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 10 biggest challenges retirees face in Thailand (and how to overcome them)
Retiring in Thailand comes with many benefits, like warm weather, affordable living, and a rich culture. However, it also brings challenges. Retirees must deal with visa rules, healthcare costs, language barriers, and cultural differences. Rising medical expenses, required insurance, and...
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Thailand seals the deal for emergency support loan from Japan
The Thailand deal for a long-term multi-billion baht loan with Japan was formally announced today. Last month the government made the announcement to approach Japan for the loan. On May 3, the Thai Finance Minister, Akom Termpittayapaisit, explained to Thai media that he signed the agreement on Covid-19 Crisis Response Emergency Support Loan with a representative from JICA Morota Takahiro.…
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Soldier murders teacher, dumps her body in pond in central Thailand
Yesterday, police found the body of a 40 year old teacher who had been missing for 15 days. Ning’s body was found tied down with bricks at the bottom of a pond at a soldier’s house in Phetchaburi province, central Thailand. “Teacher Ning”, and her gray Toyota Reva 4X4, went missing on May 26. Police from Kaeng Krachan Police Station…
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Central Pattana’s 10 billion baht investment in 37 new hotels
Central Pattana is launching 37 hotels in 27 provinces in Thailand with 4,000 rooms, valued at a total of 10 billion baht, under the Centara Hotels and Resorts brand. The kingdom’s largest retail property development and investment company aims to hire about 3,900 people across the country in the process. The company will focus primarily on second-tier locations, as it…
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Nightlife operators blame officials for unfinished work on Pattaya Walking Street
Business operators on Pattaya Walking Street have blamed the authorities for causing a public nuisance and spoiling the city’s reputation because of an unfinished road renovation project. The Pattaya Walking Street Business Association insist the road needs to be completed faster than the current schedule, and more street lights installed, if it is to save face with the public. In…
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Myanmar to execute 4 activists despite appeals
The Myanmar junta still intend to execute 4 activists despite appeals from around 200 civil society organisations pleading with the military government to drop the ruling. The UN Amnesty International, and 199 civil society organisations have all backed a statement calling for the Myanmar junta to reverse their decision over the 4 activists. “We, the following organizations and world citizens…
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Thai and Laotian officials discuss border trafficking
Thai and Laotian officials met in Bangkok today to discuss trafficking along their countries’ borders, among other subjects. Last week, the 2 countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding agreeing to work together on a wide range of issues, among them drug and human trafficking. Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan, and Laotian Deputy Prime Minister Chansamone Chanyalath, also discussed…
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China-Laos-Thailand railway already ‘exceeded expectations’
Former Thai Deputy PM Pinit Jarusombat believes the extension of the China-Laos Railway into Thailand “has exceeded expectations” and will eventually provide the kingdom with a number of investment and business opportunities. The China-Laos Railway, which opened only six months ago, connects Kunming in China with the Laotian capital Vientiane and stretches out around 1,035 kilometres. The route has delivered more…
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Phuket officials hold job fair, wanting to solve unemployment problems
A job fair in Phuket yesterday featured over 30 employers receiving applications from hopeful searchers. Phuket’s Vice Governor Pichet, who facilitated the event’s opening, noted that “there is a lot of interest in applying for a job”. The fair advertised 1,000 vacancies. It was held at the Central Festival Phuket, in the middle of the island. Pichet added that the…
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Northeast Thai man shoots and kills ex-wife, and himself, after she refuses to re-unite
A man in Northeast Thailand has shot and killed his ex-wife after she refused to go back to him. The man, 35 year old soldier Akkhaphon Phonphan, shot his ex-wife, 34 year old nurse Naphaporn Nakkiew, at Khon Kaen Hospital in the early hours of this morning, before turning the gun on himself. According to Khon Kaen city police, Naphaporn’s…
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Landmark Thai booze bill passes 1st reading
Smashing the hold of corporate Thai brewery conglomerates in the booze business moved one step closer last night after the Move Forward Party’s Progressive Liquor Bill sailed through its first reading in the Lower House. The landmark bill, originally rejected by the cabinet in February, seeks to break the monopoly of corporate brewers and provide business opportunities for small-scale brewers…
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Thailand’s Cabinet votes in favour of revolutionary alcohol brewing act
Yesterday, Thailand’s Cabinet voted in favour of an act which will allow Thais to brew and sell their own alcohol. The law it still in its first stages, but if it goes ahead it will be revolutionary for Thailand’s alcohol industry. The “Progressive Liquor Act” aims to amend Section 153 of the Excise Tax Act which requires alcohol producers to…
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Former police inspector in North Thailand scammed, loses retirement funds
A scam gang, pretending to be police, have tricked a former police inspector in North Thailand into handing over all of his retirement money, totalling 1.8 million baht. The former inspector, who lives in Lampang province, said the scammers called him on June 1, claiming to be from the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission. The scammers told the former inspector…
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Thailand Pass could be dropped on July 1
‘Thailand Pass’ could be scrapped completely on July 1, according to Thailand’s tourism minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakan. The fate of Thailand Pass will be decided at the next meeting of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, or CCSA, next Friday on June 17. Thailand Pass was already dropped for Thai nationals on June 1, but foreigners flying into the kingdom are…
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More than 100,000 people register to grow cannabis at home in Thailand
Today is cannabis decriminalisation day, and the people of Thailand have wasted no time in registering to grow their own cannabis plants at home. Thailand’s FDA revealed that, so far, more than 100,000 budding cannabis growers have registered via the ‘Plook Ganja’ website and mobile application. To legally grow cannabis or hemp at home, Thai people do not need to…
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Employment at Thailand’s venues slowly picks up following nightlife reopening
Aspiring bartenders can dream again, because now that Thailand’s nightlife is ‘officially’ back on, venues are slowly employing again. The country’s pubs, bars, karaoke bars, massage parlors and other venues are picking up the pieces after having to lay off employees during the Covid-19 pandemic. This news comes after Thailand stopped requiring such venues to call themselves ‘restaurants’ on June…
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Swedish men get more time with the kids thanks to new ‘Paternity Pledge’
Sweden’s ambassador to Thailand says he is delighted 12 companies from his native homeland have promised to give male employees one month’s paid paternity leave. Twelve Swedish firms in Thailand, including ABB, Astra Zeneca, IKEA, Electolux, and Volvo, have agreed to give 30 days’ paid paternity leave to all male staff. Jon Astrom Grondahl, was speaking at the opening ceremony…
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Chon Buri teacher allegedly injures student with forced exersises
A teacher in Sri Racha district of Chon Buri province has allegedly injured a 12 year old student by forcing her to do 60 squat jumps. The girl’s father says she was hospitalised for 6 days for “a very bad fever and leg pain”. He said his daughter was discharged from the hospital on May 31. The father, 36 year…
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Governor to introduce intelligent transportation system to resolve Bangkok’s endemic gridlock
Newly elected Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt intends to introduce an innovative “intelligent transportation system” to fix the city’s endemic traffic congestion. The 56 year old governor says he is going to introduce a highly sophisticated technology program to put an end to Bangkok’s perpetual transport problems and resolve the outcome within a year. Chadchart is in the process of putting…
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Bangkok Marathon returns to city after 2 year pandemic absence
The Bangkok Marathon returns to the city for the 33rd time on November 20 after a 2 year absence. Due to social distancing measures and other Covid-19 prevention-related restrictions, most big events and concerts in Thailand were cancelled because of the coronavirus outbreak. But now measures have been relaxed people in Thailand can look forward to enjoying more events and…
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UPDATE: Phuket hospital director speaks at press conference on baby’s broken arm
UPDATE The director of Vachira Phuket Hospital, where a newborn baby mysteriously suffered a broken arm, has spoken at a press conference on the incident yesterday. The director, Dr. Weerasak Lorthongkam, said the baby was in a normal state after she was born (on May 23). He said that on June 5, she was able to move her arms and…
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Bangkok’s new governor requests a year to study traffic solutions for the city
Bangkok’s newly elected governor has requested a year to study how best to solve the city’s traffic problems. In a meeting with metropolitan police today, Governor Chadchart Sittipunt outlined plans to set up a traffic command centre, which will cooperate with several other institutions. These include traffic police, the Transport Ministry, the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority, the metro system, and…
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50 years today – anniversary of an iconic photo
It’s June 8, 1972 and bombs come raining from the sky in a village called Trang Bang, just 50 kilometres northwest of Ho Chi Minh City (then it was called Saigon). 50 years ago, today, a photo was snapped featuring a 9 year old called Phan Thi Kim Phuc. The photo became not only an indelible image representing the worst…
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Thai police arrest 6 suspects for 20 million baht Covid-19 test scam
Police from Thailand’s Consumer Protection Police Division announced today that 6 suspects have been arrested for a 20 million baht Covid-19 test scam. The suspects allegedly offered to sell ATK tests on 4 Facebook pages, charging about 10,000 people 900 baht per box when there was a shortage of test kits, according to Police Major General Anant Nanasombat. After the…
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Thailand: Don’t buy multicoloured axolotls, warns experts
Multicoloured Mexican amphibians are Thailand’s latest trend, but experts are begging people not to buy them. Brightly coloured axolotls might be cute, but they die after just one week, according to a group of axolotl breeders in Thailand. Axolotls are a type of critically endangered Mexican salamander popularised among the Thai youth through the game Minecraft. The animal has become…
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Bangkok motorcycle taxi rider arrested for attempted rape and kidnap of a teenage student
A motorcycle taxi driver, Somsak Jangsat, was arrested in the Phra Khanong area of Bangkok yesterday after he tried to rape a teenage girl. Somsak tricked the 17 year old student into using his taxi service saying he would take her home after school but instead kidnapped the girl and took her to a love motel where he tried to…
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Canada launches vaccine campaign against monkeypox
Quebec is the first Canadian province to launch a vaccine campaign against monkeypox, specifically aimed at ‘high-risk’ people who have been exposed to the virus. Over 800 Quebecers have been vaccinated with the Imvamune smallpox vaccine so far, which can build immunity against monkeypox, according to Canadian public health officials. So far, 90 cases of monkeypox have been recorded in…
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Dengue fever breaks out in Singapore
Dengue fever has broken out in Singapore, as the number of cases has already climbed to more than double the number throughout all of 2021. The city-state’s peak dengue season usually begins on June 1. A spokesperson for Singapore’s Ministry of Health told CNN that on May 28 this year, Singapore already had about 11,670 cases. Throughout all of 2021,…
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New tax law could provide spark to Thailand’s global EV hub dream
A new tax law introduced today could provide the spark to realize Thailand’s global electric vehicle hub dream. The Excise Department in Bangkok revealed a law governing the reduction of the EV tax from 8% to 2% will be published tomorrow in the Royal Gazette and come into effect on Friday, after the Council of State finished vetting the law,…
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Man dies after being swept out to sea in Phuket
A man in Phuket’s Thalang district has died after being swept out to sea when he went fishing near a beach earlier this week. Rescuers found the man’s body between several giant rocks near Banana Beach on Monday (June 6). The man’s girlfriend said he had been fishing on a rock on Sunday as she accompanied him. When a huge…
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BREAKING NEWS: Former police chief ‘Joe Ferrari’ sentenced to life in prison
The Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases in Bangkok today sentenced to death former cop, Thitisan Utthanaphon, aka. Joe Ferrari, before later commuting his sentence. Thitisan was the police chief in Nakhon Sawan in central Thailand, when he led the torture and eventual death of a suspected drug trafficker in August last year. The Court today ruled that…
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