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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12Go introduces Japan Rail Passes to enhance travel accessibility for international travellers
For those who have travelled throughout Thailand, 12Go is a well-known provider of various trips, though the platform itself has a much wider reach. Ranging from buses to planes, 12Go is undoubtedly a leading booking platform for travel throughout the...
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Viral video shows Phuket gang attack a teen after reported motorbike collision
Another video of a teenage fight is making rounds on Thai social media. A video went viral on social media on Sunday of a large group of Phuket teens attacking another teen after a reported motorbike collision. The incident happened in Saphan Hin park. The video’s poster, under the Facebook name JP Karaged, said a teenager ran his motorbike into…
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Tourism Authority of Thailand uses momentum of last year’s campaign to strengthen 2023 travel direction
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is using momentum from last year’s ‘Visit Thailand Year 2022’ campaign to direct this year toward a “meaningful travel direction.” According to The Pattaya News, the press release by the TAT details new concepts and enhanced efforts to continue the milestone achievement of last year’s campaign. The ongoing “Visit Thailand Year: Amazing New Chapters” is…
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Murder case of northern ethnic teen activist to be tried in Thailand’s Supreme Court
The murder case of a 17 year old, ethnic teen activist is set to be heard by Thailand’s Supreme Court. Family members of Chaiyaphum Pasae filed the suit which was accepted for consideration by the Supreme Court. Chaiyaphum was an ethnic, Lahu activist who worked to promote indigenous rights in northern Thailand. He was allegedly shot and killed by military…
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Injured whale shark swims up to boat for help in southern Thailand
National park officials in Krabi province, southern Thailand, are searching for an injured whale shark in need of urgent medical assistance. Yesterday, a six-metre long whale shark swam to the surface to visit a longtail boat near Koh Hong island located inside Than Bok Khorani National Park in Krabi’s Mueang district. As cold-blooded whale sharks rarely venture out of deep…
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Thai woman allegedly defrauds American PPE company of 239 million baht
An American PPE company alleges that a Thai woman defrauded them of a staggering 239 million baht (US$8 million) in a high-profile public fraud case centred around rubber gloves. On February 18, 2021, US Company Quick Aid LLC wired 239 million Thai baht to a private Thai company named Singhaseni Group Co., Ltd. The Thai company had a single 45…
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Man allegedly beats Russian ex-girlfriend in Phuket
A man allegedly beat his Russian ex-girlfriend in Phuket, a local news outlet reported yesterday. The victim, 32 year old Julia Bolshakova, reported to Chalong Police on January 13, immediately after she left Chalong Hospital following the attack. A medical report confirmed multiple contusions from Bolshakova’s ex punching her in her face and head. Bolshakova appealed to the police for…
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Perverted teacher sacked after sending video of underage sex acts to school chat group
A perverted teacher who had sex with underage children in Nakhon Ratchasima and accidentally sent videos of the acts to a group chat has been sacked while a police investigation is underway. The teacher allegedly tried to commit suicide when the news broke. The unnamed arts teacher at Non Sungsritani Secondary School in Non Sung district in Nakhon Ratchasima, Isaan,…
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Philippine senators angry onion-smuggling bust is too small
Government officials in the Philippines are angry that the Bureau of Customs (BOC) are wasting time and resources making a big show out of busting airline crews for smuggling 15.5 kilogrammes of onions into the country. What do they want officials to be focusing on – drugs, weapons, and other contraband? No, just BIGGER onion smugglers. The BOC came under…
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Chinese New Year festival lights up city in northern Thailand
The Chinese New Year festival is lighting up in one of Northern Thailand’s major cities. Last night, a large crowd gathered in Nakhon Sawan to watch fireworks, dragon, and lion dances, and pole-climbing. The theme for this year’s Chinese New Year festival in Nakhon Sawan is ‘the dragon flies toward the sky and the flowers bloom.’ The festival along the…
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Thai farmer makes 1 million baht per month selling buffalo semen
A farmer in Kalasin province in northeast Thailand makes 1 million baht every month by selling semen from one special water buffalo named “Big Billion.” Water buffalo (“kwai” in Thai language) breeders all around the kingdom pay high prices for the semen of Big Billion, a ‘textbook’ Thai water buffalo worth 30 million baht. Breeders use Big Billion’s seed to…
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Silicone strips seized stopping safety-sacrificing surgeries
Officials from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) teamed up with police on a raid of several plastic surgery clinics and a manufacturer’s warehouse to confiscate a large number of counterfeit silicone pieces. The joint operation was announced on Monday by the FDA Secretary-General and the Deputy Chief of the Consumer Protection Police Division (CPPD). Previous raids had been carried…
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Chinese man falls to death from Pattaya hotel
Tragedy struck Pattaya when a Chinese man fell to his death at a hotel late last night. Police and rescuers found the body of 33 year old tour agent Chen Pu Lin in a pool of blood on a walkway of the Mantra Pura Hotel in Bang Lamung district. Lin was dressed only in his underwear. Investigators also found blood…
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Shootout involving police ends with 1 dead, 2 injured
A fatal incident involving police officers occurred at a night restaurant in Songkhla. A shootout at the restaurant between a group of police officers and another group of customers left one dead and two injured. The incident took place in the early hours of the morning of Sunday, January 15 at a late-night diner next to the fire station of the…
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Mentally ill Bangkok man allegedly brutally murders his mother
A mentally ill Bangkok man allegedly brutally murdered his mother, Thai media reported. Lat Krabang Police arrested the suspect, 37 year old Noi Chanprem, on Sunday. Police were alerted about the incident and rushed to the victim’s four-story apartment building. Officers found the body of Noi’s mother, 61 year old Chai Chanprem, covered in blood in a room on the…
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China’s population drops for the first time in 6 decades
According to official data, China, the world’s most populous nation, saw a shrink in its population last year for the first time in over 60 years. This decline is attributed to the nation’s plummeting birth rates, which have reached record lows as China’s workforce ages, leading to concerns of a demographic crisis. The population stood at 1,411,750,000 at the end…
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Oil tanker explosion in Thailand kills 1, 4 missing
At 9.30am, a large oil tanker docked in Samut Songkhram province, southwest of Bangkok, exploded and caught fire. At present, one person has been confirmed dead and four people are still missing. Firefighters from Mueang Samut Songkram Fire Station have got the fire under control at the shipyard Laem Yai subdistrict on the Mae Klong River. As the tanker was…
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American TikTok star sues Porsche dealer in Thailand
An American TikTok star and his Thai girlfriend filed a lawsuit against a Porsche dealership in Thailand showroom claiming that the used car they paid 13 million baht for is not only a different model than they ordered but it doesn’t work. Yesterday at 4.30pm, 39 year old Sam [psuedonym] and his wife [name reserved] met with celebrity lawyer Decha…
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Shakhtar president donates £22 million of Mudryk Chelsea transfer fee to Ukraine war effort
The president of Shakhtar Donetsk announced he is to give £22 million (886 million baht) to the Ukrainian war effort after the transfer of Mykhailo Mudryk to Chelsea. Shakhtar chief Rinat Akhmetov sold Mudryk to the London club over the weekend for a record transfer fee in Ukrainian football of £89m. The donation serves as a financial boost for Shakhtar,…
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Taxi mafias allegedly assault Pattaya Bolt drivers
A group of taxi mafias allegedly assaulted two Pattaya Bolt drivers on Sunday. The Bolt drivers, 39 year old Kriengsak Tubtimtong and 40 year old Somchai Thongdee, said the incident happened in the Naklua sub-district of Chon Buri’s Bang Lamung district. Kriengsak, told Pattaya Police that he and Somchai had planned to peacefully resolve a territorial conflict between them and…
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Shinawatra’s daughter declares intention to be Thailand’s next prime minister
In one of the worst-kept secrets in Thai politics, Paetongtarn Shinawatra announced her intention to be Thailand’s next prime minister over the weekend. The 36 year old declared her interest to run for premier under the Pheu Thai Party (PTP) in May’s General Election. The PTP was founded by Paetongtarn’s father Thaksin and is now in its third incarnation, Thaksin and…
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Thailand’s Chiang Mai Zoo to open -10°C snow dome
Chiang Mai Zoo revealed plans to open a -10°C snow dome to offer guests a chilly winter experience normally unavailable in sweltering Thailand. Zoo director Wuttichai Muangman revealed today that the zoo will gain a winter wonderland named “Snow Buddy Winter Land” in collaboration with Frost Management Company Ltd. Wuttichai said that zoo guests can get a real ‘winter’ feeling inside the…
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Thailand among 25 countries with least paid leave days
Thailand is among a list of countries offering the least amount of days of paid leave and paid public holidays in the world, according to a new study by Resume.io. No East/Southeast Asian country whatsoever made it into the top 25 countries with the most amount of paid public holidays and paid annual leave days. Resume.io‘s study found out how…
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Not much expected from Thailand’s gold sales this Chinese New Year
Thailand’s Gold Traders Association (GTA) doesn’t expect much from this year’s gold sale during Chinese New Year. The new year usually draws a swarm of customers looking to buy gifts for their loved ones. But this year, Chinese-Thai buyers will prefer to buy smaller pieces weighing one or two salung, rather than one-baht pieces, according to GTA vice-president Pichaya Phisuthikul.…
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Mafia chief nabbed by Carabinieri after three decades on the run
After 30 years on the run, Italy’s most-wanted mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro has been arrested in Sicily by the Carabinieri police. The 60 year old was detained in a private clinic in the Sicilian capital Palermo, where he was reportedly receiving treatment. Denaro is believed to be a leader of the notorious Cosa Nostra mafia and has been sentenced…
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Southern Thai man strikes gold with rare cobra encounter
A rare golden cobra slithered into a rubber plantation in Satun province in southern Thailand on Thursday. Sitthinai Soisuwan was walking in the rubber plantation behind his house in Satun province when he spotted an unusual golden snake. Sitthinai said the snake flared its hood and threatened him. Captivated by its beauty, Sitthinai didn’t think about the snake’s potentially deadly…
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Pattaya’s dignified image remains after police report no sex workers found in inspection
Pattaya’s ever-so-dignified image is here to stay since Tourist Police reported finding no illegal sex workers in an inspection on Saturday. The inspection came after residents claimed that sex workers were illegally operating. At midnight, cops patrolled high-risk areas such as Beach Road and Walking Street, on the prowl for suspects. Tourist Police identified risky spots as crowded tourist attractions, dark…
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Anna scoops Miss Universe Leadership Award
Miss Universe Thailand, Anna Sueanggam-iam, may not have made the final round of 16 contestants but she did manage to scoop the Transformational Leadership Award or ImpactWayv Award. American beauty queen R’Bonney Gabriel was crowned the 71st Miss Universe 2022 on Sunday, and in doing so became the ninth US beauty to win it. Venezuela’s representative, Amanda Dudamel, was named…
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Norwegian lessons for Thai shipwrecks
A Norwegian naval officer is on stand trial, accused of negligence that led to a 2018 collision between the frigate he commanded and an oil tanker. The warship sank and has since been salvaged for scrap. A replacement for the lost Helge Ingstad frigate will cost up to US$1.3 billion (40 billion baht). The case demonstrates that strange things do…
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Phuket launches lantern festival ahead of Chinese New Year
Phuket’s main city district launched the ‘Phuket Lantern Festival 2023’ last night ahead of Chinese New Year, which falls on January 22. The lantern festival will run from January 15 to February 5. During this time, all government offices in Phuket will be decorated with lanterns. Phuket’s city municipality has decorated tourist attractions and the area around Chartered Bank Intersection. …
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Thailand 3rd choice of red carpet for Chinese ‘friends’
China and Indonesia are best of friends again, and it’s all thanks to Beijing’s optimised Covid-19 response policy. Thousands of Chinese people are now welcome to flood into Bali on a daily basis. Likewise, in Tanzania, unlimited thousands of happy Chinese shoppers are now welcome to flood up and down Kilimanjaro. Third of the tourism triumvirate – friendly countries with…
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