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

    Limited-time deal: Save 20% on Cigna's expat health plans forever

    Starting a new life abroad is exciting—new culture, new lifestyle, and new chances to grow. But living far from home also means taking steps to protect your health in unfamiliar surroundings. Without the right coverage, even small health issues can...

  • Socialite dad of driver in notorious road-rage bus stop ram busted with meth | Thaiger

    Socialite dad of driver in notorious road-rage bus stop ram busted with meth

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Socialite dad of driver in notorious road-rage killing busted with meth The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Businessman and socialite Kan-anek Pachimsawat has been arrested for allegedly using the drug “ice” (crystal methamphetamine) and possessing it with intent to sell. He was released on Friday on…

  • AMLO to seize B4bn in assets from former co-op chief | Thaiger

    AMLO to seize B4bn in assets from former co-op chief

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community AMLO to seize B4bn in assets from former co-op chief The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: THE former chairman of the Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative allegedly embezzled nearly 12 billion baht from its coffers and will have a large number of assets worth almost 4bn baht…

  • Woman becomes first Thai driver arrested for refusing breath test

    Woman becomes first Thai driver arrested for refusing breath test

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Driver arrested for refusing breath test The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A female driver has become the first motorist in the country to be punished for refusing a breathalyser test, said the police, who added that they were forced to tow away her car with…

  • Samui bar owner, guard confess to slaying Turkish tourist | Thaiger

    Samui bar owner, guard confess to slaying Turkish tourist

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Samui bar owner, guard confess to slaying Turkish tourist The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A security guard and the manager of a bar on Koh Samui confessed on Friday to conspiring to shoot dead a Turkish tourist, police said yesterday. Kabin Srisa-ard, 27, the guard,…

  • PM woos private sector to build high-speed trains

    PM woos private sector to build high-speed trains

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PM woos private sector to build high-speed trains The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha has invited the private sector to build short-distance, high-speed trains to attractive sites near Bangkok in order to facilitate tourism. The government will provide support in terms…

  • Yingluck’s lawyers seek review of corruption ruling

    Yingluck’s lawyers seek review of corruption ruling

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Yingluck’s lawyers seek review of case The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The legal team of former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra has urged the Office of the Attorney-General to review its decision to pursue a corruption case against her, arguing that there is insufficient evidence as…

  • Long-stay tourism drive aimed at Japanese | Thaiger

    Long-stay tourism drive aimed at Japanese

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Long-stay tourism drive aimed at Japanese The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Tourism Ministry has initiated a plan to promote long-stay tourism by focusing on Japanese tourists one of Thailand’s biggest inbound markets, said Tourism Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul yesterday. She was speaking after meeting with…

  • Blast injures five at Bangkok Army depot

    Blast injures five at Bangkok Army depot

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Blast injures five Bangkok Army depot The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Five civilian personnel were injured yesterday in an accident at the Army’s Ordnance Department in Kiakkai in Bangkok during routine maintenance and inspection of anti-tank rocket-propelled grenades and launchers, a deputy Army spokesman said.…

  • SCB building closed after towering inferno

    SCB building closed after towering inferno

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community SCB building closed after towering inferno The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The whole main building of Siam Commercial Bank headquarters in Bangkok is now closed to the public in the wake of a fire that raged through some of its floors from late Saturday night…

  • Red shirt’s rights to be protected over fake palace statement probe, says Army | Thaiger

    Red shirt’s rights to be protected over fake palace statement probe, says Army

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Suspect’s rights ‘to be protected’ The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Kris Buddeechin, the man suspected of disseminating a fake palace statement on a social networking site, is being held without charge under martial law but junta spokesperson Colonel Winthai Suvari has said Kris’ rights would…

  • Hunt on for Bangkok bomber ‘Dragon’

    Hunt on for Bangkok bomber ‘Dragon’

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Hunt on for Bangkok bomber ‘Dragon’ The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: One of the two men suspected of planting and detonating two pipe bombs near Siam Paragon shopping mall in Bangkok last Sunday has been identified by his alias “Dragon” and he is reportedly based…

  • Police see political overtone in pipe bombs

    Police see political overtone in pipe bombs

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police see political overtone in pipe bombs The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The twin pipe bombings near Siam Paragon shopping mall in Bangkok last Sunday night were “very similar” to two other bombing incidents – the explosion at Samarn Metta Mansion in Nonthaburi in 2010,…

  • Anger at secret moving of Rohingya | Thaiger

    Anger at secret moving of Rohingya

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Anger at secret moving of Rohingya The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Residents in Nakhon Sri Thammarat’s Hua Sai district were upset after the provincial office for social development and human security yesterday relocated 99 Rohingya people from the shelter where they had stayed for 22…

  • Warrants for Bangkok bomb suspects expected today

    Warrants for Bangkok bomb suspects expected today

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Warrants for Bangkok bomb suspects expected today The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Arrest warrants are expected to be issued today for two men suspected of planting and setting off twin pipe bombs near Siam Paragon shopping mall in Bangkok on Sunday night. Information about the…

  • Serial rapist of elderly put on CSD ‘most wanted’ list

    Serial rapist of elderly put on CSD ‘most wanted’ list

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Serial rapist of elderly put on CSD ‘most wanted’ list The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Crime Suppression Division (CSD) has put the much-sought serial rapist who assaulted several elderly women in recent years on its “most wanted” list and has issued details of his…

  • NACC revokes land deeds for iron smelting plant in Prachuap | Thaiger

    NACC revokes land deeds for iron smelting plant in Prachuap

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NACC revokes land deeds for iron smelting plant in Prachuap The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has ruled that land-right documents for 11 plots in Prachuap Khiri Khan province were issued illegally and should be revoked. Prachuap Pattana Development Co Ltd,…

  • Two Aussies plunge from waterfall, one killed | Thaiger

    Two Aussies plunge from waterfall, one killed

    PHUKET: One Australian is dead and another remains under observation in hospital after falling from Nah Muang Song Waterfall in Koh Samui on Sunday evening. Hugh Smith, 24, was pronounced dead on arrival at Bangkok Hospital Samui after he andBenjamin Thomas Kemp, 20, plunged about 60 meters down from the waterfall. Rescue workers spent about two hours transporting the men…

  • Registration of ivory ‘aimed at killing trade in African tusks’

    Registration of ivory ‘aimed at killing trade in African tusks’

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Registration of ivory ‘aimed at killing trade in African tusks’ The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A new law requiring people who own locally sourced ivory to register with the government is meant to separate them from people who own ivory from Africa, Nipon Chotibal, director-general…

  • Six suspects arrested, accused of being part of network to overthrow monarchy

    Six suspects arrested, accused of being part of network to overthrow monarchy

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Six suspects arrested, accused of being part of network to overthrow monarchy The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Six suspects were arrested yesterday in connection with alleged involvement in the Bunpodj network’s plot to overthrow the monarchy. The arrests were carried out by police from the…

  • Hunt for Bangkok bombers begins

    Hunt for Bangkok bombers begins

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Hunt for Bangkok bombers begins The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Security will be heightened across the country following double explosions in Bangkok’s shopping district on Sunday night as police hunt for at least two culprits believed to have been recorded on surveillance cameras. Prime Minister…

  • Homemade bombs detonate outside Siam Paragon

    Homemade bombs detonate outside Siam Paragon

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Homemade bombs detonate outside Siam Paragon Agencies / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Two homemade bombs exploded in front of the Siam Paragon shopping mall on Sunday night, police said. Nobody was injured. The BTS suspended services at the Siam Station at 8.10pm after the two bombs exploded…

  • NLA panel to summon US envoy

    NLA panel to summon US envoy

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NLA panel to summon US envoy The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The spat between Thailand and the United States looks set to continue with the National Legislative Assembly’s foreign affairs committee planning to summon the US charge d’affaires to explain the recent criticism by a…

  • PM wants Surapong to face junta summons

    PM wants Surapong to face junta summons

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PM wants Surapong to face junta summons The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha said yesterday that he would instruct the junta to summon former foreign minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul over comments seen as deepening the national divide. Mr Surapong made the comment…

  • 5-day break in May backed by Cabinet | Thaiger

    5-day break in May backed by Cabinet

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community 5-day break in May backed by Cabinet The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Cabinet yesterday approved a proposal to make May 4 a public holiday to extend the holiday period between Labour Day and Coronation Day to five days. The new holiday will be added…

  • US brands Yingluck impeachment ‘politically driven’, calls to lift martial law | Thaiger

    US brands Yingluck impeachment ‘politically driven’, calls to lift martial law

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community US: Impeachment ‘politically driven’, calls to lift martial law The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The United States yesterday branded the former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s impeachment as being “politically driven” and called on the junta to lift martial law as well as push for “inclusive”…

  • Yingluck will be arrested if she tries to flee: NACC

    Yingluck will be arrested if she tries to flee: NACC

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Yingluck will be arrested if she tries to flee: NACC The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who now faces criminal charges over the rice-pledging scheme, could be arrested if she shows any intention of leaving the country to avoid the court…

  • No signs of foul play in Briton’s death on Koh Tao | Thaiger

    No signs of foul play in Briton’s death on Koh Tao

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community No signs of foul play in Briton’s death on Koh Tao The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Initial investigation has found no foul play in the death of a 23-year-old British woman earlier this week in Surat Thani’s Koh Tao. The body of Christina Annesley, 23,…

  • Breaking News: NLA votes to impeach Yingluck

    Breaking News: NLA votes to impeach Yingluck

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NLA makes history by impeaching Yingluck The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The National Legislative Assembly (NLA) today voted overwhelmingly, by 190 votes out of a possible 220, to impeach former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra in the rice-pledging case. Former Parliament president Somsak Kiartsuranon and former…

  • Judgment day for Yingluck

    Judgment day for Yingluck

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Judgment day for former PM Yingluck The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Pressure is mounting on the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), which votes today on whether to impeach former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra and two former parliamentary speakers accused of wrongdoings. Supporters and detractors of the…

  • UNHCR to help settle Rohingya trafficking victims

    UNHCR to help settle Rohingya trafficking victims

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community UNHCR to help settle Rohingya trafficking victims The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) would coordinate with related parties to move some Rohingya refugees in Thailand on a voluntary basis to a third country, initially set as the United…