News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond. The Thaiger delivers the latest national news that matters.
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5 key recommendations emerge from Boss investigation
5 proposals have been made by an independent panel as the government mops up the recent internal investigations into the mishandling of the “Boss” case. The Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission has been given the task of implementing the 5 key recommendations made by panels that have examined the botched investigations over the hit-and-run case against Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya, grandson of…
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Bangkok prisoner tests positive for Covid-19… first local transmission in 100 days
A 37 year old prisoner has tested positive for Covid-19 on the same day Thailand reached 100 days since a local coronavirus infection. The male inmate has already been moved from the Bangkok prison to a Corrections Department hospital and the other 34 inmates who had contact with him have been tested. The infected man is reported to have worked in…
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Holiday plans cancelled at border district, Koh Samui expects tourist boom
People are cancelling their trips to a Kanchanaburi district for the 4-day weekend after a coronavirus scare at a local school. Koh Samui is expecting the opposite. The southern province Surat Thani is expecting such a large influx in tourists that some airlines and ferries have doubled their services for the holiday. In Thong Pha Phum, Kanchanaburi’s border district, the…
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1,500 year old human bones and pottery found in Isaan province
An Isaan woman found what experts say are 1,500 year old human bones and pottery. Fine Arts Department officials say they believe the bones and pottery were buried together during a funeral hundreds of years ago. A Surin local, 60 year old Muay Maichai, says she was walking through an area she frequents when she saw part of a jar sticking…
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British man killed in a hit and run incident in Korat
A 43 year old British man has been killed by a hit-and-run driver whilst driving his motorcycle at an intersection in the main city area of Nakhon Ratchasima last night. Emergency responders headed to the Phon Lan gate intersection on the Ratchasima-Chok Chai Road around 11.30pm. At this stage Police believe he was hit by a truck and the driver had fled…
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Chinese nationals caught crossing the border
Border patrol officers arrested 6 Chinese nationals who allegedly crossed the Thai-Myanmar border this morning. The arrests follow a series of busts driven by Thailand’s heightened border patrol, a measure aimed at preventing the return of the coronavirus after Myanmar reported a spike in cases. The migrants had waded through the Moei River, which separates Thailand and Myanmar, and were…
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Young Buriram brothers steal over 30 motorbikes after parents split up
Two brothers, aged 12 and 14 have been nabbed after stealing over 30 motorbikes. The pair, seemingly unable to figure out where the petrol tank was, would look for a new motorbike to steal after the old one ran out of petrol. They told police that their crimes were for survival after their parents separated. They hadn’t been to school…
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Koh Phangan cannabis farm raided by police
A Koh Phangan cannabis farm was raided today and police seized 40 plants. Meanwhile, Thai lawmakers are reviewing a bill that would allow people to grow cannabis. But these growers might have jumped the gun. Police say the farm was around 1 rai (.3 acres), and hidden in the forests of Koh Phangan. The seized cannabis plants weighed around 60…
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Mandatory Covid insurance of up to 3 million baht for foreign visitors to Thailand
A spokesman for Thailand’s State Insurance Commission says all foreign arrivals into the Kingdom will need to have insurance cover for Covid-19. Suthipol Taweechaikarn says the insurance will need to cover people for the duration of their visit and that various packages are being made available for online purchase. Coconuts reports that travellers coming from countries considered low-risk for Covid-19…
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Odd number wins the Thai lotto
It’s enough to send a Thai gambler into a frizz. A rather odd number won the 6 million baht jackpot in Tuesday’s bi-monthly Thai lottery. The ticket ‘999997’ was the prize winning number and Thai netizens are going ballistic! Usually when picking out a lucky number, people would rarely choose a ticket with so many repeating numbers. But 52 year…
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Former Italian leader Berlusconi tests positive for Covid-19
Silvio Berlusconi, the colourful and often divisive former leader of Italy, has tested positive for coronavirus, following a trip to the Mediterranean island of Sardinia. The tourist hot-spot has experienced a surge in new cases in recent weeks, thought to be a result of holidaymakers descending on the island, as is normal every August. His personal doctor at Milan’s San…
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Chiang Mai official accuses YouTuber and ‘life coach’ of fraudulent fundraising
An official in the northern province of Chiang Mai is accusing prominent Thai life-coach Sean Buranahirun of fraudulent fundraising and misleading the public. Bunyarith Nipvanich, assistant chief of the Mae Rim district, has filed a police report, accusing Sean of not distributing funds he raised in March to help officials fight forest fires in the renowned Doi Suthep area. Sean…
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Burmese man seriously injured after violent attack in Pattaya
A Burmese man has been hospitalised in Pattaya after being violently attacked by a group of unidentified men in the main city area. The Pattaya News reports that the 32 year old man, named only as ‘Aree’, sustained several injuries, including one to his left eye, after being beaten with a belt with a metal buckle. The attack occurred around…
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Thai Airways announces extra repatriation flights for European and Asian cities
The executive vice president of Thai Airways, Wiwat Piyawiroj, says the national carrier is introducing 18 repatriation flights to cities in Asia and Europe. The flights will permit additional foreign nationals in Thailand to return  to their home countries, while also allowing repatriating Thais or eligible foreigners to return to the Kingdom on the return flights. The flights are aimed…
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Songkhla pageant ends in shambles, contestant accuses judges of fixing scores
A beauty pageant came under fire after 10 contestants were all declared the winners, ending the Miss Samila 2020 early after a contestant accused the judges of rigging the scores. The 10 finalists split the 200,000 baht of prize money and the top 5 contestants got an extra 10,000 baht. A good deal for those who would’ve lost, bad for those who…
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Thailand’s Health Minister optimistic about admitting business travellers
The Thai Public Health Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, admits Thailand is caught between a rock and a hard place and can’t go on locking all foreigners out forever, in an effort to prevent a resurgence of the Covid-19 virus. “We will either die of the disease or of hunger, so we have to face the challenge.” He adds that the Kingdom…
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Royal Thai Police to take legal action against 21 officers in “Boss” case
The Royal Thai Police says it accepts the findings of a recently concluded inquiry into the “Boss” fiasco and will begin legal proceedings against 21 of the Police officers involved. The Bangkok Post reports that RTP representatives Jaruwat Waisaya and Kissana Phathanacharoen confirmed the move at a press briefing yesterday, adding that national police chief Chakthip Chaijinda will take charge…
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Foreigners arrested over eco-vandalism off Koh Phangan
A Hungarian and Dutch man have been arrested for picking up sea animals and taking photos with them whilst diving off Koh Phangan in the Gulf of Thailand. They then posted them on social media, probably oblivious to their potentially criminal act. Police described the two as “long-stayers on Koh Phangan”. Their selfies sparked plenty of outrage from Thai netizens…
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Australia falls into a recession, global economies at a loss
“Our record run of 28 consecutive years of economic growth has now officially come to an end. The cause: a once-in-a-century pandemic.” Just about everyone hit from the coronavirus pandemic. Businesses closed. Many lost their jobs. Paychecks were cut. Economies across the globe slipped into recession and Australia is now added to that list. The country reported it has sunk…
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Southern Thailand insurgents ambush police vehicle
A group of insurgents allegedly shot up a police vehicle while it was travelling in the southern province Narathiwat, which borders Malaysia. 50 bullet casings were found on the ground after the ambush. Luckily, the 5 police officers, including the province’s deputy police chief, were not injured. The police vehicle was equipped with bullet proof windows and the body of…
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Don Mueang falling below passenger goal
Despite the return to the skies by many of Thailand’s domestic airlines – Thai Air Asia, Thai Lion Air, Thai VietJet, Nok Air Thai Smile, Bangkok Air – Don Mueang Airport has been quiet with only a third of the passengers they’re used to. The Bangkok airport, mostly serving the budget airlines, is even falling below the conservative goals they…
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Body found with gunshot wound, police open murder investigation
Police have opened a murder investigation after a man’s body was found in a drain in the southern province Nakhon Si Thammarat, southern Thailand. He had a gunshot wound to his head and officers say he was shot from a close range. His hands were found handcuffed behind his back. A local was fishing at the Tha Rua-Hua Trud canal…
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Concerns over Covid surge in Myanmar prompt increased security at Tak border
The northern province of Tak has stepped up security along the Myanmar border amid concerns about Covid-19 numbers in the neighbouring country. The move comes as 2 schools in the western province of Prachuap Khiri Khan have had to temporarily close due to a number of students reporting a fever and the revelation that they had crossed the Thai-Myanmar border…
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Philippine president says “kill the drug traffickers”
“If it’s drugs, you shoot and kill. That’s the arrangement.” Philippine police have been ordered to kill those caught trafficking drugs. Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte said publicly during a Cabinet meeting that he wanted a revised crackdown on the country’s drug trafficking. The country’s leader is known for his strong anti-drug and hard-ball stance on drug dealing and trafficking, backed…
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Expats arrested after posing for selfies while handling protected sea creatures
A Dutch man and a Hungarian national are in custody after picking up protected sea creatures while diving off Koh Pha Ngan in the southern province of Surat Thani. Nation Thailand reports that the Hungarian man, named as Attila Ott, is a scuba diving instructor, who owns the Pink Panther Scuba Dive Club on the island. The Dutch man has…
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Malaysia bans citizens from high risk countries
While all international tourists are banned from entering Malaysia for the rest of the year, the country is also restricting citizens from India, Indonesia and the Philippines. Those countries have reported a high number of coronavirus cases and the numbers continue to go up. Foreign tourists have been banned since March and will be until the end of the year.…
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Eva Air pushes back Phuket flights to July 2021
A new timetable from Taiwan’s Eva Air indicates a delay to the planned resumption of direct flights between Taipei and Phuket, which had recently been tentatively pencilled in for March 2021. The new schedule now lists the flights as operating from July 1 next year with the airline’s website taking bookings from that date. The delay is indicative of the…
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Evidence of Thai Airways’ corruption, mismanagement, sent to Finance Ministry
The Finance Ministry has received 18 documents that show evidence of corruption and mismanagement at Thai Airways. The evidence was submitted by a Transport Ministry panel on corruption, pending a full investigation into “shady dealings” at the battered national carrier. The airline is currently undergoing a rehabilitation process, having filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year. It’s understood the former…
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Man’s body found at Chon Buri beach, police suspect drowning
A 25 year old man was found dead at Na Jomtien beach in Chon Buri yesterday. Police say they believe the man drowned while diving for shells. Police identified the Thai man as Chaiwat Poeprasert. His mother told police her son went out to sea on his boat to look for shells. She noticed Chaiwat had been gone for a…
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A glimmer of hope for expats unable to satisfy minimum income requirements
September 26 looms as a dark day for many foreigners who have been unable to sort out a way to either leave the country or stay in Thailand. But at least one Thai immigration office appears to be discussing some leniency in this crazy time. Phuket Immigration has specifically addressed the issue for foreigners on a non-immigrant B (Business) visa…
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