News

Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond. The Thaiger delivers the latest national news that matters.

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  • Thaiger Radio News – Monday

    Thaiger Radio News – Monday

    Listen to the daily news from The Thaiger, anytime, anywhere…  

  • The ‘war on drugs’ is a complete failure

    The ‘war on drugs’ is a complete failure

    Authorities are losing the war against methamphetamines – pills and crystal meth. The demand for both crystal meth and ‘yaba’ is escalating as is the production to meet the increasing demand. The much-publicised ‘Wars on Drugs’ being waged from time to time in south east asian countries are doing little dent the rising popularity and production of the drugs, whilst…

  • Boats warned to avoid the area of the burnt out yacht

    Boats warned to avoid the area of the burnt out yacht

    The Phuket Marine office is warning boats to be careful when going near the area where the ‘Emmjay’ yacht was destroyed after burins to its waterline on Saturday. The announcement states that, due to the ‘Emmjay’ yacht catching fire on Saturday afternoon while traveling between Koh Ngam and Koh Payu in Paklok, and later sinking, boats should be very careful…

  • UPDATE: Man dies during Thai massage

    UPDATE: Man dies during Thai massage

    Relevant authorities are investigating a massage parlour where a client died during a massage. The Health Establishment Bureau director Dr Pattarapon Jungsomjatepaisal said they are checking the business. “We will check if it is operating with a proper licence and if its masseur or masseuse is certified.” He noted that the victim’s wife has not filed a complaint with police…

  • Cash for sea turtle eggs

    Cash for sea turtle eggs

    by Pratch Rujivanrom Cash for spotting sea turtle nests. That’s the promise from national parks officers along the Andaman coast who are offering cash rewards for anyone who discovers sea turtle nests and notifies park officers. The innovative scheme is another attempt to protect the local endangered species from extinction. Marine National Park Operation Centre 2 in Phuket has announced…

  • Event round-up November 2018

    Event round-up November 2018

    by The Sponsorship Experts, Paul Poole (South East Asia) The month kicks off with the last Spartan Thailand race of the year, held in Hua Hin on 3 November. Participants can choose between two different courses, the 21km Spartan Beast race with more than 30 obstacles designed to really push people to their limits, and the 5km Spartan Sprint race…

  • Pattaya – Hua Hin ferry service back again for high season

    Pattaya – Hua Hin ferry service back again for high season

    PHOTO: Talk News The Pattaya – Hua Hin ferry service has started again for the high season. The Hua Hin deputy chief Chareewat Phramanee has confirmed that Royal Passenger Liner will operate a daily service again between Hua Hin and Pattaya during the high season. The service was suspended in September, with Royal Passenger Liner blaming the drop in numbers…

  • 7/11 to add laundry and dry-cleaning

    7/11 to add laundry and dry-cleaning

    PHOTO: Spring News 7/11 are rolling out another new service in Bangkok from this week. You’ll be able to get a raspberry slurpie, hot toastie and drop off your laundry and dry cleaning at the same time. The 24 hour service is expected to expand to the rest of the country’s 7/11 stores in the middle of 2019. Netizens have…

  • Pattaya expat dies from injuries suffered during WBC Bangkok fight

    Pattaya expat dies from injuries suffered during WBC Bangkok fight

    SCREENSHOT: Christian Daghio fighting Don Parueang on October 26 – ทีเคโอ มวยโลก An Italian man, and former world champion in Muay Thai and boxing, has tragically died following a fight in Bangkok. Thai Visa reports that 49 year old Christian Daghio died on Friday in a Bangkok hospital after being put in a coma due to injuries suffered during a WBC Asia…

  • Customer dies during Thai massage

    Customer dies during Thai massage

    Questions are being posed on social media, “how safe is a Thai massage?” Thai media is sharing the story after a video was posted of a Thai man who died while having a massage. “Ton”, the younger brother of the victim, explained what happened to Sanook. Ton says that his brother had been playing football with friends and suffered a twisted…

  • Nine British passengers escape luxury yacht fire

    Nine British passengers escape luxury yacht fire

    PHOTOS: Newshawk Phuket / The Phuket PR Office. VIDEO: ออส สมทิพย์ A luxury yacht has been completely destroyed after catching fire north off Koh Ngam in Phang Nga Bay yesterday. Nine Bristish passengers were saved and unhurt in the incident. The Phuket Marine Police were notified by rescue workers that a boat had caught fire after being hit by lightning.…

  • Thailand drops in English proficiency levels

    Thailand drops in English proficiency levels

    English proficiency in Thailand is getting worse. The latest EF English Proficiency Index ranks Thailand in 64th place out of 88 countries, with an overall ranking of ‘low proficiency’. In 2017, Thailand ranked in 53rd place out of 80 countries and in 2011 Thailand was #42. The rating has been seesawing over the past six years but the trend has been…

  • Luxury yacht completely destroyed by fire in Phang Nga Bay

    Luxury yacht completely destroyed by fire in Phang Nga Bay

    VIDEOS: ออส สมทิพย์ / Newshawk Phuket A luxury yacht caught fire yesterday afternoon (Saturday) off Koh Ngam, near Laem Sai in Paklok on the north-east coast of Phuket in Phang Nga Bay. The white sloop, called ‘Emmjay’, was 51 feet in length. The fire started around 4.45pm. At this stage investigators believe it was hit by lightening, setting off the…

  • 900,000 meth pills and 3 kilos of ‘ice’ seized after brief shoot-out

    900,000 meth pills and 3 kilos of ‘ice’ seized after brief shoot-out

    Two suspected drug smugglers have been arrested at a Chiang Rai hotel following a short shootout with police. Police also seized 900,000 methamphetamine pills and three kilograms of crystal methamphetamine. Acting on a tip-off, a team of narcotics suppression police staked out at a border point in Ban Tham Phatong in Tambon Tha Sud in Chiang Rai’s Muang district. They…

  • Some Thais finding it difficult to save

    Some Thais finding it difficult to save

    A survey commissioned by the Government Savings Bank has revealed that grassroots incomes in Thailand are too low for most Thais to make savings for the future. The survey indicates that people earning under 15,000 baht have a real struggle to survive. Only 32.2% made any saving at all. About 56% of that number put a little away each month. This…

  • Rap raising debate in the lead up to February election

    Rap raising debate in the lead up to February election

    “As artists, we want to reflect the truth of the society we are living in under dictatorship,” a RAD member identified only as Hockhacker told The Nation Weekend. “Thailand seems to be caught in a loop of dictatorship. We want to voice what the majority cannot say directly. The lyrics were based on information we collected on social media, reflecting…

  • Australia joins UK and USA with withdrawal of income verification

    Australia joins UK and USA with withdrawal of income verification

    The Australian Embassy in Thailand has declared that from January 7, 2019 it will NOT witness Statutory Declarations for proof on income for Thai Visa extensions. Here’s the official announcement…      

  • Pattani mosque still a popular pilgrimage for Malaysians

    Pattani mosque still a popular pilgrimage for Malaysians

    32 were killed there 14 years ago in a Thai army attack. PHOTO: New Straits Times The Kresek mosque in Pattani, the locations where 32 suspected Muslim insurgents were killed in a stand-off 14 years ago, continues to be a popular place for visitors from Malaysia. This is reported in the New Straits Times of Malaysia. The mosque’s Imam, Zakaria…

  • Narathiwat officials swing into action to combat deadly measles outbreak

    Narathiwat officials swing into action to combat deadly measles outbreak

    by Narong Nuansakul The southern province of Narathiwat is stepping up vaccinations against measles as the disease has already claimed up to twelve lives in Yala and Pattani since June this year. A huge number of youngsters aged between one and five in Yala and Pattani have come down with measles in recent months, claiming the lives of 12 children.…

  • Education Minister moves school tests to clear way for election

    Education Minister moves school tests to clear way for election

    In another indication that the government is firming up the date of the next general election for February 24 next year, the Education Minister has formerly moved the date of the annual school and university-entrance aptitude tests back one week. The GAT/PAT (General Aptitude Test and Professional and Academic Aptitude Test) tests for pre-university students will be held one week…

  • Thaiger Radio News – Saturday

    Thaiger Radio News – Saturday

    Listen to the daily news from The Thaiger, anytime, anywhere…  

  • Bus driver and company charged after reckless driving in Krabi – VIDEO

    Bus driver and company charged after reckless driving in Krabi – VIDEO

    A Krabi- Surat Thani driver and his bus company have been charged after a case of reckless driving being caught on video. The video clip of the reckless Krabi –Surat Thani bus driving on a road spread in social media during the week. The Krabi Land Transportation Office Chief Ronnakorn Songin contacted the bus driver to meet. The bus driver,…

  • Patong Carnival schedule

    Patong Carnival schedule

    For those interested in getting involved in the Patong Carnival festivities, here is the latest schedule released by Patong Municipality for this year’s events.. November 2 9am – 6pm Kite show 3pm – 4pm Puppet (Marionette) show 6pm – midnight Performance from Pida Dance Academy, Yamaha music contest, shows from Hotels Patong Association, shows from Cowboy group. November 3 9am…

  • Welcome to Patong Carnival 2018 – PHOTOS

    Welcome to Patong Carnival 2018 – PHOTOS

    Our photographer Kritsada was hard at work last night. Here’s a bit of the atmosphere from last night’s Patong Carnival annual opening night parade…

  • Local tour guides protest over illegal tour guides

    Local tour guides protest over illegal tour guides

    Phuket tour guides today protested at the Phuket Provincial City Hall over illegal tour guides they say are taking their jobs. About 100 Phuket tour guides protested in front of the Phuket Provincial City Hall and handed a letter to Phuket’s Vice Governor Tanyawat Chanpinit pleading for fairness in the situation. President of Andaman Tour Guide Association, Krit Thepbamrung, who…

  • Poll restrictions to be relaxed in December

    Poll restrictions to be relaxed in December

    The Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has distanced himself from a claim by his deputy Somkid Jatusripitak that the next head of government would “look similar” to the current one. General Prawit Wongsuwan, another deputy premier, said Somkid had shared the same thoughts as “many of us” although he would not specify what he thought regarding the matter. General Prayut was…

  • 9 years of providing Phuket’s lifeguards comes to an end

    9 years of providing Phuket’s lifeguards comes to an end

    PHOTO: Constant training and up-skilling was at the core of the Phuket Lifeguard Service The nine year relationship between the Phuket Lifeguard Service and the Phuket provincial and Thesaban administrators is over. The contract for providing professional lifesavers at Patong beach, the final beach under their watchful eye, finished yesterday. Speaking to the MD of the Phuket Lifeguard Service Company,…

  • Thaiger Radio News – Friday

    Thaiger Radio News – Friday

    Listen to the daily news from The Thaiger, anytime, anywhere…      

  • “Pilots were very funny, very smart, very nice guys” – Lion Air boss

    “Pilots were very funny, very smart, very nice guys” – Lion Air boss

    PHOTO: Indonesian media agency Indonesia’s national search and rescue agency says it’s located the crashed Lion Air plane’s landing gear, wheels and a large section of the fuselage. Investigators have also found the flight data recorder, the “black box,” from Lion Air Flight JT610. The data recorder, more than anything else, will likely provide vital information about the plane’s functions…

  • Phuket Carnival 2018 kicks off in a blaze of colour

    Phuket Carnival 2018 kicks off in a blaze of colour

    More Than 30,000 oThai and foreign tourists, as well as Phuket residents lined the streets of Patong last night to usher in the annual Patong Carnival, held each year to mark the beginning of the tourism high season. Titled “Colorful of Patong Beach”, the grand opening parade was a lot better than the Organiser’s grammar. Joining in the opening ceremony…