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.
-
Sponsored Enjoy sunset cocktails at the iconic AIR BAR in Koh Samui
AIR BAR is one of the InterContinental Koh Samui Resort's crown jewels, a must-visit spot that perfectly captures the island's beauty. In addition to its stunning vistas, AIR BAR offers an impressive selection of craft cocktails, premium spirits, and refreshing...
-
Chinese tourists surge during Phuket’s vegetarian festival
… and it’s not much about vegetarian food. It’s on again, one of the most bizarre festivals on the world’s calendar of WTF events. The Phuket Tourist Association says that the Phuket Vegetarian Festival that runs until October 7, is expected to bring in around 2 billion baht in your revenue. They say that, despite the high value of the…
-
Prostitutes in Pattaya, police locate seven foreigners selling illegal services
MONTAGE: Naew Na Immigration officials have done the impossible – they’ve found something police and immigration have often claimed in the past ‘does not exist’. Prostitution in Pattaya. Seven foreigners – shock, horror – were arrested on Tuesday night this week prostituting themselves to locals and tourists in the town’s tourist hotspots. Naew Na reports that “this illegal activity was damaging…
-
Pattaya’s Nong Prue district has its eyes on you
The Nong Prue Municipality, to the east of the main Pattaya city, has now installed 75 CCTVs in 32 spots so far in 2019. Plans are also underway to install 60 more cameras in 29 different areas valued at 10 million baht. The official opening for the CCTV Control Centre in the Nong Prue Municipality was held two weeks ago…
-
Thais clamour for the “Chim, Shop, Chai” 1000 baht give-away program
PHOTO: buriramguru.com The “Chim, Shop, Chai” (Eat, Shop, Spend) program has been a resounding success, and it’s still got a another five days or so to go. Thai citizens can apply for the 1000 baht ‘gift’ from the government and spend the money at selected shops anywhere outside their home province. The government only accepts one million applications each day so,…
-
12 month “Medical Visa” proposed among updates to Thai visa offerings
A new visa category is being proposed that could allow people to stay in the Kingdom for up to a year for medical treatments. The so-called “Medical Visa” (Non-MT) would visitors to stay for 12 months. The Thai deputy PM and health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, and the tourism and sports minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn announced yesterday that countries that will benefit are wealthy…
-
Japan airlines offering a seat map to avoid screaming kids
“JAL’s seat maps indicate where infants under two are sitting, with a child icon to let other passengers know.” No kidding. Prefer not to sit next to a screaming child on your next long-haul flight? On some Japanese airlines a new seat map warns you where potentially bawling babies and screaming six year olds are sitting. Offered as part of…
-
UPDATE: Maluku Island quake toll rises to 23
The death toll from a powerful earthquake that rocked Indonesia’s remote Maluku islands has risen to 23. More than 15,000 people have been evacuated to shelters. Among the confirmed dead, an infant with many killed by falling debris in and around quake-struck Ambon city. More than 100 people were also injured and at least 15,000 people had to evacuate because…
-
Myanmar switches to international ‘unicode’ on October 1
PHOTO: Cordelia Persen/flickr “October 1 is “U-Day”, when Myanmar officially adopts the new system.” Accessing everything from Wikipedia to Google Maps in Myanmar is about to get a lot easier when the country finally adopts the universal code underpinning phone and online communication next week. Tech experts say the move to bring the country more in step with the rest of…
-
Cafe Amazon brewing up a cup of coffee in China
PTT Oil and Retail Business, the owners of the Cafe Amazon brand, has opened its first branch in China. Their goal is to make the coffee chain a global brand, a sort of ‘Thai Starbucks’. The first Cafe Amazon outlet in China is located at a Sinopec petrol station in Nanning of Guangxi, in southern China on the Vietnamese border,…
-
Child injured in hit-and-run “ghost riding” motorbike incident in central Thailand
PHOTO: Workpoint News A 10 year old girl has been injured after a motorbike being ridden against the flow of traffic – a practice known as “ghost riding” – hit her and then drove off. The early morning incident took place in Samut Prakan province in central Thailand as the girl waited to cross the road. Facebook user Uthaiwan Permjit…
-
Thailand may lift ban on foreign investors for some innovation sectors
PHOTO: Marvin Meyer/Unsplash Thailand’s Commerce Ministry is considering whether to remove certain innovation-related businesses from the list of those open only to Thai citizens. The idea is being floated as a way of increasing foreign investment in Thailand, making the country a more attractive option for overseas companies. Deputy Director General of the Department of Business Development, Poonpong Naiyanapakorn says…
-
Three Thai high-speed train projects shelved
“As the high-speed train system in Laos is nearing completion, he said that Thailand must speed up its construction of the Bangkok-Nong Khai project.” Three high-speed train projects are being shelved by the Thai government due to lack of interest from co-investors. Sources at the Transport Ministry have told Thai PBS World that none of the three projects were included…
-
Rent-a-crowd protesters in NYC weren’t Thai and didn’t know where Thailand was on a map
A small group of vocal protesters in New York, rallying in front of a hotel where the Thai PM was staying over the weekend, have been revealed to be Mexicans, Brazillians and Peruvians, not Thai. PM Prayut and his entourage were staying in the Plaza Athenee Hotel over the weekend and until Tuesday this week, attending events and UN Summits. Thai…
-
Google refuses to pay publishers in Europe for ‘snippets’ in their search engine
There is a lot of change to news, news aggregators and copyright issues regarding news in the headlines at the moment. And it maybe ‘headlines only’ that you’ll be seeing in parts of Europe when you search for news in the future. Google has been a target of publishes with some high-profile court cases insisting that Google’s use of a thumbnail…
-
Pattaya bin man suffers life-changing injuries after being crushed by speeding car
PHOTO: Sophone Cable/ThaiVisa A speeding car has caused catastrophic injury to a Pattaya garbage collector after smashing into him and pinning him against the back of his truck. Thanong Saengthong, aged 36, was rushed to Somdej Na Sriracha hospital following the accident, which happened early this morning in Chonburi’s Bang Lamung district. His left leg was so severely injured it…
-
UPDATE: At least one dead – Indonesian islands hit with 6.5 magnitude quake
PHOTO: AFP / Handout / BADAN NASIONAL PENANGGULANGAN BENCANA by Sultan Ambon At least one person has died and another is missing after a strong earthquake struck Indonesia’s remote Maluku islands earlier today, destroying homes and triggering landslides. Terrified people ran into the streets as buildings fell in around them after the 6.5-magnitude quake hit at around 8:45 local time (0045…
-
Thiều Bảo Trâm tâm huyết chỉnh ảnh vẫn bị “soi” du lịch Nhật Bản cùng Sơn Tùng
PHOTO: Bức ảnh giữ khoảng cách của Thiều Bảo Trâm và Sơn Tùng được fan ghi lại – kenh14.vn Thiều Bảo Trâm và Sơn Tùng mới đây lại bị fan ở Nhật Bản bắt gặp đang du lịch cùng nhau tại xứ sở hoa anh đào khiến nghi vấn tin đồn hẹn hò giữa hai ngôi sao càng thêm chắc chắn.…
-
Thai actor to end flood relief fundraising campaign
PHOTO: Bangkok Post Bin Bunluerit, the Thai actor who set up a fundraising campaign in the aftermath of floods that devastated parts of north-east Thailand, is calling time on his campaign. The well-intentioned operation has been dogged by allegations of misappropriation of funds, with local officials accused of charging a “paperwork fee” before distributing donations to flood victims. Bin has…
-
East Indonesian islands hit with strong 6.5 magnitude quake
“People were panicking and started to evacuate in some places, but we are trying to tell them there’s no need to panic because there’s no tsunami threat.” A strong 6.5-magnitude earthquake hit off the remote Maluku islands in eastern Indonesia but no tsunami warning was issued. The quake struck about 37 kilometres (23 miles) northeast of Ambon in Maluku province at…
-
Thai Airways to take six months to review purchase of new planes
“The airline has also been hesitant to address its middle management glut, long-term and uncompetitive employment contracts and accusations of nepotism in senior management.” Thai Airways says it’s going to review its planned fleet-expansion plans to buy 38 new planes. Officially, they’re saying they’re “considering funding sources” and claim the review will take six months. Nearly two years ago they announced…
-
Two flying lantern events in Chiang Mai for Loy Krathong get their permits revoked
PHOTO: Rove.me Chiang Mai’s City District Office has scrapped permits previously granted to organisers of two ‘sky lantern’ events that would have released a total of 5,000 flying lanterns during the upcoming Loy Krathong Festival, on November 11. The two events, one at the dinosaur-featuring Hidden Village Chiang Mai attraction and the other at the Royal Park Rajapruek in tambon…
-
China opens mega airport in Beijing ahead of country’s 70th anniversary
“China is expected to surpass the US to become the world’s biggest aviation market in the next couple of years.” by Poornima Weerasekara China’s President Xi Jinping has opened a futuristic new airport in Beijing, expected to become one of the busiest in the world. Xi declared the starfish-shaped airport open in brief remarks at a ceremony inside the huge terminal,…
-
Dam contaminated with heavy metals in Chachoengsao
PHOTO: Thai PBS World People living around a small dam in Khao Hin Sorn district of Chachoengsao, directly east of Bangkok, are being told to stop using water from the reservoir after it was discovered that it is contaminated with heavy metals. Officials of the Royal Irrigation Department took water and soil samples from the Royally-initiated reservoir for tests, which…
-
1000 gather in Phuket to join the global cry on climate change
Asia’s largest travel and tourism sustainability event, opened in Phuket yesterday, as Southeast Asia’s hospitality industry came together in a spirit of collaboration to tackle the critical environmental issues facing resort destinations across the region. A year on from the inaugural edition of PHIST, the event continues to grow. A record attendance of 1,000 delegates attended the full-day event, held…
-
Cambodian man killed, 3 seriously injured in accident at Pattaya construction site
PHOTO: www.cne.wtf A Cambodian worker has been killed and three others seriously injured after scaffolding collapsed at a luxury condo construction site in Pattaya. The accident happened yesterday in Bang Lamung district and caused the four workers to plunge several stories to the ground. The workers were rushed to hospital, with the most seriously injured, a 20 year old man…
-
Convicted of murder, sentenced to death, now stripped of MP status
PHOTO: Nawat Tohcharoensuk MP “Nawat’s request for bail pending an appeal was refused. He was jailed immediately. Once bail was denied, he lost his status as an MP as per Sections 101 and 98 (6) of the Constitution.” A Pheu Thai MP for Khon Kaen in the north-east yesterday sentenced to death by the provincial court after being found guilty…
-
Thomas Cook demise will affect British tourism to Thailand for the rest of 2019
“British tourists have contribute between 900,000 – 1,000,000 tourists to Thailand annually for the past seven years.” The failure of the British Thomas Cook travel business will cut the numbers of arrivals from Britain to Thailand for the remainder of this year. Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand says they are also assessing a drop in northern-European…
-
Bangkok municipality workers told to smarten up their act
PHOTO: www.wikiwand.com The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has received several complaints about its employees acting inappropriately, the Bangkok Post reports. The complaints have led the BMA to tell workers to get their act together. An anonymous BMA source says City Hall has sent letters to all relevant offices, asking municipality officers to refrain from behaviour that might jeopardise the organisation’s…
-
British PM accepts ruling from Supreme Court but what does it mean?
PHOTO: Mr. Johnson just before speaking about today’s Supreme Court ruling, from New York – Getty “In constitutional terms, it means that the court’s powers to allow parliament to have its say are stronger than an order issued by Queen Elizabeth II.” by Dario Thurburn The British PM Boris Johnson says he disagrees with, but will respect the Supreme Court…
-
Patong Mayor hands out useless, cheap face-masks
In a shameless PR stunt, the Patong Mayor Chalermluck Kepsup yesterday wandered along the Patong Beach foreshore handing out ineffective cheap paper face masks to bemused locals and tourists. The beach-walk was in response to the current onset of poor air quality caused by by the intentionally-lit plantation fires on northern Indonesian islands. Whilst the local media took up the…
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.