Hot News

Thailand hot news, breaking stories, crime, politics, tourism, and business—stay updated with in-depth reports and exclusive interviews on the latest events across the country. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Thailand news source.

  • Sponsored

    5 ways retirees in Thailand lose money (and how to stop it)

    Retiring in Thailand can be affordable and enjoyable, but many retirees lose money due to common mistakes. High living costs, scams, and unexpected expenses can quickly drain savings. There are five ways that retirees in Thailand can lose money and...

  • Turtle full of plastic waste being treated in Phuket

    Turtle full of plastic waste being treated in Phuket

    An alarming sign of pollution was found in a young green turtle rescued from a Phuket beach last month and found to have over 150 pieces of garbage and plastic clogging its stomach and intestines. The turtle was first found on Kata Beach in Phuket on July 23rd looking weak and sick. The sea turtle was taken in by veterinarians…

  • Vietjet to launch 4 direct cross-country routes from September

    Vietjet to launch 4 direct cross-country routes from September

    From next month, Vietjet will resume a number of domestic routes between Thai provinces without the need to connect in Bangkok. The carrier is promoting 4 routes for around 389 baht when taxes and other fees are factored in. According to TTR Weekly, the airline has dropped its 1pm – 3pm booking window so passengers now have more time to…

  • Parit’s bail request rejected, after activist allegedly contracted Covid-19 in prison

    Parit’s bail request rejected, after activist allegedly contracted Covid-19 in prison

    A bail application for jailed political activist Parit Chiwarak, aka, “Penguin”, has been rejected, with his lawyer saying he has also tested positive for Covid-19. 7 other activists had their bail requests rejected at the same hearing. All 8 have been charged over an anti-government protest at police headquarters in the central province of Pathum Thani on August 2. According…

  • CCSA approves Sputnik vaccine, allowing Russian Sandboxers

    CCSA approves Sputnik vaccine, allowing Russian Sandboxers

    The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration quietly okayed the Russian Sputnik vaccine as one of the accepted vaccine brands for international travellers entering Sandbox destinations in Thailand. The vaccine had previously failed to receive approval from the Food and Drug Administration for import and use in Thailand. The Department of Disease Control is now expected to approve the order from…

  • Police raid birthday party at Bangkok resort, arrest 28 people

    Police raid birthday party at Bangkok resort, arrest 28 people

    Police raided a birthday party at a resort in Bangkok and arrested 28 people for violating emergency orders which prohibit gatherings of more than five people. Sutthisan police officers raided the resort in the Ratchadapisek area at around 3:30am today and arrested them for violating the disease control measures. Bangkok is classified as a “dark red” zone under maximum control with…

  • Man arrested for allegedly stealing plants valued at 18,500 baht

    Man arrested for allegedly stealing plants valued at 18,500 baht

    Police arrested a man who allegedly stole four expensive potted plants from outside a home in the eastern province Sa Kaeo. Officers say the plants are valued at 18,500 baht. The stolen plants include the Dieffenbachia valued at 7,000 baht, Variegated Arrowhead Vine valued at 3,500 baht, Syngonium Pink Spot valued at 3,000 baht, and the Monstera Thai Constellation valued…

  • Family of Phuket murder suspect does not plan to request bail

    Family of Phuket murder suspect does not plan to request bail

    The family of Teerawat Thothip, the man who allegedly killed 57 year old Swiss national Nicole Sauvain-Weisskopf, does not plan to request bail for him. Region 8 Police Commander Kitrat Panpetch confirmed the family does not plan to file for bail. Nicole’s half-naked body was found earlier this month in a creek near Ao Yon Waterfall. Her shorts and shoes…

  • Woman who stole over 250 million baht from sick mother sentenced to 12 years

    Woman who stole over 250 million baht from sick mother sentenced to 12 years

    A Bangkok woman who stole 253 million baht from her elderly sick mother has been jailed for 12 years. The Bangkok Post reports that 55 year old Mawadi Siwirat stole the money from her 84 year old mother, named as Huay Siwirat, while she was receiving hospital treatment for a heart condition. Mawadi pled guilty and was found guilty on…

  • Thousands of sex toys valued at 3 million baht seized by police

    Thousands of sex toys valued at 3 million baht seized by police

    Thousands of sex toys valued at more than 3 million baht were seized yesterday by officers from the Child and Women’s Welfare Department in Bangkok’s Nong Khaem district. Two men were arrested. Around 5,000 dildos, penis enlargement devices, penis massage oils and lubricating gels were seized from a warehouse off the Petchkasem highway. Fake Rolex and Gucci watches were also confiscated.…

  • Officers at Phuket checkpoint to screen Thais for outstanding warrants

    Officers at Phuket checkpoint to screen Thais for outstanding warrants

    Officers at Phuket’s main checkpoint in Tha Chatchai will be screening Thais entering the island province to see if they have outstanding arrest warrants. The Region 8 Police Chief donated 51 smart card readers to scan ID cards as well as 20 smartphones. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha had called on government agencies to tighten safety to support tourists in Phuket following the…

  • Protester in a coma, police say riot officers used rubber bullets

    Protester in a coma, police say riot officers used rubber bullets

    Police deny claims that live ammunition was shot at protesters last night outside Bangkok’s Din Daeng police station. A young protester was reportedly shot in the neck and critically injured outside the station, but officers held a press conference outside the Metropolitan Police Bureau today and said only rubber bullets were used to control the crowd. The protester, who has yet…

  • PM’s office to file charges against red-shirt leader over Sunday’s protest

    PM’s office to file charges against red-shirt leader over Sunday’s protest

    The government is seeking to press charges against red-shirt leader Nattawut Saikuar over protests in Bangkok on Sunday. According to a Bangkok Post report, Seksakol Atthawong from the office of PM Prayut Chan-o-cha, has confirmed that a complaint has been lodged with the Crime Suppression Division. Nattawut is accused of sedition and of violating the emergency decree and the disease…

  • CP boss outlines 4 ways government could speed up pandemic recovery

    CP boss outlines 4 ways government could speed up pandemic recovery

    One of Thailand’s wealthiest businessmen has outlined 4 ways in which the government could accelerate the country’s Covid-19 recovery. The Bangkok Post reports that Dhanin Chearavanont, senior chairman of the Charoen Pokphand Group, was responding to questions from journalist Suthichai Yoon during a Facebook Live interview yesterday. According to Dhanin, the government must increase relief measures for those affected by…

  • Protester shot outside Bangkok police station, in critical condition

    Protester shot outside Bangkok police station, in critical condition

    A young protester was shot in the neck by police and said to be in critical condition, according to reports in Thai media. The protester was not identified. Reports say the young man appears to be around 20 years old. Monday’s protest started at Victory Monument in Bangkok and then moved to the Government House where police used tear gas…

  • Monk in Phitsanulok allegedly shoots and kills man at meditation centre

    Monk in Phitsanulok allegedly shoots and kills man at meditation centre

    A monk allegedly shot and killed a man, who he had a long-standing feud with, at a Buddhist meditation centre in northern Thailand’s Phitsanulok. The alleged shooter has been stripped of his monkhood and now faces murder charges. Sai Yoi police officer Suparerk Chanmee says the shooting at the Ratchathani Buddhist Meditation Centre was reported to the police around 10am this…

  • Bangkok man detained by police after allegedly assaulting woman

    Bangkok man detained by police after allegedly assaulting woman

    A man in Bangkok has been detained by police after allegedly assaulting a female Grab driver and then driving off. A video of the incident shows the man carrying a gun. The 36 year old man identified as “Sethawut” now faces charges of assault, criminal damage, and 2 weapons offences. Sethawut reportedly struck Grab driver Surang Sinkaew. It’s unclear what…

  • At least 5 government ministers named in opposition no-confidence motion

    At least 5 government ministers named in opposition no-confidence motion

    At least 5 government ministers are named in a no-confidence motion being submitted by the opposition Pheu Thai party, including the PM and Health Minister. The Bangkok Post reports that the ministers targeted by the move are PM Prayut Chan-o-cha, Public Health Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob, Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Chalermchai Sri-on, and Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin.…

  • Violent scenes erupt in Bangkok at largest anti-government rally to date

    Violent scenes erupt in Bangkok at largest anti-government rally to date

    Yesterday’s anti-government protest in Bangkok led to violent scenes as police and protesters clashed near the Din Daeng intersection of the capital. The Bangkok Post reports that violence broke out towards the end of what was the largest “car mob” rally to date. It’s understood that at around 5pm, some younger protesters moved away from the main protests and gathered…

  • Couple arrested shipping 490 grams of meth to Australia

    Couple arrested shipping 490 grams of meth to Australia

    After allegedly shipping crystal meth to Australia, a Nigerian man and his Thai girlfriend were arrested in Bangkok. The couple was stopped and arrested on Friday evening allegedly trying to make a shipment at a private mail drop-off point. The Nigerian man was identified as Obimma Anthony and the Thai woman is Marisa Noipitak. The pair were stopped by police…

  • TAT still pushing to launch Phuket 7+7 plan despite Covid-19

    TAT still pushing to launch Phuket 7+7 plan despite Covid-19

    Many of the original Sandbox-style plans to reopen tourist destinations to international travellers have been delayed as Covid-19 outbreaks spread and domestic travel has been mostly shut down, but the Tourism Authority of Thailand is still hoping to launch its 7+7 model to allow Phuket Sandbox travellers to stay one week before continuing on to a handful of other destinations.…

  • Opposition party suing government for Covid-19 failure

    Opposition party suing government for Covid-19 failure

    The Move Forward Party has announced that it is suing the government for its alleged mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic now ravaging Thailand. They plan on launching a class-action lawsuit in the coming week to demand compensation for the government’s failure to sufficiently address Covid-19 as the third wave causes record infections and deaths every day. The MFP is a…

  • Police arrest woman jobless from Covid-19 for burglary

    Police arrest woman jobless from Covid-19 for burglary

    Police apprehended a woman in Nakhon Phanom who confessed to breaking into 8 homes in the area after the Covid-19 pandemic left her unemployed and broke. The 26 year old woman from Sri Songkhram district was caught with nearly 100 things she had stolen from the houses in the Muang municipal area where she lived in a rental house. Residents…

  • Apple defends privacy of new tools to prevent child sexual abuse

    Apple defends privacy of new tools to prevent child sexual abuse

    Facing backlash for the violation of privacy a new update it proposed last week would create, Apple is defending its plan to roll out updates that will detect and report photos of child sexual abuse in cloud services or messaging. Software chief Craig Federighi said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal yesterday that the project has been widely…

  • Canada mandates domestic travellers must be vaccinated

    Canada mandates domestic travellers must be vaccinated

    A sweeping new announcement from Canada’s Transport Minister at a virtual press conference yesterday declared that most passengers travelling commercially in Canada will be required to be vaccinated by this fall. The new requirement will apply to anyone travelling by plane, interprovincial train, and cruise ships or other ” large marine vessels with overnight accommodations”. Canada has 71% of people…

  • Man allegedly steal employer’s Mercedes in retaliation for mistreatment; family returns car later, Ayutthaya arrest still follows

    Man allegedly steal employer’s Mercedes in retaliation for mistreatment; family returns car later, Ayutthaya arrest still follows

    Yesterday morning in central Thailand, Ayutthaya Railway Police arrested a young man for allegedly stealing his employer’s Mercedes-Benz and driving off to Hat Yai to have it pawned for 40,000 Baht. However, the man’s family had second thoughts about the alleged theft and returned the car a few months later. Around 10:15 am yesterday, Channarong Zainid, the Commander in Chief…

  • 1 killed and 3 arrested in Buri Ram, drugs also seized

    1 killed and 3 arrested in Buri Ram, drugs also seized

    Earlier this morning, a man was shot and killed by police in the northern Thai province of Buri Ram. Plus, 3 more people were arrested, 8,000 methamphetamine pills and 200 grammes of crystal methamphetamine were seized. 24 year old Thaweechai Songsee died from gunshot wounds. His last moments were in a rice field, says Wan Sae Tang from the Prakhon…

  • Thai Hotels Association urges attention for domestic tourism

    Thai Hotels Association urges attention for domestic tourism

    Doubting PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s pledge to reopen Thailand fully to international tourists by mid-October, the Thai Hotels Association is calling on the government to focus on plans to boost domestic tourism. The association says that the Thai government is laser-focused on international tourism and on achieving the reopening goal, but a backup plan is needed to encourage domestic tourism if…

  • Samut Prakan curfew breaker cries for mother after police find drugs on him

    Samut Prakan curfew breaker cries for mother after police find drugs on him

    Recently, a man in Samut Prakan, a central Thai province, was arrested after he broke curfew and whose suspicious behaviour led police to discover an array of drugs on his person. The man, 45 year old Pairot Nakbut, was caught outside around 9:30 pm near a police checkpoint. Pairot was reportedly uncooperative and cried out for his mother for an…

  • Phuket man shot in leg and hit with baseball bat, police investigate

    Phuket man shot in leg and hit with baseball bat, police investigate

    Phuket police are investigating an assault in Patong where a man was shot in the leg and smashed in the head with a baseball bat. The Patong Police learned of the assault through a 191 national police hotline just before 6 pm yesterday following a report from rescue workers where they took a wounded man to the Patong hospital The…

  • Charter flights from Phuket approved by CAAT for Sandboxers

    Charter flights from Phuket approved by CAAT for Sandboxers

    A new chance for travel out of the Phuket Sandbox was just approved as the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand announced they will allow airlines to schedule charter flights between Phuket to Bangkok. The permission granted comes after Thai Smile petitioned the government to allow a flight on August 14 to assist people who travelled into the Phuket Sandbox, but…