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.

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    How to reduce out-of-pocket medical expenses in Thailand?

    Managing medical expenses in Thailand is important as healthcare costs continue to rise. The country’s healthcare system includes both public and private options, but even with the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) for citizens, many still face high out-of-pocket medical expenses....

  • Banned game found offensive to monarchy

    Banned game found offensive to monarchy

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Banned game found offensive to monarchy The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Culture Ministry yesterday explained that the simulation game Tropico 5, which allows players to build their own forms of government on a remote island, was banned because it contained content that appeared to…

  • Luxury homes at former DSI chief estate torn down

    Luxury homes at former DSI chief estate torn down

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Luxury homes in former DSI chief family estate torn down for encroaching on national forest The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Two luxury homes in the compound of former Department of Special Investigation (DSI) chief Tarit Pengdith’s family estate in Nakhon Ratchasima province have finally been…

  • Draft law on surrogacy ready to be submitted for NLA review | Thaiger

    Draft law on surrogacy ready to be submitted for NLA review

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Draft law on surrogacy ready to be submitted for NLA review The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The use of a surrogate mother remains a grey area for Thailand but there is hope that draft legislation now ready for review by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA)…

  • Health ministry probes surrogacy case

    Health ministry probes surrogacy case

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Health ministry probes surrogacy case The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Public Health Ministry has launched a fact-finding probe into a case of surrogacy in which a baby boy born with Down’s syndrome and congenital heart problem late last year was left with the Thai…

  • Boy, 9, killed and 14 hurt as packed songthaew crashes

    Boy, 9, killed and 14 hurt as packed songthaew crashes

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Boy, 9, killed and 14 hurt as packed songthaew crashes The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A Prathom 3 student was killed and 14 others injured when a songthaew, a converted truck used to transport passengers, slammed into a parked 10-wheeler in Nakhon Pathom’s Sam Phran…

  • Thais fleeing chaos in Libya to arrive home tomorrow | Thaiger

    Thais fleeing chaos in Libya to arrive home tomorrow

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thais fleeing chaos in Libya to arrive home tomorrow The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The first group of Thai workers evacuated from Libya will arrive in Thailand tomorrow, Employment Department chief Sumet Mohosot said yesterday. The 18 workers, who were employed by Swiss watch-making company…

  • Military court to try first civilians

    Military court to try first civilians

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Military court to try first civilians The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Former education minister Chaturon Chaisang and academic Worachet Pakeerat yesterday became the first civilians to be tried in a military court under martial law since the coup after the court’s prosecutors resolved to indict…

  • Killer gynaecologist released for good behaviour after a decade in jail

    Killer gynaecologist released for good behaviour after a decade in jail

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Killer gynaecologist released for good behaviour after a decade in jail The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A gynaecologist found guilty of murdering and flushing his wife’s dismembered remains down the toilet in 2001 was released from jail yesterday. Dr Wisut Boonkasemsanti was sentenced to death…

  • Mother warns against surrogacy as donations pour in for Down syndrome baby

    Mother warns against surrogacy as donations pour in for Down syndrome baby

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Don’t be a surrogate for money, mother warns The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A surrogate mother yesterday warned her fellow Thais not to get involved in commercial surrogacy for foreign customers – as she now faces financial, legal and ethical difficulties after poor Gammy, her…

  • Expert differs with report on Koh Samet

    Expert differs with report on Koh Samet

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Expert differs with report on Koh Samet The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Even though a researcher says that Koh Samet’s Ao Phrao is recovering naturally, with the number of marine organisms in the area rising, an academic disagreed, saying the ecosystem was not normal yet…

  • Rail mega-project could provide the economy much-needed stimulus | Thaiger

    Rail mega-project could provide the economy much-needed stimulus

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Rail mega-project could provide the economy much-needed stimulus The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The state railway mega-project recently given the green light in part is expected to offer the economy a much-needed lift, while the funding sources could range from banks and public-private partnerships to…

  • NCPO approves inheritance tax | Thaiger

    NCPO approves inheritance tax

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Inheritance tax gets NCPO nod The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: For the first time in the Kingdom’s modern history, Thais who are bequeathed fortunes by their wealthy relatives would have to start paying an inheritance tax under a Finance Ministry proposal that has already been…

  • His Majesty appoints 200 National Legislative Assembly members | Thaiger

    His Majesty appoints 200 National Legislative Assembly members

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community His Majesty appoints 200 National Legislative Assembly members The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: His Majesty the King has issued a royal command to appoint 200 members of the National Legislative Assembly. More than half of them are either former and active military officers as expected.…

  • Libya asked to waive exit visa to facilitate evacuation of Thais

    Libya asked to waive exit visa to facilitate evacuation of Thais

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Libya asked to waive exit visa to facilitate evacuation of Thais The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Thailand is asking Libya to cancel its exit visa regulations in order to facilitate the evacuation of Thais living there, Manopchai Vongphakdi, director-general of the Foreign Ministry’s South Asia…

  • Arrivals from West Africa on Ebola watch, fears grow of outbreak in Europe

    Arrivals from West Africa on Ebola watch, fears grow of outbreak in Europe

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Arrivals from West Africa on Ebola watch, fears grow of outbreak in Europe The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Thai authorities have joined the rest of the world in monitoring the spread of the Ebola virus and are closely screening all arrivals from West Africa, a…

  • Heavy new penalties for visa overstays from Aug 29

    Heavy new penalties for visa overstays from Aug 29

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Heavy new penalties await visa overstays The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Authorities will bar visitors who overstay their visas from returning to Thailand for between one year and a whole decade. The longer the overstay period, the longer will be the re-entry ban. Starting from…

  • Warring, wealthy and notorious Thammawattana family makes peace

    Warring, wealthy and notorious Thammawattana family makes peace

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Warring, wealthy and notorious Thammawattana family makes peace The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: After enduring a series of tragedies for decades, rival members of the Thammawattana family have decided to give up their spats for the sake of “peace and happiness”. Many members of the…

  • Thai industry captains praise NCPO moves, reforms

    Thai industry captains praise NCPO moves, reforms

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thai industry captains praise NCPO moves, reforms The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Thailand is back to work and business after months of political impasse, but there are challenges to be addressed to ensure sustainable growth, an international business conference heard yesterday. Inclusive political reform will…

  • Activists plan anti-shark fin protest at THAI check-in counters worldwide

    Activists plan anti-shark fin protest at THAI check-in counters worldwide

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Activists plan anti-shark fin protest at THAI check-in counters worldwide The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Oceanic Preservation Society has invited shark advocates to gather at Thai Airways check-in desks at airports worldwide next month to protest against what it calls a cruel shark-fin cargo…

  • Ivory worth Bt9m seized at Suvarnabhumi airport

    Ivory worth Bt9m seized at Suvarnabhumi airport

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ivory worth Bt9m seized at airport The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Customs officials arrested a Chinese woman and a man from Vietnam at Suvarnabhumi Airport after they allegedly tried to smuggle elephant tusks and ivory products worth about Bt9 million out of the country, Customs’…

  • Deadly car bomb hits Betong

    Deadly car bomb hits Betong

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Deadly car bomb hits Betong The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A car bomb exploded in Betong district in Yala yesterday evening, killing at least two people and wounding 34 others, three of them seriously. The explosion also set nearby buildings on fire and caused major…

  • Thaksin, Yingluck reunite in Paris

    Thaksin, Yingluck reunite in Paris

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thaksin, Yingluck reunite in Paris The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Former PM Yingluck Shinawatra has publicly reunited with her brother former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, who is in self-imposed exile from Thailand. It was the first time the siblings had been seen together in public for…

  • Dutch pot lord arrested in Pattaya

    Dutch pot lord arrested in Pattaya

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Dutchman, Thai wife nabbed for trafficking pot The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A Dutchman and his Thai wife were arrested yesterday in Pattaya for allegedly conspiring to sell marijuana via a network in the Netherlands that reportedly earned Bt600 million to Bt800 million per year.…

  • State oil PTT sued for B350mn for Samet oil spill

    State oil PTT sued for B350mn for Samet oil spill

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Six businesses file Bt350m lawsuit against PTT The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Tourism operators filed a lawsuit at the Rayong Provincial Court yesterday demanding Bt350 million in compensation from PTT Global Chemical PCL (PTTGC) for the July 27, 2013, oil spill off the coast of…

  • His Majesty endorses provisional constitution

    His Majesty endorses provisional constitution

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NCPO chief gets full control of security The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: His Majesty The King has endorsed a provisional charter that puts the chief of National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) in charge of national security, allowing him to suppress any action both…

  • Boy, 4, dies after being left in car by school driver

    Boy, 4, dies after being left in car by school driver

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Boy, 4, dies after being left in car by school driver The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Another child has died in tragic circumstances after being left in a car – in Nakhon Si Thammarat yesterday – by the driver of a school vehicle. Driver Anusorn…

  • Media groups call on junta to repeal ban threat | Thaiger

    Media groups call on junta to repeal ban threat

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Media groups call on junta to repeal ban threat The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Media groups have called on the National Council for Peace and Order to revoke or change its latest announcement on control measures over the industry. Of particular concern is the immediate…

  • Nakhon Ratchasima tackles underprivileged kids’ issues

    Nakhon Ratchasima tackles underprivileged kids’ issues

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Nakhon Ratchasima tackles underprivileged kids’ issues The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Six-year-old Yot (not his real name) was described by his scavenger mum as a problem child. He hated going to school and was so addicted to computer games he began begging to cover the…

  • Attempt to kill former red shirt leader linked to ‘personal dispute’ | Thaiger

    Attempt to kill former red shirt leader linked to ‘personal dispute’

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Attempt to kill former red shirt leader linked to ‘personal dispute’ The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The attempt to kill a key red shirt leader in Chiang Mai on Saturday evening was likely the result of a personal conflict, police said. Niyom Luangcharoen, “DJ Lae”,…

  • Thais split on whether Yingluck will come back

    Thais split on whether Yingluck will come back

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thais split on whether Yingluck will come back The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: About half of the people who responded in a recent survey support the junta’s granting of permission for ousted prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra to take a short trip out of the country,…