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.

  • Thai Airways to provide flights to some international destinations this month | Thaiger

    Thai Airways to provide flights to some international destinations this month

    Thai Airways, the beleaguered national carrier currently undergoing a “rehabilitation” process (code for bankruptcy and restructure proceedings), says it’s laying on a number of special flights to destinations outside the Kingdom this month. Nation Thailand reports that the airline is introducing flights to Hong Kong, Taipei, London, Copenhagen and Stockholm. Executive Vice President Wiwat Piyawiroj says the flights are being…

  • Elderly man rescued from top of high voltage power pole in Pattaya – VIDEO | Thaiger

    Elderly man rescued from top of high voltage power pole in Pattaya – VIDEO

    A 74 year old man who climbed to the top of a high voltage power pole in Pattaya has been rescued by the local fire department. The Pattaya News reports that the unnamed man was said to be suffering from depression when he decided to climb the pole in the Nong Pru area of the city around 10.30pm last night.…

  • Contestant eliminated from Miss Universe Thailand after manager infiltrates organising committee | Thaiger

    Contestant eliminated from Miss Universe Thailand after manager infiltrates organising committee

    One of the favourites to take the Miss Universe Thailand title when the contest is held on Saturday, October 10, has just been kicked out for breaking the rules. Chayathanus Saradatta, also known as “Cheraim”, is accused of allowing her manager and chaperone to infiltrate the organising committee. It’s understood Sitthichai Rewviroj, aka “Ken”, attended numerous committee meetings, potentially getting…

  • 83% drop in foreign tourists expected by the end of 2020 | Thaiger

    83% drop in foreign tourists expected by the end of 2020

    Travel restrictions brought on by the Thai government, as a response to the coronavirus pandemic, have contributed to a drastic decline in number of foreign tourists with an expected drop of 83% from last year’s count of 39.8 million foreign tourists to this year’s predicted total of 6.74 million foreign tourists, according to President of the Tourism Council of Thailand…

  • Pro-democracy movement raises issues on LGBT and women’s rights | Thaiger

    Pro-democracy movement raises issues on LGBT and women’s rights

    The pro-democracy movement is now shedding light on issues on gender equality and LGBT rights in Thailand. Some people at the September 19 rally in Bangkok were collecting signatures calling on the decriminalisation of abortion and prostitution. Even a booth called “Pussy Gallery” was set up where people could draw colourful vaginas, raising awareness that the colour does not value…

  • Thailand beaches may limit visitors until Covid-19 vaccine is available | Thaiger

    Thailand beaches may limit visitors until Covid-19 vaccine is available

    Beaches and national parks might not fully open to international tourists until a Covid-19 vaccine is available. Around 120 to 150 tourists departing from China are set to arrive in Phuket on October 8 after a 6 month ban on international tourists. They’ll have to go through a 14 day state quarantine, but after that, they may not be able…

  • Thailand News Today | Phuket re-opens, TripAdvisor review saga, Samut Prakhan chem spill | Sept 30 | Thaiger

    Thailand News Today | Phuket re-opens, TripAdvisor review saga, Samut Prakhan chem spill | Sept 30

    Daily TV news about Thailand. Updates and all the latest information from thethaiger.com. Phuket prepares to welcome first Chinese tourists in over 6 months The first group of tourists to arrive under Thailand’s new Special Tourist Visa scheme will land in Phuket on October 8. The flight from Guangzhou in southern China will carry 120 tourists, who will spend their…

  • 2 inmates escape from Krabi prison | Thaiger

    2 inmates escape from Krabi prison

    Police are looking for 2 men who allegedly escaped from a prison in Krabi. The inmates allegedly cut an iron bar and exited through a window. The inmates were then able to climb over a barbed wire fence, using 3 blankets tied together as a rope for support. Prison guards guess the men, 32 year old Arnon Denmad and 47…

  • How has Thailand avoided the worst of Covid-19? – VIDEO | Thaiger

    How has Thailand avoided the worst of Covid-19? – VIDEO

    We examine some of the reasons Thailand has been able to avoid the surges and 2nd waves of Covid-19. Whilst many countries are now suffering a 2nd and 3rd wave of the coronavirus, Thailand has locked itself in a bubble of its own making. Almost zero cases and any new cases coming from repatriates. Now the country has to figure…

  • 100,000 iLaw bill signatures to be verified, official tells staff to ‘hurry up’ | Thaiger

    100,000 iLaw bill signatures to be verified, official tells staff to ‘hurry up’

    The parliament president says he told staff to “hurry up” the process for verifying more than 100,000 signatures supporting a new constitution amendment bill proposed by a nonprofit organisation and backed by pro-democracy activists. Activists hope the process speeds up so the bill can be scheduled on the agenda for the next parliamentary session. The draft, proposed by Internet Law…

  • PM dismisses rumours of alliance with opposition to form new government | Thaiger

    PM dismisses rumours of alliance with opposition to form new government

    Thai PM Prayuth Chan-o-cha has rubbished rumours that the ruling coalition parties plan to join forces with the opposition Pheu Thai party to form a new government. While the PM initially didn’t respond to the question, instead bidding reporters a good day and walking away, he did mumble that he had enough of a headache with just one party. Thai…

  • Around 10 villagers hospitalised after chemical spill in Samut Prakan | Thaiger

    Around 10 villagers hospitalised after chemical spill in Samut Prakan

    Around 10 people were hospitalised after a chemical tank spilled at a village in Samut Prakan, just southeast of Bangkok. Those near the spill reported feeling nauseous and some had trouble breathing. Officials do not known what chemical was in the tank. The 1 metre tank had been taken to the woods by 2 employees at a Bangphli Niwet Village…

  • Minister calls for all complaints against Sarasas schools to be monitored amid abuse allegations | Thaiger

    Minister calls for all complaints against Sarasas schools to be monitored amid abuse allegations

    The Education Minister, Nataphol Teepsuwan, is asking the Office of the Private Education Commission to closely monitor all complaints filed against all Sarasas Witaed School branches around the country. Nation Thailand reports that 34 out of 42 have had complaints filed against them. Allegations of abuse first emerged when the actions of an abusive teacher at a branch of the…

  • Immigration police arrest 3 at Bangkok airport, 2 Thais allegedly had fake US visas | Thaiger

    Immigration police arrest 3 at Bangkok airport, 2 Thais allegedly had fake US visas

    Thai immigration police arrested 3 people at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport after immigration officials checked their biometrics system. Police arrested 2 Thai nationals who were attempting to leave the country with fake United States visas and another Thai woman who was allegedly involved in a romance scam gang. The Thai man and woman were caught while going through an immigration check…

  • The man who wrote the bad reviews for Koh Chang’s Sea View Resort has a criminal record | Thaiger

    The man who wrote the bad reviews for Koh Chang’s Sea View Resort has a criminal record

    In the ongoing stoush between the American, Wesley Barnes, and Koh Chang’s Sea View Resort, the story is now reaching way beyond Thailand’s borders, being reported in mainstream media around the world. Much of the media discussion has focused on whether it is appropriate to be able to sue people over a bad review with criminal defamation. Defamation is a…

  • Cabinet to approve co-payment of 3,000 baht each for 10 million consumers | Thaiger

    Cabinet to approve co-payment of 3,000 baht each for 10 million consumers

    In its latest round of direct economic stimulus, the Thai government is to offer a co-payment of 3,000 baht each to 10 million Thai citizens for a period of 3 months. The scheme is expected to kick off on October 23 and run up the end of the year, with the co-payment subsidising half the cost of purchases, but excluding…

  • The world’s Top 10 languages, spoken by native speakers | Thaiger

    The world’s Top 10 languages, spoken by native speakers

    I battle to speak one language, English, and can barely order my lunch in Thai. And, whilst studying French for 7 years at school, I can only ask a French-speaker for the time or order coffee. Sacre Bleu! The world’s most common languages changes over time and a world interlinked on the internet and aviation, like never before, is making…

  • Sarasas school teacher charged with assault for allegedly abusing students | Thaiger

    Sarasas school teacher charged with assault for allegedly abusing students

    The Nonthaburi teacher, who allegedly beat and mistreated kindergarten students, faces charges of physical assault and violating the Child Protection Act. The charges follow reports of abuse after classroom surveillance camera footage from the Sarasas Witaed Ratchaphruek School spread on the internet. Videos show a teacher, identified as Ornuma “Khru Jum” Plodprong, pushing a child to the ground, dragging another…

  • Woman arrested for abandoning newborn baby on a bench in Phuket | Thaiger

    Woman arrested for abandoning newborn baby on a bench in Phuket

    Police tracked down and arrested a Burmese woman who allegedly left her newborn baby on a bench in Phuket’s Patong area last week. The mother faces charges of abandoning a baby. The newborn was left in a reusable shopping bag on a bench behind a Krungthai Bank branch. A woman in the area heard the baby crying and found the…

  • 7-Eleven delivery worker saves customer’s life | Thaiger

    7-Eleven delivery worker saves customer’s life

    7-Eleven employee reportedly saved a customer’s life who collapsed on the floor at the while taking a delivery in Bangkok’s Nong Khaem district. Wipassri Wanwichai had an asthma attack at the door and dropped to the ground, hyperventilating. The 7-Eleven delivery person Sumonsri “Tae” Pengthab called the emergency line and started giving her CPR. “It would have been my last…

  • Explosion at new oil refinery kills 2 technicians | Thaiger

    Explosion at new oil refinery kills 2 technicians

    An explosion at a Central Thailand oil refinery killed 2 people while technicians were testing out new machines. The GRD Energy oil refinery in Samut Sakhon, just southwest of Bangkok, is less than 2 months old and refines old motor oil into industrial fuel. 8 staff members were working at the refinery this morning, conducting tests on new machinery this…

  • Foreign teachers checked by immigration at Sarasas school after alleged student abuse | Thaiger

    Foreign teachers checked by immigration at Sarasas school after alleged student abuse

    A foreign English teacher at a Sarasas private school in Nonthaburi was allegedly caught working without a proper visa and work permit after an immigration check. An investigation into all 42 Sarasas schools was prompted after a Thai teacher at the Sarasas Witaed Ratchapreauk School in Nonthaburi was allegedly caught on camera beating kindergarten students. A Filipino English teacher at…

  • Russian man allegedly stabs Chiang Mai park officer, tries to break into tourist bungalow | Thaiger

    Russian man allegedly stabs Chiang Mai park officer, tries to break into tourist bungalow

    A Russian man has been arrested after he allegedly tried to break into tourist bungalows and stealing property at a Chiang Mai national park and stabbed a park officer with a pair of scissors. The incident follows months of complaints from Thai tourists at the national park reporting missing property. Thai media reports the 32 year old Russian man as…

  • Alcohol ban for the end of Buddhist Lent this Friday | Thaiger

    Alcohol ban for the end of Buddhist Lent this Friday

    An alcohol ban is looming for this coming Friday, as Buddhists mark the end of the Lent period. While officials have so far remained silent on the possibility of a ban on the purchase and consumption of alcohol, previous years have seen one implemented at the end of Buddhist Lent. The ban has not been formally announced but our Thai…

  • Wife who wanted a divorce allegedly killed by husband in murder-suicide | Thaiger

    Wife who wanted a divorce allegedly killed by husband in murder-suicide

    A woman in the north-eastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima has allegedly been shot dead by her husband because she wanted a divorce. It’s alleged the man then turned the gun on himself, dying from a gunshot wound to the head. Police officers called to a property in the sub-district of Thephalai found the bodies of 46 year old Mongkhol Aksorn,…

  • All 42 Sarasas private schools to be investigated after teacher allegedly beat students | Thaiger

    All 42 Sarasas private schools to be investigated after teacher allegedly beat students

    All of the 42 Sarasas private schools throughout Thailand will be investigated by the Office of the Private Education Commission, or OPEC, after a teacher was caught on camera allegedly hitting kindergarten students. The teacher, Ornuma “Khru Jum” Plodprong, allegedly beat young students at the Sarasas Witaed Ratchaphruek School in Nonthaburi, a suburb in Bangkok on the western banks of…

  • Luxury resort built on national park land given demolition order | Thaiger

    Luxury resort built on national park land given demolition order

    “Tear it down, or we will.” That’s the ultimatum officials have given the owner of a luxury resort built on national park land in Kanchanaburi, western Thailand. The Phatsapada Resort, which consists of 17 chalets, has been built on land belonging to Khao Laem National Park. A demolition order, posted outside the property yesterday, gives the owner 7 days in…

  • More categories of foreigners to be granted entry to Thailand | Thaiger

    More categories of foreigners to be granted entry to Thailand

    “…business people on a non-immigrant visa but without a work permit can enter, provided they can show savings of at least 500,000 baht over the previous 6 months.” The Thai government is expanding the groups of foreigners who can enter Thailand, after a meeting of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration chaired by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday. CCSA spokesman Taweesin…

  • Thailand News Today | Rumours of amnesty extension, 22 new Covid cases | September 28 | Thaiger

    Thailand News Today | Rumours of amnesty extension, 22 new Covid cases | September 28

    Daily TV news and updates from around Thailand on The Thaiger and on Youtube at Thaiger TV. 22 new cases of Covid-19 detected in Thailand Out of nowhere, the Thai government’s CCSA has reported 22 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours this morning, raising the country’s total of infections to 3,545. 22 cases is the largest number…

  • Teenagers allegedly fired guns into the air, stray bullet kills 16 year old girl | Thaiger

    Teenagers allegedly fired guns into the air, stray bullet kills 16 year old girl

    A 19 year old man faces charges of intent to murder for allegedly shooting and killing a teenage girl. The man told police he shot the gun in the sky and did not intend to harm anyone. The stray bullet went through the girl’s heart and also injured her friend. 16 year old Nutthicha Thanthaisong was riding home on a…