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 How to reduce out-of-pocket medical expenses in Thailand?
Managing medical expenses in Thailand is important as healthcare costs continue to rise. The country’s healthcare system includes both public and private options, but even with the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) for citizens, many still face high out-of-pocket medical expenses....
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Thailand Film Office reports record-breaking year for Thai movie industry
The Thailand Film Office (TFO) reported 2022 was a record-breaking year for the Thai movie industry despite a sluggish start to the new calendar year because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The TFO compiled a list of impressive statistics for filming foreign movies in the Land of Smiles for 2022. It recorded that film crews shot 348 different types of movies…
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Bidding method for train station redesign project inappropriate
An investigation into the 33-million-baht redesign project for Bang Sue Grand Station revealed that the selection method to choose a nameplate and logo designer was inappropriate. The probe, headed by Sorapong Paithoonpong, a deputy interior permanent secretary, revealed its findings yesterday. After His Royal Majesty King Vajiralongkorn decided to rename the station “Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal” in September last…
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Lifeguards save foreign tourist from drowning in Pattaya
Tragedy was avoided on Jomtien beach in Pattaya, eastern Thailand, yesterday thanks to the expert skills of Pattaya City lifeguards who acted quickly to save a foreign tourist from drowning. At 3pm, the Sawang Boon Rescue Foundation was informed that a foreign tourist was dragged out of the sea unconscious near the entrance of Soi 16 at Jomtien Beach in…
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Malaysian victims accuse Royal Thai Police of soliciting bribes of over 100,000 baht
Two Malaysian victims told local media that corrupt Royal Thai Police solicited bribes of 100,000 baht to return their stolen cars which were taken from their native country and driven to Thailand. The Malaysian news agency, The Star, reported that the cars were stolen from Malaysia and shipped to Thailand. The media also added that RTP officers were involved in…
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Thieves steal 27 public defibrillators in Bangkok, Thailand
Thai news outlet Drama-addict reported that 27 public Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) dotted around the streets of Bangkok, Thailand, have been stolen. In total, 262 AEDs are stationed all around the city to be used to help people experiencing sudden cardiac arrest. AEDs are life-saving, yet easy-to-use medical devices that can analyse the heart’s rhythm and, if necessary, deliver an…
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Officials remove fence from Phuket beach following complaints
There’s been another incident involving a business allegedly encroaching on a Phuket beach. Officials removed a fence from Kamala Beach following several complaints that the fence encroached upon the beach. The business accused of encroaching on the beach is a beach bed operator. Law enforcement officers inspected the area where the operator was ordered to remove the fence from the…
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Porsche enthusiasts gather in Bangkok for Das Treffen
Porsche enthusiast Sihabutr ‘Tenn’ Xoomsai, and organiser of the seventh edition of Das Treffen, celebrated the largest gathering of Porsche models in Southeast Asia, in Bangkok, Thailand. Das Treffen, meaning “The Meeting” in German, brings together not only all the generations of Porsche cars but also every generation of sports car enthusiasts. From those who swear by air-cooled models to…
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Russian tourists spot foreigner’s body floating off Pattaya beach
Russian tourists spotted a foreigner’s body floating off a Pattaya beach as they were sunbathing on Monday. A hotel clerk said the tourists rushed to tell him to call the police after they discovered the body floating in the sea. Pattaya Police and rescuers arrived to retrieve the man’s body at Wong Amat Beach in front of Soi 16 in…
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Thailand VIP packages offered on Chinese e-commerce platform Taobao
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) insists no VIP service packages or fast passes have been made available for purchase in China despite a Thai travel blogger revealing that those services and elite visas are indeed available to buy on the Chinese e-commerce platform Taobao. Thai police are already under fire over the scandalous video of three police officers escorting…
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Mass shootings in the US this year up to 70 (video)
The total number of killings in mass shootings in the United States this year is 70 and the month of January still has a week to go. California is currently wrestling with the aftermath of two consecutive mass shootings, the latest shooting saw a man kill seven ex-colleagues in Half Moon Bay, a coastal city south of San Francisco. The…
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Thief leaves an apology note in Chiang Mai, Thailand
A thief stole over 12,000 baht from an electrical appliances store in Chiang Mai province in northern Thailand on Sunday morning and left behind a note apologising for his crime. CCTV footage captures a masked assailant, a man estimated to be around 30 years old, breaking into an electrical appliance store next to Wat Tha Mai-i Temple in Chiang Mai’s…
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Bangkok delivery driver nabbed robbing cars on the side
A motorbike delivery driver in Bangkok was busted after police tracked him down and revealed him as a serial thief. The investigation started after a woman reported her car had been burgled earlier in the month. On January 13, a saleswoman named Saowalak reported a break-in of her car. It had been parked outside of the temple of Wat Traimit…
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Thai Vietjet to launch direct flight from Chiang Mai to Osaka
Direct flights between Chiang Mai in northern Thailand and Osaka in Japan will take flight on February 16, 2023, operated by budget airline Thai Vietjet Air. Operated by an Airbus A321, the new route from Chiang Mai International Airport to Kansai International Airport will take five hours in total. To begin with, the route will run three times per week…
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Thai ladies don kimonos to pose among Himalayan cherry trees
Some Thai ladies really love to dress up, and some are even donning kimonos to pose for photos among Himalayan cherry trees. This trend comes as the trees are blooming in the Phu Lom Lo mountains in Phu Hin Rong Kla National Park, located in Thailand’s northeast province of Loei. Some Thais call the trees “Thai sakura trees.” One woman…
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Locals point out dangerous railway crossing in central Thailand
More than 50 people gathered to point out the dangers presented by a railway crossing in the Photaram district of Racha Buri province, central Thailand, this morning. Firstly, the crossing has no automatic barriers or lights to warn cars or pedestrians when a train is coming. Secondly, the “slope” up to the crossing is so poorly constructed that even pickup…
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Chachoengsao temple opens glass sea walk
A glass skywalk jutting out over the ocean is the newest tourist attraction in Chachoengsao province. The skywalk is adjacent to Wat Hong Thong temple, which has long been a draw for tourists in the area of the eastern province, not far from Bangkok. The glass bridge is a 40-metre-long stretch perched high above the sea. It is 3 metres wide and…
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SRT plans to buy new train engines after viral video reveals new station swirling in smoke
The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) announced plans to buy new engines for its trains after a viral video showed Bangkok’s new central train station swirling with smoke and air pollution. Banpong Station’s YouTube channel released a video on Thursday, January 19 of the new Bangkok Aphiwat Central Station full of smoke. The video caption said… “The first express train…
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VIDEO: Crocodile helps locate missing boy’s body in Indonesia
In a tragic, shocking outcome, a search and rescue operation in Indonesia was finally able to locate the body of a deceased 4 year old boy, Muhammad Ziyad Wijaya. The child had been missing for two days before the discovery. In a strange twist, it was a crocodile that played a role in the search, as it was seen carrying what…
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“A Night to Remember: Witness the Magic of Brighton College Bangkok’s ‘Grease’ Performance”
SPONSORED Brighton College Bangkok held a special event to celebrate the release of the hit musical movie Grease. The school hosted a viewing of the iconic film and a live performance of the musical, allowing students to experience the movie in a new and exciting way. The event was a great success, with students of all ages enjoying the show.…
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Thai woman pays to save pig from slaughter, plans to give it to temple
A Thai woman paid to save a pig from being slaughtered yesterday and plans to give the pig to monks at a temple. The pig reportedly fell off the back of a lorry in the central Nakhon Nayok province on its way to be slaughtered. After the pig fell off the truck, it made its way to the car park…
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Pink Line monorail 95% complete, opening soon
The Pink Line monorail project in Bangkok is expected to be completed this year, with construction currently 95% finished. Construction began in 2016 on the 53.5 billion baht public transit project. When it is finally opened, it will connect Khae Rai in Nontha Buri to Min Buri in east Bangkok. The Pink Line monorail Is hoped to bring some breathing…
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Patong taxi driver caught kicking over motorbike
An angry taxi driver is in hot water after being caught on film kicking over a motorbike. The bike was parked legally in front of the owner’s shop. The incident took place on Sunday in Patong on Phra Metta Road. A video of the fit of rage was posted online. It shows a man, later identified as a 45 year…
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Delivery driver saves family from fire in northeast Thailand
Yesterday, netizens helped to reunite a restaurant owner with the Grab delivery driver who saved him and his family from a fire in the middle of the night earlier this month in Buriram province in northeast Thailand. On January 16 at 3am, a raging communication cable fire broke out in front of the Chan Chao Thai curry restaurant in the…
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3 Chinese men deported for illegally opening restaurant in Bangkok
Police yesterday raided a Chinese restaurant operating illegally in Bangkok and arrested three Chinese men found working there. They were fined, deported, and put on Thailand’s blacklist. Immigration Bureau officers raided the Chaosan Osha Chinese restaurant on the Rama 9 Road in the Huay Kwang district of Bangkok. Officers reported that they found three Chinese citizens at the restaurant. A 35…
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Turkey will not support Sweden’s NATO bid after Quran burning
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan declared he will not be supporting Sweden’s bid to become a member of NATO after a copy of the Quran was set on fire in Stockholm at the weekend. Far-right Swedish-Danish politician Rasmus Paludan was widely condemned for burning a copy of the Quran on Saturday but Sweden takes a more relaxed view of such things believing…
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Thailand’s Surat Thani Airport welcomes chartered flight from Taiwan
A chartered Thai Lion Air flight carrying 143 tourists from Taiwan landed at Surat Thani Airport in southern Thailand yesterday. It was the first chartered flight to land on the airport’s runway in three years. Surat Thani Governor Wichawut Jinto welcomed passengers on flight SL-7391 from Taipei yesterday evening, handing out flower garlands and gifts to tourists to celebrate the…
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DLT increases fines for motorists who fail to stop at zebra crossings
The Department of Land Transport (DLT) increased the fine for motorists failing to stop at a zebra crossing from 1,000 baht to 4,000 baht. The DLT will also deduct one point from an offender’s driving license. A survey conducted last year by the Thai Health Promotion Foundation, and the Thai Roads Foundation, revealed that almost 90% of vehicles in Bangkok…
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Giant license plates are illegal, warns Thailand’s DLT
Thais love to modify their vehicles, but attaching a comically big license plate to your car is illegal, warns Thailand‘s Department of Land Transport (DLT). The warning follows a viral TikTok clip of a pickup truck on the road featuring a regular license plate as well as a Phitsanulok province license plate so big it could probably be seen all the…
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EU ready to conclude free-trade agreement with Thailand
The European Union is ready to open free-trade agreement (FTA) talks with Thailand again after an eight-year political impasse. Thailand’s Commerce Minister, Jurin Laksanawisit, will head to Brussels tomorrow for a two-day business trip to accelerate talks on an FTA with the EU. Jurin states that a Thai-EU FTA is a highly sought-after deal by the private sector, but it remains…
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Thai cops bust Chinese fraudster wanted by Interpol
Thai cops busted a Chinese fraudster wanted by Interpol in the country’s northeast region on Sunday. The Immigration Bureau’s deputy commissioner said the suspect is wanted on an arrest warrant in China and an Interpol warrant for public fraud. The deputy commissioner, Pol Maj-General Phanthana Nutchanart, said immigration police arrested the suspect in the province of Maha Sarakham, in the…
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