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 Do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?
Thailand’s healthcare system is well-regarded across Southeast Asia, with options ranging from public hospitals to world-class private facilities. But when it comes to foreign residents or tourists, healthcare access isn’t as straightforward. So, do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?...
-
Are people worried about events in Thailand after the Korean stampede?
Tourism officials and industry operators are nervously assessing what effect the Halloween stampede in South Korea may have on travellers’ confidence in upcoming events in Thailand. Operators in the tourism industry have asked police and other authorities to be ready for crowd-related incidents. But the vice-president of the Tourism Council of Thailand, Suthiphong Phuenphiphop, says that he does not think…
-
Ride a ‘floating train’ from Bangkok to the biggest reservoir in Thailand
The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) invites you to ride the ‘floating train‘ from Hua Lamphong Station in Bangkok to Pa Sak Jolasid Dam – Thailand’s biggest reservoir – in Lop Buri province. The rot fai loi nam (train floating on water) will run every Saturday and Sunday for three months, starting on November 5. The train (no.921) will leave Bangkok…
-
First AI crosswalk in Thailand installed in Nonthaburi
The very first artificial intelligence (AI) Smart Crosswalk was installed in Nonthaburi province near Bangkok. Plans for more AI smart systems at pedestrian crossings are in the pipeline at some high-risk spots in Bangkok. According to a study by the Thai Health Promotion Foundation, almost 90% of vehicles don’t stop at a zebra crossing in Bangkok. Questions on road safety…
-
Dishonest taxi driver keeps 70,000 baht found in his cab
A passenger filed a complaint to the police against an alleged dishonest taxi driver in Samut Prakarn province near Bangkok after he refused to return the 70,000 baht he found in the cab back to its owner. The taxi driver asked his friend to pretend the cash was hers and kept the money for himself. The passenger, 43 year old…
-
Norwegian man arrested for stealing taxi from Krabi Airport in southern Thailand
Thai police did a double take yesterday afternoon when they saw a Norwegian man driving a taxi out of Krabi International Airport in southern Thailand. The thief made the police chase easy by stopping at a convenience store to buy a drink, where he was arrested and detained. At 3.30pm, officers from Huai Yot Police Station in Trang province received…
-
Chinese man in Pattaya has finger cut off, allegedly by gang who held him captive
Pattaya Police say that a Chinese man had his finger cut off by a ransom gang who held him captive. The man, 41 year old Ren Haibo, suddenly disappeared at midnight on October 30, according to his Thai girlfriend, 20 year old Alisara Supasiribundit. Alisara said that Ren and his car were both gone. She said Ren’s brother contacted her the…
-
Police seize 6 safes from illegal Chinese karaoke venue
UPDATE Officers seized six safes from the illegal Jin Ling Chinese karaoke venue in the Sathorn area of Bangkok as the investigation continues. One of the safes was packed with a mixed drug called Happy Water, which is made by dissolving ecstasy, methamphetamine, diazepam, caffeine, and tramadol – in hot water or mixing them with sweetened drinks. Another one that was opened…
-
Russian airlines resume direct flights to Phuket
Tourism in Phuket got another boost from Russian tourists as the first direct flights from Moscow to Phuket International Airport resumed. The airport expects to see an average of 30,000 arrivals per day in November. Ikar Airlines was the first to arrive from Moscow yesterday afternoon, with a flight from Russian national airline Aeroflot landing later at 9.10pm. Ikar is a…
-
Largest Indian restaurant in Southeast Asia opens in Pattaya
The largest Indian restaurant in Southeast Asia has opened in Pattaya. The restaurant, named “MumbaiSe,” is located at the Stardice Pub on the Pattaya-Naklua road. The restaurant held its opening ceremony on Saturday night, with many Pattaya officials attending, including Mayor Poramese Ngampiches. The founders are two Indian businessmen who have invested 25 million baht in the restaurant. The restaurant will…
-
Pattaya International Bikini Beach Race draws 3,000 runners
Interested in watching a 5-kilometre running race? What if all the runners are scantily clad in bikinis? On Saturday, the Pattaya International Bikini Beach Race was held and welcomed 3,000 participants. The event is thrown each year in Pattaya and welcomes hundreds of tourists. The annual race started in 2015 and is held along the beach in Pattaya. The idea…
-
A scammer who posed as police chief arrested in central Thailand
A scammer who posed as a police chief was arrested in Thailand’s central Ayutthaya province on Friday. A team of officers from the Police Cyber Taskforce (PCT) arrested the man, 32 year old Chonwicha Pansamut, in the Wang Noi district, according to the Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB). Authorities have evidence that Chonwicha claimed to be the Chiang Rai city district…
-
Royal Caribbean Cruises to dock weekly in Phuket, Thailand
Earlier this month, Royal Caribbean’s Spectrum of the Seas cruise ship docked in Phuket, southern Thailand, for the first time in several years. At an event in Phuket yesterday, Royal Caribbean revealed that the Spectrum would be visiting Phuket once a week in the coming months. Phuket is a ‘core destination’ on Royal Caribbean’s four- to seven-night Southeast Asia cruises,…
-
5 security guards on drugs arrested for robbing army residence
Five security guards were arrested yesterday after they robbed an army residence in Bangkok. The thieves stole four lightning rods worth 200,000 baht but only received 16,000 baht for the stolen goods. The group also tested positive for drugs. A soldier in charge of the security of army condominiums, inside the Royal Thai Armed Forces headquarters in the Don Mueng district…
-
Koh Samui sees influx of Russian tourism
With flights increasing from Russia to Thailand, Koh Samui is seeing an increase in European travellers. The holiday island expects to see a surge in Russian tourism in particular, especially in December to close out the year. Russian tourism has been a big revenue-producing staple of Koh Samui but was stymied by the Covid-19 pandemic and then the Russian invasion…
-
Chinese man and his Thai wife arrested for illegal possession of guns
A Chinese man and his Thai wife were arrested for illegally possessing several guns in their Phuket luxury home. Police searched the house of the Chinese man and his Thai wife in the Kathu district on Friday after the man had reportedly shown off his weapons on social media. The police found 18 firearms, most of which were BB guns. However,…
-
Murderer surrenders after stabbing wrong man in Phuket
A murderer surrendered to police after stabbing a man to death in front of a grocery store in Phuket on Saturday. The killer claimed that he stabbed the wrong person, thinking that the man he murdered was his enemy. The alleged murderer, 35 year old Pannawit, stabbed 49 year old Charoen Panngen on Saturday morning in front of a shopping…
-
Anti-graft agency to seize Joe Ferrari estate
Former chief of police Thitisan “Joe Ferrari” Utthanaphon will have his assets seized after he was charged by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) for having riches beyond his pay grade. The NACC found Ferrari guilty of “being unusually rich” and proposed his estate worth 1 billion baht would be confiscated, reported Bangkok Post. The NACC will forward its finding to…
-
Chaiyanat denies involvement in Yannawa pub management
The businessman under suspicion of drug and corruption offences, Chaiyanat Kornchayanant, has denied any involvement in the management of the Yannawa pub, where 104 customers, mostly Chinese nationals, tested positive for drugs during a police raid. Chaiyanat who donated 3 million baht (US$80,000) to the beleaguered Palang Pracharath Party could have landed the ruling party and one of its leaders,…
-
Korat elephants face further persecution from farmers
As if the remains of Thailand’s decimated elephant population have not suffered enough persecution, farmers in Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat) still refuse to live in harmony with their big grey neighbours. A local leader has called on authorities to address the problem – if it is one – of wild elephants from Thap Lan National Park invading farmland and destroying crops. Oraya…
-
US in Asia: President Biden to ASEAN meeting, VP Harris to APEC
Top US officials are set to visit Southeast Asia, with US President Joe Biden joining the ASEAN summit in Cambodia next month, and Vice President Kamala Harris heading to Bangkok for an APEC meeting. The White House has now confirmed that Biden will join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for their meeting on November 12 and 13. Harris…
-
Shots fired by Bangkok police in drugs bust car chase
Plainclothes police officers fired at a car they believed to be driven by a drug dealer who was attempting to flee. The suspect remains at large. The incident took place on Phetkasem Road on Friday evening, causing panic in the area. It is the latest skirmish in Thailand’s war on drugs, triggered by this month’s day car massacre in the…
-
Last Pakistani in Guantanamo Bay goes home
Saifullah Paracha has been in Guantanamo Bay detention centre since he was taken into custody in Bangkok in 2003. The 74 year old was never charged with anything, nor was he accused of any crime, merely “having links” with the al-Qaeda leadership. The oldest inmate at Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba and an innocent man by every legal definition, Paracha…
-
Is Prayut quiet due to humbleness or unpopularity?
Is it his humbleness and humility, and his dedication to helping the people of Thailand? Or perhaps it’s because polls show that he is trailing other candidates in next year’s prime minister race. Either way, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has spent the month deflecting interviews and political questions. In recent weeks he’s managed to duck out of most questions from the…
-
Musk’s Twitter: hate speech spikes, execs sacked, Trump happy
The takeover of Twitter by Elon Musk began with an awkward stab at a humorous tweet, the sacking of some top executives, and a LOT of hate speech. The site saw an immediate sharp rise in hate speech and disinformation posts by users who believe Musk’s anti-censorship stance will usher in a Twitter free-for-all. Public feelings are mixed about the…
-
“Where is Nancy?” Man attacks US Speaker Pelosi’s husband with hammer
Fueled by rhetoric from former President Donald Trump and Q-Anon conspiracy theories, a man broke into the home of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and attacked her husband with a hammer while demanding to see her. The attack is seen by many as a foreshadowing of potential political violence with the upcoming midterm elections in the United States just one…
-
This weekend: Thailand Comic Con 2022 in Bangkok
For those who need a bit of an escape from reality, Thailand Comic Con 2022 is being held in Bangkok this weekend. The pop culture event has long been massively popular in the US and around the world. And from Friday to Sunday, the people of Thailand and those currently residing in Bangkok can experience the convention of all things…
-
Hornbills fly again over Lampang Chae Son
Absent from Thailand’s northern forests for more than 20 years, a pair of great hornbills have been released into Lampang Chae, Son National Park. The release was described by the Zoological Park Organisation (ZPO) director Attaporn Srihayrun as only the first batch of birds that the organisation plans to return to the wild. The ZPO first bred great hornbills in…
-
Palang Pracharath Party could be dissolved, ex-acting PM banned
The fallout continues after a drug bust at a karaoke venue in Bangkok revealed that the owner had previously donated 3 million baht to the Palang Pracharath Party. Now, the political party may face dissolution due to accepting what is believed to be “grey money” donations, with top officials being banned from politics. Former election commissioner Somchai Srisutthiyakorn said that…
-
Police say US gunman’s weapon was taken from him a week before attack
More details have emerged on the horrific shooting in the US on Monday. Police said that the gunman’s weapon had been taken from him about a week before he shot and killed a teacher and student at the Central Visual & Performing Arts High School in St. Louis. The gunman, 19 year old Orlando Harris, also injured seven others in…
-
Stockholm’s fugitive king cobra found hiding in wall cavity
While Thailand suffers a plague of serpents, driven out of their natural hiding places by recent flooding, a king cobra, broke out of a new enclosure in a Swedish zoo only days after it arrived. The frightened reptile was found early on Thursday morning, hiding only a few metres from its enclosure. The reptile escaped by squirming through a light…
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.