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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Sponsored Travel insurance vs digital nomad insurance: What’s the difference?
Travel insurance and digital nomad insurance protect travellers but cater to different needs. Travel insurance is for short trips, like vacations or business trips. It covers things like medical emergencies, trip cancellations, and lost bags. It works best for people...
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Bike rider killed near the Heroines Monument
PHOTO: Newshawk Phuket A female bicycle rider has died at the scene after colliding with a car in Thalang last night (September 1). The Thalang Police were notified of the accident at a U-turn near the Heroines Monument on Thepkrasattri Road southbound at 9.40pm. Rescue workers and Thalang Police arrived at the scene to find the body of a woman…
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Surat Thani police issue arrest warrants for administrators of Samui website
PHOTOS: Tourist Police Police this week say they wrapped up their investigation into the alleged rape case on Koh Tao involving the 19 year old female British backpacker. The conclusion – there is no evidence to substantiate the allegations of rape. They say without interviewing the UK tourist they have no report or evidence to indicate any wrong-doing. On Friday…
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Phoenix salvage moves into its second month – Videos
PHOTO AND VIDEOS: The Phuket Marine Office It’s already been a month since the Phoenix salvage operation began. So far the wreck remains resting on the bottom of the Andaman Sea, 45 metres underwater. All attempts, so far, to bring the Phoenix to the surface and be used as critical evidence in the forthcoming court case, has failed with divers and salvage contractors…
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She gambled. She lost.
The Belarusian self-proclaimed seductress, nabbed by police last February in Pattaya running ‘sex classes’ for Russian tourists in the party town, remains in a Thai prison. In the days after her arrest, her relatively minor immigration transgression ramped up into an international scandal when she claimed she could dish dirt on US President Trump and some of his alleged Russian…
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I’ve got a little list – Thai PM
Article 44 of the interim Thai charter is the NCPO’s open cheque to pass any laws it wishes. And many have been directed from the PM’s office over the course of his over four years at the head of the nation’s military government. But it appears he’s lost count of how many have been passed and ordered his deputy PM…
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Dead Australian found in a Chiang Mai condo
PHOTO: Komchadluek The body of a 45 year old Australian has been found at a condo in Chiang Mai. Police and rescue workers were called to the One Plus condo located near the town centre after a maid reported a foul smell coming from the man’s room. The maid alerted the building’s manager who gained access to the room to discover…
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Thailand emerging as a regional blockchain leader
While United States regulators are still trying to figure out how to think about cryptocurrencies, Thailand’s government is already mapping out its own central bank digital currency. Tech Crunch says this is just one of numerous examples how Thailand has emerged as one the most interesting cryptocurrency and blockchain countries in Southeast Asia during 2018. The Thai government has become increasingly…
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80,000 still affected by August floods
Eight of the 18 provinces hit by floods caused by recent tropical storms and seasonal monsoons remain under water according to the chief of the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department. Flooding was a problem in 18 provinces from August 17 to the end of the month due to influences of Tropical Storm Bebinca and the southwest monsoon. During the period, 162,711…
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Responsible property purchases – do your homework and seek a second opinion
Many times prospective buyers of property in Thailand search online for legal information in regards to their purchase. They soon discover that online legal advice varies depending on the law office, lawyer or advisor providing the information. In some cases advice is given which recommends that to secure an investment in property a Thai company should be incorporated to hold…
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More rain on the way – officials warn of possible flooding
Heavy rains continue to plague parts of Thailand with one of the wettest wet seasons in record. Seventeen provinces in all regions of the country are being warned to prepare for torrential rain from today until Wednesday, “which may trigger floods in few areas and exacerbate the situation” in areas already inundated and recovering from last month’s heavy rains. The…
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Hello Bangkok Christian College – It’s the 21st century
PHOTO: Bangkok Christian College In a sign that the Thai education system still has a way to go, the Bangkok Christian College has been forced to backtrack on using the phrase “sexual deviation” to describe transgenders and other shades of the GLBT spectrum. But the college insists it will still host a controversial seminar in Bangkok as planned. The seminar,…
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Pattaya police told to clean up their act
PHOTOS: Pattaya News Pattaya police are being told to clean up their act, stop hiding behind masks and try harder to communicate better with tourists. The directive has come from Bangkok HQ. Pattaya News is reporting that the local Pattaya police chief Pol Col Apichai Krobpetch is passing on the directive to officers on the beat. He said that “This…
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National police ask to be updated on death of German tourist on Koh Phi Phi
A top national police spokesman has commented on the, as yet, unsolved death of a German tourist found on rocks at Koh Phi Phi. The national police chief Chakthip Chaijinda has asked to be kept informed of any developments in the case. Daily News reports that 50 year old Markus Steinbach was found on Tuesday evening in a sandy crevice on…
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Is the new Suvarnabhumi T2 design copied?
by Phatarawadee Phataranawik The new Suvarnabhumi Airport, much-needed, T2 project has become embroiled in claims of plagiarism and dodgy tender processes. Renowned Thai architect Duangrit Bunnag’s winning “forest” design for Suvarnabhumi Airport’s new 35 billion baht passenger terminal is embroiled in a plagiarism controversy as well as added scepticism about the transparency of the design contest organised by Airports of Thailand…
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Kanchanaburi mother and her lover arrested over 2015 murder
A three year old crime has eventually caught up with a woman and her lover in Kanchanaburi. Police have arrested a 47 year old woman implicated in conspiring with her 36 year old plantation worker lover in the murder of her 56 year old plantation owner husband in Kanchanaburi’s Sai Yok district back in August 2015. Supatchaya Sirisuk was arrested…
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Thaiger Radio News – Saturday
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Police uncover a major farm scam
It works a bit like the famous Nigerian scam when you have to deposit money into an account to unlock promised million (that never arrive of course). But this one was in Thailand… Police have arrested an alleged fraudster who claimed that his company was contracted by the UN to provide 1 million baht financial support to Thai farmers. 56…
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Big Bangkok Busts
The Metropolitan Police Bureau are crowing about their ‘protection operations’ during the past two months have resulted in the arrest of many suspects and huge drug seizures. Pol Maj Gen Ruchakorn Jornjewut, deputy commissioner of the bureau, held a press conference on the “Protecting People” operations from July 1 to August 30. He said the operations saw 6,392 alleged drug…
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British yacht catches fire – rescued off Phuket
Five boat crews on a British yacht have been rescued by Thai fishing boat after caught fire off Panwa Cape yesterday (August 30). The Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command (NAC 3) officers were notified from Sanit Woranut who was on the British national yacht Philkade which caught fire at 9pm yesterday (August 30) south-east of Cape Panwa. The Royal Thai Navy reported…
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Traditional motorbike taxis vs Grab rival
The old will always try and block the inevitable progress of the news. And so it is with the newer Grab and Uber-stye transport services vs the ‘old guard’. The latest battle in the war between traditional motorcycle-taxis and the upstart Grab service ended with no one getting a ride. A Facebook user posting as “Enfant Tunglamae” live-broadcast the Thursday…
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Thaiger Radio News – Friday
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German tourist’s death remains a mystery – Koh Phi Phi police
Police are continuing their investigation into the death of a German tourist on Koh Phi Phi. They say they’re unsure whether he died after accidentally falling from rocks or if it was a suicide. The man was found dead on Wednesday evening. The body of 50 year old Markus Steibach was found lying near a rock formation on the beach…
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Darasamut Underpass to close for maintenance
The Phuket Highway Office has issued an announcement that says the Darasamut Underpass (adjacent to Central Festival) will be closed from 9am to 3pm on Wednesday (September 5). Mr Somwang says, “Both the northbound and southbound lanes through the underpass will be temporary closed.” “Workers will be carrying out maintenance, repairs and replacing water pumps and light bulbs from 9am to…
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Phoenix fails to rise
The attempt to bring the Phoenix up to surface has failed again due to ‘uncontrollable factors’. The Phuket Marine Office says that divers were trying to attach the ropes around the boat as well as trying to maneuvre larger orange ropes to make into a knot to attach to 200 litre floatation tanks. A large balloon is used to balance…
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50 foreign prisoners to return to their home countries to finish sentences
FILE PHOTO Fifty foreign inmates in Thai prisons have been approved to serve their remaining sentence behind bars in their home countries. The Corrections Department chief Narat Sawettanan says that inmates from Iran, France, the UK, Sweden, the Netherlands and Spain qualified for the transfers as per the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced People. The department had since 1990…
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Police say they will seek arrest warrants for publishers of Koh Tao story
FILE PHOTO: Sairee Beach, Koh Tao Khaosod English are reporting that Police are seeking a warrant to arrest the editor of a news site that published accounts of an alleged sexual assault on the tourist island of Koh Tao. According to the report, the editor of the Samui Times, Su Buchanan, will be charged under cybercrime laws for defaming the…
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Sister and boyfriend arrested over alleged rape of 12 year old autistic girl
Two youths have been arrested in Songkhla after a 15 year old girl allegedly let her 19 year old boyfriend rape her 12 year old autistic sister. The accused girl and her boyfriend of three months, Sanpich Kobbai, also allegedly returned to the girl’s home in Songkhla’s Sadao district, to rob her 73 year old grandmother of a gold ring,…
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PPHO Chief apologises for the hospital’s mistake over gauze left in body
Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) Chief has apologised over gauze being left in a woman’s vagina after the patient had given birth at a government hospital in Thalang. Two people have made official complaints about the Phuket government hospital in Thalang alleging malpractice. In one case, gauze was left in a woman’s vagina after the patient had given birth, whilst another…
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Arson attack on Yala electricity building and vehicles
Five alleged insurgents have raided an office of the Provincial Electricity Authority in Yala and set fire to the building and two vehicles just after midnight. Police said the attackers raided the PEA office in Ban Bannang Dama in Tambon Bannang Dama of Yala’s Kabang district at 12:30am (Thursday) and tied up six officials leaving them them at the rear…
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Emergency water shut off hits Kathu
FILE PHOTO: PWA The Phuket Water Authority (PWA) says that water supply in some areas of Kathu will be shut off today (August 30) after mains pipes broke earlier this morning. The mains were shut off from 3.30pm until repair works can be completed. The PWA says that water supply in some areas of Kathu will be shutoff while work is being…
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