News
Stay up-to-date with the latest news from across Thailand and beyond with The Thaiger. Our dedicated team brings you breaking news, in-depth analysis, and exclusive stories from this stunning part of the world, covering a diverse range of topics, including local politics, business, culture, and tourism. Keep yourself informed about the Kingdom’s rich history, stunning landscapes, and thriving expat communities, as well as updates on events, attractions, and transportation.
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Record number of Thai people travelling abroad
Most tourism discussions in Thailand centre around incoming international travellers to the kingdom. But Thai people are also travelling abroad in record numbers, the highest in three years. In the last quarter of 2022, an average of 28,000 Thai people are travelling outbound each day to other countries. That average has already climbed a bit in the first 20 days…
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Tesco slavery case – Thai police raid ‘sweatshop’
Thai police have raided the former Tesco supplier at centre of a slavery claims by Burmese workers. The VK Garment (VKG) factory in Mae Sot is subject of a UK lawsuit against the supermarket chain from 130 ex-workers who claim they were trafficked, raped and abused. Thai police and labour officials inspected conditions and interviewed employees at the factory over…
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Air pollution at unsafe levels in Bangkok
Bangkok residents should pay close attention to the air-quality in their vicinity and protect themselves, according to Bangkok Environment Department. The capital’s air quality is invariably appalling at this time of year, due to still air and is expected to remain unsafe over the weekend. The deteriorating air quality is attributed to a cold front from China and only weak breezes.…
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No official plans to cancel countdown parties
The government of Thailand has not officially cancelled any New Year celebrations, the Tourism Authority of Thailand informed. The TAT said all New Year’s countdown events can operate as planned, though some provinces and areas have chosen to scale back their parties. Perhaps most notably, the chief of the Khao San Road Business Association has announced a cancellation of the…
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Prayut to run for new party as PM
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is to run as the PM candidate for a new party in the next election. Prayut will be after another term under the banner of the Ruam Thai Sang Chart (RTSC) party, a move that could divide the pro-military and conservative bases in the next election. Prayut insisted that he has a close bond with the…
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A Christmas tradition: Santa elephants at school
In central Thailand, school children were thrilled with a visit from a very Thai version of Santa Claus. The school kids were thrilled as the group of elephant trainers dressed as Santa led their elephants to greet the children and distribute Christmas gifts yesterday. The uniquely Thai experience saw nearly 2,000 children receive presents of toys, dolls, balloons, and candies,…
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International tourism 2022: 11.5 million foreign arrivals
The Tourism Authority of Thailand says that, now that they’ve blown past their 2022 target of 10 million international travellers, they are now predicting 11.5 million by the end of the year. This is 15% above their projections which seemed overly hopeful earlier in the year. From the beginning of the year through December 20, 10.9 million foreign tourists have…
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Defying Thai beauty standards ft. Anchilee Scott-Kemmis | Thaiger Podcast Ep. 17
Meet Anchilee Scott-Kemmis, a Thai-Australian model and Miss Universe Thailand 2021 who defied Thai beauty standards and campaigned for what she believed in. By being a strong advocate for body positivity and diversity with her #RealSizeBeauty social movement, Anchilee became a big source of hope for many Thai women and young girls who have felt pressured by the existing beauty…
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Fireworks cancelled at Pattaya’s New Year event
Pattaya’s three-day New Year event from December 29-31 at Bali Hai Pier is still going ahead but there will be no fireworks at all this year, even on the countdown into the New Year. Concerts and street food stalls will be available to enjoy as normal. Facebook page Pattaya City Mayor Hotline (สายตรงนายกเมืองพัทยา) posted about the cancellation of the annual fire…
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UN urges Asian countries to save starving Rohingyas adrift at sea
The UN is calling on Asian countries to save almost 200 starving Rohingya refugees adrift at sea. The group of desperate Rohingyas has been adrift in the Indian ocean for the past month. The boat’s exact location is unclear. But as of Wednesday, the boat was near the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of…
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Monkey steals bag containing 50,000 Thai baht and throws it off a cliff
A trouble-making monkey in Srisaket province, northeast Thailand, stole a tourist’s tote bag and launched it off the side of a cliff yesterday after finding nothing edible inside it. A team of park rangers scaled down the cliffside to retrieve the bag, which contained 50,000 baht (US$1,438) in cash. Park rangers at Khao Phra Wihan National Park received a call from…
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Huge truck crushes young motorcyclist to death in Chon Buri
A huge truck tragically crushed a young motorcyclist to death in Chon Buri’s main city district yesterday. The incident happened on a road under a motorway in the Don Hua Lor sub-district. The victim, 20 year old Phatthames Sriraksa, who is originally from Sisaket province, had been driving home from work. Rescuers arrived on the scene to find Phattames’s body…
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Bangkok tops list of trending Airbnb destinations this year
Thailand’s capital topped a list of trending Airbnb destinations in 2022. Based on searches made in the first to third quarters of the year for check-ins, Bangkok was the #1 most trending destination for Airbnb guests across the globe. The entire list is as follows: Bangkok, Thailand Sydney, Australia Málaga, Spain Seoul, South Korea Melbourne, Australia Itapema, Brazil Angra dos…
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Malaysia or China? Thai court to decide if Teddy goes home
A Thai court is to decide on whether to extradite Malaysian businessman Teow Wooi Huat (“Teddy”) to Malaysia or China, after Malaysia filed an extradition request. Malaysia’s extradition request was heard by the Bangkok Criminal Court on Thursday. Wary of what might happen if his client is sent to China, Teow’s counsel Juti Suanraksa said the defence team would be…
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Village chief survives accidentally shooting himself while driving in central Thailand
Somehow, a village chief accidentally shot himself in the leg and hand while driving through Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province in central Thailand yesterday. He tried to drive himself to the hospital but ended up crashing into a temple. At 12.22am, officers from Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Police Station received a report of a car accident at Phra Si Sanphet…
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Thailand welcomes nearly 11 million tourists this year
Tourist arrivals in Thailand could hit the 11 million mark before the year is through, according to the Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Yuthasak Supaporn. Between January 1 and December 20, Thailand welcomed 10.9 million tourists from around the world, the governor said this morning. With High Season in full swing, Yuthasak said he expects tourist arrivals…
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Charities and leaders treat Pattaya kids to Christmas party
Generous people in Pattaya are in the holiday spirit of giving. Local leaders and charities treated kids in Pattaya’s Khopai community to a Christmas party on Tuesday. Soi Khopai is located in the Bang Lamung district. The children got to eat yummy food, play games, and win prizes. Santa Clause made an appearance at the party, gifting children candy, toys,…
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Could Thailand’s Southeast Coastal Gem Khanom Be the Next Koh Samui?
The search for the next big resort destination in Thailand is an absolutely big ask. An expansive country with 77 provinces and an amazing array of diverse geographical locations, Instagram-worthy aspects, and distinctly different nuances. Out of this brazen travel chaos, the endearing term ‘same same, but different’ was born and remains highly relevant. Yet, one of the simple truths…
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Jealous Thai husband strangles wife and sleeps next to her body all night
A drunk Thai man strangled his wife and slept next to her dead body on Tuesday night in Udon Thani province in northeast Thailand. He said he didn’t know she was dead. At 10am on Wednesday, officers from Mueang Udon Thani Police Station were notified that a husband killed his wife at a construction workers’ residence in Kak Khaeng district.…
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Commerce experts predict Thailand’s consumer spending will hit 17 year high during New Year
Commerce experts predict that Thailand’s consumer spending will hit a 17 year high during the New Year period coming soon. The president of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC) discussed the UTCC’s predictions at a conference on “Consumer behaviour and spending during the 2023 New Year Festival.” The president, Thanavath Phonvichai, said the period is expected to…
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Taxi driver killed in railway crossing crash in Bangkok, Thailand
A taxi drove through the barrier and was struck by a train at a railway crossing in Bangkok early this morning. The taxi driver was instantly killed in the crash. Officers at Thung Song Hung Police Station received a report early this morning of a train crashing into a public taxi at the railway crossing opposite the North Park Intersection in…
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Injured and detained journalists sentenced to three years plus labour in Myanmar jail
The Myanmar junta has reportedly sentenced two journalists to prison plus labour, along with seven anti-coup protesters. Myanmar Press Photo Agency journalists Ko Kaung Sett Lin and Ma Hmue Yadanar Khet Moh Moh Tun were arrested on December 5 after junta forces allegedly rammed a military vehicle into a peaceful flash-mob protest in Yangon’s Kyimyindaing Township. According to the Irrawaddy,…
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Self-proclaimed inventor of iconic chicken tikka masala cuisine dies at 77
The self-proclaimed inventor of the iconic chicken tikka masala dish has died at the age of 77. The Glasgow chef, Ahmed Aslam Ali, previously claimed that he invented the dish by creating the sauce from a can of tomato soup. He owned a restaurant called Shish Mahal in the 1970s, which his nephew says, became his life. “He would eat…
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Small but mighty group of Afghan women take to the streets over university ban
A small but mighty group of Afghan women took to the streets to protest against the Taliban’s ban on university education for women. The latest move to restrict human rights for women in the country saw the Taliban’s minister for higher education ordering all private and public universities to bar women from enrolling and attending. According to the Straits Times,…
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Druggie bites police officer who caught him stealing electricity in southern Thailand
A man high on drugs bit a police officer’s arm while under arrest for stealing electricity in Krabi province in southern Thailand yesterday afternoon. The Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) were informed of some suspicious wires leading into the house of 31 year old Natthaphong in Krabi’s Tap Prik subdistrict. Natthaphong managed to tap into the PEA’s electricity for free by…
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Pink lilies pull hundreds of thousands of tourists to northeast Thailand lake
Flowers are still springing up across Thailand, drawing tourists to admire them. The latest flower hotspot in Thailand to have tourists come flocking is Nong Han Kumphawapi, known as Thailand’s ‘Pink Water Lilies Lake.’ The lake is located in the northeast province of Udon Thani. The chairman of the lake’s tourism boat enterprise, Paisit Sukrome, told Thai media the lilies…
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Kindergarten students save up to buy blankets for the needy in northern Thailand
Kindergarten students in Chiang Rai province in northernmost Thailand saved up one baht every day for a year to buy blankets for people suffering in the cold weather this winter, especially those living at high altitudes in the province’s mountainous regions. Teachers at Chiang Rai Kindergarten invited students to join a charitable project entitled “Doing 89 Million Good Deeds for…
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Driver hits wild gaur in northeast Thailand, both injured
A driver hit a wild gaur in Thailand’s northeast province of Nakhon Ratchasima last night, injuring both himself and the gaur. The driver hit the gaur on Highway 3052 in Wang Nam Khiao district. The driver said he saw the gaur cross in front of him, too close for him to stop or avoid hitting it. Rescuers arrived on the…
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Teen brutally stabs other teens with scissors in Phuket fight
In a brutal fight in Phuket this week, a teen attacked a group of other teens with a pair of scissors near a school in the main city district on Monday. The suspect is a 16 year old boy, while his victims are 14-17 years old. Thai media reported that a group of teens went to meet the attacker at a…
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Rescued baby elephant dies of injuries
Thanwa, the rescued baby elephant that was being treated at Bueng Chawak Zoo in Suphan Buri, died when her condition deteriorated on Tuesday evening. Residents of Khao Chot, in Kanchanaburi province, found Thanwa injured and separated from her herd following rain and floods. The baby elephant was just one month old when she was injured after losing her herd in…
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