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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Man accidentally shoots himself in the mouth in northeast Thailand
A man has accidentally shot and killed himself while loading gunpowder into his cap gun at a rubber plantation in Roi Et province, northeast Thailand, yesterday evening. Police suspect he was holding the trigger end of the gun with his toes and blowing gunpowder into the barrel with his mouth when he must have accidentally pulled the trigger. The man’s…
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Thailand’s tourism ranking drops down a notch
Thailand’s place on a list of countries ranked for travel and tourism development has fallen a notch below where it stood last year. Thailand fell from it’s spot in 35th place out of 117 countries in 2021, to 36th place, on the Travel and Tourism Development Index. The index is based on scores from 1-7, where 1 is the worst…
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Pattaya City Mayor election to be re-held in some districts after ballot papers go missing
Chon Buri Provincial Election Commission has announced the cancellation of the Pattaya City mayor’s election result on May 22 because ballot papers had gone missing from polling stations in 2 sub-districts. The new election in those sub-districts will be held on June 12. After 10 years of suspension of mayoral elections, the Pattaya City Mayor election was held on May…
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Bangkok police arrest 6 Taiwanese nationals for crypto fraud
Police in Bangkok have arrested 6 Taiwanese men following a raid on a house in the Prawet district of the capital. The men are accused of conning over 500 people, mostly fellow Taiwanese or Chinese nationals, through fraudulent online cryptocurrency investment schemes. According to a Bangkok Post report, the arrests happened when officers from the Police Cyber Taskforce, accompanied by…
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Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand advises airlines of new entry rules effective today
International airlines have been issued with a notice from the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand, advising them of revised rules for entry to the kingdom from today. CAAT chief, Suttipong Kongpool, says all international airlines serving Thailand are required to screen and categorise passengers into 3 groups. The first group is the fully vaccinated passengers, who, if suspected of having…
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Southern Thai man sentenced to almost 5 decades for terrorism and other charges
Southern Thailand doesn’t look like it’s headed towards peace any time soon. In the latest report on violence in the region, a man in Yala province has been sentenced to 46 years in prison yesterday after he was charged with terrorism, criminal association, and violating the firearms and explosives law. The man, along with 8 other people, was found guilty…
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Proposal to develop Koh Tao, Samui, and Koh Phang Ngan as “entertainment islands”
Another day, another idea, as Thailand desperately tries to revive its decimated tourism sector and by extension, the economy. While things are looking up since entry restrictions were eased, suggestions for further improvement continue to circulate. One such proposal is to develop and market 3 islands in the Gulf of Thailand as an “entertainment cluster”. Tourism operators on Koh Samui,…
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Foreign arrivals in April show things are looking up for tourism, the economy
Things are looking up for the Thai economy, thanks to an increase in foreign and domestic tourism in April, according to the Bank of Thailand. The Bangkok Post also reports a year-on-year increase in consumer spending during the month of April. The easing of travel restrictions has brought more foreign tourists to the kingdom, with numbers up from 210,836 in…
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Pubs, clubs, entertainment venues re-open in Bangkok, 30 other provinces today
From today (or tonight), nightlife resumes in 31 “green zone” and “blue zone” provinces, including Bangkok, Phuket, and Chiang Mai. Pubs, clubs, and other entertainment venues can once more welcome customers, although they must close by midnight. Other stipulations include a ban on crowds and alcohol promotions. In the capital, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has provided entertainment venues with the…
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UPDATE: 12 people exposed to monkeypox forced to quarantine in Thailand
UPDATE: The 12 crew members and passengers who were in close contact with a traveller infected with monkeypox – who stopped off at Bangkok’s Survarnabhumi airport for 2 hours before flying on to Australia – are currently being forced to quarantine in Thailand. The 12 people have already been in enforced quarantine for 7 days and have shown no symptoms…
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ONESIAM skywalk features Universal Design concept to enhance convenience and accessibility
Press Release The ONESIAM elevated skywalk connecting to the Pathumwan Intersection was designed with the concept of Universal Design to cater to the urban lifestyles of the elderly, the disabled, and the general public. Today, it has become an iconic landmark that enhances the positive image and reinforces the symbol of “Universal Design City” for the good quality of life…
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AirAsia launched a “super-app” to compete with the likes of Grab
The popular low-cost Malaysian airline, AirAsia, debuted its “super app” for ride-hailing in Thailand today, which provides a variety of services ranging from car rides similar to Grab, and Bolt, to flight reservations and food ordering, in an already booming industry. There are currently 3,000 registered drivers in the Bangkok metropolis, with ambitions to recruit more as tourism slowly picks…
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Three woman caught smuggling heroin from Thailand into India
Three women were arrested at a hotel in Itarsi, India, with 200 million rupees’ – or 87.8 million baht’s – worth of heroin on Saturday. The women allegedly smuggled the heroin into the Indian city of Bengaluru from Thailand via an international airline, according to India’s Narcotics Control Bureau. The woman managed to get the heroin through both Thai and…
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Ex Thai prisoner convicted of child sex offences willing to be castrated
A high-profile paedophile says he is willing to be castrated to stop him reoffending in the future. Child sex offender Bradley Pen Dragon announced he is happy to be chemically or physically castrated today after he won his release from a prison in Australia. The 62 year old will be allowed to leave prison next month subject to more than…
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BREAKING: Court sentences British man who murdered and chopped up Thai woman
UPDATE: Court sentences British man who murdered and chopped up Thai woman At 1:30pm this afternoon, Kanchanaburi Provincial Court sentenced Shane Kenneth Looker to 8 years in prison for murdering Laxami “Look” Manochat in 2014. The court ordered Shane to pay a total of 12.5 million baht to Look’s family. The court initially sentenced 51 year old Shane to 16…
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Thai man buys 12 pairs of Converse as offerings to god of wealth
A Thai man has bought 12 pairs of Converse sneakers and offered them to the god of wealth in the central province of Ang Thong after his wishes came true. Other locals are now copying the idea, helping the god have his own shoe collection. Yesterday, the media reported that they found a display case placed in front of the…
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Diesel price increase hits motorists in the pocket
Motorists were hit in the pocket once more as the price of diesel fuel increased today by 1 baht to 33 baht a litre. The latest price hike, decided by the Fuel Fund Executive Committee, will remain in place for around a week until the committee meet again on Monday to decide whether the price should be further increased. Director…
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Nude homeless man throws himself in front of speeding lorry in suicide attempt
A naked homeless man threw himself in front of a speeding truck in Pattaya yesterday morning in what looks like a suicide attempt. The male victim sustained serious injuries after being hit by the lorry, while trying to cross a road in the Bang Lamung sub-district, Bang Lamung, Chon Buri. His name and age could not be identified by the…
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Transport Ministry expects 22 million travellers will pass through Thai airports in 2022
The Transport Minister, Saksayam Chidchob, says every airport in Thailand is ready to welcome more travellers entering from June 1. The Minister also set a target expecting 22 million travellers to enter this year. So far, the number has just clicked over the 1 million mark (mid-May). Yesterday, Saksayam visited Suvarnabhumi Airport for for an official before the changes to…
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Tangmo: 5 of 6 suspects charged with “recklessness causing death”
Prosecutors have ordered the indictment of 6 suspects in relation to the death of Thai actress Nida “Tangmo” Patcharaveerapong, who drowned in the Chao Phraya river in February during a boat trip with her friends. All 5 people on board the boat have been charged with “recklessness causing death.” Yesterday, superintendent of Muang Nonthaburi Police Station reported that the prosecutors…
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Deputy PM insists using Thai numerals to keep “uniqueness”
Following a campaign on Change.org to remove Thai numbers from official documents, Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam said it was “an absurd controversial topic”. He insisted that Thai numbers might be complicated, but it is the way to maintain Thai uniqueness. Thai numerals are written in Thai script in formal documents, not the Arabic numerals used in many other countries. A Thai…
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Climate change activist smears cream on Mona Lisa painting at Louvre
A visitor to the Louvre Museum in Paris has attacked the world-famous Mona Lisa painting, having disguised himself as an elderly lady in a wheelchair. The man, believed to be a climate change activist, jumped out of the wheelchair and tried to smash the glass protecting the painting, according to a Reuters report. The painting was reportedly undamaged, but the…
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Patong woman drowns after pickup skids off treacherous road into lake
A 50-year-old Patong woman drowned after her pickup truck careered off a treacherous road and plunged into a lake in the Kathu district. Witnesses alerted police of the accident, opposite the GSM Duty Free Shop on Phra Phuket Kaew Road, at 6am on Sunday. The bystanders said the woman, driving a blue Ford Ranger pickup with Phuket plates, failed to…
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Thai Airways collaborates with Warner Bros to shoot ‘The Meg 2: The Trench’
Thai Airways has entered into an agreement with Warner Bros Discover – or WBD – to provide flights to support the production of ‘The Meg 2: The Trench,’ a sequel to the 2018 film ‘The Meg.’ The airline will provide direct flights from various locations around the world and take special care in transporting film production equipment. Thai Airways say…
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US says it will not send rocket systems to Ukraine to strike at territory inside Russia
The US has ruled out arming Ukraine with rocket systems that could strike targets inside Russian territory, according to an AFP report. President Joe Biden has confirmed his administration’s stance at a press briefing in Washington. “We are not going to send to Ukraine rocket systems that can strike into Russia.” Since Russia’s invasion in February, Ukraine has received significant…
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Police arrest Scottish man wanted since 2014 in Pattaya
Yesterday, Thai police arrested a 46 year old Scottish man in Pattaya who was convicted of possessing indecent images of children in May 2014. William Dempster fled the UK eight years ago before he could be sentenced and has been on the run in Thailand ever since. The Royal Thai Police, Police Scotland and the National Crime Agency worked together…
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Thai medical council refutes claim that private hospitals have foreign doctors on staff
Thai healthcare bosses have dismissed claims by some private hospitals that they have foreign doctors on staff to help with patient care and surgery. According to a Bangkok Post report, the Medical Council of Thailand says there is a limit on the number of foreign doctors allowed to practice in the kingdom. Addressing claims made by some private hospitals, the…
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PM Prayut insists no plans to drop face-mask requirement in Thailand
Thailand’s PM and Defense Minister, Prayut Chan-o-cha, insists that Thailand has no plans to drop the requirement to wear face-masks. The PM asked the spokesperson to emphasise this point to the residents saying wearing masks was still “a necessary behaviour”. Last week, the Permanent Secretary of the Public Health Ministry, Kiattiphum Wongrajit, said that the ministry proposed to adjust the…
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Teenagers assault family car in central Thailand, injuring 3 year old
A group of teenagers have assaulted a family of 3 in the central province of Samut Prakan. The teenagers were “throwing a party” in the middle of road at a housing estate in Bang Sao Thong district, and refused to move out of the way of the family’s car. The teenagers threw a rock through the car window, injuring the…
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Demonstrators storm UN building to protest NPO law
Demonstrators swarmed around the United Nations Building to the Government House this morning to denounce a government bill on non-profit organizations. Hundreds of vociferous anti-NPO demonstrators avoided a number of barriers, including barbed wire on different sections of Ratchadamnoen Road leading to government house in Bangkok, but still managed to voice their opposition to a law that will affect the…
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