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.

  • “Big Joke” says he needs 2 more days to catch Pattaya pool villa gunmen | Thaiger

    “Big Joke” says he needs 2 more days to catch Pattaya pool villa gunmen

    UPDATE The Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn, says he needs just two more days to catch the five gunmen who allegedly opened fire at a Pattaya pool villa yesterday morning. Surachate visited the scene of the crime yesterday and reviewed CCTV footage. He said he already knew the identities of the gunmen, and they…

  • Centi-millionaires: how rich is REALLY rich? | Thaiger

    Centi-millionaires: how rich is REALLY rich?

    Are you rich? Super rich? The world’s first global study on the ultra-rich found a surprising amount of centi-millionaires – people with more than US$100 million in investible assets. A startling 25,490 of these super wealthy and powerful people pepper the globe. The number of heirs, CEOs, tech gurus and finance moguls worth over $100 million doubled amid a period…

  • Brand Shinawatra – choice of a new generation? | Thaiger

    Brand Shinawatra – choice of a new generation?

    In today’s Bangkok Post, former senator and member of the National Reform Council Prasarn Marukpitak looks forward to the forthcoming election with still more than six months to go. According to Prasarn, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, youngest daughter of Thaksin, is increasingly popular, far more so than ageing veterans such as Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. Pheu Thai is now loudly protesting that…

  • New Zealand gangster arrested in central Thailand | Thaiger

    New Zealand gangster arrested in central Thailand

    A gangster from New Zealand was arrested in central Thailand early this morning, after being on the run from the FBI and New Zealand Police. A New Zealand Police inspector confirmed to the New Zealand Herald that the gangster was arrested in Samut Prakan province in a joint operation with New Zealand Police, the FBI, and the Thai police. The…

  • Naked women on fishing trip ads surrender to police | Thaiger

    Naked women on fishing trip ads surrender to police

    UPDATE The two women featured naked in a sexy fishing trip advert in the Bang Saray sub-district in Chon Buri surrendered themselves to the police. The women said they only did it to gain followers on social media, adding they do not offer sex services or fishing trips. The two women visited Sattahip Police Station today after their post went…

  • The best non-invasive medical procedure in Phuket | Thaiger

    The best non-invasive medical procedure in Phuket

    Nowadays, less invasive cosmetic procedures can give similar results to invasive procedures. Hence, they’re becoming more and more popular. For those who don’t want to undergo invasive surgery, many minimally-invasive and non-invasive procedures are available. Not only do these procedures have little to no downtime, but they can also give similar results to the more invasive options. Hence, they’re growing…

  • Luxury yacht halts Bangkok traffic as Krungthep Bridge opens | Thaiger

    Luxury yacht halts Bangkok traffic as Krungthep Bridge opens

    Drivers were understandably miffed as a huge traffic jam built up when the Krungthep Bridge in Bangkok opened to let a boat through. It is common for the bridge to open a handful of times each month, but usually to let through a big vessel belonging to the Royal Thai Navy. This time though, cars along Rama III Road were…

  • Missing 50 million baht is a misunderstanding, says govt | Thaiger

    Missing 50 million baht is a misunderstanding, says govt

    UPDATE The Thai government says there has been a misunderstanding about the missing 50 million baht promised to tobacco farmers. The money is still in government coffers and would be distributed to tobacco farmers as promised by May next year. Last week, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha urged Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan and relevant departments to investigate the missing 50…

  • New species of crab discovered in mountains of southern Thailand | Thaiger

    New species of crab discovered in mountains of southern Thailand

    On Friday, a team of Thai scientists published the discovery of a new species of freshwater crab living high up in the mountains of southern Thailand. The striking maroon-red crustacean was discovered by Pan Yisin from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry, scientist Ruangrit Phromdam and their team. Pan and Ruangrit named the crab “Ajahn Sukri Red Ant Crab…

  • A rogue official arrested for issuing ID cards to migrants | Thaiger

    A rogue official arrested for issuing ID cards to migrants

    A rogue government official was arrested yesterday for illegally issuing Thai identification (ID) cards to more than 50 migrants in exchange for money at the San Sai District Office in Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai Governor Nirut Pongsitthaworn reported yesterday that the San Sai District Office hired a temporary officer to help out with document work. However, the officer turned out to…

  • Indonesian stadium to be demolished after stampede killed 133 | Thaiger

    Indonesian stadium to be demolished after stampede killed 133

    It has been announced that the Indonesian football stadium will be demolished after it became the venue of one of the deadliest tragedies ever to occur in a sports stadium. The pandemonium cost 133 people their lives at the beginning of this month, causing Indonesian President Joko Widodo to announce plans to tear down the stadium and rebuild it to FIFA international…

  • Israel reportedly scared Australia might recognise Palestinian state | Thaiger

    Israel reportedly scared Australia might recognise Palestinian state

    Israel is reportedly scared that Australia might recognise a Palestinian state. This news comes after Australia yesterday flip-flopped on its 2018 decision to recognise West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. An Israeli official has now linked Australia’s recent reversal to Israel’s concerns that the left-wing Australian government could follow up by recognizing a Palestinian state, The Times of Israel reported. The…

  • Chon Buri locals not hooked on agency’s naked fishing | Thaiger

    Chon Buri locals not hooked on agency’s naked fishing

    Fishing enthusiasts were hooked when a Chon Buri agency promoted a naked fishing trip on social media in the Bang Saray sub-district. Residents on the other hand were outraged. Angry Chon Buri locals are not happy with the unnamed agency shamelessly advertising fishing trips complete with naked women companions on Twitter. The naked fishing advertisement went viral when it was…

  • Mountain B victims demand investigation of state officials | Thaiger

    Mountain B victims demand investigation of state officials

    In the fallout of the Mountain B Pub fire tragedy, families of victims have filed charges against the club owners. But now they are expanding their litigation to include state officials who they say didn’t do their duty in allowing the pub to open illegally. The fire claimed the lives of 25 people in the months following the August 5…

  • Elderly monk starts barefoot journey around Thailand to raise money for hospital | Thaiger

    Elderly monk starts barefoot journey around Thailand to raise money for hospital

    An elderly Buddhist monk set off at 5am today on a 3,145 kilometre journey around Thailand. The 73 year old monk will walk barefoot from his temple in Songkhla province, southern Thailand, all the way to Chiang Rai in northernmost Thailand and on to his hometown in Nakhon Phanom province in the northeast. Luang Ta Bunchuen Panyawutho, of the Thai…

  • Urgent: Phuket Flood Relief, calling for donations! | Thaiger

    Urgent: Phuket Flood Relief, calling for donations!

    Press Release A coordinated effort from the Phuket Hotels Association with Living Waters Foundation starting today, 18th October, across the whole of Phuket to help all the people who have been affected by the flooding in Phuket. As of today over 100 meals have been donated from the Tourism Safety and Security Conference which is an event organised by the…

  • Locals search for missing crocs in northeast Thailand | Thaiger

    Locals search for missing crocs in northeast Thailand

    Residents of northeast Thailand’s Khon Kaen province are on the hunt for a pair of missing crocodiles in the main city district. The two missing crocs are part of a group of four that went missing from a flood-stricken farm. A team of locals led by the headman of Nong Tum sub-district found one croc in a paddy field earlier…

  • Engaged – Japanese driver reverses into ancient privvy | Thaiger

    Engaged – Japanese driver reverses into ancient privvy

    The front page of Tuesday’s UK Guardian features the sad story of Japan’s oldest toilet. A member of the Kyoto Heritage Preservation Association mistakenly reversed his car into the building’s 500-year-old bog door. The man damaged the communal toilet inside the Tofukuji temple in Kyoto when he crashed through the doors in reverse, ending up several metres inside the inconvenient…

  • 5 captives brainwashed by transwoman’s cult, 15 more victims file complaints | Thaiger

    5 captives brainwashed by transwoman’s cult, 15 more victims file complaints

    UPDATE A police investigation into the three women and two children held captive in a Bangkok condominium by a transwoman and her accomplice revealed they were brainwashed. More victims came forward after the story broke and filed complaints with the police against the suspects. The Commander of the Metro Police Detective Department, Teeradate Thamsutee, revealed more details about the case…

  • Lottery winner drinks himself to death in Pattaya | Thaiger

    Lottery winner drinks himself to death in Pattaya

    A Thai man went out drinking to celebrate winning the lottery but did not wake up the next day. He was found lying dead in his bedroom surrounded by bottles of liquor yesterday morning in Pattaya, Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand. Officers from Bang Lamung Police Station and rescue workers from Sawang Boriboon Foundation were called to a house in…

  • Flood warning issued for southern Thailand | Thaiger

    Flood warning issued for southern Thailand

    The Meteorological Department warns people in southern Thailand to be wary of heavy rainfall, flash flooding, and potential landslides over the next couple of days. Rain will continue in southern Thailand today until at least Saturday as an intense low-pressure cell covers the upper Andaman sea. Thunderstorms are expected in 70% of southeast Thailand today in Chumphon, Surat Thani, Nakhon…

  • Thai Cabinet approves 6.6 billion baht for bridges in South Thailand | Thaiger

    Thai Cabinet approves 6.6 billion baht for bridges in South Thailand

    Two upcoming bridge projects in South Thailand have had a budget approved for them. Thailand’s transport minister announced yesterday that the Thai Cabinet has given the green light on the plans, which will cost about 6.6 billion baht. One bridge will cross Songkhla Lake in the Koh Yai sub-district of Songkhla’s Krasaesin district, to the Jong Tanon sub-district in Phatthalung’s…

  • Japan makes path to enlightenment easier with “AI Buddha” tool | Thaiger

    Japan makes path to enlightenment easier with “AI Buddha” tool

    Japan has once again made use of its advanced technological skills by creating an artificial intelligence (AI) tool to help those attain enlightenment. The Buddhist tool, aka AI Buddha, brings ancient scriptures’ spiritual guidance to smartphones. According to Bangkok Post, the software was co-developed by a team of religious and computer academics at Kyoto University. The software has been programmed to…

  • Chinese government accuses protesters of illegally entering consulate in Manchester | Thaiger

    Chinese government accuses protesters of illegally entering consulate in Manchester

    The Chinese government is responding to a video of a Hong Kong pro-democracy protester being assaulted at the consulate in Manchester by saying such protesters illegally entered the grounds. According to Hong Kong Free Press, British police say a group of men came out from the consulate during a peaceful demonstration and dragged one of the protesters inside the building…

  • Loved ones fear fate of Iranian climber who competed in Seoul without hijab | Thaiger

    Loved ones fear fate of Iranian climber who competed in Seoul without hijab

    An Iranian rock climber, who competed in Seoul without a hijab, has loved ones worried as she hasn’t been seen since the competition. According to The Guardian, friends have been unable to contact Elnaz Rekabi since she supposedly returned home with the rest of the team on Sunday. Rekabi took part in the Asian Championships without wearing a hijab, which…

  • Silly anti-cheating masks in university go viral | Thaiger

    Silly anti-cheating masks in university go viral

    Taking a cue from a Bangkok university, students at Bicol University College of Engineering in the Philippines went viral for silly “anti-cheating” masks they wore for exams. A faculty member decided to bring some levity to the problem of cheating in schools by allowing her engineering students to design masks to prevent cheating, no matter how ridiculous they were. And…

  • WANTED: Soldier put away for selling meth escapes from prison in northern Thailand | Thaiger

    WANTED: Soldier put away for selling meth escapes from prison in northern Thailand

    A prisoner is on the loose after escaping from Fort Surasakmontri in Military Province 32 in Lampang province, northern Thailand, at 6.30am today. The soldier was imprisoned for selling methamphetamine. If you see him contact the police right away. The 26 year old soldier, Supawut “Kwan” Sopapeng, escaped while officers were transporting him somewhere for further investigation this morning. Villagers…

  • 5 men allegedly open fire at Pattaya pool villa | Thaiger

    5 men allegedly open fire at Pattaya pool villa

    Five men allegedly opened fire at a Pattaya pool villa this morning. The suspects reportedly entered the villa located on Jomtien Second Road and fired shots at several parked vehicles. They also allegedly beat up a man, The Pattaya News reported. Before the alleged shooting, a man knocked on the door of one of the villa’s tenants, asked the renters…

  • Serial thief blames prison friends for planning robberies | Thaiger

    Serial thief blames prison friends for planning robberies

    Thai police last night swooped to arrest a serial thief and seized stolen assets of over 10 million baht in the process at a condominium in Bangkok. Officers also uncovered detailed plans for future robberies. The thief protested his innocence, claiming his friends in prison had planned everything for him. Police arrested 48 year old Bualuang Wangkeyree last night at…

  • Plan to push Pattalung into world’s top green destinations | Thaiger

    Plan to push Pattalung into world’s top green destinations

    The government reported yesterday that it plans to push Pattalung province in the southern part of Thailand into the world’s top 100 green or sustainable destinations by 2027. The Minister of the Tourism and Sports Ministry, Piphat Ratchakitprakarn, reported yesterday that his department and the Organization for the Development of Sustainable Tourism have a project to raise awareness of green…