Thailand News

Thailand news, politics, business, crime, and lifestyle—get breaking updates from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond. Stay informed on Thai society, economy, tourism, and expat life with The Thaiger.

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    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...

  • Prayut tells Bangkok vocational students to stop violence

    Prayut tells Bangkok vocational students to stop violence

    After police found more than 32 knives, and gun ammunition at one Bangkok university on Thursday, PM Prayut has called on students and alumni to end to the violence. Police searched the school grounds of the Uthenthawai campus of Rajamangala University of Technology after a video of students firing guns into the air went viral on Wednesday. Uthenthawai is one…

  • Thailand’s Covid infections push through the 10,000 milestone again

    Thailand’s Covid infections push through the 10,000 milestone again

    Thailand has pushed over the 10,000 new Covid infections a day for the first time since October 18 last year. Over the past 5 weeks the daily reports have hovered mostly in the 7,000 – 8,000 infection range. 217 of yesterday’s number scame from overseas arrivals. There were also 21 Covid-related deaths reported in today’s statistics, whilst 88,463 people remain under…

  • Thailand wins “most popular destination” and other awards from Chinese travel magazines

    Thailand wins “most popular destination” and other awards from Chinese travel magazines

    Many Chinese travel magazines are calling Thailand a top tourist destination, even if it’s very difficult for the Chinese to travel at this time. The Travel Weekly China Award called Thailand “The most anticipated destination- short haul.” WITrip Magazine called it “2021 most popular overseas travel destination.” Online Travel Agent Thong Cheng called it “the most popular destination.” The Tourism…

  • Mother of eye doctor killed at Bangkok zebra crossing calls for justice

    Mother of eye doctor killed at Bangkok zebra crossing calls for justice

    Justice is being called on Thailand’s traffic laws system by the mother of the doctor who was fatally hit by a police officer’s Ducati while walking on a zebra crossing in Bangkok’s Phaya Thai area 2 weeks ago. A petition was sent to a parliamentary law committee yesterday. The appeal was addressed to the House law committee by the mother of…

  • Suvarnabhumi airport warns people travelling out of Thailand, don’t bring over 30 masks

    Suvarnabhumi airport warns people travelling out of Thailand, don’t bring over 30 masks

    After the Central Committee on Prices of Goods and Services announced on January 25 that face masks were on its list of controlled products, Suvarnabhumi International Airport announced yesterday that people flying out of Thailand can’t bring over 30 face masks with them unless they have a doctor’s note. If they have a doctor’s note, they may bring up to…

  • Thai PM – “I will stay on as long as the law allows”

    Thai PM – “I will stay on as long as the law allows”

    “I will stay on as long as the law allows. I am bound by the law, and cannot do anything at will.” Words from Thailand’s PM, Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday, vowing that he will only stay on in the top job whilst the law allows him too. He also reminded reporters that there are two organic laws regarding elections in Thailand…

  • NFTs explained – What is it and how does it work

    NFTs explained – What is it and how does it work

    NFTs has been gaining popularity over the past two years. From art and music to Jack Dorsey’s first tweet and toilet paper, these digital assets are selling for up to millions of dollars. In December 2021, an anonymous artist Pak sold 266,445 shares of his NFT Merge for $91.8 million on Nifty Gateway. He is now known as the most…

  • Thailand’s DDC director says Covid may enter post-pandemic phase this year

    Thailand’s DDC director says Covid may enter post-pandemic phase this year

    As Thailand has seen a downswing of daily new Covid-19 infections, which have remained below 10,000 since the beginning of January, the country’s Department of Disease Control director-general Dr Opas Karnkawinpong says the widespread virus may enter the post-pandemic stage this year. The global outbreak has three stages: pre-pandemic, pandemic, and post-pandemic, the director says, adding that the world may…

  • Bangkok airport warns passengers not to travel abroad with more than 30 face masks

    Bangkok airport warns passengers not to travel abroad with more than 30 face masks

    Suvarnabhumi Airport is warning passengers not to travel abroad with more than 30 face masks, according to Thai media. Only passengers with medical certifications will be allowed to carry up to 50 masks onboard. No one is allowed to send face masks out of the kingdom except those who have received approval. For those travelling out of the country, face…

  • Phuket vice governor says water shortage not a concern

    Phuket vice governor says water shortage not a concern

    Phuket’s vice governor announced yesterday in a meeting that even though the island’s rainfall was below average in 2021, there was still lots of water from the three main reservoirs, and water shortage is “not a concern.” He said plans still need to be made to prevent water shortages in Phuket, though. Phuket had severe water shortages in 2019 and…

  • Friday Covid Update: 9,909 new cases; provincial totals

    Friday Covid Update: 9,909 new cases; provincial totals

    22 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 22,250 with 552 of those fatalities since the start of this year. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 9,909 new Covid-19 cases and 7,827 recoveries. There are now 86,473 people in Thailand being treated for Covid-19. Out of…

  • Thailand to discuss travel bubble with China and Malaysia this month

    Thailand to discuss travel bubble with China and Malaysia this month

    Thai tourism officials plan to hold talks with their counterparts in Malaysia and China for travel bubble schemes allowing quarantine-free travel between the countries. Thailand’s Tourism and Sports Minister, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, shared with Thai media that the ministry plans to talk with the two Asian counties about a sealed route this month. Piphat says they plan to start discussions with China…

  • Another day, another data breach: Thai students’ data hacked, sold on dark web

    Another day, another data breach: Thai students’ data hacked, sold on dark web

    The personal information of over 23,000 students has been stolen as a result of the Thai University Central Admission System being hacked. According to a Bangkok Post report, the security breach has been confirmed by the Council of University Presidents of Thailand. It’s understood the data, which pertains to over 23,000 students who took part in last year’s exams, has…

  • 9 children get blood disorder after eating sausages from illegal Chon Buri factory

    9 children get blood disorder after eating sausages from illegal Chon Buri factory

    Nine children have methemoglobinemia, a blood disorder, after they ate sausages from one factory in Chon Buri. Local police and officials from the Food and Drug Administration inspected the factory and talked to the owner after labels on the factory’s products matched what the children had eaten. The owner admitted to producing sausage products for five years without a permit.…

  • “Thailand Digital Arts Festival 2022” at ICONSIAM – NFT

    “Thailand Digital Arts Festival 2022” at ICONSIAM – NFT

    Press Release The First Digital Art Debut in Thailand and Asia 5-20 March 2022 at ICONSIAM (Bangkok, 2 February 2022) “Thailand Digital Arts Festival 2022” (TDAF 2022) will mark Thailand’s and Asia’s first and largest digital art showcase that features over 1,300 art pieces from 130 celebrated Thai artists. The event is a joint force between Siam Piwat Co., Ltd,…

  • Officials will install traffic lights and surveillance cameras at 100 Bangkok crossings

    Officials will install traffic lights and surveillance cameras at 100 Bangkok crossings

    In the aftermath of a fatal accident where a motorbike hit and killed a pedestrian, Bangkok officials plan to install traffic lights and surveillance cameras at 100 zebra crossings. The lights will be installed in two weeks, and the cameras in a month. Out of the city’s 3,280 zebra crossings, only 1,277 have flashing lights warning drivers to slow down…

  • Thai customs officials have dogs sniff for pork at Laos border to prevent smuggling

    Thai customs officials have dogs sniff for pork at Laos border to prevent smuggling

    Thai customs and livestock officials now have trained dogs sniffing for pork that could be smuggled over the Laos border. This news comes after about 300 kilograms of pork were found at a dump near the moon river yesterday. Officials think a pork trader who hoarded too much pork might have dumped it there. They have deployed the dogs at…

  • Infected inmate escapee from Koh Samui Hospital surrenders, says he got hungry

    Infected inmate escapee from Koh Samui Hospital surrenders, says he got hungry

    The inmate infected with Covid-19 who escaped from Koh Samui Hospital has reportedly surrendered to police. Apparently, he turned himself in to police because he got hungry. With prisons and correctional facilities requiring a quarantine period for all new inmates, and with a number of them testing positive for Covid-19, there has been an increase in prisoner escapes, according to…

  • Security guards allegedly stab resident to death at Bangkok housing project

    Security guards allegedly stab resident to death at Bangkok housing project

    Yesterday, the police officers from Tian Tale Metropolitan Police Station arrested three security guards suspected of killing a resident at a state dormitory of the National Housing Authorities project in Bang Khun Tian, Bangkok. Officer seized weapons and say the suspects confessed to killing the resident, claiming they didn’t mean to murder him, they just wanted to get revenge because…

  • Greek tourists robbed in Phuket get 51,000 baht gift from anonymous donor

    Greek tourists robbed in Phuket get 51,000 baht gift from anonymous donor

    The Greek family who claims 200,000 baht was stolen from their car in Phuket have received a gift of 51,000 baht from an anonymous donor to help them continue their travels. The Facebook page named KNIGHTS BORDER made a post saying an “anonymous kind and beloved brother” donated the money to the family after hearing that hundreds of thousands of baht…

  • Deputy PM vows stricter punishments for traffic violators following fatal crosswalk accident

    Deputy PM vows stricter punishments for traffic violators following fatal crosswalk accident

    Following the deadly crosswalk accident where a police officer struck a pedestrian with his Ducati motorcycle, Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan ordered harsher legal punishments for traffic violators in a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, although it has not yet been announced exactly what the punishments will be. He also called for providing info online about violators’ histories and past offences and…

  • Man severely injured in Bengal tiger attack in Kanchanaburi

    Man severely injured in Bengal tiger attack in Kanchanaburi

    A man was severely injured in an attack by a wild Bengal tiger in a Kanchanaburi forest near the Myanmar border last Friday. The 48 year old man was walking from a nearby village to the forest to care for a buffalo when two Bengal tigers started chasing him. Reports say the man ran, but was then faced with a…

  • Most Phuket tourists infected with Covid travelled from Russia and Kazakhstan

    Most Phuket tourists infected with Covid travelled from Russia and Kazakhstan

    Most tourists who tested positive for Covid-19 when they arrived in Phuket travelled from Russia and Kazakhstan, but particularly Russia, the Phuket provincial governor told the Bangkok Post. The governor says there will be an investigation of why a significant number of infections involved travellers from those countries. Governor Narong Woonciew says that out of about 300 daily diagnoses in Phuket,…

  • Phuket reports higher infection rate in second Covid tests for Test & Go travellers

    Phuket reports higher infection rate in second Covid tests for Test & Go travellers

    With two RT-PCR tests now required for Test & Go travellers, one of Thailand’s most popular tourist destinations, Phuket, is reporting a higher infection rate for the second test. Following the emergence of the Omicron variant in Thailand, with many travellers testing positive for the mutated strain, the Thai government decided to require two RT-PCR tests instead of the initial…

  • House speaker insists parliament building is safe, despite several MPs testing positive

    House speaker insists parliament building is safe, despite several MPs testing positive

    The Speaker of the Thai House of Representatives has insisted parliamentary business can continue as normal and that meetings are safe. Chuan Leekpai was responding to news that a number of MPs have tested positive for Covid-19. According to a Bangkok Post report, the speaker is anxious to have sessions continue as normal, pointing out that there are strict Covid-19…

  • Tourism officials call for travel bubble talks to resume with Thailand’s neighbours

    Tourism officials call for travel bubble talks to resume with Thailand’s neighbours

    Thailand’s tourism minister is pushing for travel bubble discussions to resume with neighbouring countries now that the Test & Go scheme has re-started. The Bangkok Post reports that Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn would like to see more reciprocal travel arrangements with countries like Malaysia, Laos, and Cambodia, pointing out that such places normally generate significant cross-border traffic for Thailand. According to Phiphat,…

  • Over 23,000 travellers register for Test & Go scheme on day 1 of relaunch

    Over 23,000 travellers register for Test & Go scheme on day 1 of relaunch

    A government spokesman says out of 29,194 foreigners who applied for a Thailand Pass on Tuesday, over 23,000 were registering for the Test & Go entry scheme. Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana says 23,660 registered for Test & Go on day 1 of its return. According to a Bangkok Post report, Thanakorn is optimistic that this number will increase. Test & Go was…

  • A review of PlayYard Phuket – a new campground on the island

    A review of PlayYard Phuket – a new campground on the island

    The following story was written by Barry Daniel. It’s a glorious sunrise morning at 6am and I’m sitting at the edge of the beach on Phuket’s north-east corner, overlooking a stunning vista of the lapping sea channel which leads to Phang Nga Bay framed by a series of glorious rolling hills beyond. Cup of tea to hand, I’m sitting outside…

  • Motorbike rider in Buriram injured from rope that wrapped around her neck

    Motorbike rider in Buriram injured from rope that wrapped around her neck

    The 28 year old woman driving her motorbike got tied by a random rope, which wrapped around her neck, cutting her. Reports in Thai media say the rope was “mysterious” and it’s unclear where exactly it came from. The motorbike rider says she was driving on the main road in the Isaan province Buriram at around 5am on Monday when…

  • Officers uncover buried car owned by an American who left Thailand 10 years ago

    Officers uncover buried car owned by an American who left Thailand 10 years ago

    A car was found buried at a palm plantation in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat… but what is interesting about the case is that the vehicle belonged to a 52 year old American man who, according to reports, left the country 10 years ago. The bronze BMW had been buried about a metre deep. Police and forensic officers…