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 5 ways retirees in Thailand lose money (and how to stop it)
Retiring in Thailand can be affordable and enjoyable, but many retirees lose money due to common mistakes. High living costs, scams, and unexpected expenses can quickly drain savings. There are five ways that retirees in Thailand can lose money and...
-
Thai hackers arrested for breaking into energy drink computer system to steal prize money
Two Thai hackers are now under arrest after police say they broke into an energy drink company’s computer system to fraudulently claim prize monies. Thailand’s Technology Crime Suppression Division officers say they hacked the system and obtained more than 300,000 code numbers that were printed on the backs of drink caps. Using that information, the hackers planned to claim prize…
-
Gold mine reopens in northern Thailand to the dismay of residents
A gold mine has reopened in northern Thailand shocking locals who say the mine had poisoned their livestock, produce, and themselves. According to the Straits Times, the Chatree complex in Pichit province was closed more than six years ago due to health and environmental concerns. Now, despite legal disputes and protests by villagers, the controversial gold mine is back in…
-
Pattaya motorbike accident leaves two residents in grave condition
A Pattaya motorbike accident has left two residents in grave condition as one’s head became trapped under a car. The two were rushed to a local hospital, after colliding in South Pattaya. According to the Pattaya News, Sawang Boriboon rescue services arrived at the scene and found an elderly man stuck with his head trapped under a sedan. The other…
-
Bangkok Airways to launch Koh Samui – Hong Kong route
Bangkok Airways revealed plans to launch a direct route between Koh Samui in Thailand and Hong Kong, aiming to “generate more revenue from foreign customers.” President of Bangkok Airways Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth revealed that a nonstop Koh Samui – Hong Kong flight is in the works and could launch sometime this year. The airline has also entered discussions to lease more…
-
Bangkok ranks 5th on Airbnb’s top trending global travel spots in 2023
Airbnb‘s latest data shows that Bangkok has emerged as one of the top global travel spots for 2023, coming in fifth on its list of top trending destinations. The Thai capital is No.5 on Airbnb’s list of top trending global travel spots in 2023, however, this is a slight drop since it was No.1 in the third quarter of last year.…
-
16 Chinese tourists accuse Thai tour guides of abandoning them in Pattaya
Sixteen Chinese tourists complained to Pattaya Tourist Police yesterday after they were abandoned at an elephant village in the Bang Lamung district of Pattaya by their Thai tour guides. One tour guide, however, denied the accusation. The Pattaya Tourist Police received a complaint from Chinese tourists via the 1155 hotline yesterday and rushed to the Chiang Mai Elephant Village to investigate…
-
Beachgoers find giant sea turtle carcass in Pattaya
While there’s been a lot of happy news about turtles in Phang Nga recently, there’s unfortunately been some sad turtle news in Pattaya. A giant sea turtle carcass washed up on Pattaya Beach on Tuesday. Beachgoers noticed the carcass and detected a foul odour in the early hours of the morning. They promptly informed the authorities of the discovery. Officials…
-
Taiwanese woman wins 3kg chicken rice eating challenge in Bangkok
A Taiwanese woman shrugged aside the well-worn slogan “pleasure on the lips, lifetime on the hips” to emerge victorious in a food challenge at a restaurant in Bangkok. The foodie devoured 3 kilogrammes of chicken and rice in just 35 minutes, making her the 37th winner of the challenge since it was launched 10 years ago. The chicken rice shop,…
-
Thailand’s leading Muslim cleric announces the start of Ramadan
Thailand’s leading Muslim cleric announced the start of Ramadan yesterday. The cleric, Sheikul Islam Aziz Phitakkumpon, said… “As announced to Thai Muslims across the country to sight the new crescent moon after sunset on Wednesday, March 22, to mark the first day of Ramadan AH 1444. It has been confirmed that the new crescent moon has been sighted. So I…
-
Thai pervert jailed for 2 years for hidden cameras in Australian Embassy, Bangkok
A Thai man was labelled “a serious threat to society” by a judge who sentenced the pervert to two years in jail for allegedly installing hidden cameras in women’s toilets at the Australian Embassy in Bangkok. Nayot “Bank” Thamsongsana, a former IT worker at the Australian embassy in Bangkok, has been convicted in the Bangkok South Criminal Court after pleading…
-
Thailand’s ‘The Pizza Company’ launches mango pizza
Move over pineapple, mango is the hottest pizza topping in Thailand this summer thanks to a special edition launch from nationwide pizza chain The Pizza Company. Everyone loves pizza, and everyone loves mango. But do they belong together? More specifically, does mango belong on a pizza with mozzarella cheese, croutons, mango sauce, cream cheese and coconut sauce? If your brain…
-
Tour bus crash on Patong Hill seriously injures driver
A tour bus crashed into a power pole on Patong Hill early this morning, with the driver suffering serious injuries to his leg. The bus slammed into a power pole on the final curve heading into Patong on Phra Baramee Road at around 5am, The Phuket News reported. Police and rescuers arrived on the scene to find the red Phiphairat…
-
Pattaya ping pong bomb hooligans injure 2 women
A group of teenage hooligans in Pattaya threw ping pong bombs at two women in the early hours of this morning, leaving them with injuries. The victims, 30 year old Nantawan Kosakun and 20 year old Saowalak Kanpratuyod, were riding their motorcycles home on Sukhumvit Road in North Pattaya. At around 1am, a group of approximately 10 teenagers on five…
-
Loutish foreigner arrested for running amok in Pattaya restaurant
Another loutish foreigner did himself proud by running amok in a Pattaya restaurant in the early hours of this morning. One Thai eyewitness alleges that the half-naked man from the waist up was either under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Police were called and arrested the unruly man after he refused to calm down at an unnamed Isaan restaurant…
-
Pattaya Zumba lovers raise 100,000 baht for disabled boy
Zumba is a fun activity to stay in shape, but this week, Zumba lovers in Pattaya also used the activity to raise money for a good cause. The street food market The Smile Land Pattaya, located on Phettrakul Road in Bang Lamung District, hosted an event, ‘Zumba Charity Party,’ on Monday. The Muscle Factory Pattaya gym sponsored the event, Pattaya…
-
Thai buffalo becomes beauty influencer
Social media is full of influencers reviewing makeup and cosmetic products, but one Thai beauty queen, Kalaya, is set apart from the rest. She’s a buffalo and she’s taking the Internet by storm. Kalaya’s owner Mod doesn’t raise any old buffaloes, but pageant buffaloes, which are specially bred to be strong and beautiful. In one video gaining nearly 90,000 likes…
-
Recovered Caesium-137 cannister ‘not a threat to local Thai produce’
Thai officials say the recently recovered Caesium-137 canister is not a threat to local produce, despite it being smelted. The concerns over the effects of the tube’s radioactive properties were raised as contaminated furnace dust was discovered at a steel plant in Prachin Buri’s Kabin Buri district this week. Out of fear, customers cancelled purchase orders of fruit from the province,…
-
UNICEF urges Thailand to invest in its children’s education or suffer
UNICEF urges Thailand to invest in its children’s education for the socioeconomic prosperity of the country. The humanitarian organization made the plea on the back of a report which revealed a large majority of Thai students drop out of education halfway through. Kyungsun Kim, director of UNICEF Thailand, said the number of Thais who are “not in education, employment or…
-
Burmese migrant worker killed by fallen lamppost in Thailand
A lamppost toppled onto and killed a young Burmese migrant worker at a worker’s camp in Samut Prakan province, just south of Bangkok in central Thailand, yesterday morning. At 11.30am, officers at Bang Phli Police Station, doctors from Bang Phli Hospital and rescue workers from the Ruam Katanyu Foundation were called to a construction site in the Bang Phli Yai…
-
More suspects arrested in phone scam duping Americans out of 3 billion baht
More suspects are now in Thai police custody in relation to the phone scam that duped unsuspecting elderly Americans out of 3 billion baht. According to the Bangkok Post, 20 people have been arrested- 15 Thais and five Indian nationals- for their involvement in a phone scam that preyed on Americans. Police say they raided places in the provinces of…
-
After Patong bar bust, police on the prowl for human trafficking in Pattaya (video)
After the Patong bar bust that made headlines last week, police are on the prowl for human trafficking in Pattaya. Police on Tuesday night carried out a joint operation in a bid to prevent human trafficking, illegal drugs, minors, and the carrying of weapons in nightspots in the area. The operation involved a police team comprised of officers from Pattaya…
-
Prominent French retiree and Rotarian passes away in Pattaya
A prominent French retiree and former Rotarian has reportedly passed away in Pattaya at the age of 85, leaving his loved ones to pen an online obituary. The Frenchman, Pierre Yves Francois Andre Eraud, was born on October 16, 1938. He was described as being a great humanist and as being attached to the respect and benevolence characteristics that are…
-
Thai police shoot dead Phetchaburi gunman after 14 hour standoff, 3 dead, 3 injured
UPDATE At 4am, SWAT police shot dead the ex-military ranger who went on a gun rampage yesterday killing three people and injuring three more in Petchaburi province in lower central Thailand. Pol. Lt. Gen. Thanayut Wuthiratanayong said that after 14 hours of failed negotiations, the gunman showed no signs of surrender so the police took decisive action to kill him…
-
TST pledge to reform military, abolish conscription, a voter winner with Thailand’s youth
The Thai Sang Thai Party (TST) pledges to reform Thailand‘s military and abolish conscription if they are elected in the upcoming General Election on May 14. This move appears to be aimed at attracting young voters who are often reluctant to undergo military service due to the fear of losing productive years, harsh training, poor welfare, and hazing. Under the…
-
After a walk on the beach, Russian tourists get lost in Phuket jungle
A walk on the beach turned into a disaster for two Russian tourists who ended up getting lost in a Phuket jungle on Tuesday night. The head of Sirinat National Park, Sorasak Rananan, said the park received a notification from the Phuket Tourist Police at 10pm that two tourists were lost near the Sai Koo Mountain in the area of…
-
‘Thai Hot Guys’ Malaysian nightclub event during Ramadan cancelled after intense backlash
A Malaysian nightclub has cancelled a ‘Thai Hot Guys’ event after receiving massive backlash from the public as the event was scheduled to occur during the Islamic holiday of Ramadan. Apparently, juicy Thai men parading around half-naked in lingerie wasn’t what those celebrating Ramadan, which is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, had in mind. As Ramadan is a…
-
Thailand’s leading Fintech “DeeMoney” unveils new strategy “Owndee” with better rates, faster, and easier transfers
DeeMoney is Thailand’s No 1 money transfer service licensed by BoT DeeMoney aims to be NeoBank offering comprehensive cross-border payment and money transfer services on digital platforms that best address target customers’ demand In 2022, DeeMoney emerged as a dominant fintech player in the non-bank money transfer sector, with overall transactions exceeding 3 million transactions with a volume over 50…
-
Safari park in Thailand responds to bungee cord incident that nearly killed Hong Kong tourist
UPDATE Today, staff from Chang Thai Thappraya Safari Park in Pattaya, Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand, commented on the broken bungee cord incident that nearly killed a tourist from Hong Kong last month. The bungee jump operator, 41 year old Natthaphon Yokcharoen, took reporters to see the scene of the incident, a platform about 30 metres high above a lake. Nattaphon…
-
Phuket motorbike accident kills woman, seriously injures man
Another tragic motorbike accident has claimed a life in Phuket. A motorbike accident killed a woman and seriously injured a man on Phuket’s Patong-Kamala road last night. Police were notified of the accident at 9.50pm, The Phuket News reported. Police and emergency responders arrived on the scene about 100 metres away from Panya restaurant. There, they found a blue and…
-
Ex-military ranger opens fire in central Thailand, 2 dead 3 injured, standoff with police continues
A frenzied gunman who is an ex-military ranger opened fire in Phetchaburi province in lower central Thailand this afternoon, killing two people and injuring three more. Gunfire continues to erupt from the house where he is hiding in an ongoing standoff with police. More than 40 young children have been evacuated from a nearby daycare centre. Over 100 police officers…
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.