gifts to tourists to celebrate the…
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DLT increases fines for motorists who fail to stop at zebra crossings
The Department of Land Transport (DLT) increased the fine for motorists failing to stop at a zebra crossing from 1,000 baht to 4,000 baht. The DLT will also deduct one point from an offender’s driving license. A survey conducted last year by the Thai Health Promotion Foundation, and the Thai Roads Foundation, revealed that almost 90% of vehicles in Bangkok…
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