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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Prachinburi police chief updates the case of murdered German man
The stabbing death of a German man who taught English in the Central province of Prachinburi “has damaged the image of Thailand” according to provincial police, as reported in 77kaoded. But the provincial police chief says said he “expects good news soon” after he chaired a meeting of investigators looking into the case. Chief Naradech Klomthuksing was addressing reporters after…
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710 people caught violating curfew in one night, most in Phuket
The Royal Thai Police Operations Centre has revealed that there were 710 arrests made on Thursday night for violators of the national curfew. Officials searched 27,011 individuals and 20,568 vehicles with a final arrest number of 710, on last Thursday night alone. The arrests consisted of… 612 suspects left their homes during the curfew with no valid reasoning, out of…
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Government panel predicts 12-18 more months of pandemic-related pain
Thailand faces up to a year and a half of serious impacts from Covid-19 pandemic, according to a government advisory panel investigating the pandemic’s consequences on the Kingdom. The panel was set up on the Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s orders on April 30. After analysing data from the Ministry of Public Health, the advisory committee on the social and economic…
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5 charged over murder of Burmese man in Chiang Rai
After police officers from Maw Fah Luang in Chiang Rai received a tip-off from local residents to check a suspicious object floating in a swamp, a body was discovered in a 200 litre oil drum in Ban Thoet Thai. When police arrived they found a 200 litre steel drum floating around near the swamp’s shore. In the tank they found…
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Thailand’s hotels face more pain after European tour group asks to defer debt
Hotels in Thailand, particularly in Phuket and some surrounding regions, have been hit with a double whammy. First the whole Covid-19-related wipe-out, now a cash-flow problem brought about after the TUI Group – an Anglo-German multinational travel and tourism company – has stalled repayments for hotel rooms. The amount owed to Thailand hotels is believed to exceed 2 billion baht. TUI is…
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PM confident economy will rebound when businesses reopen
Or… “what goes down, must go up”. “If workplaces reopen, there will be employment and salaries… If factories reopen and employ people, rehabilitation will start.” Responding to reporters yesterday, the Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha expressed confidence the economy will improve once businesses reopen and people are employed again, and when tourism resumes, with measures in place to give visitors confidence…
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Ex-deputy commerce minister and 5 accomplices face 10 charges in murder trial
In a case which has shocked the nation, former deputy commerce minister, MP and police lieutenant Banyin Tangpakorn and 5 accomplices, accused of involvement in the murder of a senior Bangkok judge’s brother, have been slapped with 10 separate charges. The Crime Suppression Division commander Jiraphop Phuridet says the accused are charged with: premeditated murder; detention; detention causing death; acting…
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Grocery giant Makro to add over 700 jobs
At last a snippet of good economic news. Thai big-box grocery giant Makro has announced plans to hire more than 700 employees to boost its delivery service and create jobs after the Covid-19 outbreak passes. Siam Makro’s CEO says a new company priority is to help people who’ve lost their jobs due to the Emergency Decree and subsequent lockdown measures…
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BTS and MRT roll out better preventative and social distancing measures
Since there has been a lot of backlash and social media scuttlebutt about the lack of social distancing on MRT and BTS train systems, the MD of the Bangkok Expressway and Metro Public Company, Sombat Kitjalaksak, has moved to apply improved social distancing measures by prioritising access to services in the station, platform, train, both at normal times and rush…
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Bangkok’s Chatuchak weekend market is reopening
Chatuchak, Jatujak, JJ, whatever you choose to call it, Bangkok’s legendary weekend market is reopening tomorrow. The massive indoor/outdoor market, popular with both Thai and foreign tourists, will reopen this weekend after weeks of being shuttered, but visitors will be required to observe physical distancing and wear face masks…. you know the drill. Walaya Wattanarat, deputy permanent secretary of the…
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Some taxis equipped with ‘barriers’ to protect against coronavirus transmission
Some taxis are being converted to be coronavirus-proof, well that’s the intention. A barrier designed by Royal Thai Air Force personnel, to protect people using taxis and keep drivers in business, has been rolled out. With possible close contact to many different people, taxi drivers are at risk of catching the virus. In February, a taxi driver was the first human-to-human virus transmission in…
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Business recovery in the Covid-19 era
As some countries begin to tentatively look to reboot their economies in a Covid-19 world, what does the future hold for business? Nation Thailand reports today on an extensive Bank of Thailand survey that examined the impact of the pandemic on four business sectors and what might happen next. Things are looking a bit brighter for the manufacturing and retail…
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Gamblers arrested, police investigated for ‘negligence’ in Bang Chan
Not a lockdown, not a global pandemic, not a series of recent arrests will slow down the urge for some gamblers to gamble. Now officials from the Department of Provincial Administration in Bang Chan, north-east of Bangkok’s city centre, have raided more illegal casinos with some senior police in the area being side-lined to inactive posts. There were recent raids…
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May 17 target for shopping centres to re-open
The rumours have been flying since this week’s cabinet meeting about the next raft of re-openings as Thailand’s economy starts to plod back into gear. Now, after a meeting yesterday of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, there’s general consensus that shopping centres and retail stores will be able to re-open on Sunday, May 17. Of course the caveat is…
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Deputy PM says some restrictions could be eased before mid-May
Speaking at the Covid-19 Coronavirus Situation Administration today, Deputy PM Wissanu Kreangam addressed rumours that PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is considering easing some Covid19 restrictions before the middle of May. Meetings are taking place this afternoon between the CCSA and other government departments as the PM gathers medical advice from the CCSA and other experts on the feasibility of loosening some…
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Unemployed elephants in Thailand’s north trek home
The Covid-19 crisis has affected the livelihoods of countless millions of Thais… not all of them human. Elephant camps in Chiang Mai, and elsewhere in Thailand’s north, have been devastated by the drop in tourism, forcing some to close and having to leave their elephants without food to survive. More than 100 are now marching up to 150 kilometres back…
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German national stabbed to death in central Thailand
A 60 year old German man, who worked as an English teacher, has been found stabbed to death at his home in the central province of Prachan Buri. The Bangkok Post reports that the man’s body was discovered by his ex-wife, 45 year old Sriwan Khunmak. He has been named in Thai media as Wilhelm Klaus. It’s understood that he…
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4 arrested over park ranger’s shooting death
Further to a story published yesterday by The Thaiger, police have now arrested 4 men for the shooting death of a forest protection officer at Sap Langka Wildlife Sanctuary in the central province of Lop Buri. Police overseeing the Central Plains provinces say the arrested men are residents in tambon Kut Ta Phet of Lam Sonthi district. The men, allegedly poachers,…
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Park ranger shot dead in Lop Buri clash with poachers
A park ranger has been killed in a clash with poachers in the central Lop Buri province. 37 year old fish and wildlife ranger Karn Chaiprasert was found dead on Monday with a gunshot wound. The head of the wildlife sanctuary, Wasant Klomchinda, said Karn led a 3 member team on patrol on Sunday in a forest on the Khao…
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7 Russians arrested on Koh Phangan
Police on Surat Thani province’s Koh Phangan, the island best known for its “full moon parties,” have arrested 7 Russian tourists for violating the Emergency Decree. Acting on a complaint filed by concerned Koh Phangan citizens, police raided a two-storey house at Nai Wok village in the wee hours of Monday morning. The next full moon party would have been…
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Visakha Bucha Day, Buddhist holiday – alcohol ban today
Today is a public holiday in Thailand to mark Visakha Bucha Day, the most significant day in the Buddhist calendar, commemorating three defining events in the life of the Lord Buddha; his birth, attaining enlightenment at 35 years old, and then his death 45 years later, which all occurred on the full-moon day of the sixth lunar month. Visakha Bucha…
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WHO and intelligence community awaiting evidence from US President Trump about “Wuhan lab” claims
The World Health Organisation says they’re awaiting evidence to support “speculative” claims by the US President and Secretary of State that the new coronavirus originated in a Chinese lab in Wuhan. The Five Eyes, a network involving UK, US, Australia, New Zealand and Canada intelligence officials, say they do believe that Beijing has not necessarily been transparent about how coronavirus initially spread…
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Local markets in Asia retreat as US President Trump talks up revised trade war
Steep losses are the order of the day as local markets follow the lead from a sell off in New York after US President Trump foreshadowed a new round of trade sanctions on China. The US President and his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have openly accused the Chinese government that the Covid-19 started in a lab in Wuhan, and that…
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Blacktipped reef sharks return to Koh Hong, Krabi – VIDEO
Yesterday morning, while Than Bok Khorani National Park staff were checking the area, they came across dozens of Blacktipped reef sharks swimming and feeding along the shores of Koh Hong in Krabi province. They reported that there could be a group up up to 50 Blacktipped reef sharks, with a body length of almost 1 metre. They were chasing after…
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Hello world! Kim Jong-un resurfaces after 20 day absence
Dispelling recent rumours that he was in a “vegetative state” or even dead after an apparent heart attack and a botched surgery, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un has resurfaced and made his first public appearance after a 20 day absence. Well, either him or a very good replica. North Korean state media reported today that he “celebrated the completion of…
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Surat Thani governor confirms that residents coming back from Phuket will be quarantined
With the exodus of people from Phuket heading back to their home provinces, officials from Surat Thani have confirmed that they will be quarantined at home for 14 days when they arrive. Surat Thani is about a 3-4 hour drive northeast from Phuket. The Surat Thani governor Witchawut Jinto has ordered all district chiefs in the province to quarantine visitors…
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New plans for managing Thailand’s 2020 public debt
The Thai Cabinet has approved new plans for managing the fiscal 2020 public debt that was previously proposed by the Ministry of Finance. Deputy Government spokesperson Traisulee Traisaranakul announced that… “according to the new plans, the amount of ‘new’ debt has been adjusted up to 1.497 trillion baht from 894.005 billion baht.” “The plan for the management of ‘existing’ debt has…
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Thai baht up 3% against USD over past month
Potential tourists and expats shipping in money from overseas were hoping the Thai baht would continue to fall against the US dollar. But they’d be surprised that the baht has rebounded in April against the greenback – about 3% in value. But Thailand’s Central Bank is warning that the recent strengthening of the baht against the USD may “not be sustainable”.…
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Woman brutally murdered in Chonburi
Yesterday at 1pm Police Colonel Chiddecha Songkhong, director of Nong Prue Police Station, Bang Lamung District in Chonburi province, was notified of a murder. The incident was reported as a murder of a Thai woman at a village in Nong Prue Sub-district. Chiddecha along with Police Somboon Osammaitee, Pattaya Travel Inspector Police, medical staff from Bang Lamung Hospital Sawang and…
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Former union leader calls for total overhaul at Thai Airways
The former president of the Thai Airways union is calling for a complete revamp of the airline, including the ousting of all existing board members. The call follows years of crippling losses, bailouts and promises of a corporate cleanout. The Bangkok Post reports that Chamsri Sukchotrat made the call in a Facebook post, addressing PM Prayut Chan-o-cha in his role…
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