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.

  • Thaiger Radio News – Tuesday | Thaiger

    Thaiger Radio News – Tuesday

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

  • December 7 meeting will clarify lifting of political restrictions | Thaiger

    December 7 meeting will clarify lifting of political restrictions

    PHOTO: Deputy PM, Wissanu Kreangam A meeting is scheduled for December 7 to clarify election dates and when political restrictions are likely to be lifted. The meeting will be between political parties ramping up for next year’s poll and the so-called “Five Rivers”, which includes the NCPO, the Cabinet, the National Legislative Assembly, the Constitution Drafting Committee and the Election Commission. Thai…

  • Tesco Lotus gets rid of single-use plastic bags. For one day. | Thaiger

    Tesco Lotus gets rid of single-use plastic bags. For one day.

    Tesco Lotus had netizens talking yesterday after the retail giant released plans to abolish plastic bags for shoppers. Except that it was a mistake. It will only be for one day. Khaosod English jumped onto the Tesco media release earlier yesterday with the news that Tesco Lotus were jumping on the no-plastic bandwagon with a major commitment to get rid…

  • Prosecutor confident of Premchai poaching case conviction | Thaiger

    Prosecutor confident of Premchai poaching case conviction

    by Pratch Rujivanarom The prosecutors are confident that alleged wildlife poacher, Premchai Karnasuta and his alleged accomplices, will be found guilty in the black panther poaching case. The Thong Pha Phum Provincial Court begins examining the evidence and witnesses today after weeks of delays. The attorney for the Office of the Public Prosecution Region 7 says that the Thong Pha…

  • Thaiger Radio News – Monday | Thaiger

    Thaiger Radio News – Monday

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  • Thai government being urged to legalise e-cigarettes and vaping | Thaiger

    Thai government being urged to legalise e-cigarettes and vaping

    by Jintana Panyaarvudh Allowing smoke-free products seen as more effective in discouraging tobacco smokers than the introduction of plain packaging for cigarette packets. The Nation reports that a network of e-cigarette users and importers is suggesting that lifting the ban on smoke-free products and issuing appropriate regulations would be a more-effective measure to discourage people from smoking rather than selling…

  • Police searching for owner of weapons hidden in bushes | Thaiger

    Police searching for owner of weapons hidden in bushes

    Police are investigating three M4A Carbine assault rifles along with 964 bullets that were discovered over the weekend inside large PVC pipes hidden in thick bushes. Police found the weapons in a tapioca plantation in Chacheongsao province on Saturday. Police suspect that the weapons found in Panom Sarakham district had been hidden recently, as the guns with serial numbers M320461,…

  • How Thailand became a casualty in the US-China trade war | Thaiger

    How Thailand became a casualty in the US-China trade war

    from South China Morning Post and AFP About one third of all the rubber in the world comes from Thai forests, many in the southern regions. But a sudden drop in Chinese demand has compounded a longer term global oversupply crisis to push prices off a cliff. Countries like Vietnam are benefiting as manufacturers migrate from China to avoid punishing tariffs…

  • Government ready to develop medications, rejects seized marijuana | Thaiger

    Government ready to develop medications, rejects seized marijuana

    by Khanittha Thepphajorn and Kornrawee Panyasuppakun The move to getting medical marijuana legalised is edging closer. The bill on the issue has already made headway through the National Legislative Assembly (NLA). Yesterday, a bill was passed with 145 votes, allowing marijuana to be used for medical and research purposes. Only one legislator abstained. The NLA’s Somchai Swangkarn said a vetting committee…

  • Thaiger Radio News – Friday | Thaiger

    Thaiger Radio News – Friday

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  • Teenagers lighting up more than their krathongs | Thaiger

    Teenagers lighting up more than their krathongs

    For the teenagers who have more on their mind than floating a Krathong tonight… Teenagers are being warned not to engage in inappropriate sexual behaviour or unsafe sex during the Loy Krathong Festival. The Public Health Ministry’s Department of Health deputy chief Dr Bancha Khakhong says that young people usually release flowery floats into rivers and water sources…

  • Test driving Google Translate ทดสอบไดรฟ์ GOOGLE TRANSLATE | Thaiger

    Test driving Google Translate ทดสอบไดรฟ์ GOOGLE TRANSLATE

  • Thaiger Radio News – Thursday | Thaiger

    Thaiger Radio News – Thursday

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  • Fast-lane online visa system launched at Thai airports | Thaiger

    Fast-lane online visa system launched at Thai airports

    The Immigration Bureau acting commissioner Pol Maj-General Surachate Hakparn has officially launched the e-Visa on Arrival system today that is expected to cut visa processing times to as little as one minute and reverse the downward trend of Chinese tourist visitation. Surachate launched the new system which been trialled at Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang airports since November 15. The launch…

  • Confusion reigns over ‘proof of earnings’ letters for Retirement Visa | Thaiger

    Confusion reigns over ‘proof of earnings’ letters for Retirement Visa

    A letter crossed the desk of The Thaiger today. Not the first on this topic. Seems to be a growing chorus of concerned people on the ‘Retirement Visa’. We share this person’s despair and worries about the future and this vexatious problem. Name withheld due to privacy… “My visa renewal date is February 7. I inquired at the immigration office…

  • Thanyapura Health & Sports Resort and Laguna Phuket win at 2018 Asia Sports Industry Awards | Thaiger

    Thanyapura Health & Sports Resort and Laguna Phuket win at 2018 Asia Sports Industry Awards

    More than 400 attended the Oscars for Asia’s sports industry. Sports industry professionals from around the world walked the 2018 SPIA Asia – Asia’s Sports Industry Awards & Conference red carpet yesterday (November 20) and at a lavish Awards Gala attended by more than 400 VIPs, federations, rights holders, agencies and brands, Gold, Silver and Bronze winners in 20 award…

  • Thai Environment Day – December 4 | Thaiger

    Thai Environment Day – December 4

    December 4 every year is declared Thai Environment Day. This year, according to Thai Residents, leading department stores, supermarkets, and convenience stores will not be giving away any plastic bags on that date (there’s a list of the participating stores below). “The main goal, since the establishment of December 4 to be the national environmental day is to educate the…

  • “Round up the BKK soi dogs and send them up-country” – Soi Dog Foundation responds | Thaiger

    “Round up the BKK soi dogs and send them up-country” – Soi Dog Foundation responds

    The scheme to control stray dogs recently announced in Bangkok is inappropriate and unlikely to be effective, according to Soi Dog Foundation (SDF). The Thapthan shelter in Uthai Thani, where it is proposed that captured dogs will be impounded, is one of the best shelters in the country, but it is already at or near capacity. The former Bangkok Governor and…

  • WANTED: The forgotten fugitive, Vorayuth Yoovidhya | Thaiger

    WANTED: The forgotten fugitive, Vorayuth Yoovidhya

    INN News are reporting that a public prosecutor in the foreign affairs department says that Thai police have made no progress at all in the case of fugitive cop killer Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya. Zero, nothing, nada, zilch, diddly-squat. The youngest son of Chalerm Yoovidhya, the 68 year old owner of the Red Bull drinks empire, is wanted for driving his…

  • Thaiger Radio News – Tuesday | Thaiger

    Thaiger Radio News – Tuesday

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

  • Thaiger Radio News – Monday | Thaiger

    Thaiger Radio News – Monday

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

  • US pedophile gets 10 years for sex with underage boys in Thailand | Thaiger

    US pedophile gets 10 years for sex with underage boys in Thailand

    PHOTO: Convicted US kiddie-fiddler, Paul Alan Shapiro A 71 year old Paul Shapiro has been sentenced to 10 years jail in the US after a California Court convicted him of pedophile charges in Thailand running back as far as 2012. ThaiVisa reports that US citizen Paul Alan Shapiro was also ordered to pay $20,000 in compensation to two victims in…

  • Thaiger Radio News – Sunday | Thaiger

    Thaiger Radio News – Sunday

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  • Tour company owner fined 2,000 baht for threatening taxi driver with sword | Thaiger

    Tour company owner fined 2,000 baht for threatening taxi driver with sword

    PHOTO: Sanook A tour company owner has been fined a mere 2,000 baht by police in Surat Thani after threatening a taxi driver with a sword. The video (below) shows 39 year old Suphakit Sindamrern the alleged owner of Buddy Travel in the Kaset market area heading to his car to retrieve a sword from the boot. Suphakit told an official…

  • Thaiger Radio News – Friday | Thaiger

    Thaiger Radio News – Friday

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

  • Plain packaging for cigarettes being introduced to discourage smoking | Thaiger

    Plain packaging for cigarettes being introduced to discourage smoking

    PHOTO: Example of the changes to cigarette packaging now being implemented in Thailand In the moves to modify polices relating to smokers in Thailand, some of the new legislation is directed towards manufacturer packaging Cigarette packets will soon be plain and much less attractive under the new regulations approved by the National Tobacco Products Control Committee. Public Health Minister Piyasakol…

  • Less growth – but more engagement. Social media in Thailand. | Thaiger

    Less growth – but more engagement. Social media in Thailand.

    PHOTOS: Facebook/Kla Tangsuwan Wisesight, a BKK-based social media analytics company, says social media is reaching saturation point in Thailand but that engagement is increasing. The company is forecasting that Facebook will keep on increasing, 4% in 2018, to a total of 51 million users in Thailand. Wisesight says the application of artificial intelligence will continue to root out fake accounts.…

  • Changes to visas to stimulate tourist sector | Thaiger

    Changes to visas to stimulate tourist sector

    The drop-off in Chinese tourists has caused the Thai Government to come up with some creative ideas to re-invigorate the tourist sector, leading into this year’s high season. The Nation reports that the Cabinet yesterday agreed, in principle, to back measures to stimulate tourism numbers. Tourism and Sports Minister Weerasak Kowsurat said the Cabinet gave the green light for the…

  • Green light for grass. But Cabinet wants a 5 year review. | Thaiger

    Green light for grass. But Cabinet wants a 5 year review.

    by Kai Chanwanpen The Thai Cabinet met yesterday to clear a bill to legalise the medical use of marijuana. But there’s one caveat… that the legalisation must be reviewed after five years. The bill was drafted by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) following months of consolation and online polls. Following the Cabinet’s green light and recommended addition, the draft law…

  • Thaiger Radio News – Tuesday | Thaiger

    Thaiger Radio News – Tuesday

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