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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Thai chicken vendor fakes being a lawyer and wins in court
A Thai man who sells chicken for a living in Kamphaeng Phet province, central Thailand, has been arrested for pretending to be a lawyer for several years. He allegedly faked his license to practise law, fought several court cases, and even won a few. The chicken vendor, Pornthep Kachenpak, got away with it for years by “outsourcing.” His method was…
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VIDEO: PM Prayut gives army veteran a haircut in northeast Thailand
Prime Minister of Thailand Prayut Chan-o-cha showed off his barbering skills yesterday at the Second Army Area in Ubon Ratchathani province. PM Prayut stopped to give an army veteran a trim during his inspection of the flood situation in northeast Thailand. The 66 year old army veteran joked that he was not as handsome as PM Prayut, who complimented the…
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ASEAN summit in November excludes Burmese junta again
Another ASEAN summit is nearing and the Burmese military junta leader has once again found himself off the guest list. For the second year in a row since the bloody military coup in February of last year, Min Aung Hlaing was not invited to the summit of Southeast Asian nations. Citing a lack of any visible progress in the multi-step…
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Hundreds of water pumps installed for floods in Bangkok and nearby provinces
Thailand’s Royal Irrigation Department is working to fight the floods currently wreaking havoc on Bangkok and its vicinity. Yesterday, the Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister announced that the department installed more than 220 large water pumps to drain water from the capital and its surrounding provinces, Nation Thailand reported. The minister, Chalermchai Sreeon, said the pumps were draining 45 million cubic…
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Thai actress believes she was drugged on BTS train
Thai actress Chatchaya “Sara” Charoenchan filed a complaint with the police last week after she fainted on the Bangkok BTS train. Sara believes she was possibly spiked with a drug somehow. The 23 year old actress informed the media that the incident happened on the morning of Thursday, September 30 while she was on her way to take an exam…
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French President Macron accepts invitation to APEC meeting in Thailand
President of France Emmanuel Macron sent a letter to Prime Minister of Thailand Prayut Chan-o-cha on Monday confirming his attendance at the upcoming Asia Pacific Cooperation (APEC) summit in Bangkok next month from November 18-19. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Thanee Saengrat confirmed Macron’s attendance this morning. In the letter, Macron said he was looking forward to…
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Police patrol Pattaya Beach looking for guns, booze, prostitutes
Police in Pattaya is continuing their commitment to crack down on law-breaking along the beach. They were out on patrol Monday night and added prostitution to the list of illegal activities that they were on the lookout to prevent. The police plan to operate regular patrols and be much more strict on things like drinking on the beach and carrying…
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Phuket Vegetarian Festival wraps up
The Phuket Vegetarian Festival officially wrapped up its last day yesterday. The last day began with street processions in the main city district. The processions started in the morning at the Lor Rong Shrine and headed toward Saphan Hin Public Park. Later in the afternoon, there was a fire-waking ritual from Kathu Shrine. In the evening, there was another fire-walking ritual…
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Kanye West’s ‘White Lives Matter’ shirt at Paris Fashion Week
Controversial attention-seeking right-wing rapper Kanye West has once again made waves. Kanye hosted a surprise fashion show during Paris Fashion Week where he wore a t-shirt reading “White Lives Matter.” The American rapper made headlines recently after all ties were cut between his Yeezy sneaker line and GAP and Adidas. The unannounced fashion show took place at a secret venue…
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Tangmo defendant repays vow with 5-metre Ultraman figure
A defendant from the Tangmo case, Tanupat “Por’’ Lerttaweewit, repaid a vow he made at a famous temple in the southern part of Thailand by offering a 5-metre Ultraman figure. Thai netizens believe he made a wish related to the Tangmo case after Tangmo’s mother agreed to accept compensation and dropped murder charges. The Kom Chad Luek platform reported that…
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Bangkok asks companies to let employees work from home until October 7
As the Thai capital prepares for another torrential downpour, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) requested that companies allow employees to work from home where possible from October 5 – 7. “City-dwellers prepare for another period of heavy rain. Be wary of certain areas which are prone to flooding. Heavy rain is expected from now until October 7. We ask for…
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Father & 2 year old son shot in Chiang Mai
A father and his two year old son were shot while riding a motorcycle in Chiang Mai in the early hours of this morning. The man died at the scene while his son is in critical condition. Officers from Chai Prakarn Police Station were notified of the incident on Mae Khi Road in the Si Dong Yen sub-district, Chai Prakan…
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Six-legged golden frog brings good fortune in northern Thailand
A six-legged golden frog hopped into a northern Thai man’s life in Phayao province just over a year ago and has brought him good fortune ever since, he told the media today. The special frog jumped into 50 year old Somboon Tuakrua’s house in the Mueang district around a year ago. Somboon said the amphibian was calm and docile, so…
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British Embassy Bangkok to hold a conference on tourism safety and security
This is a one-day conference bringing together the Phuket tourism industry, Thai government departments and the international community to discuss matters relating to tourism safety and security in Phuket. The following topics will be discussed: Security Awareness and Crime Prevention Protective Security Incident Response Panel Discussion: Emerging Consular Trends Post Covid-19 Tourism Industry Cyber Risks Engaging Embassies and Consulates Event…
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Mother seeks justice after a monk slapped her son
The mother of a 17 year old schoolboy slapped by a monk in a Buddhist ethics camp in the Isaan province of Udon Thani wants justice for the assault. The provincial chief monk says his subordinate’s action did not violate monk rules. The child’s 33 year old mother, Waranya, is furious with the monk and seeks justice. She urged the…
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Bangkok ranked one of top 5 expat cities
Bangkok is one of the top five expat cities in the world, according to the language learning platform Preply. Thailand’s capital city came in at No.5 on a list of the 60 best cities for expats to live and work. The four cities that beat Bangkok, in order, were Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Tbilisi in Georgia, Lisbon in Portugal, and…
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VIDEO: Brave citizens save delivery driver swept away by floods in northeast Thailand
A viral TikTok clip posted on Saturday shows the severity of floods in Srisaket province in northeast Thailand. A group of brave citizens formed a human chain to pull a delivery driver who was swept off the road back to safety. To save himself, the delivery driver had to bid farewell to his motorbike which he depends on to make…
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Chiang Mai wakes up to a flooded city district
After Chiang Mai’s Ping River overflowed last night, residents woke up to a flooded city district this morning. The river’s water level this morning was 4.51 metres. This was 0.81 metres above the critical level. Residents were using sandbags to stop water from getting into their shops and houses. Small vehicles couldn’t pass through several roads. This included Loi Kroh…
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Japanese warned to take cover over North Korea missile test
Japanese residents were warned to take cover as North Korea launched a ballistic missile over Japan. It was the first time in five years that the nuclear-capable isolated country had taken such action. The missile was launched from North Korea and passed over Japan before plunging into the Pacific Ocean. This is the first time since 2017 that the country…
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Book on Trump reveals casual racism and homophobia
A controversial new book on Donald Trump by a New York Times journalist reveals that an intriguing look into his life from businessman to United States President, from casual racism to homophobia, and fear of dying from Covid-19. The book, Confidence Man, written by Maggie Haberman chronicles Trump’s time as a New York businessman and life during and after his…
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Thailand wants more tourists from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan
Thailand’s tourism officials are eyeing two Central Asian countries in hopes of more tourists. Those countries are Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Travellers from both countries are interested in visiting Thailand, Tourism Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said on Monday. Phiphat said that Kazakh and Uzbek tourists started to show interest after Thailand extended its Visa on Arrival from 15 to 30 days on…
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Elon Musk angers Ukraine president with Russia tweets
Controversial tweeter and the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, stirred a new dispute, this time with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Musk angered Zelensky, along with many top Ukrainian officials and the people of Ukraine, by proposing his solution for the Russian invasion. The founder of Tesla and SpaceX posted on Twitter that Ukraine should take part in new referendums overseen…
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Europeans arrested in Iran
Iran’s authorities are continuing their brutal crackdown amidst the country’s latest uprising. But the crackdown isn’t limited to Iranians. Nine European nationals have now been arrested, several media outlets reported on October 1. Iran’s intelligence ministry says the people arrested are from Poland, Sweden, Germany, Italy, France and the Netherlands. Local media said that intelligence officers had arrested people considered foreign…
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Thai woman charged for selling fake discount vouchers
UPDATE A Thai woman has been charged with selling fake discount vouchers for hotels in Pattaya. The suspect denies all allegations. Last June, more than 700 victims filed a complaint with the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) in Bangkok. They made known that they were lured into buying fake vouchers for 5-star hotels, pool villas, restaurants, and activities in Pattaya from…
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Prayut plans to contact citizens hit by power cuts via radio
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha suggests officials warn locals about flash floods via radio as Thailand did 11 years ago in flooding in 2011. The 68 year old wants to use the radio to update citizens on the news should they lose their electricity. The prime minister joined a meeting via zoom yesterday to discuss how to manage the flooding situation and…
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Submarine purchases could sink over engine debate
Controversy surrounds plans over the plan for three submarine purchases as officials debate which engine is suitable to power the subs. The S26T Yuan-class submarine that Thailand has been in the slow process of purchasing since April was originally planned to be powered by a German engine. Now, factions of the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) are debating if a Chinese-made engine…
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VIDEO: Paramedics push patient through Bangkok floods on stretcher
Paramedics abandoned their ambulance to push a patient on a stretcher through the floods in Bangkok last night. The clip was taken in front of the Government Complex on Chaeng Wattana Road where the traffic came to a standstill for three hours. Kontapon Bungwai, who filmed the clip, said… “Bangkok is facing a heavy crisis. The ambulance needs to get…
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Schools no longer need to close for Covid outbreaks
With Covid-19 being downgraded to a communicable disease of concern, schools and universities will no longer require closures for outbreaks. Minister of Education Trinuch Thienthong spoke at a press conference yesterday and said that new control measures won’t include definite closures, should an outbreak of the coronavirus afflict a school. With many students often packed into a tight area, schools…
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Clumsy burglar injures himself after trying to steal in Chon Buri
In what some might call a major incident of karma, a clumsy burglar injured himself while trying to steal from a room in Chon Buri‘s main city district. A witness and neighbour of the victim, Thongchai, said he saw the burglar riding his motorcycle back and forth around the area. Thongchai then called the property owner and went to check the rooms…
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Mountain B nightclub fire claims 24th life
The death toll from the fire at Mountain B nightclub in Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand, on August 5 has risen to 24. The 24th victim, a navy officer, died from his injuries in hospital last night after fighting for his life for two months in the ICU. Lawyer Ronnarong Kaewpetch said on Facebook yesterday… “#RIP the 24th victim of…
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