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 9 most common health issues covered by insurance for expats in Thailand
Thailand is a popular destination for expats due to its affordable lifestyle and excellent healthcare system. However, settling in a new country often brings health concerns. To ensure you’re covered for the most common medical needs, understanding what expat health...
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Motorbike burns to a crisp in Bangkok road accident
A teenager is injured after crashing his motorbike into the barrier on the Vibhavadi Rangsit Road in Bangkok at around 1am. The young man said he bounced off the barrier and was flung more than 10 metres through the air. His red Honda PCX instantly set on fire and burned to a crisp. At around 1am, officers from Vibhavadhi Police…
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Thailand gets into gear with 234 billion baht road investment
The Ministry of Transport got into gear yesterday and agreed to invest in five road construction projects worth about 234 billion baht to make life easier for Thailand’s car owners. The Ministry of Transport signed a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Highways (DH), Department of Rural Roads (DRR), and Expressway Authority of Thailand (Exat), to oversee the first…
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Floods in Buriram, northeast Thailand
Two days of continuous heavy rainfall has caused “the worst floods in 10 years” in parts of Buriram province, northeast Thailand. Heavy rainfall during the early hours of yesterday morning caused flash flooding in Ban Dan district while most people were sleeping. Around 30 houses and restaurants, as well as village roads and agricultural land, have been damaged in the…
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Objections to chemical castration law in Thailand
Objections have been raised to a controversial new law being pushed through by the Thai Senate that allows sex offenders the choice of having their prison sentences reduced if they agree to chemical castration. The Thai Senate approved the bill on Monday but the act hasn’t become law just yet. The legislation was first passed in the Lower House in March…
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SOS & Allianz Ayudhya hungry to feed Thailand
Scholars of Sustenance joined hands with Allianz Ayudhya to launch Thailand’s first Cloud Food Bank in a bid to redistribute over 600 tons of surplus food by the end of the year. Bangkok-based SOS is an international food rescue foundation committed to feeding people suffering from starvation while Allianz Ayudhya is a leading Thai insurance company with a conscience. Globally,…
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Communication cables set fire in Bangkok
At around 7am this morning, communication cables caught fire causing a big blaze in Bangkok. The fire occurred at Soi Lad Phrao 111 in Khlong Chan subdistrict, Bang Kapi district. No injuries were reported. Firefighters from Hua Mak Fire Station received a notification of the fire at 7.21am and rushed to the scene. The firefighters successfully extinguished the fire. When…
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Dead sea turtle with plastic lodged in its throat washes up on Phuket beach
A dead sea turtle with plastic lodged in its mouth and throat washed up on Mai Khao Beach in Phuket yesterday, July 11. Winai Seh-ew, the village chief of Mai Khao subdistrict in Thalang district, received a call from lifeguards at Mai Khao beach to say a big Hawksbill turtle carcass had washed up on the shore. Upon inspection, the…
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Rise in holiday travel matches rise in severe Covid infections
The 5-day holiday weekend is driving up tourism numbers, but there also seems to be a rise in patients with severe Covid-19 infections that the Department of Disease Control says will likely increase from holiday travel. This warning came from the epidemiology director of the DDC, who laid out increases in severe coronavirus infections as well as those who require…
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UPDATE: Woman’s corpse “naked and covered in bite marks” found in northeast Thailand
UPDATE: Today, police arrested the man suspected of murdering his wife, Daeng, whose body was found naked and covered in bite marks at her home in Buriram on Monday. Police detained and arrested Nithipot, aka “Dao” at a relative’s house in Huai Thalaeng district in Nakhon Ratchasima province this morning. Police brought him back to Buriram for questioning at Phutthaisong…
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Vistara launches new nonstop Thailand – India route
Vistara Airlines is launching nonstop flights between Mumbai and Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport 5 times per week, starting next month on August 5. Vistara’s 3 cabin Airbus A320neo aircraft will operate the route on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The new route is the airline’s second service to the Thai capital. In August 2019, Vistara launched direct flights between Delhi…
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Cost of electricity in Thailand could rise to 5 baht per unit by September
Electricity bills in Thailand could become more expensive than ever by September, according to a source at the Office of Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). In the last 4 months of the year, the cost of electricity in Thailand could break the 5 baht per unit barrier for the first time, rising by 90 to 100 satang per unit. The official…
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US$37 billion smart city gets green light in Pattaya
Plans to build a US$37 billion smart city in Chon Buri got the go-ahead yesterday by the Eastern Economic Corridor Policy Committee. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha, who chaired the meeting, revealed the smart dream hub can be realised thanks to public and private investment in automotive, robotics, healthcare and logistics companies. The investment will create about 200,000 jobs and accommodate 350,000…
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Missing Frenchman found drowned at Ko Chang Lonely Beach
The missing body of a Frenchman lost at sea at Koh Chang’s Lonely Beach yesterday was found this morning. The 22 year old Frenchman, identified as Ramkurran, 22, went swimming yesterday with his Spanish girlfriend, Clara Crospo Canellas, and did not return to shore. The 21 year old woman’s dead body was found at about 8.10am floating in the sea…
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Man in northeast Thailand pays 3.9 million baht dowry… for a buffalo
The owner of a “high so” farm in Korat, northeast Thailand, gave a “dowry” of 3.9 million baht – in cash – for a 22 month old male buffalo named Chaoboonterm from Khon Kaen province. The man said he wants to breed the buffalo, which he said is a “textbook” Thai beauty. Supachai Winitphon, aka “Sia Noi” is the owner…
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Bangkok gov’s ’15 Minute Pocket Parks’ set to bloom
Chadchart Sittipunt’s dream of Bangkok being a lean, green, sustainable machine picked up more momentum at the weekend when promoting his “15 Minute Pocket Parks” policy. The Bangkok governor last month invited the public to plant 1 million trees in the metropolis as part of his campaign to make the city greener. Now, the 56 year old intends on expanding…
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Pattaya wants to enact city’s own cannabis-control law
Pattaya’s council is already fed up of waiting for a national cannabis act to be passed, so the city has started to draft its own cannabis-control law. Pattaya’s Deputy Mayor Thitiphan Phettrakul chaired a meeting on Friday to discuss rules and regulations needed to control and prohibit the use of cannabis and hemp, especially in schools. Cannabis was delisted as…
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Driver critical after collision involving 5 vehicles in Phuket
A driver is in critical condition after a collision on a road toward Phuket International Airport involving five vehicles. The 26 year old pickup driver now in a critical state, Inyat Kendphet, tried to overtake a taxi on Don Chom Thao Road in Moo 4, Thepkrasattri, but was unable to move back into his own lane in time to avoid…
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Father & 7 year old son shot as gang warfare erupts in Pattaya
A 7 year old child and his father were shot as gang warfare erupted on the streets of Banglamung district at the weekend. The father and son were caught in the crossfire as two rival gangs of teenagers clashed in a Pattaya neighbourhood on Saturday night. The neck of the boy, Nong Moodaeng, was grazed by a bullet while his…
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Woman’s corpse “naked and covered in bite marks” found in northeast Thailand
Police have launched a murder investigation after a 55 year old woman’s body was found “naked and covered in bite marks” at a house in Buriram province, northeast Thailand, yesterday. The prime suspect in the case so far is the woman’s husband, who mysteriously disappeared around the time of the murder. Officers from Phuttaisong Police Station rushed to a two-story…
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Driver allegedly drunk in fatal car crash in Pattaya
One man died and another was seriously injured yesterday in an alleged drunk-driving incident in the Sri Racha district, between Chon Buri and Pattaya. Driver Somsak Phuchanha was killed instantly after his car crashed into a road barrier causing an electricity pole to collapse onto his vehicle while driving home from a music concert yesterday morning in the Sri Racha…
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A jump in Thailand’s Consumer Confidence Index
Thailand’s economy is slowly but surely making a comeback after being devastated by Covid-19 restrictions. Last week, the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce reported that Thailand’s Consumer Confidence Index had risen. The country’s CCI rose from 40.2 to 41.6 in June, the UTCC said. This news comes after Thailand’s CCI had been in decline for several months. April’s…
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Poll: 92% don’t earn more than their expenses, oil price main factor
A new poll revealed that over 90% of people are not earning more money than their expenses, and that, of all the expenses people are grappling with in the current economy, oil prices are the main factor they say has the greatest effect on their daily lives. The new poll, conducted by the National Institute of Development Administration, saw the…
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Thaiger Charity feat. Bangkok Community Help Foundation
We had the wonderful opportunity to join Bangkok Community Help Foundation to distribute 300 survivor bags that contained food essentials to a community very much in need in On Nut Bangkok. We also had a look into the current living conditions and the garbage re-cycling work they do to make ends meet. With the help of our Thaiger members, viewers…
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Officials say Thailand’s Covid-19 cases to peak in September
Thai officials announced Friday that the number of Covid-19 cases in the country is expected to start rising next week. The CCSA said that in September, the number is expected to hit a peak. The CCSA added, however, that if people follow the Public Health Ministry’s suggestions to avoid crowded spaces and public gatherings, daily infections will start dropping from…
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Indian man arrested for tearing out passport pages to hide Thai trip
We all have secrets from our past, and some may go to great lengths to hide them, especially from their family or their mates. But a man in Pune, India went a little too far when he was arrested for tearing out pages from his passport before getting married to hide trips to Thailand from his wife. The man was…
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Mobile app connects tourists to police & Thai rap song threat to national security | Weekend Update
TAT promotes ‘I Lert U’ mobile app to connect tourists to police, Court bans rap song for being a threat to Thailand’s national security, Thailand tourism: India No.1 country sending tourists and nearly 1 million people approved to grow the green in Thailand. All this and your questions answered on Sundays weekend update.
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Thai woman thought she had found true love, only to end up behind bars.
Fifty year old Chamanun Phetporee thought she had found the love of her life. A man claiming to be a doctor in Afghanistan messaged her on Linkedin in 2019, and sparks flew, at least for Chamanun. She and her new long-distance love, who called himself ‘Dr Andrew Chang’ began to message each other for hours every night. Little did she…
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“I strongly urge the Health Minister to reveal the actual number of new Covid cases” – Thai doctor
A Thai physician is calling out Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health, claiming they are not publishing accurate data on the actual number of Covid-19 infections. He claims that there is a cover up of the real numbers currently being disclosed to the public. The Deputy Minister of Health Dr Sathit Pitutecha claims that the actual number of current infections is…
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Extradition for Nigerian wanted for alleged murder of Thai woman on hold
A Nigerian man wanted for the murder of a Thai woman has been told he must remain in detention until Canada gets assurances from Thailand he won’t face the death penalty if extradited. The Nigerian, allegedly identified as John Odoemenam but using a fake South African passport with the name, Mzwakhe Memela, and also known as Prince Michael Obi, last…
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Thailand tourism: India No.1 country sending tourists
The government has been extremely focused on tourism numbers and recovery in the post-pandemic world and the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration reported that 2.2 million visitors have entered Thailand so far this year, over 10% of them from India. More travellers have come from India in the first half of this year than any other country in the world.…
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