News
Stay up-to-date with the latest news from across Thailand and beyond with The Thaiger. Our dedicated team brings you breaking news, in-depth analysis, and exclusive stories from this stunning part of the world, covering a diverse range of topics, including local politics, business, culture, and tourism. Keep yourself informed about the Kingdom’s rich history, stunning landscapes, and thriving expat communities, as well as updates on events, attractions, and transportation.
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Sponsored Blazing opportunity: Four Twenty Thailand offers franchise programme
Did you know that Four Twenty, Thailand’s premier cannabis brand, has a franchise programme? That’s right, you can now join their efforts to bring high-quality cannabis products and a vibrant community experience to more locations across Thailand. Four Twenty has...
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17 kids rescued in Phuket human-trafficking raids
“All 17 children were Cambodian and were taken to the Phuket Shelter for Children and Families on Koh Siray.” Thai police have taken 17 children into protective custody after a series of coordinated raids in Patong. They say the children were being exploited by a human trafficking gang, who beat them with a wire clothes hanger if they did bring…
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World’s biggest band launch their new album “Map of the Soul: 7” BTS
From the first determined drum stroke in the new BTS music video (below) you get the sense that these guys mean business for their new album. The music video for their first official single ON kicked over more than 70 million views in its first 2 days since launch. The world’s biggest band BTS – in terms of album sales,…
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Ten reasons western foreign tourists are not wanted in Thailand
Adam Judd, writing for Pattaya Unplugged, has opined about western foreign tourists not being wanted in Thailand. He brings up some interesting topics, largely from the standpoint of an American living in Pattaya. Tell us what you think on our Facebook page. The following are my opinions but based on many talks with people from many different backgrounds and cultures.…
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Mother and daughter arrested over 7 million baht fortune-telling scam
Appears the pair weren’t smart enough to predict the police coming to their door. A Thai fortune teller and her daughter have been arrested after charging a customer more than 7 million baht for predictions and forecasts about their life. Normally, fortune-telling sessions, popular in Thai life, range between 100 and thousands of baht, depending on the popularity of the…
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UPDATE: 3 year old drowns at Blue Tree water park, Phuket
A 3 year old boy drowned yesterday at the Blue Tree water park in Cherngtalay, Phuket. The incident happened late yesterday afternoon. The incident at the newly-opened (middle of 2019) water park on Srisoonthorn road was reported about 6.30pm, according to Pol Capt Yanpatr Malai, a police investigator with the Cherngtalay police, as reported in Bangkok Post. The father has been…
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Coronavirus UPDATE: Spark in cases in Italy and South Korea, Air Asia cancels flights
Coronavirus (Covid-19) cases have now reached 79,561 around the world, with 77,345 of the cases confined to China. The rise in cases has been principally in China with 409 new cases and South Korea with 161 new cases. 2,619 people have died from the infection. The major outbreaks, outside China, have been in South Korea, aboard the Diamond Princess (still…
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3 year old drowns at Blue Tree water park, Phuket
A three year old drowned yesterday at the recently opened Blue Tree water park and entertainment facility in Cherngtalay, Phuket. Although details are sketchy at this stage it appears the young boy, with a British father and Thai mother, wandered into one of the pools unattended yesterday afternoon. The incident is said to have happened in the Landing Pool, an…
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Songkran around Thailand – where can you get wet in 2020?
PLEASE NOTE: Some of these scheduled activities may change or be altered due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. Songkran Festival is an event where an all-out water battle and ancient traditions somehow blend in annual celebration. It’s unlike anything else in the world. And it’s wet. Venturing out onto Thailand’s streets on April 13 is an open invitation to have a…
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2 dead, 18 injured in Nakhon Si Thammarat bus crash
Two people have been killed and 18 more inured in a bus crash today in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat. Police say the bus overturned after sliding backward while ascending a steep hill in Khanom district, killing two passengers and injuring 18. The incident occurred at about 11:30am while the bus was transporting tourists back to Songkhla province…
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Missing moggie rescued in Rayong
A pet cat was rescued this week in Rayong province, near Pattaya, after being stuck between walls for two days. Rescue workers were notified of an emergency at a building in central Rayong. They arrived at the scene to find a cat stuck in a narrow gap between two walls. It took about 10 minutes to pull the cat up.…
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89 year old grandmother hurt by falling coconut branch
An 89 year old grandmother working as a food vendor at Chon Buri province’s Bangsaen Beach, near Pattaya, was injured around 10:30 this morning by a falling branch from a coconut tree. Bleeding heavily, she was given medical care at the scene and rushed to a local hospital. She has since recovered and been released. It’s believed that a strong…
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Top 10 dos and don’ts for the 2020 Songkran festival
Heading to Thailand for the 2020 Songkran festival? Want to know the dates, where to go and the dos and don’ts for this amazing water festival in Thailand? Songkran is a single name given to a series of concurrent events – an astrological ‘new year’, a Buddhist festival, the ‘change’ from dry season to wet season and a humongous water…
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US ships arrive for Cobra Gold 2020
Ships from the US Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) have arrived in Thailand in preparation for Exercise Cobra Gold 2020. Cobra Gold is a multi-country war game conducted every year in Thailand. Cobra Gold 2020 will be held starting Tuesday and run to March 6. Rear Admiral Fred Kacher, commander of Expeditionary Strike Group 7, had this to say: “Working with…
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Suspected forest fire arsonist arrested in Lampang
Despite prohibitions on agricultural burning, wildfires continue ravaging forests across Thailand’s North. Now, police have arrested an arsonist suspected of starting forest fires in the northern province of Lampang. Forest rangers suspect he started fires in the Mae Jang forest reserve. Udomsilp Thithamma was arrested at his shelter in the compound of a rock crushing plant. Bundles of mosquito repellent…
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Phuket calls for immediate government help over coronavirus impact
Phuket’s Chamber of Commerce has asked the Thai govenment for swift action to help cope with the economic impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus, particularly on tourism. According to Chamber president Thanusak Phungdet: “I explained to Tourism Committee President Surasak Phanchalernworakul about the situation and how coronavirus is affecting tourism and business in Phuket. I requested them to share this information with…
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Udon Thani thief arrested after “invisibility spell” fails to work
Police in the northeastern province of Udon Thani yesterday arrested a thief claiming to have magical powers, after his “invisibility spell” failed to work. Thirty-two year old Anurak Promwang claims to have used the spell successfully many times in the past, and blames the removal of his trousers for his arrest. Security footage captured the thief in action, including the…
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Man comes face to face with 5-metre king cobra while in bed
A man in the southern province of Trang got a shock when he lay down for a nap and found he was being watched by a 5-metre king cobra staring at him from the ceiling. The man’s home is on a rubber farm, where cobras and other venomous snakes are often found. The local rescue team, who reportedly specialise in…
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US embassy, Amnesty International oppose Future Forward dissolution decision
In a statement today, the US embassy in Bangkok said the Constitutional Court’s decision to dissolve the Future Forward party risks disenfranchising more than six million Thai voters who voted for the party in last March’s general election. “The United States strongly supports democratic governance around the world, and appreciates Thailand’s recent seating of a democratically elected government. While the…
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American man arrested for theft at Phuket mall
An American man has been arrested for theft after allegedly stealing three designer wallets from a shop at Phuket’s Central Floresta shopping mall. Twenty-one year old Christopher Braman was arrested at the shopping centre in tambon Ratsada on charges of theft and overstaying his visa, police said yesterday. After the arrest, police took Braman him to his rented room in…
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Used-car dealer, entire family dead in mass suicide
A used car dealer and his entire family in the northern province of Phitsanulok have been found dead, in an apparent mass suicide. Even the family dogs were not spared. The family were found asphyxiated, with a lit charcoal stove in the room. Police were called yesterday after relatives found the bodies. There were five dead people and six dogs…
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Busted! Cambodia cracks down on suggestive Facebook sellers
Cambodian women’s rights groups are slamming a crackdown on well endowed women who wear “provocative clothing” while selling goods live on Facebook, calling the crackdown dangerous and baseless. Seven groups point out that the women are breaching no law. “There is no evidence-based research that affirms that women’s clothing choice is the root cause of degradation of social morality.” Cambodian…
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Lop Buri gold shop gunman pleads guilty to all nine charges
The school principal, who gunned down three people, including a 2 year old boy, and injured four others during a robbery in Lop Buri province on January 9, has pleaded guilty to all charges. 38 year old Prasitthichai Khaokaew, stormed into the Robinsons shopping centre and strode up to the Aurora Gold Shop brandishing a pistol and silencer and calmly…
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Unemployment rises 34% in Phuket due to virus’s impact
Unemployment on the resort island of Phuket is up 34% year on year due the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, according to the Phuket Provincial Employment Office (PPEO). “After Chinese government banned their citizens from travel abroad because of COVID-19, the number of people coming to register as unemployed has been rising quickly. About 80 people come to register…
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Consumer groups warn of risks in buying a new Chevrolet
General Motors’ decision to pull production of its Chevrolet line out of Thailand has prompted consumer advocacy groups to remind prospective buyers of risks. The Foundation for Consumers and the Office of the Independent Committee for Consumer Protection said yesterday that buyers “should be wary of uncertainty as General Motors will pull its operation out of the country” by the…
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UPDATE: Future Future dissolved, MPs stripped of parliamentary status
UPDATE: The Constitutional Court has dissolved Thailand’s Future Forward political Party after finding it guilty of breaking the laws pertaining to loans, specifically from its leader Thanathorn Jungroongruangkit. The court has also ordered MPs of the party’s executive stripped of their parliamentary status and banned from politics for 10 years. Party leader Thanathorn and party supporters gathered at the headquarters in…
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No virus cover-up, PM tweets
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha went on Twitter yesterday, in an apparent bid to counter “fake news,” and announced there is no COVID-19 coronavirus cover-up happening in Thailand. He insisted the government is neither hiding nor distorting the number of infections in the country and said citizens should “gain confidence” in its remarkable success managing the disease. Earlier in the day, Prayut…
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Thailand’s abortion laws to be amended
Thailand’s Constitutional Court has ruled that a section of the Criminal Code is unconstitutional as it fails to hold men responsible for illegal abortions. The ruling will take effect on Febuary 13, 2021, twelve months after it was made. The court handed down the ruling after pro-abortion activist Srisamai Chueachart petitioned the court to rule whether Sections 301 and 305…
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Pro-vaping group to request public hearing to legalise vaping in Thailand
The below is the contents of a press release sent to The Thaiger by the consumer group End Cigarette Smoke Thailand. The opinions expressed therein do not necessarily reflect those of The Thaiger or its subsidiaries. The Tobacco Control Research and Knowledge Management Center (TRC) revealed results from the meeting of the Ministry of Commerce’s review panel on e-cigarette import…
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Coronavirus cases more than double in South Korea to surpass 150
South Korea has reported its first death from the COVID-19 corona virus. The government reports that a 63 year old man, who died Wednesday, tested positive for the virus in a post mortem examination. The exact cause of his death has yet to be determined. He died in North Gyeongsang province, where he had been hospitalized for over 20 years,…
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Coronavirus UPDATE: S Korea tops 156 cases, Ukrainians attack evacuee bus
The total number of infected worldwide cases of coronavirus (Covid-19) stands at over 76,735. At least 2,247 people are now dead from the virus, with all but 11 of those deaths in mainland China. 18,561 people are now registered as ‘recovered’ from the virus. The fatality rate still sits around 2%. • There has been a sharp spike in new cases…
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