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 10 biggest challenges retirees face in Thailand (and how to overcome them)
Retiring in Thailand comes with many benefits, like warm weather, affordable living, and a rich culture. However, it also brings challenges. Retirees must deal with visa rules, healthcare costs, language barriers, and cultural differences. Rising medical expenses, required insurance, and...
-
Tourism Council of Thailand calls for PCR testing on arrival to be dropped asap
Tourism businesses in Thailand are struggling to survive and barriers to increasing the number of foreign visitors to the kingdom must be removed immediately. That’s the view of Chamnan Srisawat from the Tourism Council of Thailand, who says the Omicron variant, coupled with Russia’s war on Ukraine, has dealt a double blow to the sector. “Tourism operators are still struggling…
-
Anutin tells Khao San Road operators to forego Songkran water-splashing events
Business operators on Bangkok’s Khao San Road have been told they should forget about holding water-splashing events this Songkran. So says Public Health Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, ahead of a meeting of Bangkok’s communicable disease control committee today. This looks set to be the third Songkran in a row during which water splashing is banned, with the government ever-wary of triggering…
-
Will Smith slaps Chris Rock, wins an Oscar (full speech)
It will forever be remembered as the night Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage in front of a live TV audience. Not for the prestigious award he won moments later, celebrating an illustrious 30 year acting career. The unscripted incident happened at the 94th Academy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday night — Hollywood’s most prestigious awards ceremony —…
-
Cash-strapped Thai Airways sells aircraft seats for 35,000 baht a pair
If you miss that in-flight feeling but don’t want to travel due to the Covid-19 pandemic, or if you are simply a Thai Airways superfan, tomorrow is your chance to buy a pair of limited edition Thai Airways aeroplane seats. The seats, which come in three colours, are only available to buy through Facebook Live tomorrow at 2pm through the…
-
Prayut pushes pre-Songkran Covid boosters, 6 walk-in centres open in Bangkok
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is encouraging people to get vaccinated against Covid-19 prior to the Songkran festival next month, according to a spokesperson. Many Thais will visit their families during the Songkran, which is the Thai New Year celebrated from April 13 to 15, and officials worry the gatherings could cause a spike in Covid-19 cases. The Public Health Ministry has…
-
Albino water buffalo sells for 2.5 million baht at Thailand buffalo festival
A rare albino water buffalo has been sold for a whopping 2.5 million baht. Two proud new owners of buffalo named Duangphet travelled to the 10th Uthai Thani Buffalo Festival to receive the animal and bring it to its new home at Harley Buffalo Farm in Chon Buri. The two buffalo enthusiasts said they bought the albino buffalo for breeding…
-
No breathalyser test for Phuket resort owner after crash, police say he didn’t smell like alcohol
Police did not test the alcohol levels of the well-known owner of the Sri Panwa luxury resort in Phuket after he lost control of his Bentley, crashing into a steel barrier and causing the car to flip multiple times before it set on fire. The owner of the five-star resort had crashed another car almost exactly a year prior and…
-
Asia News Today | Both black boxes now found on China plane & lockdown in Shanghai
The latest from the crash site of the Boeing 737 in southern China, more threats from the Burmese Junta, one of the largest cities in the world heads into a Covid lockdown and vanishing glaciers in Indonesia, yes Indonesia. Recovery crews at the site of the China Eastern Boeing 737 that crashed last Monday, have found the second black…
-
Monday Covid Update: 24,635 new cases; provincial totals
81 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 24,880 with 3,182 of those fatalities since the start of this year. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 24,635 new Covid-19 cases and 25,753 recoveries. There are now 250,737 people in Thailand being treated for Covid-19. Out of…
-
Tangmo: Senators warn police to store speedboat ‘properly’
Store the boat properly, you dummies! That’s the key takeaway, after senators visited the police headquarters in Muang district of Nonthaburi last week, where they found police had not been properly storing a key piece of evidence — the speedboat that drowned actress Nida “Tangmo” Patcharavirapong allegedly fell from. Members of the Senate committee on human rights, liberty and consumer…
-
Thailand government warns of jail time for selling unripe durian
It’s durian season in Thailand, and the government is reminding farmers and vendors that they can go to jail for harvesting and selling unripe durian. Yes, they said jail. There’s even a minimum level of dryness of the fruit’s flesh set by Thai authorities to determine the freshness of each variety. Durian is known as the “king of fruit” with…
-
Officers investigate death of elderly American expat in Pattaya
Police in Pattaya are investigating the death of an 80 year old American man who was found lying in bed with a plastic bag covering his head. Officers also note that the door to the safe was left open. Investigators will review surveillance camera footage from the condominium to determine if anyone entered his room. The elderly expat had lived…
-
Vietnamese man who tried to paddle to India fell victim to romance scam
The Vietnamese man who tried to paddle an inflatable boat from Thailand to India to meet his “wife” was either scammed or “catfished,” where someone uses a fake profile online to deceive another person for money or personal reasons. International media outlets picked up the story of the 37 year old Vietnamese man who spent 18 days at sea on…
-
Doing it alone: Surin province to declare Covid-19 endemic from April 1
The authorities in the north-eastern province of Surin say they will declare Covid-19 endemic from April 1, adding that they will become the first province in Thailand to do so. With the central government seemingly taking its time over lifting restrictions and moving to a “living with Covid” approach, Surin is going it alone. According to a Nation Thailand report,…
-
Hospitals warned to treat Covid patients or risk being delisted by Social Security Office
Thailand’s Social Security Office has warned that hospitals that refuse to treat Covid-19 patients risk being removed from its list of contracted medical facilities. Boonsong Thapchaiyuth, SSO secretary-general, says he’s instructed private hospitals to adhere to the regulations and offer full treatment to members of the social security fund registered at those hospitals. According to a Bangkok Post report, the…
-
UKRAINE UPDATES: Putin “cannot remain in power”; Russia narrows war goals; Ukraine counter attacks; Auchan’s Russia stores stay open
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues into its second month, here’s the latest headlines… • In a speech in Poland on Saturday, US President Joe Biden said Russian leader Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power.” His remarks have increased international pressure and further united NATO allies against Putin over his illegal invasion of Ukraine… “A dictator, bent on rebuilding…
-
Shanghai to enter lockdown, one half at a time, for mass testing
The authorities in Shanghai plan to lock down the city of 25 million residents, one half at a time, in order to conduct mass Covid-19 testing. Officials are trying to curb the spread of the virus, with China facing its worst wave since the pandemic was first reported in the central city of Wuhan. According to a Bloomberg report, the…
-
Oil tanker explosion on Chao Phraya River kills 1 crew member, injures 3
An explosion on an oil tanker on the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok has killed 1 crew member and injured 3. According to a Thai PBS World report, the explosion occurred yesterday afternoon at the Bangchak depot in the district of Phra Khanong. The Ampar 8 Bangkok, which was carrying around 3 million litres of crude oil, was mooring when…
-
Second black box recorder found for crashed China Eastern Boeing 737
Recovery crews at the site of the China Eastern Boeing 737 that cashed last Monday, have found the second black box recording device, This time it’s the flight data recorder after the cockpit voice recorder was found last Wednesday. The China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 jet crashed into a mountainside in southern China last Monday afternoon, plummeting from its cruising…
-
Biden slams Russia’s Putin as a ‘butcher’, who “cannot remain in power”
While giving a speech in Warsaw, United States president Joe Biden slammed Russia’s president Putin as a ‘butcher’, stressing that he “cannot remain in power”. Biden added that he was not sure whether Russia had changed its objectives, which he said so far have led to “strategic failure”. The Whitehouse insisted Biden isn’t seeking regime change in Russia, and Biden…
-
In Thailand, Move Forward candidate more popular than Prayut in PM poll
While the largest percentage of Thais, 27.6%, said they were “yet to see anybody suitable for the post of Thai PM, Move Forward Party candidate 41 year old Pita Limjaroenrat is slightly ahead of current PM Prayut. 13.4% of respondents prefer Pita, while 12.7% prefer Prayut. This means that Pita is now the country’s most preferred candidate, followed by Prayut, then…
-
Getting a motorcycle taxi in Bangkok, or anywhere in Thailand
We’ll start off by stating that there is nothing quicker and more efficient than getting a motorcycle taxi around Bangkok, compared to just about any other form of transport. We’ll also admit that there are dangers involved with riding on a motorcycle or motorbike around Thailand, especially if you’re not wearing a helmet (which you can ask the rider for).…
-
On anniversary of bloodshed, Myanmar army chief vows to “annihilate” opponents
Days after human rights groups published an extensive report accusing Myanmar’s junta chief of targeting unarmed protestors, the Burmese chief vowed today to “annihilate” opponents of the junta. Today is the anniversary of Myanmar’s most violent crackdown on pro-democracy protests. The army chief, Min Aung Hlaing, said the military will “no longer negotiate… and annihilate until the end” groups fighting…
-
Foreigner in Pattaya bleeding after alleged altercation with security
A foreign man in Pattaya was left bleeding from several serious injuries in what witnesses say was an altercation with security. The witnesses found the man lying on the ground in the middle of Pratumnak Soi 5. The altercation allegedly happened at night in front of a ‘restaurant’ there. As the man lay on the ground, a few other foreigners…
-
Pattaya police arrest ‘restaurant’ manager who allegedly violated Covid-19 rules
Pattaya City Police reported yesterday that they arrested a ‘restaurant’ manager in Pattaya for allegedly selling alcohol without a permit, opening a venue without a permit, and breaking the Chonburi Disease Control Orders. Only former bars and clubs that have been converted into ‘restaurants’, and have proper certification, are approved by authorities are allowed to operate. Alcohol can be served…
-
Gas pipe falls on Rayong construction worker, kills him
A gas pipe fell on a construction worker in Rayong yesterday, killing him. A backhoe that was supposed to lift the pipe couldn’t handle the pipe’s weight, and the pipe fell into a ditch where three workers were connecting gas pipes. Two workers managed to jump out and narrowly escape, while one did not. The pipe fell on him, and…
-
2 people per hour were killed in road accidents in Thailand in 2020
A Thai health foundation has found that two people were killed in road accidents every hour in Thailand in 2020. The total number of people killed in road accidents throughout that year was 17,831. The foundation, Thai Health Promotion Foundation, said motorcycle drivers and riders made up the 74% of fatalities. The International Health Policy Program said in its report…
-
Thai university expels hazing students, father of dead victim rejects financial compensation
15 senior Thai university students, involved in the violent and fatal hazing (bullying) of a freshman on March 13, have been dismissed from the Rajamangala University of Technology Isaan, Thailand. The ritual involved a total of 30 2nd year students and 37 freshmen, and resulted in the death of 19 year old Padyos “Prem” Chonpakdi. 10 other students, involved directly…
-
Russia conducts drills on territory disputed with Japan
Japanese media reported today that over 3,000 Russian troops are conducting military drills on Tokyo’s Kuril islands. Japan’s Foreign Ministry and Prime Minister’s Office could not be reached outside business hours to comment on the exercises. Russia calls the chain of four islands part of its Kuril chain, while Japan calls them part of its northern territory. In its drills,…
-
Thai government unleashes the fear machine for Songkran – OPINION
Today a popular English-language news outlet led with a story that quotes Dr Suwannachai Wattanayingcharoenchai, DG of the Department of Health, who claims the public health ministry is forecasting daily Covid infections could hit 100,000 after Songkran this year. The Thai public health ministry, headed up by Minister and deputy PM, Anutin Charnvirakul, has taken a random stab in 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.