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 9 most common health issues covered by insurance for expats in Thailand
Thailand is a popular destination for expats due to its affordable lifestyle and excellent healthcare system. However, settling in a new country often brings health concerns. To ensure you’re covered for the most common medical needs, understanding what expat health...
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Police nab 3 Chinese nationals for kidnapping, extortion
Police arrested three Chinese nationals in Thailand for allegedly kidnapping and extorting about 3.2 million baht from a Chinese woman. Officers arrested two men and a woman at a hotel in the Aranyaprathet district of Sa Kaeo province. A 23 year old Chinese woman studying for a bachelor’s degree filed a complaint with the Thong Lor police on Friday. In…
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Chinese ambassador visits Phuket as tourism surges
Chinese tourist arrivals are expected to surge to over 300,000 in April, according to the Chinese ambassador to Thailand, Han Zhiqiang. The ambassador made a courtesy visit to Phuket governor Narong Woonciew at the Provincial Hall on Saturday, where the two worked to strengthen ties between Thailand and China and increase tourism to Phuket and beyond. Narong and the Chinese…
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Sea turtle eggs continue to pop up across Phang Nga
Nature and animal lovers will delight at the news that sea turtle eggs are continuing to pop up across Thailand’s Phang Nga province. On Friday, locals came across sea turtle eggs on Das Beach on the island of Koh Ra. The island is located in the Koh Phra-Thong sub-district of the Khura Buri district. Officials from the Department of Marine…
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2 severely burned by Pattaya Molotov coctail thugs
A group of thugs in Pattaya severely burned two people by throwing a Molotov cocktail at them early yesterday morning. The attack occurred in front of a convenience store at the entrance of Soi Phothisan on Sukhumvit Road in the Na Klua sub-district of Bang Lamung district. Police received reports of the attack at about 2.30am. Police and rescuers arrived…
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Healthy Station: improving Bangkok resident life
The Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth) has expressed concern over the physical and mental health of Bangkok residents. They have launched the “Healthy Station” project which aims to promote a healthy lifestyle among Bangkok residents by utilizing public spaces. Bangkok is not the healthiest environment to live in, with toxic dust and pollution, eternal traffic jams and the high stress of…
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Chiang Mai hailstorm brings down power poles and billboards
A hailstorm in Chiang Mai brought down power poles and billboards yesterday. Hailstones were reportedly the size of baht coins. According to Matichon, the entire downtown area was covered with hailstones as the rain continued to fall. The strong winds started around 3.30 pm, followed by a downpour of hailstones and rain, and then another wave of hail. Locals and…
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Foreign owner of Patong bar in trafficking scandal flees thailand
UPDATE The foreign owner of the Patong bar at the centre of a recent sex trafficking scandal fled Thailand to Laos, according to the Deputy Commander of the Royal Thai Police, Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn. Big Joke arrived in Phuket yesterday to follow up on the case. He said the bar is related to a network of bars in Bangkok…
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Tourists rescued from capsized boat headed for Phuket
Tourists were rescued from a capsized boat headed for Phuket from Koh Lanta yesterday. The boat capsized in the Andaman Sea near Koh Ma. Marine police and officials from the Hat Nopparat Thara National Park rushed to rescue the three tourists and four crew members after they received a distress call from the Andaman Adventure Company, the operator of the…
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New bill to legalise sex work proposed
The Thai government is drafting a bill to legalise sex work to protect sex workers from exploitation. The Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (MSDHS) has proposed the bill, which will also limit the minimum age to provide or buy the service. According to Narong Jaihan, a lecturer from the Faculty of Law at Thammasat University, sex workers under…
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Low reserves of Rh negative blood raise concerns for foreigners in Thailand
Low reserves of Rh negative blood are raising concerns for foreigners in Thailand. While only 0.3% of the Thai population has Rh negative blood, around 15% of the UK and European population has the blood type. This shortage has resulted in concerning shortages of Rh negative blood in blood banks across Southeast Asia. Visitors to the region who have had…
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Samui Open Beach Volleyball Tournament boosts sports tourism
With tourism back in full swing, a variety of diverse events and activities are taking place in tourism hotspots, offering variety to tourists and locals alike. Koh Samui recently hosted a successful volleyball tournament that organisers hope will boost sports tourism to Thailand. The 5th annual Samui Open Beach Volleyball Tournament took place from March 10 to 12, at the…
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British navy paints Pattaya children’s home
The British navy recently lent a helping hand in Pattaya as part of a push to build relations and friendships in Thailand. The crew of the British offshore patrol vessel, HMS Spey, painted a children’s home in Pattaya during their visit to Thailand. The ship arrived at the Royal Thai Navy’s port in Sattahip as part of the UK government’s…
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ICC issues war crimes arrest warrant for Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been accused of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine as part of his invasion, and as a consequence, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant on war crimes charges. That means if Putin crosses into any territory belonging to the court’s 123 member states they are required to arrest him and…
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Missing Caesium-137 cylinder spotted at car wash
If you stole a cylinder of an isotope that is a main contributor to the total radiation released during nuclear accidents, would you throw it in your truck and go about your normal day? Authorities searching for a capsule of Caesium-137 believed to be stolen from a power plant in Prachin Buri on February 23 are following up on a…
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Thai man killed in fight with wife’s lover outside police station
In a tragic love triangle tale, a Thai man lost his life after getting into a fight with his wife’s lover in front of a police station in Nonthaburi province near Bangkok on Wednesday night. According to the witnesses, 41 year old man named Suwat took his wife, 30 year old Bee, and her lover, 35 year old Wichai Phatyen to…
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Big Joke to travel to Phuket following Patong sex trafficking bust
UPDATE The Deputy Commander of the Royal Thai Police, Surachate “Big Joke” Hakpark, plans to travel to Phuket following the recent sex trafficking bust in Patong, ThaiRath reported yesterday. Yesterday, the deputy chief of Provincial Police Region 8, Pol. Maj. Gen. Wasan Techaakasen, went to Kathu Police Station to follow up and apprehend more suspects involved in the scandal. They were charged…
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Jealous Thai man shoots ex-girlfriend in the head when she refuses to take him back
A jealous Thai man shot his ex-girlfriend in the head this morning in Nakhon Pathom province, central Thailand after she refused to take him back. At 10am, officers at Kamphaeng Saen Police Station were informed that someone was shot and seriously injured at a house in Sa Si Mum subdistrict, reports KhaoSod. The victim, 27 year old Anuthida, was shot in…
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Phuket restaurant caught selling stonefish, known to be venomous
Yet another Phuket restaurant has been caught selling a protected fish, this time a stonefish, which is known as the most venomous fish in the world. Yesterday, officials from the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) Phuket Office received a tip-off that the restaurant, located in Rawai sub-district in Phuket’s main city district, was selling protected marine animals. Officials…
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Thai siblings take framed picture of dead father to the cinema
Thai siblings recently went viral on TikTok after they took a picture of their dead father to the cinema to watch the third sequel of his favourite movie. Thai TikToker Naphat Thongsukdee posted a video of when she and her brother took their father’s framed picture to watch a movie on her TikTok account @papapat.p yesterday. She wrote in the…
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Fire ravages Pattaya scrapyard
A scrapyard in Pattaya was engulfed in flames this morning causing significant damage to the property but fortunately, no injuries were reported. The Pattaya Firefighter Unit dashed to the site, located on Soi Ko Phai in the Banglamung district of Pattaya, after being alerted to the blaze at 10.30am. According to eyewitnesses, plumes of smoke could be seen rising from…
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Thai man ‘nearly dies’ from replacing water with kratom tea
A Thai man says he “nearly died” after replacing drinking water with kratom tea. Now, he’s warning others against abusing the formally-illegal plant. Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) is a tropical evergreen tree native to Southeast Asia. The leaves of the kratom tree are known for their opioid and stimulant-like effects. Leaves of the kratom tree have been used for centuries in Thailand,…
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Pattaya island Koh Larn draws in 130,000 tourists this month
Pattaya‘s picturesque island of Koh Larn is proving to be a hit with tourists this month, with over 130,000 tourists flocking to the island. Officials expect this number to rise as Chinese tourists start to return to the area. Pattaya Deputy Mayor Manote Nongyai said on Wednesday, March 15, that Koh Larn saw an average of 10,000 visitors per day…
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Debt plagues even Thailand’s lucky lottery jackpot winners
A Thai woman who sells eggs at a market in Prachin Buri province, central Thailand, won the first prize of six million baht in the government lottery yesterday, but it’s still not enough to pay off her 10 million baht debt. Upon realising she won the lottery, Siriphan aka “Amy” gave away 500 trays of chicken and duck eggs at Kong…
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Ricegate: China’s fake jasmine rice scandal rocks Thai Exporters Association
The Thai Rice Exporter Association recently raised concerns and demanded solutions after a rice mill in China was found to be producing fake jasmine rice and using a Thai brand name to deceive customers. The President of the Thai Rice Exporter Association, Chukiat Opassawong, revealed in an interview with KhaoSod that the rice mill in China had been producing fake…
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Songkran water fights are returning to Pattaya
It’s time to hold on to your water guns and get ready to make a splash after the Pattaya mayor announced that the Songkran festival will go ahead in the city this year. The mayor made it clear that it’s going to be a soaking good time. That’s right, folks, the water fights are back on! The Facebook page Direct Line…
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Golf’s ruling bodies clash with pros over plans to reduce golf ball distance
Some of the world’s top professional golfers slammed plans by golf’s ruling bodies to impose restrictions on the distance that golf balls can travel during elite tournaments. US PGA champion Justin Thomas and former US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau both publically voiced opposition to the move proposed by the R&A, and the United States Golf Association USGA). The plans have…
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Man murders cousin after being bullied about his disability
A disabled man murdered his able-bodied cousin after he repeatedly bullied him about his disability. The accused stated that he did not intend to kill his cousin but only wanted him to experience the same pain and suffering that he had been enduring due to his disability. The 62 year old victim, Somjit Wimonmueng, was shot dead in the early hours…
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EEC Colourful festival to hit Pattaya March 30
The Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) Colourful festival is set to hit Pattaya Beach with an array of diverse activities that highlight the local cultures of three neighbouring provinces. Rayong, Chachoengsao, and Chon Buri provinces will be featured in the festival in a bid to spur tourism. Souvenir shops, plays and live music will be available at the event which runs…
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Former Thai model arrested for scamming victims out of 100 million baht online
Police arrested a former Thai model for creating an online investment scam that stole over 100 million baht from victims. According to the Bangkok Post, Wetika Jaija was arrested in the San Sai district of Chiang Mai at a residential address. The 30 year old Wetika was charged with obtaining loans amounting to public cheating, entering false computer system data into…
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Thai monk charged with attempted murder after leaving policeman in need of urgent brain surgery
A Thai policeman underwent urgent brain surgery after being attacked by a Buddhist monk at a temple in Phitsanulok province in northern Thailand on Wednesday. Police have charged the monk with attempted murder. At 2.30pm, officers of Matum Patrol Police Force were informed that a monk was displaying manic behaviour, harassing people and destroying property at Wat Tha Chang temple…
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