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...
-
Thailand pays 3.8 billion baht for first train hub in hospital
A budget of 3.8 billion baht has been approved to build Thailand’s first train station inside a hospital. The train station is intended to serve as a transportation hub with a medical centre at Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok. The deputy spokesperson of the Prime Minister’s Office, Ratchada Thanadirek, reported yesterday that the very first train station for health and public…
-
Bomb scare on flight from San Francisco to Singapore
A flight from San Francisco California to Singapore suffered a bomb threat midway through the journey. Singapore Airlines flight SQ33 alerted the Singapore Police Force early this morning that a passenger had become unruly and claimed to have a bomb on board the flight. While the claim was found to be false, the flight was on high alert and the…
-
English teacher’s body found in South Thailand
An English teacher’s body has been found last night in South Thailand’s Nakhon Si Thammarat province. The Danish man, 66 year old Devyd Haier, was found lying on his bed wearing only a pair of yellow shorts. He was found at his residence in a commercial building in the main city district. Devyd’s close friend said that when the two…
-
Indian teacher flees after beating lowest caste student to death over spelling mistake
A teacher in India has fled after being accused of killing a 15-year-old student who is part of the lowest caste system in the country. The teacher allegedly killed Nikhil Dohre, who is part of the Dalit caste system, by striking him with a rod and kicking him after he made a spelling mistake. The student then fell unconscious and…
-
Thai lotto winners reward ghosts with pricey Japanese feast
Two 10-million baht lottery winners spent 300,000 baht of their fortune turning a graveyard in Chon Buri into a Japanese restaurant to reward ghosts for giving them the lucky numbers. The couple yesterday evening transformed the Tri Kunnatham Foundation graveyard in the Nong Ree sub-district of Chon Buri province into a pop-up sushi bar and served Japanese food to 5,000…
-
Tribunal upholds sentence of last surviving Khmer Rouge leader
A United Nations-backed tribunal in Cambodia upheld the sentence of the last surviving Khmer Rouge genocide leader. The 91-year-old Khieu Samphan had appealed the sentence but the court wasn’t having it. In 2018, Samphan and another top-ranking official named Nuon Chea, who died in 2019, were sentenced to life imprisonment after the court found them guilty of crimes against humanity.…
-
Tourism fee to go to Cabinet to enact or delay
The controversial 300-baht tourism fee is set to be reviewed by the Cabinet at the end of the month. They may decide to enact it or postpone the implementation to a later date. But, according to the Minister of Tourism and Sports Pipat Ratchakitprakarn, the fee is not going away. He says it is already set in law and can’t…
-
John Cena breaks world record for most wishes granted in foundation
WWE superstar John Cena has broken another record, but this time it isn’t in the ring. Cena is now the world record holder of the most wishes granted through the Make-A-Wish foundation, with 650 wishes fulfilled. The foundation helps children who have been diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses by granting their wishes. Some choose to meet a celebrity, give a gift…
-
WTO chief says world economy tipping towards recession
The World Trade Organisation chief is echoing others in their concern over the world economy falling into a recession. WTO director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala didn’t hold back when she recently commented on the situation. “The indicators are not looking good. I think a global recession-that is what I think we are edging into.” Her analysis comes as the WTO intends to…
-
Embassy warns citizens not to take cannabis from Thailand into Malaysia
The Malaysian Embassy in Thailand sent out a warning to remind citizens that taking cannabis across the border into Malaysia is illegal. Thailand became the first Southeast Asian country to decriminalise the plant back in June, which is now widely accessible in every nook and cranny of the nation. As soon as Thailand legalised weed, the Malaysian government banned its citizens…
-
NASA crashes DART spacecraft into distant asteroid
A crashed spacecraft normally calls for mourning, not celebration, but this one could potentially save the world. NASA officials at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland cheered yesterday as they watched a live feed of their Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft smashing into a faraway asteroid. The planned collision was the ship’s explosive conclusion and 10…
-
Thailand’s northeast braced as Typhoon Noru slams Vietnam
Typhoon Noru slammed into Vietnam today forcing hundreds of thousands of people to take shelter after the country imposed a mandatory curfew. High-rise buildings shook in Danang, as winds have been compared to that of a category five hurricane. Wind speeds were clocked between 103 and 117 kilometres per hour. According to authorities, almost half of Vietnam’s airports have been…
-
Amid flu fears, Thailand destroys 24 tonnes of smuggled pork
In a blow to meat lovers in Thailand, 24 tonnes of smuggled pork were destroyed yesterday. The tragedy took place after the Department of Livestock Development identified Brazilian pork snuck across the border illegally with no documentation. The pork was seized on September 11 when it was uncovered in Samut Prakan. It was being stockpiled in a cold storage facility…
-
Knife-wielding tuk tuk driver says he is the victim in brawl over passengers
An 84 year old tuk tuk driver claimed that he was attacked by younger drivers because of a row over passengers. The alleged offenders defended themselves saying they were threatened by a knife first. The elderly tuk tuk driver, Pichit Sawanwijit, filed a complaint at Mueng Udon Thani Police Station saying he was attacked by three younger tuk tuk drivers…
-
VIDEO: Nine cars in three days fly off ‘cursed’ road in eastern Thailand
Shocking CCTV footage reveals a total of nine vehicles losing control in the same place on a highway in Chachoengsao province, eastern Thailand, between September 24 – 26. Security cameras at a used car dealership on Suwinthawong Road in Mueang district captured nine vehicles losing control, seemingly out of nowhere, and spinning off the road. Most of the cars ended…
-
Crocodile found skinned on Chon Buri beach
Animal protection services are looking into the case of a crocodile carcass found skinned on a beach in Chon Buri province. The 1 metre long skinned croc was found on September 24 on Pha Daeng Beach in Sri Racha district. The poor croc had been skinned from its neck to the tip of its tail. An anonymous local who found…
-
Thai baht plunges to 38 against US dollar for first time in 16 years
The volatile Thai baht has depreciated to 38 against the US dollar even faster than foreseen by economists. The last time the baht reached 38 to the dollar was 16 years and two months ago on July 26, 2006. The baht has hit the 38 mark even earlier than expected by the Head of Capital at Kasikorn Bank Kobsidthi Silpachai,…
-
Naga Fireball Festival is coming to Isaan on October 10
Organisers of the annual Naga Fireball Festival are hoping the gala will once again recapture the imagination of all visitors after a couple of barren Covid-19 pandemic years. The festival is back in the Isaan province of Nong Khai on October 10 and promotors are predicting a bonanza event that will help boost the provincial economy by 70% to 80%.…
-
Thailand’s weak baht could have a silver lining in the tourism industry, THA says
There might be a silver lining to Thailand’s weakening baht for the tourism industry. The president of the Thai Hotels Association (THA) says the weakening baht is one of several factors making Thai tourism more attractive in post-pandemic times. THA president Marissa Nunbhakdi says that now the ‘Test & Go’ and ‘Thailand Pass’ schemes have been scrapped, momentum has built…
-
Plane PA system emits moans ‘between an orgasm and vomiting’
If you are a frequent flyer, you are probably used to tuning out the plane PA system. You know how to fasten your safety belt and put on an oxygen mask, right? But what if it was entirely different – and extremely awkward – sounds coming over the PA? A passenger recorded a now-viral video on a flight from Los…
-
Off-duty officer fires shots & fights with Bangkok cabbie
A road rage incident between a Bangkok taxi driver and an allegedly drunk off-duty police officer saw shots fired and a bout of fisticuffs on the hard shoulder of a motorway. The taxi driver, Thongchai Baanyam, filed a complaint with the police soon after the incident in Bangkok last night. The 42 year old told police that the reportedly drunk…
-
Venomous snake emerges from parcel at sorting office in Thailand
An extremely venomous snake escaped from a parcel at a sorting office in Kanchanaburi province, western Thailand, yesterday. One has to ask, what did the intended receiver do to deserve such a life-threatening package? Post office staff said the one-metre long stripy snake slithered out from a pile of parcels at the sorting office in Tha Muang district. When staff…
-
Line Man Wongnai now Thailand’s largest tech startup
Line Man Wongnai became Thailand’s largest tech startup by valuation thanks to a new round of funding. Singapore sovereign wealth fund, Capital Market Company (GIC), led the latest funding round that managed to raise 10.1 billion baht for the Thai food delivery app and in doing so made it Thailand’s latest unicorn company. Line, Taiwan Mobile, BRV Capital Management and PTT…
-
Customer buys brand new Honda PCX motorbike with coins in eastern Thailand
Employees at a motorbike shop in Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand, couldn’t believe it when a customer asked if he could pay for a brand spanking new Honda PCX – for a price of 102,500 baht – with coins. Most people in Thailand have a pile of pennies they don’t know what to do with, but not nearly enough to…
-
169 Thai police officers dismissed for serious violations
The Royal Thai Police (RTP) revealed that 169 officers were dismissed this year due to serious disciplinary violations while another 215 officers were punished and disciplined. The Office of the Police Commission met with caretaker Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan yesterday for an overview of the RTN’s fiscal year for the last meeting of 2022. The meeting discussed human resource management, salaries,…
-
Edward Snowden received Russian citizenship
Controversial American whistleblower Edward Snowden has been granted Russian citizenship by Vladimir Putin. The former United States intelligence contractor fled to Russia for his safety after revealing to the public secret surveillance programmes the US National Security Agency had been running on its citizens. While US and Russian relationships are strained over the invasion of Ukraine, Putin included Snowden on…
-
American told to stop riding go-kart in Chiang Mai
Police and residents in Chiang Mai urged an American man to stop riding his yellow single-seat go-kart on a public road after highlighting the danger he poses to himself and others. A dash cam video of the yellow single-seat go-kart was uploaded to Thai social media on September 21. The kart is seen dashing down the left lane of the…
-
Thailand legalises abortion up to 20 weeks
Thailand is extending the legal limit of abortion from 12 to 20 weeks. The new law will come into effect 30 days after its announcement by the Ministry of Public Health in the Royal Gazette, which was published yesterday, September 26. The new law stipulates that pregnant women in Thailand may legally abort a pregnancy up to 20 weeks so…
-
China backs Philippines online gambling crackdown
The embassy of China in Manila backed the Philippines government’s plan to crackdown on online gambling and the expulsion of Chinese nationals. A Philippines Justice Ministry official yesterday announced its decision to shut down some 175 offshore gambling companies and expel around 40,000 Chinese workers in a bid to clean up a haven of crime that envelopes the industry. Justice…
-
Foreign gang allegedly extorts Russian couple of crypto worth US$50k in Thailand
A Russian couple in Koh Samui in southern Thailand claims that a gang of six foreign men – including Russians, Kazakhs and a German – extorted them of cryptocurrency worth US$50,000, or 1.89 million baht. On Sunday, 31 year old Evgeny Abdullin and his wife Ekaterina Abdullin filed a complaint at Koh Samui Police Station. The couple said that six…
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.