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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    Travel insurance vs digital nomad insurance: What’s the difference?

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  • Phuket Governor inspects the Phoenix salvage site

    Phuket Governor inspects the Phoenix salvage site

    Phuket’s Governor Pakkapong Tawaipat headed out to the scene of the salvation operations to recover the Phoenix, the boat that sank on July 5 causing the drowning death of 47 Chinese tourists. The Phuket PR Office says a team of officials, headed up by the new Governor, departed from Chalong Pier on a speed boat at 4pm yesterday to the…

  • Tsunami risk is statistically very low

    Tsunami risk is statistically very low

    by Pratch Rujivanarom The chances of an imminent repeat tsunami in the Andaman Sea is remote, while the tsunami risk in the Gulf of Thailand is even smaller to nearly impossible chance, say leading seismologists in the wake of public tsunami fears triggered by the recent devastation in Palu, Indonesia. Nevertheless, say experts, the authorities, business sector and citizens in…

  • Everything is OK – KCon 2018 comes to Bangkok

    Everything is OK – KCon 2018 comes to Bangkok

    In case you’ve been living under a rock, K-Pop, the garish, highly-produced pop/RnB/hip-hop fusion coming out of South Korea, is the biggest ‘thing’ in international pop music sales at the moment. And KCon – a celebration of everything K-Pop – has just swept through Bangkok. No fewer than 40,000 devoted fans of the Korean Wave massed at Impact Arena and…

  • No more ‘tips’ at Immigration

    No more ‘tips’ at Immigration

    The new Thai immigration chief, Maj-General Surachate Hakparn, has implemented his first promise at immigration stations. The signage going up nationwide is clear and unequivocal. No Tips. That means no more payments to corrupt immigration officials or the agents who collect the tea money from tourists and either pass it on or keep it for themselves. It’s also a tacit…

  • Extensive dredging gives Royal Phuket Marina round-the-clock access

    Extensive dredging gives Royal Phuket Marina round-the-clock access

    Royal Phuket Marina, working closely with the Marine Department in Phuket, have recently completed dredging of its marina basin and access channel, increasing the depth to two metres at the lowest tide and enabling motor boats up to 35 metres round-the-clock access. “The recent dredging program is part of our ongoing commitment to customers and our desire to drive Thailand’s…

  • Phuket Governor assures Phuket “we’re ready to handle any tsunami”

    Phuket Governor assures Phuket “we’re ready to handle any tsunami”

    The Phuket Governor Pakkapong Tawipat is assuring Phuketians and tourists of the island’s readiness to handle any tsunami. Governor Pakkapong says, “It’s not only Phuket that is paying attention to the recent tsunami in Sulawesi, but also the nation. We are totally ready to help people and tourists if any similar event was to occur.” “We are keeping an eye…

  • Three Krabi districts hit with flash floods

    Three Krabi districts hit with flash floods

    FILE PHOTO: nationmultimedia.com A canal running through three districts in Krabi burst its banks and inundate several villages early on Thursday after hours of heavy rain overnight. Officials said the Klong Sin Poon canal that runs through Klong Thom district, Nua Klong district and Khao Phanom district overflowed at about 4am, causing widespread flooding in three districts. The canal receives…

  • You’re in the drivers seat, in your BKK hotel

    You’re in the drivers seat, in your BKK hotel

    The MeStyle Garage Hotel Bangkok, a new themed boutique hotel, is taking guests on an offbeat journey to experience a new dimension in design – ‘garage funky’ – inspired by its founder’s passion for cars. The hotel is the latest project from MeStyle Property Co, based in the Huay Kwang district of Bangkok. About 800 metres from Huay Kwang MRT…

  • Two tsunami warning towers on Koh Phi Phi not working

    Two tsunami warning towers on Koh Phi Phi not working

    PHOTO: Tsunami warning systems on Koh Phi Phi’s Ton Sai Bay – Daily News Two towers on Koh Phi Phi have tsunami warning systems that are not working. 700 people died on the island in the 2004 Asian tsumani that killed around 5,000 people along the Andaman coast of Thailand. Daily News is reporting that, just days after thousands were killed…

  • Rotary Club of Bangkok and Rotary Thailand celebrate 88th anniversary

    Rotary Club of Bangkok and Rotary Thailand celebrate 88th anniversary

    PHOTO: The Board of Directors and members of the Rotary Club of Bangkok The Rotary Club of Bangkok, the first Rotary Club in Thailand, celebrated its 88th anniversary on September 21, 2018 with a major gathering of members and dignitaries from across Asia. Led by Khun Maleeratna Plumchitchom, the current President of the Rotary Club of Bangkok, the anniversary event was…

  • Thai public hospital system under stress

    Thai public hospital system under stress

    Public Health Ministry permanent secretary Dr Sukhum Kanchanapimai yesterday admitted that the country’s hospitals were overwhelmed, following an outspoken doctor’s comments that the system was “close to collapse”. Sukhum told a press conference in Nonthaburi province yesterday that crowded conditions were a reality and the bed occupation rate in many big hospitals was beyond full capacity. To tackle this long-standing…

  • Thaiger Radio News – Thursday

    Thaiger Radio News – Thursday

    Listen to the daily news from The Thaiger, anytime, anywhere…  

  • Burmese man drowns trying to rescue monkey

    Burmese man drowns trying to rescue monkey

    Three male Myanmar citizens did the right thing and jumped into a lagoon in Koh Kaew last night trying to rescue a monkey. But one of them drowned during his efforts to save the distressed monkey. Kusoldarm rescue divers were notified that a man had drowned at the lagoon in about 6pm. 38 year old U Mae Au, a Burmese…

  • Tourism operators appeal indefinite closure of Maya Bay

    Tourism operators appeal indefinite closure of Maya Bay

    by Sitthichai Sikhawat The indefinite closure of Koh Phi Phi Ley’s Maya Bay is causing ripples of concern through the island’s tourism associations, operators and beyond. The Krabi Tourism Association president Wattana Rerngsamut is appealing the indefinite closure in an order listed in the Royal Gazette on Monday and made public on Tuesday. The move will severely affect the tourism…

  • Warning for horny pachyderms in Phetchaburi

    Warning for horny pachyderms in Phetchaburi

    Sanook reports that the head of the Kaeng Krachan national park in Phetchaburi is warning us to take care after a video showing an elephant in ‘musth’. An elephant in musth can have up to six times greater reproductive hormones running through their veins. According to the national park chief, elephants can become dangerous to their own kind as well as…

  • Interpol red-list Russian nabbed in Pattaya

    Interpol red-list Russian nabbed in Pattaya

    PHOTO: Manager Online A Russian man, wanted on an Interpol red warrant, is now in custody after police caught up with him in Pattaya yesterday. The arrest was made after the Chon Buri police head office received a request from the Russian embassy to locate Vitalil Trofimov, who is wanted in Russia on drug trafficking charges. Police checked records and…

  • Najib’s wife arrested, to be charged with money laundering – Malaysia

    Najib’s wife arrested, to be charged with money laundering – Malaysia

    Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, the wife of the former Malaysian PM, Najib Tun Razak, has been arrested by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). According to her lawyers, she was arrested at 3.20pm while giving a statement at the headquarters of the MACC. It has been learnt that the wife of the former prime minister will be charged with money laundering…

  • Five vehicles involved in Krabi traffic light pile up

    Five vehicles involved in Krabi traffic light pile up

    A driver has escaped serious injury after colliding with other vehicles at a traffic light in Krabi today, setting off a chain of other damage to the cars in front The Krabi City Police were notified of the incident at an intersection on Petkasem Road in Krabi City about midday. Police and rescue workers arrived at the scene to find…

  • Crocodile farms in Krabi checked after wandering croc captured

    Crocodile farms in Krabi checked after wandering croc captured

    Officials from the Krabi Fisheries Office have checked crocodile farms around Krabi after locals caught a two metre crocodile in a mangrove forest in Klongtom this week, while another crocodile has been sighted in the same area. Read more about the crocodile being caught by locals HERE. Officials from Krabi Fisheries Office yesterday checked a crocodile farm owned by Nikorn Piwon…

  • Andaman’s Barren Island Volcano erupting

    Andaman’s Barren Island Volcano erupting

    PHOTO: Volcano Hotspot According to volcanodiscovery.com, the Barren Island Volcano, situated about 800 kilometres north-west of Phuket, and 130 kilometres east of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, is erupting today. There are currently no warnings or alerts about this occurrence – the volcano last erupted in December last year. According to volcanodiscovery.com, Barren Island, a possession of India in the…

  • Sunhemp in bloom at Rajabhat University

    Sunhemp in bloom at Rajabhat University

    Phuket’s Rajabhat University is holding a Sunhemp Blooming event until the end of today. It started on Monday. President of Agricultural Resources for Tourism Management, Khun Kanokwan Kaewuthai, says, “We are attracting attention to local tourism with some of our agricultural resources by integrating knowledge, tourism, agricultural business, marketing and public relations.” “We are also supporting our student to practice…

  • Thaiger Radio News – Wednesday

    Thaiger Radio News – Wednesday

    Listen to the daily news from The Thaiger, anytime, anywhere…  

  • Thousands of children among survivors desperate for aid – Sulawesi

    Thousands of children among survivors desperate for aid – Sulawesi

    PHOTO: VOA News “Survivors are also stepping forward on their own to retrieve bodies trapped under soil.” Tens of thousands of children are in an “extremely precarious” condition in the wake of last Friday’s earthquake on Sulawesi island, eastern Indonesia, even as survivors grow desperate for aid and fears mount that the death toll could rise further. Four days after…

  • More CCTV cameras being installed around Kathu

    More CCTV cameras being installed around Kathu

    Baddies, look up. Big brother is watching you… yes YOU. 37 more CCTV cameras are headed for the streets around Kathu to upgrade safety. Kathu Police Chief Col Dr Jakkrawat  Boontaweesakun says, “Kathu has continued to grow up and the population has increased. We are concern about city development, especially safety.” Kathu also sees the majority of traffic to and…

  • Phuket Governor inspects flash flood and landslide areas along the coast

    Phuket Governor inspects flash flood and landslide areas along the coast

    Phuket’s new Governor Pakkapong Tawipat, just two days into the job, yesterday visited Kamala and Patong to survey the damaged areas after the torrential rain storm, flash floods and landslides. Parts of Phuket’s west coast were awash yesterday with localised torrential rain. The rain came from a concentrated rain cell that sat over a ten kilometre stretch, drenching Kamala all…

  • Violent tuk-tuk driver faces charges over incident at Chiang Mai airport – VIDEO

    Violent tuk-tuk driver faces charges over incident at Chiang Mai airport – VIDEO

    A tuk-tuk driver who led a blockade of a Grab taxi at Chiang Mai International Airport on Monday has no public-transport driving licence and will face several charges following the incident, which was exposed by a foreign visitor. The Chiang Mai Land Transport Office and the Chiang Mai police head office met today to plan legal actions after @Winston Vaduz…

  • Maya Bay, closed until further notice – VIDEO

    Maya Bay, closed until further notice – VIDEO

    Koh Phi Phi’s iconic Maya Bay is now being closed until national park officials see some better signs of recovery in the damaged eco-system. Tim Newton reports… https://www.facebook.com/thethaigernews/videos/555881841529943/

  • Ten injured in a Krabi minivan accident

    Ten injured in a Krabi minivan accident

    Eight tourists and two Thai have been injured in a minivan accident in Plai Phraya, Krabi, this afternoon. Plai Phraya Police in Krabi were notified that a passenger minivan had veered off the road and flipped over on the Southern Sea Road at about 2pm. When emergency responders arrived they found a minivan off the side off the road in…

  • Torrential rain dogs west coast of Phuket this morning

    Torrential rain dogs west coast of Phuket this morning

    VIDEOS/PHOTOS: Nicky Phukettour / Traffic police / Jao Blue Car 2299 – Newshawk Phuket Parts of Phuket’s west coast were awash this morning with torrential rain. The rain came from a small rain cell that sat over an area along the coast between Patong and Kamala, drenching Kamala, southern Patong, Kalim and the coastal road for over an hour between 11am and midday.…

  • Maya Bay closed indefinitely

    Maya Bay closed indefinitely

    Maya Bay is to remain closed indefinietly. The four month closure of Maya Bay on Koh Phi Phi has failed to restore the beach area as anticipated.  So the national parks authority has issued a letter extending the closure of the bay. Sanook is reporting that no date has been announced when the famous bay would be re-opened again to…