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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    Is private health insurance in Thailand worth it? Real costs vs risks explained

    Thailand has a strong healthcare system with both public and private options. Public hospitals offer affordable care, but many people, including expats, choose private health insurance for faster service, modern facilities, and more treatment choices. To decide if private health...

  • Travel to Surat Thani, it’s where the fun begins | Jay and Natty’s Adventures

    Travel to Surat Thani, it’s where the fun begins | Jay and Natty’s Adventures

    The Thaiger‘s Natty and Jay recently went on a long weekend trip to Thailand’s southern province of Surat Thani, and they’re dying to show our viewers their adventures. People typically see Surat Thani as a passing point to somewhere exciting like Koh Samui, Koh Tao, and Koh Phangan. But The Thaiger’s top news presenters want people to know about Surat…

  • Thai Public Health Minister Anutin recovers from Covid-19, to return to office

    Thai Public Health Minister Anutin recovers from Covid-19, to return to office

    After testing positive for Covid-19 earlier this week, Thai Public Health Minister Anutin has recovered. The minister is now prepared to return to office on Monday, July 4. Anutin tested positive for the virus earlier this week, after he returned to Thailand from a UNAIDS meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. Anutin and other authorities had attended a general assembly in Paris…

  • Appeals Court sentences former Deputy Minister Banyin to death

    Appeals Court sentences former Deputy Minister Banyin to death

    Following a twisted tale of alleged greed and corruption, former Deputy Minister of Commerce Banyin Tangpakorn has been sentenced to death by the Appeals Court. The ruling increased the earlier life imprisonment sentence for the murder of a judge’s brother in an apparent attempt to sway another court ruling in the deputy minister’s favour. The story sounds like it was…

  • Price of made-to-order food surge in Thailand

    Price of made-to-order food surge in Thailand

    Price inflation continues to rear its head in Thailand and across the globe. The latest item to get more expensive is made-to-order food. The average price per dish of made-to-order food bumped up by about 3.7 baht or 6.7% in May, according to a year-on-year comparison by the food delivery app Line Man Wongnai. The report said that dishes with…

  • Storm ‘Chaba’ to impact Thailand, meteorologists say

    Storm ‘Chaba’ to impact Thailand, meteorologists say

    Thailand’s monsoon season is still alive and kicking, with a new storm potentially on the way to bring more winds and gusty rain to parts of the country from today (Friday) until tomorrow (Saturday), particularly in the north-east areas of the country. The Thai Meteorological Department said a tropical storm ‘Chaba’ is currently moving through the upper South China Sea.…

  • Thai healthcare staff demand reduction to 100 hour working week

    Thai healthcare staff demand reduction to 100 hour working week

    Thailand’s overworked healthcare professionals have petitioned the leader of the opposition party to help them get better working conditions after it was revealed most of them work about 100 hours a week. The Thai Frontline Physician Confederation yesterday handed a letter to the leader of the Move Forward Party, Pita Limjaroenrat, outlining their demands. Chutinart Chinudomporn, a female Thai doctor…

  • Thai bank apps crash on payday causes customer outrage

    Thai bank apps crash on payday causes customer outrage

    Siam Commercial Bank joined Bangkok Bank, and TMB Thanachart Bank in causing chaos throughout Thailand this morning when their banking apps crashed. They not only wreaked turmoil throughout the land but they also managed to unite all of its customers – in anger, after their mobile banking systems crashed on the day their salaries were supposed to be transferred into…

  • Bangkok abbot says he didn’t embezzle 95 million baht

    Bangkok abbot says he didn’t embezzle 95 million baht

    The chief monk at Wat Sutthi Wararam Buddhist temple in Bangkok yesterday insisted he is innocent of any embezzlement charges after a renewed complaint was made against him. The temple’s former accountant, Channarong Phiandi, has made a fresh complaint against the abbot, Phra Sutheerattanabundit, maintaining he embezzled 95 million baht and disposed of a partially cremated corpse into the Chao…

  • The ultimate holiday destination at Four Points by Sheraton Phuket Patong Beach Resort

    The ultimate holiday destination at Four Points by Sheraton Phuket Patong Beach Resort

    Press Release  Four Points by Sheraton Phuket Patong Beach Resort invites all travellers to Phuket. Whether travellers are visiting for work or fun, the hotel is sure to cater to the needs of today’s everyday traveller with its approachable design, stylish comfort and all of the brand’s popular extras. Nestled in a crescent-shaped bay of white sand, overlooking the azure…

  • Covid hospitalisations rising in Thailand but CCSA says “no new preventative measures”

    Covid hospitalisations rising in Thailand but CCSA says “no new preventative measures”

    Last week the Thai public health department declared that Thailand would move into a “post pandemic phase” from July 1. But a leading heart disease specialist, Dr Manoon Leechawengwongs, at the Vichaiyut Hospital in Phayathai is calling on the Public Health department to postpone the declaration, saying that the current rise in cases proves that Thailand “is not ready”. Last…

  • CAAT insists air travellers still need to mask up on Thai flights

    CAAT insists air travellers still need to mask up on Thai flights

    The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand today recommended that all travellers still need to wear face masks on flights because an airplane cabin is a confined area. The Royal Gazette last week announced that face mask wearing is a voluntary practice in an outdoor and airy place, but recommended that people wear masks in crowded areas and venues where social…

  • PayPal Thailand back this year for those with Thai ID Cards

    PayPal Thailand back this year for those with Thai ID Cards

    PayPal announced its service will be up and operational in Thailand this year under its registered company name PayPal Thailand. To use the service, current users would be required to verify their identities via the Thai National Digital ID platform, and this process requires a Thai national ID card. Obviously this is a problem for foreigners. PayPal made some changes…

  • Norwegian man stabs himself in Pattaya hotel

    Norwegian man stabs himself in Pattaya hotel

    A Norwegian man allegedly stabbed himself in the stomach last night while alone in his hotel bedroom in Pattaya. Frank Gjesvold was rushed to hospital with a gaping wound to the abdomen after staff heard screams for help at 11.30pm from room 409 at a hotel in the South Pattaya area, Nong Prue subdistrict, in Chon Buri province. Staff banged…

  • Thai Police ordered to pay 3.4 million baht for torturing teenager

    Thai Police ordered to pay 3.4 million baht for torturing teenager

    South Bangkok Civil Court yesterday ordered The Royal Thai Police to pay about 3.4 million baht in compensation for the false imprisonment and brutal torture of a teenager in 2009. Rittirong Chuenchit was arrested by Prachin Buri Police’s criminal investigation team on January 28, 2009, for suspected theft. During the investigation, police tried to extract a confession from the victim,…

  • Thai health chief received special drug due to obesity, not privilege

    Thai health chief received special drug due to obesity, not privilege

    A Thai doctor and netizens have questioned the Covid-19 treatment plan in Thailand after the Deputy PM and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul received a Molnupiravir shot even though he only had mild symptoms. The Department of Medical Services insisted that no special privileges were involved and the politician received the vaccine because he is considered to be in a…

  • 400 new drinking fountains to be restored to Bangkok streets

    400 new drinking fountains to be restored to Bangkok streets

    Four hundred new pedestal drinking fountains will be reinstalled on Bangkok’s pavements. In December last year, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration assigned the Metropolitan Waterworks Authority to demolish 400 public drinking fountains from the city’s paths, that were first introduced in 1999, because they were old, creaky, and lacked maintenance. Metropolitan pedestrians complained to the authorities that they were unable to use…

  • Thaiger Unfiltered for Charity

    Thaiger Unfiltered for Charity

    Here’s a chance for our viewers to ask Natty and Jay any questions they have and they will answer you with their honest responses unfiltered! Please be kind and appropriate.

  • Land and building tax payment extended by 3 months

    Land and building tax payment extended by 3 months

    The land and building tax payment schedule has been extended by 3 months to assist residents and business owners to navigate through difficult financial waters. The end of April deadline has been relaxed until the end of July. Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda says the extra time will allow taxpayers to pay without penalties, and those who have been fined will…

  • 3 year old one of several Thai children recovering from cannabis-related incidents

    3 year old one of several Thai children recovering from cannabis-related incidents

    The Royal College of Paediatricians of Thailand and the Paediatrics Society of Thailand has reported a spate of serious health-threatening, cannabis-related cases involving a 3 year old child and several other children. Only last week Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt revealed his fears for the health and safety of Thailand’s children after the decriminalisation of cannabis on June 9 while a…

  • UPDATE: Thai OnlyFans couple who turned resort into porn setting surrender to police

    UPDATE: Thai OnlyFans couple who turned resort into porn setting surrender to police

    A Thai OnlyFans couple who turned a popular holiday resort of Wang Nam Khiao into a porn shoot setting have surrendered to the police. Two weeks ago, four erotic videos were circulating online featuring the Thai couple having sex in a resort room with a forest view through the window. The caption on the video states the location is at…

  • China calls for enhanced relations with Thailand

    China calls for enhanced relations with Thailand

    China called for enhanced relations with Thailand ahead of the National Assembly of Thailand’s 90th anniversary. Li Zhanshu, chairman of China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee, yesterday congratulated the Thai National Assembly for making positive contributions to maintaining social justice and promoting economic development in the kingdom. “The legislatures of China and Thailand have maintained friendly exchanges, and have played…

  • Thai PM makes bizarre ‘go easy on me’ plea to media

    Thai PM makes bizarre ‘go easy on me’ plea to media

    Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday made a bizarre appeal to the nation’s press to “go easy” and give him a fair crack of the whip. The 68 year old prime minister made the plea after a recent poll put him in fourth position as potential picks to be Thailand’s next prime minister, a long way behind the daughter of former PM…

  • Best destinations for a low-season yacht charter in Phuket 2022

    Best destinations for a low-season yacht charter in Phuket 2022

    Fancy a sailing vacation in Phuket that won’t break the bank? Chartering a yacht in Phuket during the low season is the perfect answer. The low season in Phuket runs from May to October. While it is technically the rainy season, booking a yacht charter in Phuket during these months doesn’t mean compromising your experience. In fact, lots of savvy…

  • Fake voucher victims demand action against Pattaya travel agent

    Fake voucher victims demand action against Pattaya travel agent

    Angry victims lured into buying fake vouchers worth millions of baht are demanding immediate police action against a Chon Buri-based travel company after six months of procrastination. Sixty victims yesterday submitted a letter to the Central Investigation Bureau commissioner asking him to follow up on their complaints about being conned into buying fake vouchers from the Colour Ocean Group. A…

  • Thai man jailed for rape in London massage parlour

    Thai man jailed for rape in London massage parlour

    London Metropolitan Police is appealing for more women to come forward after a Thai massage therapist was jailed for 11 years for the rape and sexual assault of two women. Kensington-based Mongkhon Thopwan was sentenced on Friday after being convicted on March 21 of 5 counts of assault by penetration, and one count of causing a person to engage in…

  • Welcome to Thailand’s Post Pandemic Day – July 1. What will change?

    Welcome to Thailand’s Post Pandemic Day – July 1. What will change?

    Between the start of this year and last Sunday, June 26, just over 2 million foreign travellers were stamped into Thailand at immigration points, mostly at 2 airports – Suvarnabhumi and Phuket. During this time the impediments to arrival in Thailand also became less restrictive. This Friday, July 1, there will be an official declaration that Thailand is now in…

  • Siam Piwat welcomes world’s women leaders from over 51 countries

    Siam Piwat welcomes world’s women leaders from over 51 countries

    Press Release  The Global Summit of Women 2022 in its 32nd year officially took place in Bangkok over 2 days from 23-25 June. The international forum put Thailand in the limelight with more than 600 participants from over 51 countries in attendance. It was also an excellent opportunity to showcase the kingdom’s capabilities in hosting an international-standard forum and reinforce…

  • Thailand to be “post pandemic” this week, not endemic

    Thailand to be “post pandemic” this week, not endemic

    Post-pandemic or endemic? As Covid-19 is now projected to affect only small to medium sized slices of the population going forward, the Public Health Ministry will declare Thailand to be in post-pandemic mode from this Friday, according to health permanent secretary Kiattiphum Wongrajit. July 1 coincides with the abolition of the Thailand Pass pre-travel digital gateway for overseas visitors, along…

  • Khon Kaen, Thailand’s smart city torchbearer

    Khon Kaen, Thailand’s smart city torchbearer

    Khon Kaen has been held up as a shining example to the rest of Thailand on how to develop as a smart city. One of the four major cities of Isan in northern Thailand, Khon Kaen, was showered with praise at the 4th Apec Media Focus Group last week, hosted jointly by The Foreign Ministry, and Khon Kaen University International…

  • A look at Thailand’s award-winning social media agency

    A look at Thailand’s award-winning social media agency

    Press Release  Meet Primal, Southeast Asia’s Social Media Marketing Powerhouse. With more than 80% of Thailand’s population using social media in 2022, social media marketing is more important than ever for developing your business’s online presence. Meeting customers on the platforms they frequently use is a great way to get exposure for your business and boost conversions. And one of…