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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Foreign tourist breaks into bank, goes on rampage in northern Thailand
A foreign tourist broke into a Bangkok Bank branch in Pai in the northern province of Mae Hong Son yesterday evening. He smashed his way through several glass doors with rocks and proceeded to cause significant damage to the bank’s property. Police detained him and discovered he was illegally residing in the kingdom. A foreigner named Kent Douglas Meades –…
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Shooting in Oklahoma kills 4
After a school shooting in Texas rocked global headlines last week and destroyed the lives of the victim’s families in Uvalde, Texas, there’s been another shooting in the neighbouring state of Oklahoma in the US. The shooter shot and killed 4 people in a medical building on a hospital campus in Tulsa yesterday before shooting himself dead. Tulsa Police Department…
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As weather clears, tourists head back to Patong Beach
After storms ripped through areas of Phuket earlier this week, tourists made their way back to Patong Beach yesterday as the weather cleared. The island province’s storm warnings have still not been lifted, though. Last week, the warnings had said that waves were 2-3 metres high in the Andaman Sea, and more than 3 metres high during thundershowers. This news…
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MP calls House sub-committees ‘dens of money extortion’
A Democrat MP yesterday pointed the finger at closed-door meetings of House sub-committees and called them “dens of money extortion.” Rangsima Rodrasamee, Democrat MP for Samut Songkhram, insists all meetings of sub-committees vetting the 2023 budget bill, after it passes its first reading, should be televised live. The Democrat MP says broadcasting the meetings live would scrutinise how the bill…
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5-year action plan signed by Thailand and Laos
A 5 year action plan was signed yesterday between Thailand and Laos to enhance bilateral ties between the two nations . Both governments signed a memorandum of understanding agreeing to work together on a wide range of issues including economic development, the prevention of drug trafficking, and boosting tourism in the regions. The MoU signing was announced at a joint…
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Government asked to postpone PDPA law
The government has been asked to postpone the Personal Data Protection Act because some of the laws remain unclear. The Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking yesterday asked the government to delay the bill as some of the PDPA laws remain vague and need to be clarified. They also insist clear directions must be issued and 20 organic…
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UPDATE: Woman falls from Phuket condo, 3 foreign suspects refuse to speak
UPDATE #2: Three foreign suspects refuse to speak about Russian woman who fell from Phuket condo The 3 foreigners who were drinking with Evegeniia on the night she fell from the 8th floor of a condominium in Phuket have so far refused to give any information to police about what happened. On the night of Evegeniia’s death, 3 foreigners were…
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Police investigate whether killing in South Thailand was insurgency related
Police in southern Thailand are investigating whether a recent killing was related to a personal conflict, or the ongoing ‘South Thailand Insurgency’. Officers in Bannang Sata district Yala province found a man’s body in a fruit orchard yesterday. The body, identified as 43 year old Buraheng Roya, was lying near a motorcycle among the fruit trees. The police said Buraheng…
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US sends advanced weapons to Ukraine, as Kyiv promises not to target inside Russia
The US Secretary of State says Ukraine has given an undertaking not to use long-range rocket systems to target inside Russia. Antony Blinken was addressing a news conference with NATO chief, Jens Stoltenberg, after the US agreed to supply Ukraine with the weapons. “The Ukrainians have given us assurances that they will not use these systems against targets on Russian…
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Thai government shuts down Mor Chana contact-tracing app
The Mor Chana contact-tracing app is no more, with the Public Health Ministry confirming it has been shut down. Officials say the app is no longer required and therefore was closed yesterday, in light of Thailand’s improving Covid-19 situation. Unlike the Mor Prom app, which was created to record an individual’s vaccination status, track vaccine side-effects, and provide data on…
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World Health Organisation says Covid-19 situation in North Korea likely deteriorating
The World Health Organisation says it has received no update on the Covid-19 situation in North Korea, but can only assume it’s getting worse. This contradicts claims from Pyongyang that the country is making “progress” against the virus. According to an AFP report, North Korea confirmed its first Covid-19 infections on May 12. However, last week, state media announced that…
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More Laotians travelling to Thailand for business, travel, and fuel?
More Laotians have been travelling to Thailand ever since the Nong Khai border checkpoint reopened. Before travel restrictions lifted, there were about 300 Laotians visiting Thailand per day. Now, that number has soared to about 2,000 Laotians per day, according the the head of customs control at Nong Khai Customs House, Pakin Tiabkam. Pakin said 30,000 foreigners crossed the Nong…
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Johnny Depp awarded over US$10 million in defamation case victory against ex-wife
Hollywood actor Johnny Depp has won a near-total victory in a defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard. After a trial that lasted 6 weeks, with detailed testimony of the toxic nature of the marriage, the 7-person jury ruled in Depp’s favour for the most part, although it ruled in Heard’s favour on one counter-claim. According to a Reuters report, Depp…
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Thai health ministry says downgrading Covid-19 will take some time
Thailand’s health ministry says the government needs more time before downgrading Covid-19 to a communicable disease requiring close surveillance. In February 2020, the virus was classified as a dangerous communicable disease, in order to enable the Thai authorities to react swiftly to contain the spread. Now, with the situation beginning to ease nationally and globally, officials are working towards downgrading…
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More and more Americans are liking Thailand’s edible insects
More and more Americans are taking a liking to Thailand’s edible insects, according to Thailand Department of International Trade Promotion. The department’s director-general, Phusit Ratanakul Sereroengrit, told TNA that the department found from its survey on Thai export opportunities that insect consumption was growing steadily and significantly in the US. Phusit has suggested that insect products should be marketed through restaurants,…
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Woman accuses Thai politician of sending her unsolicited pictures of his genitals
A Thai woman accuses a famous political party spokesperson of sending her unsolicited photos of his genitals and threats via Facebook. The woman filed a police complaint, with evidence, at Sutthisan Police Station in Bangkok today. She accused the spokesperson of violating the Computer Crimes Act by disseminating obscene material online. The 40 year old victim said the man sent…
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5 million baht fine and 1 year jail sentence for those breaking new data laws
People who break the new data laws face a fine of up to 5 million baht and a 1 year jail sentence. The Royal Thai Police issued this warning ahead of the new Personal Data Protection Act which came into effect today. Under the new law, people can post pictures and video clips of themselves with others for personal purposes…
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As Thailand opens more, police prepare for more international crime
A senior Thai police inspector told Thai media that Royal Thai Police plans to redouble its efforts to fight international crime as the country opens up more and more with the ease in Covid-19 restrictions. The inspector, General Wisanu Prasatthongosot, told Daily News that Thailand is located at a crossroads in the region that makes it an ideal spot for international crimes…
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Record breaking amount of methamphetamine pills seized in Asia
More than one billion methamphetamine pills were seized in East and Southeast Asia last year, according to a report released by the United Nations. The illicit synthetic drug market is constantly evolving in East and southeast Asia, with every country in the region reporting methamphetamine as their drug of greatest concern, according to the UN. The UN’s report says most…
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Thai industry gets high on government’s green hemp policy
The controversial plan to use hemp in the Thai textile industry is part of the government’s green policy. Business plans are already underway by the Commerce Ministry to promote hemp fibre in the Thai textile arena as it offers high potential in the global market. Hemp and cannabis were classified as drugs under Category 5 the Narcotics Act of Thailand,…
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Former Deputy Bangkok Governor says the city has already spent most of the 2022 budget
The Deputy Leader of the Democrat Party and former deputy Bangkok governor, Samart Ratchapolsitte (2004 – 2006), said Bangkok has only of 94 million baht left in its budget, and it might be insufficient for the new Bangkok governor Chandchart Sittiphun to achieve his announced policies. According to the media, Bangkok receives a budget of around 80 billion baht per…
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Pattaya, the land of sex, drugs, and film production?
Pattaya is known for a lot of things- drug busts, violent fights, and other various scandals. But one Thai government agency is hoping to make Pattaya a “City of Film” in the next 5 years, between 2022 and 2027. Can Thailand’s Sin City become a movie-making destination? Thailand’s Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration is promoting the tourist hotspot as…
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UPDATE: Woman falls from Phuket condo, 3 foreign suspects arrested
UPDATE: Police arrest 3 foreigners in relation to death of woman who fell from Phuket condo The woman who fell from the 8th floor of a condominium in Phuket and died yesterday morning has been identified as 37 year old Evgeniia Smirnova of Russian nationality. Police have arrested 3 foreigners who were staying in the same apartment with Evgeniia, inlcuding…
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Bangkok named one of the world’s worst cities for work-life balance
Bangkok is just barely above the bottom of a list of 100 cities across the globe ranked for their work-life balance. Thailand’s capital came in at 96th place on the list. The 4 cities in the world with a worse work-life balance than Bangkok are Sao Paolo, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai, and Cape Town. On the flipside, the cities with the…
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Man accidentally shoots himself in the mouth in northeast Thailand
A man has accidentally shot and killed himself while loading gunpowder into his cap gun at a rubber plantation in Roi Et province, northeast Thailand, yesterday evening. Police suspect he was holding the trigger end of the gun with his toes and blowing gunpowder into the barrel with his mouth when he must have accidentally pulled the trigger. The man’s…
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Thailand’s tourism ranking drops down a notch
Thailand’s place on a list of countries ranked for travel and tourism development has fallen a notch below where it stood last year. Thailand fell from it’s spot in 35th place out of 117 countries in 2021, to 36th place, on the Travel and Tourism Development Index. The index is based on scores from 1-7, where 1 is the worst…
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Pattaya City Mayor election to be re-held in some districts after ballot papers go missing
Chon Buri Provincial Election Commission has announced the cancellation of the Pattaya City mayor’s election result on May 22 because ballot papers had gone missing from polling stations in 2 sub-districts. The new election in those sub-districts will be held on June 12. After 10 years of suspension of mayoral elections, the Pattaya City Mayor election was held on May…
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Bangkok police arrest 6 Taiwanese nationals for crypto fraud
Police in Bangkok have arrested 6 Taiwanese men following a raid on a house in the Prawet district of the capital. The men are accused of conning over 500 people, mostly fellow Taiwanese or Chinese nationals, through fraudulent online cryptocurrency investment schemes. According to a Bangkok Post report, the arrests happened when officers from the Police Cyber Taskforce, accompanied by…
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Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand advises airlines of new entry rules effective today
International airlines have been issued with a notice from the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand, advising them of revised rules for entry to the kingdom from today. CAAT chief, Suttipong Kongpool, says all international airlines serving Thailand are required to screen and categorise passengers into 3 groups. The first group is the fully vaccinated passengers, who, if suspected of having…
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Southern Thai man sentenced to almost 5 decades for terrorism and other charges
Southern Thailand doesn’t look like it’s headed towards peace any time soon. In the latest report on violence in the region, a man in Yala province has been sentenced to 46 years in prison yesterday after he was charged with terrorism, criminal association, and violating the firearms and explosives law. The man, along with 8 other people, was found guilty…
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