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.

  • Sponsored

    Top 10 reasons for expats to get a comprehensive health insurance in Thailand

    Moving to Thailand offers plenty of excitement and adventure, but the local healthcare system can be complex to navigate as an expat. From unique health risks to high costs at private hospitals, having a comprehensive health insurance plan is essential....

  • Phuket Media Watch: Disaster status declared amid floods in South; Phuket not severely affected

    Phuket Media Watch: Disaster status declared amid floods in South; Phuket not severely affected

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Hospital patients evacuated, military on standby in Hat Yai Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: Songkhla, Yala and Nakhon Si Thammarat provinces in the South have been inundated by flash flooding after days of heavy rain. Disaster status – signified by red flags – has been…

  • Phuket Media Watch: 12 killed in pick-up truck in Buri Ram

    Phuket Media Watch: 12 killed in pick-up truck in Buri Ram

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community 12 killed were enroute to family funeral Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: Police and rescue workers called to the scene of a road accident in Buri Ram province yesterday found a tour bus severely damaged and a pick-up truck in a roadside ditch. Inside the truck,…

  • Weird World News: Time for change as Samoa ditches a day; book 123 years overdue found in Britain; and Chinese opt for year-end pillow fights

    Weird World News: Time for change as Samoa ditches a day; book 123 years overdue found in Britain; and Chinese opt for year-end pillow fights

    PHUKET: New Year is always a time of reflection. To cast out the old and usher in the new. This week’s Weird World News features a trio of time-related happenings from around the world. Samoa skips forward a day … so long Friday, December 30 THE South Pacific island nation of Samoa has scrapped its time-zone alliance with the United…

  • Khon Kaen crazy nicking knickers

    Khon Kaen crazy nicking knickers

    PHUKET: Police in Khon Kaen nabbed a thief with an unusual haul mid-December – more than 1,000 pairs of used women’s underwear. The kinky culprit, Pathanin Kawikul, 26, told officers he used the undergarments – which he stole over a period of more than five years – for sexual gratification. Police were alerted to Mr Pathanin’s bizarre activities when Phornphat…

  • Border agreement reached by Thailand and Cambodia; Burma and Thailand economic co-operation

    Border agreement reached by Thailand and Cambodia; Burma and Thailand economic co-operation

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Agreement reached to withdraw troops from border The Nation / Phuket Gazette Thailand and Cambodia agreed yesterday to comply with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) order to withdraw troops from the disputed border area near the Preah Vihear Temple following a meeting of the General…

  • Phuket Media Watch – death toll from flooding in Thailand reaches 740

    Phuket Media Watch – death toll from flooding in Thailand reaches 740

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Death toll from flooding in Thailand reaches 740 Phuket Gazette The death toll from months of severe flooding across Thailand has reached at least 740, the country’s Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department reported on Friday. About 3,652 villages in 80 districts of nine provinces in the…

  • Phuket Media Watch – Six bombs defused in eastern Bangkok, man arrested

    Phuket Media Watch – Six bombs defused in eastern Bangkok, man arrested

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Six bombs found and defused in eastern Bangkok Phuket Gazette / The NationThai police found and defused six home-made explosive devices at three separate locations in Bangkok, officials said. One suspect has been arrested. One explosive device was placed in front of a Bangkok Bank branch;…

  • Man burns brother in a bizarre urine-provoked attack | Thaiger

    Man burns brother in a bizarre urine-provoked attack

    PHUKET: An elderly Samut Prakan man allegedly doused his own cancer-stricken younger brother in gasoline before setting him on fire in a case of almost unbelievable savagery last week. Before launching the attack, Thawat Limyothin, 61, was apparently hit by drops of liquid that fell from the ceiling below a room in which his brother Kiatchai Limyothin, 50, was convalescing.…

  • MP questions love for flood victims | Thaiger

    MP questions love for flood victims

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Love motel floated boats for flood relief Phuket Gazette PHUKET: An opposition MP Friday came up with “new information” to support his allegation of irregularities involving the government’s Flood Relief Operation Centre (FROC). Phuket Gazette partner newspaper The Nation reports that at a press conference at…

  • Aussie pays Bt40mn ‘boybride’ price | Thaiger

    Aussie pays Bt40mn ‘boybride’ price

    PHUKET: An Australian man wed his young Thai boyfriend in Chiang Mai yesterday, forking over 40 million baht in “boybride price” to the man’s family for the privilege. The traditional ceremony took place at the Chiang Mai home of Mr Chaiyanon “Un” Worasilp, a 27-year-old from Chachoengsao province, whose first name is unfortunately translated by the on-line Google Translation service…

  • Weird World News: Animals trump humans as dog shoots man, cobras strike tax office and toads predict earthquakes

    Weird World News: Animals trump humans as dog shoots man, cobras strike tax office and toads predict earthquakes

    PHUKET: It’s often said in journalism, “If a dog bites a man, that’s not news. But if a man bites a dog, now that’s news.” The more unusual and infrequent events gets Weird World News’ vote every time. So we think a dog shooting a man, toads predicting earthquakes and cobras scaring tax officials are in the right vein of…

  • Thaksin to get Thai passport as ‘New Year’s gift’

    Thaksin to get Thai passport as ‘New Year’s gift’

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thailand to ‘soon’ issue passport for fugitive former premier Thaksin Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Thailand will issue a passport for fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra “very soon”, Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul said yesterday. Phuket Gazette partner newspaper The Nation quotes Surapong as saying that the passport…

  • Phuket misses out on Dance Festival as it moves to Chiang Mai

    Phuket misses out on Dance Festival as it moves to Chiang Mai

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Dance Festival moves to Chiang Mai due to flooding The Nation Thanks to the flooding, the Dance Center has not only postponed its International Dance Festival but relocated it from Bangkok and shortened it. It’s set for tomorrow. “This is the 11th edition and the first…

  • Yingluck falls ill; Police denies rumors about key burglary suspect

    Yingluck falls ill; Police denies rumors about key burglary suspect

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Yingluck cancels events after falling sick The NationAccording to a source close to the prime minister, Yingluck appeared faint, complained of a headache and vomited during a lunch break at Muang Thong Thani in Nonthaburi. She had earlier inspected a flooded area of Pak Kret district…

  • Phuket Media Watch – Bounty offered in Sophoth theft case

    Phuket Media Watch – Bounty offered in Sophoth theft case

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Bounty for fugitive in Sophoth case The Nation A 200,000-baht bounty has been offered for the capture of the alleged ringleader, reportedly on the run in Laos, who took millions of baht during the burglary at Transport Ministry permanent secretary Suphoth Sublom’s house. A senior commander,…

  • Phuket Media Watch – Deep South flower pot bomb injures monks

    Phuket Media Watch – Deep South flower pot bomb injures monks

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Flower pot bomb injures monks The Nation Nine people, including three monks, were injured in a bomb attack by suspected insurgents in the Deep South province of Pattani recently. The monks were collecting alms on Sai Charoen Pradit Road in Pattani City when a 3-kilogram bomb…

  • Weird World News: Technology fads with “Robocop’ prison guards, indestructible iPads and the “Hi honey’ banner vending machine

    Weird World News: Technology fads with “Robocop’ prison guards, indestructible iPads and the “Hi honey’ banner vending machine

    PHUKET: Technology is great for providing distractions, but this week’s Weird World News round-up is all about the latest gizmo goings-on designed to get your attention, and keep it. ‘RoboCops’ to patrol South Korean prisons SOUTH Korean prisons will deploy a fleet of robot guards to keep inmates in line. And at one billion won (about 27 million baht) apiece,…

  • Weird World News: Teens tampon booze craze, man sues dating company for “ugly’ brides and prisoner uses guts for glory | Thaiger

    Weird World News: Teens tampon booze craze, man sues dating company for “ugly’ brides and prisoner uses guts for glory

    PHUKET: This week’s weird news round-up is a subtle blend of depraved, deplorable and detestable happenings from the around the globe. Health Risk: Teens using vodka-soaked tampons to get drunk PHOENIX Police say a craze that involves teenage girls dousing tampons with vodka and inserting them into their “parts” to get drunk is on the rise and needs to be…

  • Phuket Media Watch: Flood Roundup

    Phuket Media Watch: Flood Roundup

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community More than 1,000 suicidal following flood crisis The NationPHUKET: More than 1,000 people whose lives have been disrupted by the floods in central Thailand are at risk of committing suicide, Disaster Mitigation Centre director Phanu Yaemsri said Friday. Of more than 1.3 million Thais affected by…

  • Weird World News: Refusing to age gracefully with the pensioner graffiti gang, the great-granny denied booze for no ID and the rock dad “too old to dance’

    Weird World News: Refusing to age gracefully with the pensioner graffiti gang, the great-granny denied booze for no ID and the rock dad “too old to dance’

    PHUKET: With age comes wisdom, right? Well not for these wrinkled and wizened hell-raisers who found themselves in the world media headlines this week for all the wrong reasons. Elderly graffiti gang Old Skool Massive on the loose A BRITISH gang of pensioners known as the Old Skool Massive have been terrorizing their neighbors with graffiti, attacking homes and cars…

  • Weird World News: Grrrrrrrrrreat escape in Ohio, monster mistake for giant slipper man and tears for loveable crocodile Pocho

    Weird World News: Grrrrrrrrrreat escape in Ohio, monster mistake for giant slipper man and tears for loveable crocodile Pocho

    PHUKET: Animals leaped into the world’s news headlines this week with scary, silly and sad stories to report. The great Ohio escape: Monkey still AWOL, feared eaten by lion A FUGITIVE monkey who has been on the run from Ohio police since Tuesday night is presumed dead, eaten by one his “big cat” accomplices. One of the 18 tigers or…

  • Weird World News: The Superhero of Seattle, Moss Man and Superman fan in high jinks

    Weird World News: The Superhero of Seattle, Moss Man and Superman fan in high jinks

    PHUKET: Superheroes and villains made headlines around the world this week in bizarre, botched and bone-headed acts of super silly proportions. Masked ‘superhero of Seattle’ arrested for assault IN SEATTLE, Washington, they really do have a superhero watching over the city at night. But there’s just one problem: He was arrested this week for assault. The “superhero of Seattle”, also…

  • Muslim marries ladyboy, asks for refund | Thaiger

    Muslim marries ladyboy, asks for refund

    SATUN: A Muslim man’s marriage to a 16-year-old ladyboy has collapsed after drawing a storm of criticism from the local community, who claimed the wedding was against the principles of Islam. Leaflets were even circulated in the family’s village in Paera subdstrict in Satun claiming the “sacrilegious” binding of lovers had caused recent flooding in the province. Ismael Langji, 18,…

  • Weird World News: Recipes for disaster when entertaining guests

    Weird World News: Recipes for disaster when entertaining guests

    PHUKET: If you’ve ever had a friend or date come over for a meal only to wince in disgust, spit out a half-chewed mouthful of goop, make a few nonsensical excuses and promptly leave, then it’s safe to say you’re a dud in the kitchen. If you don’t know a courgette from a zucchini or a spatula from a spade,…

  • Weird World News: Young people doing stupid things | Thaiger

    Weird World News: Young people doing stupid things

    PHUKET: Most adults dread old age because it means you can’t do the things you could when you were young. But if the following stories are anything to go by, those getting on in years should feel blessed with the wisdom that comes with age. The weird, dangerous and idiotic things young people are getting up to around the globe…

  • ‘Lanky Gecko’ and his house of lizards | Thaiger

    ‘Lanky Gecko’ and his house of lizards

    CHIANG MAI: An animal-crazy man in Chiang Mai has shacked up in an apartment with 23 large geckos and chameleons, living with the lizards as if they were pet cats and dogs. When a reporter from Khao Sod went to visit Suiti Saelim’s apartment in Fa Ham subdistrict, there were lizards everywhere: under the bed, on the mattress, on the…

  • Weird World News: Indecent in-flight behavior

    Weird World News: Indecent in-flight behavior

    PHUKET: Travel by airplane can be tough. Long lines, endless security checks and jet lag can be enough to turn the best of us into agitated, less-tolerant versions of ourselves. But for the most part, we hold our nerve while scoffing down a few prescription pills, sink into our seats and sleep. There are those who don’t want you to…

  • Phuket Gazette Thailand News: DNA tests proposed for migrant workers; Rubber farmers fight on; Mahouts fear losing elephants | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: DNA tests proposed for migrant workers; Rubber farmers fight on; Mahouts fear losing elephants

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Proposal to DNA-test migrant workers panned The Nation/Phuket GazettePHUKET: Prompted by concerns over the ease with which foreigners will be able to travel in and out of Thailand once the Asean Economic Community (AEC) commences in 2015, the Institute for Forensic Medicine (IFM) is calling on the…

  • The Curse of the Police Banyan Tree Shrine | Thaiger

    The Curse of the Police Banyan Tree Shrine

    NONTHANURI: A police investigation into the attempted murder-suicide by the wife of a police captain has taken a strange turn as a curse-cleansing ceremony was held at the police station’s banyan tree shrine. Last week, Siripat Kongkla, the wife of Nonthaburi city police officer Kongcham Kongkla, reportedly shot their five-year-old daughter using her husband’s police-issue 9mm handgun before turning the…

  • Demon drink: exorcism ends one-man hostage show | Thaiger

    Demon drink: exorcism ends one-man hostage show

    PHUKET: A recent incident in Baan Bangjo, in Phuket’s Thalang District, recently highlighted to police and local residents the extent of disorientation alcohol can induce. Police officers and members of the Kusoldharm foundation responded to late-night reports of a public disturbance near a place of worship in Srisoonthorn subdistrict. Arriving at a private residence behind Baan Bangjo Mosque, they found…