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.
-
2 dead, 18 injured in Nakhon Si Thammarat bus crash
Two people have been killed and 18 more inured in a bus crash today in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat. Police say the bus overturned after sliding backward while ascending a steep hill in Khanom district, killing two passengers and injuring 18. The incident occurred at about 11:30am while the bus was transporting tourists back to Songkhla province…
-
Missing moggie rescued in Rayong
A pet cat was rescued this week in Rayong province, near Pattaya, after being stuck between walls for two days. Rescue workers were notified of an emergency at a building in central Rayong. They arrived at the scene to find a cat stuck in a narrow gap between two walls. It took about 10 minutes to pull the cat up.…
-
89 year old grandmother hurt by falling coconut branch
An 89 year old grandmother working as a food vendor at Chon Buri province’s Bangsaen Beach, near Pattaya, was injured around 10:30 this morning by a falling branch from a coconut tree. Bleeding heavily, she was given medical care at the scene and rushed to a local hospital. She has since recovered and been released. It’s believed that a strong…
-
Top 10 dos and don’ts for the 2020 Songkran festival
Heading to Thailand for the 2020 Songkran festival? Want to know the dates, where to go and the dos and don’ts for this amazing water festival in Thailand? Songkran is a single name given to a series of concurrent events – an astrological ‘new year’, a Buddhist festival, the ‘change’ from dry season to wet season and a humongous water…
-
US ships arrive for Cobra Gold 2020
Ships from the US Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) have arrived in Thailand in preparation for Exercise Cobra Gold 2020. Cobra Gold is a multi-country war game conducted every year in Thailand. Cobra Gold 2020 will be held starting Tuesday and run to March 6. Rear Admiral Fred Kacher, commander of Expeditionary Strike Group 7, had this to say: “Working with…
-
Suspected forest fire arsonist arrested in Lampang
Despite prohibitions on agricultural burning, wildfires continue ravaging forests across Thailand’s North. Now, police have arrested an arsonist suspected of starting forest fires in the northern province of Lampang. Forest rangers suspect he started fires in the Mae Jang forest reserve. Udomsilp Thithamma was arrested at his shelter in the compound of a rock crushing plant. Bundles of mosquito repellent…
-
Phuket calls for immediate government help over coronavirus impact
Phuket’s Chamber of Commerce has asked the Thai govenment for swift action to help cope with the economic impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus, particularly on tourism. According to Chamber president Thanusak Phungdet: “I explained to Tourism Committee President Surasak Phanchalernworakul about the situation and how coronavirus is affecting tourism and business in Phuket. I requested them to share this information with…
-
Udon Thani thief arrested after “invisibility spell” fails to work
Police in the northeastern province of Udon Thani yesterday arrested a thief claiming to have magical powers, after his “invisibility spell” failed to work. Thirty-two year old Anurak Promwang claims to have used the spell successfully many times in the past, and blames the removal of his trousers for his arrest. Security footage captured the thief in action, including the…
-
Man comes face to face with 5-metre king cobra while in bed
A man in the southern province of Trang got a shock when he lay down for a nap and found he was being watched by a 5-metre king cobra staring at him from the ceiling. The man’s home is on a rubber farm, where cobras and other venomous snakes are often found. The local rescue team, who reportedly specialise in…
-
US embassy, Amnesty International oppose Future Forward dissolution decision
In a statement today, the US embassy in Bangkok said the Constitutional Court’s decision to dissolve the Future Forward party risks disenfranchising more than six million Thai voters who voted for the party in last March’s general election. “The United States strongly supports democratic governance around the world, and appreciates Thailand’s recent seating of a democratically elected government. While the…
-
American man arrested for theft at Phuket mall
An American man has been arrested for theft after allegedly stealing three designer wallets from a shop at Phuket’s Central Floresta shopping mall. Twenty-one year old Christopher Braman was arrested at the shopping centre in tambon Ratsada on charges of theft and overstaying his visa, police said yesterday. After the arrest, police took Braman him to his rented room in…
-
Used-car dealer, entire family dead in mass suicide
A used car dealer and his entire family in the northern province of Phitsanulok have been found dead, in an apparent mass suicide. Even the family dogs were not spared. The family were found asphyxiated, with a lit charcoal stove in the room. Police were called yesterday after relatives found the bodies. There were five dead people and six dogs…
-
Busted! Cambodia cracks down on suggestive Facebook sellers
Cambodian women’s rights groups are slamming a crackdown on well endowed women who wear “provocative clothing” while selling goods live on Facebook, calling the crackdown dangerous and baseless. Seven groups point out that the women are breaching no law. “There is no evidence-based research that affirms that women’s clothing choice is the root cause of degradation of social morality.” Cambodian…
-
Lop Buri gold shop gunman pleads guilty to all nine charges
The school principal, who gunned down three people, including a 2 year old boy, and injured four others during a robbery in Lop Buri province on January 9, has pleaded guilty to all charges. 38 year old Prasitthichai Khaokaew, stormed into the Robinsons shopping centre and strode up to the Aurora Gold Shop brandishing a pistol and silencer and calmly…
-
Unemployment rises 34% in Phuket due to virus’s impact
Unemployment on the resort island of Phuket is up 34% year on year due the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, according to the Phuket Provincial Employment Office (PPEO). “After Chinese government banned their citizens from travel abroad because of COVID-19, the number of people coming to register as unemployed has been rising quickly. About 80 people come to register…
-
Consumer groups warn of risks in buying a new Chevrolet
General Motors’ decision to pull production of its Chevrolet line out of Thailand has prompted consumer advocacy groups to remind prospective buyers of risks. The Foundation for Consumers and the Office of the Independent Committee for Consumer Protection said yesterday that buyers “should be wary of uncertainty as General Motors will pull its operation out of the country” by the…
-
UPDATE: Future Future dissolved, MPs stripped of parliamentary status
UPDATE: The Constitutional Court has dissolved Thailand’s Future Forward political Party after finding it guilty of breaking the laws pertaining to loans, specifically from its leader Thanathorn Jungroongruangkit. The court has also ordered MPs of the party’s executive stripped of their parliamentary status and banned from politics for 10 years. Party leader Thanathorn and party supporters gathered at the headquarters in…
-
No virus cover-up, PM tweets
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha went on Twitter yesterday, in an apparent bid to counter “fake news,” and announced there is no COVID-19 coronavirus cover-up happening in Thailand. He insisted the government is neither hiding nor distorting the number of infections in the country and said citizens should “gain confidence” in its remarkable success managing the disease. Earlier in the day, Prayut…
-
Thailand’s abortion laws to be amended
Thailand’s Constitutional Court has ruled that a section of the Criminal Code is unconstitutional as it fails to hold men responsible for illegal abortions. The ruling will take effect on Febuary 13, 2021, twelve months after it was made. The court handed down the ruling after pro-abortion activist Srisamai Chueachart petitioned the court to rule whether Sections 301 and 305…
-
Pro-vaping group to request public hearing to legalise vaping in Thailand
The below is the contents of a press release sent to The Thaiger by the consumer group End Cigarette Smoke Thailand. The opinions expressed therein do not necessarily reflect those of The Thaiger or its subsidiaries. The Tobacco Control Research and Knowledge Management Center (TRC) revealed results from the meeting of the Ministry of Commerce’s review panel on e-cigarette import…
-
Coronavirus cases more than double in South Korea to surpass 150
South Korea has reported its first death from the COVID-19 corona virus. The government reports that a 63 year old man, who died Wednesday, tested positive for the virus in a post mortem examination. The exact cause of his death has yet to be determined. He died in North Gyeongsang province, where he had been hospitalized for over 20 years,…
-
Coronavirus UPDATE: S Korea tops 156 cases, Ukrainians attack evacuee bus
The total number of infected worldwide cases of coronavirus (Covid-19) stands at over 76,735. At least 2,247 people are now dead from the virus, with all but 11 of those deaths in mainland China. 18,561 people are now registered as ‘recovered’ from the virus. The fatality rate still sits around 2%. • There has been a sharp spike in new cases…
-
UPDATE: Thai immigration scraps TM28 reporting requirements
Well, for most foreigners anyway (full list of exemptions below)… Thai immigration have scrapped the TM28 form’s change-of-address reporting requirements for all but a few foreigners. The changes came into effect, with little fanfare, on January 28. The TM28 is still listed on the Immigration website but there’s now a long list of exceptions added which means that almost no…
-
Chevy’s having a “garage sale” and prices are halved
General Motors’ recent announcement that it’s ending production and sales of Chevrolets in Thailand means prices for new Chevrolets have been cut by half. The starting price for the latest SUV, the Captiva, is now just under half a million baht. General Motors announced Sunday that it’s pulling out of “markets that don’t produce adequate returns on investments,” namely Thailand,…
-
Major condo developers in Bangkok are looking for rental clients
As sales have taken a nosedive since last year, major condominium developers in Bangkok are looking for rental clients. As an example, L.P.N. Development, which developed condominiums and houses under the Lumpini brand, is offering newly-launched condos for rent. The company plans to attract tenants by offering lower or slightly lower rents than the market price for a 3 year…
-
Principal beats 10 year old, threatens to kill him and “eat his liver with whisky”
A grandpa in the northeastern province of Surin couldn’t take it anymore and decided to file a police report after a school principal gave his 10 year old grandson a head injury. The statement alleges that the principal threatened to beat the boy to death and to “eat the child’s liver with whisky.” 83 year old “Supon” filed the report…
-
Three Thais on Yokohama virus ship have COVID-19 coronavirus
Officials today announced that three Thai nationals aboard the quarantined cruise ship Diamond Princess, moored off Yokohama, are infected with the Covid-19 coronavirus, the same day two elderly Japanese passengers are reported to have died from the disease. Foreign affairs spokesman Cherdkiat Atthakor said three Thais, one passenger and two crew members, are now being treated in hospital in Japan.…
-
Two passengers of virus-hit cruise ship die in Japan
Two elderly passengers of the Diamond Princess, the coronavirus-stricken cruise ship which spent two weeks in quarantine in Japan’s Yokohama Harbour, have died. State broadcaster NHK made the announcement this morning, as a second group of passengers began disembarking after fourteen days quarantined onboard. The passengers were both Japanese, a man and woman in their 80s. More than 620 of…
-
Hong Kong police on a roll as third suspect in toilet paper heist flushed out
Hong Kong has been gripped by panic buying since the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, as frightened residents hoard essentials like rice and toilet tissue. Now, a third man man has been arrested there for his role in a bizarre toilet paper heist, as a gang aimed to clean up during a run of frenzied buying in the city. The 26 year…
-
Korea reports 15 more coronavirus cases, total now 46
South Korea today confirmed 15 more cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus bringing its total number of infections to 46, amid growing concerns that the illness is spreading despite tighter quarantine measures. According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), 13 new patients were found in Daegu, 300 kilometres southeast of Seoul. It’s presumed they contracted the illness…
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.