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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10 biggest challenges retirees face in Thailand (and how to overcome them)
Retiring in Thailand comes with many benefits, like warm weather, affordable living, and a rich culture. However, it also brings challenges. Retirees must deal with visa rules, healthcare costs, language barriers, and cultural differences. Rising medical expenses, required insurance, and...
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World Economic Forum says lack of critical thinking in Thailand affecting competitiveness
PHOTO: AFP Thailand’s competitiveness ranking has dropped two places in the Global Competitiveness Index just released by the World Economic Forum (WEC) in Switzerland. The country has dropped from 38 to 40 out of a total of 141 global economies ranked. The WEC claims that a lack of critical thinking in teaching in Thailand, along with its failure to dominate…
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Thai woman nabbed outside Pattaya school on human trafficking charges
PHOTOS: Naew Na Naew Na reports that a 31 year old Thai woman has been arrested outside a Pattaya school over human trafficking charges. The arrest was a joint operation by Chonburi immigration and the Pattaya Tourist police. The arrest warrant was issued back in December 2016 on 31 year old Rawipha Takunphon. The warrant relates to enticing children over 15 (but not…
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Study shows Phuket has highest number of tourists per square mile
PHOTO: Bao Menglong (Unsplash.com) A study published by Travel Daily News reveals that Phuket has the highest number of tourists per square mile, with 5,090. The research was carried out by Columbus Direct, who examined visitor numbers in the world’s most popular places. With over 9 million visitors a year, Thailand’s largest island has ten times more tourists per square…
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Mother of boy killed in Thailand’s war on drugs petitions Supreme Court to investigate acquittal of police officers
PHOTO: Freestocks.org/Unsplash The mother of 17 year old Kittisap Thitboonkrong, who died during the war on drugs introduced 14 years ago by then PM Thaksin Shinawatra, is asking the Supreme Court to investigate how 6 police officers charged with his murder came to be acquitted last year. In July 2004, Mr Kittisap was in police custody as a suspect in…
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Asian markets stumble over trade concerns, Brexit sentiment sinks pound
Asian markets fell after hefty losses in New York yesterday, owing to growing China-US tensions in the next round of trade talks, while the British pound continues to be beaten down by fears the UK is on the verge of crashing out of the EU. The downbeat mood comes as investors fret over signs the global economy is slowing down.…
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Pattaya getting set for the Indian era – OPINION
by Dan Cheeseman I was a bit taken back by posters across the social networks where I shared the post that simply would not accept the Indians were bringing any value to Pattaya. Claiming Thailand would regret squeezing out the Western market and turning to the Chinese and Indians. It came across as sour grapes to me and also a…
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Burmese man arrested for dealing in methamphetamine pills
PHOTO: Naew Na Naew Na reports that a joint operation between Lamphun immigration and the Muangjee police has resulted in the arrest of a 27 year old Burmese man. Lamphun is just south of Chiang Mai and has a large population of Burmese migrant workers. ‘Thun’ was arrested yesterday along with drug taking equipment and 206 methamphetamine tablets. He was charged with…
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Eat Shop Spend version 2 on the way, but no cash giveaway
After feedback from the successful “Chim-Shop-Chai” (Eat-Shop-Spend) campaign, the Minister of Finance says campaign will now be extended into Phase 2 but with the criteria and regulations adjusted to attract more people with purchasing power to spend their own money, without the 1,000 baht per person give-away. The Minister of Finance Uttama Savanayana says there have been 1.3 million persons so…
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Chiang Mai Zoo announces results of the inquiry into celebrity panda’s death
PHOTO: SCMP – Original story written by Kay Johnson Chiang Mai Zoo have announced the results of an autopsy to determine the cause of death of celebrity panda Chuang Chuang. They announced the cause was heart failure. Special ‘panda vets’ from China flew into Chiang Mai last month to assist with the investigation into the death of the much-loved Panda who…
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Woman dies after being shot in the back of a car as passenger was ‘playing’ with gun
PHOTOS: Daily News The vice president of the Thai-Chinese trade and industry association, Wichai Manekitikun, is assisting police with their enquiries after his 23 year old girlfriend was shot in the chest. She later died in hospital. The 44 year old man was taking a Chinese couple home after a party in his van. He told police that he had…
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Thailand’s Court of Justice says chief judges can screen verdicts of junior judges
PHOTO: AFP The spokesman of the Court of Justice, Mr. Suriyan Hongvilai, says regional chief judges can legally screen the decisions of the lower courts and provide advisory feedback if they disagree with verdicts. However, he adds that judges in the lower courts are independent and do have the final say. Thai PBS World reports that Mr Suriyan says such…
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PM urges Thais to quit drinking for the End of Buddhist Lent
The Thai PM is urging people to refrain from ‘temptations’ for the good of their health and family life, including drinking alcohol. He was participating in a promotion for an alcohol-free End of Buddhist Lent (which occurs on Sunday). Prior to yesterday’s Cabinet’s meeting, the PM Prayut Chan-o-cha joined in a promotional activity for the Ministry of Culture’s End of…
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Thai Army chief will address sedition charges and solving problems in South
The Thai Army chief General Apirat Kongsompong will deliver a speech at a seminar tomorrow (Thursday) to explain the armed forces’ role in providing security under current circumstances. This seminar is part of the Army’s PR effort to provide an official statement after it charged 12 people, including Opposition leaders and academics, of sedition. The sedition charges followed Opposition and academics…
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Police officer and local leader’s son arrested for drugs offences in southern Thailand
PHOTO: Bangkok Post A police officer and a local leader’s son have been arrested in a drugs raid on a house in Songkla, southern Thailand. The men were found in possession of 89 methamphetamine pills and 3.5 grams of crystal methamphetamine. A number of other items were also seized at the property, including drug paraphernalia and a pistol. The arrested…
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Hong Kong won’t rule out accepting help from China over protests
PHOTO: AFP Following more violent protests in Hong Kong, Chief Executive Carrie Lam says China stepping in to end the crisis is not out of the question. Angry demonstrations have rocked the city for four months now, having started out as protests against a proposed extradition bill that could have seen criminals sent to China for trial. The Hong Kong…
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Johnson & Johnson told to pay US$8 billion over drug side effect
A US jury has ruled that US pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson will pay US$8 billion in damages, plus interest, for failing to warn that a psychiatric drug could cause breast growth in men. Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals were blamed as plaintiff Nicholas Murray told the Philadelphia court that the drug Risperdal, prescribed to treat schizophrenia…
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Mystery South Korean woman falls from Pattaya condo
A South Korean woman has fallen to her death from a Pattaya condo. The incident happened yesterday morning. She was aged between 25 and 30, according to the police report. Pattaya Police Station was notified around 2 am about the incident at the Chonburi condo and officers rushed to investigate the scene. They found that the woman’s skull was cracked,…
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Last night of Phuket vegetarian festival was a blast – VIDEO
Last night (October 7), Phuket local shrines gathered for the final day parades of the Phuket Vegetarian Festival, which took place from September 29 to October 7. Almost all of the Chinese shrines in Phuket had their Mah Song walking around the city with members of the shrine holding palanquins adorned with Chinese gods for blessing people lining the streets…
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5 more dead elephants located by drone at Khao Yai park waterfall
PHOTO: One of the elephants spotted on Saturday before disappearing in the forest – AFP Sending up the video-enabled drones at the Khao Yai National Park, north east of Bangkok, has spotted five more dead elephants. Park officials are still working out how to retrieve the bodies of six others dead elephants in the same area after a herd stumbled…
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22 year old woman dies after running into parked truck in Pattaya
PHOTO: Ruk Siam News / รักสยาม นิวส์ A 22 year old woman, riding alone on a motorbike with a group of four others on three motorcycles, heading home to a seaside resort, collided with the back of a ten-wheeler truck. The incident happened near the Ban Na bridge in Nong Prue at 3.30am early Monday. Police say the truck was parked…
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Special committee to investigate Yala judge suicide attempt
Photo montage: Bangla Tribune The Nation reports that a special panel will investigate the case of a judge in southern Thailand shooting himself in court, after he was allegedly made to change the verdict he handed down. The committee is expected to report back in 15 days, confirms deputy secretary-general of the Office of the Judiciary, Sarawut Benjakul. It’s understood…
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Focus back on US-China trade talks – Asian markets rise
“A large percentage of the market thinks China may roll the dice and take advantage of what they think is Trump’s weakened political state.” Asian markets rise today as investors resume their focus on the next round of China-US trade talks this week. But hopes for success are being tempered by mixed messages from both sides of the table. There has been…
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Thai police: Belgian reporter was detained over national security concerns
PHOTO: Anurak Jeantawanich A Belgian reporter due to interview an anti-government activist in Thailand, was briefly detained by Immigration and Special Branch officials, police have confirmed. Kris Janssens, a freelance journalist from Belgium, was taken into custody for questioning before being released without charge, says Col. Krissana Pattanacharoen. “We escorted him away for inquiries because our intel suggested that he…
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Man stung by scorpion hiding in bag of fruit
PHOTO: Wikiwand A Bangkok man has taken to social media to warn fruit lovers to check fruit thoroughly before eating it, after he was stung by a baby scorpion hiding in a bag of langsat fruit. Pennung Chaiyachit says he put his hand in the bag, which contained about 2 kilos of the fruit, when he felt a sharp pain…
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8 injured after pick-up truck loses control and flips in Pattaya
Just over a week after 13 students were killed when they were thrown from the back of a truck that lost control in Samut Prakan, 8 people have been injured in Pattaya in similar circumstances. The Pattaya News reports that the accident happened on Motorway Sai 7 Road, as workers were being transported to a construction site. The truck driver,…
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Samsung Electronics flags 56% fall in third quarter profits
“Samsung took advantage of the US trade ban against Chinese rival Huawei.” PHOTO: CNBC Samsung Electronics says it expects operating profits to drop more than 50% in Q3 amid a continued slump in the global chip market. Operating profits for July to September was expected to reach 7.7 trillion won (US$6.4 billion), down 56.2% from a year earlier – this from…
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Panel bans paraquat, glyphosate and chlorpyrifos effective December 1
A four-party working committee, set up on the request of the Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha, has agreed unanimously to ban the production, import, sale and use of three controversial herbicides – paraquat, glyphosate and chlorpyrifos. The decision was handed down yesterday and takes effect as of December 1 “as a New Year’s gift for the Thai people”. Thai Deputy Agriculture…
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43rd anniversary of the Thammasat University Massacre remembered
“This year’s event saw relatives, representatives of political parties and various organisations make merit and lay wreaths and flowers at Thammasat University.” PHOTO: The Nation The 43rd anniversary of the killing of students by police and ultranationalist forces on October 6, 1976 – known as the Thammasat University Massacre – was commemorated yesterday as relatives and others gathered at the…
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Second Trump whistleblower comes forward with “first-hand information”
“Biden wrote in The Washington Post that Trump was “frantically pushing flat-out lies, debunked conspiracy theories and smears against me and my family, no doubt hoping to undermine my candidacy.” MONTAGE: Wall Street Journal A second whistleblower has come forward, this one with first-hand information about events that triggered an impeachment investigation into US President Donald Trump. The original whistleblower…
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Fire in Phuket house kills two, injures two
PHOTO: Phuket Hot News This morning around 3am the Ratsada Municipality fire fighters received a report about a fire at a house in Srisuchart Grand Ville village. The incident killed a two women as well as injuring two of the house owners. The team brought two fire trucks to the scene along with an extra truck from Phuket municipality. It was…
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