News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond. The Thaiger delivers the latest national news that matters.
-
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...
-
UPDATE: Salman Rushdie on ventilator, details on stabber emerge
UPDATE Fearless writer Salman Rushdie has sustained some very serious injuries after a man stabbed him yesterday at a speech he gave in New York. The attacker stabbed the 75 year old wordsmith in his neck and torso. Rushdie is now on a ventilator at a hospital, and unable to speak. Rushdie’s agent says his liver is damaged, nerves in…
-
Campaign to get international training for Thai teen declared record sprinter
One young Thai athlete is giving the kingdom a new reason to be proud. World Athletics has declared a Thai teenager the fastest 100 metre sprinter in the world at under 18 years old. The 16 year old boy, Puripol Boonson, recorded 10.09 seconds in a 100 metre sprint, and 20.19 seconds in a 200 metre sprint, at the World…
-
Royal birthdays bring over 100,000 royal prison pardons
To celebrate two royal birthdays, His Royal Majesty King Vajiralongkorn and Her Majesty Queen Mother Sirikit, over 100,000 people in Thai prison have received some level of clemency. HM the King celebrated his 70th birthday this year on July 28 and yesterday the Queen Mother celebrated her 90th birthday. In total 103,613 incarcerated people received a royal pardon, according to…
-
The Voice Behind the World’s Top Brands ft. Krit Tone Sukawat | Thaiger Podcast Ep.2
Krit Tone Sukkawat, you might not be familiar with his face, but if you have ever gone to a cinema in Thailand, or have watched the first 5 seconds of any car commercial on youtube then you have definitely heard him. He is one of Thailand’s bilingual top voice artists. He has done voice overs commercials for the world’s top…
-
Author Salman Rushdie stabbed at New York lecture
Booker Prize winning author Salman Rushdie has been attacked on stage in New York City. The 75 year old writer was speaking at an event at the Chautauqua Institution when a male suspect ran up onto the stage and attacked Rushdie and an interviewer. Rushdie was stabbed in the neck before he was rushed to hospital by helicopter His condition…
-
Daily trains begin between Malaysian border and Bangkok
With Covid-19 policies winding down in Thailand, many expats may be faced once again with the dreaded border runs that many types of visas require. A little good news though – the State Railway of Thailand is adding two new trains running from Bangkok to the popular Malaysian border crossing town of Padang Besar. The route kicked off yesterday. Last…
-
Virologist predicts most of Thailand will have had Covid by 2023
If avoiding the coronavirus feels futile at this point, maybe it is. According to one of the country’s top virologists, by about the end of this year, nearly everyone in Thailand will have been infected with Covid-19. The chief of the Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology at the Department of Paediatrics of Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Medicine Yong Poovorawan…
-
Bangkok gets 20 new electric buses next week
Finally, some good news for commuters as the government delivers its promise to introduce electric buses in Bangkok a week tomorrow. Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob yesterday announced that the department plans to introduce 20 electric buses for Line No 2-38, previously known as the No. 8 route from Memorial Bridge to Happy Land. Saksayam revealed the buses will start operating…
-
Foreigner faces prison for Parrotfishing in Thailand
The foreigner seen parrotfishing in the sea off Thailand is facing a five-year prison sentence and a 20,000 baht fine if he is caught. A TikTok video clip of the man emerged on social media yesterday with three parrotfishes, one moray eel, and two other unidentified fish in Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park in Krabi province, causing…
-
Woman escapes death after car hit by fallen debris in Bangkok
Contractors face a heavy compensation claim after a woman escaped death when some loose tarpaulin smashed into the car she was driving in Bangkok’s Bang Khunthien district. The woman, Thichakorn Photalay, was driving down Rama II Road to her home in Samut Sakhon’s Mahachai area last night when a large piece of tarpaulin full of rainwater fell off an expressway…
-
Thai paramilitary ranger kills two, injures one after row in bar
A Thai paramilitary ranger faces prison after killing two people and injuring one after a row broke out in the early hours of this morning in a bar in the Muang district in the southern border province. The 25 year old ranger, Hadchaicharn (surname withheld), shot and killed one man, stabbed a woman to death, and shot and injured another…
-
Unexplained plane mysteriously sitting in a field in Bali
In a strange story out of Bali, locals are trying to figure out the origin of a Boeing 737 plane that appeared in a field. The abandoned plane mysteriously showed up in a field in a limestone quarry by Pandawa Beach, a popular beach on the posh southern tip of the island. So far no one has come forward to…
-
Anupong says he will leave government with PM Prayut & Prawit
If the Constitutional Court decides, as many polled believe, that PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s eight years in charge are at an end, Minister of Interior Anupong Paochinda says that he and Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan would also depart the government. The trio sometimes referred to as the Three Por Generals or the 3 Ps have run the country since the…
-
Thailand’s economy grows but it still misses China’s cash
A new poll revealed Thailand’s economy grew at its fastest in a year over the last quarter but the kingdom’s outlook is still threatened by the high cost of living and China’s decision to maintain a zero-Covid-19 policy. The Thai economy grew largely because of tourism and the government’s decision to relax entry rules into Thailand such as the Thai…
-
‘Democracy Must Go On:’ Protestors have three demands for Thailand’s government
Hundreds of pro-democracy demonstrators gathered at the Naga Courtyard at Thammasat University’s Rangsit campus in Pathum Thani province, central Thailand, yesterday to join a peaceful rally hosted by the student council entitled ‘Democracy Must Go On.’ Protestors demand three things from the Thai government… Resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha A people’s constitution Reformation of the monarchy under a democratic…
-
Phuket officials say no human trafficking cases found in island province
Thailand is notorious for its human trafficking problems, but a Phuket government sub-committee says it has found no human trafficking cases on the island province. The sub-committee works with the Phuket Provincial Trafficking Prevention and Suppression Action Center. At a meeting at City Hall yesterday, Phuket’s vice governor said the sub-committee’s efforts are focusing on five key areas of human…
-
Hong Kong seizes 20 million baht of heroin hidden in Thai kickboxing pads
The Customs Office of Hong Kong proved it packs a punch when it seized 20 million baht of heroin hidden in kickboxing pads imported from Thailand and arrested a 40 year old man in the process. The government of Hong Kong reported yesterday that 5 kilograms of heroin, worth about 20 million baht, were seized at Chek Lap Kok International…
-
Nigerian and Vietnamese couple found dead linked to drug trade
The two foreign nationals found buried in a forest in northeast Thailand last month might have been linked to the drug trade, according to the national police. The couple, a 38 year old Nigerian man and a 33 year old Vietnamese woman was found buried in a forest in Nakhon Ratchasima province on July 28. Today, Thailand’s national police chief…
-
Thailand workers could earn over 100,000 baht in Saudi Arabia
Workers can expect to earn monthly salaries of over 100,000 baht when Saudi Arabia opens its doors to Thailand later this year Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin made it known yesterday that Thailand has agreed to fill the skilled and semi-skilled workers’ void in Saudi Arabia after the kingdoms patched up a 30-year feud. Saudi Arabia cut trade and diplomatic ties…
-
Free noodles for beach cleaners after Pattaya Music Festival mess
Music festivals are fun, but they often create heaps of trash. One Pattaya noodle vendor felt sympathy for some beach cleaners dealing with the mess from the Pattaya Music Festival this past weekend. So she decided to treat them to her noodles for free. The vendor, 51 year old Walaiphan, said she saw how hard everyone was working to clean…
-
CCSA to give thumbs up to 4am licensing in Thailand next week
The Tourism and Sports Minister yesterday revealed the department needs Centre of Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) approval before it can extend licensing hours from 2am to 4am. Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn acknowledged that many people don’t want opening hours extended across the country but the minister insists it is necessary for the greater economic good of Thailand. The extended entertainment hours apply…
-
Lots of Hong Kongers are searching for flights to Bangkok
Lots of Hong Kongers have been searching for flights to Bangkok ever since their government announced fewer quarantine days on Monday. From now on, people travelling to Hong Kong will only be required to quarantine in a hotel for three nights, down from seven. The day the government announced this, flight searches out of the territory jumped by 290%, and…
-
Bangkok No.1 in Asia-Pacific for MICE destinations
A report by a consulting firm in international conferences ranked Bangkok as the No.1 place in the Asia-Pacific region for its power to leverage its knowledge leaders in international associations to attract international conventions. Australia-based GainingEdge released its latest report on “Leveraging Intellectual Capital” which shows that Bangkok has local knowledge leaders dominating positions on the boards of 194 international associations and that…
-
Covid-19 “hospitel” isolation in Thailand to end September 1
One option for Covid-19 patients with no or mild symptoms in Thailand is to check into a hotel designated for Covid-19 isolation, known as a “hospitel,” but not for much longer. The remaining “hospitels” are set to change back to regular hotels on September 1, according to the Director-General of the Department of Health Service Support Dr Thares Krasaniyarawiwong. The…
-
UPDATE: Chon Buri police couldn’t find victim of car crash… on the back seat
UPDATE The Director of the Inter-City Motorway Division, Highway Department, Thanasak Wongthanakijcharoen, defended his highway officers after they were criticised for their slapstick approach to a car crash investigation which couldn’t find the body of the dead driver in the rear of the vehicle. The director said his team didn’t look for the driver’s corpse because it is a department…
-
Pre-op trans men’s anger after Bangkok breast removal broker scams them out 4 million baht
Five pre-op transgender men approached a lawyer for help after a breast removal surgery broker scammed them out of 4 million baht. The born females who identify as men are just five of about 25 to have made complaints about the broker, a transgender man, who took their money, and booked surgery but did not pay the clinic for the…
-
Opposition to Thailand govt hosting former Sri Lanka president
The former president of Sri Lanka, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, is expected to travel from Singapore to Thailand today to seek temporary shelter. But an international relations expert suggests the Thai government shouldn’t host an official ceremony to welcome the ex-leader as the issue is politically sensitive. The 73 year old Rajapaksa was pressured to leave his position as president of Sri…
-
UPDATE: Sri Lanka’s exiled president allowed temporary Thailand stay, with conditions
UPDATE Sri Lanka’s exiled president Gotabaya Rajapaksa will be allowed to stay in Thailand for 90 days, according to Thailand’s Deputy PM Don Pramudwinai. Don is also Thailand’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. Don told Thai media that he understands Sri Lankans are angry at their former president, and he stressed that Gotabaya will only be allowed to stay for a…
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.