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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Legal casino in Thailand to be considered again tomorrow
The Casino Committee of Thailand reported it will discuss legal casino and entertainment complexes at a city council meeting tomorrow in a bid to gain approval from the Cabinet. The Thai government has been discussing the potential establishment of a legal casino and entertainment complex since the last year. To evaluate the casino industry, a special committee has been established…
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Condos priced under US$300,000 in Bangkok close to BTS Skytrain (2023)
Bangkok is a vibrant and exciting city, offering a unique blend of modern luxury and traditional culture. With so many great attractions and amenities, it’s no wonder that so many people are looking to make the city their home. One of the most attractive options for those looking to live in Bangkok is to purchase a condo. With an abundance…
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Saucy Singapore: nation in the top 5 for 4 fetishes
Recently, an infographic detailing the most popular fetishes around the world has been doing the rounds again, causing quite a stir in Singapore. The graphic, created by casino website SlotsUp using data from Google Trends, shows the top countries for 20 different fetishes, though it is unclear when exactly the data was collected. The graphic was initially posted in 2021,…
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Insurgents kill defence volunteer in southern Thailand, 2 injured
Suspected insurgents launched a targeted attack on eight territorial defence volunteers in Narathiwat province in southernmost Thailand this morning. One volunteer was killed and two more are injured. At 8am, officers at Si Sakhon Police Station were informed that insurgents detonated a roadside bomb and fired shots with automatic rifles at Si Sakhon defence volunteers, killing one and injuring two,…
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Hong Kong woman faces charges of reckless driving after crashing into Phuket vendor
A Hong Kong woman faces charges of reckless driving after she crashed into a Phuket som tam vendor in Koh Kaew yesterday. The incident happened on the northbound lane of Thep Kassattri Road. CCTV footage showed that the sedan crashed into the motorbike sidecar vendor, along with two motorbikes. Phuket City Police arrived on the scene to find the damaged…
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Indian flight departs with 55 passengers left on bus
Every flight passenger hates being packed into a busy terminal transport bus from the gate to the stairs before climbing onto their aeroplane. But on Monday morning 55 passengers crammed onto a bus and sat there for an hour while their flight forgot about them and took off. The incident took place in India on a flight operated by budget…
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Thailand enacts law to prevent recidivism among sexual and violent offenders
Thailand will implement a law later this month that aims at preventing recidivism among prisoners put away for violent or sexual offences after their release from prison. Yesterday, government spokesperson Ratchada Thanadirek said in a Cabinet meeting that the Measures to Prevent Recidivism of Sexual and Violent Crimes Act (2022) will come into force on January 23. The new act requires…
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Condom usage reportedly drops among Pattaya sex workers, STDs increase
In perhaps the worst city to not wear a condom, Pattaya’s sex workers are reportedly using condoms less than in pre-Covid days, according to disease control officials. A nurse from Pattaya’s Communicable Disease Prevention and Control Department, Nakanya Jantrakard, said the number of reported cases of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases has gone up since 2019. In a meeting…
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Floating Yona Beach Club told to cease and wait
A floating beach club barge in Phuket has now been ordered to cease all operations until it gets the full approval it has been seeking to anchor and operate in Patong Bay. Yona Beach Club has been operating with an expired registration and without approval while it waits. The 500-gross-ton vessel housing the beach club, called the Sawasdee, has luxury…
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Govt to introduce 300 baht tourist fee in June
The government announced plans to introduce its long-mooted 300 baht tourist fee for foreign visitors in June. The tourism fee was originally planned to be imposed on foreign travellers at the beginning of last year but the idea was put on hold after the spread of the Covid-19 Omicron variant and details of how the government planned to collect the…
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Officials beautifying Koh Samui’s Fisherman’s Village, hoping to catch more tourists
Officials are giving Koh Samui’s Fisherman’s Village a makeover to help businesses catch more tourists. Yesterday, officials started sprucing up Beach Road in Bo Phut with landscape improvements, and general cleaning. The goal of the makeover is to reel in up to 5 million baht of cash for local street vendors. Tourism operators hope to bring out the old charm…
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Thais pay respect to albino buffalo sculpture toppled by drunken Englishman
The atmosphere is sombre outside Samyan Mitrtown in Bangkok where buffalo enthusiasts and art lovers laid bouquets of flowers to pay their respects to the toppled albino buffalo sculpture which was ruined by a drunk English tourist who attempted to mount it on the weekend. “Kwai: Calm” (buffalo: calm) the fibreglass albino buffalo remains in a sorry state on its…
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MOPH to open vaccination centre for foreigners
The Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) plans to offer Covid-19 vaccines for foreigners at Bang Rak Medical Centre in Bangkok for about 1,000 baht. The Minister of Tourism and Sports, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn announced on Wednesday, December 28 that he planned to give free booster shots to foreigners but added it would need Cabinet approval in January. The proposal was seen…
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New Zealand district in state of local emergency dealing with ex-cyclone Hale’s wrath
A New Zealand district is under a state of local emergency after ex-cyclone Hale’s wrath pushed a major river toward breaching its banks. The Tairāwhiti Civil Defence declared the emergency as the Hikuwai River has reached a height of 12.5 metres yesterday. It was expected to reach 13 metres by midnight yesterday. Families are self-evacuating due to the risk of…
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Power bank catches fire on flight to Singapore
A power bank caught fire on a Scoot flight from Taipei to Singapore, injuring two passengers on board. Flight TR933 was just beginning its journey from Taipei’s Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Singapore Changi Airport yesterday evening when the power bank overheated, causing pandemonium. The Scoot flight was forced to return to the gate before takeoff due to a fire…
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Bangkok’s controversial Bang Sue Grand Station name change on hold
Bangkok’s controversial Bang Sue Grand Station name change is on hold after it received heavy backlash for its US$1 million price tag. When His Majesty the King renamed Bang Sue Grand Station, “Krung Thep Abhiwat Central Terminal,” in September, some questioned the need to spend such an amount in taxpayers’ money. Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Transport Minister Saksayam…
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Thailand to track cannabis users in government database
Thai nationals will soon be required to show their ID cards when purchasing cannabis flowers. The ID and sales information will be entered into a government database, according to the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine (DTAM). Registered vendors will be required to insert the buyers’ ID into a “device” linked with the government system and input information regarding…
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Bentley driver cleared of being drunk at the wheel in three-car smash
The blood alcohol test of the Bentley driver, who caused a three-car collision last Sunday, reveals he was not drunk at the time of the pile-up. But, the investigating officer from Expressway Police Station 1 has been criticised for not making the driver take a breathalyser test immediately after the incident. Suthat Siwapiromrat crashed his grey Bentley sedan into a…
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Chinese tourists expected to flock back to Phuket and Chiang Mai
Chinese tourists are expected to flock back to Phuket and Chiang Mai after China eased travel restrictions on its citizens on January 8. Now, the two tourism hotspots expect a significant jump in travel on direct flights from China from January 18, according to local airport authorities. There will be one daily direct flight from China to Chiang Mai, and three…
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Two fugitive Korean underwear bosses arrested in Thailand
Police arrested two wanted Korean fugitives – the former and current chairman of the Ssangbangwool Group – on a golf course in Thailand yesterday after eight months on the run. According to prosecutors in South Korea, the pair were arrested by Thai police on a golf course in Pathum Thani province just north of Bangkok at 7.30pm. South Korean prosecutors suspect…
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Woman injured by falling traffic sign on a Pattaya road
A backhoe digger accidentally pulled down some electric wires and a traffic sign, knocking a woman off her motorcycle while she was riding past the spot, on Jomtien Beach Road in Pattaya. The incident happened yesterday, January 10, in front of Soi Jomtien 12 on Jomtien Beach Road in the Bang Lamung district of Pattaya. A 46 year old woman…
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German tourist falls near summit of Tiger Cave Temple in southern Thailand
A young German tourist is injured after falling from the top of the stairs at Tiger Cave Temple in Krabi province in southern Thailand yesterday afternoon. At 3pm, Krabi Tourist Police were informed that a German tourist needed medical help after an accident near the summit of the mountain. Rescue workers climbed over 1,000 steps, which took more than one…
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Philippines storms take at least 11 lives in past week
Storms over the past week in the Philippines have reportedly taken at least 11 lives thus far with more heavy rain forecasted. According to Thai PBS World, bad weather has hit the southern and central islands since Christmas weekend. Flooding and landslides have left 52 people dead with hundreds forced to uproot and leave their homes. The Civil Defence Office…
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Cops bust thieving couple who sold items to second hand shops in Phuket
Cops busted a thieving couple in Phuket on Monday, a husband and wife team who stole items and sold them to second hand shops. Police say the husband has been identified as Banjerd, and the wife as Toon Mathurasorn, The Phuket News reported. A Russian man, Oliver Thurman, alerted Wichit Police on January 6 that a towing rig and a…
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Ghosts in Thailand: some eerie sites to explore
Thailand is known for its beautiful beaches, delicious food, and rich culture, but it also has a dark side. Thai culture has long believed in ghosts, some good, some bad. A large percentage of people in modern life are still afraid of ghosts in Thailand and as such, the country has some infamously haunted and eerie places. Here are a…
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Thai police seize 30 kilograms of heroin bound for Hong Kong hidden in puppy pads
Thai authorities seized a sizeable 30 kilograms of heroin yesterday in Samut Prakan province, just north of Bangkok, believed to be headed to Hong Kong. Police arrested a Hong Konger and a Thai national during the raid. Officers from the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) raided a house in the Kanchanaphisek 39 area of Samut Prakan to find…
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Curriculum options available at international schools in Thailand
International schools in Thailand offer a wide range of educational curriculums, each designed to provide students with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in their future studies or career paths. These curriculums include the International Baccalaureate (IB), Cambridge International Examinations (CIE), and American, British, and French curriculums. Each curriculum has its own strengths and focuses, such as the development…
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Phang Nga’s turtle nesting season continues with more nests discovered
Phang Nga’s turtle nesting season continues and more nests are being discovered. Two more nests were found, bringing the total number of nests unearthed to eight so far, The Phuket Express reported today. The nests were found on the Baan Thung Darp Beach in the Koh Phra Thong sub-district of Kura Buri district. The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources…
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Daily direct flights between Phuket and Shanghai to takeoff next week
Daily flights between Phuket in southern Thailand and Shanghai in China will takeoff next Wednesday, January 18, operated by Shanghai’s Juneyao Airlines. The inaugural flight will be the first direct service between Phuket and mainland China in almost three years. China reopened its borders yesterday, and given that China was once Thailand’s top tourism market, Thailand braced itself for an…
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2 Thai women attacked by foreign mafia in Koh Samui
A Thai woman sought help from the Thai media after she and her mother were attacked by some foreigners who claimed to be part of a mafia gang at a bar in Koh Samui on New Year’s Eve. The woman turned to the media because the police ignored her case. The local Facebook page Samui Fresh News posted a video…
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