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 Thailand health insurance that covers chronic conditions: What expats need to know
The Thaiger key takeaways Managing chronic conditions in Thailand requires health insurance that covers specialist visits, medications, tests, and hospital stays. Cigna offers high-coverage plans with access to top hospitals, direct billing, and telemedicine support for convenient long-term care. Expats...
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Mythical creature Naga announced as a symbol of Thai culture
The Cabinet announced yesterday that the mythical creature Naga will be used as a symbol of Thai culture to promote the kingdom’s creative economy. The Prime Minister’s Office spokesperson, Ratchada Thanadirek reported the news to the gathering Thai press pack yesterday that the Cabinet agreed to use the mythical giant serpent, Naga or Phraya Nak in Thai, as a symbol…
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New opportunities for microbreweries in Thailand
Is Thailand set to see a microbrewery renaissance? New regulations are coming into effect today that open the door for small distilleries and breweries. The regulation was published in The Royal Gazette last night and is effective immediately. The new regulations outline rules that loosen restrictions on small breweries and even allow home alcohol distilling for personal use. The new…
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Thailand: The Land of Smiles decoded
Known as the Land of Smiles, Thailand is world-famous for its culture which includes spicy foods, amazing hospitality and exotic practices. But, upon arriving in the kingdom, you may notice that smiles are handed out for almost every situation. If you are thinking that the average person cannot just be that happy about everything, you may be right. A Thai…
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Chiang Mai to have rubber-tyred tram in 2028
The Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) revealed its plans to finish a rubber-tyred tram project in Chiang Mai by 2028. Construction is expected to start in 2025 with a budget of 9.3 billion baht. The Chiang Mai Mass Rapid Transit project was started in 1994 but the MRTA suspended the project to focus on transport in Bangkok. The…
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Famous Pattaya chef serves food to disadvantaged children
A famous Pattaya chef has taken some time out to help those less fortunate than others. Last week at the Father Ray Children’s Village, chef Harlan Goldstein served gourmet hamburgers and cake to 118 children and 32 staff members. Goldstein also handed the children free T-shirts with his name on them. The Father Ray Children’s Village is a home for…
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VIDEO: Pit bull attacks in Pattaya
CCTV footage captured the moment a man’s pet pit bull launched and bit a woman inside a condo building in Pattaya, Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand on Saturday. The pit bull and its owner were about to take the lift when the dog, seemingly out of nowhere, launched at a woman walking past and bit her thigh, causing her an…
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Trains headed to most parts of Thailand now leaving from this Bangkok station
Trains headed toward most parts of Thailand are now leaving Bangkok Bang Sue Grand Station as of today, except eastbound trains. Most long-distance, rapid, and express trains will now terminate at the station. The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) said that tickets for long-distance trains will be available on the southern side of the ground floor. The SRT said that making…
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Thai doctor condemned for livestreaming surgery
A Thai doctor was condemned after he livestreamed a TikTok video while doing surgery in theatre. The Medical Council of Thailand is searching for the identity of the doctor as it appears he has broken the law. A Thai netizen posted a screenshot of the doctor’s live stream on Twitter with a caption that said, “A minute ago, a doctor…
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Ride a ‘floating train’ from Bangkok to the biggest reservoir in Thailand
The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) invites you to ride the ‘floating train‘ from Hua Lamphong Station in Bangkok to Pa Sak Jolasid Dam – Thailand’s biggest reservoir – in Lop Buri province. The rot fai loi nam (train floating on water) will run every Saturday and Sunday for three months, starting on November 5. The train (no.921) will leave Bangkok…
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Thai teen draws backlash for dressing as American serial killer for Halloween
A Thai teen has drawn backlash from netizens after he dressed as an American serial killer for Halloween. The Thai teen dressed as Jeffrey Damer, who murdered and dismembered 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991. Screenshots circled around social media of the teen wearing a white T-shirt with fake blood, with a paper taped to the front of…
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Top 10 nationalities buying condos in Thailand
Thailand’s Real Estate Information Centre (REIC) revealed the top 10 nationalities buying condos in Thailand in the first six months of 2022, with Chinese and Russian investors leading the way. In Thailand, foreigners are permitted to own 49% of the units in any condominium building. The remaining 51% must have Thai ownership. The Inspector-General of the Government Housing Bank and…
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First AI crosswalk in Thailand installed in Nonthaburi
The very first artificial intelligence (AI) Smart Crosswalk was installed in Nonthaburi province near Bangkok. Plans for more AI smart systems at pedestrian crossings are in the pipeline at some high-risk spots in Bangkok. According to a study by the Thai Health Promotion Foundation, almost 90% of vehicles don’t stop at a zebra crossing in Bangkok. Questions on road safety…
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Teacher from Thailand killed in Halloween stampede in Seoul
A 27 year old teacher from Phetchabun province, in north-central Thailand, was among the 156 people killed in a stampede in the Itaewon district in the South Korean capital Seoul on Saturday night. The South Korean nation is mourning the lives of hundreds of people killed in a crush in a nightlife area of Seoul on Saturday night. This morning,…
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Dishonest taxi driver keeps 70,000 baht found in his cab
A passenger filed a complaint to the police against an alleged dishonest taxi driver in Samut Prakarn province near Bangkok after he refused to return the 70,000 baht he found in the cab back to its owner. The taxi driver asked his friend to pretend the cash was hers and kept the money for himself. The passenger, 43 year old…
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Norwegian man arrested for stealing taxi from Krabi Airport in southern Thailand
Thai police did a double take yesterday afternoon when they saw a Norwegian man driving a taxi out of Krabi International Airport in southern Thailand. The thief made the police chase easy by stopping at a convenience store to buy a drink, where he was arrested and detained. At 3.30pm, officers from Huai Yot Police Station in Trang province received…
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Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend APEC summit in Bangkok, Thailand
Chinese President Xi Jinping has confirmed his attendance at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Bangkok next month, according to Thai government spokesperson Don Pramudwinai. Don told the media today that President Xi had officially confirmed his attendance as a “special guest” at the summit as China is not an APEC member state. Other “special guests” who have confirmed…
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Plastic cup found in stomach of dead Bruda whale in Phuket, Thailand
A dead Bruda whale was found floating in Laem Sai Bay to the south of Koh Racha, Phuket province, southern Thailand, on Saturday. Thailand’s Department of Marine and Coastal Resources conducted an autopsy on the 13 metre whale, which raised more questions than answers. On Saturday, the department sent out boats to inspect the carcass of a female Bruda whale.…
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Thai officers uncover police corruption & drug use
Several Thai officers from the Lad Yao Police Station in the central province of Nakhon Sawan sent a letter to the Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police (RTP), Torsak Sookwimon, revealing mass corruption and drug-related activities in their department. Last Saturday, October 29, Thai media reported that a non-commissioned police officer from Lad Yao Police Station sent five complaints…
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Royal Caribbean Cruises to dock weekly in Phuket, Thailand
Earlier this month, Royal Caribbean’s Spectrum of the Seas cruise ship docked in Phuket, southern Thailand, for the first time in several years. At an event in Phuket yesterday, Royal Caribbean revealed that the Spectrum would be visiting Phuket once a week in the coming months. Phuket is a ‘core destination’ on Royal Caribbean’s four- to seven-night Southeast Asia cruises,…
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Thailand to experience total lunar eclipse during Loy Krathong Festival
Thailand’s annual Loy Krathong Festival will be even more magical than usual this year as a total lunar eclipse will grace the sky on the same day, making the moon appear brick red, according to the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT). The total lunar eclipse will take place on the same day as Loy Krathong Festival on November…
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Thai-Scottish man swims 30 kilometres to and from an island in southern Thailand
A half-Thai half-Scottish man made headlines in Thai media this weekend after swimming 30 kilometres from Ao Nang beach in Krabi province, southern Thailand, to Poda Island and back again. The 26 year old “merman,” Siranat, swam from Thailand’s West coast to Poda Island and back on Saturday. He said it took over six hours in total. Siranat posted pictures…
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Thai man cooks and eats wild snapping turtle that bit his finger
Yesterday, a Thai man attempted to capture a wild snapping turtle from a river in Kanchanaburi province in western Thailand. The feisty turtle bit the man’s middle finger and wouldn’t let go, causing a serious injury. When the injured man returned from the hospital, he cooked and ate the turtle for dinner. Rescue workers rushed to Tha Maka district yesterday…
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Murderer surrenders after stabbing wrong man in Phuket
A murderer surrendered to police after stabbing a man to death in front of a grocery store in Phuket on Saturday. The killer claimed that he stabbed the wrong person, thinking that the man he murdered was his enemy. The alleged murderer, 35 year old Pannawit, stabbed 49 year old Charoen Panngen on Saturday morning in front of a shopping…
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Thailand is not ‘selling off’ the country by letting foreigners buy land, says govt
The Thai government is defending its plan to allow foreign investors to buy up to one rai of land after an opposition party claimed that they are “selling off” the country. Foreign land ownership in Thailand comes with strict conditions and the plan will benefit the country’s economy, a government spokesperson said yesterday. The Cabinet recently voted to allow four…
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Anti-graft agency to seize Joe Ferrari estate
Former chief of police Thitisan “Joe Ferrari” Utthanaphon will have his assets seized after he was charged by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) for having riches beyond his pay grade. The NACC found Ferrari guilty of “being unusually rich” and proposed his estate worth 1 billion baht would be confiscated, reported Bangkok Post. The NACC will forward its finding to…
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US in Asia: President Biden to ASEAN meeting, VP Harris to APEC
Top US officials are set to visit Southeast Asia, with US President Joe Biden joining the ASEAN summit in Cambodia next month, and Vice President Kamala Harris heading to Bangkok for an APEC meeting. The White House has now confirmed that Biden will join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for their meeting on November 12 and 13. Harris…
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Thailand hits 7 million international tourists
Thailand’s tourism has hit another milestone. As of October 26, the kingdom witnessed 7,349,843 international tourists arriving, surpassing the 7 million mark. It’s put the country within its goal range set by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) of 7 to 10 million visitors for 2022. The TAT announced that over 7 million tourists have arrived since January 1 in…
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Thailand ladyboy – Facts You Never Know about Ladyboy Culture in Thailand
Thailand ladyboy – Facts You Never Know about Ladyboy Culture in Thailand When looking for an exotic vacation, one of the countries that come to mind most often is Thailand. This Asian country has a lot to offer its guests: its abundance of magnificent temples with gigantic statues of the Buddha, the natural resources available for everyone to explore, its…
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Puffing Israeli passenger puts Bangkok flight at risk
An Israeli passenger caused a small fire on an El Al flight from Tel Aviv to Bangkok yesterday. The plane was in mid-flight at the time of the incident and continued on its path as planned until it landed in Bangkok, despite the fire. The nicotine-addicted passenger had been unable to resist a fly puff on an illegal cigarette in…
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Palang Pracharath Party could be dissolved, ex-acting PM banned
The fallout continues after a drug bust at a karaoke venue in Bangkok revealed that the owner had previously donated 3 million baht to the Palang Pracharath Party. Now, the political party may face dissolution due to accepting what is believed to be “grey money” donations, with top officials being banned from politics. Former election commissioner Somchai Srisutthiyakorn said that…
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