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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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    The 5 most common travel emergencies in Thailand and how to be prepared

    Thailand is a popular destination known for its dynamic culture, stunning beaches, and bustling cities however, travellers can face unexpected travel emergencies that include medical issues, road accidents, petty theft, and natural disasters. To ensure a safe and enjoyable trip,...

  • World’s most visited Van Gogh Alive exhibition comes to Bangkok

    World’s most visited Van Gogh Alive exhibition comes to Bangkok

    Van Gogh Alive, the most visited exhibition in the world, is now open at the Chao Phraya riverside shopping mall, ICONSIAM, in Bangkok from today until July 31. Yesterday (March 30) marked the birthday of the world-renowned impressionist artist, Vincent Van Gogh, who spent ten years crafting artworks that went on to influence some of the most influential figures in…

  • Phuket officials swoop on encroaching beach beds, umbrellas, and restaurants

    Phuket officials swoop on encroaching beach beds, umbrellas, and restaurants

    Phuket officials swooped on encroaching beach beds, umbrellas, and restaurants on a beach in the Thalang district yesterday. A team of officials led by Thalang District Chief Bancha Tanuin inspected Lay Phang Beach in Cherng Talay. The officials asked operators to remove beach beds and umbrellas from the beach. Even though many tourists enjoy these things, authorities say they lead…

  • Russian tourist to be deported from Bali for naked pic on sacred mountain

    Russian tourist to be deported from Bali for naked pic on sacred mountain

    A Russian man is to be deported from Indonesia after posting a photo of himself on social media standing on a sacred mountain in Bali with his pants around his ankles. Mount Agung – an active volcano – is the highest point in Bali and is especially sacred to Hindus, who believe it to be a replica of Mount Meru,…

  • Swedish man accused of swindling money charged for overstaying

    Swedish man accused of swindling money charged for overstaying

    Police arrested a Swedish man who overstayed his visa in Chon Buri by over seven years. He was also accused of swindling money from Thai people. The Immigration Bureau Division 3 arrested the 50 year old Swedish man, Lennart Alexander, at a rental house in the Si Racha district of Chon Buri. He was initially charged with overstaying his visa…

  • Wire mesh impales Pattaya tourist’s ankle

    Wire mesh impales Pattaya tourist’s ankle

    A wire mesh impaled a Pattaya tourist’s ankle on Tuesday night. The tourist, 42 year old Rayong resident Sirima Khummode, said she was walking to buy food on Thepprasit Road at around 9pm. She said she accidentally stepped on some protruding iron wire mesh on the footpath. The wire penetrated Sirima’s ankle, and she screamed for help from passersby. Rescuers…

  • Thai monk throws money from the sky to celebrate his birthday (video)

    Thai monk throws money from the sky to celebrate his birthday (video)

    A Thai Buddhist monk ascended into the air on a crane and threw 150,000 baht cash to attendees of his birthday party at a temple in Surin province in northeast Thailand on Tuesday. To celebrate his 46th birthday and 24th year in the monkhood, Phra Khru Phot Suwannarat – aka Luang Phor Kaen – hired a crane to hoist him…

  • Phuket crash kills foreigner, the 35th road death on island this year

    Phuket crash kills foreigner, the 35th road death on island this year

    Phuket’s number of road deaths reached 35 this year after a motorcycle crash killed a foreigner early this morning. The accident happened on Karon Beach Road on Phuket’s west coast at about 2.28am, according to Ruamjai Rescue Foundation. Rescuers and emergency medical service teams arrived on the scene to find a garbage truck parked on the side of the road.…

  • Horny Thai man fined 200 baht for having sex in public under Bangkok bridge

    Horny Thai man fined 200 baht for having sex in public under Bangkok bridge

    A horny Thai man was fined 200 baht after being caught on a video having sex with his 20 year old girlfriend near a public park under the Bhumibol Bridge 2 in Bangkok yesterday. A witness, 65 year old Tawee, recorded the lustful couple having sex near the Bhumibol Bridge’s foundation pillar and shared the video on social media yesterday…

  • Tragic end to love affair: Thai man commits suicide after murdering girlfriend

    Tragic end to love affair: Thai man commits suicide after murdering girlfriend

    A Thai man allegedly murdered his girlfriend and hid her body inside a sauna tent in their shared house in the central province of Nakhon Pathom before committing suicide. Investigating officers from Mueang Nakhon Pathom Police Station arrived at the Nakhon Pathom Hospital at 4pm on Wednesday, March 29 and identified the deceased as 29 year old Kiattichai Wichaita. He…

  • French woman missing in dense jungle on Koh Adang, southern Thailand

    French woman missing in dense jungle on Koh Adang, southern Thailand

    A search party has been launched after a French woman went missing in the jungle on Koh Adang island in Satun province in southern Thailand yesterday, reports the Phuket Express. The tourist, 29 year old Claire Maire Theophane Drapeau, was last spotted veering off the trail into the jungle near a viewpoint on the island sometime yesterday. Satun Police were notified…

  • Chinese Christians seeking asylum in Thailand fear repercussions if they’re deported to China

    Chinese Christians seeking asylum in Thailand fear repercussions if they’re deported to China

    Members of a Chinese Christian church seeking asylum in Thailand fear they will be jailed if they are deported back to China. Thai immigration officials yesterday detained 63 members of the Mayflower Church, a Chinese Christian church seeking asylum in Thailand. The group, including men, women, and children, had been attempting to relocate to the United States since August of…

  • Phuket rescuers find body of man who jumped from bridge

    Phuket rescuers find body of man who jumped from bridge

    Phuket rescuers on Wednesday found the body of a man who jumped from the Thep Krasattri Bridge. Kusoldharm rescuers recovered the body, and the man’s wife confirmed that the body was her husband’s. The rescuers found the body floating about 1 kilometre away from the bridge, The Phuket Express reported. The names of the man and the wife were being…

  • Hacker threatens to publish data of 55 million Thai citizens

    Hacker threatens to publish data of 55 million Thai citizens

    A hacker, who goes by the pseudonym of 9Near, threatened to publicly release the personal data of 55 million Thai citizens unless the government contacts the cyberpunk by April 5. 9Near announced on the dark website BreachForums that he had stolen the personal data of 55 million Thai citizens from a government department and was going to sell them. The…

  • 3 foreign men arrested in Thai police crackdown on child prostitution in Phuket

    3 foreign men arrested in Thai police crackdown on child prostitution in Phuket

    Following the crackdown on child prostitution at Velvet bar in the Patong neighbourhood of Phuket two weeks ago, the Royal Thai Police (RTP) discovered six more foreign men also bought sexual services at the bar and through its network. Out of the six, three foreign men were arrested while three are on the run. The Department of Provincial Administration (DOPA) and…

  • British expat dies from allergic reaction to bee sting in Phuket

    British expat dies from allergic reaction to bee sting in Phuket

    A 69 year old British man died from a severe allergic reaction to a single bee sting yesterday in Phuket, southern Thailand, reports KhaoSod. Volunteers from Rawai Rescue Unit rushed to a house in Soi Kit Prasarn 1 in Rawai district after they were informed that a foreigner was in critical condition after being stung by a bee. Upon arrival,…

  • Intoxicated Bangkok man steals and crashes ambulance

    Intoxicated Bangkok man steals and crashes ambulance

    An intoxicated Bangkok man stole and crashed an ambulance on Wednesday night. The suspect, 21 year old Jirasak, allegedly stole the ambulance from Ratburana Police Station and drove it to a gas station. There, he unsuccessfully attempted to steal a pickup truck before returning to the ambulance. Jirasak drove away, and was involved in a collision, Thai PBS reported. Jirasak…

  • Thai police officers face lengthy prison spell after large-scale corruption

    Thai police officers face lengthy prison spell after large-scale corruption

    Some of Thailand’s most notorious police officers face time in prison due to charges of large–scale corruption. Eight police allegedly took advantage of their positions of power to assist PCC Development and Construction in winning a bid to build 163 five–storey flats worth 3.7 billion baht. The accused included Pol. Lt. Gen. Theerayut Kittiwat, Pol. Maj. Gen. Satja Khachahiran, Pol.…

  • WMP slams Bangkok Gov’s ban on sexy dresses at Songkran Festival

    WMP slams Bangkok Gov’s ban on sexy dresses at Songkran Festival

    The Women and Men Progressive Movement Foundation (WMP) criticized Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt over his recent Songkran Festival policy which bans women from wearing sexy dresses. The WMP believes the policy is victim-blaming and protects sexual offenders. Chadchart announced the policy for the Songkran Festival in Bangkok on Monday, March 27 after a meeting with his team. The team has banned…

  • Cops arrest Iraqi in Pattaya who overstayed visa by 8 years

    Cops arrest Iraqi in Pattaya who overstayed visa by 8 years

    Cops arrested an Iraqi man in Pattaya who overstayed his visa for more than eight years. Chon Buri Immigration and Pattaya Police arrested the man at his house in Pattaya’s Map Yai Lia community on Tuesday. The man was sitting in front of his house when the cops showed up. The man turned pale and fainted when he saw the…

  • Studio Ghibli co-founder accused of spending company funds on Thai girlfriend

    Studio Ghibli co-founder accused of spending company funds on Thai girlfriend

    Studio Ghibli co-founder Toshio Suzuki is caught up in a scandal after being accused of spending the Japanese animation studio’s money on his Thai girlfriend “Kanyada,” who he has been seeing since 2013. The current president of the company, Koji Hoshino, said he is retiring from the company at the end of June due to Suzuki’s misappropriation of company funds…

  • Australian arrested over Phuket restaurant brawl

    Australian arrested over Phuket restaurant brawl

    UPDATE Police arrested an Australian man for his involvement in the brawl that broke out between foreign staff and foreign customers at Atlas Restaurant in the Patong area of Phuket in southern Thailand early on Monday morning, reports the Phuket Express. Police arrested 34 year old “Karen” of Australian nationality who admitted to starting the fight by throwing a bottle at the…

  • Woman exposes mother’s alleged abuse toward a bedridden patient

    Woman exposes mother’s alleged abuse toward a bedridden patient

    A woman who exposed her mother’s alleged abusive actions toward a bedridden patient on social media suffered repercussions. The patient may have got help from the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, or M-Society, but she was evicted by her mother despite being seven months pregnant. Pinyaphat revealed the story of her mother and her bedridden cousin on Tuesday,…

  • Rare display of Bryde’s whales wows tourists in Andaman Sea

    Rare display of Bryde’s whales wows tourists in Andaman Sea

    Tourists enjoying a boat trip yesterday were treated to a rare display of a pair of Bryde’s whales showing off in the Andaman Sea off Phang Na province. According to Lertsak Ponklin, the president of Phang Nga Tourism Business Association, the two giant sea mammals were spotted frolicking in the Similan Islands National Park. The tourists aboard the Wow Andaman…

  • Shake Shack opens for business in Thailand

    Shake Shack opens for business in Thailand

    World-famous New York burger joint Shake Shack opened its flagship Thailand store at CentralWorld in Bangkok at 10.30am today. The first 500 customers at the store this morning were given handcrafted bamboo Shake Shack fans woven by a community enterprise in Ayutthaya, ready for the summer season. The restaurant’s menu offers American classics like burgers, hot dogs, chicken, fries and also…

  • Hong Kong Airlines to launch direct flights to Phuket

    Hong Kong Airlines to launch direct flights to Phuket

    Low-cost carrier Hong Kong Airlines will launch a direct flight to Phuket in southern Thailand, starting June 16, 2023. An Airbus A320 will service the direct Hong Kong – Phuket route four times per week to meet rising demand as tourists return to Thailand in full force. The outbound flight will depart from Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) at 8.20pm…

  • MP and former officer among 18 suspects accused of cheating in police exam

    MP and former officer among 18 suspects accused of cheating in police exam

    Officers from the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) made a major breakthrough in the police entrance exam cheating case by arresting 17 out of 18 suspects. A Member of Parliament (MP) from Palang Pracharath Party, a future MP candidate from Move Forward Party, and a former police senior sergeant major who is now on the run, were among the 18 suspects. Yesterday,…

  • ‘Water Festival 2023’ promotes traditional Thai culture

    ‘Water Festival 2023’ promotes traditional Thai culture

    The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) announced plans to promote traditional Thai culture with a series of events for Songkran under the “Water Festival 2023” banner in four regions between April 13 and 16. The event is a collaborative effort between TAT, Thai Beverage Public Co Ltd (ThaiBev), and several other partners, including the Culture Ministry, the Royal Thai Navy,…

  • Body of loan shark found in Thailand river, 7 baht of gold jewellery missing

    Body of loan shark found in Thailand river, 7 baht of gold jewellery missing

    The body of a Thai woman missing for three days was recovered from a river in Chumphon province in southern Thailand yesterday. The gold jewellery she usually wears, worth 220,000 baht, was missing. The deceased – 32 year old Chadathip – ran a loan business and never returned from an appointment she made to chase money from a debtor on…

  • Painting stolen by Nazi Party to be returned to Jewish decendants

    Painting stolen by Nazi Party to be returned to Jewish decendants

    A painting from the 19th century that was once owned by Hermann Goering, a high-ranking member of the Nazi Party, is going to be returned to the descendants of its original Jewish owner. The Fitzwilliam Museum at Cambridge University in Britain agreed to return a painting by French artist Gustave Courbet to the descendants of its original Jewish owner, who…

  • Police detain naked German man on Pattaya Beach

    Police detain naked German man on Pattaya Beach

    A stark naked German man scaring tourists on Pattaya Beach in Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand, was detained and charged by police yesterday, reports DailyNews. Officers from Pattaya City Police Station were informed that a tall foreign man was exhibiting himself on Pattaya Beach, horrifying beachgoers at the busy tourist spot. Police hurried down to the beach to find 63…