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.
-
Sponsored The 5 best luxury villa rentals in Koh Samui by The Luxury Signature
Koh Samui has long been known as one of the world’s finest luxury travel destinations. Its pristine beaches, lush landscapes, and crystal-clear waters create an idyllic setting that attracts travellers seeking an escape from the everyday grind. And opting to...
-
Immigration checkpoints enhance hygiene measures nationwide
Health screening measures are being boosted today at immigration checkpoints nationwide to prevent the spread of the Wuhan Coronavirus into Thailand. Since cases were confirmed in Malaysia and Singapore, officials at the Betong border crossing in the southernmost province Yala are using handheld thermometers to screen suspected contaminanees. Meanwhile enhanced hygiene measures are being implemented at immigration checkpoints at all…
-
No permission from Beijing to evacuate Thais from China
China has so far not granted Thailand permission to land a plane to evacuate Thais in light of the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says China is handling the situation, and the Thai government must prepare a list of Thai nationals currently in China, an assembly point and a departure table before permission is given. “China confirmed that it can…
-
Thai tourism to take hit over Coronavirus
by Bill Barnett of c9hotelworks.com A travel ban is now in effect in Mainland China for tour groups who were booked for holidays overseas. Over the past few days hoteliers in Phuket, Bangkok and throughout the country are reporting significant cancellations, not only of groups but also independent travellers (FITs). Last year Mainland Chinese travellers to Thailand nearly eclipsed 11 million,…
-
Coronavirus UPDATE: More Chinese cities restrict travel, Thailand checking land borders
The death toll from the novel coronavirus has grown to 80 today. The entire Hubei Province is now in the largest health ‘lockdown’ ever mounted in modern medical history with tight controls of who or what is inbound or outbound from the central Chinese province, plus severe restrictions on movement in place in several other Chinese cities. The number of deaths…
-
Coronavirus – Thai officials meet for evacuation contingency of citizens in Wuhan
Thailand’s Foreign Ministry is hosting a meeting today to review plans to repatriate Thais marooned in China as a result of the cessation of flights and lockdowns in many Chinese cities. The Thai Rapid Response Centre, along with the Public Health Ministry, will also be updated by local Thai Embassy staff and consular officials in China to find ways of…
-
Online grocery shopping gains popularity in Thailand
Squeezing the avocados and smelling the mangoes, in person, may well become a thing of the past as online grocery buying quickly gathers pace. The intense competition in online grocery sales is expected to surge in 2020. Online Apps like Line, Grab and Lazada are making major inroads into the Thai grocery market valued around 30 billion baht. Pushing the growth…
-
Additional thermal screening for Chinese arrivals at Thai airports
“The number of Chinese tourists is likely to drop by half this year – creating an enormous impact on Thailand’s tourism industry.” Thailand’s health authorities are taking more stringent precautions over Chinese arrivals in Thailand following the confirmation of coronavirus case #6 in Hua Hin, a resort town south west of Bangkok. Panlop Singhaseni, Prachuap Khiri Khan’s governor, says they are…
-
Romeo robber arrested for drugging women in their homes
Lonely hearts beware: a serial robber has been arrested after meeting up with girls for a night of fun but instead robbing them in their own homes. Police arrested a 28 year old man, who they named only as “Suchin,” in the eastern province of Chonburi on Thursday. One victim told authorities she met Suchin on a dating site in…
-
“Greetings from Thailand”, escaped convict sends Belgian prison a postcard
“Greetings from Thailand”. That was the message on the postcard sent to the directors of a Belgian prison. The sender? The management of Turnhout prison believe the greeting letter was from Oualid Sekkaki, who escaped last month. Sekkaki is one of five inmates who escaped from the Flemish prison in mid-December. The letter was addressed to the three directors of the…
-
Electric vehicle registrations in Thailand rose 380% in 2019
Electic cars (EVs) are on the rise in Thailand. The Electric Vehicle Association of Thailand (EVAT) reports a sharp increase in the number of electric vehicles registered in 2019. Department of Land Transport statistics show that, as of December 31, there were 2,854 electric vehicle registrations, including 1,572 new cars, up 380% from 2018 when only there were only 325 registered.…
-
Shakedown rocks the top levels of the Royal Thai Police
The upper echelons of the Royal Thai Police Force has been rattled by some high-profile shakedowns that have been ordered by executive order from the Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha. Starting with the former immigration chief, Pol Lt-Gen Surachat Hakparn, the PM has ordered him to “adhere strictly to the ethical code and discipline expected of all civil servants” Earlier this…
-
Thai, Air Asia suspend flights to Wuhan because of Novel Coronavirus
Thai Airways and Thai Air Asia are both taking steps to prevent any possible spread of Novel Coronavirus pneumonia through tourist arrivals from Wuhan, the source of the outbreak. Thai Air Asia, which operates two daily flights to Wuhan from Bangkok and one from Phuket, suspended services yesterday. Meanwhile Malaysia-based Air Asia, has also suspended scheduled flights to and from Kota Kinabalu…
-
Survey shows that Thais feel “less safe”
A recent survey by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, the Suan Dusit Poll, shows that Thais are more concerned about their safety than ever before, citing the country’s economic woes as the reason. The poll was conducted from January 15-18 on 1,365 people throughout the Kingdom of varying education levels and occupations. The survey followed a spate of serious crimes in…
-
First US case of Coronavirus spooks stock market, death toll up to six
Medical authorities around the globe are scrambling to prevent the spread of a deadly outbreak of a new Coronavirus. It started in Wuhan, central China, and is now spreading beyond Wuhan’s and China’s borders. There has now been cases detected in Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, South Korea and, today the US where a case was confirmed in Washington State. Centres of…
-
Opposition will ask NACC to probe Thai PM on three counts
Seven of Thailand’s opposition parties are demanding that the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) investigate Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha for allegedly breaching the law on three issues. They claim… • The Prime Minister failed to state the sources of the Government’s revenue in its policy statement presented to parliament last year. • The process of selection of senators was illegal due…
-
Thailand’s Future Forward party cleared in surprise Court verdict
The Constitutional Court have beaten their own schedule for a verdict by announcing late this morning a decision that cleared the Future Forward Party of charges that it was attempting to undermine “the democratic system under the monarchy”. The ruling is one of the few that have come out on the side of Government opposition parties in Thailand, and is considered…
-
5 drown after passenger boat sinks in Uttradit’s Sirikit reservoir – UPDATE
(UPDATE: 7:07am, the Thai-language daily Khao Sod now reports the number of drowned at 5) One passenger has drowned and four others remain missing (presumed drowned) after their boat struck a submerged tree stump and capsized on Sirikit Dam in the northern province of Uttradit, near the border of Laos. Rescue workers recovered five passengers and the boat’s skipper from…
-
32 year old British patient recovering in Phuket, suspected Coronavirus victim
UPDATE HERE. A British tourist is reported to be fighting for his life in a Phuket hospital. He could be the first Western victim of the coronavirus strain sweeping through China, according to Doctors at the hospital, but is yet to be confirmed. This latest coronavirus, related to the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) and MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome)…
-
Coronavirus spreads north and south in China – 139 new cases reported
Another 139 new cases of a flu-like disease caused by a new strain of coronavirus in China has shocked health officials. There’s also been a third confirmed death reported today. Worse, the outbreak has now spread beyond Wuhan in central China where the virus was first identified. There have been cases reported in Beijing, a province next door to Shanghai and…
-
Two tourists hurt as neck-high cable sweeps them off their motorcycle
Two tourists were injured yesterday when they ran into a low-hanging telecom cable hanging low across a road. The two women were tourists sightseeing on a rented motorbike in Kanchanaburi, 123 kilometres west of Bangkok. Police say the incident occurred on the Kanchanaburi-Dan Ma Kham Tia road in front of a petrol station. Christina Serma Gandia, from Spain, who was driving…
-
Dutchman jailed for 100 years in Thailand for money laundering is released
A Dutch citizen who was jailed for 100 years in Thailand, is now on his way home after years of campaigning for his release. His sentence was reduced to 75 years on appeal and later to 50 years by the Supreme court. Johan van Laarhoven, who ran several cannabis “coffee shops” in Holland, was jailed in Thailand for money laundering, along…
-
Piyabutr acknowledges that Future Forward will probably be disbanded
Future Forward Party’s secretary-general Piyabutr Saengkanokkul is urging the party’s 60,000 members and other supporters to switch their allegiances to a new party that would be formed if Future Forward ends up being dissolved by the Constitutional Court this week. The hearing by the Constitutional Court is set for Tuesday. Piyabutr acknowledges that the party will likely be disbanded. Thailand’s Constitutional Court has…
-
Thai political leader proposes legal brothels and sex shops
A controversial Thai MP is proposing licenced brothels and sex shops as a way of addressing the problem of sexual abuse in Thailand. Mongkolkit Suksintharanont, leader of the Thai Civilised Party and a member of the House committee studying ways to reduce rape and other sexual violations, commented in a Facebook post that he would raise the proposal with committee…
-
Thai Airways’ pilot under investigation for botched landing at Frankfurt
A Thai Airways International pilot, flying for Thailand’s national flag carrier, is currently being investigated by Germany’s BFU (Bundesstelle für Flugunfalluntersuchung), the country’s civil aviation investigators, for flying a Thai Airways plane below the standard altitude as the flight he was piloting, was approaching Frankfurt International Airport. The flight had originated in Phuket. The incident has been related through the…
-
Thai teacher caught on video striking a student in Sa Kaew
A teacher in Thailand’s east has been caught on video flogging a student whilst screaming invectives at the young girl. The girl was struck at least three times, although the video appears to have started during the midst of the punishment. The video was posted on the Education For Liberation of Siam Facebook page. The school has been identified as…
-
61 year old Chinese tourist being treated for new coronavirus in Thailand
A 61 year old Chinese tourist, found to be infected with the new strain of coronavirus dubbed “Wuhan or Chinese pneumonia” when she arrived in Thailand last week, is being treated in hospital and is expected to be discharged in a few days. This is from the Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul. The woman is recovering at Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases…
-
First case of New Coronavirus Pneumonia detected arriving in Bangkok
A first case of ‘New Coronavirus Pneumonia’ has been identified in Thailand, but the Public Health Ministry is assuring the public there is no wider outbreak of the virus. The mystery virus has now been identified by Chinese scientists and was earlier nicknamed as the mystery Wuhan pneumonia. Anuthin Charnvirakul, the Thai Public Health Minister has informed the media that…
-
New upper and lower highway speed limits to be introduced
Motorists using the right lane of any Thai highway or motorway, with more than four lanes of traffic, and drive slower than 90 kilometres per hour, will face charges in the future. A proposal to raise the speed limit to 120 kilometres per hour is also being considered. The new regulations are expected to be ready by next month. The…
-
Court rejects Premchai’s request to remove electronic monitoring ankle bracelet
Premchai Karnasuta, the fallen business tycoon who was sentenced last year over a case of hunting and killing protected species in a Kanchanaburi national park, has been trying to get his electronic monitoring ankle bracelet removed by the court. But the Thong Phaphum provincial court today rejected Premchai’s application for the removal of his electronic ankle bracelet. The request was…
-
Drought prompts Tesco Lotus to increase bottled water production
Tesco Lotus, the Thai division of Britain’s biggest retailer, is boosting bottled water production to help customers cope with drought. The chain says it will increase production of its own branded bottled water and also increase orders of other brands to sell at its branches nationwide, in response to this year’s drought and water shortages, which is predicted to be the…
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.