Here is a look at the top NATIONAL Thailand stories, chosen by our Pattaya News/TPN National team, from last week, Monday, November 17th, to Sunday, November 23th 2025. They are not in any particular level of importance but are listed in the order of date of publication.
Hat Yai is facing one of its most severe flood emergencies in decades after three consecutive days of torrential rain left the city inundated and forced authorities to issue a mass evacuation order across 103 communities.
2. The Royal Thai Navy’s Maritime Enforcement Command Center Region 1 (Thai-MECC Region 1) launched an urgent rescue operation after the passenger vessel Suea Dam Glow, carrying approximately 97 passengers en route to Koh Kood, reported a hull breach and water ingress about 10 nautical miles off Laem Sok Pier.
3. Immigration police stormed a high-end condominium in central Pattaya on Wednesday evening and arrested five Indian men suspected of operating as administrators for illegal offshore gambling websites, with financial transactions worth millions of baht.
4. A 27-year-old Russian tourist was seriously injured in the early hours of Thursday, November 20th, 2025, after being struck on the head with what appeared to be a glass bottle on the Walking Street nightlife strip in South Pattaya.
5. Chonburi Immigration Police continued their crackdown on foreign nationals involved in illegal activities in Pattaya’s tourist areas with a raid on a luxury beachfront condominium in Jomtien, arresting a 46-year-old South Korean man found in possession of crystal methamphetamine (“ice”), gambling on an online website, and viewing pornographic material.
6. Twelve fishermen, including one child, were rescued safely on Friday afternoon after their double-deck fishing boat sank in heavy seas between Koh Larn and Koh Marwichai, approximately 15 nautical miles (30 km) off the Pattaya coast.
7. A 68-year-old Swedish tourist was rescued from drowning at Kata Beach’s Pak Bang area, a stretch notorious for its powerful rip currents and high-risk swimming conditions.
8. Authorities in Phuket have arrested a former online vendor who allegedly orchestrated a nationwide cash-on-delivery (COD) scam, deceiving thousands of unsuspecting consumers across Thailand.
9. An Austrian national was arrested at Phuket International Airport for allegedly forging immigration stamps and overstaying his visa by 578 days, according to the Immigration Bureau.
10. Authorities have recovered the bodies of a man and a woman from a pickup truck that plunged into the sea after crashing through a barrier on the Sarasin Bridge early Tuesday morning.
11. A 31-year-old Nigerian man was arrested in Patong for allegedly selling cocaine, following a sting operation conducted by the Patong Police Investigation Unit.
12. A 30-year-old woman has been arrested in Phuket for allegedly supplying personal data used in a fraudulent cash-on-delivery (COD) scheme that targeted unsuspecting consumers across Thailand.
13. A passenger bus carrying 44 people skidded off the Asian Highway late Wednesday night, overturning into a roadside median amid ongoing road construction. Remarkably, all passengers escaped unharmed.
That’s all for this week, a s always thanks for your support.
Goong Nang is a News Translator who has worked professionally for multiple news organizations in Thailand for more than eight years and has worked with The Pattaya News for six years. Specializes primarily in local news for Phuket, Pattaya, and also some national news, with emphasis on translation between Thai to English and working as an intermediary between reporters and English-speaking writers. Originally from Nakhon Si Thammarat, but lives in Phuket and Krabi except when commuting between the three.
