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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CAAC chief: International flights unlikely before September
Dashing hopes that international arrivals (code for ‘tourist flights’) could resume on July 1, Thailand’s senior civilian aviation regulator says that they’re are likely to resume as late as September. The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand’s director says none of the airlines he’s met expressed any interest in resuming international flights next month, when the order shutting down the country’s…
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Thai LGBT advocates push for equal rights for same-sex marriage
LGBT equality advocates are calling on Thailand to allow same-sex marriage, asking that laws regarding marriage simply change the words “man and woman” so same-sex couples can have the same rights as traditional married couples. A Civil Partnership Bill allows same-sex couples to register in a civil union, but the so-called “partnerships” are not treated the same as marriages. If…
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“World Health Organisation is an unreliable source on health issues” – Thai doctor
With the Covid-19 crisis has all but passed in Thailand (today marks the 24th consecutive day without a local transmission), Thais now view the World Health Organisation as an unreliable source on health issues, at least according to a specialist at Bangkok’s Vichaiyut Hospital. He complains that the WHO is slow in providing information. “Especially when they inform the public…
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Covid-19 update: 6 new cases, all detected in quarantine (June 18)
Breaking a 3 day streak of zero new cases, Dr Panprapa Yongtrakul, assistant spokeswoman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration this morning announced 6 new cases of Covid-19 over the previous 24 hour period, all detected in state quarantine. Thailand has now reached 24 days without a domestically transmitted case. Of the 6 new cases, 5 are male students,…
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Thailand News Today – Wednesday, June 17
Pattaya officials threaten bars masquerading as restaurants with closure Following a number of inspections at various restaurants in the Pattaya area, police have cautioned venues not to pretend they’re restaurants when they’re actually just bars that have added some food. In what may also serve as a warning to businesses in the rest of the country, Pattaya authorities are threatening…
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MP proposes legalising prostitution, sex toys to lower rape cases
An MP of the Thai Civilised Party MP yesterday proposed make prostitution and adult toys legal in Thailand, to help stem what appears to be a rising tide of rape cases in the country. Mongkolkit Suksintharanon, one of Thailand’s wealthiest politicians is an adviser and a member of a House committee assigned to to tackle the problem of rape in…
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Grounded Thai pilot now does motorbike food deliveries
“I have my motorbike, so I found my part time job. And now I am a food delivery man.” With many of the world’s international airlines grounded by the Covid-19 pandemic, many in the aviation industry, including even pilots, have been forced to find other ways to make a living. Here in Thailand, a ban on international arrivals remains in…
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Nightly curfew lifted, illegal motorbike racers back on the streets
Illegal motorbike street racers, known as ‘dek waen’, are back on the road right after the nightly curfew was lifted last Sunday. Police recently arrested 6 young racers in the southern province of Songkhla, but officials are warning others to slow down and abide by traffic laws as Thai media reports “dek waen are back on Bangkok streets”. Royal Thai…
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Thailand News Today – Tuesday, June 16
To register for the Thaiger Flash Property Sale log in HERE. It all start this Thursday at midday! Outrage over 75,000 baht travel allowance for senior execs at Thai Airways The deputy leader of Thailand’s Democrat Party says Thai’s should be outraged by the disclosure that Thai Airways senior management have been getting a 75,000 baht “travel allowance”. He decries…
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Tropical Storm Nuri and Andaman Sea monsoon cause heavy rains throughout Thailand
Tropical Storm Nuri ripped China’s Guangdong province over the weekend; its wider effects causing storms in Northern Thailand. And a strong southwest monsoon in the Andaman Sea brought on rainstorms in other parts of the country. Hundreds of homes have been damaged from the storms and many streets have flooded. From Udon Thani in the north to Surat Thani in…
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His Majesty doesn’t want Thailand to use the lèse-majesté law
His Majesty the King does not want to use Thailand’s strict lèse-majesté laws, which make it a crime to insult or criticise the royal family, but Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says people should still be careful what they say about the Thai monarchy. While the PM says the lèse-majesté law will not be used, other similar laws can still be…
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Outrage over 75,000 baht travel allowance for senior execs at Thai Airways
The deputy leader of Thailand’s Democrat Party, Samart Ratchapolsitte, has slammed Thai Airways management for granting senior executives a monthly 75,000 baht “travel allowance”. Posting on Facebook, he decries the allowance granted to anyone holding the position of executive vice president at the long-struggling airline. Thailand’s national carrier, run as a state enterprise until it filed for bankruptcy protection, is…
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Thailand tourism recovery- are we doing enough?
OPINION by Andrew J Wood The wheels of Thailand’s tourism industry are slowly turning. Travel and tourism is starting to move again. Weekends in Hua Hin hotels for instance are close to capacity (with some resorts experiencing 90% occupancy and some even higher). Being close to Bangkok; the weather, air quality and the fact that you can drive from the metropolis definitely…
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Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble – Thailand’s international travel quandary
With apologies to William Shakespeare. You’re going to hear a lot more about travel bubbles in the next few months. Indeed it will become the ‘new normal’ in the short-term for Thailand’s battered tourism and hospitality industry. The world is NOT going to magically re-open up and travel as they did before, at least not in the next few years.…
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Thailand News Today – Monday, June 15
No new cases of Covid-19, either locally transmitted or imported from overseas, in the past 24 hours. Up to 1,000 foreigners per day with smart phone tracking – plan to open Thailand up to foreigners Foreigners from low-risk countries will be allowed to enter the country and travel in so-called “travel bubbles” without going through the 14 day quarantine period.…
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Police fail to respond to serious domestic violence call
A woman said she was pistol-whipped by her ex-boyfriend, but police did nothing when she first reported the incident. No police responded to the scene. In a photo she posted on social media, her head is down like she had just been hit and blood splattered on the seat. Orawan Singkum wrote in Thai, translated by Google, that her ex…
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Thais continue to provide for the spirits despite tough times
Spirits don’t rest in Thailand, even when there’s a nationwide lockdown and viral pandemic swirling around the world. Thai people continue to give what they can to provide for the spirits, even if it’s just a glass of water or Fanta, placing offerings by trees where spirits live, or on spirit houses which are often outside homes and businesses. One…
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Airbnb bookings rise by 13% as domestic travel restrictions in Thailand eased
Airbnb Thailand has reported a 13% increase in domestic bookings year-on-year, as travel restrictions across the country are lifted and Thais and expats begin to move around more. Domestic holiday markets in Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea are also reporting similar increases. Airbnb says that between June 5-7 and for the first time since February, the company recorded…
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Up to 1,000 foreigners per day with smart phone tracking – plan to open Thailand up to foreigners
If approved by authorities, foreigners from low-risk countries will be allowed to enter the country and travel in so-called “travel bubbles” without going through the 14 day quarantine period. They’ll be tracked through a smart phone application to make sure they stay in their “bubble.” The plan is being prepared for an approval from the Centre of Covid-19 Situation Administration…
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Phase 3 easing generated 200 billion baht into Thai economy
Phase 3 of Covid-19 restriction easing, which began June 1, has generated 200 billion baht of additional cash flow into the economy. With many other establishments returning to business as usual tomorrow, the Thai Chamber of Commerce has launched a forum for the brainstorming of ideas on the next business trends under the “new normal,” that must comply with health…
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Tourist attractions get ready for tomorrow’s Phase 4 easing
Thailand’s Interior Ministry has ordered all provincial governors to manage their tourist attractions in preparation for Phase 4 of Covid-19 lockdown relaxation, which begins tomorrow. The ministry’s permanent secretary said yesterday that after Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha ordered related authorities to manage beach attractions, the ministry instructed provincial governors nationwide to manage their tourist attractions as follows: Prepare tourist attractions,…
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Survey says… most Thais prefer to keep foreign tourists out, for now
“The local respondents showed little interest in visiting the more popular foreign tourist magnets of Pattaya and Phuket.” A recent Suan Dusit Poll asked Thais whether they wanted foreign tourists visiting Thailand soon. 75.7% said “no”. 54.4% said they would prefer the Thai people to tour their own country first before heading overseas. 21.3% say they are afraid foreign visitors…
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Rubber roads will help Thai growers, increase safety
Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha chaired the signing ceremony of an agreement to use local Thai rubber in road construction, part of an effort to help the country’s financially strapped rubber farmers. Prayut praised the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives as well as Prince of Songkhla University, the Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research, the…
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Crowned bats captured, studied as possible Covid-19 carriers
Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, and the Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases, are researching whether Thailand’s “crowned bats” could carry or transmit the Covid-19 coronavirus. The chief of the department’s wildlife health management section says they went to a cave in in the eastern province of Chanthaburi, home to millions of the bats, to capture more…
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Covid-19 update: 5 new cases, all imported (June 13)
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration today announced that 5 new Covid-19 cases were confirmed in the previous 24 hours. All 5 were imported cases of Thai students returning from Saudi Arabia. No new deaths were reported. The total number of confirmed cases since the beginning of the outbreak in Thailand now stands at 3,134. The death toll remains at…
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Schools, colleges, universities to reopen, restaurants and hotels can serve alcohol from Monday
The spokesman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration announced yesterday that schools, colleges and other educational institutes will be allowed to re-open on Monday, and alcohol can again be served in restaurants and hotels, but NOT in pubs, bars or other entertainment venues. The national curfew is also being lifted as of Monday. International schools and tuition schools are…
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Heavy rains and flash floods predicted until next Tuesday from ‘Nuri’
The Thai Meteorological Department is warning that tropical storm ‘Nuri’ could bring heavy rains and cause flash flooding in at-risk areas across Thailand. A low-pressure system that developed in the Philippine Sea, and was tracked over the central Philippines has moved into the South China Sea, has become a tropical depression. At 4am today the department officially announced tropical storm…
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Government denies rumours of fines for online alcohol-related pics
Despite recent reports, the Office of the Alcohol Control Committee is dismissing a rumour about individuals being fined for posting images of alcoholic drinks on social media. The rumour went viral, with some saying individuals can be fined to up to 50,000 baht for posting images of alcoholic beverages online, or up to 10 times that amount if they’re manufacturers.…
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Thailand News Today – Friday, June 12
4 Thais repatriated from India found with Covid-19 today Today the government announced 4 new cases of Covid-19, all were reported as repatriated Thai citizens from India. All have been quarantined in Chon Buri and tested positive during their 14 day stay. All have been mostly asymptomatic. India had the most Covid-19 cases in Asia with a total of 298,283…
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6 fisherman rescued from Phuket waters after their longtail boats sink – VIDEO
2 longtail boats carrying 6 fishermen sank in high seas this morning near Koh Mai Thon aka. Wooden Island, off the coast of Phuket. All 6 fishermen have now been rescued. The 2 boats and their crews left Phuket port last night to fish off Koh Mai Thon, but the crews sent out a distress call about 8am. The boats…
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