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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.
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What do you need before moving from the US to Thailand?
The Thaiger key takeaways The most common medical emergencies for expats in Thailand include motorcycle accidents, tropical diseases, and food or water-borne illnesses. Air pollution and heat-related conditions like heatstroke also pose serious seasonal health risks, especially in northern and...
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Police doubt story of teen shot on his 18th birthday
Reports of teen gangs and violence are on the rise in Thailand, and one young man got a mournful birthday surprise, though police are sceptical of what transpired. An 18 year old teen was shot and killed in a tragic incident that occurred in the Greater Bangkok province of Pathum Thani. The incident was reported by Thai Rath, and according…
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Dinosaur footprints found in Kalasin park
Phu Faek forest park, located in the northeastern province of Kalasin, is known for its rich history and geological significance. Recently, the park has made an exciting discovery of fossilized dinosaur footprints. The Department of Mineral Resources, along with park officials, were notified of the finding by a local villager from Ban Nam Kham, in Phu Laen Chang sub-district. Upon…
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Covid cases down, international arrivals up
Good news for tourism, bad news for Covid-19: international travellers have surged while infection figures have actually declined. After Thailand relaxed its immigration measures, the number of tourists visiting has seen a steady increase. With extra fears due to Chinese tourism reopening amidst a major Covid wave there, the number of new cases in Thailand has been going down. According…
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Not our problem – Paetongtarn dismisses father’s comeback
Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of ex-PM Thaksin and Pheu Thai Party‘s chosen candidate for her father’s old job, said her father has to find his own way home. He will not need, and not receive, any help from the Pheu Thai Party. Paetongtarn – known by the pet name “Ung Ing” – dismissed her father’s comeback plans at a Pheu Thai…
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Ministry reveals 200 apps that steal your cash
Since an unhappy Thai man accused a charging cable of stealing the 100,000-baht contents of his bank account, people in Thailand have become hyper-aware of the problems of apps that steal your cash on their phones. The victim insists he had not accessed any suspicious websites, taken any call centre calls or filled in any online forms but says his…
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First Thai Magician on America’s Got Talent ft. Patrick Kun | Thaiger Podcast Ep.22
https://youtu.be/_1_-C4GH8Mg Patrick Kun, is the first Thai national who has worked up close and personal with world-renowned magicians, such as David Copperfield and David Blaine, designing props, illusions, and stage setups. Patrick has made a name for himself by creating amazing impromptu visual magic, using slight pan techniques to make each effect as visual as possible without utilizing any…
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Car-theft scam bags 500th victim in central Thailand
Nonthaburi police have seized 70 vehicles involved in a car-theft scam by a gang that preyed on penniless car owners. Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) commissioner Pol Lt Gen Jirabhop Bhuridej said Friday that police found 70 vehicles at a car park in Nonthaburi province. The success came when a carpark attendant told police that some of the vehicles in his…
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Police arrest arson suspect in Phuket over a decade after crime, allegedly linked to Tuhao
Police arrested an arson suspect in Phuket on Wednesday, over a decade after he allegedly committed his crime. The suspect, 42 year old Surachai, was allegedly involved in attacking a security guard and setting fire to a snake farm in Phuket on April 23, 2012. Surachai was allegedly involved with the well-known Chinese criminal ‘Tuhao,’ whose name has made headlines…
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Pattaya tourism now close to pre-Covid levels, association says
Tourism in Southeast Asia’s sin city of Pattaya is now close to pre-Covid levels, according to the Pattaya Entertainment Association. The association’s secretary-general, Damrongkiat Pinijkarn, said that tourism is now at 80-90% compared to pre-pandemic levels. Damrongkiat said that on Pattaya’s most buzzing road, Walking Street, over 90% of venues have already reopened. He noted that venues on the road…
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Asian woman arrested for pretending to be a student at US high school
An Asian woman, who shares the same name as a famous K-pop star, has been arrested for pretending to be a student to join a US high school. The 29 year old New Jersey-based woman was nabbed by cops for posing as a high school student four days after she enrolled at the school. The Asian-looking woman, identified as Hyejeong…
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Thai man working illegally in South Korea enters coma, family pleads for help
A Thai man working illegally in South Korea is in a coma after undergoing urgent surgery for a brain haemorrhage. His family is doing everything they can to coordinate his return to Thailand. His family says that 40 year old Narong Fanphua from Thoen district, Lampang province, northern Thailand, has been a ‘Little Ghost’ (slang for a Thai person illegally…
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Eye-watering onion prices drive Filipino black market
Millions of dollars’ worth of onions have been seized by authorities in the Philippines, as an inflation crisis sees eye-watering onion prices in Manila‘s markets. Up to US$11 million (350 million baht) worth of onions was impounded by officials in the Philippines last year, 30% of all smuggled farm products. Their price soared so rapidly, that restaurants stripped them from…
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Myanmar’s junta growing more opium than ever
Myanmar has been growing more opium since the 2021 coup, reversing a six-year decline between 2014 and 2020, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has said. During the first full opium growing season since the military took power in February 2021, Myanmar saw a 33% increase in poppy cultivation and an 88% increase in potential opium yield…
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Princess Sirindhorn to be named Goodwill Ambassador
Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn will be named Goodwill Ambassador again by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for her contributions to the empowerment of minority children and the preservation of intangible heritage. The princess was first appointed Goodwill Ambassador in March 2005 by then UNESCO director Sheldon Shaeffer, who recognised her decades of work…
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Thailand Cabinet approves emergency decree to crackdown on Internet fraud
The Thailand Cabinet revealed its commitment to cracking down on Internet fraud by approving a draft emergency decree. Digital Economy and Society (DES) Minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn revealed the Cabinet approved the draft emergency decree to combat Internet fraud, which will allow financial institutions to temporarily halt suspicious transactions for scrutiny. The draft, titled “the prevention and suppression of technology crime,”…
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Tourist numbers up, positive Covid-19 tests down
Positive Covid-19 tests, hospitalisations and deaths dropped substantially in the third week of January. The much-needed return of tourists to the kingdom in substantial numbers has not produced the much-feared spike in Covid cases or deaths. All the metrics were down in the third week of January, with only a handful of foreigners testing positive. The Department of Disease Control…
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Thai activists warn that new hair guidelines will allow schools to be more strict
A Thai student activist group warns that Thailand’s new guidelines for schools will allow schools to be stricter on students. This news comes after Education Minister Treenuch Thienthong signed an order cancelling the ministry’s 2020 regulation on student hairstyles on January 16. This week, Treenuch said she was preparing a guideline for schools on hairstyles. The draft guideline says that…
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What changes did Google notice in Thailand’s web searches last year?
US multinational Google last year identified a substantial change in consumer trends in Thailand based on web searches conducted last year. The world’s favourite web browser discovered a change of direction in Thailand’s search engines which were split into three categories or trends in Google’s “Year in Search 2022 – Thailand” report, which opened a window into consumers’ behaviour. They…
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Foreigner claims suspected Thai monk in sex clip is actually him
A Vietnamese man claims that it is he featured in a clip of two men having sex and not the accused famous Thai monk ‘Kru Ba Gai.’ Four former students of Kra Ba Gai, a well-known abbot of a temple in Khon Kaen province in northeast Thailand, accused the monk of having sexual relations with a man which is against the…
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California man accused of shooting seven farmworkers admits guilt, blames mental illness
The man accused of shooting seven of his fellow farmworkers in California blamed his mental illness after confessing to the crime. Zhao Chunli says he endured years of bullying and overwork and says his complaints were never addressed. According to The Straits Times, NBC News visited the man and spoke to Zhao in Mandarin. An NBC reporter told what Zhao had…
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Foreign tourist under investigation for free climbing in southern Thailand
A foreign tourist is under investigation for free climbing up a limestone cliff on an island off the coast of Krabi province in southern Thailand within national park boundaries. The Chief of Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park, Teekhawut Sriburin, is investigating a foreign tourist and a Thai boat operator after photos of a foreigner climbing up a limestone…
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Thai navy rescues tourists caught in large Phuket waves
The Royal Thai Navy (RTN) rescued a group of tourists in distress who were caught in large waves on a fishing boat off Phuket. The RTN Third Area Command said they rescued the seven foreign tourists in the south of Phuket on Wednesday. The boat’s navigator was broken, leaving the captain unable to bring the boat back to the shore.…
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‘Bastard police’ deny extorting 27,000 baht from Taiwanese actress
Bangkok Police refuted allegations of extorting 27,000 baht from a famous Taiwanese actress and her friends. Police said the actress was drunk, did not have a passport, and was carrying an illegal vaporizer. The Perfect Girl actress 安于晴 (An Yu-Qing), also known as Charlene An, posted about her nightmare trip to Thailand yesterday where she warned foreigners not to come…
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Singapore to examine Nepal plane crash flight recorders
Singapore’s Transport Safety Investigation Bureau flight recorder readout facility is performing the data retrieval of the black box in the Nepal plane that recently crashed. According to Channel News Asia, the data retrieval from the black boxes of Yeti Airlines flight 691 will help Nepalese authorities in their investigation of what caused the plane to go down. The crash on…
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Thai founder of stray animal shelter featured on Hershey’s chocolate bar wrapper
A Thai woman who founded a shelter for stray animals and invested over 100 million baht in its care is featured on a Hershey’s chocolate bar wrapper to commemorate International Women’s Day on March 8. Hershey’s, one of the world’s biggest chocolate manufacturers, releases new chocolate bar wrappers to honour inspirational women on International Women’s Day. In recent years, the…
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Five US police officers charged with murder over fatal beating of black man
Five US police officers working in the state of Tennessee are charged with second-degree murder over fatally beating a black man. The officers were found to have beaten 29 year old Tyre Nichols, during a traffic stop on January 7, in which they pulled him over for reckless driving. According to The Straits Times, Nichols’ family attorney, Ben Crump, says…
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Australia returns 9 ancient Buddha statues to Thailand after 112 years
Nine wooden Buddha statues have returned to Thailand after being in Australia for 112 years. Murray Upton, an Australian man from Canberra, contacted the Royal Thai Embassy that he was in possession of nine ancient Buddha statues from Thailand. The Australian said he received the Buddha statues from his father. He said they were in his father’s possession since 1911.…
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Israeli troops kill 9 Palestinians in a West bank military operation
Palestinian officials reported today that nine Palestinians, including an elderly woman, were killed in a raid by the Israeli military in the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian health minister stated that the situation in Jenin was dire, with numerous injuries and ambulances unable to access the affected area. Additionally, the children’s ward of a local hospital was hit with Israeli…
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Bangladeshi child plays hide and seek, turns up in Malaysia five days later
A young boy turned up in Malaysia after becoming trapped inside a shipping container for five days while playing hide and seek in Bangladesh. On January 17, a 45 year old shipping operator opened a container at Port Klang, Malaysia’s largest port, to find a confused, weak Bangladeshi boy named Farim who had travelled over 1,000 miles from home. A…
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China Airlines launches direct flights from Chiang Mai to Taiwan
Taiwan-based China Airlines commenced nonstop flights between Chiang Mai in northern Thailand to Taiwan on Friday. A 180-seat Airbus A321neo will service the four-hour route four days a week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Flight CI851 from Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport (TPE), servicing Taipei City, to Chiang Mai will take off at 08.05am and touch down in Chiang Mai…
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