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

    9 most common health issues covered by insurance for expats in Thailand

    Thailand is a popular destination for expats due to its affordable lifestyle and excellent healthcare system. However, settling in a new country often brings health concerns. To ensure you’re covered for the most common medical needs, understanding what expat health...

  • CCSA spokesperson says 30,000 Covid infections per day | Thaiger

    CCSA spokesperson says 30,000 Covid infections per day

    The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration spokesperson is warning that Covid-19 infections are growing, with an increase seen in 44 of Thailand’s 77 provinces, including Bangkok. He said that between August 7 and August 13, daily Covid infections had averaged 31,148 cases per day, despite the Department of Disease Control reporting official numbers of about 1,900 infections today and 2,100…

  • 10 things that can make expats life way easier in Thailand (2022) | Thaiger

    10 things that can make expats life way easier in Thailand (2022)

    Thailand is a popular place for expats from around the world to settle because of the affordable luxury lifestyle it offers. Living here you get to enjoy spectacular scenery, comfortable tropical weather, delectable inexpensive cuisine and low-cost living. Moving to Thailand is also like stepping into a gorgeous paradise if you are coming from a very cold country, On the…

  • Why plant-based foods are the superior diet ft. Root the Future | Thaiger Podcast Ep.3 | Thaiger

    Why plant-based foods are the superior diet ft. Root the Future | Thaiger Podcast Ep.3

    Joanna and Max, Founders of Root the future, Thailand’s largest plant-based and sustainable community. They’re on a mission to raise awareness about sustainability and plant-based foods through various community-building activities and charity runs, Shining light on environmental issues and providing a platform for many sustainable living establishments to make an impact in Thailand.

  • Visa extensions for foreign visitors to Thailand coming in October | Thaiger

    Visa extensions for foreign visitors to Thailand coming in October

    It’s official, that Thailand’s CCSA has said yes to longer visas for foreign travellers to the country. Starting October 1 this year, the exemption period extension for foreign visitors will be extended from 30 days to 45 days. Meanwhile, the visa-on-arrival scheme will go from 15 days to 30 days, the CCSA announced yesterday. The visa extensions will last until…

  • UPDATE: Woman who allegedly abused a soldier is a police officer | Thaiger

    UPDATE: Woman who allegedly abused a soldier is a police officer

    UPDATE The employer who allegedly abused a female soldier and claimed to be a senator’s wife is actually a police officer. According to one media source, the woman is the mistress of a senator, not his wife. The Spokesperson of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, Teerapong Pattamasing Na Ayutthaya, confirmed yesterday that the victim was a real soldier. Teerapong said…

  • Police shoot and kill major drug trafficker in Kanchanaburi | Thaiger

    Police shoot and kill major drug trafficker in Kanchanaburi

    Police have shot and killed a major drug trafficker in the western province of Kanchanaburi, Thai media reported yesterday. The trafficker, a 30 year old man known as ‘Mot Daodam’ had been a major distributor of narcotics in Kanchanaburi, as well as Ratchaburi. Ratchaburi police found out about Mot Daodam through small-time dealers they had arrested. A team of Ratchaburi…

  • RTN’s ocean conservation activity accused of spoiling ecosystem | Thaiger

    RTN’s ocean conservation activity accused of spoiling ecosystem

    A Royal Thai Navy marine conservation activity day has set social media on fire. Thai netizens heavily criticised RTN’s activity day, which charged people money to take part, saying it did not improve the environment or create environmental awareness, but it destroyed the ecosystem. The RTN and the Royal Thai Marine Corps came under fire after their conservation activity day…

  • Angry tourists demand refunds from tour operators in Thailand | Thaiger

    Angry tourists demand refunds from tour operators in Thailand

    Dozens of angry tourists are demanding refunds from Thai tour companies after they were denied entry into South Korea. The Thai Tourism Department acknowledged they had received complaints from 67 Thai travellers between August 5 and August 17 saying they had not been compensated by Thai tour companies to the tune of 1.4 million baht. The department’s deputy director-general, Jaturon…

  • PM’s office is one of Thailand’s top advertising spenders | Thaiger

    PM’s office is one of Thailand’s top advertising spenders

    Thai netizens are curious as to why the Office of the Thai PM has spent so much money on advertisements after a recent poll by Nielsen ranked it in 13th place for the most money spent on advertising in Thailand. New York City-based Nielsen is a US information, data, and market measurement firm with clients in over 100 countries around…

  • Health dept’s reply to rising food costs: ‘let them eat curry & rice’ | Thaiger

    Health dept’s reply to rising food costs: ‘let them eat curry & rice’

    The Health Department’s “Let them eat curry and rice” response to Thailand’s cost of living crisis is not quite Marie Antoinette’s ‘Let them eat cake’ quip to the starving peasants of France in the 17th century, but it’s not far off. The Thai Health Department urged people to buckle their belts and accept the fact that consumer products are more…

  • Sri Lanka’s exiled president to head home after Thailand stay | Thaiger

    Sri Lanka’s exiled president to head home after Thailand stay

    Sri Lanka’s exiled president is planning to finally head home next week after staying in Thailand. The ousted leader, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has been on quite a journey ever since 100,000 angry protesters forced him to flee Sri Lanka on July 14. He first travelled to the Maldives and then to Singapore, where he was granted a temporary residence but without…

  • Two Indians stopped for taking restricted goods to Bangkok | Thaiger

    Two Indians stopped for taking restricted goods to Bangkok

    Delhi Air Customs arrested two people at Indira Gandhi International Airport yesterday for carrying restricted goods. The couple, Indian nationals, were on their way to Bangkok when they were stopped and had their luggage checked. Customs officers found cash in two currencies, US$19,200 and 15,700 euros, in bangle boxes. Delhi Customs reported the pair had been detained and were helping…

  • Thailand movie legend Sombat Metanee has died, aged 85 | Thaiger

    Thailand movie legend Sombat Metanee has died, aged 85

    A close friend of one of Thailand’s best-known actors, Sombat Metanee, revealed he died peacefully in his sleep today. The 85 year old, who made more than 2,000 films and television shows, was hailed by Thai fans as a heroic actor. At one time, Sombat held a Guinness World Record for most film appearances at 617 times. The media reported…

  • 2 men on a motorcycle rob a gas station in Chon Buri | Thaiger

    2 men on a motorcycle rob a gas station in Chon Buri

    Police are on the lookout for two opportunist thieves who robbed a gas station in Chon Buri yesterday. The two men arrived at the PTT gas station. No. 114/22, Village No. 2, Nong Samsak Sub-district, in the Ban Bueng subdistrict on a motorbike wearing full-face helmets and robbed about 6,000 baht in cash before fleeing the scene. Pol. Lt. Col. Ekachai Pakwat,…

  • PM Prayut suggests studying Buddhism to cope with rising electricity bills in Thailand | Thaiger

    PM Prayut suggests studying Buddhism to cope with rising electricity bills in Thailand

    Thailand’s electricity authorities approved record high electricity prices on Monday to offset the rising prices of imported gas. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s suggestion of studying Buddhism to cope with expensive bills is a slap in the face to Thailand’s poorest people, who will disproportionately suffer the most due to the price hike. “Go and study the Dharma. Study the Four…

  • Indian man arrested for smuggling 17 live animals out of Thailand | Thaiger

    Indian man arrested for smuggling 17 live animals out of Thailand

    An Indian man was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok on Tuesday for trying to smuggle 17 prohibited animals from Thailand to India. The Director of Thailand’s Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, Praset Sornsathapornkun, reported to the media that the 21 year old Indian man, Abilash Annadury, was arrested by the officers of the…

  • Thai govt open to cannabis recreation, not pot-smoking tourists | Thaiger

    Thai govt open to cannabis recreation, not pot-smoking tourists

    Thailand’s Public Health Minister made contradictory statements yesterday regarding the recreational use of cannabis. In one statement Anutin Charnvirakul said he was open to the further liberalisation of the drug and in another, he said pot-smoking tourists are not welcome in Thailand. “We don’t welcome those kinds of tourists,” said The 55 year old Bhumjaithai Party leader at a “Meet…

  • School’s In, Face-To-Face Learning Shifts to the Home | Thaiger

    School’s In, Face-To-Face Learning Shifts to the Home

    Press Release  BANGKOK, THAILAND: Education throughout Thailand during the last few years of the Covid-19-inspired ‘Zoom Boom’ has largely taken place in a virtual classroom.  But for many, remote learning has not been an effective substitute for face-to-face lessons. Growing frustration by online students and teachers who feel unable to connect in the fragmented and often disrupted cyberspace has created…

  • Thai neitzens angry at SUV driver using a siren just to use toilet | Thaiger

    Thai neitzens angry at SUV driver using a siren just to use toilet

    Thai netizens made it known there were outraged by the owner of a black SUV car that traveled at high speed and used a siren – just to use a toilet. Dashcam footage of the SUV was posted on the Facebook page Let Me Know If You Want to Be Famous Return Part 3. The video was posted on August…

  • New poll says people from Thailand more relaxed about Covid-19 | Thaiger

    New poll says people from Thailand more relaxed about Covid-19

    A survey conducted by the Department of Health Service Support revealed that Thai people are not as vigilant as they once were about Covid-19 safety measures. The survey revealed that Thai people were about 4.3% more likely to engage in higher-risk activities than previously while there is an 11.06% decline in mask-wearing awareness. These results came from comparing the data…

  • Body of one teacher found in double suicide pact in SE Thailand | Thaiger

    Body of one teacher found in double suicide pact in SE Thailand

    The body of one of the two teachers who jumped off a bridge in Muang district in a double suicide pact has been recovered. A member of the public Anon Boonsert revealed that he saw two women sitting inside a Honda car parked on the Bang Phra Bridge, connecting Wang Krachae subdistrict and Nong Khan Song subdistrict, in Trat Province,…

  • Son who tried to starve mother to death dies of TB in NE Thailand | Thaiger

    Son who tried to starve mother to death dies of TB in NE Thailand

    A Thai man who tried to starve his mother to death in the hope of getting her inheritance was found dead yesterday in the family home in Isaan of Buriram province. It is believed he died of Tuberculosis. Officers from Satuek Police Station and a Wang Krut Rescue team were called to investigate a one-story house in the Nikom sub-district,…

  • Hot gran bowled over by Shane Warne before he died in Thailand | Thaiger

    Hot gran bowled over by Shane Warne before he died in Thailand

    The world’s self-proclaimed “hottest grandma” revealed she was secretly dating cricket legend Shane Warne before his death in Thailand earlier this year. Australia OnlyFans star Gina Stewart claimed she first met Warne in 2018 at the Gold Coast, Queensland. The 51 year old model revealed she has gone public about their relationship because she says she’s still finding it hard…

  • Soi Dog Foundation pledges to neuter 1 million animals in 2 years | Thaiger

    Soi Dog Foundation pledges to neuter 1 million animals in 2 years

    Now in 16 provinces, the Soi Dog Foundation has set a goal to vaccinate and neuter one million stray dogs and cats across Thailand within the next two years. The foundation has been working since 2003 to combat the problem of overpopulation of stray dogs all over the country. They launched a program that year called Catch, Neuter, Vaccinate, Return…

  • Instant noodles, a staple budget food, fighting to increase prices | Thaiger

    Instant noodles, a staple budget food, fighting to increase prices

    There is perhaps no symbol more synonymous with living on a tight budget than dining cheap with a cup of ramen instant noodles. So it’s an extra kick for those struggling during this time of hyperinflation in Thailand and around the world that instant noodles manufacturers have requested expedited permission to raise prices on their products. The Internal Trade Department…

  • Pattaya cops arrest spurned lover armed with gun after car chase | Thaiger

    Pattaya cops arrest spurned lover armed with gun after car chase

    A high-speed car chase between police and a spurned lover armed with a gun ended when officers managed to arrest the man in a state of emotional duress in Pattaya. Police were called to the scene of a domestic dispute between Jane Ditphakdi and an unnamed woman, who rejected his advances, and another man trying to mediate the argument yesterday…

  • A monk dies in yet another day of Buddhist shame in Thailand | Thaiger

    A monk dies in yet another day of Buddhist shame in Thailand

    A history of bad blood between two monks yesterday resulted in the death of one on yet another day of shame for the Buddhist faith. There has been an endless number of monastic scandals over the past year in Thailand involving Buddhist monks being caught engaging in inappropriate and criminal acts in violation of their monastic vows from fornication to…

  • Electricity prices soar 18% to 4.72 baht per unit next month | Thaiger

    Electricity prices soar 18% to 4.72 baht per unit next month

    Electricity prices are already at a record high rate of 4 baht per unit, topping an eight-year old record, and have now been approved to surge another 18%. When global oil prices rocketed up to US$110 per barrel in 2014, Thai energy prices hit 3.96 baht per unit. Coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic, the demand for all forms of…

  • UPDATE: Foreigner faces prison for parrotfishing in Thailand | Thaiger

    UPDATE: Foreigner faces prison for parrotfishing in Thailand

    UPDATE: The foreign parrotfishes have been caught and detained by police in Phuket, southern Thailand, and faces legal action. Thailand’s Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Warawut Silpa-archa made the following statement this morning… “Yesterday, August 15, at 3.30pm, Roslan Benedia of Dutch nationality was detained and questioned at a police station in Phuket over a video he posted on…

  • Dangerous social media trend encourages Thai teens to take Rohypnol | Thaiger

    Dangerous social media trend encourages Thai teens to take Rohypnol

    Parents in Thailand have been warned that a dangerous TikTok trend is encouraging teenagers to take Rohypnol, commonly known as “roofies” or “date rape drug.” Rohypnol is a strong drug that causes extreme drowsiness, and dizziness known for causing blackouts. Rohypnol is commonly associated with “date rape,” with many people worldwide – mostly women – reporting that they have been…