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 one hospital visit in Thailand could cost more than your whole trip
Thailand is a favourite spot for travellers who want to enjoy more while spending less. From cheap street food to low-cost hotels and fun attractions, it’s easy to stretch your budget here. But there’s one thing many people don’t think...
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China not cod-ing about its zero Covid policy as it tests fish
China was not cod-ing when it said it remains committed to its zero Covid-19 policy. This week fish caught off the coast of Xiamen, in southeastern Fujian province, were given nucleic acid tests alongside the fishermen who hauled in the catch. China’s overzealous zero Covid strategy was made fun of by a Chinese media outlet, Sohu (搜狐新闻), who posted a video on…
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Female soldier seeks help after being abused by senator’s wife
A soldier appealed to a Thai influencer for help after revealing she was almost driven to suicide after years of physical and mental abuse by the wife of a senator. The woman contacted Guntouch “Gun” Pongpaiboonwet, aka Gun Jom Palang, to share her story. In turn, Gun spread the news on Facebook and said helped her file a complaint against…
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Thailand movie legend Sombat Metanee has died, aged 85
A close friend of one of Thailand’s best-known actors, Sombat Metanee, revealed he died peacefully in his sleep today. The 85 year old, who made more than 2,000 films and television shows, was hailed by Thai fans as a heroic actor. At one time, Sombat held a Guinness World Record for most film appearances at 617 times. The media reported…
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Monkeypox victims told to avoid animals after pet dog is infected
The World Health Organisation appealed to those infected with monkeypox to avoid exposing animals to the disease after the first reported case of a human-to-dog transmission emerged. The British-based medical journal, the Lancet, last week reported an Italian greyhound, living with two men in Paris, had caught monkeypox. Rosamund Lewis, the WHO’s technical lead for monkeypox made it known that…
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2 men on a motorcycle rob a gas station in Chon Buri
Police are on the lookout for two opportunist thieves who robbed a gas station in Chon Buri yesterday. The two men arrived at the PTT gas station. No. 114/22, Village No. 2, Nong Samsak Sub-district, in the Ban Bueng subdistrict on a motorbike wearing full-face helmets and robbed about 6,000 baht in cash before fleeing the scene. Pol. Lt. Col. Ekachai Pakwat,…
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PM Prayut suggests studying Buddhism to cope with rising electricity bills in Thailand
Thailand’s electricity authorities approved record high electricity prices on Monday to offset the rising prices of imported gas. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s suggestion of studying Buddhism to cope with expensive bills is a slap in the face to Thailand’s poorest people, who will disproportionately suffer the most due to the price hike. “Go and study the Dharma. Study the Four…
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Indian man arrested for smuggling 17 live animals out of Thailand
An Indian man was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok on Tuesday for trying to smuggle 17 prohibited animals from Thailand to India. The Director of Thailand’s Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, Praset Sornsathapornkun, reported to the media that the 21 year old Indian man, Abilash Annadury, was arrested by the officers of the…
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Thai man faces prison for growing & selling corals online
A Thai man faces up to ten years in jail after being arrested for selling coral online via Facebook. Police seized more than 300 types of corals from the man’s residence. The 31 year old man, Thitipong, was arrested today at his home in Soi Suwinthawong 13, Saen Saeb sub-district, Min Buri district, Bangkok. Thitipong turned his home into a…
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UPDATE: 21 year old man found dead after Deep South bombing
UPDATE Following the bomb explosions in three Deep South provinces on August 16, officers found one man dead inside a 7-Eleven shop in the Su-ngai Golok district of Narathiwas province. Yesterday, officers from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal investigated a 7-Eleven store inside a petrol station that was bombed as part of the attack and found the charred body of a…
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Thai govt open to cannabis recreation, not pot-smoking tourists
Thailand’s Public Health Minister made contradictory statements yesterday regarding the recreational use of cannabis. In one statement Anutin Charnvirakul said he was open to the further liberalisation of the drug and in another, he said pot-smoking tourists are not welcome in Thailand. “We don’t welcome those kinds of tourists,” said The 55 year old Bhumjaithai Party leader at a “Meet…
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School’s In, Face-To-Face Learning Shifts to the Home
Press Release BANGKOK, THAILAND: Education throughout Thailand during the last few years of the Covid-19-inspired ‘Zoom Boom’ has largely taken place in a virtual classroom. But for many, remote learning has not been an effective substitute for face-to-face lessons. Growing frustration by online students and teachers who feel unable to connect in the fragmented and often disrupted cyberspace has created…
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Thai neitzens angry at SUV driver using a siren just to use toilet
Thai netizens made it known there were outraged by the owner of a black SUV car that traveled at high speed and used a siren – just to use a toilet. Dashcam footage of the SUV was posted on the Facebook page Let Me Know If You Want to Be Famous Return Part 3. The video was posted on August…
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Rama 2 Road guilty of being a repeat accident offender
Another accident was reported on the Rama 2 Road where the U-turn bridge collapsed two weeks ago. Yesterday, an iron bar fell from a truck onto the road and almost hit a car. On July 30, at 8pm, the U-turn bridge over the Rama 2 Road collapsed onto four vehicles. One female passenger was killed at the scene by a…
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Body of one teacher found in double suicide pact in SE Thailand
The body of one of the two teachers who jumped off a bridge in Muang district in a double suicide pact has been recovered. A member of the public Anon Boonsert revealed that he saw two women sitting inside a Honda car parked on the Bang Phra Bridge, connecting Wang Krachae subdistrict and Nong Khan Song subdistrict, in Trat Province,…
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Son who tried to starve mother to death dies of TB in NE Thailand
A Thai man who tried to starve his mother to death in the hope of getting her inheritance was found dead yesterday in the family home in Isaan of Buriram province. It is believed he died of Tuberculosis. Officers from Satuek Police Station and a Wang Krut Rescue team were called to investigate a one-story house in the Nikom sub-district,…
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Mystery 911 emergency service call turns out to be a monkey
American police officers responded to a 911 (emergency) call in a remote area three and a half hours north of Los Angeles only to find an unlikely caller – a monkey in a zoo. The incident took place at Zoo to You, a wildlife conservation park in the quaint town of Paso Robles, California, known for its wineries and military…
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Soi Dog Foundation pledges to neuter 1 million animals in 2 years
Now in 16 provinces, the Soi Dog Foundation has set a goal to vaccinate and neuter one million stray dogs and cats across Thailand within the next two years. The foundation has been working since 2003 to combat the problem of overpopulation of stray dogs all over the country. They launched a program that year called Catch, Neuter, Vaccinate, Return…
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EPL praises Thailand for crackdown on illegal footie sites
Representatives from the English Premier League (EPL) yesterday met with the Deputy Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police to express gratitude for Thailand’s efforts to protect the copyright of the UK’s live football broadcasts. The Deputy Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police, Damrongsak Kittipraphat, welcomed representatives from the EPL, the General Manager of the AVIA Coalition Against Piracy, Aaron Herps,…
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Sick German man fails in suicide attempt in Pattaya
A German man with a debilitating medical condition tried to shoot himself but missed in a failed suicide attempt in Pattaya. The 82 year old man, believed to be Jonas Wolfgang Dietrich, was found unconscious with a gun wound to the chest on Sunday at about 10.30pm at 352/58 Village No. 5, Nong Prue Subdistrict, Bang Lamung District in Chon…
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Instant noodles, a staple budget food, fighting to increase prices
There is perhaps no symbol more synonymous with living on a tight budget than dining cheap with a cup of ramen instant noodles. So it’s an extra kick for those struggling during this time of hyperinflation in Thailand and around the world that instant noodles manufacturers have requested expedited permission to raise prices on their products. The Internal Trade Department…
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Pattaya cops arrest spurned lover armed with gun after car chase
A high-speed car chase between police and a spurned lover armed with a gun ended when officers managed to arrest the man in a state of emotional duress in Pattaya. Police were called to the scene of a domestic dispute between Jane Ditphakdi and an unnamed woman, who rejected his advances, and another man trying to mediate the argument yesterday…
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Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla diagnosed with an unfortunate infection
If you’ve ever heard the advice “never get a haircut from a bald barber” you know that even something completely natural can tarnish the image of a brand in people’s minds. So, much like being judged for being an overweight fitness instructor, it’s a bit awkward for Albert Bourla that people now know he’s been infected by Covid-19, considering he…
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Aung San Suu Kyi receives additional 6-year prison sentence
Deposed Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi received an additional jail term sentence, this time six years for corruption, adding to the 11 years she has already. Suu Kyi was jailed by the military junta that overthrew the government on February 1, 2021, as she tried to introduce democracy. She was sentenced previously to 11 years in jail for breaking…
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Police officer who shot noodle vender sentenced to 25 years
A Phuket police officer who shot a noodle vendor on the streets of Patong when drunk last year has been sentenced to 25 years behind bars for the crime captured on video by security cameras. The 25 year old victim is permanently disabled from the incident. Pornthep Channarong was off-duty and was out drinking the night before shooting Aroon Thongplab…
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Mountain B Pub’s real owner surrenders while police guard venue
The presumed real owner of the Mountain B Pub has now turned himself in. Somyos Panprasong, now considered to be the actual owner of Mountain B Pub, which claimed the lives of 19, after his son Sia B surrendered to police in the wake of the fire, reported to the Phlu Ta Lung Police Station today and was placed under…
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A monk dies in yet another day of Buddhist shame in Thailand
A history of bad blood between two monks yesterday resulted in the death of one on yet another day of shame for the Buddhist faith. There has been an endless number of monastic scandals over the past year in Thailand involving Buddhist monks being caught engaging in inappropriate and criminal acts in violation of their monastic vows from fornication to…
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Electricity prices soar 18% to 4.72 baht per unit next month
Electricity prices are already at a record high rate of 4 baht per unit, topping an eight-year old record, and have now been approved to surge another 18%. When global oil prices rocketed up to US$110 per barrel in 2014, Thai energy prices hit 3.96 baht per unit. Coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic, the demand for all forms of…
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100 Consecutive Days of food handouts to the homeless of Bangkok
The Thaiger joins Bangkok Community Help Foundation on their 100th consecutive day of food distribution to the poor in Bangkok. Thanks to our Thaiger members generosity and donations from our viewers we were able to help distribute food for the homeless and people in need. As well as make a donation to the BCHF charity. Join Jay and Sara as…
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CSD requested to take over Mountain B Pub fire investigation
Citing a distrust for local officials, a coalition of representatives of many who were injured or died in the Mountain B Pub fire are calling for the Crime Suppression Division to take over the investigation. A group representing 13 of the victims officially complained yesterday to the CSD, asking them to replace local police in running the investigation into the…
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Broke Bangkok can’t afford to finish underground cables project
The Bangkok Deputy Governor, Wisanu Subsompon, appealed to the private and public sectors to come together and complete the capital’s perpetual cable problem. The deputy governor revealed that Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) might have to cancel the project, to bury the city’s underground power lines altogether, unless it can find some way of coming up with more funds. Wisanu made…
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