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.

  • British man with a machete in Chiang Mai temple arrested

    British man with a machete in Chiang Mai temple arrested

    A British man was arrested in Chiang Mai after brandishing a machete at Wat Eranthawan, a temple in the south of the northern city. Clive George Davidson was arrested by police after a stand-off while taking him into custody and is being charged with multiple crimes. CCTV footage shows 50 year old Davidson getting out of his car and pacing…

  • Covid-19 delivers another brutal quarter for airlines

    Covid-19 delivers another brutal quarter for airlines

    As the Covid-19 pandemic drags on, airlines experienced another terrible quarter, with less passengers and less revenue year-on-year. The president of Bangkok Airways reported dismal numbers saying that the airline is adjusting its flight plans to try to match the depressed market. Only 151,900 travellers flew on Bangkok Airways in the first quarter of 2021, an 88.5% drop over last…

  • Thai company offers travel packages to the US with Covid-19 vaccine included

    Thai company offers travel packages to the US with Covid-19 vaccine included

    With the recent wave of Covid-19 hitting record highs and increasing the demand for vaccines, some Thais are looking to get inoculated overseas. There are now tour packages which include a Covid-19 vaccination. The company Unithai Trip is now advertising trips from Thailand to the United States that include a Covid-19 vaccine. Starting at $2,300 USD, travellers can go on…

  • Despite a better performance in first quarter, Thailand’s GDP may not impress in second

    Despite a better performance in first quarter, Thailand’s GDP may not impress in second

    Despite performing better than predicted in the first quarter, Thailand’s gross domestic product may not be as impressive in the second quarter. As the first quarter saw a contraction of 2.6% year on year, analysts say the contraction was better than predicted. Now, an Oxford Economics report says the recent third wave in Covid-19 may prevent the GDP from seeing…

  • Thai PM puts a halts to walk-in vaccine registrations

    Thai PM puts a halts to walk-in vaccine registrations

    Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is putting a halt on walk-in services for vaccines, causing worry among foreigners as to when they will be able to receive a Covid-19 vaccine. The news has confused those who were following the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s announcements that stated foreign residents will be able to take part in the government’s mass vaccination program. But…

  • Australian arrested in southern Thailand on suspicion of international criminal activity

    Australian arrested in southern Thailand on suspicion of international criminal activity

    Officers from the Royal Thai Armed Forces have arrested an Australian national in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat on suspicion of international criminal activity. 47 year old Samuel James Norton Cook was arrested when his Toyota car was stopped in the Nai Muang sub-district on Monday night. Security force officers cooperating with immigration officials and the local police…

  • 20 people arrested at Pattaya restaurant for allegedly violating alcohol ban

    20 people arrested at Pattaya restaurant for allegedly violating alcohol ban

    Police in Pattaya arrested 20 people last night at a local restaurant where alcohol was reportedly being sold. While Chon Buri recently eased disease control restrictions, now allowing restaurants in the province to offer dine-in services again, alcohol sales and consumption at restaurants are still prohibited. Saewana restaurant was raided at around 11pm last night by officers from Pattaya and…

  • Man arrested for allegedly exchanging fake US bills for 1.2 million baht

    Man arrested for allegedly exchanging fake US bills for 1.2 million baht

    A man was arrested in Bangkok for allegedly exchanging counterfeit foreign bank notes at a currency exchange kiosk, taking off with 1.2 million baht. Police say Thanat Amatawimut, a 42 year old building contractor, exchanged 360 fake $100 USD bills for 1.2 million baht at a kiosk in Bangkok back in 2019. The staff accepted the cash, but later realised…

  • British tourists come forward about being attacked on Koh Tao in 2013

    British tourists come forward about being attacked on Koh Tao in 2013

    Many continue to contend that Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, the 2 Burmese young men convicted for the 2014 murder of 2 tourists on Koh Tao’s Sairee Beach, are innocent. Now 2 tourists who were attacked on the same beach, just a year before the murder, are now coming forward to help prove that the conviction could have been unreliable.…

  • UPDATE: 2 Americans and a Thai arrested over Bangkok kidnap attempt, Thai policeman involved | VIDEO

    UPDATE: 2 Americans and a Thai arrested over Bangkok kidnap attempt, Thai policeman involved | VIDEO

    Edited June 10 Screenshot: THAICRIME UPDATE: Following up from the earlier story involving 2 Americans, a Thai, a Taiwanese businessman, and an Israeli security goon, we have the following update (original story below)… Police have examined CCTV from the restaurant in Thong Lor where the Taiwanese businessman was allegedly kidnapped. It’s also been revealed that a “senior Thai policeman” was involved…

  • British health secretary tells Brits to bypass Thailand for summer holidays

    British health secretary tells Brits to bypass Thailand for summer holidays

    The British health secretary is telling Brits to bypass countries that are labelled amber, like Thailand, for their summer holidays. Matt Hancock, says those countries labelled by the government’s traffic lights travel guide include Italy, France, Spain, Greece, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. The colours denote the Covid situation in each country. He says, instead, for Brits to vacation at home…

  • Phuket police search for foreigners who were seen drinking beer at a restaurant

    Phuket police search for foreigners who were seen drinking beer at a restaurant

    Phuket officials are serious about disease control orders banning parties and gatherings with friends, especially when alcohol is involved. They’re so serious, that apparently they’re searching for 4 foreigners who were seen drinking beers at a restuarant in Rawai. Police raided the restaurant yesterday at a complaint from a woman who works for the local district office. She was out…

  • 3 men arrested over Bangkok kidnap attempt

    3 men arrested over Bangkok kidnap attempt

    Thai police have arrested 2 US citizens and a Thai for the alleged kidnap of a Taiwanese businessman for ransom. 5 other arrest warrants are also waiting to be executed over the incident. Police allege a “business conflict” over the purchase of plastic ‘nitrile’ gloves as the motive. The 3 men have been identified as 41 year old Jeremy Hughes…

  • Priceless Buddha statue stolen in March found at a bus stop

    Priceless Buddha statue stolen in March found at a bus stop

    In Lop Buri’s Tha Wung district, a rare Buddha statue went on a mysterious and strange trip having been stolen in March and just found at a bus stop nearby. The statue was stolen from a local museum in the Central Thailand province at the beginning of March and was spotted yesterday morning sitting at a bus stop. The statue…

  • Thai public health and tourism ministers on Phuket to push the July 1 Sandbox reopening

    Thai public health and tourism ministers on Phuket to push the July 1 Sandbox reopening

    Bangkok has sent a couple of ministerial heavyweights to Phuket today to keep pushing the July 1 ‘Sandbox’ bandwagon, insisting that Phuket will open to fully vaccinated tourists from July 1. The Deputy PM and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul ,along with the Sports and Tourism Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, are doing the island PR tour today delivering a message from…

  • Phuket may ditch light rail and build smart bus system instead

    Phuket may ditch light rail and build smart bus system instead

    A proposal to drop the light rail planned for Phuket and replace it with a smart bus system is under an in-depth review as ordered by Phuket Transport Minister. Advocates for the smart bus – automated driverless buses on city streets – say that the project would bring mass transportation to Phuket Island for 15.2 billion baht cheaper than a…

  • Keeping hopes alive – Feeding the people of Phuket | VIDEO

    Keeping hopes alive – Feeding the people of Phuket | VIDEO

    To make contact with Shaun or his team, go to their Facebook page, follow the progress of the project and contact them if you can help. https://www.facebook.com/5StarMarinePhuket After a year of zero foreign tourism, the Thai island of Phuket is now at a critical juncture. There are hundreds of thousands of people, previously employed or sustained from the tourist industry,…

  • Market down as good US economy drives interest rate fears

    Market down as good US economy drives interest rate fears

    After US inflation exceeded targets and increased 4%, global stock markets including Thailand plummeted yesterday with fears of rising interest rates. Almost 144 billion baht was traded yesterday with the market at one point diving down 70 points in the late afternoon before recovering to a 23.72 point loss, closing at 1548.13. 2% is a high rate of inflation so…

  • Is Thailand the best country for digital nomads?

    Is Thailand the best country for digital nomads?

    Is Thailand the best country in the world for digital nomads? Some think so. The French travel and tourism operator Club Med recently did a study and found that Thailand tops the list of best countries for digital nomads with Phuket as the number one ‘city’ to live in while working remotely. (We acknowledge that Phuket can hardly be regarded…

  • Krabi police search for 3 murder suspects after body and car found buried at plantation

    Krabi police search for 3 murder suspects after body and car found buried at plantation

    Police in Krabi are searching for 3 brothers suspected of shooting a man before dousing his body in acid and setting him on fire. The body of 54 year old Suchart Khaoluan was found buried in a rubber plantation after he was reported missing for 2 weeks. Suchart had been missing since May 3. One of the suspects, 32 year…

  • Bank of Thailand announcing 3rd phase case-by-case debt aid

    Bank of Thailand announcing 3rd phase case-by-case debt aid

    Today the Bank of Thailand will announce the third phase of their plan to reduce debt strain on people affected by the third wave of Covid-19. The phase is part of a continued effort to help individual borrowers cope with their debts by implementing restructuring measures. Financial aid is planned to be given to those in need after evaluation on…

  • Inmate escapes from hospital in Rayong after Covid-19 test, arrested in Chanthaburi

    Inmate escapes from hospital in Rayong after Covid-19 test, arrested in Chanthaburi

    Still dressed in a hospital gown, a prison inmate hopped on a motorbike and fled a hospital in Rayong after being tested for Covid-19. He was arrested in the neighbouring province Chanthaburi and now faces theft charges for stealing the motorbike. The results from his Covid-19 test have not been released. Thailand has reported numerous Covid-19 outbreaks at prisons in…

  • PM representatives file police complaint against Thai singer and government critic

    PM representatives file police complaint against Thai singer and government critic

    Representatives of Thai PM, Prayut Chan-o-cha, have filed a police complaint against the Thai singer Suthipong Tadpitakkul, aka, “Heart”. Suthipong has criticised the government’s vaccine procurement plan, a move that has led to accusations of violating the Computer Crime Act and Thailand’s strict lèse majesté law. The PM’s lawyer, Apiwat Kanthong, and his assistant minister, Seksakon Atthawong (aka “Rambo Isan”)…

  • Tourism authority downgrades domestic tourism forecast

    Tourism authority downgrades domestic tourism forecast

    The third wave of Covid-19 has led the Tourism Authority of Thailand to cut its forecast for domestic tourism for this year. The TAT was already forced to cut its goal at the end of April from 160 million trips to 100 – 200 million, as a result of the resurgence of the virus over the Songkran period. During the…

  • Lungtoo, A PM Prayut-themed Thai meme crypto, debuts

    Lungtoo, A PM Prayut-themed Thai meme crypto, debuts

    For those looking to get into the cryptocurrency craze in the shadiest way possible while also offending the Thai government, the perfect option now exists. Say hello to Lungtoo, the newest meme crypto be making its way through the Thai blockchain community. The name is pronounced like the Thai translation of Uncle Tuu, the affectionate nickname given to PM Prayut…

  • Phuket woman impaled by steel rod in motorbike accident

    Phuket woman impaled by steel rod in motorbike accident

    Police were called to the scene of a gruesome motorbike accident just after midnight in the Kathu area of Phuket, where a woman was impaled by a steel rod. The 34 year old woman crashed her motorbike into a concrete power pole on Wichit Songkram Rd between the Kathu Shrine and Kathu Municipality. rescue workers responded, and together with police,…

  • This Saturday marks the first day of Thailand’s rainy season

    This Saturday marks the first day of Thailand’s rainy season

    Saturday, May 15, Thailand will mark the official start of the 2021 rainy season, with 5 to 10% more rainfall expected compared to last year. The Thai Meteorological Department says the first half of the rainy season, from now until July, the total amount of rain is expected to be 10% more than the average, while the second half of the…

  • Activist who was denied bail tests positive for Covid-19 in jail

    Activist who was denied bail tests positive for Covid-19 in jail

    Activist leader Panupong Jadnok, or Mike, has tested positive for Covid-19 while remaining in jail after the Criminal Court has denied his requests for bail. The news, according to Noraset Nanongtoom, his lawyer, is that now Panupong will ask the Criminal Court to consider a bail request by video conference. If granted, he would be released and able to be…

  • “Penguin” publishes letter 1 day after being granted bail, says hunger strike is over

    “Penguin” publishes letter 1 day after being granted bail, says hunger strike is over

    Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak, a student activist who was charged with violating Section 112 of Thailand’s Criminal Code, or lese majeste, has penned his first letter after being released on bail Tuesday. He calls it “Letter of Freedom,” and says more will come. He published the letter 1 day after being released on bail, or May 12. He has also announced…

  • TAT looks forward to welcoming 129,000 foreign tourists to Phuket

    TAT looks forward to welcoming 129,000 foreign tourists to Phuket

    The Tourism Authority of Thailand says it expects 129,000 tourists to arrive on the southern island of Phuket in the first 3 months of its re-opening. Officials still insist the island will re-open for quarantine-free travel for vaccinated foreign tourists from July 1. And according to the Bangkok Post, the TAT also plans to team up with airlines to offer…