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.
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Sponsored Long-term life in Thailand? 5 reasons private health insurance pays off in the long run
Thailand is a great place for expats and retirees, offering a warm climate, affordable living, and rich culture. However, healthcare can be tricky for foreigners since they aren’t eligible for public health coverage, and private care can be expensive. Private...
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Thaiger Radio News – Sunday
Listen to the daily news from The Thaiger, anytime, anywhere…
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Muay Thai for five year olds – Sport or child abuse?
Video of two five year olds fighting in a boxing ring has sparked a lot of reaction. The young kids in the 17 kilo division (yes, there’s such a thing) are shown punching each other’s heads, with the occasional kick, as a crowd of baying adults urge them on. Sanook reports that as one boy is repeatedly forced into a corner…
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Last weekend’s horror road toll – nearly 11,000 died so far in 2018
At least 10,794 people have lost their lives on Thailand’s roads this year. This tally, with only two months remaining, is a timely reminder of the danger that lurks on Thai roads from Dr Taejing Siripanich, secretary-general of the Don’t Drive Drunk Foundation. Statistically, compared to last year, this is a drop in overall deaths on Thailand’s roads. But Taejing…
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Restoring faith to the national airline
On October 8, a Thai Airways 747-400, with only 115 onboard including the crew, skidded off the runway at Suvarnabhumi International Airport. The story and photos reached around the world placing the embattled airline in a position to explain the incident. There were no fatalities and all passengers were safely evacuated and went about their holidays. Since then the silence over…
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Anti-military rap song tops iTunes Thailand downloads
An anti-military dictatorship rap song has topped Thailand’s download list on iTunes after police and the government threatened legal action against the Rap Against Dictatorship (RAD) group. The Prathet Goo Mee (My F…king Country’s Got…) went to the top of Thailand’s iTunes download list this morning to the cheers of RAD who posted a message to thank its fans. The…
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100 million baht of counterfeit goods seized in Patong
Acting Immigration Police Chief Maj Gen Surachete Hakparn last night headed down to Soi Bangla and seized more than 50,000 counterfeit items with a street value of more than 100 million baht. Illegal foreigners, allegedly working without proper papers, were also arrested. Maj Gen Surachete says, “Phuket is one of Thailand’s most important tourism destinations. Many people from difference countries…
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“X-Ray Outlaw Foreigners” is just racial profiling
Website NewsOne publishes a stunning attack on Thailand’s racially-fueled immigration round-ups. “Thailand’s immigration crackdown has swept up refugees and asylum seekers, sent young children into horrid, prison-like conditions, and appears to have clear aspects of racial profiling against South Asians and Africans.” Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch Written By Nigel Roberts Thailand is not hiding its use of racial…
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Judge delays sentencing in paedophile case
Jason Daron Mizner during his prison term in Thailand An Australian judge says she was left so shaken by reading out the list of paedophile’s crimes that she walked out of court to delay sentencing. She said she needed to remove emotion from the punishment she will hand out. Convicted child rapist Jason Daron Mizner was supposed to be sentenced…
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Thaiger Radio News – Saturday
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Man found dead in his car at Ranong
A Ranong man has been found dead inside his car at a tourist spot today. Ranong is a five hour drive north of Phuket. Police were alerted this morning that a car had been parked overnight in the parking lot of Grass Mountain in the main central district. When police unlocked the car they found the body of a man,…
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Malaysian flight MH370, or is it a pile of rocks?
An amateur UK sleuth claims this satellite image from Google Earth shows the outlines of what could be the doomed MH370 jet off the coast of Thailand and Myanmar. The object he has presented as evidence appears to be shaped “like a large passenger plane”, sparking an unlikely theory it could be the missing jet itself. “I’ve got a feeling it…
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British family told to raise 4,000 pounds to repatriate father of five
by Abbie Bray – Devon News The family of an British father, who tragically took his own life whilst holidaying in Thailand, are trying to raise money to repatriate the body of Kevin Rowlands. The 36 year old father of five had had a history of mental health according to his family. According to Thai police, he took his own…
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13 land in jail over Cha-am 2017 student murder
Thirteen attackers aged 26 and younger have been jailed for terms of between a year and ‘life’ for the murder of 24 year old Silpakorn University student Theerapong Thitithan. Theerapong died after being stabbed in the head with a screwdriver during an attack at his friend’s dormitory in Phetchaburi’s Cha-Am district in February last year. Bangkok’s Ratchadapisek Criminal Court has…
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Warning for boats going to sea
The Phuket Marine Office has made an official announcement for boats to be “careful when going to sea”. The announcement was issued today stating that “The Meteorological Department of Thailand (TMD) has forecast today that the Andaman sea wave waves more than two metres in the open sea.” “For navigation safety, boat captains have to be careful when going to…
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Thaiger Radio News – Friday
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Mahatir drops in on an old friend
During the 1980s both men were the Prime Ministers of their respective countries. Now, both in their 90s, the two re-united yesterday for a casual catch-up. The two met in Bangkok yesterday to recall their long-standing friendship. The visitor was 93 year old Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad and the host Privy Council President, 99 year old General Prem Tinsulanonda. Mahathir…
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Malaysia commits to helping Thailand sort out deep south
by Supalak Ganjanakhundee Malaysia say it’s willing to help Thailand end the ethno-religious conflict in the deep South using peaceful means. Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad spoke yesterday, suggesting the root cause of the problem was not religion but injustice. Gratefully remembering the time when Thailand helped Malaysia end the communist insurgency in northern Malaysia in the late 1980s, he said…
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Technicalbiomed helping to turn Thailand into beauty hub
PHOTO: Warut Suttinan, MD of Technicalbiomed – The Nation “Technicalbiomed” plans to expand its market share in cosmetic surgery as well as in obstetrics and gynaecology segments by turning Thailand into an Asian hub for aesthetics and beauty. Warut Suttinan, managing director of Technicalbiomed, an importer and distributor of aesthetic medical devices in Thailand, said: “Thailand is now recognised as…
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“Don’t paint your temple gold” – Fine Art Department
After a report of historical temples being painted gold triggered an uproar on social media, the Culture Ministry’s Fine Art Department is warning people to stop unauthorised painting of national heritage monuments as it violates the law. Social media users expressed shock and dismay that ancient Thai temples were being given a make-over with a coat of gleaming gold paint,…
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Hackers get into the Cathay Pacific database
Cathay Pacific says they’ve uncovered a data breach where the personal information of more than 9 million passengers could have been stolen. Cathay Pacific has clarified that a wide range of data, including passenger names, dates-of-birth, phone numbers, email contacts and passport numbers, was potentially exposed in a hack of its information systems earlier this year. In a statement the Hong…
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British tourists held ‘ransom’ by Thai police
Original story by Ben Archibold. Group of British women held to ransom by armed Thai police and forced to pay £150 – for a broken TOILET “Jade McInnes, Stacey Robertson, Rachel McFarlane, and Emily Michie, from Fife in Scotland, were in disbelief when gun-toting cops appeared at their hotel.” That’s the rather sensational headline in a UK tabloid, thesun.co.uk. Let’s dig…
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Pickup driver survives after high-speed collision with speed sign
A pickup truck driver has survived after the vehicle he was driving collided with a speed sign on the side of the road in Thalang this early morning. The Thalang Police were notified of the incident on Thepkrasattri Road, southbound, in Thalang at 1am early this morning. Kusoldharm Rescue workers arrived to find the damaged pickup truck at right angles…
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“A genocide is still underway” – UN report
PHOTO: Dhaka Tribune “A genocide is still underway against Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims.” A UN fact-find mission on the Rohingya ‘situation’ in Myanmar, says it has presented a report at the Security Council calling for the matter to be referred to the International Criminal Court. The Chair of the committee, Marzuki Darusman, says, “Beyond the reported mass killings, the conflict included the…
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18 month girl dies after falling into grease trap in Krabi
Forensic Police are investigating following the death of a one and a half year old girl after she fell into a grease trap at a school in Krabi while playing with her 7 year old sister. 18 month girl Jirana Wunchinchai fell into the grease trap at a school in Krabi while her mother was cleaning a canteen preparing for…
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Thaiger Radio News – Thursday
Listen to the daily news from The Thaiger, anytime, anywhere…
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Flash floods in Krabi damages a restaurant in Ao Nang – VIDEO
A flash flood yesterday has damaged a restaurant in Ao Nang. 50 year old Pohntip Aengchuan, the owner of the restaurant, says “the incident happened at about 4pm at my restaurant after heavy rain continued for more than one hour. The flash floodwaters were coming from the opposite side of the road and flooded her restaurant as well.” “Staff members…
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Illegal foreigner crackdown busts 1,000 in Pathum Thani
“Since 2015, there have been over 3,500 arranged marriages, allowing the men to stay and work in Thailand, the report said.” Acting Immigration Police chief Pol Maj-General Surachate Hakpal has led some 1,000 officers to 25 locations in Pathum Thani’s Klong Luang district. It’s part of his concerted push to round up 7,000 illegal foreigners before the end of the…
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Thai, Malaysian PMs pledge push for southern peace
PHOTO: Benar News Malaysia and Thailand have agreed to expand the scope of bilateral cooperation to contain an insurgency along their shared border after changing peace negotiators. The two premiers have promised to help solve the conflict. Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has assured his visiting Malaysian counterpart Mahathir Mohamad that the peace dialogue in the deep South will continue and…
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When the family goes for a walk
The Khao Yai National Park is always a great place for elephant-spotting but spotting this thundering herd coming towards you, we’d recommend an early retreat. This herd went for a stroll this morning. The Khao Yai National Park is in the inner north-east, about three hours drive from Bangkok. Officials say the local elephants have become used to using the main road as…
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Chiang Mai’s Canadian spray painter released on bail
A Canadian woman, arrested in Chiang Mai for spraying graffiti on an ancient wall, says she’s sorry for what she did and “terrified about what comes next”. 22 year old Brittney Schneider, was in Chiang Mai last Thursday when she said she and some others got “ridiculously drunk.” Speaking to Canadian media, she says they started to walk back to…
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