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.

  • Pink and Yellow monorail lines will be in service in 2023 | Thaiger

    Pink and Yellow monorail lines will be in service in 2023

    The lives of Bangkok commuters are about to become a lot easier after news broke yesterday that trial runs were being scheduled in October on the Pink and Yellow monorail lines. The 52.6 billion baht Pink Line is about 14% away from being finished while the 49 billion baht Yellow Line’s construction is 93% complete. Commuters will be able to…

  • Storm ‘Chaba’ to impact Thailand, meteorologists say | Thaiger

    Storm ‘Chaba’ to impact Thailand, meteorologists say

    Thailand’s monsoon season is still alive and kicking, with a new storm potentially on the way to bring more winds and gusty rain to parts of the country from today (Friday) until tomorrow (Saturday), particularly in the north-east areas of the country. The Thai Meteorological Department said a tropical storm ‘Chaba’ is currently moving through the upper South China Sea.…

  • Sri Lanka’s doctors and nurses demand fuel and medicine | Thaiger

    Sri Lanka’s doctors and nurses demand fuel and medicine

    Sri Lanka’s medical staff is suffering from a shortage of fuel and medicine. Doctors and nurses say they are struggling to find enough fuel to get to work, even though they are designated, essential workers. On top of this, the island nation is suffering power cuts and shortages of food and medicines. On Wednesday, over 100 medical staff from the…

  • Thai bank apps crash on payday causes customer outrage | Thaiger

    Thai bank apps crash on payday causes customer outrage

    Siam Commercial Bank joined Bangkok Bank, and TMB Thanachart Bank in causing chaos throughout Thailand this morning when their banking apps crashed. They not only wreaked turmoil throughout the land but they also managed to unite all of its customers – in anger, after their mobile banking systems crashed on the day their salaries were supposed to be transferred into…

  • Bangkok abbot says he didn’t embezzle 95 million baht | Thaiger

    Bangkok abbot says he didn’t embezzle 95 million baht

    The chief monk at Wat Sutthi Wararam Buddhist temple in Bangkok yesterday insisted he is innocent of any embezzlement charges after a renewed complaint was made against him. The temple’s former accountant, Channarong Phiandi, has made a fresh complaint against the abbot, Phra Sutheerattanabundit, maintaining he embezzled 95 million baht and disposed of a partially cremated corpse into the Chao…

  • Thailand’s Prayut orders drug crackdown | Thaiger

    Thailand’s Prayut orders drug crackdown

    Thailand’s PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered a crackdown on illegal drugs in the country. At an anti-drug award ceremony yesterday, Prayut urged local officials to continue cracking down on drug rings, as well as their financial supporters. However, the PM also stressed that rehabilitating addicts need occupational training to help them rebuild their lives. Prayut also brought up the need…

  • Pattaya Police add more patrols to stop theft against Indian tourists | Thaiger

    Pattaya Police add more patrols to stop theft against Indian tourists

    Pattaya Police are working toward promises to end gold theft against tourists, particularly Indian tourists. Between last night and this morning, Pattaya Police and tourist police walked up and down Beach Road. Tourist Police Lieutenant Thanaphat Klebe-Udom said officers were interviewing “suspiciously” loitering individuals at random. But Thanaphat said police are especially interviewing loiterers who are transgender. He said officers…

  • China key to Thailand’s tourism industry recovery | Thaiger

    China key to Thailand’s tourism industry recovery

    The Tourism Council of Thailand yesterday confessed that building up tourism to pre-Covid-19 levels is going to be a challenge to the kingdom despite encouraging signs of recovery this year. And without Chinese tourists, the task remains even harder. The last of Thailand’s Covid-related restrictions were lifted today. Tourists no longer need a Thailand Pass or insurance, and you don’t…

  • Police close joints on Khao San Road for selling cannabis without a licence | Thaiger

    Police close joints on Khao San Road for selling cannabis without a licence

    Police have closed all shops selling cannabis on Khao San Road in Bangkok for operating without a license on a public road. The police told the businesses that selling cannabis wasn’t wrong, but it is illegal without permission to do so. Since cannabis was decriminalised on June 9 and removed from the Public Health Ministry’s narcotics category, cannabis shops have…

  • Thailand’s magical festivals, but which one is the best? | Thaiger

    Thailand’s magical festivals, but which one is the best?

    There are so many magical festivals on Thailand’s calendar it’s difficult to choose the best one. But being involved in one of these celebrated events is always enjoyable. It’s also a fantastic way of learning about the tradition and culture in the Land of Smiles. Here is a list of festivals The Thaiger recommends you experience when you’re in Thailand.…

  • Gold snatcher on the loose in central Thailand | Thaiger

    Gold snatcher on the loose in central Thailand

    Police are on the hunt for a gold armed robber in central Thailand. The man held up a gold shop in the province of Pathum Thani this morning, stealing 6 necklaces. Altogether, the necklaces were worth about 450,000 baht. The thief snatched the pricey necklaces from a shop in a Tesco Lotus mall in the Thayaburi district. A shop employee,…

  • Thai PM tells nation to buckle up for ‘winds of change’ | Thaiger

    Thai PM tells nation to buckle up for ‘winds of change’

    PM Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday became all metaphorical at the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) Expo 2022, “Shaping Future Industries for Stronger Thailand,” likening the kingdom to a “car” and how the nation needs to face up to “the winds of change.” The 68 year old called for more innovation from his fellow countrymen to meet the needs of evolving technological…

  • Chiang Mai protestors send Prayut a message, despite thousands of police | Thaiger

    Chiang Mai protestors send Prayut a message, despite thousands of police

    PM Prayut Chan-o-cha received a message after visiting the northern province of Chiang Mai yesterday. A group of protestors known as Kiat Lampang ‘greeted’ Prayut outside the airport. The group had announced on its Facebook page… “Come and welcome and chase out Prayut! At the international airport, Chiang Mai, today will definitely follow and chase him all day.” Prayut later…

  • Bangkok open-air film festival is free to moviegoers next month | Thaiger

    Bangkok open-air film festival is free to moviegoers next month

    Bangkok’s open-air film festival, Krung Thep Klang Plang, which means Bangkok open-air theatres, rolls out the red carpet for the whole month of July. The open-air theaters will be held at a number of different locations throughout the city, and the first event kicks off on July 7 at Laan Kon Mueng space in front of the Bangkok City Hall,…

  • Suspected pork smuggling scandal in central Thailand | Thaiger

    Suspected pork smuggling scandal in central Thailand

    There’s been a suspected pork smuggling scandal in central Thailand’s Nakhon Pathom province yesterday. The country’s Livestock Development Department found 59 tonnes of pork in a cold storage facility. The department found 1,510 boxes of pork legs from Poland. It found 1,433 boxes of pork labeled with the Brazilian brand Seara. It found 500 boxes of pork under the German…

  • Thai Police ordered to pay 3.4 million baht for torturing teenager | Thaiger

    Thai Police ordered to pay 3.4 million baht for torturing teenager

    South Bangkok Civil Court yesterday ordered The Royal Thai Police to pay about 3.4 million baht in compensation for the false imprisonment and brutal torture of a teenager in 2009. Rittirong Chuenchit was arrested by Prachin Buri Police’s criminal investigation team on January 28, 2009, for suspected theft. During the investigation, police tried to extract a confession from the victim,…

  • Pattaya police make more promises to stop gold theft against Indian tourists | Thaiger

    Pattaya police make more promises to stop gold theft against Indian tourists

    Police are making more promises to end Pattaya’s problem with gold theft against Indian tourists. This news follows a string of incidents where thieves have snatched gold necklaces from Indian travellers in recent months. Suspects often flirt with the tourists and touch them, asking them to come to their hotel with them. Victims often realise they have been robbed after…

  • Thai Airways has sold 11 of its old aircraft, 26 to go | Thaiger

    Thai Airways has sold 11 of its old aircraft, 26 to go

    Thai Airways has managed to sell the first 11 aircraft out of a total of 37 it has put up for sale as part of its bankruptcy recovery program. The airline’s acting president, Chansin Treenuchagron, ay Thailand’s transport minister has permitted Thai Airways to sell 1 older Boeing 737-400 plane and 10 Boeing 747-400 ‘Jumbo’ jets. Thai Airways had found…

  • Officials to build new sky walk and glass terrace in Phuket | Thaiger

    Officials to build new sky walk and glass terrace in Phuket

    Officials in Phuket plan to build 2 new structures in different parts of the island province. A skywalk is planned for Phuket’s southern village of Rawai, and a glass terrace is planned for Surin Beach in the northern Thalang district. The President of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organisation, Rewat Areerob, said that Phuket is trying to build more landmarks to…

  • UPDATE: Former Special Branch Officer names police involved in illegal casino operation | Thaiger

    UPDATE: Former Special Branch Officer names police involved in illegal casino operation

    UPDATE An ex-Special Branch Bureau officer has revealed the names of police involved in the operation of an illegal casino in Bangkok that was raided last Friday and denies he had any part of it. Former Pol Lt Col Santana Prayoonrat was discharged from the police service 20 years ago after obstructing officers from making arrests in regards to an…

  • 3 year old one of several Thai children recovering from cannabis-related incidents | Thaiger

    3 year old one of several Thai children recovering from cannabis-related incidents

    The Royal College of Paediatricians of Thailand and the Paediatrics Society of Thailand has reported a spate of serious health-threatening, cannabis-related cases involving a 3 year old child and several other children. Only last week Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt revealed his fears for the health and safety of Thailand’s children after the decriminalisation of cannabis on June 9 while a…

  • Phuket welcomes more than 1.7 million travellers so far in 2022 | Thaiger

    Phuket welcomes more than 1.7 million travellers so far in 2022

    The southern Thai island of Phuket welcomed more than 1.7 million visitors from January to the end of May, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Phuket office. Phuket, the most reliant of Thai provinces for a steady flow of tourists, has suffered over the past 2 years and has relied on the government’s travel stimulus packages to keep some…

  • Sri Lanka suspends sale of petrol to public for next 2 weeks | Thaiger

    Sri Lanka suspends sale of petrol to public for next 2 weeks

    The supply of petrol for cars in Sri Lanka has been suspended due to the country’s greatest economic crisis in decades. Only buses, trains, ambulances, and transport needed to deliver food will be permitted to refuel over the next 2 weeks. Authorities revealed that only 9,000 tonnes of diesel and 6,000 tonnes of gasoline are available to support the nation’s…

  • British boxer vows to get back in ring after Thai horror crash | Thaiger

    British boxer vows to get back in ring after Thai horror crash

    A British Muay Thai boxer vowed to get up off the floor and back into the ring after a horror crash in Koh Samui left him fighting for his life. Chris Richardson was crushed by a pickup truck as he pulled out of a coffee shop on his motorbike on April 13 earlier this year. The injuries were so severe…

  • Thai PM makes bizarre ‘go easy on me’ plea to media | Thaiger

    Thai PM makes bizarre ‘go easy on me’ plea to media

    Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday made a bizarre appeal to the nation’s press to “go easy” and give him a fair crack of the whip. The 68 year old prime minister made the plea after a recent poll put him in fourth position as potential picks to be Thailand’s next prime minister, a long way behind the daughter of former PM…

  • Thai social media influencer lied to flog football game tickets | Thaiger

    Thai social media influencer lied to flog football game tickets

    Social media influencer Pimradaporn Benjawattanapat, known as Pimrypie, has come under the spotlight after she advertised tickets for a game between Liverpool and Manchester United. She was offering benefits like dinner with the football players, which never existed, on her live stream. She allegedly had 20,000 tickets with her for “The Match Bangkok Century Cup 2022,” which will be held…

  • 3 Thai political activists tried to commit suicide in prison | Thaiger

    3 Thai political activists tried to commit suicide in prison

    Bangkok Remand Prison yesterday reported that 3 Thai political activists, jailed according to the lèse majesté laws, tried to commit suicide in prison due to stress. Two male prisoners slashed their wrists with a piece of metal while a third prisoner tried to overdose on 60 paracetamol tablets. Thai human rights lawyer, Arnon Nampa, yesterday announced the news on his…

  • Majority of international travel to Phuket is from India | Thaiger

    Majority of international travel to Phuket is from India

    The majority of international visitors to Phuket since the beginning of 2022 came from India, but half of the hotels on the island remain closed as they wait for the high season to begin. Even if the number of arrivals doubled by the end of the year, Phuket’s tourist numbers are still falling well short of pre-Covid levels. Between May…

  • Thai man jailed for rape in London massage parlour | Thaiger

    Thai man jailed for rape in London massage parlour

    London Metropolitan Police is appealing for more women to come forward after a Thai massage therapist was jailed for 11 years for the rape and sexual assault of two women. Kensington-based Mongkhon Thopwan was sentenced on Friday after being convicted on March 21 of 5 counts of assault by penetration, and one count of causing a person to engage in…

  • 2 Indians caught with over 100 animals at Suvarnabhumi Airport | Thaiger

    2 Indians caught with over 100 animals at Suvarnabhumi Airport

    Two Indian women were arrested by wildlife authorities at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport yesterday after 109 live wild animals were found in their luggage just before they boarded a flight back to India. 50 lizards, 20 snakes, 35 turtles, 2 white porcupines, and 2 armadillos were all found in their bags. When authorities x-rayed the women’s suitcases, they spotted the animals,…