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 Limited-time deal: Save 20% on Cigna's expat health plans forever
Starting a new life abroad is exciting—new culture, new lifestyle, and new chances to grow. But living far from home also means taking steps to protect your health in unfamiliar surroundings. Without the right coverage, even small health issues can...
-
Prayut’s Saudi Arabia trip a ‘breakthrough’ after 30 years of tense relations
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is currently in Saudi Arabia in an effort to restore Thai-Saudi economic and diplomatic relations. Experts say the trip, which is the first government trip between the two countries after 30 years, is a huge breakthrough after three decades of tense relations between the two countries. Relations first turned cold in 1989 after the Blue Diamond Affair…
-
Death of Bangkok doctor on zebra crossing highlights danger of Thai roads – again
In the last World Health Organisation report into road deaths in Southeast Asia and Asia, it probably won’t come as a surprise to learn that Thailand came top. According to the 2018 report, the kingdom had an average of 32.7 deaths per 100,000 people. This compares to 26.4 in Vietnam and 23.6 in Malaysia, followed by Myanmar (19.9), Cambodia (17.8),…
-
Police officer charged in fatal big bike collision with pedestrian enters monkhood
A police officer who hit a woman with his Ducati bike as she was on a zebra crossing has been ordained as a monk. According to a Bangkok Post report, 21-year-old Narawich Buadok chose to enter the monkhood to make merit for the killing of Dr Waraluck Supawatjariyakul last Friday afternoon. The Bangkok ophthalmologist was mown down as she was…
-
Thailand’s Digital Economy and Society Minister infected with Covid-19
Thailand’s Digital Economy and Society Minister has Covid-19. The minister, Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn, is currently in hospital with a fever and headache. He says he may have contracted the virus on a trip to Chiang Mai last Thursday. It remains unknown which variant he contracted. The infection has not reached his lungs, however, other members of the ruling Palang Pracharath Party…
-
Police officer charged following death of Bangkok pedestrian hit by speeding bike
A Thai police officer has been charged with multiple offences after his speeding Ducati bike collided with a Bangkok doctor on a zebra crossing. The charges, filed by Phaya Thai district police, include reckless driving and not stopping for pedestrians at a zebra crossing. Dr. Waraluck Supavatjariyakul died after being hit by Naravich Buadok’s bike as she crossed Phaya Thai…
-
Government to make more Covid insurance options available to foreign tourists
The Thai government wants to offer more Covid-19 insurance options to foreign tourists whose own insurance doesn’t cover hospitels or hotel isolation in cases of asymptomatic infection. According to a Bangkok Post report, the governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand says officials are in talks with the Office of the Insurance Commission. Yuthasak Supasorn says premiums could start at…
-
Thailand tourism industry hopeful with the return of Test & Go
With the reintroduction of the Test & Go program, that allows fully vaccinated people to enter Thailand with a Day1 and Day 5 PCR test, businesses in the tourism industry are hopeful for a more sustained growth in international travellers from February and beyond. The program was reinstated, albeit with some revisions that were not met with a particularly welcoming…
-
Government plans to gather data, combine tourism databases
In an effort to organize data and bolster tourism for the future, government agencies are looking at merging the databases of tourism-related agencies, businesses, and organizations. They plan to create a unified database in order to bring together all the information in an organized system. A campaign was launched, supported by the Department of Tourism, the Department of Provincial Administration,…
-
Transportation the focus of 2022 for Thailand, with 1.4 trillion baht budgeted
Thailand is aiming to make 2022 the Year of Transportation, with 1.4 trillion baht being allocated for projects to improve travel by air, land, water, and rail. The Ministry of Transport predicts markedly improved transportation safety and timeliness, as well as an economic return of 1.6 times the initial investment. As a part of Thailand’s 20-year national strategy, the development…
-
Woman complains police didn’t pursue rape case for 5 months
A woman brought her lawyer to the Klong Tan Police Station after waiting 5 months for a response to her reporting an alleged rape at a party in Klong Toei in August. The incident took place in the Bangkok district at a hotel where the 27 year old Thai woman was hired to be a bartender. The woman said she was…
-
Plans shot down for property incentives to attract foreigners
A proposal to attract foreigners by lengthening property leaseholds from 30 years to 50 years and allowing foreign condo ownership to increase over the 49% current restriction was shot down today by the Centre for Economic Situation Administration. The committee, headed by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha, rejected those proposals but did seem open to foreigners being permitted to own up to…
-
Thai PM sings away his political blues
With some of the former members of the ruling Palang Pracharat coalition turning against him (and forming their own new political party), and the expulsion of 21 renegade MPs, it’s been a septimana horrabilus (bad week) for the Thai PM. But, when things are bad it’s time to whistle a happy tune, or at least break out into song whilst…
-
Police sting nabs trans woman for alleged child sex trafficking
A transgender woman accused of human trafficking and child exploitation was arrested in Phuket yesterday in a police sting. The 37 year old trans woman allegedly arranged for prostitution of children under the age of 18 online via Twitter. Local police have been searching for her after catching wind of her exploitation from her Twitter account where she went by…
-
Nippon Steel makes $763 million acquisition of 2 Thai steelmakers
Japan is making a move to invest in Thai steel. Nippon Steel Corp, the largest manufacturer of steel in Japan has announced a strategic deal to buy stakes in two major steelmakers in Thailand. The deal is reported to be worth as much as US $763 million – about 25 billion baht. The giant steelmaker has been interested in acquqiring…
-
Cannabis removal from Thailand’s narcotics list up for discussion
Cannabis is a small step forward toward decriminalisation following the endorsement by the Public Health Ministry’s narcotics control committee draft miniserial announcement excluding cannabis with low THC content from the country’s narcotics list. Cannabis extracts with more than 0.2% of the psychoactive component tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, will still be illegal. The Office of the Narcotics Control Board (not to be…
-
Storms in Northern Phayao province create a snowlike sight
“When it snows in Thailand” sounds like an alternative version of “when pigs fly”, a snappy way to say that something will never happen. But, photos in the Phu Kamyao district in the Phayao province in Northern Thailand show a thin layer of snow-like ice on the roads after heavy storms. The province sits on the Laos border and includes…
-
Police search for drug suspects after one allegedly fired an M16 rifle at officers
After a gunfire exchange with more than 100 police officers, five drug suspects reportedly fled the scene as one fired an M16 rifle, evading arrest. Apparently, they had been tracked down by police and escaped arrest at least three times prior. Suspects, including alleged gang leader, 41 year old Pradit “Greg” Musikasong, are wanted on several charges. Dozens of police…
-
Sealed route proposal for asymptomatic infected tourists gets lukewarm reception in Phuket
Phuket officials have responded less than enthusiastically to a suggestion that infected asymptomatic tourists be allowed to travel via a sealed route. Pichet Panapong, the province’s deputy governor, says he believes infected tourists should stay in their hotel rooms. According to a Bangkok Post report, he’s already said as much to the immigration chief who initially made the suggestion. Pichet…
-
Tourism operators want cost of PCR tests reduced when Test & Go resumes
Following the CCSA’s decision yesterday to resume Test & Go from February 1 (with some changes) tourism operators are urging the government to make PCR testing more affordable. The revamped Test & Go entry scheme now requires overseas arrivals to book a hotel on day 1 and again on day 5 of their stay – and to take a PCR…
-
Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand says Thai 5G is not an issue
After a wave of flight cancellations and airline schedule and equipment reshuffling in the US, the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand spoke up to reaffirm that 5G signals in Thailand do not have any conflicts or negative effects on aircraft or flight equipment. The CAAT explained that, in Thailand, 5G bandwidth is on a different wavelength than anything used in…
-
UPDATE: Thailand’s Test & Go is back on for travel starting February 1
The Thailand Pass Test & Go program has been rebooted, and vaccinated travellers will be able to register for (almost) quarantine-free entry to Thailand re-starting February 1. There have been slight revisions to the rules, now requiring travellers to have proof of an SHA+ hotel booking on the first and fifth day of their stay in Thailand when they will…
-
Thailand’s Test & Go registration reintroduced for travel starting February 1
Test & Go is back on, and vaccinated travellers will be able to register for (almost) quarantine-free entry to Thailand re-starting February 1. There have been slight revisions to the rules, now requiring travellers to have proof of their hotel booking on the first and fifth day of their stay in Thailand when they will undergo RT-PCR tests. In the…
-
First meeting of Thailand’s Lower House this year adjourned due to lack of numbers
The first meeting of the year for Thailand’s House of Representatives, which was meant to begin yesterday, had to be abruptly adjourned because the minimum number of MPs required were not present. 227 MPs were present, a number 10 short of the minimum number required to conduct the proceedings. Half of the House’s 473 members were required to attend. In…
-
Thammanat Prompow, 21 MPs booted from Palang Pracharat
After a meeting of the executive members of the Palang Pracharat Party yesterday, a shocking 22 MPs including popular but controversial Secretary-General Thammanat Prompow who made headlines after details of an arrest and jail time in Australia came to light recently. Once a rockstar in the ruling party who called himself the main artery of the party, Thammanat was pushed…
-
Facebook mistakenly banning ok content a growing problem
Language and expression have nuances, subtleties, and variety in meaning, both explicitly and implicitly stated. The problem is, Facebook often times does not. Society is facing an increasingly conspicuous problem of Facebook and other social media platforms using algorithms to block prohibited content while lacking any useful channels to rectify mistakes. Many people have experienced getting muted or banned temporarily…
-
Book publishers known for controversy raided by Bangkok police
Just in time for the National Book Fair coming to Bangkok, police this morning rated a Bangkok book publisher known for issuing material against the grain of normal Thai society. Fa Diew Kan, which translates to “Same Sky”, was raided at about 10:30 this morning by around 30 police officers. The officers came with a warrant to look for books “about…
-
Hotels call for Covid-19 land and building tax cuts to be extended
The hotel industry is asking the government to extend a land and building tax cut that was enacted in June of 2020, citing the continuation of the Covid-19 pandemic with no economic recovery in sight. They requested the 90% tax cut be extended for 2 more years, or, failing that, enact a new tax cut of 70 to 80% to…
-
Pork price crisis ups demand for poultry, chicken added to price control list
Thailand’s pork price crisis is causing an increased demand for chicken, leading poultry and egg prices to surge. The Ministry of Commerce has now added chickens and chicken meat to their price control list. The ministry now mandates that chicken raisers with over 100,000 chickens, and slaughterhouses with the capacity for over 4,000 chickens a day, disclose their quantity, stocks,…
-
Former police chief ‘Joe Ferrari’ says he just wanted to “scare suspect”
A former police chief charged with murder after a drugs suspect died when multiple plastic bags were placed over his head during questioning, says he just wanted to scare the victim. Thitisan Utthanaphon, aka. Joe Ferrari in Thai media, a police chief in the northern province of Nakhon Sawan at the time, told the court that he never intended to…
-
6.6 million methamphetamine pills seized after car chase in Chiang Rai
Soldiers arrested a drug courier carrying 6.6 million methamphetamine pills in the northern province of Chiang Rai early yesterday morning. One army general says the SUV drove through a military checkpoint at 2:30am. The driver disobeyed the signal to stop for a search. Soldiers at the checkpoint chased the vehicle, eventually catching and arresting the driver. They then searched the…
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.