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 Long-term life in Thailand? 5 reasons private health insurance pays off in the long run
Thailand is a great place for expats and retirees, offering a warm climate, affordable living, and rich culture. However, healthcare can be tricky for foreigners since they aren’t eligible for public health coverage, and private care can be expensive. Private...
-
Yingluck says she’ll stay out of politics
Fugitive former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra is in Dubai and has promised not to be involved in any political activities, Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said on Thursday. Authorities in Dubai have also promised the Thai Foreign Ministry that they would keep an eye on Yingluck and ensure she did not take part in any political campaigns, Prawit said. Prime…
-
THAIGER TODAY Thursday, September 28
PM says Yingluck is in Dubai | Polish man suspected of blowing up an ATM ‘planning more attacks’ | Crisis meeting in Pattaya to sort out Taxi/Uber turf wars | UN Aid agencies visiting Rhakine State today
-
Unanimous verdict against Yingluck Shinawatra
Update from The Nation The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled unanimously to sentence fugitive former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra to five years in prison. The fugitive politician was convicted of negligence in preventing corruption and irregularities in her government’s rice-pledging scheme prior to the 2014 coup. The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders ruled that Yingluck had acknowledged…
-
Yingluck guilty
Fugitive former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra has been sentenced to a five-year jail term. The Supreme Court took almost three hours to read the verdict on Yingluck’s alleged negligence in her government’s rice-pledging scheme. The former Prime Minister, ousted by the current military-led Government in 2014, wasn’t at the Court to hear today’s verdict. She fled the country on August…
-
THAIGER TODAY Wednesday, September 27
Awaiting the BIG verdict | Another parasail accident at Patong beach | A Polish man arrested over the 300,000 Baht ATM theft | HM the Thai King grants extra days for paying respects at the Grand Palace | Lifeguards determined to boycott next year’s beach lifeguard contract.
-
Thai PM promises to shorten his weekly Friday night address
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha says he’s going to continue with his weekly “Returning Happiness to the People” address on Friday nights, but is promising to cut the speech down by 50%, to around 20 minutes. In a rather candid speech at a seminar in Pattaya, the Thai PM apologised for “not talking politely sometimes with the media”. General Prayut has…
-
HM King Maha Vajiralongkorn extends time to pay respects at Grand Palace
His Majesty the King has ordered an extension of the final day Thais can pay their last respects to His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej in the Grand Palace from this Saturday to next Thursday, October 5. The Royal Household Bureau had initially set this Saturday as the last day people could pay their respects before the late King’s…
-
Karabi’s Bok Koranee Waterfall closed
Than Bok Koranee Waterfall in Krabi has been closed due to possible flash flooding. The Chief of Than Bok Koranee National Park, Weerasak Srisajjang, has ordered national park officers to closed down the waterfall today (September 26) after muddy water was found along the swiftly flowing waterfall. In front of the waterfall signage has been installed to strictly prohibit the…
-
UPDATE: Another 17 bodies found in mass graves – Rhakine State
Update from Voice of America Mass graves of dozens of slain Hindus have been found in Myanmar’s troubled Rakhine state, according to government officials. Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Minister Dr. Win Myat Aye told VOA’s Burmese Service he witnessed another 17 bodies recovered Monday, after 25 bodies were found in two mass graves a day earlier. Aye said most…
-
THAIGER TODAY Tuesday, September 26
Phuket Lifeguards taking a stand against OrBorTor budget | Yingluck’s verdict from Supreme Court handed down tomorrow | Mass grave of 28 Hindus found in Rhakine | TaT reveal August tourist arrivals | Mt. Agung showing signs of erupting.
-
R-Rated BKK fast-food snack gets moral attention
The world’s coming to an end, according to the morally-inclined-online. To quote Khaosod’s story… “A woman who makes penis-shaped waffles stuffed with sausage and cheese is experiencing brisk sales – and a public scolding – for her phallic food.” And that’s about it. The preparation and cooking video from Ketnita Prasertsomboon’s indy market snack store has been watched more than 18…
-
Thailand’s tourism numbers continue to soar
The tourists keep arriving, the numbers keep soaring. Assuming the numbers have to plateau at some stage, when will that be? For the past 20 years, through floods, bombings, coups, political upheavals and a few unsolved, mystery murders, Thailand’s tourist arrival numbers just keep rising and rising, heading into unfamiliar territory. So many people have predicted doom and gloom –…
-
THAIGER TODAY Monday, September 25
Truck crash in Saraburi kills four | Aussie detained at BKK airport for trying to smuggle 26 new iPhones | Weather warning out for southern provinces | Police on the hunt for third suspect in San Buri bombing | Thai Air Asia adds more HKT flights | Phuket’s Car Free Day, report from yesterday.
-
Hi So Hill in Chiang Mai ends up being an expensive scam
Story from Thai language ‘Manager Online‘ The enticing advertisement online promised a dream: quiet retirement in the beautiful hills of Chiang Mai. Many foreigners thought this was what they deserved after a life of saving so they eagerly signed up to buy houses in the luxurious, quality development. Now they are left with illegal properties that they can’t sell and their dreams are over.…
-
Five die – Truck crashes into electricity workers in Saraburi
https://www.facebook.com/516059381928376/videos/751343475066631/ A truck crashed into a vehicle carrying four on-duty electricity authority employees who were changing high-voltage transmission lines in Saraburi province, two hours north of Bnagkok, at 11.40am on Sunday, causing five deaths. Killed at the scene on the Paholyothin Road were four electricity authority workers and the truck driver. Witnesses said the driver lost control of the truck…
-
Encroachments and unlicensed hotels – Police & Army raids.
The so-called “Hi Society Hill” is inspected by the Phayak Prai taskforce team of the Royal Forestry Department. Troops and police have conducted raids on a hostel on Koh Pha Ngan, the resort island just north of Koh Samui, and arrested its manager for operating without a proper licence. Troops and police checked hostels on the island following complaints that…
-
“Show us the evidence” – Pheu Thai Party
Update from The Nation The caretaker secretary-general of Pheu Thai Party, Phumtham Wechayachai, on Friday urged authorities to show clear evidence whether policemen who were interrogated on Thursday night were involved in the flight of former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra. He asked for evidence such as pictures showing Yingluck in the suspected car or the detained suspect, a police Colonel,…
-
BREAKING NEWS – Another Pattani bomb attack
Violence continued in the southern province of Pattani on Friday, the holy day observed by Muslims, when insurgents detonated a roadside bomb to ambush a patrol unit of rangers in Sai Buri district, killing six and injuring another ranger and a civilian. The attack occurred on highway No 42 ion Ban Tabing road in Tambon Tabing at 6.40am. The rangers…
-
UPDATE – Three police questioned over Yingluck’s disappearance
At of this morning (Friday), three police officers, including a deputy commander, appear to have been involved in helping the former PM Yingluck Shinawatra flee Thailand, two days before she was set to appear to hear the verdict of the Supreme Court over her and her Government’s involvement in the failed rice-pledging scheme. A police colonel, who hasn’t been named…
-
THAIGER TODAY Friday, September 22
A police colonel detained and questioned over escape of former PM Yingluck | 200 military officers go shopping in zero-dollar crackdown | 19 arrested over National Buddhism Office scam | Grand Palace closed for October | Be on the look-out for really bad fake 500 Baht notes.
-
Policeman being interrogated over Yingluck escape
A Police Colonel was detained for interrogation last night (Thursday) on suspicion of helping fugitive former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra flee the country. The policeman, a deputy commander, was said to be close to a former Metropolitan Police Bureau chief, was brought to Royal Thai Police headquarters along with a bronze Toyota Camry with Chor Khor 5323 license plate. The…
-
Buddhism Office ex-chief found with gold bars, lots of them.
From The Nation Phanom Sornsilp, former director of National Office of Buddhism, faces two corruption-related charges after 80-baht weight of gold bars and other valuables were found in his house. Counter Corruption Division police raided Phanom’s house on Buddhamonthon 4 Road in Nakhon Pathom’s Samphran district on Thursday, one of 14 locations in seven provinces searched as part of an…
-
THAIGER TODAY Thursday, September 21
Jet Airways bomb-scare in BKK | Ofo launching share-bike around Phuket Town on October 1 | PSU safe sex project packs 25,000 condoms | Orange is the new black… Toyota | Chinese FM backs Myanmar at UN | Krabi’s prosecutor files case over July’s Krabi massacre.
-
Yingluck’s verdict a week away. Probably without Yingluck.
Police anticipate that 300 to 400 supporters will travel to the Supreme Court in Bangkok next Wednesday, when a verdict in the case against fugitive ex-prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra will be read, almost certainly in her absence. The Metropolitan Police Bureau will take care of security around the court compound on the day without asking for additional forces from other…
-
Roll out of Royal Commemorative Banknotes
Citizens on Wednesday began exchanging old banknotes for new commemorative ones honouring His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The commemorative notes will continue to be available at banks for exchanging and will also be automatically issued in ATM cash withdrawals. The Bank of Thailand has produced a sufficient number of the notes to keep them in general circulation. There…
-
Krabi Massacre – Alleged murderers prosecution progress
Krabi prosecutor, Pichet Chaokijka, said yesterday (September 19) that Surifat Bannobwongsakul alongside his 8 companions, who are allegedly responsible for the massacre of Khao Ngam’s village chief, Worayuth Sanglang and his family members including his two young daughters and totaling 8 casualties, are being prosecuted as his accusation draft has been filed (see our earlier story HERE). There are two…
-
THAIGER TODAY Wednesday, September 20
Flame jellyfish stinging a few swimmers at Nai Harn | Ministry of Labour poised to review Thai-only jobs | Royal Thai Navy on alert for Rohingya boat-people | 40 women from Baan Koh Raed complaining about media ‘image’ | 19 year old and his mother been fined for potty-mouth spray at police.
-
Review of ‘Thai-only’ jobs being proposed
The Ministry of Labour will hold a public hearing on a proposal to review the rules and regulations on 39 jobs currently reserved for Thai nationals. The meeting would discuss jobs, currently reserved for Thai’s only, to be made available for foreigners. Waranont Pitiwan, director of the Department of Employment, said most Thais are now not interested in many of…
-
THAIGER TODAY Tuesday, September 19
Two men arrested in Buri Ram over molestation of 9 year old girl | Some of Phuket’s troublesome monkeys on the move | Thai PM visiting central Thailand for talks with locals | Mega drug crackdown has netted astonishing amounts of drugs in 2017 | Big win for the Big Mango in the Business Traveller Awards 2017.
-
Aung San Suu Kyi urged to take action ahead of UN speech
From Thaiger affiliate, Voice of America On the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Monday, diplomats from the United States, Britain and other countries concerned about the humanitarian crisis in Rakhine called for an end to the violence and for measures to relieve Rohingya refugees’ suffering. U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said it was a “productive meeting…
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.