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 What is the 5 year visa for the digital nomad in Thailand?
The Destination Thailand Visa (DTV) is a great option for digital nomads, remote workers, and freelancers who want to stay in Thailand for a long time. This multiple-entry visa is valid for five years, allowing stays of up to 180...
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Thai frog farmer says country music is his key to success
A 72 year old man from Trang province in southern Thailand says that Thai country music, or “Luk Thung,” is the key to a successful frog farm. Not only do frogs love country music, but it makes them healthier, stronger and grow faster, he claims. Rit Lomkong has been raising frogs for five years and he says they can’t live…
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Family of Aussie cricket legend furious over Channel 9 bioseries
The daughter of cricketing legend Shane Warne slammed Australia’s Channel 9 network for commissioning a television series of her father. Warne’s eldest daughter, Brooke Warne, believes Channel 9 is being “disrespectful” to the memory of her dad. The 25 year old took to the social media platform Instagram yesterday to vent her feelings about the miniseries, called “Warnie” planned for…
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Monkeys barge into new Phuket resort
The monkeys are coming! Well, at least they are coming to one new resort in Phuket’s town of Chalong. The management team at the Noku Phuket resort says that monkeys have been seen on the resort’s grounds and tried to get into the guest’s rooms. Wildlife officers inspected the resort on Tuesday, with the chief of the Wildlife Education Centre…
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9-month pregnant woman & husband arrested on drug charges
A 9-month pregnant woman and her husband were arrested in the Isaan province of Udon Thani yesterday for using and selling drugs. The woman confessed to being a habitual user even though she is pregnant. Officers from Baan Phue Police Station raided a cottage inside a rubber plantation in the None Thong sub-district, Baan Phue district in Udon Thani after…
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Soldier allegedly sexually assaults woman on military premises
A woman sought help from a social media influencer after being allegedly sexually assaulted by a Sergeant in her home inside a military base in the central province of Kanchanaburi. The victim reported the attempted rape to the police but they told her to report the incident to her army senior. She did that but was told off by her…
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Lightning strike sets car on fire in Bangkok
Cars being safe from lightning must be a myth, because a Sedan parked in the Rama 9 area of Bangkok burst into flames when it got struck by lightning during a thunderstorm last night. At 7.29pm, Rama 199 Radio Centre received a report that a car was on fire at the Government Housing Bank carpark in Huai Khwang district. Luckily,…
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Over 5 million foreign tourists arrived in Thailand in 9 months
A Thai government spokesperson has announced yesterday that over five million foreign tourists arrived in the ‘land of smiles’ between January 1 and September 8. The total number of foreign visitors was 5,018,172, said spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) says the biggest group of tourists came from Malaysia, with 751,397 arrivals. Up next was India, with…
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VIDEO: Python attacks Royal Forest Department officer in Bangkok
A huge python attacked a Royal Forest Department officer at the department’s Japan Building in Bangkok on Monday. Pythons are non-venomous snakes, but the officer still suffered a nasty bite. CCTV footage captures the woman walking towards the lift with two colleagues when the snake appears from nowhere and launches at her legs. After the incident, the Department of Disaster…
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Cheap plane tickets go on sale today and tomorrow in Bangkok
Today and tomorrow discounted plane tickets will be on sale at Bang Sue Grand Station in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district at the event ‘Transport United for Happy Journey,’ hosted by Thailand’s Ministry of Transport. The ministry is hosting the event at Gate 1 from September 15-16 to stimulate tourism, exchange knowledge about transportation facilities and make travelling around in Thailand more…
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Cannabis bill quashed by vote in House
A newly-proposed cannabis bill has been quashed as the Thai House of Representatives voted on its withdrawal. The bill was shot down after a 198 to 136 vote in the House. Lawmakers say the bill needs to be revised as its wording was regarded as “loose and could potentially expose youth to health risks.” The bad news is that if…
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Green Expo Returns to PHIST, Southeast Asia’s Leading Sustainability Forum
Press Release Banpu NEXT, is a leading smart energy solutions provider in the Asia Pacific under Banpu PCL. As the long-term partner in clean energy technology, Banpu NEXT creates total Smart Energy Solutions to help customers across industries and stages of business operation and achieve their ESG/SDG goals and build up values and opportunities for sustainable business growth while bringing…
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Swiss Student Alumni Association honours late King Bhumibol
The Swiss Student Alumni Association has honoured the late King Bhumibol’s memory with a life-sized, bronze bust. The statue is now overlooking Lake Geneva in the western city of Lausanne. Bhumibol studied and lived in the canton of Vaud for 18 years, with authorities saying that he helped establish a friendship between Thailand and Switzerland. The bust of the late…
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Khon Kaen Police give residents iron rods to protect themselves
Cash-strapped Khon Kaen Police launched a new initiative to help protect residents from violent drug addicts and psychiatric patients. They have supplied communities with long iron rods to control them. Khon Kaen Police admit they have been forced into the measures because the province lacks police officers. Pattaya Police introduced a similar initiative in June. The Commander of the Khon…
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Standard taxi fee of 45-50 baht agreed but more at Thai airports
A taxi fare increase of about 45 to 50 baht was proposed by drivers in Thailand yesterday while standing or idling in traffic is expected to be fixed at about five baht per minute. The President of the Thai Public Taxi Association, Sadit Jaitiang, reported yesterday that the association met with the Deputy Director of the Land Transport Department, Sirirat…
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VIDEO: Pervert picks the wrong woman to secretly film in the bathroom in Thailand
A Thai man snuck into a women’s public bathroom in Chachoengsao province, eastern Thailand, on Sunday and secretly filmed a woman while she was in the cubicle. He picked on the wrong woman, as it turns out the victim has a black belt in Taekwondo. The whole incident was captured by CCTV. The 28 year old woman, Ms. A (pseudonym)…
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Bangkok sex workers hold Q&A at Patpong Museum
Curious to find out more about the world’s oldest profession? Do sex workers enjoy their work? Do they have a partner outside of working hours, and do they think prostitution should be legalized? All of these questions and more will be answered by two Bangkok sex workers at the Patpong Museum on Saturday, September 17, from 5-8pm, where you are welcome…
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Pro-wakeskater gets fine & suspended jail term for surfing in Bangkok floods
UPDATE #2 Thanyaburi Provincial Court handed pro-wakeboarder and pro-wakeskater Daniel “Tao” Grant a 5,000 baht fine and a one-month suspended jail term for his wakeskating stunt in the Bangkok floods. The 24 year old watersports champion was found guilty of causing danger to and obstructing traffic for wakeskating on the flooded Phahon Yothin Road outside Bangkok University last week. After…
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Court to decide fate of suspended Thai PM Prayut on September 30
On September 30 at 3pm, Thailand’s Constitutional Court will read the verdict on suspended Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s eight-year term limit. According to Section 158 of Thailand’s constitution, “The Prime Minister shall not hold office for more than eight years in total, whether or not holding consecutive term.” Prayut reached his eight-year limit serving as PM in August after becoming…
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Former Thai PM slams govt’s miserly 5% minimum wage rise
A day after the Thai government announced a nationwide 5% salary increase the kingdom’s former prime minister condemned it as “not enough.” The Thai Cabinet yesterday agreed to increase the minimum wage throughout the country by 5%. The highest rate is 354 baht per day in Chon Buri, Rayong, and Phuket while it is 328 baht per day in places…
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Teen escapes house fire in Pattaya by climbing balcony
A Pattaya teenager climbed down from his balcony to just barely escape a fire that broke out in his home in the early hours of Monday morning. The boy, 16 year old Poramet Soratavorn, sensed the smell of smoke when he was on the second floor of his house in Royal Park Village on Thepprasit Road. Poramet ran downstairs to find…
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Earthquake strikes in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand
At 1.03am today, a 3.6 magnitude earthquake struck Fang district in northern Thailand’s Chiang Mai province, according to the Meteorological Department. No injuries, deaths or damages have been reported. The earthquake’s epicentre in the Mae Kha subdistrict had a considerably shallow depth of 4 kilometres, causing people in the region to feel strong shaking. Strong shaking was reported in Mae…
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China Airlines opens a new route to Chiang Mai
China Airlines yesterday announced the good news that it intends to launch flights to Chiang Mai in Thailand. The bad news is that it won’t happen until next year. The Taiwan-based airline revealed on the day it reopened its borders that flights to the northern city of Chiang Mai take off on January 20 next year. Flight CI851 from Taiwan…
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Thailand orders 20th Century Fox to pay 10 million baht to restore Maya Bay
Today, Thailand’s Supreme Court ruled that Hollywood movie company 20th Century Fox – now renamed 20th Century Studios – is required to pay 10 million baht in environmental damages caused by the movie “The Beach” (2000) starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Filming for “The Beach” began at Maya Bay at the Phi Phi Islands in Krabi province, southern Thailand, in 1998. The…
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Thai govt increase minimum wage by 5% starting on October 1
The Thai Cabinet today agreed to increase the minimum wage throughout the country by 5%. The highest rate is 354 baht per day in Chon Buri, Rayong, and Phuket. The new rate will come into effect on October 1. Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin discussed the topic at today’s Cabinet meeting and it was approved. It is the first time in…
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Pro-wakeskater charged with causing danger for surfing in Bangkok floods
UPDATE Pro-wakeskater Daniel Grant has been charged with causing danger to traffic – violating Thailand’s Traffic Act and Highway Act – for his surfing stunt in the Bangkok floods on Friday. The 24 year old half-Thai, half-English watersports champion was summoned to Khlong Luang Police Station this morning to acknowledge the allegations made against him by police after they saw…
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Favipiravir: DMS says Thai Covid study contradicts US study
A top respiratory specialist in Thailand spoke out on Friday about a study in the Clinical Infectious Diseases Journal last month saying that not only does the antiviral medication Favipiravir not seem to help fight Covid-19, but it can lead to patients getting gout. Now the Department of Medical Sciences is defending the use of Favipiravir in Thailand to treat…
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Ex-con released from jail recalled to finish his porridge after gaff
An ex-con legally released seven months ago has been recalled to the jail in the northern province of Payao after a gaff by the Department of Corrections (DOC). He refuses to return. The DOC admitted they made a mistake and wrongly calculated the years of imprisonment so recalled the former convict to finish his porridge. Teeraphat Sophon was originally jailed…
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Thai VietJet to increase frequency of Japan and Taiwan flights
Thai VietJet announced the addition of flights to both the Bangkok – Fukuoka route to Japan and the Bangkok – Taipei route to Taiwan. The airline commenced the Bangkok – Fukuoka route, their only service linking Thailand and Japan, back in July. Initially, the route between Suvarnabhumi Airport and Fukuoka Airport operated three times a week. The route turned out…
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Thailand’s nonpartisan stance sensible in China-US Cold War
Thailand yesterday was urged to maintain its neutrality as tensions between the globe’s two economic giants, China and the United States, continue to gather pace. Thailand last week was criticized for maintaining a neutral stance regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict as the West continues to impose sanctions on the former Soviet state. The kingdom has been also condemned in the past…
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Alleged Thai ‘love scammer’ denied bail in Australia
A Thai national detained in Sydney, Australia, for allegedly committing “romance fraud” was denied bail yesterday. Siriluck Fatima Chimmalee is accused of stealing from men she met online through a dating app. She is facing trial for over 100 charges of fraud. Police say 30 year old Siriluck allegedly pretended to be a registered remitter and charged customers steep inflation…
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