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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    Long-term life in Thailand? 5 reasons private health insurance pays off in the long run

    Thailand is a great place for expats and retirees, offering a warm climate, affordable living, and rich culture. However, healthcare can be tricky for foreigners since they aren’t eligible for public health coverage, and private care can be expensive. Private...

  • Intellectual Property: Dildos, porn and sex pills seized in massive haul | Thaiger

    Intellectual Property: Dildos, porn and sex pills seized in massive haul

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Members of Thailand’s largest ring of traders in aphrodisiacs and sex toys were apprehended in Bangkok with goods worth more than 100 million baht, the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) chief said yesterday. DSI Director-General Tharit Pengdit and Pol Lt-Col Chinnachot Daengsurisri, commander of the Intellectual…

  • Olympic: Shooter Sutiya misfires; Thai lifts silver; Phuket’s Maneepong progresses | Thaiger

    Olympic: Shooter Sutiya misfires; Thai lifts silver; Phuket’s Maneepong progresses

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Phuket’s Maneepong progresses to knockout stagesPhuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: Despite bitter disappointment for world No 22 Boonsak Ponsana, Thailand’s badminton team have kept the flag flying in the 30th Olympic Games, with the men’s duo of Bodin Isara and Phuket’s Maneepong Jongjit storming their…

  • National News: Three arrested for shootings; Govt criticized; Olympics update | Thaiger

    National News: Three arrested for shootings; Govt criticized; Olympics update

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Three arrested in shooting deaths of soldiers in Pattani Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: Three men have been arrested for their alleged role in Saturday’s fatal shooting of four soldiers in Pattani, according to Pattani Governor Thira Mintarasak. “We have also retrieved 9mm guns stolen…

  • National News: HFMD update – another death; Insurgents change tactics; 92 Thais jailed | Thaiger

    National News: HFMD update – another death; Insurgents change tactics; 92 Thais jailed

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Second HFMD fatality reported Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is believed to have claimed its second life in Thailand – a young Cambodian boy living in Rayong. Rayong Public Health chief Kris Pansuk yesterday identified the victim only as…

  • Phuket Gazette: A kaleidoscope of sporting news | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette: A kaleidoscope of sporting news

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Sutiya shooting for goldPhuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: Sutiya Jiewchaloemmit is upbeat about her chances in the Olympics following intensive training in Germany with her coach Jan Henrik Heinrich. The national skeet shooter, who has been in London for almost a week, said a month…

  • Thailand News: Weather warning issued as Vicente moves on | Thaiger

    Thailand News: Weather warning issued as Vicente moves on

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: The national weather bureau is warning of heavy rain and possible flooding, as well as forest run-off, this week due to the effects of Typhoon Vicente. The Meteorological Department today issued a warning for those living in the northeast, north as well as the eastern…

  • Thailand news summary – July 24 | Thaiger

    Thailand news summary – July 24

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community President to look into the 92 Thais Phuket Gazette / The NationPHUKET: Myanmar president Thein Sein yesterday promised to look into the issue concerning the detention of 92 Thais recently for land encroachment.A Government House source said Thein Sein told Yingluck that he was willing to look…

  • News headlines for Thailand Today | Thaiger

    News headlines for Thailand Today

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community EV71 case ‘no cause for panic’ Phuket Gazette / The NationPHUKET: Department of Disease Control chief Dr Pornthep Siriwanarangsan yesterday advised the public not to panic over the discovery that a toddler had died at a Bangkok hospital from an Enterovirus 71 (EV71) infection.Pornthep said the Nopparat…

  • Woman faces lese majeste charge pending mental examination | Thaiger

    Woman faces lese majeste charge pending mental examination

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Woman to face royal insult charge pending mental examination Phuket Gazette / The NationPHUKET: Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung today confirmed police would charge a woman accused of insulting the monarchy if she was found to be sane in a mental status examination. “I confirm police…

  • Phuket Gazette: National tourism update | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette: National tourism update

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PM demands action to ease congestion at Suvarnabhumi Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra yesterday ordered agencies to expedite measures to alleviate the congestion at Suvarnabhumi Airport. After inspecting the problem-plagued Bangkok airport, PM Yingluck said a committee would be formed to…

  • Phuket Gazette: Thai sports news | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette: Thai sports news

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thai Premier League can follow in EPL’s footsteps: Everton chief Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: The Thai Premier League could one day become as successful as the English Premier League (EPL), but the country has to be patient, Everton’s chief executive officer Robert Elstone said…

  • Hand Foot and Mouth disease – Kingdom on alert | Thaiger

    Hand Foot and Mouth disease – Kingdom on alert

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Hand Foot and Mouth disease – Kingdom on alert Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) in the US Hand Foot and Mouth disease (HFMD) usually affects infants and children younger than 5-years-old, though it can sometimes…

  • Phuket Gazette: Salmonella strain might reinfect kids | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette: Salmonella strain might reinfect kids

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Salmonella strain might reinfect kids Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: A drug-resistant strain of Salmonella bacteria, found in eggs causing 500 schoolchildren to fall ill, might continue lingering and re-infect them for another three months. The provincial health office will send a team to tackle…

  • Thailand News: Alleged call center scam; ASEAN update; Govt seeks release of more than 80 Thais detained in Burma | Thaiger

    Thailand News: Alleged call center scam; ASEAN update; Govt seeks release of more than 80 Thais detained in Burma

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police crack call-centre scam, 15 arrested Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: Police have arrested 15 foreigners in Bangkok, most of them from Europe, for allegedly running a call-center scam and duping several people into wiring more than 320 million baht into their accounts. Of the…

  • Plan for pregnant migrant workers misguided | Thaiger

    Plan for pregnant migrant workers misguided

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Proposed plan for pregnant migrant workers misguided Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: Non-governmental organizations and the academia yesterday spoke up against the Labor Ministry’s plan to deport migrant workers who get pregnant while in Thailand. The ministry initiated this policy as a response to Thailand’s…

  • Non-communicable diseases top ASEAN meet | Thaiger

    Non-communicable diseases top ASEAN meet

    PHUKET: Public Health Ministers and senior officials from the 10 countries in Asean yesterday gathered to discuss ways of tackling chronic noncommunicable diseases, state health-care funds, control of tobacco and alcohol consumption, and the spread of HIV/Aids in urban areas.About 200 participants from regional governments attended the 11th Asean Health Ministers meeting yesterday in Phuket, which continues today.The event includes…

  • Weird World News: Porky police told to slim down; inmates creatively shave off jail time | Thaiger

    Weird World News: Porky police told to slim down; inmates creatively shave off jail time

    PHUKET: This week’s Weird World News roundup is about porky Pakistani police getting slim-down threat letters, and Brazilian inmates trying to shave off a little time with books, while others in the UK take to the walls with plastic forks. Crackdown on portly police Pakistan has put fat field officers on the chopping block after only a quarter of the…

  • Bangkok oil refinery fire; under control | Thaiger

    Bangkok oil refinery fire; under control

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Fire at Bangchak’s oil refinery brought under control Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: A blaze at the Bangchak oil refinery in Soi Sukhumvit 64, Bangkok, believed to have been caused by a leak in a pipeline, has been brought under control with no injuries reported.…

  • Thailand Sports: FIVB; Olympics; Golf; Snooker | Thaiger

    Thailand Sports: FIVB; Olympics; Golf; Snooker

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Spikers return in triumph from World GP Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: The Thai women’s volleyball team are still on cloud nine after clinching a best-ever finish of fourth in the FIVB World Grand Prix, which ended on Sunday. It was the first time that…

  • Major bus crash in Surat Thani; 10 dead | Thaiger

    Major bus crash in Surat Thani; 10 dead

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community MCOTTen people have died and 17 others were injured, some seriously, when an inter-provincial bus left the road and crashed into an electric power transmission pole this morning. The driver lost control of the first-class, air-conditioned Transport Co Ltd vehicle and it crashed into an electric…

  • Weird World News: Vote for sex; Mandarin teachers strip and turtles – hold that position | Thaiger

    Weird World News: Vote for sex; Mandarin teachers strip and turtles – hold that position

    PHUKET: We all know that sex sells, but this latest Weird World News Round-up is about pushing the limits: a female Mexican presidential candidate encourages women to withhold any “favors” if their husbands don’t vote; a instructional website that exposes pupils to flesh as well as Mandarin Chinese, and a pair of turtles is caught in their favorite position for…

  • Phuket Gazette: Thailand business review | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette: Thailand business review

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Boom could bust in condo markets Phuket Gazette / The NationPHUKET: A property bubble is forming in Bangkok, Phuket and other Thai cities, as well as in Vietnam and Myanmar, partly because of euphoria over the forthcoming launch of the Asean Economic Community, an economist has warned.But…

  • Phuket Gazette: Sides vying for military support; Nasa plan; Slain nurse’s mum to talk to ICC lawyer | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette: Sides vying for military support; Nasa plan; Slain nurse’s mum to talk to ICC lawyer

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community All sides vying for military support Phuket Gazette / The NationPHUKET: In the face of a political tug of war, the opposing camps are trying to claim the military as a prize trophy. It is strange but true that the army is a fixture in the…

  • Weird World News: What the public just can’t handle: penguin sex, F-bombs and root foods | Thaiger

    Weird World News: What the public just can’t handle: penguin sex, F-bombs and root foods

    PHUKET: This week’s “Weird World News Round-up” is dedicated to those things deemed unseemly for the public, but have still wiggled into international headlines. The 100-year-old record of horrid penguin sex antics that was snuffed out before going to the public press has resurfaced; in parts of the US, laws are issued on public cursing; and it turns out root…

  • Weird World News: Miracles of miracles, wonders of wonders, news knows no bounds | Thaiger

    Weird World News: Miracles of miracles, wonders of wonders, news knows no bounds

    PHUKET: This week’s Weird World News roundup is dedicated to two near-miracles and one bona fide one that might just make you cringe, as a dead cat takes wing, Beiber fever empowers a young girl to defy medical odds, and a boy wakes up for a glass of water at his own funeral and then is pronounced dead – again,…

  • Man makes doggy treat from neighbor’s ‘best friend’ | Thaiger

    Man makes doggy treat from neighbor’s ‘best friend’

    PHUKET: A Lampang man is being prosecuted for theft after stealing a neighbor’s dog, killing it, filleting it and eating it as a beer snack. Sawat Ariyakhruea, 49, told police he stole and ate “Khero”, a Viking-breed dog belonging to Chamnian Srimuang, 45, because he “thought it was a stray”. He said he used Khero to make nuea daet diao,…

  • Weird World News: The whole nine yards, from cute dog to a man-eater | Thaiger

    Weird World News: The whole nine yards, from cute dog to a man-eater

    PHUKET: This week’s Weird World News roundup is about going the distance from the human body-part packages of a porn star to an inspirational dog in China, and the American face-eater who simply went too far. Magnotta’s long distance body-part packages discovered Canadian bisexual porn star, kitten mutilator and suspected human body-part packager, Luka Rocco Magnotta, may have fled North…

  • Phuket Queer News: Indecent proposal turns deadly | Thaiger

    Phuket Queer News: Indecent proposal turns deadly

    PHUKET: A man in Khon Kaen was kicked to death by his best friend after making an indecent proposal regarding his wife. On the evening of March 27, Suraphon Rattalat, 53, went to the home of 39-year-old Sathit Phonsee in Nongko subdistrict. The pair, good friends for seven years, had planned a drinking session. After becoming quite drunk, Mr Suraphon…

  • Weird World News: Packing and products from a “pickle’ to poo | Thaiger

    Weird World News: Packing and products from a “pickle’ to poo

    PHUKET: This week’s Weird World News roundup is about putting your product out there, whether it’s a poop machine in Australia, aged hardwood lubricant in the United States or a man’s pickle packaged in a mankini for the Olympics. Smells like ‘modern art’ Those who thought Marcel Duchamp’s urinal art was pushing the limits, hold your nose because Australia’s most…

  • Weird World News: When punishment takes an unusual route | Thaiger

    Weird World News: When punishment takes an unusual route

    PHUKET: This week’s Weird World News roundup shatters the foundations laid out by many great nations that claim “cruel and unusual punishments [shall not be] inflicted”, as a hometown speedster has his car turned into a tree house, a horror film clown threatens your child (by request) and a suicide-kit saleswoman’s business gets smothered with a mere US$1,000 fine after…