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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Cheapest All You Can Eat Buffet in Thailand | Lumpini Park
You must try this buffet located at Lumpini park in Bangkok, Thailand. Possibly the cheapest all you can eat buffet in Thailand, it has a wide variety of choices to choose from before or after you visit Thailand’s first ever public park. Join Natty and Jay as they try this buffet and visit Lumpini park and show you all it…
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Opposition to foreign land ownership in Thailand
The government scheme to allow foreigners to buy one rai of land may have been met by enthusiasm in the expat community but not everyone has welcomed the idea. The Interior Ministry’s proposal to allow foreigners to own a bit of land if they invest 40 million baht is seen by many as a short-term fix to the kingdom’s economy…
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Children falsely accuse village drunk of murdering 6 year old in central Thailand
Yesterday evening, a 6 year old boy drowned in a lake in Lopburi province in central Thailand. The boy’s 7 year old brother and 5 year old friend told police that an alcoholic man who lives nearby strangled the child and held his body under the water until he died. However, the police’s investigation reveals that the children’s accusation is…
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Happy Birthday to His Royal Majesty King Vajiralongkorn
The Thaiger joins the nation of Thailand in wishing a very happy birthday to His Royal Majesty King Vajiralongkorn as he marks his 70th birthday today. Celebrations have taken place around the kingdom to celebrate the royal milestone as the king becomes a septuagenarian. Born in Bangkok at Ambara Villa, Dusit Palace on this day in 1952, HM the king…
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Thieves rob French millionaire’s house at gunpoint in northeast Thailand
Four thieves armed with guns and knives broke into a French millionaire’s house in the northeastern province of Chaiyaphum in the early hours of Monday morning and robbed millions of baht’s worth of cash and assets. The single-story home in the Noen Sa-nga district is jointly owned by 39 year old Waritsara Poobkhonthot and her French husband Stephane Greco, the…
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Tenfold tourist increase due after Thailand-Saudi route opens
Thailand is expecting a tenfold increase in visitors from Saudi Arabia after the launch of the Bangkok to Jeddah route on August 19. Deputy government spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek estimates that the upcoming launch of the direct air route between the holy city of Mecca and the Kingdom of Thailand’s capital city will push up the number of visitors from 30,000…
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Thai celebs join Olympic Day Walk-Run fun at Pattaya Beach
A number of famous Thai celebrities have signed up to make an appearance at the Olympic Day Walk-Run of 2022 at Pattaya Beach in Chon Buri. The final of the Olympic Day Walk-Run of 2022, which is scheduled to kick off at 6pm on Saturday, September 10, will be attended by Thai actors Phakin “Tono” Khamwilaisak, and Nuttanicha “Nicha” Dungwattanawanich,…
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Elderly man hit with 10,000 baht electricity bill in central Thailand
An 88 year old man from Kamphaeng Phet province in central Thailand couldn’t believe his eyes when his most recent electricity bill amounted to almost 10,000 baht. Family members and neighbours are contesting the bill on behalf of the old man, who had to take out a loan to pay for his electricity this month. Grandpa’s bill from the Metropolitan…
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Public Health Ministry requests, then retracts cannabis crackdown
First, it’s very illegal with harsh punishment, then suddenly it’s legal with no restrictions, then it’s banned for government, military, children, and pregnant women, then it was never intended for recreational use, and then cigarettes containing it will be banned. Now the rollercoaster that is the decriminalisation of cannabis in Thailand took another sharp u-turn as the Ministry of Public…
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Thailand deny Uyghurs deportation to China
Fears Thailand is in the process of deporting asylum-seeking Uyghurs back to China have been denied by the government. News broke yesterday that dozens of Uyghurs from all around Thailand had been rounded up and impounded in a detention facility in Bangkok, raising fears among non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that the government plans to deport them back to China. It sparked…
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Wanted Taiwanese call centre scammer extradited from Albania to Thailand
A Taiwanese man wanted for allegedly scamming Thai victims from a call centre operation in Dubai arrived at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport yesterday afternoon to face Thailand’s justice system after being arrested in Albania in September. Tzu Yuan Kuo – or “Ayen” – was the “deputy leader” of a call centre gang scamming victims in Thailand, Japan and Malaysia from Dubai…
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UPDATE: Body of foreigner found dead in Phuket is US man
UPDATE: The foreigner’s body that was found in waters off Yanui Beach in Phuket’s main city district yesterday morning has been named as US citizen John Joseph Sheridan. The 74 year old’s body was discovered floating in the water after he apparently fell on sharp rocks and bled to death. Fisherman found Sheridan, from Pennsylvania, floating on the rocky part of the shore…
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Irony of mini coup not lost on Thailand’s Interior Minister
The irony doesn’t appear to be lost on Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda that there was something of a mini coup against him from within his party at last week’s censure debate. Gen Anupong, of course, is one of the three generals at the centre of the military coup which took place in Thailand in May 2014 along with Prime Minister…
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Thailand’s cannabis cottage industry set to fly high
Yesterday, Thailand’s Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul once again defended his decision to decriminalize cannabis. Calls to reverse or suspend the legislation, by physicians, doctors, universities, and religious groups, fell on deaf ears and hundreds of new cannabis-related businesses in the kingdom breathed a sigh of relief. The decriminalization of the drug on June 6 has led to something of…
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8 common problems for Thai consumers addressed
Scam calls and texts, being cheated, pricy expenses… everything isn’t always rosy in the Land of Smiles. Now, the Thailand Consumers Council has drawn up a list of eight typical real-life issues that are decreasing the quality of life for consumers in the country. During a meeting with the Senate Committee on Human Rights, Rights and Liberty, and Consumers Protection…
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Was the Nigerian man the real first monkeypox case in Thailand?
The head of the Centre for Medical Genomics at Ramathibodi Hospital has addressed what many have questioned in the wild case of the Nigerian man who was diagnosed in Phuket with monkeypox and then fled to Cambodia. This first confirmed case of monkeypox in Thailand was likely contracted inside of the country, suggesting earlier, unidentified cases. The Nigerian man arrived…
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Bangkok governor vows to root out government corruption
Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt yesterday revealed he is to introduce five new policies in an attempt to wipe out corruption in the capital. The 56 year old City Hall leader announced the scheme at a press conference sitting alongside members of the Anti-Corruption Organization of Thailand (ACT). Chadchart acknowledged that Bangkok citizens do not fully trust City Hall in issues…
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Emergency Decree extended by cabinet until end of September
The Thai cabinet met yesterday to officially extend the State of Emergency in Thailand, announced earlier this month, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This will be the 19th extension it will prolong the Emergency Decree that was set to expire on July 31, going into effect on August 1 and continuing until September 30. The decree, which was first invoked by…
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Panphet’s mother ‘does not blame’ French Muay Thai fighter for her son’s death
The mother of Muay Thai fighter Panphet Phadungchai says she “does not blame” French Muay Thai fighter Anthony Durand for her son’s death and wants him to keep fighting. Anthony Durand announced his resignation from Muay Thai on Sunday, following the death of his opponent Panphet Phadungchai on Saturday. Panphet was knocked out by Anthony in the fifth round of…
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Pheu Thai Party leader’s car kills woman crossing road
A 77 year old woman in Amnat Charoen died this morning after being hit by a car carrying the Pheu Thai party leader Khathathep Tejadejruangkul. Khathathep was on his way to Ubon Ratchathani Airport to catch a flight to Bangkok where he was scheduled to attend a House meeting. But his driver, 32 year old Sergeant Wirayut Phariwong, hit Pua…
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Thai university researchers test wastewater for monkeypox at Bangkok airport
Sewage at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport is being tested for the monkeypox virus by researchers from Naresuan University in the northern province of Phitsanulok. The tests can detect traces of the virus in wastewater immediately – even before the infected person begins to show symptoms – and could be used as a “budget surveillance measure” to catch and control local outbreaks…
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Nine alleged pedophiles arrested in Northern Thailand
Police yesterday arrested nine alleged pedophile men for having sex with underage girls in Kalasin province. The arrests were part of a bigger sex trafficking and child sexual exploitation operation in Kalasin province, in Northern Thailand. Police from the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division (ATPD) apprehended the suspects in the northeastern province yesterday. The ATPD reported that one of the suspects…
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Mor Prom to transition from Covid to a full healthcare app
Developed and evolved during the pandemic to be an all-purpose Covid-19 centre, the Mor Prom mobile app will now be transitioned into a new life as Thailand’s online health platform. The app was created as a Covid infection tracker, but quickly evolved into a source of coronavirus information, vaccine appointment scheduling and confirming, and a communication tool for the government…
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Samut observation tower to finally open after 10 years
Construction work in Bangkok is historically slow, whether it is burying cables underground, opening new roads, or, in this case, the reopening of Samut Prakarn Observation Tower. Thirteen years after plans were drawn up and 10 years after construction work began the building will finally open to the public on August 22. Last month, a Facebook page, Must Share, ต้องแฉ…
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Thai influencer suffers 2 years abuse by sex pest security guard
A Thai influencer hopes that two years of being sexually harassed by an obsessive stalker is now over after seeking help from a lawyer. The female influencer, Mintra “Pare” Cheuwangkam, aka Mintan, met a Thai lawyer Ratchapon Sirisakhon, yesterday to discuss two years of hell after being hounded by a security guard with an alleged rape and drugs charge on…
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Royal birthday holiday upcoming July 28-31, and again August 12
We are entering royal birthday season, as this weekend marks July’s second long holiday weekend in celebration of the king’s birthday, followed just two weeks later by the Queen Mother’s birthday. His Royal Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun will celebrate his 70th birthday on Thursday, July 28, prompting a holiday to be extended on Friday to create a four-day holiday…
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Chinese kingpin of transnational call centre gang arrested at Bangkok airport
A Chinese man wanted for trafficking Chinese people across borders to work in call centre gangs in Laos and Cambodia was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok on Saturday. Chief of Police Suwat Chaengyordsook received a call on Friday, July 22, warning him that a Chinese fugitive wanted on an Interpol ‘Red Notice’ would be travelling to Suvarnabhumi Airport in…
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Armed robber makes off with 160,000 baht from Phuket Tesco
Bank robberies are generally violent affairs, with lots of drama, some shots fired, and an injury or death. But this wasn’t the case when a stick-up occurred yesterday afternoon at a Tesco Lotus department store in Phuket. The cheeky armed robber wandered into the store in the Rawai area of Muang district shortly before 1pm and casually made off with…
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Govt wants Thailand to be No.1 in Asian business market by 2027
The Deputy PM and Commerce Minister, Jurin Laksanavisit, has set an ambitious target for Thai brands and businesses to be top of the Asian market by 2027. The Deputy Spokesperson of the PM Office, Ratchada Thanadirek, yesterday reported that Commerce Minister Jurin was working on a project called “Promoting Thai Brands to the World” to develop Thai brands and businesses…
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Thailand says 40 year old smallpox vaccines are effective against monkeypox
Thailand has a stockpile of smallpox vaccines in cold storage which were produced more than 40 years ago in 1979 and 1980. Not only are the vaccines still effective against smallpox, but they are 85% effective against monkeypox too, according to Thailand’s Department of Medical Sciences (DMS). The vaccines could be used in the instance that the global monkeypox outbreak…
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