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.

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  • Elephant calf stamped to death in central Thailand

    Elephant calf stamped to death in central Thailand

    Officials believe the body of an elephant calf found dead in the pond of a local farm in Tha Takiab District of Chachoengsao was stamped to death by bigger elephants. A local villager alerted the Thakiab district chief yesterday that he’d witnessed the dead body of a baby elephant floating in the pond on their farm. The district chief, Rasmin Pruksathorn,…

  • Mountain B Pub’s real owner surrenders while police guard venue

    Mountain B Pub’s real owner surrenders while police guard venue

    The presumed real owner of the Mountain B Pub has now turned himself in. Somyos Panprasong, now considered to be the actual owner of Mountain B Pub, which claimed the lives of 19, after his son Sia B surrendered to police in the wake of the fire, reported to the Phlu Ta Lung Police Station today and was placed under…

  • A monk dies in yet another day of Buddhist shame in Thailand

    A monk dies in yet another day of Buddhist shame in Thailand

    A history of bad blood between two monks yesterday resulted in the death of one on yet another day of shame for the Buddhist faith. There has been an endless number of monastic scandals over the past year in Thailand involving Buddhist monks being caught engaging in inappropriate and criminal acts in violation of their monastic vows from fornication to…

  • Electricity prices soar 18% to 4.72 baht per unit next month

    Electricity prices soar 18% to 4.72 baht per unit next month

    Electricity prices are already at a record high rate of 4 baht per unit, topping an eight-year old record, and have now been approved to surge another 18%. When global oil prices rocketed up to US$110 per barrel in 2014, Thai energy prices hit 3.96 baht per unit. Coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic, the demand for all forms of…

  • Landmines kill 1, injure 10 in Deep South of Thailand

    Landmines kill 1, injure 10 in Deep South of Thailand

    A soldier was killed and ten people were injured after two landmines were detonated at a rubber plantation in the Deep South of Thailand yesterday. Of the ten people injured in the explosion at the rubber plantation in Kok Ko, a village in Narathiwat province, southern Thailand, six were police officers and four were civilians. The injuries to the police…

  • CSD requested to take over Mountain B Pub fire investigation

    CSD requested to take over Mountain B Pub fire investigation

    Citing a distrust for local officials, a coalition of representatives of many who were injured or died in the Mountain B Pub fire are calling for the Crime Suppression Division to take over the investigation. A group representing 13 of the victims officially complained yesterday to the CSD, asking them to replace local police in running the investigation into the…

  • Broke Bangkok can’t afford to finish underground cables project

    Broke Bangkok can’t afford to finish underground cables project

    The Bangkok Deputy Governor, Wisanu Subsompon, appealed to the private and public sectors to come together and complete the capital’s perpetual cable problem. The deputy governor revealed that Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) might have to cancel the project, to bury the city’s underground power lines altogether, unless it can find some way of coming up with more funds. Wisanu made…

  • UPDATE: Foreigner faces prison for parrotfishing in Thailand

    UPDATE: Foreigner faces prison for parrotfishing in Thailand

    UPDATE: The foreign parrotfishes have been caught and detained by police in Phuket, southern Thailand, and faces legal action. Thailand’s Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Warawut Silpa-archa made the following statement this morning… “Yesterday, August 15, at 3.30pm, Roslan Benedia of Dutch nationality was detained and questioned at a police station in Phuket over a video he posted on…

  • Dangerous social media trend encourages Thai teens to take Rohypnol

    Dangerous social media trend encourages Thai teens to take Rohypnol

    Parents in Thailand have been warned that a dangerous TikTok trend is encouraging teenagers to take Rohypnol, commonly known as “roofies” or “date rape drug.” Rohypnol is a strong drug that causes extreme drowsiness, and dizziness known for causing blackouts. Rohypnol is commonly associated with “date rape,” with many people worldwide – mostly women – reporting that they have been…

  • Benevolent Bangkok cabbie drives 12 hours to take destitute family home

    Benevolent Bangkok cabbie drives 12 hours to take destitute family home

    A benevolent Bangkok taxi driver drove 12 hours for free to take a family of three to their hometown in the Isaan province of Udon Thani after they were evicted from a rental room in the capital because they couldn’t afford to pay the rent. The taxi driver, Anurak Nakgamthong, posted the heartwarming story and pictures of his passengers on…

  • Monkeypox variants renamed to avoid offending people

    Monkeypox variants renamed to avoid offending people

    The World Health Organisation renamed the monkeypox variants from the Congo Basin, and West Africa to Clade I, and Clade II to avoid offending different sections of society. The WHO is also inviting the public to suggest a new name for the monkeypox disease. The WHO announced the two new variants of the monkeypox disease on Friday. The organisation reported…

  • Thai doctor slaps a 3 year old for swearing & refuses to treat him

    Thai doctor slaps a 3 year old for swearing & refuses to treat him

    The family of a three year old boy filed a complaint to the police after a male doctor slapped the child in the face and refused to give him treatment. The doctor said he refused to treat the boy because he had insulted him. The child’s 24 year old mother, Sutharat, shared the story on the Facebook page Let Me…

  • E. coli contamination found at popular waterfall in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand

    E. coli contamination found at popular waterfall in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand

    A popular waterfall on Doi Suthep mountain in the northern province of Chiang Mai is brimming with E. coli bacteria from human feces, warns Dr Rungsrit Kanjanavanit, a Green Globe award-winning conservationist and professor of cardiology at Chiang Mai University. The doctor warns against drinking or washing your face in the waterfall… “While driving up Doi Suthep mountain, there is…

  • Thai temple man charged with murder of alleged would-be robber

    Thai temple man charged with murder of alleged would-be robber

    Police revealed a temple servant wanted for murder surrendered at Hat Yai police station yesterday at about 5pm. Pinyo Suwanno, who helps out at a temple near Niphat Songkhro 2 Road, Hat Yai Municipality, Songkhla Province, confessed to killing 47-year-old Thammarit Ngamchom because he overheard him plan a robbery of the temple. The 48 year old alleged murderer, also known…

  • Cannabis is illegal on Khao San Road, officials call for crackdown

    Cannabis is illegal on Khao San Road, officials call for crackdown

    In the ever-meandering journey of cannabis legalisation, with the plant being legalised for growing, selling, and consuming with very few rules and now receiving pushback for that lack of regulation, Khao San Road is being reminded that it’s NOT legal there. While about a million people have been licensed to sell cannabis now, smoking in public can be prosecuted as…

  • Crocodile turns up in an unusual location: the heart of Bangkok

    Crocodile turns up in an unusual location: the heart of Bangkok

    Visitors to Thailand are often amazed by the wildlife they can see: elephants, tigers, crocodiles, lizards, dolphins, whales and sharks, and so much more. There are areas – like nature reserves, marine parks, farms, and sanctuaries – where you can travel to meet these creatures, and downtown Bangkok is not usually one of them. But residents were stunned to run…

  • The Power of Resilience: Anna wins the Miss Universe Thailand crown by Mouawad

    The Power of Resilience: Anna wins the Miss Universe Thailand crown by Mouawad

    The daughter of two Bangkok garbage collectors now wears a dazzling crown adorned with peridot, topaz, and diamonds designed by luxury jewellery company Mouawad. Beauty queen Anna Sueangam-iam was born into a life of hardship yet grew up to become Miss Universe Thailand 2022, the well earned winner of a crown fittingly named ‘The Power of Resilience.’ Anna grew up…

  • 4am alcohol curfew may increase revenue, but also crime, deaths

    4am alcohol curfew may increase revenue, but also crime, deaths

    Supporters of the current proposal to allow nightlife entertainment venues to open and serve booze until 4am in some tourist provinces think it will allow money-spending customers to drink alcohol and party for a few extra hours. Meanwhile, opposition to the proposal worries that it will allow customers to drink alcohol and party for a few extra hours, with dire…

  • Mountain B fire claims 19th life, 23 year old woman dies in hospital

    Mountain B fire claims 19th life, 23 year old woman dies in hospital

    A 23 year old woman injured in the Mountain B nightclub fire in Chon Buri’s Sattahip district on August 5 passed away at Chon Buri hospital at 2.50am today – leaving her five year old daughter without a mother or father. The fire, which has now claimed 19 lives and 26 people who are still receiving treatment in hospital, also…

  • Another long weekend brings huge crowds to Surat Thani

    Another long weekend brings huge crowds to Surat Thani

    Another long holiday weekend has benefited tourism in southern Thailand, as the province of Surat Thani recorded over 57,000 visitors. Both domestic and foreign travellers made their way down to Surat’s popular islands for the three-day weekend. Data shared by the Surat Thani office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said that 24,639 foreigners made their way to one…

  • Tenant fined 140,000 baht for keeping dog in Bangkok condominium

    Tenant fined 140,000 baht for keeping dog in Bangkok condominium

    South Bangkok Criminal Court has ruled that a tenant who violated condominium rules by keeping a dog in the apartment must pay a 141,500 baht fine and interest of 5% per year until the sum is paid in full. The decision comes after the condo filed a lawsuit against the dog owner in December last year. On top of the…

  • Speedo-wearing middle-aged joggers in Jomtien cause uproar

    Speedo-wearing middle-aged joggers in Jomtien cause uproar

    Scantily clad women are a fairly common sight in Pattaya, in clubs by night and on the beach by day. But when the gender roles were reversed, people on social media were going nuts over two middle-aged men jogging up Jomtien Beach Road, wearing nothing more than tight Speedo bathing shorts as they ran. Photos posted on social media on…

  • Which type of health insurance do you need in Thailand?

    Which type of health insurance do you need in Thailand?

    There are numerous different types of health insurance available in Thailand to meet your needs. But with so many options, choosing a health insurance plan can be complicated, especially if you are a foreigner living in the country. When the question arises as to what type of health insurance you should get, you’ll need to make a decision based on…

  • Gunman wounds 8 in Jerusalem, 48 dead in Israeli Gaza strikes

    Gunman wounds 8 in Jerusalem, 48 dead in Israeli Gaza strikes

    Mainstream media last night reported eight people had been wounded after a gunman opened fire at two locations in Jerusalem. According to reports, the man who pulled the trigger is believed to be a Palestinian who targeted a bus carrying Jewish worshippers who had just prayed at the Western Wall and people in a car park near the holy site.…

  • Man fights Indian Railways for 22 years for justice (and 9 baht)

    Man fights Indian Railways for 22 years for justice (and 9 baht)

    Twenty-two years is a long time to fight a court battle, but nine baht is nine baht, right? A lawyer in India believes so and has fought for justice against Indian Railways for more than two decades because he was overcharged by 20 Indian rupees, the equivalent of almost 9 baht, 21 pence, or 25 American cents. The lawyer who…

  • Tourism Minister visits Full Moon Party, supports later curfew

    Tourism Minister visits Full Moon Party, supports later curfew

    The Full Moon Party week is just wrapping on the island of Koh Pha Ngan, and while attendance was down, there was at least one special attendee that could influence the future of the party. Minister of Tourism and Sports Pipat Ratchakitprakarn visited Haad Rin, home of the iconic party that draws tens of thousands of tourists to the island…

  • Thais cautioned against fake government websites

    Thais cautioned against fake government websites

    Thais are being told to be aware of websites pretending to be government agencies’ pages. A deputy government spokesperson said on Friday that cybercriminals are using these fake sites to get people’s data and even hack their devices. The spokesperson, Rachada Dhnadirek, gave one example that showed just how advanced some of the fake government sites are. A fake Department…

  • Another Thai boxer dies from brain injury after fight in Malaysia

    Another Thai boxer dies from brain injury after fight in Malaysia

    Another Thai boxer has tragically died from a brain injury after a fight. The boxer, known as Petchkeng Kaiyanghadao, had been fighting in Malaysia, according to his martial arts club at Rajamangala University of Technology Phra Nakhon. In a Facebook post, the martial arts club described Petchkeng as a skilled fighter. Petchkeng had been an alumnus at the university. The…

  • Flooding from overflowing rivers soaks Chiang Rai and the border

    Flooding from overflowing rivers soaks Chiang Rai and the border

    Along the northern borders of Thailand, rains have swelled rivers beyond capacity and caused widespread flooding. The Sai River along the Burmese border started rising on Friday and by Saturday morning the riverbanks burst and flooded a border town in the Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai, according to the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department. Over 2,000 houses were flooded…

  • Pattaya night club owner gives free meals on Thai Mother’s Day

    Pattaya night club owner gives free meals on Thai Mother’s Day

    A Pattaya night club owner performed an act of kindness on Thai Mother’s Day on Friday. The Stones House night club is located on Pattaya’s famous Walking Street, a tourist hotspot and renowned party area. But this past Friday evening was a time for families lining up in front of the club. The club’s owner, Amporn Kaewsang, worked with her…