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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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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NCPO ‘damaged the image of the country’ – Future Forward party
PHOTO: The Nation By Panarat Thepgumpanat and Amy Sawitta Lefevre In a tense stand-off between the establishment and the ‘new guard’, Future Forward party’s brash young leader, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, is firing verbal missives at the NCPO. Reuters is reporting that the new Thai party, headed up by auto-parts billionaire Thanathorn, and aiming to shake up politics, hit back at the ruling…
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Villagers try to lynch top policeman’s son in Phetchabun re-enactment
Re-enactments, where a person, who has admitted their guilt, is taken to the scene of the crime to re-enact it, often in public view, is a common practice in Thai police investigations. Video footage on the Thai Rath Facebook page shows the moments when a top policeman’s son was taken on one of these re-enactments, this time for a horrific…
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49 offenders escape electronic monitoring devices since March 1
By Kesinee Tangkhieo Electronic monitoring devices are another way to keep people out of jail but still limited in their freedoms. But they’re not 100% effective as a survey of the Thai Court of Justice found. The electronic monitoring (EM) devices on 49 of the 1,800 offenders ordered to wear them while freed on bail were found to have been…
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Deadly link: Puppy factories and rabies
(12 minute read) A media release from soidog.org The panic over rabies that erupted at the beginning of this year seems to have died down. Fourteen people have died; dozens of dogs were poisoned and thousands more died after being incarcerated in government pounds as officials across the country stumbled to stamp out the spread of the disease. Yet absolutely nothing…
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Happy Birthday Thaiger – One year old today
Acute self indulgence today as we announce our first major milestone for thethaiger.com. We’re one year old. It was on August 1, 2017 that the fledgling Thaiger company took over the reins of the 23 year old Phuket Gazette and started posting under the new management. Only two weeks before we had received the keys to the toy box and…
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Greedy Nakhon Ratchasima Facebookers get scammed out of 1 million baht
Beware the scammers who are now diversifying onto social media in order to con their prey. Same old tricks just new platforms. This time ten Facebook users in Nakhon Ratchasima. The ten have filed a complaint with police this morning (Wednesday), claiming they had handed over about one million baht to a woman who had promised high yields (of course)…
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July stats see a small drop in tourists through Thai airports
July 2018 stats from the AoT (Airports Authority of Thailand) indicates that fewer tourists went through Thai airports than expected. Channel 7 News reports that, while there was still an increase of 4% compared to the same month in 2017, the numbers buck the overall trend which has seen an average 9% rise in usage per month since the start…
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Karen spiritual leader Ko-ee gets Thai ID card. Only had to wait 107 years.
PHOTO: Thai PBS Spiritual leader of ethnic Karens of Kaeng Krachan forest in Phetchaburi, 107 year old Ko-ee Meeme, registered for a Thai identity card at the Kaeng Krachang district office yesterday after he was granted Thai citizenship. On hand to witness the ID card registration were Mrs Tuenjai Deethet, a member of the National Human Rights Commission, and children,…
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Thai officials make official request for Yingluck’s extradition
The Thai Government has made an official request to the UK for the extradition of fugitive former PM Yingluck Shinawatra for prosecution back in Thailand. The Thai Embassy in London sent a letter dated July 5 to the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office with attached copies of the Supreme Court verdict in the case against Yingluck along with her arrest…
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Young Thai man falls for the old 1000 baht penis enlargement scam
PHOTO: Sanook Ouch! Men, take note. Women, laugh at the stupidity of some members of the male sex. Thai media Sanook is reporting the topic of penis enlargement – a hot topic in Thai social media including some very dodgy methods of, ummm, increasing the dimensions of the penis. A picture, of what appears to be a school child undergoing…
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Why do Chinese tourists like coming to Thailand?
By Kanjana Lao Nation Graphics A Nielsen Survey has asked Chinese tourists why they like coming to Thailand. Thailand remains popular among Chinese tourists, of all ages, due to its relatively low costs. Despite the Phuket boating tragedy on July 6, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports expect the arrival of Chinese tourists in 2018 to exceed the 2017 total.…
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33 households evacuated in Nan – more landslides feared
PHOTO: Thai PBS As floods and torrential rain continue to plague northern Thailand, including neighbouring regions in Myanmar and Laos, 33 households in a mountainous village in Bo Klua district of the northernmost province of Nan have been ordered to immediately evacuate to a temple five kilometres away for fear that they might be struck by a landslide. Bo Klua…
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Local rains in Nan and Trat cause devastation – seven killed two missing
Heavy rains in northern Thailand and on the Cambodian border in Trat are causing local emergencies. At least seven villagers have been killed and two others missing after heavy rains triggered a mudslide from a mountain into their valley village in the Bo Klua district of Nan province this morning Saturday). The landslide occurred at the Ban Huay Kham in…
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Clawing back the tiger population
(10 minute read) The plight of the Indochinese Tiger is a particular passion for The Thaiger. As a leading sponsor of SaveWildTigers.org we applaud all the work being done in Thailand and around South East Asia in support of the survival of the species. By Piyaporn Wongruang Ahead of the Global Tiger Day on Sunday, July 29, lead tiger researchers and…
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Two day booze ban finishes tonight at midnight
The sale or serving of alcohol will remain prohibited in Phuket until midnight tonight (Saturday) as part of a nationwide ban commemorating the start of Buddhist Lent. Yesterday (Friday) alcohol was banned for the main Buddhist annual holiday, Asanha Bucha Day. “Alcohol sales are prohibited from midnight Thursday until midnight Saturday.” Alcohol may be sold in only one location: hotels.…
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GPS tourists trackers and mandatory travel insurance – BKK travel fair seminar
PHOTO: South China Morning Post Two great suggestions at a Bangkok travel fair, both aimed at making things easier for Thai authorities without improving safety for tourists. At the Thai Chic Travel Fair seminar held in Bangkok yesterday (Wednesday), officials suggested that making it a mandatory requirement for all foreign visitors to Thailand to have travel insurance would ease the…
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60 year old German arrested for 19 year overstay
PHOTOS: Thai Tourist Police Pol Maj Gen Surachat Hakparn, deputy commissioner of the Tourist Police Bureau and the popular face of Thai crime-fighting, has announced the arrest of another 35 foreigners who were caught for visa offences, illegal entry and other crimes. This week’s roll out of the ‘X-Ray Outlaw Foreigner crackdown’ has netted what is believed to be one…
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British PM meets divers who helped in the Tham Luang rescue
PHOTO: Independent Print Limited On Monday the Australian Governor General awarded the country’s highest accolades and medals to Aussie cave rescuers. Yesterday the British PM met with the UK contingent who were involved in the mammoth international rescue. The Evening Standard reports that PM Theresa May met the British divers who helped save the boys and their 25 year old…
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Joint Thai/Chinese crime bust nets 34 suspects in call-centre and online gambling gangs
The arrest of 34 suspects in major call centre scams and online gambling were announced yesterday. With cooperation from Chinese police, Thai officers checked 14 locations in Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Chon Buri and Phuket on July 19 to make the arrests. The stings netted 34 suspects, including 26 Chinese nationals. The arrests were announced yesterday at a press conference at the Royal Thai…
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Thailand’s Rabies death toll up to 14 this year
The death of a 19 year old in Buri Ram, to the east of Bangkok on the Cambodian border, and a 55 year old in Rayong, east of Pattaya, has raised the death toll in Thailand as a result of Rabies this year to 14. Both deaths occurred over the past two weeks. Dr Suwannachai Watanayingcharoen, director general of the Disease…
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Same-sex civil union bill ready for Cabinet in two months
A same-sex civil partnership law should be drafted and discussed before next year’s elections. Pitikarn Sitthidech, the Rights and Liberties Protection Department chief, saystThe law, allowing same-sex couples to formally register as life partners, should be drafted by September. It would then be submitted to Deputy PM and Justice Minister ACM Prajin Juntong, who would decide whether it should go to…
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Floods continue to cause havoc in the north, west and central
Floods are causing havoc across swathes of provinces across Thailand. From the north in Chiang Mai, to the west in Kanchanaburi and as far south as Prachuap Khiri Khan and Ranong. The Thai Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation chief says that the flooding has been triggered by tropical storm Son-Tinh which still sits over Laos, so far affecting 13 Thai…
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Boeing says Asian region biggest growth area for aviation in next two decades
By Data Leads. PHOTO: Thai Airways Boeing 787 Asian countries are estimated to require 16,930 more airplanes by 2037, making the region the fastest growing aviation area in the world. Boeing’s annual forecast, the Commercial Market Outlook, reveals that the world fleet of jet planes would need 42, 370 new planes valued at US$6.3 trillion. The forecast predicts that the global…
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“Not for sale at any price” – Mu Pa Academy VP
In the wake of 13 of their young footballers being rescued from the Tham Luang caves, TNA reports that some of the world’s biggest football clubs are showing interest in actually buying the Mu Pa football academy. But the club’s vice president and manager Kittipong Intaechai says, despite the interest, his club is not for sale at any price. Mr…
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Man ties up mother, abducts 18 year old daughter in Hua Hin
PHOTO: Thai Rath Thai Rath is reporting that Police have arrested a man who tied up a Hua Hin cleaner then abducted her daughter from a foreigner’s house. The incident happened last Tuesday in Hua Hin. The mother and daughter were working as cleaners for the house but were confronted at knife point by the intruder. The man is reported to…
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Thai officials slam foreign media for interviewing Mu Pa boys
SCREENSHOT: ABC News report Whilst the opportunist American ABC TV reporter didn’t break any laws with his interview on Friday with the youngest of the Mu Pa Academy youngsters, he did break a pact between the Chiang Rai Governor, physicians and child psychologists who asked that the media leave the boys alone. Today CNN is reporting that Thailand is accusing…
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Singapore Airlines back on top. Thai Airways in 10th place.
PHOTO: Flyer Talk Singapore Airlines is back on top after a decade held out of the top airline position by middle-eastern competition. It’s their fourth win since the Skytrax World Airline awards started back in 2001. The island nation’s national carrier was named Airline of the Year at the 2018 Skytrax World Airline awards. Singapore Airlines was last top of the…
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Sangkhla Buri floods declared a disaster zone
Kanchanaburi Governor Jirasak Phumsawat has declared Sangkhla Buri a flood disaster zone to speed up help to affected villagers. The governor took the action after seven villages in Tambon Nong Lu and three villages in Tambon Laivo were hit by floods on Friday morning following heavy rains that hit 70 per cent of the district.The disaster-zone declaration allowed the provincial…
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Flooding ‘critical’ in Sangkhla Buri – Kanchanabui province
The flooding situation is now considered critical in the Sangkhla Buri district in Kanchanaburi province, situated on the Myanmar border, as Highway 323 is still about 1.2 metres under water, making it impassable to small vehicles. Thai PBS reports that the heavily-flooded Highway 323 has also made it difficult to deliver patients from Thong Pha Phum Hospital to Phahon Pholphayuhasena…
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Man douses young Thai woman in petrol, sets her alight and is given bail
Thai Rath has reported on the case of a Bangkok man who doused a 22 year old Thai woman from Ubon Ratchathani in petrol while she was eating with friends at a somtam stall. Thai Rath notes that the 23 year old Thai man, who committed the crime, was given bail by the court in Bangkok and is currently free. He has…
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