Hot News
Thailand hot news, breaking stories, crime, politics, tourism, and business—stay updated with in-depth reports and exclusive interviews on the latest events across the country. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Thailand news source.
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PM orders ministries to study staggered work hours to reduce traffic congestion
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered authorities to study the possibility of permanently staggered working hours as the Covid-19 pandemic eases because such a policy might help ease long term traffic congestion. Staggered working hours, as well as working from home and learning from home, could be enforced in future to solve traffic problems, according to the PM. He tasked the Education…
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Thai carmakers slash production by 50% in 2020
The Covid-19 pandemic could cut Thailand’s automobile production by up to 50%, according to the Federation of Thai Industries. Thailand is the eleventh biggest carmaker in the world, producing more than 2 million cars last year. The FTI now expects only half that in 2020. FTI automobile club’s spokesman club’s spokesperson was speaking to Thai Enquirer: “If the outbreak is…
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Thai billionaire urges government to allow tourists to return
The senior chairman of Thailand’s largest food and agriculture business, Charoen Pokphand Group (CP All), is appealing to the Thai government to open up the country to overseas visitors once more. The Bangkok Post reports that billionaire Dhanin Chearavanont says Thailand needs to start easing travel restrictions in a bid to restart the tourism industry. “Thailand’s economic losses from the lockdown…
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South Korea asks Thailand to remove it from list of “high risk” countries
South Korea is asking to be removed from Thailand’s list of “high-risk” countries. The list was drawn up in early March, when South Korea was second only to China for Covid-19 case numbers. It now ranks 40th, and is considered one of the countries most successful at managing the outbreak. To date, none of the 7,000 Thai citizens, who have…
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Phuket government officially requests the opening of land, water and air links
The southern resort island province of Phuket will ask permission from Bangkok to reopen its airport, sea ports and permanent road access to the mainland (Sarasin Bridge) after several days with no new Covid-19 infections detected. The provincial governor says the province will ask the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand for approval to reopen the airport this Saturday. The CAAT ordered…
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Businesses opening back up, some aren’t following the rules
While restrictions are being lifted, some businesses seem a little too excited about getting back to normal and are letting their guard down when it comes to social distancing and Covid-19 prevention practices. Businesses are required to provide hand sanitising gel, wear face masks and make sure people stay a safe distance apart. Upon inspection this month, most businesses are…
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Young student busted for big crimes
The Narcotics Control Board have announced the arrest of an 18 year old student at a private college in Nonthaburi province, just north of Bangkok, for possession of 10,000 ecstasy pills. “The student ordered 35,000 ecstasy pills by airmail from The Netherlands, paying in Bitcoin via the internet. He was arrested when the first shipment of 10,000 pills arrived. The…
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Thieving monkey safely caught in Chon Buri
A mischievous macaque, aka. rhesus monkey, has been caught after stealing food from local residents in Chon Buri province’s Banglamung district. Authorities of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation were notified of the monkey yesterday afternoon at a housing estate. They arrived at the scene to find the male monkey, estimated at around 2 years old, eating…
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Gang leader arrested for fraud million baht scheme
Police have caught the leader of a gang who stole millions posing as government officials to bribe contractors into handing over money for fake construction projects. The alleged boss of the scheme, 50 year old Rachasak Butpornprasert, was arrested at an Ayutthaya temple after being wanted by police for a year. Butpornprasert also goes by the name “Noppadol Srino” according…
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Former Future Forward members claim they’re behind political slogan campaign around Bangkok
Former members of the now defunct Future Forward party say they are responsible for projecting a political slogan on to some of Bangkok’s most iconic landmarks Sunday night, and say more’s to come. Coconuts reports that the political figures, now members of a group called “Progressive Movement,” shared a video of activists using projection equipment from within a van. The…
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Lightning kills one, injures another in northern Thailand storms
One man was killed and another was injured in lightning storms in northern Thailand. Both were tending cows on their farms. 62 year old Prachuab Phunok died while he was working on a field in the northeastern Mukdahan province’s Nong Sung district, near the Laos border. Police say he was sitting under a tree when lightning struck and killed him. Meanwhile…
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Newborn found dead in southern Thailand university pond
There was a tragic moment last Monday when the body of a newborn baby was discovered in a pond at a southern Thailand university. . A security guard at Walailak University in Nakhon Si Thammarat province saw a black plastic bag floating near the edge of the pond. He told police that “the smell was strong and foul”. Inside the…
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Minister proposes 300 baht tourist levy
It’s going to be challenging enough for both the Thai tourism industry and the travellers to get Thailand’s tourist wheels in motion again without a new levy being added as well. But now, the Tourism and Sports Ministry says they’re considering a new 300 baht tax from every foreign arrival. The reasoning is that the new levy would cover “pandemic…
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The end of the annual crop-burning season – Chiang Mai gets some fresh air
As the annual crop season in north Thailand comes to an end the only good side-effect of the whole Covid-19 outbreak is a drop in the number of fires and plantation burning activity in the past few months. As a result, Chiang Mai’s Air Quality has experienced significant improvements, according to aqicn.org. The website data shows that Chiang Mai air…
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Checkpoint-tech introduced at the Phuket road entry point
Today 10 million baht was donated to the Tha Chatchai checkpoint (at the northern road entry on the island) for a new project called “Phuket Smart Check Point”. The project is aimed to support the islands’ reopening measures and help conduct screenings for high-risk groups. Not only will the project be used for Covid-19-related issues but the project will also…
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Major slump in tourists expected this year
It’s not looking to good for Thailand’s tourism industry. This year will have the lowest numbers the country has seen in over a decade, and that’s assuming there’s some reopenings for international travel sometime later in the year. With the coronavirus pandemic freezing up international travel, the number of foreign tourists are expected to fall by 65% this year, according…
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Thailand receives 30 million baht shipment of medical PPE from China
Today at Don Mueang International Airport General Chanchan Changmongkol, the Deputy Minister of Defense represented the Thai government in receiving medical equipment and supplies from Mr. Yang Xin, the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China, to aid the people of Thailand during the Covid-19 outbreak. The shipment had a value of 6 million yuan or 30 million baht and…
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6 arrests after attack on Pattaya shop owner and family for refusing to sell alcohol – VIDEO
Six curfew-breakers have been arrested for allegedly attacking a Pattaya shop owner and his family, as well as damage to their business and car, on Saturday night. The shop owner had refused to sell the perpetrators alcohol as it was after the curfew, with a further ban on alcohol sales after 6pm in Chon Buri province. The Pattaya News reports…
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“Bangkok’s tap water is safe for cooking” – Metropolitan Waterworks
When people travel to Thailand they’re always warned not to drink the tap water. Or cook with it. But improved sanitation over the past few decades has now improved the quality of tap water around parts of the country, especially in the capital. Now the Metropolitan Waterworks Authority say that it is safe to use tap water to cook rice.…
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Bangkok police hunt activists who projected slogans onto landmarks of 2010 protests
The slogan Seek the Truth (in Thai) has been projected onto several Bangkok landmarks in what appears to be a commemoration of the violent end to political demonstrations in 2010. That year, protests rocked Bangkok for 3 months between March and May, when over 100,000 supporters of former PM Thaksin Shinawatra (known as the “Redshirts”) descended on the city, demanding elections.…
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24 Patong police placed under quarantine
Today at around 1pm, 24 Patong police officers were placed under quarantine at a prominent three-star hotel on Rat U Thit Road, Patong. This was after a police officer was confirmed as one of the cases founded in Phuket yesterday. Read more HERE. While 20 tested negative, 4 are still waiting on the results from supervising medical staff. Thai media…
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Zoo animals eat frozen treats to chill out in high heat
It’s hot. And humid. So hot that zookeepers are getting creative when it comes to cooling down the animals. Lions and tigers are licking on frozen blood cubes while bears are munching on fruit popsicles made by zookeepers at Khon Kaen Zoo in Northern Thailand. Temperatures have recently reached over 40 degrees Celsius, sometimes for days on end. Along with…
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Thailand to introduce contact-tracing app in bid to constrain virus
More news is expected today about a new contact-tracing app being launched as part of the Thai government’s latest efforts to constrain the spread of the Covid-19 virus. A report in Nation Thailand says authorities will shift their focus from location targeting to increased testing of six groups considered high-risk. They include healthcare workers, those in state quarantine and newly…
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Phuket’s tourist-driven economy faces crisis – Phuket Chamber of Commerce
Phuket’s tourism-driven economy is facing what one city official calls a crisis, comparing the economic impact to what it was after the 2004 tsunami. Phuket’s economy has become increasingly focused on tourism and hospitality over the past 2 decades. The Phuket Chamber of Commerce President Thunusak Phungdet said at a meeting last Thursday that Phuket has no income right now.…
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Man kills Buddhist monk in a fit of anger in Lampang
A Buddhist monk was killed last week after he spoke up about a man’s drinking habits. Villagers in Lampang found the body of 69 year old Phra Bundhit Prom-iam over the weekend in his pick-up truck. His body was decaying and “gave off a strong smell”. As police investigated the incident, evidence led them to 44 year old Sakol Pumthong who eventually…
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Ministries, business leaders meet to discuss further reopenings
A meeting this weekend, chaired by the director-general of the Department of Disease Control and secretary to the Covid-19 Center for Situation Administration, discussed suggestions and assessments of businesses ready to reopen, which will be forwarded to the PM Prayut Chan-o-cha for consideration early in the week. Representatives of the Interior Ministry and Tourism Ministry along with those of multiple…
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Summer storms, thunderstorms, hail – weather warnings
The Thailand Meteorological Department is predicting summer storms for vast areas of upper Thailand, accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds. Hail is possible in some areas of the North, the Northeast, the East, and the Central regions. Whilst any meaningful wet season rain is yet to transpire in much of the country, the summer storm systems usually bring sudden,…
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Former deputy PM says government should focus on solutions, not threats
Thailand’s former Deputy PM Chaturon Chaisang yesterday posted on his Facebook page and other social media that, in his opinion, the government is focusing on threats versus solutions during the current Covid-19 crisis. His post has been widely shared and gained a lot of traction in Thai-language media. Chaisang, a former Minister of Education in addition to being a Deputy…
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Spaniard arrested for brutal Koh Phangan murder
Police in the southern Surat Thani province have arrested a Spanish man on the island of Koh Phangan for the stabbing death of a Chilean man. Authorities say the brutal murder took place at 1am yesterday. Officers say when they arrived at the scene of the murder, a rented house on Koh Phangan, they found 31 year old Chang San…
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Thailand’s GDP to contract up to 5% for 2020 – business thinktank
Thailand’s GDP is expected to contract between 3-5% for 2020, and exports by up to 10%. The predictions from Suphan Mongkolsuthee, president of the Federation of Thai Industries and chairman of the private sector joint committee. He also believes that the Thai economy has probably reached its ‘low point’ and will start recovering from now. He said that, as the…
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