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

    Top digital marketing and SEO agency: Why brands choose Convert Cake

    A strong digital presence is a must for any business chasing market share and growth in this day and age. But turning that ambition into tangible results? That takes the right partner. And if you’ve been looking for a top...

  • Phuket conservationists lead beach cleanup after trash washes up from storms | Thaiger

    Phuket conservationists lead beach cleanup after trash washes up from storms

    A conservation group in Phuket lead a beach cleanup at Siranart National Park on Friday, as storms have hit the Andaman Sea with large waves that tend to wash up garbage and marine debris on shores. The event, organised by the Andaman Natural Resources Foundation, was titled Big Cleaning Day 10. Other government agencies and private organisations, as well as…

  • Thailand’s annual silk fair in Bangkok helps with ‘soft power’ scheme | Thaiger

    Thailand’s annual silk fair in Bangkok helps with ‘soft power’ scheme

    The word ‘soft power’ has exploded into Thailand’s lexicon ever since young rapper ‘Milli’ promoted the country’s signature sticky rice and mango dish last month. In its soft power scheme, Thai authorities aim to promote the ‘5 Fs’ to the rest of the world. The 5 Fs are: food, films, fashion, fighting, and festivals. Now, Thai authorities say they will…

  • Pattaya tourist says security guards beat him “bloody” near Walking Street | Thaiger

    Pattaya tourist says security guards beat him “bloody” near Walking Street

    A Pattaya tourist says security guards beat him bloody over a near collision when he was driving near the city’s famous Walking Street in the early hours of this morning. The tourist, an unnamed 31 year old Indian national, said he almost collided with a group of security guards who were standing in front of a venue on Soi 16.…

  • Thailand tourism, innovate or die – OPINION | Thaiger

    Thailand tourism, innovate or die – OPINION

    Red flags are flying in Thai tourism circles as the expected wave of international travellers is failing to materialise in the expected numbers. With the post-April 1 and Songkran ‘surge’ out of the way, the daily arrivals have been ‘flat’. So the TAT say they’re pivoting their marketing to short-haul tourism as the long-haul markets and traditional travellers to Thailand…

  • Prosecutors to delay indictments of suspects in Thailand’s Tangmo case | Thaiger

    Prosecutors to delay indictments of suspects in Thailand’s Tangmo case

    Prosecutors are delaying the indictment of the 6 suspects facing charges in the now infamous drowning of Thai actress Nida Patcharaveerapong, or ‘Tangmo’, until the end of June. Tangmo’s body was found in Bangkok’s Chao Phraya river in February after she had been on a boat trip with 5 of the suspects. The details the suspects provided on how Tangmo…

  • Bangkok’s first ‘real’ Pride parade coming up June 5 | Thaiger

    Bangkok’s first ‘real’ Pride parade coming up June 5

    Pride month is approaching cities across the globe, including Bangkok! On June 5, the city is expected to host its first ‘real’ pride parade. Feminist activist Siri “Tata” Nilphruek said at a press conference yesterday that in the past, Bangkok’s pride parades were just street demonstrations. But this year, the organisers hope to make pride parade “an imporant event on…

  • Smoking cannabis recreationally is still illegal, warns Department of Public Health | Thaiger

    Smoking cannabis recreationally is still illegal, warns Department of Public Health

    Cannabis smoke is a “public nuisance” and smoking it recreationally – at home or in public – is illegal, warns Thailand’s Department of Public Health. From June 9, growing cannabis plants at home will become legal, but smoking cannabis recreationally will remain a punishable offence. The only prerequisite to legally growing cannabis at home, from June 9, is downloading and…

  • Yet another necklace theft against an Indian tourist in Pattaya | Thaiger

    Yet another necklace theft against an Indian tourist in Pattaya

    The seventh Indian tourist in the past few weeks says thieves in Pattaya stole his pricey necklace. The tourist, 28 year old Gourab Paul, says 2 women approached him when he was heading back to his hotel with his friends early this morning after a night out in South Pattaya. In a story that seems almost identical in all the…

  • Phuket thief steals 1,000 baht from elderly woman | Thaiger

    Phuket thief steals 1,000 baht from elderly woman

    A thief in Phuket who stole 1,000 baht from an elderly woman last week was caught yesterday. The victim’s granddaughter said the thief stole the money from a jar on a table at the elderly woman’s home in Phuket’s main city district. Police tracked down the thief, who they so far have only named as “Ms. Davika”, 9 days after…

  • Police pickup crashes into motorbike, one teenager dead and another seriously injured | Thaiger

    Police pickup crashes into motorbike, one teenager dead and another seriously injured

    One teenager is dead, and another is seriously injured after a car accident in Pathum Thani province near Bangkok. The victims’ friends claimed that a police pickup was chasing after them and “intentionally” crashed into the victims’ motorbike, causing them to lose control and hit a guard rail. Last night, at 12.30 am, police officers from the Lad Lum Kaew…

  • Restaurant in northern Thailand promises to sell 3 baht noodles despite inflation | Thaiger

    Restaurant in northern Thailand promises to sell 3 baht noodles despite inflation

    A restaurant in the northern province of Chiang Mai promises to keep serving 3 baht noodles, despite the cost of ingredients being higher than ever. The restaurant’s owner Thawat Pirata said he hasn’t increased the price of noodles in 34 years and doesn’t plan to. The 64 year old owner of noodle shop Kway Teow Sam Baht – or “3…

  • “Mega rich” Bangkok father and daughter arrested in Bahrain trafficking case | Thaiger

    “Mega rich” Bangkok father and daughter arrested in Bahrain trafficking case

    Two members of a wealthy Bangkok family were arrested on warrants for human trafficking earlier this week. The father and daughter, 54 year old Wiraya and 37 year old Wachi, allegedly started recruiting women to work in Bahrain in 2015, saying they would give traditional Thai massages. Instead, the women were forced into sex slavery. Some of the women escaped,…

  • Governor to drain the swamp with Bangkok’s criminal fraternity | Thaiger

    Governor to drain the swamp with Bangkok’s criminal fraternity

    Chadchart Sittipunt made over 200 pledges prior to his landslide election victory last Sunday with the economy, environment, and health, high on his list of priorities. And when the Bangkok governor-elect vowed to clean up the metropolis, he wasn’t kidding. The 56 year old’s four-year term as governor began in earnest this week and, his agreement to use criminals to…

  • Phuket thief allegedly stole more than 30 times, said he needed gaming money | Thaiger

    Phuket thief allegedly stole more than 30 times, said he needed gaming money

    A Phuket thief allegedly stole more than 30 times in 2 months, and said he needed the money to play online video games and for his living, according to Phuket City Police Chief Colonel Sarawut Chooprasit. Sarawut told The Phuket Express that police had arrested the thief on Wednesday after he broke into a ‘restaurant’ and stole cash. Sarawut said that later,…

  • Man threatens PM Prayut’s daughters on Twitter, sentenced to 5 years in prison | Thaiger

    Man threatens PM Prayut’s daughters on Twitter, sentenced to 5 years in prison

    A man who posted a threatening message on Twitter aimed at the twin daughters of Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has been sentenced to 5 years imprisonment with no parole. Yesterday, Southern Bangkok Criminal Court found the man guilty of “publicising a crime” and for breaking the Computer Crimes Act because of a Tweet he posted in March last year.…

  • Tourists who went missing in southern Thailand park found safe | Thaiger

    Tourists who went missing in southern Thailand park found safe

    Yesterday, park rangers in Thailand’s southern province of Surat Thani found 2 tourists who had gone missing the day before. The women, 19 year old Eliza Rose and 19 year old Matilda Cox, got lost in a jungle in Khao Sok National Park in Phanom district. Eliza is a British national, and Matilda is from Northern Ireland. Eliza and Matilda…

  • Tourism officials ramp up marketing campaigns to target short-haul markets | Thaiger

    Tourism officials ramp up marketing campaigns to target short-haul markets

    Tourism officials are looking to short-haul markets to attract holidaymakers during the off-peak season, with a number of marketing events planned. Thanet Phetsuwan from the Tourism Authority of Thailand says places like India, Australia, Singapore, and Malaysia are the target markets. “This strategic push for short-haul markets aims to create a quick win, attracting both repeat and first-time visitors all…

  • Deep Week in Phuket – The world’s largest open freediving festival | Thaiger

    Deep Week in Phuket – The world’s largest open freediving festival

    Phuket recently hosted ‘Deep Week’, a huge freedive training event, which sold out in just 5 days. This was certainly Asia’s, and probably the world’s, biggest ever participation of freediving held in open water. The recent reopening of Thailand certainly enabled this first-of-a-kind freediving event to take place from May 14 – 21. Freediving, free-diving, free diving, breath-hold diving, or…

  • Phuket looks for new groundwater sources to cope with acute water shortages | Thaiger

    Phuket looks for new groundwater sources to cope with acute water shortages

    The Department of Groundwater Resources started a project to explore new groundwater sources in Phuket to cope with the ongoing water scarcity problem in the province. The project is also expected to be a model for other Thai islands to study groundwater resources and water management. The Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Varawut Silpa-Archa, assigned the Groundwater Resources Department…

  • Taxi’s brakes fail causing 10 vehicle accident in Bangkok | Thaiger

    Taxi’s brakes fail causing 10 vehicle accident in Bangkok

    A taxi driver’s brakes failed as he pulled up to a queue of traffic at a red light in Bangkok earlier today, causing a crash involving 10 vehicles. Four people are injured including a motorbike driver who is in a critical condition. Today, May 26, Pol. Col. Jeerasak Boonyuennan from Phaya Thai Police Station received a report of an accident…

  • UPDATE: French woman dies riding bicycle in central Thailand | Thaiger

    UPDATE: French woman dies riding bicycle in central Thailand

    UPDATE: The Toyota sedan’s dashcam footage confirmed that the traffic lights were on green when the driver struck and killed 26 year old Camille, who was riding a bicycle across a zebra crossing in Ayutthaya in central Thailand yesterday evening. The driver tried to break and swerve out of the way but couldn’t stop in time. Police arrested the driver…

  • UPDATE: Thai political activists left to rot in jail | Thaiger

    UPDATE: Thai political activists left to rot in jail

    UPDATE Tantawan “Tawan” Tuatulanon was granted bail by a Thai court today to get hospital treatment after falling seriously ill. The 20 year old activist was immediately rushed to hospital for treatment after the Criminal Court gave permission at 1:30pm for her to be released from custody and placed under house arrest as she awaits trial on charges that she insulted…

  • Prayut says government wants to cut Thailand’s road deaths by 2 thirds | Thaiger

    Prayut says government wants to cut Thailand’s road deaths by 2 thirds

    Thailand’s PM Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday announced another major goal in reducing Thailand’s infamous problem with road deaths. At a Bangkok forum titled “New Decade, New Normal, Safe Driving Is Priority”, Prayut said the government aims to cut the number of road deaths by almost 2 thirds by 2027. Thailand has the ninth highest road death rate in the world, with…

  • Thailand will not starve, says Commerce Minister | Thaiger

    Thailand will not starve, says Commerce Minister

    Deputy PM, and Commerce Minister, Jurin Laksanawisit, yesterday moved to ease fears of food shortages in Thailand on the back of recent protectionism measures introduced by neighbouring countries, export bans, and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict threatening to worsen world food supplies. Jurin declared Thailand has an “abundance of food” produce and there will be no shortages despite the recent embargos.…

  • Prepare for rain and floods in Thailand (again) | Thaiger

    Prepare for rain and floods in Thailand (again)

    Thailand’s wet season is still alive and well. From tomorrow, May 27, until May 31 (Tuesday), expect heavy to very heavy rains in the country’s northeast, central, east, and southern regions. The current Monsoon in Thailand’s southwest is expected to get stronger. As has been the case in Thailand for the past month, expect strong winds and high waves in…

  • French woman dies riding bicycle in central Thailand | Thaiger

    French woman dies riding bicycle in central Thailand

    A young French woman was killed in a road accident in Ayutthaya province in central Thailand yesterday evening. The 26 year old tourist got confused at an intersection when a green and red light shone at the same time, leading her to drive into oncoming traffic. A man driving a sedan through the green light couldn’t break in time, striking…

  • Things looking up in Phuket following return of international tourism | Thaiger

    Things looking up in Phuket following return of international tourism

    Provincial officials on the southern island of Phuket say the return of tourists has raised income levels and created more jobs. According to a Bangkok Post report, the return of international tourists has started to revive the island’s economy and reduced unemployment across Phuket. Data shared by Phuket governor, Narong Wunciew, reveals that since the launch of the Phuket sandbox…

  • Pattaya officials say Walking Street should be repaired by August | Thaiger

    Pattaya officials say Walking Street should be repaired by August

    After Pattaya’s famous Walking Street welcomed back visitors last month for the first time since Covid-19 broke out, the city’s officials have put in a big budget to give the street a ‘makeover‘. Pattaya city officials announced yesterday that the city has now spent 13 million baht on road repairs for the street, and these repairs are expected to be…

  • Thai PM Prayut questions Chadchart’s 200+ policies for Bangkok | Thaiger

    Thai PM Prayut questions Chadchart’s 200+ policies for Bangkok

    He’s only been elected for 3 days and the sniping has already started. Thailand’s PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has told Thai media that he is ready to work with the incoming Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt. But the PM says he’s curious how Chadchart will achieve the 200 policies he promoted during the election campaign. The PM said Chadchart would be “more powerful…

  • UPDATE:Teenage gunman goes on rampage killing 19 children and 2 adults at a Texas primary school | Thaiger

    UPDATE:Teenage gunman goes on rampage killing 19 children and 2 adults at a Texas primary school

    UPDATE New information has come to light revealing that minutes before the attack at Robb Elementary School, which killed 19 pupils and two teachers, gunman, Salvador Ramos, texted a girl in Frankfurt, Germany, about his plans. Screenshots of messages show the suspect complaining to the German girl about his grandmother complaing about his mobile phone usage. “It’s annoying,” he texted,…