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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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FBS celebrates 16 years with an adventurous Birthday Quest
Leading global broker FBS is marking its 16th anniversary with a special campaign — FBS Birthday Quest. Over the past 16 years, FBS has been on an incredible journey alongside its clients. Now, as a way to give back, the...
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Chuwit all but names Bangkok ‘drug pub’ and illegal soapy massage joint
“It’s full of young people partying, owned by a Chinese man who operates without a care in the world thanks to connections in the Land of Smiles.” That’s the description of former Thai politician and soapy massage king Chuwit Kamolwisit as he waxed lyrical about a fully operational soapy massage and ‘drug pub’ joint in central Bangkok that he claims…
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Covid-19 is far from over cautions the WHO
Despite the world seemingly getting back to normal, the World Health Organisation (WHO) is warning that the Covid-19 pandemic is far from finished. New surges in coronavirus infections in Thailand and around the world are beginning to strain medical facilities and workers, but people are tired of safety measures and growing impatient, frustrating the head of the WHO. “The virus…
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Motorbike burns to a crisp in Bangkok road accident
A teenager is injured after crashing his motorbike into the barrier on the Vibhavadi Rangsit Road in Bangkok at around 1am. The young man said he bounced off the barrier and was flung more than 10 metres through the air. His red Honda PCX instantly set on fire and burned to a crisp. At around 1am, officers from Vibhavadhi Police…
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Ferry routes resume operation in Surat Thani after storms
After all boats in Surat Thani were cancelled on Monday due to storms, with partial service resuming yesterday, Ferry routes are in full service today – though scrambling and late. In addition to the ferries that had been running before the fierce and windy storms shut everything down, Seatran Ferry has relaunched its service to Koh Phangan from the mainland…
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Floods in Buriram, northeast Thailand
Two days of continuous heavy rainfall has caused “the worst floods in 10 years” in parts of Buriram province, northeast Thailand. Heavy rainfall during the early hours of yesterday morning caused flash flooding in Ban Dan district while most people were sleeping. Around 30 houses and restaurants, as well as village roads and agricultural land, have been damaged in the…
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Objections to chemical castration law in Thailand
Objections have been raised to a controversial new law being pushed through by the Thai Senate that allows sex offenders the choice of having their prison sentences reduced if they agree to chemical castration. The Thai Senate approved the bill on Monday but the act hasn’t become law just yet. The legislation was first passed in the Lower House in March…
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Philippines: Covid-19 infections spikes 39%, dengue jumps 90%
Newly-elected President Ferdinand Marcos Jr is facing a health crisis already as a dual spike in Covid-19 and dengue fever infections threaten the well-being of the Philippines. Covid infections are steadily rising now, but concurrently, the country has seen a 90% spike in dengue fever infections. The amount of new coronavirus infections has jumped 39% week over week with the…
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Football fans scramble for FREE Liverpool – Man U tickets in Bangkok
So many seats were available for tonight’s Liverpool versus Manchester United match in Bangkok that Rajamangala Stadium announced via Facebook that they would hand out free tickets to “The Match” at 3.30pm today. Football fans who forked out up to 25,000 baht per ticket are furious. Both teams have huge fan bases in Thailand, so everyone expected that the 59,000+…
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SOS & Allianz Ayudhya hungry to feed Thailand
Scholars of Sustenance joined hands with Allianz Ayudhya to launch Thailand’s first Cloud Food Bank in a bid to redistribute over 600 tons of surplus food by the end of the year. Bangkok-based SOS is an international food rescue foundation committed to feeding people suffering from starvation while Allianz Ayudhya is a leading Thai insurance company with a conscience. Globally,…
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Communication cables set fire in Bangkok
At around 7am this morning, communication cables caught fire causing a big blaze in Bangkok. The fire occurred at Soi Lad Phrao 111 in Khlong Chan subdistrict, Bang Kapi district. No injuries were reported. Firefighters from Hua Mak Fire Station received a notification of the fire at 7.21am and rushed to the scene. The firefighters successfully extinguished the fire. When…
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Police raid 14 scam call centres in Pattaya, resulting in one arrest
Cyber police and officers from Thai mobile phone operator AIS yesterday raided 14 rental accommodations used to operate call centre scams in Pattaya and made one arrest. Officers investigated 16 venues in total but only 14 were being used for criminal activity, in the Bang Lamueng district of Pattaya, where AIS detected a signal the call centre scam gang used…
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Dead sea turtle with plastic lodged in its throat washes up on Phuket beach
A dead sea turtle with plastic lodged in its mouth and throat washed up on Mai Khao Beach in Phuket yesterday, July 11. Winai Seh-ew, the village chief of Mai Khao subdistrict in Thalang district, received a call from lifeguards at Mai Khao beach to say a big Hawksbill turtle carcass had washed up on the shore. Upon inspection, the…
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Uber: leaked documents show unethical, possibly illegal tactics
Uber has long been known for their very aggressive growth into the ride-sharing market around the world but leaked private documents now show that many of its tactics were morally questionable and potentially illegal. The leak has been called The Uber Files and has been analyzed by dozens of news organizations to exubertract information from the 124,000 records that were…
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Bangkok chief has dig at city works for 13 year delay to new tunnel
The Director of Bangkok Public Works Department has promised Chadchart Sittipunt that the new Fai Chai Tunnel will be open for use on August 1 after the city chief had a dig at him over the project dragging on for 13 years. The director, Taiwut Khankaew, guaranteed the tunnel would be ready in time, reporting the project was 90% complete.…
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Rise in holiday travel matches rise in severe Covid infections
The 5-day holiday weekend is driving up tourism numbers, but there also seems to be a rise in patients with severe Covid-19 infections that the Department of Disease Control says will likely increase from holiday travel. This warning came from the epidemiology director of the DDC, who laid out increases in severe coronavirus infections as well as those who require…
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New universe selfie, astonishing first photo from the James Webb space telescope
The very first image from the new James Webb Telescope has made its public debut today. Imagine holding a single grain of sand at your arm’s length. This amazing photo contains everything inside the piece of space covered by that tiny grain of sand. In this astonishing premiere for the new space telescope, the photo reveals, in sharp detail, over…
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Buddhist monks save child from drowning in the Chao Phraya river
Two Buddhist monks from Wat Bang Sai temple, located on the waterfront in Samut Prakan province, jumped into the Chao Phraya river on Saturday and saved a child who was drowning. Once 13 year old Khanin recovered from the incident, he explained that he was swimming with his friends when the water underneath him suddenly became very cold. He said…
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Thai stuntman kidnapped in drug smuggling ring in Myanmar
The mother of a famous Thai stuntman coach has appealed to the police to bring her kidnapped son home from Myanmar after he got caught up in a drug smuggling ring. Thai stuntman trainer, Ramai “Dan” Moripunt, is locked up in a Burmese prison after being accused of drug trafficking with two Thai friends. The 40 year old travelled from…
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UPDATE: Woman’s corpse “naked and covered in bite marks” found in northeast Thailand
UPDATE: Today, police arrested the man suspected of murdering his wife, Daeng, whose body was found naked and covered in bite marks at her home in Buriram on Monday. Police detained and arrested Nithipot, aka “Dao” at a relative’s house in Huai Thalaeng district in Nakhon Ratchasima province this morning. Police brought him back to Buriram for questioning at Phutthaisong…
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India population expected to surpass China in 2023, world to hit 8 billion
For years, China has been the most populous country in the world, followed by India. But a report by the United Nations predicts that next year India will outpace China and become the country with the largest population in the world. With the slowing pace of mortality and high fertility rates in large portions of the world, the UN warns…
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Cost of electricity in Thailand could rise to 5 baht per unit by September
Electricity bills in Thailand could become more expensive than ever by September, according to a source at the Office of Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). In the last 4 months of the year, the cost of electricity in Thailand could break the 5 baht per unit barrier for the first time, rising by 90 to 100 satang per unit. The official…
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Four year anniversary of Phuket’s sinking of the ‘Phoenix’ – 46 people drowned
This week commemorated the fourth anniversary of the rescue of the 13 members of the Wild Boar football team from the Tham Luang Caves in Chiang Rai, a story that gripped international audiences. That story had a happy ending. But the ongoing drama in northern Thailand masked a much sadder story, that of the sinking of the tour boat, the…
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US$37 billion smart city gets green light in Pattaya
Plans to build a US$37 billion smart city in Chon Buri got the go-ahead yesterday by the Eastern Economic Corridor Policy Committee. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha, who chaired the meeting, revealed the smart dream hub can be realised thanks to public and private investment in automotive, robotics, healthcare and logistics companies. The investment will create about 200,000 jobs and accommodate 350,000…
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Thai passenger traffic and flight schedules on the increase
Domestic travel in Thailand is in for a good July, with two long weekends and airlines starting to add to their schedule, resuming flights and frequency that have been otherwise subdued. The Aeronautical Radio of Thailand and the International Air Transport Association are reporting an increased pace of domestic flights in Thailand, matching the general global trend. Nopasit Chakpitak, the…
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Burmese military expanding surveillance and facial recognition
In what they claim to be a bid to keep cities safe and secure and preserve civil peace, the military junta controlling Myanmar is installing facial recognition cameras made in China in cities all across the turbulent country. This surveillance began after the military coup in February 2021, and at least 5 cities are already under their watchful eye. This…
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Missing Frenchman found drowned at Ko Chang Lonely Beach
The missing body of a Frenchman lost at sea at Koh Chang’s Lonely Beach yesterday was found this morning. The 22 year old Frenchman, identified as Ramkurran, 22, went swimming yesterday with his Spanish girlfriend, Clara Crospo Canellas, and did not return to shore. The 21 year old woman’s dead body was found at about 8.10am floating in the sea…
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Man in northeast Thailand pays 3.9 million baht dowry… for a buffalo
The owner of a “high so” farm in Korat, northeast Thailand, gave a “dowry” of 3.9 million baht – in cash – for a 22 month old male buffalo named Chaoboonterm from Khon Kaen province. The man said he wants to breed the buffalo, which he said is a “textbook” Thai beauty. Supachai Winitphon, aka “Sia Noi” is the owner…
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Storms cancel ferry service for Koh Samui, Pha Ngan, and Tao
While Surat Thani has been gearing up for a huge holiday weekend, the weather has other plans. Scattered storms with extremely high winds have disrupted power as well as ferry schedules, with Surat Thani Governor Wichawut Jinto ordering the cancellation of all ferry services today until at least tomorrow, including to the popular tourist islands of Koh Samui, Koh Pha…
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Pattaya wants to enact city’s own cannabis-control law
Pattaya’s council is already fed up of waiting for a national cannabis act to be passed, so the city has started to draft its own cannabis-control law. Pattaya’s Deputy Mayor Thitiphan Phettrakul chaired a meeting on Friday to discuss rules and regulations needed to control and prohibit the use of cannabis and hemp, especially in schools. Cannabis was delisted as…
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Thailand flies flags at half-mast today in memory of Shinzo Abe
Thailand’s PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered all government agencies and state enterprises to fly their flags to half-mast today in memory of former-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated while campaigning in the city of Nara in western Japan on Friday. The request was announced this morning by government spokesperson Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana. PM Prayut has asked all government agencies…
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