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...
-
Russian driver kills motorcycle rider in Phuket
A Russian man crashed his rented black SUV into a motorcycle and killed a Thai motorcycle rider on road in Phuket on Wednesday. Officers from Chalong Police Station and the Phuket Ruam Jai Rescue Team were notified about the incident at the Chalong Intersection on Patak Road in the Chalong sub-district of Phuket at about 9.20pm, Wednesday, December 28. The…
-
Aeroflot to launch direct flights from Bangkok to Irkutsk
Russian flag carrier Aeroflot is launching direct flights from Irkutsk in Russia to Bangkok, Thailand, starting January 18, 2023. A Boeing 737-800 will service the route which will run twice weekly on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with a flight time of 6 hours and 25 minutes. Irkutsk, known as “Paris of Siberia,” is Russia’s 25th-largest city by population. It is the…
-
110,000 traffic tickets issued to speeding drivers ahead of road safety campaign
The Highway Police Division revealed that 110,000 speeding tickets were issued ahead of Thailand’s seven-day road safety campaign. The Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, Damronsak Kittiprapas, launched the road safety campaign named Seven-day Dangerous (7 วัน อันตราย) today, December 29. The campaign aims to reduce the number of road accidents during the traditional holiday season when many Thais will…
-
Thailand encourages coffee farming to meet growing demand in Asia
Palm and rubber farmers in Krabi are being encouraged to grow coffee, as demand rises faster in Asia than in other parts of the world. On a visit to a community coffee enterprise in Krabi’s Khlong Thom Nua, Deputy Commerce Minister Sinit Lertkrai said on Tuesday…. “Krabi’s coffee is gaining international attention thanks to its certification as a GI product.”…
-
Thailand to offer free Covid-19 booster shots to foreign tourists
The Ministry of Tourism and Sports Ministry (MOTS) announced its plans to provide free Covid-19 booster shots for foreign tourists entering Thailand next year. The disclosure will be welcomed by many who fear another Covid wave after China announced it will open its borders and relax quarantine measures. The MOTS also briefed the press that the government will introduce the…
-
Russians take Thailand by storm
Since September, Russian tourist arrivals in Thailand have increased sevenfold. A number of favourable factors make Thailand the perfect place to escape the icy grip of winter in Russia this year. Thailand, especially Pattaya and Phuket, has always been a popular holiday destination for Russians, with 1.48 million of them arriving in Thailand in 2019. Pre-pandemic, Russia was once Thailand’s…
-
Police track down suspect in murder of woman dumped in garbage bin
Police believe the person responsible for the death of the woman dumped in a garbage bin in the Khao Sok National Park at the border of Phang Nga and Surat Thani is her boyfriend. Police reported they found evidence in the boyfriend’s home related to the murder of the woman, Suphattra Yodkaew, and is now on the run. Police identified…
-
Thailand prepares to welcome infected tide of Chinese tourists
As Thailand prepares to welcome an infected tide of Chinese tourists, in the US, the Biden administration is changing its policy for arrivals from China, including Hong Kong, and Macau. Washington is scared. Coronavirus infections running rampant in Beijing could spawn new and more dangerous variants. From January 5, all travellers from China, including Hong Kong, and Macau, must present…
-
American man dies after jumping from 3rd floor of Phuket Airport
An American man died yesterday after he reportedly jumped off the 3rd floor of the Phuket Airport passenger terminal. The 35 year old American, who was later identified as Jason, jumped from the 3rd floor smoking area of Phuket Airport at about 3pm yesterday. The airport rescue team and medical workers rushed to the scene to provide first aid and…
-
Pattaya Police fine Norwegian tourist 5,000 baht for public lewdness
Police tracked down, arrested, and fined the foreign tourist who made headlines on Monday for fornicating with a Thai woman against a power pole on the mean streets of Pattaya in eastern Thailand. Yesterday, the Superintendent of Pattaya City Police Station Pol Col Kulchat Kulchai detained a 49 year old Norwegian man under suspicion of public lewdness. The scandalous Scandinavian…
-
German man’s yacht vanishes from Phuket, Thailand
A search is underway to locate ‘Marco Polo,’ a German man’s yacht, which mysteriously vanished from a pier in Phuket, southern Thailand, yesterday morning. At 11am, 58 year old Marco Käfer of German nationality found that his eponymous boat was missing from Phuket’s charming Nai Harn Beach in Rawai district. Concerned Käfer was informed by a witness that three people…
-
VIDEO: air rage incident on Thai Smile Airways flight from Bangkok to Kolkata
Footage of an air rage incident emerged yesterday of two Indian passengers swapping punches on a flight from Bangkok to Kolkata in India. A passenger recorded footage of the fracas and uploaded it to social media where it quickly went viral. It captures two men swapping insults, then punches after boarding a Thai Smile Airways flight that was set to…
-
Chinese tourists may bring growing pains to the Thai travel industry
While people in the tourism and entertainment sector are celebrating China’s announcement to reopen and allow outgoing travel, others have raised fears about the potential problems that could come with an influx of Chinese tourists. Some fear an overwhelming surge of Chinese tourists flooding Thailand’s hotspots. Others worry that the healthcare systems in Thailand could be overburdened by the influx…
-
Anarchic passenger causes chaos on bus trip from Phuket to Bangkok
An anarchic passenger caused chaos for other travellers on a journey from Phuket to Bangkok today. The nuisance man annoyed his fellow passengers, illegally smoked, insulted staff members, and smashed a window with a fire extinguisher before leaping from the bus into busy oncoming traffic on Rama II Road in Bangkok. The driver of a Phuket-Bangkok coach bus, 51 year…
-
Thai police arrest gang of Chinese visa overstayers in Bangkok
Thailand’s Immigration Police arrested a gang of Chinese visa overstayers in the Chatuchak district of Bangkok yesterday. On Monday, North Bangkok District Court issued a search warrant for a property in Soi Sermsuk to investigate a group of “suspicious aliens.” Officers from the Immigration Bureau searched the property yesterday and found that seven Chinese nationals were staying there. All seven…
-
Thai woman hides 400 yaba pills in vagina to cover for drug-dealing husband
A Thai woman hid 402 pills of yaba (methamphetamine) inside her vagina in an attempt to cover for her drug-dealing husband during a raid at his house in Khon Kaen province in northeast Thailand on Monday. As the sun rose on Monday, officers from Ban Had Police Station raided the home of a suspected drug trafficker. Police were met by…
-
Ceremony launches “Seven Days of Danger” for Phuket roads
The yearly road safety campaign for the holiday week called “Seven Days of Danger” was officially launched in Phuket yesterday. The week is from December 29 to January 4, when each year the rush of holiday travellers on the roads leads to an increase in accidents and road deaths. A ceremony hosted at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday, led by Phuket…
-
Thailand’s national park chief released on bail for 400,000 baht
Thailand‘s National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) released the Chief of National Parks Rutchada Suriyakul Na Ayutya on bail for 400,000 baht this morning after detaining him on corruption charges yesterday. After interrogating Rutchada and collecting collateral of 400,000 baht, NACC officials agreed to release Rutchada, citing that he is not considered a flight risk due to having a stable and high-ranking…
-
Royal Thai Police ordered to find Red Bull Heir and deliver justice
The Thai prime minister wrapped up the government’s last Cabinet meeting of 2022 by demanding the Royal Thai Police (RTP) find Red Bull Heir Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya and prosecute him. The 37 year old fled Thailand over ten years ago after a hit-and-run incident killed a police officer, Wichian Klanprasert, in Bangkok, on September 3, 2012. Boss, then 27, was…
-
CNN selects Bangkok and ICONSIAM’s firework shows as one of world’s 10 ‘Great Places for an unforgettable New Year’s Eve’
CNN has selected Bangkok as one of the world’s 10 ‘Greats Places for an unforgettable New Year’s Eve and listed ICONSIAM’s magnificent fireworks display at the “Amazing Thailand Countdown” as an ‘amazing fireworks show’ and place at which to ring in the New Year. The recognition reinforces ICONSIAM as Thailand’s premier ‘Global Countdown Destination’ after many years of standing out…
-
Italian man fined 3000 baht for showing genitals to children
Police nabbed an Italian man who was attempting to flee Thailand after being accused of showing his genitals to children in Pattaya. Police caught up with him just as he was boarding a flight out of Thailand and took him into custody. But he was let go after he paid a 3,000 baht fine and was told not to come…
-
Thai park ranger ‘Chaiwat’ working in civil service despite murder charges
Despite Thai park ranger Chaiwat Limlikitaksorn being accused of murdering Karen activist Porlajee “Billy” Rakchongcharoen in western Thailand in 2014, he is still working in the civil service. According to Section 101 of Thailand’s Civil Service Act (2008), any civil servant with criminal charges pressed against them should be suspended from government service pending the result of the investigation. In…
-
Govt official allegedly caught red-handed accepting bribes
Police today allegedly caught a government official red-handed accepting a bribe when they swooped to arrest the man at his Bangkok office. Officers raiding the premises also confiscated 5 million baht from the official’s office, reported Bangkok Post. Counter Corruption Division (CCD) commander Pol Maj Gen Jaroonkiat Pankaew, and his team, arrested Rutchada Suriyakul Na Ayutya, the head of the…
-
Woman arrested for keeping protected birds as pets
A woman in the southern province of Chumphon faces up to five years in jail and a fine of up to 500,000 baht for keeping 37 protected birds as pets without permission. The woman insisted that she did not buy or obtain the birds illegally, the birds came to her of their own free will so decided to care for…
-
Downhill cycling banned in Doi Inthanon National Park
Fearing a string of preventable injuries and deaths, authorities have banned all downhill cycling in the mountainous Doi Inthanon National Park. The park, located in the Chom Thong district of Chiang Mai province, is popular for its scenic nature and picturesque mountains. But slippery roads and dangerous driving conditions have the potential for deadly accidents for those riding their bicycles…
-
China opening up a boost for Thailand tourism
China yesterday announced it will reopen its borders and abandon its strict Covid-19 quarantine for travellers and mainland citizens on January 8. The announcement signals great news for Thailand as the kingdom continues to prosper from the worldwide relaxation of Covid restrictions. Chinese visitors topped the nation’s No.1 tourist charts before the pandemic outbreak in 2020. From 2014 there had…
-
Screening for drunk driving to reduce new year holiday road deaths
Drunk driving is a fairly constant problem in Thailand, like many other places worldwide. It’s so prevalent during the holiday season, that Phuket holds an annual road safety campaign known as ‘Seven Days of Danger.’ The campaign is held around the new year holiday from December 29 to January 4. The government announced new strict screening of drivers over the…
-
Bangkok hailed one of the top 10 places in the world to spend New Year’s Eve
Bangkok has been hailed as one of the top 10 places in the world to spend New Year’s Eve while riverside shopping mall ICONSIAM is recommended as the No.1 spot to enjoy a fireworks display and countdown to the upcoming new year. US multinational news channel CNN produced a list of 10 Great Places to Spend New Year’s Eve. The…
-
Bangkok court grants bail to Tuhao’s wife for 2 million baht
Southern Bangkok Criminal Court granted bail to Pol. Col. Wanthanaree Kornchayanan – the wife of Chinese gangster Tuhao – for securities of 2 million baht this afternoon. Yannawa Police arrested and detained Wanthanaree and nine others yesterday on transnational drug and money laundering charges. The court does not usually grant bail to those accused on such serious charges in case…
-
Phuket remembers anniversary of Indian Ocean Tsunami
Today marks the anniversary of one of the deadliest natural disasters ever to befall mankind. The Indian Ocean Tsunami, also known as The Boxing Day Tsunami, struck Phuket and the surrounding areas at 10am on December 26, 2004. In the province and neighbouring provinces, religious ceremonies were held today to mark the 18th anniversary of the deadly tsunami. Religious ceremonies…
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.