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.
-
Sponsored
Moving with family? Here’s how to cut health costs in Thailand
Relocating to Thailand with your family brings exciting new opportunities, but it also comes with the challenge of managing healthcare costs in a new system. Thailand has both public and private healthcare options, each offering different prices and quality of...
-
Belgian man suspected of being infected with monkeypox allegedly flees Thailand
On Thursday, Thailand recorded its second case of monkeypox. In the second case, a Thai man in Bangkok suspects he caught the virus from a Belgian man who he had close relations with. However, the Ministry of Health suspects the Belgian man has already fled Thailand. A total of 18 people in contact with the Thai man all tested negative…
-
Woman urges people to beware of air-con scam in Thailand
A Thai woman warned people to be careful after she was scammed into buying two second-hand air conditioning units with a secret top-up installment plan. The woman posted her story on Facebook, under the moniker June Smile, of how she was conned into buying two air-con units with an extra 900 baht a month top-up plan despite believing she had…
-
Grandparents chain 11 year old to a pole in northeast Thailand
A couple from Buriram province, northeast Thailand, have admitted to chaining up their 11 year old granddaughter to a pole and beating her with a stick. Social services went to investigate at the couple’s house in Lam Plai Mat district today after a local man posted a video of the child, tied up in chains, on social media out of…
-
Toll gate collapses in central Thailand
A toll gate in Chachoengsao province, central Thailand, collapsed at 10.34am today during heavy rain and strong winds. No injuries have been reported. The roof above toll booth 1 at Bang Pakong Toll Gate on Highway 7 heading towards Pattaya completely caved in this morning during adverse weather conditions. No injuries, deaths, or vehicle damage was reported. The toll booth was…
-
Northern Thailand’s Chiang Rai Airport to resume flights on Wednesday
Flights in and out of Chiang Rai’s Mae Fah Luang International Airport in northern Thailand are expected to resume as normal on Wednesday, August 3, at 10pm. The runway has been closed since 6am yesterday after a Nok Air Boeing 737-800 aircraft skidded off the runway during landing due to adverse weather conditions on Saturday night. No one was injured.…
-
Political activists demand Thai PM quits at the end of his tenure
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha may have survived the vote of no confidence just over a week ago but the pressure is still on for him to stand down after a political activist group cranked up more opposition to his tenure. PM Prayut and 10 other cabinet ministers rode the political storm at the censure debate between July 19 and…
-
VIDEO: Rama II U-turn bridge collapses near Bangkok, killing 2
A U-turn bridge over the Rama II Road heading toward Bangkok collapsed yesterday at 8pm, falling onto four vehicles and killing two people. One passenger died at the scene and a construction worker who fell from the bridge later died in hospital from their injuries. Two more people were injured. The incident happened in front of Vibharam Hospital in Samut…
-
Son shoots mother after drunken row in luxury Bangkok condo
In a scene that had all the hallmarks of a Greek tragedy, a 41-year-old businessman shot and killed his 65 year old mother and threatened to murder his wife and two children after a drunken row broke out in a luxury condominium in Bangkok. Kelvin Shuo Gao, an Australian citizen, shot his Chinese mother Xing Liu twice to the body…
-
Foreign arrival screening increased to prevent monkeypox spread
The Thai government is taking precautions to screen incoming travellers from countries with monkeypox outbreaks in hopes of preventing its spread in the kingdom. Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul reported that his ministry is coordinating airport screening and focusing on people travelling from countries that are struggling with a monkeypox outbreak. The deputy director-general of the Department of Disease…
-
More tigers in Thailand than any other Southeast Asian country
Happy International Tiger Day! Thailand is celebrating it by declaring that, after over a decade of conservation, Thailand now has the most tigers in the wild of any nation in Southeast Asia. Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Varawut Silpa-archa announced that this is due in large part to the National Strategy for Tiger Conservation, a programme that has been…
-
SLOW DOWN! Speed limits on highways in Thailand now in effect
Thailand’s notoriously dangerous roads may be getting a little bit safer. A new regulation just reported by the Expressway Authority of Thailand is slapping speed limits on the highways and expressways throughout the country. On the ground, the maximum speed will be set at 110 kilometres per hour, while elevated roadways will be capped at 100 kilometres an hour. The…
-
Eating Crocodile Penis in Thailand | Thaiger Throwback
Welcome to the a Thaiger throwback video. Due to African swine fever making pork prices soar to an all time record high and inflation increasing the prices of chicken and other products. People in Thailand have started to substitute pork and chicken for crocodile meat. It is said crocodile meat is tastier and high in protein, would you be able…
-
Naked couple found dead in deep grave in Northern Thailand
The bodies of an unnamed couple have been discovered in a freshly dug grave in Chok Chai district Nakhon Ratchasima province, northeastern Thailand. The man and woman were found on Thursday evening by a local villager who had been foraging in the woods. He stumbled over some freshly-dug soil covered with branches near Ban Don Lai village in tambon Tha…
-
Thailand Cabinet appoints a moral guardian
Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda probably breathed a sigh of relief yesterday as the Cabinet embarked upon a mini reshuffle. There was something of a mini coup against Anupong from within his party at last week’s censure debate and it was expected he would be replaced by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha after he received the most no-confidence votes with 212. But…
-
Thai pop star flees to UK after fearing for her safety in Thailand
A controversial pop star from Thailand has relocated to the relative safe haven of the UK after fearing for her life. Constant fears of being incarcerated because of the clash between the kingdom’s conservatism and her contentious musical lyrics have driven Peeralada Sukawat from her homeland. It’s been something of a meteoric rise for the 29 year old musician, known…
-
Let’s Travel Back to the 1960s | Thaiger Throwback
Welcome to the a Thaiger throwback video. For many centuries, Bangkokians have used canals as their main way for transportation. But ever since technology and roads were introduced to Thailand, Bangkokians have turned their front doors away from the waterways and started facing the main streets instead. However, Natty managed to find a quaint little community in the inner part…
-
10 million baht kidnapping of businessman by Chinese crooks is comedy of errors
The botched 10 million baht kidnapping of a Vanuatu businessman by three Chinese gangsters had the hallmarks of a blockbuster comedy movie stamped all over it. The hostage and ransom demand situation may not have been funny to the businessman and his girlfriend but the situation was pure slapstick and would not look out of place on the silver screen.…
-
Phuket beachfront bar and grill with a unique dining experience
Press Release Make the most of a short escape in Phuket with a relaxing dining experience right on Patong Beach facing the blue Andaman Sea. Sears & Co Bar and Grill introduces meat lovers to a relaxed and social dining experience in a chilled atmosphere. Serving simple and delicious dishes with high-quality ingredients, Sears & Co Bar and Grill offers…
-
130 tonnes of imported waste going back to Australia
Many expats living in Thailand are shocked when they see locals dumping their trash on the side of the road, but it turns out there is a much bigger perpetrator of illegal dumping in the kingdom. The Inter-Pacific Paper Company was caught by Thai authorities shipping 130 tonnes of illegal waste to Thailand from Australia. The Department of Customs contacted…
-
Heavy rain kills 2 elephants at a Thailand national park
Tragedy hit Khao Yai National Park this week when park rangers discovered the carcasses of two dead elephants among the rocks near Heo Narok Waterfall. Access now has been closed to the waterfall in Nakhon Ratchasima Province as rangers try to remove the bodies. Khao Yai National Park chief Chaiya Huaihongthong yesterday revealed that the elephants died as a result…
-
Opposition to foreign land ownership in Thailand
The government scheme to allow foreigners to buy one rai of land may have been met by enthusiasm in the expat community but not everyone has welcomed the idea. The Interior Ministry’s proposal to allow foreigners to own a bit of land if they invest 40 million baht is seen by many as a short-term fix to the kingdom’s economy…
-
Children falsely accuse village drunk of murdering 6 year old in central Thailand
Yesterday evening, a 6 year old boy drowned in a lake in Lopburi province in central Thailand. The boy’s 7 year old brother and 5 year old friend told police that an alcoholic man who lives nearby strangled the child and held his body under the water until he died. However, the police’s investigation reveals that the children’s accusation is…
-
Happy Birthday to His Royal Majesty King Vajiralongkorn
The Thaiger joins the nation of Thailand in wishing a very happy birthday to His Royal Majesty King Vajiralongkorn as he marks his 70th birthday today. Celebrations have taken place around the kingdom to celebrate the royal milestone as the king becomes a septuagenarian. Born in Bangkok at Ambara Villa, Dusit Palace on this day in 1952, HM the king…
-
Thailand’s second case of monkeypox recorded in Bangkok
A Thai man in Bangkok has tested positive for monkeypox, becoming Thailand’s second recorded case of the virus since the global outbreak began in May this year. At 2.30pm today, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul revealed that the positive result from Wachira Hospital in Bangkok had been confirmed by the Ministry of Health. The 47 year old Thai man started…
-
Tenfold tourist increase due after Thailand-Saudi route opens
Thailand is expecting a tenfold increase in visitors from Saudi Arabia after the launch of the Bangkok to Jeddah route on August 19. Deputy government spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek estimates that the upcoming launch of the direct air route between the holy city of Mecca and the Kingdom of Thailand’s capital city will push up the number of visitors from 30,000…
-
Thai celebs join Olympic Day Walk-Run fun at Pattaya Beach
A number of famous Thai celebrities have signed up to make an appearance at the Olympic Day Walk-Run of 2022 at Pattaya Beach in Chon Buri. The final of the Olympic Day Walk-Run of 2022, which is scheduled to kick off at 6pm on Saturday, September 10, will be attended by Thai actors Phakin “Tono” Khamwilaisak, and Nuttanicha “Nicha” Dungwattanawanich,…
-
Elderly man hit with 10,000 baht electricity bill in central Thailand
An 88 year old man from Kamphaeng Phet province in central Thailand couldn’t believe his eyes when his most recent electricity bill amounted to almost 10,000 baht. Family members and neighbours are contesting the bill on behalf of the old man, who had to take out a loan to pay for his electricity this month. Grandpa’s bill from the Metropolitan…
-
Mayor of Pattaya expects 80,000 tourists to visit Koh Larn this holiday
Pattaya is expected to be bustling with tourists from today until Sunday, in celebration of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun’s 70th birthday today. Mayor of Pattaya Poramet Ngampichet estimates that a whopping 80,000 tourists will travel to Koh Larn island off the coast of Pattaya in the eastern province of Chon Buri during the four-day royal birthday weekend from…
-
Thailand deny Uyghurs deportation to China
Fears Thailand is in the process of deporting asylum-seeking Uyghurs back to China have been denied by the government. News broke yesterday that dozens of Uyghurs from all around Thailand had been rounded up and impounded in a detention facility in Bangkok, raising fears among non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that the government plans to deport them back to China. It sparked…
-
Wanted Taiwanese call centre scammer extradited from Albania to Thailand
A Taiwanese man wanted for allegedly scamming Thai victims from a call centre operation in Dubai arrived at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport yesterday afternoon to face Thailand’s justice system after being arrested in Albania in September. Tzu Yuan Kuo – or “Ayen” – was the “deputy leader” of a call centre gang scamming victims in Thailand, Japan and Malaysia from Dubai…
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.