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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Iranian tourist missing after white water rafting accident in Thailand’s Phang Nga
UPDATE: The tourist’s body has since been found. Read more HERE. An Iranian tourist has gone missing after a white water rafting accident yesterday in Southern Thailand’s Phang Nga province. A group of five foreign tourists alongside two tour operators were white water rafting down a river in Song Phraek village when they crashed into a rock causing their rubber…
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Health Ministry denies claims of short supply of anti-viral medicine for Covid patients
In response to complaints about a shortage of the anti-viral medicine Favipiravir, with hospitals running low on the primary drug in Thailand used to treat Covid-19, the Public Health Ministry has said that the country’s supply is enough to meet the local demand. Hospitals may experience a “temporary” shortage with the uptick in Covid-19 cases, according to Public Health Deputy…
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Cyber police raid Nonthaburi luxury house, 10 gambling suspects
The Thai Police Cyber Taskforce raided a Nonthaburi luxury house yesterday, where they believe 10 suspects helped facilitate gambling activities. The suspects allegedly used the house as a base for four gambling websites, which made 20 million baht. The taskforce found that the house was connected to 16 other locations in Bangkok that police had raided earlier on the same…
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Thailand’s central bank may revise inflation rate, GDP to battle economic downturn
The Bank of Thailand’s rate-setting committee with meet today to discuss a possible revision of key economic figures such as interest rates and GDP, as the country battles an economic climate that has soured high hopes for the year. Various factors include a weakened baht, rising inflation and the impact of the war in Ukraine, which has resulted in spiking…
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Police arrest man who made 75,000 baht a month selling cannabis on Facebook, Line
Police arrested a man in a post office yesterday in the central province of Samut Prakan after being tipped off that he was selling marijuana via Facebook and Line and sending it to customers through the post. The man’s regular customers were granted entry into a special Line group and sent a Buddhist amulet with their brick of marijuana as…
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Muay Thai gym opens som tum shop for income during the pandemic
Headshot kick knock-out som tum. That’s what happens when Muay Thai boxers put away the gloves and get out a mortar and pestle to smash chillis for the spicy papaya salad. With fewer students participating in close-contact sports due to Covid fears, a Muay Thai boxing gym in the central province of Ratchaburi adapted by opening a weekend restaurant selling…
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Murder investigation launched, 2 arrested after dog carries human skull out of forest
Two suspects in a murder investigation have been arrested after a dog found the remains of a police officer’s missing brother in a forest in Thailand’s Isaan region. Officers are still searching for four other suspects. A farmer taking his cows out to feed near an abandoned shoe factory spotted a dog carrying a human skull out of a eucalyptus forest…
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Tuesday Covid Update: 21,678 new cases; provincial totals
78 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 24,958 with 3,260 of those fatalities since the start of this year. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 21,678 new Covid-19 cases and 27,183 recoveries. There are now 245,154 people in Thailand being treated for Covid-19. Out of…
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45,000 counterfeit items seized nationwide in one month
Fake Gucci handbags, Nike shoes and Prada sunglasses with low price tags can be found around every corner of almost every market in Thailand and are easily identifiable from their real counterparts. Counterfeit items are popular with locals and tourists alike, but the Department of Intellectual Property wants to make an example that selling fake brand names in Thailand is…
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Flash flood warning for 8 Southern Thailand provinces
Flash flooding from heavy rainfall is expected over the weekend in eight provinces in Southern Thailand. The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation has announced a flash flood warning from April 2 to 4 in Chumphon, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung, Songkhla, Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat. The situation is likely to be severe in some areas and the department…
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Hua Hin motorbike taxi driver shot to death after fight over foreign passenger
A motorcycle taxi driver in Hua Hin allegedly shot and killed another win driver after a fight over a foreign passenger, Thai media reports. The 62 year old win driver was shot to death in Hua Hin’s nightlife area in Soi Ha Yaek in the southern province of Prachuap Kiri Khan. Officers from Hua Hin Police Station found the driver…
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Thai grandma praised as village’s top snake catcher, grabs pythons with her bare hands
A 67 year old grandma in Thailand’s Isaan region, known to catch large snakes with her bare hands, has been praised by Surin residents as the top “community rescuer” after she caught her biggest python so far. When someone in the community finds a snake, they come to grandma Prakuad “Own” Pasomsi to catch it. The grandma has been catching…
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Investigation launched in central Thailand after 2 oil tanker explosions in a month
An investigation is being launched into why there have been 2 oil tankers explosions in Bangkok in the space of a month. The Transport Ministry has instructed the Marine Department to launch a probe into the explosions, the latest of which occurred on Sunday. The Ampar 8 was carrying over 3 million litres of crude oil from the island of…
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Health ministry revises criteria for administration of booster vaccine doses
The Public Health Ministry has revised the formula for the administration of Covid-19 booster vaccine doses, according to a Nation Thailand report. The confirmation follows chatter on social media that the ministry had changed the criteria, prompting Thailand’s Anti-Fake News Centre to investigate and confirm it was true. According to the Nation Thailand report, the new criteria for getting a…
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Thailand charity helps animals affected by the Ukraine conflict
The following is a press release from the Soi Dog Foundation. World-renowned animal rescue NGO Soi Dog Foundation, the leading organisation in Southeast Asia helping dogs and cats, has joined in support of Ukraine’s war-affected dogs and cats by teaming up with Poland’s oldest and largest animal welfare nonprofit, TOZ (Towarzystwo Opieki Nad Zwierzetami or Society for the Prevention of…
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Rural Doctors Society calls for government transparency on favipiravir supplies
The Rural Doctors Society has once again taken aim at the Public Health Ministry, demanding it come clean about Thailand’s supply of favipiravir. The antiviral medication is used to treat Covid-19 patients, but needs to be administered in the early stages of the illness. Posting on its Facebook page, the society claims hospitals are running out of the drug and…
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Anutin tells Khao San Road operators to forego Songkran water-splashing events
Business operators on Bangkok’s Khao San Road have been told they should forget about holding water-splashing events this Songkran. So says Public Health Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, ahead of a meeting of Bangkok’s communicable disease control committee today. This looks set to be the third Songkran in a row during which water splashing is banned, with the government ever-wary of triggering…
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Cash-strapped Thai Airways sells aircraft seats for 35,000 baht a pair
If you miss that in-flight feeling but don’t want to travel due to the Covid-19 pandemic, or if you are simply a Thai Airways superfan, tomorrow is your chance to buy a pair of limited edition Thai Airways aeroplane seats. The seats, which come in three colours, are only available to buy through Facebook Live tomorrow at 2pm through the…
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IKEA to open another store in Bangkok’s Phrom Phong area
Last week, IKEA, the famous Swedish furniture company, announced is set to open another store in Bangkok’s Phrom Phong in the Emsphere, Emporium and Emquatier shopping district. The IKEA complex is still under construction and there is no announcement on the planned opening date. This will be their fourth location in Thailand alongside Mega Bangna, Central Westgate, IKEA Phuket. Mega…
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Prayut pushes pre-Songkran Covid boosters, 6 walk-in centres open in Bangkok
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is encouraging people to get vaccinated against Covid-19 prior to the Songkran festival next month, according to a spokesperson. Many Thais will visit their families during the Songkran, which is the Thai New Year celebrated from April 13 to 15, and officials worry the gatherings could cause a spike in Covid-19 cases. The Public Health Ministry has…
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No breathalyser test for Phuket resort owner after crash, police say he didn’t smell like alcohol
Police did not test the alcohol levels of the well-known owner of the Sri Panwa luxury resort in Phuket after he lost control of his Bentley, crashing into a steel barrier and causing the car to flip multiple times before it set on fire. The owner of the five-star resort had crashed another car almost exactly a year prior and…
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Body of Burmese fisherman found in oil tank in southern Thailand’s Surat Thani
The body of a Burmese fisherman was found in an oil tank on a fishing boat docked in the southern province of Surat Thani. The tank was on a fishing boat where the man had worked which was found by a painter who was going to clean and paint the boat’s engine room. He tried to move the tank out…
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Monday Covid Update: 24,635 new cases; provincial totals
81 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 24,880 with 3,182 of those fatalities since the start of this year. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 24,635 new Covid-19 cases and 25,753 recoveries. There are now 250,737 people in Thailand being treated for Covid-19. Out of…
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Tangmo: Senators warn police to store speedboat ‘properly’
Store the boat properly, you dummies! That’s the key takeaway, after senators visited the police headquarters in Muang district of Nonthaburi last week, where they found police had not been properly storing a key piece of evidence — the speedboat that drowned actress Nida “Tangmo” Patcharavirapong allegedly fell from. Members of the Senate committee on human rights, liberty and consumer…
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Officers investigate death of elderly American expat in Pattaya
Police in Pattaya are investigating the death of an 80 year old American man who was found lying in bed with a plastic bag covering his head. Officers also note that the door to the safe was left open. Investigators will review surveillance camera footage from the condominium to determine if anyone entered his room. The elderly expat had lived…
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Thai airlines urged to inspect all Boeing 737-800 aircraft following crash in China
After a Boeing 737-800 crashed in China, killing all 132 passengers on board, Thailand’s aviation officials have urged five Thai airlines to conduct thorough safety inspections of their 26 Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Leading domestic airlines, including Nok Air and Thai Lion, must obtain a Certificate of Airworthiness for all operational 737-800s, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand. China Eastern…
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Hospitals warned to treat Covid patients or risk being delisted by Social Security Office
Thailand’s Social Security Office has warned that hospitals that refuse to treat Covid-19 patients risk being removed from its list of contracted medical facilities. Boonsong Thapchaiyuth, SSO secretary-general, says he’s instructed private hospitals to adhere to the regulations and offer full treatment to members of the social security fund registered at those hospitals. According to a Bangkok Post report, the…
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Finance Ministry expected to adjust 2022 economic forecast from next month
The Finance Ministry will adjust the 2022 forecast for Thailand’s economic growth to focus on the rise in both inflation and energy prices, from next month. According to an unnamed Bangkok Post source, the ministry is concerned about the impact Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will have on overseas arrivals this year. At the start of the year, the ministry had…
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In Thailand, Move Forward candidate more popular than Prayut in PM poll
While the largest percentage of Thais, 27.6%, said they were “yet to see anybody suitable for the post of Thai PM, Move Forward Party candidate 41 year old Pita Limjaroenrat is slightly ahead of current PM Prayut. 13.4% of respondents prefer Pita, while 12.7% prefer Prayut. This means that Pita is now the country’s most preferred candidate, followed by Prayut, then…
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Getting a motorcycle taxi in Bangkok, or anywhere in Thailand
We’ll start off by stating that there is nothing quicker and more efficient than getting a motorcycle taxi around Bangkok, compared to just about any other form of transport. We’ll also admit that there are dangers involved with riding on a motorcycle or motorbike around Thailand, especially if you’re not wearing a helmet (which you can ask the rider for).…
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