News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourismāstay 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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Whatās not covered by health insurance in Thailand?
Health insurance in Thailand has important limits that everyone should know. Many policies do not cover pre-existing conditions, motorcycle accidents, extreme sports, or specific treatments. These gaps can lead to unexpected costs during emergencies. Coverage for outpatient care and hospital...
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Myanmarās ‘Bagan’ awarded UNESCO World Heritage status
UNESCO has added Myanmarās ancient capital Bagan, a collection of thousands of temples and stupas, as a World Heritage Site, nearly a quarter of a century after the Buddhist temples were first nominated for listing. The decision finally recognises the importance of the central Myanmar site ā which includes more than 3,500 stupas, temples, monasteries and other structures built between…
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Chiang Mai teenager survives big bike collision but loses leg – VIDEO
A 13 year old Chiang Mai teenager is lucky to escape with his life after a high-speed crash in front of the Sri Arun Market in the San Kampaeng district of Chiang Mai. The person posting video of the incident estimated he was traveling at 150 kph when he hit another motorbike, before sliding into a car at high speed.…
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Thai school lunch program must be investigated – PM
The Thai PM has ordered the Education and Interior minister to fully investigate the free lunch program for kindergarten and primary school children after allegations of corruption have re-surfaced at some schools. Deputy government spokesman Lt-Gen Werachon Sukondhapatipak says that the PM has received a report from the National Anti-Corruption Commission about alleged corruption concerning the program in the northeastern…
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Two defence volunteers killed by suspected insurgents in southern Thailand
Two defence volunteers guarding a road checkpoint in Yala, southern Thailand, have been shot dead while a third volunteer and a villager have been wounded in an attack by suspected insurgents. According to witness accounts, six suspected insurgents, riding three motorcycles, approached the checkpoint in Tambon Lampaya yesterday afternoon (Sunday) and the three pillion passengers opened fire at the volunteers…
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Thai PM visits Phuket today – this is what he’s doing
The Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is in Phuket today. His main task is to officiate over the official opening of the Chalong Underpass. Then he’s off to Cape Panwa for the rest of the busy schedule… 8.40am Arrive at Phuket International Airport. Welcome by a formal reception. 9:15am PM travels to Chalong Underpass receptions area. 10am Official opening ceremony for…
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Nigerian and Thai wife arrested in Chon Buri over $50,000 romance scam
PHOTO: Naewna Nong Prue police say they’ve arrested a Nigerian man and his Thai wife over their alleged collusion in an online romance scam. Police claim 40 year old Uchenna Joseph Amujiogu and 36 year old Wassana Kanchiak scammed a Thai woman out of 2 million baht.Ā The woman contacted police in June after she realised she had been a victim…
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Opinion: Who’s responsible for the sinking of ‘Phoenix’?
A year later, this hastily penned opinion piece still asks questions that remain mostly unanswered… Whoās responsible for the āPhoenixā boat disaster, the worst maritime disaster in Thailand since the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004? Whilst events of the fateful evening on July 5 remain under investigation, awaiting a full court hearing down the track, there are some things which…
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Dugongs ‘live’ from today starring Miriam and Yamil
PHOTO: ąøąø£ąø”ąøąø£ąø±ąøąø¢ąø²ąøąø£ąøąø²ąøąøąø°ą¹ąø„ą¹ąø„ąø°ąøąø²ąø¢ąøąø±ą¹ąø Be your own director, choose the camera and follow your baby dugongs live. The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources and TOT are running live trials for a livestream of the care facilities where the two young dugongs āMariamā and āYamilā are now living, one in Trang and one in Phuket. The DMCR and TOT intend to provide…
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19 million baht put aside to rehabilitate controversial Doi Suthep land in Chiang Mai
The Thai Judiciary Office says they will allocate 19 million baht for the rehabilitation of land at the foot of Chiang Maiās Doi Suthep – recently the subject of controversy and protests from local activists and environmentalists. The plot was initially set aside, then developed as a site for court officialsā residences, but Chiang Mai locals said the development was…
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Windmill GoGo in Pattaya raided: Three arrested over prostitution and underage sex
PHOTO: ąø£ąøąøąøąø±ąøąø¢ąø² Ok As difficult as it might be to believe, police have found MORE evidence of prostitution in Pattaya. Attention this time turned to the red-light district of Walking Street where regular ‘inspections’ from police and officials in the past have found ‘no prostitution’ (cough…). Police conducted a raid using an ‘undercover informant’ after receiving tip-offs the bar was…
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Korean passenger from hell ordered to pay Hawaiian Airlines compensation
FILE PHOTO A man, who forced an international flight to return to Hawaii last February, has been ordered to pay the airline more than 5.3 million baht. South Korean Kyong Chol Kim was also sentenced to six months in jail for interfering with flight attendants and crew members, and annoying passengers on the flight.Ā His behaviour on the Hawaiian Airlines flight…
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Chiang Mai protesters petition Governor over Rinkham Intersection upgrade
An activist group is taking its protest about the upgrading of an intersection in Chiang Mai to the local governor. The Chiang Mai Highway District Office 2, which has been tasked with overseeing the project, and Chiang Mai governor Supachai Iamsuwan will hold a press conference to address residentsā concerns at the Chiang Mai Government Complex next Tuesday. The proposed…
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‘Grow upā , ‘don’t throw tantrums’ – Palang Pracharat spokesperson
PHOTO: Uttama Savanayana, left, and Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana, deputy spokesperson for Phalang Pracharat Party, is lambasting the opposition for being āchildish and narrow-mindedā as it filed its petition to censure the PM. He says the opposition should give the new government some time to work before launching no-confidence motions against it. “I want the opposition to be more open-minded…
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‘Thailand’ through the eyes of non-Thai filmmakers
In addition its current āDrug In Filmā project, the Thai Film Archive is also holding a program of historical and contemporary films about Thailand as seen through the eyes of non-Thai filmmakers. The series, dubbed āExotic Thailandā, will run through July and August, andĀ features 15 films made in Thailand by international directors, includingĀ historical works like āChang: A Drama of the…
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Thailand’s Princess Sirivannavari names Krabi’s baby dugong āYamilā
Her Royal Highness Princess Sirivannavari has proposed the name āYamilā for the orphaned baby dugong found stranded in Krabi on July 1. The animal was rescued by villagers and sent for treatment and rehabilitation by marine veterinarians in Phuket. Read about the baby dugong being found HERE. Netizens were invited to name the orphaned baby dugong by officials yesterday. Many…
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Dead dugong, dolphin found off southern Thai beaches
PHOTO: Manoch Wongsuryrat A three-metre long dugong has been found dead off the coast of Trang in southern Thailand. The total number of dead dugong found this year has reached seven, according to the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources when they spoke to Thai PBS. Fishermen found the mammal and towed it ashore for veterinarians to examine. The dugong…
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Petition pushing for Prayut’s disqualification as Cabinet member handed to Constitutional Court
PHOTO: The Nation Lower House speaker, Chuan Leekpai, has forwarded a petition to the Constitutional Court calling for the disqualification of PM General Prayut Chan-o-cha as a Cabinet member.Ā The petition, signed by 101 MPs, was handed to Chuan by opposition Pheu Thai Party member Chonlanan Srikieo. The petition suggests that Prayut does not qualify as a Cabinet member, according to…
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PM orders local officials to help Khlong Dan flood victims in Samut Prakhan
The Prime Minister has ordered officials to assist residents in a riverside community which was flooded by a high tide surged through a dike being constructed in Samut Prakhan last night. A deputy government spokesman said that the sudden flooding in the community of about 50 households at Khlong Dan, Bang Bo district, was not caused by the collapse of…
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OPINION: Thailand – Land of false smiles
by Pete Downing, Guest Contributor Every year for the past eight years we have saved and come to Phuket for minimum of a week. More often than not we bring other members of our family, anywhere from four to six at a time, and every time bringing empty cases with a 30kg allowance per person and filling those cases each…
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New Cabinet list submitted for royal approval
The list of Cabinet members has been submitted for royal endorsement, according to Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam. He was speaking after presiding over the opening of Thailand Social Expo 2019 at Impact Muang Thong Thani. Wissanu declined to give further details, saying that any media questions regarding the matter should be directed to PM Prayut Chan-o-cha. He explained to the…
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Gulf waters flood into Samut Prakan coastline
High tides last night led to upper Gulf waters flowing over an embankment and flooding the homes of irrigation officials and a nearby community at Samut Prakan, south of Bangkok. Samut Prakan governor Chatchai Uthaiphan says he dispatched officials to help evacuate local residents adding the water was about one-metre high and that officials had helped relocate elderly people and…
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Competition to name dugong calf in Phuket
PHOTO: ąøąø£ąø”ąøąø£ąø±ąøąø¢ąø²ąøąø£ąøąø²ąøąøąø°ą¹ąø„ą¹ąø„ąø°ąøąø²ąø¢ąøąø±ą¹ąø The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources in Phuket is inviting members of the public to participate in a contest to name an orphaned baby dugong, found stranded on a beach in Krabi. The dugong calf is now under the care of DMCR vets to save rare marine animals in Phuket. Jatuporn Buruspat, the department’s director-general visited the…
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Final cabinet posts will contribute to frailty of new Thai government
Before the ink is even dry on the Cabinet list, and before the newly formed government has even sat, along with its PM, rumours continue to swirl over the viability of the Palang Pracharat Coalition and it’s ability to govern. Dean of the National Institute of Development Administration’s School of Social and Environmental Development, Phichai Ratnatilaka Na Bukhet, is quoted…
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Thai Stock Exchange best performer in Asia – first six months
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index shows an increase of 6.8% over previous month up to the end of June, marking it as the best performer in Asia. The SET is up 10.6% from the end of 2018 to 1,730.34 points. The average daily trading value of SET and Market for Alternative Investment in June was 60.53 billion Ā baht…
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Koh Larn locals urge Pattaya officials to fix their coastal bridge
“Fix the Koh Larn bridge”. That’s the cry from Koh Larn business owners as they demand Pattaya municipal officials to attend to the repair of the Tien Beach bridge. They complain that it’s close to collapsing. Koh Larn is off the coast of Pattaya in the Gulf of Thailand. Pattaya Mail reports that locals say there have been no lights…
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Bangkok locals cry foul after their Chinese opera performance closed down
Residents in a Bangkok community are complaining about a condo projectās ‘official complaints and the police’s intervention which closed down their traditional staging of Chinese operas at the local Chinese shrine. They say the condominium was opened just a few years ago on Soi Narathiwas Ratchanakharin 14, while their traditions have lasted decades. Earlier this week, a Chinese opera performance…
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Mariam the baby dugong ‘goes live’ soon
PHOTO: Hannaret Hripai and Srichai Anuraktichai Officials started installing six CCTVs along the coast of Koh Libong in Trang province today so that netizens will be able to monitor the life of Mariam, the baby dugong that was found washed up on a Krabi Beach in May. Residents and visitors will now be able to ‘bay sit’ (or dugong sit)…
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‘Mun’ makes landfall as heavy rains head towards Thailand’s northern provinces
The Meteorological Department is warning residents in Thaialnd’s north and north east to brace Ā for heavy for heavy rains influenced by tropical storm ‘Mun’ that made landfall in Vietnam this morning, heading west. In a special warning issued at 5am this morning (Thursday), the department says the storm was over the Gulf of Tonkin at 4am and heading for upper…
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Foreigner falls from 11th floor of Pattaya condo
PHOTO: Manager Online An unidentified foreigner has fallen to his death from the 11th floor of a Pattaya condo. Emergency responders were called to View Talay 6 Condo just after 6pm last evening (Wednesday) after condo staff reported that a man had died. They told police that the man,Ā believed to be aged between 30 -40, arrived at the condo inquiring…
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Airbnb estimates direct economic impact in Thailand exceeds 33.8 billion baht
ā¢ 80 percent of local Airbnb hosts saying they recommend restaurants and cafes to guests ā¢ Airbnb guests saying that 46% of their spending occurs in the neighbourhood where they stay. According to new survey findings and an analysis of internal data released today, Airbnbās host and guest community generated over 33.8 billion baht in estimated direct economic impact in…
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