Thailand News

Discover the most recent and relevant news from across Thailand on The Thaiger’s National News page. Covering a wide range of topics, including politics, business, crime, and lifestyle, our dedicated team brings you breaking news, in-depth analysis, and exclusive stories from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.

Stay informed about the latest developments in Thai society, economy, and culture, as well as updates on travel, tourism, and expat life. With The Thaiger, you’ll never miss out on the essential news that matters to you.

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    5 best restaurants in Sukhumvit with English menu on GrabFood: Tried and tested

    So you’re in Sukhumvit, Bangkok, you want to explore its vibrant food scene and order delivery, but you’re feeling lost in translation? We understand. As an expat living in Thailand, figuring out how to order food delivery can be a...

  • Mentally ill Thai man sentenced to 12 years for royal defamation

    A man with mental health problems has been sentenced to 12 years in jail for criticising the Thai royal family. The 29 year old man, called Punyaphat, made a number of posts on the Royalist Marketplace Facebook group questioning the popularity of the Thai royal family, and King Vajiralongkorn’s frequent trips to Germany. Siwapan Manitkul, a managing director of a…

  • 4 suspects in wildlife trade arrested across Thailand

    Environmental police arrested 4 suspected wildlife traders today in several provinces across Thailand. The Nonthaburi Provincial Court ordered arrest warrants for the group on June 14 on charges of colluding in illegal trading in wildlife and illegal possession of protected wild animals. Officers from Thailand’s Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression searched spots in Bangkok, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, Ayutthaya, and…

  • Police arrest 2 Iranian men for scamming people in Thailand

    Police arrested 2 Iranian nationals today in Chanthaburi province, eastern Thailand. The men allegedly scammed people out of money on at least 2 occasions in Samut Songkhram province, southwest of Bangkok. The men would ask people to exchange banknotes, but then snatch the victim’s money and run off without giving anything in return. The 24 year old man and 32…

  • Thailand develops cannabis test kits that detect THC levels in 15 minutes

    Thailand took marijuana off its list of narcotics, but extracts with higher than 0.2% tetrahydrocannabinol – the “happy” chemical – are still illegal. The law was designed to discourage the recreational use of cannabis, but no one knew how it could be enforced, until now. Thailand’s Department of Medical Sciences has developed marijuana test kits that detect THC levels in…

  • Phuket homeowner checks CCTV to find foreign couple canoodling outside house

    A Thai woman away in Germany was lost for words on Tuesday when she checked her Phuket home’s CCTV camera footage to see a foreign couple – a man and woman – having sex in front of her house. Homeowner Waralak Frisch often resides in Germany with her husband, so she installed security cameras to check on the safety of…

  • Thai police say plan to change uniforms ‘a waste of money’

    Plans to change the uniforms of parliament police, 6 months after they were issued with new ones, have been put on hold after officers objected, calling it “a waste of taxpayers’ money.” Sixty parliament police officers gathered at the parliament building, in Dusit district, yesterday to submit a letter to the President of the National Assembly, Chuan Leekpai, to oppose…

  • Thai AirAsia X confident of takeoff after bankruptcy setback

  • Thai PM faces fourth censure motion next month

    The next political challenge for Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is next month when a censure motion is put to the lower house by opposition MPs. The debate is scheduled for July 18 – 22 and there is no certainty how the votes will eventually fall at this time. Renegade MPs, new political factions, the PMs falling popularity and a looming…

  • Frenchman found dead in luxury villa in Koh Samui, Thailand

    The body of a Frenchman was discovered at a luxury pool villa in Koh Samui, off the coast of the southern province of Surat Thani, at 9:30am this morning. Officers from Koh Samui Police Station were called to a detached house in Na Muang subdistrict after a cleaner discovered the body of 45 year old Christophe Cedric Moulinaires lying dead…

  • Expect more wind and rain in most of Thailand

    Don’t forget your umbrella when you leave the house, because Thailand’s wind and rain isn’t going away anytime soon. It is the wet season after all. The country’s meteorological department announced that thundershowers are expected across the country today, with isolated rains and gusty winds too. In Northern Thailand, there will be scattered thundershowers in the Mae Hong Son, Chiang…

  • Breaking the glass ceiling: Thai hotels push for gender equality at women’s hospitality event

    As a study reveals that 90% of general managers in Thai hotels are men, an important event in Phuket aims to understand why women still encounter barriers to career progression. Gender equality is high on the agenda for Thai hotels as a hospitality event held recently in Phuket addressed the imbalance in the industry in leadership positions for highly qualified…

  • Energy Ministry encourages consumers to use charcoal stoves to combat gas hike

    The Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency has a solution to solve the recent gas hike: use a charcoal stove if cooking gas is too expensive. The department’s official Facebook page yesterday uploaded a picture of a stove, with a caption saying ‘a charcoal stove is durable, helps save money, uses less charcoal, and offers a lot of heat.”…

  • Deputy PM’s confidence misplaced ahead of no-confidence vote

    Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwon’s confidence that small political parties will support the government in the upcoming no-confidence debate appears to be misplaced. The 76 year old leader of the ruling Palang Pracharath Party believes the targeted cabinet misters have enough support from small political parties to see off the opposition at the debate planned on July 18 and predicted to…

  • Getting rid of masks and revised closing times in Thailand – waiting for official rubber stamp

    Whilst we might be rid of the Thailand Pass on July 1, there appears to be an administrative delay to the changes in mask requirements and changes to the closing times. In clarifying new face mask guidelines, Dr Taweesilp Visanuyothin, the spokesperson for CCSA says that all 77 provinces in Thailand would be redesignated as green zones. Previously there were…

  • Thailand offers 5-year income tax exemption for foreign actors

    The cabinet approved a 5-year personal income tax exemption for foreign film stars who earn income from foreign movies shot in Thailand. The government revealed they wanted to attract more film crews and expected the movie industry to generate about 17.5 billion baht over those 5 years. The PM’s Deputy Spokesperson, Ratchada Thanadirek, says that the government wants to encourage…

  • Novices caught smoking cannabis kicked out of Thailand’s monkhood

    A group of novice Buddhist monks were kicked out of the monkhood yesterday after they were caught smoking cannabis from a bong at a famous temple in Buriram province in northeast Thailand. The young men – who had been ordained for a total of 4 days – were taking part in a drug addiction programme jointly run by Thailand’s Buddhist…

  • Government launch mental health app to combat depression

    A mental health evaluation app by the Department of Mental Health, and collaborators, has been developed to identify the early signs of depression. The app can be downloaded to your smartphone as part of the Mor Prom application. In Thailand, more than 1.5 million people suffer from depression, with over 4,000 cases of suicide every year. Another 53,000 people have…

  • Today is the longest day of the year in Thailand

    The sun will reign over the sky for almost 13 hours today in Thailand, making today (June 21) the longest day of the year. The extended sunlight hours mark the beginning of the summer season in the entire Northern Hemisphere, formally known as “The Summer Solstice.” The sun rose from the sky’s northeastern horizon at 5:51am this morning in Thailand,…

  • Thai Army lifts ban on Lazada to help country boost economy

    The Royal Thai Army has lifted a boycott of the e-commerce platform Lazada. The company, owned by the Alibaba Group, was banned from delivering parcels to military premises all over the country for 42 days because of an offensive advert that insulted the Thai Royal Family, and disabled people. Last month Lazada goods were banned from entering Royal Thai Army…

  • Air Canada launches first direct North America – Thailand flight in 10 years

  • Thailand No.3 in the global electronic payment hit parade

    A new study by ACI Worldwide, Global Data, and the Centre for Economics and Business Research, revealed Thailand is in the world’s top 3 nations in terms of electronic payment transactions. Thailand last year recorded 9.7 billion real-time electronic payment transactions, putting it in 3rd position globally after India (48.6 billion times) and China (18.5 billion times). Deputy government spokesperson…

  • Chinese woman dies in road accident in Bangkok

    A young Chinese woman was struck and killed while crossing the road in Bangkok in the early hours of this morning. The woman was crossing over the 3 lane road at Ratchavipha intersection on Ratchadapisek Road in Chatuchak district when she was struck by a car at around 00:50am. Police are checking CCTV cameras to confirm the details of the…

  • Thai PM to keep ‘special law’ despite opposition

    PM Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday dismissed accusations the nation’s emergency decree is only in place to control the anti-government protestors. Move Forward Party MP Rangsiman Rome on Sunday demanded the PM lift the special law, claiming it is only being used to take legal action against protesters rather than curbing the spread of the Covid-19. Rangsiman says the government had eased…

  • Cathay Pacific plants 999 mangrove trees in Thailand

    Hong Kong’s flag carrier Cathay Pacific has planted 999 mangrove trees in the Khlong Khon Mangrove Forest in Samut Songkram, central Thailand as part of its “1 Ticket, 1 Tree” initiative. The airline launched the initiative last year, committing to planting 1 tree for every plane ticket bought in a one-month period. About 50 volunteers, including Cathay Pacific staff and…

  • Thai government to launch info about privacy laws to help small business

    The government is to launch 8 law declarations before the end of the month regarding the Personal Data Protection Act, especially aimed at helping small and medium size enterprises. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha assigned the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, and relevant departments, to help the nation’s SMEs understand the PDPA because it’s new to Thailand. The PDPA was officially…

  • Canadian woman killed by a truck in Kanchanaburi

    A truck driver has been charged with negligent driving after allegedly killing a Canadian cyclist on Saturday. Pickup truck driver Chaiwat Chutoh hit Marnie Scott while she was out cycling with her husband, Joseph, on a bypass in Muang, a district in central Thailand’s Kanchanaburi province. The mother of two was killed instantly while trying to change lanes to do…

  • Thai Airways resumes Perth – Bangkok flights

  • Cannabis use is banned on Thai university campuses

    The use of cannabis for recreation and cannabis-infused foods and beverages have been banned on the campuses of universities and agencies in Thailand announced the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research, and Innovation. MHESI Minister Anek Laothamatas signed a statement aimed at restricting the use of cannabis in those facilities with immediate effect. The tertiary education rollback is just the…

  • Second suspect admits beating Thai couple to death with iron rod in Taiwan

    Police arrested a second man on suspicion of jointly murdering a Thai couple – the woman pregnant with twins – earlier this month in Taiwan. “Thanawat” admitted beating the couple to death with an iron rod together with Santi, the original prime suspect, and another Thai national. On Friday, Santi handed himself into the police in Chiang Dao, northern Thailand.…

  • Russia-Ukraine conflict excuse for energy hike

    The conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues to be the excuse by utilities suppliers to raise energy prices. The Energy Regulatory Commission today announced the power tariff would increase to a record high of 4.4 baht per kilowatt-hour (unit) between September and December meaning Thai residents face higher bills. The ERC says the higher power tariff, which is made up…