Thailand News
Discover the most recent and relevant news from across Thailand on The Thaiger’s National News page. Covering a wide range of topics, including politics, business, crime, and lifestyle, our dedicated team brings you breaking news, in-depth analysis, and exclusive stories from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.
Stay informed about the latest developments in Thai society, economy, and culture, as well as updates on travel, tourism, and expat life. With The Thaiger, you’ll never miss out on the essential news that matters to you.
-
Sponsored How to choose the perfect family-friendly property in Phuket
Phuket has long attracted visitors from around the globe with its golden beach and lush green hills. Many come for a holiday and leave captivated, often deciding they want a piece of the island for themselves. That’s why, despite fluctuations...
-
Butt out on 24 Thai beaches
Officials on Thursday began strictly enforcing a ban on smoking on beaches, with offenders facing a possible year in prison and a 100,000 baht fine. The Marine and Coastal Resources Department announced a strict ban on smoking at 24 beaches in 15 provinces to begin with. The aim is to protect the environment, such as by reducing the number of…
-
Thaiger Today February 1
Smoking ban enforcement starts today | Yingluck’s assets seized | British Embassy sold in BKK for record amount | Lunar eclipse put on a show, but not in Phuket | ‘Last kiss’ for French and Thai murder plotters | Government uses strategic lawsuits to quell dissent.
-
A very ‘Thai’ blood moon
Residents of Bangkok enjoyed the rare sight of a super blue blood moon rising in the sky on Wednesday. The event was unique because it combined a lunar eclipse, a blue moon (when a second full moon occurs in a single month) and a Super Moon (with the moon at its closest orbit around the earth). It’s been a long…
-
Activists report Thepa power plant concerns to UN
Representatives of the Thepa coal-fired power plant opposition group went to the UN offices in Bangkok yesterday to report their concerns about the project. The group also emphasised in a statement that it would continue its prolonged peaceful demonstration in front of Government House every day until the government definitively revokes the 2,200 megawatt coal-fired power plant project in Songkhla’s…
-
Frenchman confesses to murdering Italian love rival. Re-enactment yesterday.
The much publicised murder of an Italian man, in which his Thai ex-wife and her French boyfriend have been implicated, apparently has been solved after police said the Frenchman had confessed to the killing. Pol Colonel Chaisathien Maneechak, from Bung Nara Police Station in Phichit province, said French national 34 year old Rigaux Amaury had confessed to stabbing to death…
-
Drug arrest in Yala links to bigger network
Police announced on Tuesday the arrest the previous day of a local man in Yala’s Muang district and seized 30,000 “yaba” amphetamine pills valued at 2.4 million baht on the street and said they would continue to investigate to apprehend the man’s accomplices. Yala police chief Pol Maj-General Krisada Kaewchandee told a press conference that police had arrested a rubber-tapper…
-
Thai woman, French boyfriend blame each other for Italian’s murder
A Thai woman and her French boyfriend have turned on each other after their arrests, with each blaming the other for the murder of the woman’s Italian ex-husband. 38 year old Rujira Eiumlamai told police after her arrest yesterday that she was innocent of the murder, saying it had been perpetrated by her French boyfriend, 34 year old Rigaux Amaury…
-
The final search – ‘Ocean Infinity’ looks for MH370
Just days after efforts to find Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 kicked back into gear, details have emerged on the man behind what has been called the “final” search for the missing aircraft. The private company Ocean Infinity has begun a 90 day search for MH370. After several failed attempts to locate the missing Boeing 777, the latest attempt by the…
-
Workers seek help after ‘false promise’ of jobs in Australia
Fourteen workers in Chaiyaphum filed complaints with police on Monday stating that they had been cheated by a man who charged them money based on a promise to find them jobs in Australia. The workers filed the complaint at Muang Chaiyaphum Police Station at 9.30am, with the acting Chaiyaphum job-placement officer, Thawatchai Upanan, receiving the complaints at the station. The…
-
Back to the future. Democrats looking over their shoulder for election candidate.
By SOMROUTAI SAPSOMBOON The future of Chuan Leekpai, the Democrat Party’s chief adviser and former leader, is the subject of speculation as some muse that he will return as its chief ahead of the next general election. The speculation stems from two separate assumptions – that the Democrats and the Pheu Thai Party may join forces to prevent the junta’s…
-
The guessing game. Weaving an election strategy.
The government’s most senior figures – the prime minister and his first deputy – have sent conflicting signals as to when the next general election will be held. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha said during his trip to India yesterday that he acknowledged the possibility of an election delay following the passage of the revised MPs election bill. But he said the…
-
THAIGER TODAY Friday, January 26
Latest announcements about Smart Visa | Re-enactment of Israeli mob hit in Samui | 3 road deaths on Patak Road, Karon in 24 hours | Police raid illegal hostels in Koh Pha Ngan | Monster drug haul in BKK | Bans on catching and eating seahorses AND official bans on smoking on some Thai beaches starts next week.
-
Six illegal ‘foreign-owned’ hostels closed on Koh Pha Ngan
Troops and police arrested two foreigners and four Thais on Wednesday for allegedly running six hostels without licence on the tourist destination Koh Pha Ngan in Surat Thani province. A Dutch man and an Italian man were arrested and charged with operating hotels without licence and carrying out business prohibited to aliens. The four Thais were charged with acting as…
-
THAIGER TODAY Thursday, January 25
THAIGER TODAY, Thursday, January 25…. The ‘S’ word in Bangkok | Why can’t our taxis work like this? | AIDS levels dropping in ASEAN | PM pleads with media to drop Prawit ‘chatter’ | Charged Israeli mobsters heading to Samui to recreate crime | Philippines volcano sparks evacuations.
-
UPDATE: Prawit “not obliged to declare assets”
Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan would not be required to declare his extravagant watch collection as assets under the anti-graft law if the watches did not belong to him, National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) secretary-general Worawit Sukboon said yesterday. At an NACC press briefing yesterday, Worawit said that if the watches belonged to Prawit, he would have to explain when he…
-
Tight security in Samui for re-enactment of Israeli hit-and-run attack
Two Israelis accused of killing a compatriot on Koh Samui will re-enact the alleged crime on Sunday surrounded by dozens of heavily armed police. 24 year old Dolev Zuarez and 26 year old Eval Bokal were arrested at Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport about five hours after they allegedly killed 34 year old Maor Mallil and injured his girlfriend, Rashel Oshana,…
-
Thailand’s Kane Shepherd setting the pace in the Formula Gulf Academy
Held at the billion dollar facility built on Yas Island specifically to host Abu Dhabi’s Formula One World Championship Grand Prix events, Rounds 3 & 4 were dominated by one of Thailand’s most promising young racing drivers, Kane Shepherd. Kane, who is also contesting the SEA F4 championship, was back in the UAE to gain valuable coaching from Formula Gulf…
-
Thailand’s opium cultivation “down by 40%”
The cultivation of opium is on the decline in Thailand, but the illegal practice persists in several northern districts, the Office of the Narcotics Control Board reported this week. Secretary-general Sirinya Sitdhichai cited remote rural highlands in Chiang Mai’s Om Koi, Mae Taeng and Chiang Dao districts and in Tak’s Umphang, Mae Ramat and Tha Song Yang districts as places…
-
THAIGER TODAY Tuesday, January 23
3 killed and many more injured in latest Yala bombing | Another bus with Chinese tourists ends up in a road ditch in Chiang Mai | Later on the Israeli mob hit on Samui | Central Pattana introduce cashless technology at 4,000 stores | Bullets flying in Hat Yai yesterday | Exports up 9.9% over past 12 months.
-
UPDATE: “Gangland revenge.” Brutal murder of an Israeli man on Chaweng Beach
By Supachai Petchathevee Revenge appears to be the motive in the brutal murder of an Israeli man by his two compatriots on Koh Samui Island on Sunday. 24 year old Dolev Zuarez and 26 year old Eval Bokal were arrested at Don Mueang airport in Bangkok about five hours after they allegedly killed 34 year old Maor Mallil and injured…
-
Two Israelis arrested over suspected mob hit in Samui
Two Israeli men were arrested at Don Muang International Airport on Sunday night for allegedly stabbing to death a fellow Israeli and seriously injuring his girlfriend on Koh Samui earlier in the day. Police said 24 year old Dolev Zuarez and 26 year old Eval Bokal were arrested soon after arriving at the airport at 9.30pm. They had flown to…
-
Moto GP will generate 1 billion baht for Thailand
Sports Authority of Thailand Governor Sakon Wannapong says more than 1 billion baht will be generated by the PTT Thailand motorcycling Grand Prix at the Buri Ram International Circuit this October. The SAT boss said a huge income would be generated during the competition between October 5-7 in the northeastern province. Thailand has a three-year-contract to host the MotoGP and must pay around 400…
-
UK to shift visa approvals from Bangkok to New Delhi
United Kingdom Visa and Immigration (UKVI) will relocate its visa approval centre from Bangkok to New Delhi, starting in June this year. The move is part of UKVI’s longstanding global strategy to modernise its visa operations and consolidate visa decision-making in large regional hubs, said a press release issued by the British Embassy to Thailand on Friday. There will be…
-
THAIGER TODAY Friday, January 19
Chinese swimmer drowns off Karon Beach | Police raid of BKK pub over late 4am closing time | Prawit promises free airing of World Cup games in Thailand | Workers get a new minimum wage | Enormous drug/assets haul from 59 locations. Plus the weekend’s forecast.
-
The big three. 2018 elections for Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia.
In 2018 there will be three elections in our immediate region – the much-predicted (and confirmed by the Thai PM) Thai election, another in Cambodia and one in Malaysia. All have their very local versions of democracy which will shape the outcomes. All are vital tests for the region’s fragile democracies. Cambodia Cambodia’s national elections are scheduled for July 29.…
-
THAIGER TODAY Thursday, January 18
Fire destroys two motorbike shops near Surakul Stadium | Two Russians robbed of their Bitcoin in condo raid | Governor urges better supervision of boat safety by marine office | DSI dismiss their raid on Bangkok brothel is politically motivated | Thailand’s sex trade valued at over 200 billion baht | Krabi council calls for limit on numbers at Maya…
-
THAIGER TODAY Wednesday, January 17
Second boat incident in three days | Prawit’s offering to resign if found guilty of ‘wrongdoing’ | Smart Visa details | Krabi and Thepa coal plants ‘still happening’ | PM puts hold on cannabis crops | Tax breaks for Thai families having babies.
-
Smart visa available from February 1
The Thai Cabinet has approved a new “smart visa” to lure specialists to work in 10 targeted industries. Applications for the smart visa will begin on February 1. Kobsak Pootrakool, minister of the Prime Minister’s Office, said the targeted industries included Thai-based industries known as the First S-Curve and new industries dubbed the New S-Curve. First S-Curve industries include next-generation…
-
THAIGER TODAY Monday, January 15
Chinese tourists recovering after boat explosion near Phi Phi | Ban for hydrogen-filled balloons | Human trafficking investigation at Victoria Secret massage parlour in BKK | Jail-break at remand centre in Songkhla | Jealous husband murders wife | Monkey cheeks being installed near Saphan Hin to help with floods
-
Confidence in teachers survey – Thai Teacher Day tomorrow
Many of us are involved in education, either directly or indirectly, here on the island. Many expats work with schools, many of us have children attending schools and others work in association with school activities or have partners in the local education system. Tomorrow is Thai Teacher Day and a new survey has come out reflecting what people think about…
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.