Thailand News
Discover the most recent and relevant news from across Thailand on The Thaiger’s National News page. Covering a wide range of topics, including politics, business, crime, and lifestyle, our dedicated team brings you breaking news, in-depth analysis, and exclusive stories from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.
Stay informed about the latest developments in Thai society, economy, and culture, as well as updates on travel, tourism, and expat life. With The Thaiger, you’ll never miss out on the essential news that matters to you.
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Sponsored Working in Thailand: How expat health insurance protects your career and lifestyle
Starting a career in Thailand can be an exciting chapter, but it also brings unique challenges, especially when it comes to health and wellness. For expats, navigating Thailand’s healthcare system and meeting work permit requirements can be difficult. And while...
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Thailand to apply alcohol tax to non-alcoholic beer
Not only is Thailand planning on increasing existing tax on all types of alcohol, but it also plans on applying alcohol tax to non-alcoholic beer, according to Director-General of the Revenue Department Ekniti Nitithanprapas. Ekniti said that the department will increase tax on all types of alcohol, in the fiscal year 2023, to help combat alcoholism among Thailand’s youth. More…
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Cabinet approves 1.6 billion baht to solve Thai flood problems
The Thai Cabinet yesterday approved a budget of almost 1.6 billion to deal with Thailand’s perpetual flood problems. Some 912 million baht has been set aside for water management during the rainy and drought seasons while 664 million baht has been allocated for new water pumps. Prime Minister Office spokesperson Anucha Burapachaisi told an assembled Thai press conference yesterday that…
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Horny monk sexually harasses former OnlyFans actor
A former gay OnlyFans actor claims he was sexually harassed yesterday by a randy monk in his clothing store in a shopping mall in the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima, or Korat. The former OnlyFans actor, who goes by the name of Graf, posted a video of the alleged horny monk on his TikTok account @graf19. The video caption said……
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Gran’s drowning attempt thwarted by her strong swimming ability
An 81 year old granny from the Baan Pom sub-district in Mueng Ayutthaya district tried to kill herself by drowning yesterday because she felt a burden on her family. But her attempted suicide failed when she was fished out of the Chao Phraya River at 7am by a fish farm owner – four hours and 20 kilometres after she took…
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Thailand importing 2nd gen vaccines, producing 3 domestically
Next month should see the start of procurement of the second generation of Covid-19 vaccines, as the Ministry of Public Health plans to import them to Thailand. The National Vaccine Institute (NVI) will convene to discuss the plan sometime in October, according to the Deputy Director-General of the Department of Disease Control. Up for debate is how many vaccines are…
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Hate traffic tickets? Traffic court may replace them
Not getting a ticket when you get pulled over by police in Thailand sounds nice, but not if it’s replaced with a traffic court date instead. The Cabinet Committee approved a motion yesterday under the Traffic Case Draft Act to create a Traffic Law Enforcement Department which would make being cited for a violation a more formal process that could…
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2nd of 3 statements to court may support PM Prayut until 2025
The ongoing saga continues of whether suspended Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha will be able to extend his tenure more than the eight years he has already served, with speculation rife about a court document suggesting his constitutional eight years ends in 2025. The Constitutional Court is currently considering a pitch by Prayut himself as well as documents from two legal…
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New study shows smallpox vaccine ineffective against monkeypox
Despite previous hopes, the Department of Medical Sciences warned that most adults and seniors who have been previously vaccinated against smallpox are not protected from monkeypox, unfortunately. The news comes after testing in labs of people who received the smallpox vaccine when they were younger and are now over 40 showed no correlation between the inoculation and any immunity from…
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New MRT Pink Line causes flood to local school & community
The director of a school in Nonthaburi province near Bangkok said a flood to her school and nearby community is because of construction work to a new train station for the MRT Pink Line. The school director filed a complaint with the police and urged the construction company to take responsibility. The provincial governor demanded that the water is drained…
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‘Fish sauce’ leaking through ceiling turns out to be corpse fluid in central Thailand
Last night, a 49 year old teacher living in Nonthaburi province, central Thailand, told her apartment manager that fermented fish sauce was leaking through her ceiling and dripping down her wall. Pornphimon went away for the weekend and when she returned yesterday at 8pm, she noticed a putrid smell in her apartment. She said, “black water” was coming through the…
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Opening day of 2022 welfare sees 1.86 million people register
Yesterday marked the opening date for registration for state welfare for 2022, and people flooded the registration process both online and in person. By 3pm on the opening day, officials reported that 1.86 million people across Thailand had already registered for the state welfare card project. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance, who also serves as the director-general of…
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Study uses mobile data to improve domestic tourism trends
A new study used mobile data from mobile operator DTAC’s customers to analyse their movements and extrapolate strategies for increasing domestic tourism within Thailand. The study was conducted by Chulalongkorn University, the National Digital Economy and Society Commission, and Boonmee Lab, and used data from June 2020 to October 2021 of 10% of DTAC’s customers who fit the travel parameters…
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Proposal would allow small hotels to operate as a homestay
The Ministry of Interior’s proposal for relaxing regulations on small homestay hotels has been met with opposition from the Thai Hotels Association. The plan would expand a “homestay” exemption in the Hotel Act for small businesses with no more than 20 guests in no more than four rooms, increasing the maximum size and occupancy to 10 rooms and 30 guests.…
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Truck carrying elephant overturns in northern Thailand
UPDATE The 50 year old male elephant who was badly injured in a road accident in Chiang Mai yesterday finally made it to the elephant hospital in Lampang province, 20 hours later. At around 9am yesterday, the truck transporting “Pooh Kham” from Mae Chaem to an elephant camp in Mae Wang overturned on the windy roads. At first, Pooh Kham…
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Hike on traffic fines delayed, but ticket prices will be consistant
Writing news in Thailand frequently means announcing something and then the next day announcing the opposite. And true to form, the new major hike in penalty fines for traffic violations announced before the weekend and scheduled to go into effect yesterday… have been retracted. But when they do go into effect, repeat offenders will be further penalised, and a new…
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British tourist hospitalised after accident at the Grand Canyon in northern Thailand
A 21 year old British tourist ended up in hospital after a backflip gone wrong off a giant inflatable at the notoriously dangerous ‘Grand Canyon’ water park in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand. The Grand Canyon – somewhat less spectacular than its American counterpart but still beautiful – is located in a once-deserted quarry in the Hang Dong district. The park…
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Thailand’s caretaker PM caught sleeping on the job
Caretaker Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan was caught sleeping on the job this afternoon. The 77 year old was in Krabi province today overseeing a joint meeting with several water and land use agencies to discuss water management issues when he dozed off. The image quickly went viral on Thai social media and drew a number of cheeky comments. Suthaporn Suriyakarn…
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Constitutional Court may make prime minister decision Thursday
The decision on Prayut Chan-o-cha’s future and the prime ministership may be decided this week as the Constitutional Court scheduled a special meeting on Thursday to discuss it. Last Thursday his legal team submitted a 30-page document that lays out his defence against all the arguments regarding his term limits to the Constitutional Court. The court will review this document,…
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Truck carrying elephant overturns in northern Thailand
A rescue mission has been launched for a badly injured elephant after the truck transporting it overturned in Chiang Mai province, northern Thailand, this morning. The elephant could not get up due to its injuries. At 10.23am today, Thai Elephant Alliance posted a picture of the injured elephant, named ‘Pooh Kham’ on its Facebook page. Thai Elephant Alliance said they…
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Thai minister quits post to fight alleged impropriety charge
Nipon Boonyamanee today quit his position as Deputy Interior Minister to fight an alleged corruption and misconduct case. Nipon is to face trial in the Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases on a charge of malfeasance, or impropriety, for refusing to pay about 52 million baht to Ponlavit Tech Plus Company for the purchase of two multi-purpose trucks while…
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Thailand provides over 600,000 free cancer treatments in 9 months
Under the universal healthcare ‘Gold Card’ scheme, the government of Thailand provided 603,060 free cancer treatments in nine months. The free cancer treatments were provided by the National Health Security Office between October 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022, according to Deputy Spokesperson Ratchada Thanadirek. The number exceeded the government’s expectations by almost double. The government initially predicted that the…
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Corrections Dept. to sue Thai talk show for creating fake news
A female talk show host faces up to a year in prison after insulting the Department of Corrections and spreading fake news about Thai prisons. On August 31, the Thai talk show, Unfold a Secret or Chae (แฉ), invited a female influencer, Leena Jangjanja, to host a discussion about the Forex-3D scam involving a leading Thai actress, Savika “Pinky” Chaiyadej.…
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Bridge over troubled waters for Thailand-bound Russian snowbird tourists
Russian travellers have ritually sought out islands in the tropical sun since the demolition of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Hellbent on escaping bitterly cold winters, these snowbirds in the lead-up years to the pandemic became the second largest international source market for Phuket’s mass market tourism surge. Now, coming out of the pandemic in the age of a return…
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Cat goes missing in Hat Yai, turns up 1000km away in Bangkok, Thailand
‘Moota’ the stripy cat turned up in Bangkok after going missing more than one month ago, almost 1000 kilometres away near the border of Malaysia in Hat Yai, Songkhla province, southern Thailand. On Wednesday, the Facebook page ‘Traffic on the Si Rat – Outer Ring Road Expressway of Bangkok‘ posted pictures of a beautiful striped cat with a red collar…
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Machine invented to replace monkeys climbing coconut trees
Monkeys climbing coconut trees have been an icon in Thailand for years, but have also drawn the ire of animal rights groups like People for The Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Now the Agriculture Department has invented a machine that can help farmers climb coconut trees themselves, eliminating the need to train and use monkeys to harvest coconuts. PETA released…
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Thai officials warn of fake news and financial schemes on social media
Thai officials are warning the public that several fake news reports, including about financial schemes, are still going viral on social media. The Digital Economy and Society Ministry said today that from August 26 to September 1, it examined 266 social media posts. Of those posts, 141 contained fake news. Even though fake news on Covid-19 has dropped off the…
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Ice Woman: Interview with the world’s first Thai Wim Hof Method instructor
Kam Waritsara, aka ‘Thai Ice Woman,’ is the first Thai-certified Wim Hof Method (WHM) instructor in the world. Once Kam tried and tested the WHM, it became such an important part of her life that she vowed to make the technique accessible to Thai people. The WHM – discovered by Dutch extreme athlete Wim Hof – comprises three pillars: breathwork,…
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UPDATE: Governor rushing to feed over 800 Phuket flood victims
UPDATE Phuket Governor Narong is rushing to get food to over 800 victims of the island province’s recent floods. A total of 871 people, making up 372 households, have been affected by heavy floods that hit Phuket on Friday. Narong yesterday led officials in handing out 1,800 meals to people at Wat Nai Yang temple in the Thalang district. This…
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Maid abuse case shines light on layers of corruption
On the surface, the policewoman who beat her maid is appalling enough, but as details unfold, they uncover multi-layered rotten corruption laying bare countless cases of abuse of power all the way to the top and connected to the acting prime minister. Not only did the maid endure the abuse in exchange for a pass into the Royal Thai Army,…
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Trying the Wim Hof Method Workshop in Bangkok
Thailand is one of the most popular countries for medical tourism in the world. In fact, Thailand ranks 5th among 195 countries in the global health security index released in 2021. Before the lockdown, about 5 million international travelers entered the kingdom to get medical procedures done. That’s over 600 million USD entering the country from medical tourism alone. And…
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