Thailand News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, and lifestyle—get breaking updates from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond. Stay informed on Thai society, economy, tourism, and expat life with The Thaiger.
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Sponsored 12Go introduces Japan Rail Passes to enhance travel accessibility for international travellers
For those who have travelled throughout Thailand, 12Go is a well-known provider of various trips, though the platform itself has a much wider reach. Ranging from buses to planes, 12Go is undoubtedly a leading booking platform for travel throughout the...
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Thai PM adopts more conciliatory tone with protesters
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has switched to a softer tone with the young protesters calling for his resignation, as anti-government protests sweep the country… there were several smaller protests in other provinces over the weekend. The new, more conciliatory approach, is in contrast with his recent declaration that he had no intention of resigning, and that the police had acted “within…
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How can the Thai government resolve the current protest crisis?
OPINION The Thai Government has no easy way out of the current protest situation. Over the past months an organic, mostly young Thais, political movement has been building. It’s different from every protest movement in the past. The people attending the rallies don’t really align themselves or identify with the past political factions. They’re not red shirts or yellow shirts.…
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Thailand’s media spend shrinks as brands shy away from ‘bad’ news
Young protesters, who use social media and messaging intuitively vs Thai officials and police who try and track those messages to keep up with the plans of the protest movement. Although Thai police have water cannons and brute force, the Thai youth at the core of the current protest movement also have a valuable weapon. And it’s being used more…
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Journalist detained during last night’s rally at Pathunwan intersection in Bangkok
Thai media are being targeted as part of the crackdown on the current round of protests. A Prachatai’s reporter was detained after casually asking attending police where he could stand to cover last night’s rally. The Thai Journalist Association posted a Tweet at 11pm saying that 6 journalist organisations “had been notified about the arrest and had been working with related parties”.…
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Thailand News Today | Bangkok protests, Special Tourist Visa, Prisoners slippery escape | October 16
Thailand news on The Thaiger. Posted daily around 5pm, Thai Time. Hosted by Tim Newton. Train-car collision kills 1, second fatal railway crossing incident this week A passenger train collided with a car, killing a woman and injuring 2 others at a railway crossing in Phetchaburi’s Khao Yai district last night. At last night’s incident, police found the Toyota Vios…
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Train-car collision kills 1, second fatal railway crossing incident this week
A passenger train collided with a car, killing a woman and injuring 2 others at a railway crossing in Phetchaburi’s Khao Yai district last night. Just earlier this week, a freight train smashed into a charter bus, killing 18 bus passengers and injuring another 44 at a crossing by the Khlong Kwaeng Klan railway station in the Chachoengsao province. Officials…
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Thailand Airbnb hosts to abide by new Covid-19 cleaning measures
Now that people in Thailand are travelling domestically again and international tourists could be coming in the near future, Airbnb has consulted with Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health and come up with Covid-19 safety measures which include “new normal” policies and the 5-step “enhanced” cleaning process: prepare, clean, sanitise, check and reset. All Airbnb hosts in Thailand must make sure…
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Human rights NGO, opposition parties, say State of Emergency infringes human rights
A Thai human rights NGO has criticised the government’s decision to declare a State of Emergency in Bangkok, as political unrest escalates in the capital and around the country. iLaw says the imposition of the emergency decree gives the PM the unrestricted right to use special powers that violate citizens’ human rights. iLaw points out that the new ban on…
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Activists vow to fight on despite arrest of leaders, emergency decree
Activists from Khana Ratsadon 2563 (People’s Party 2020) say they will not surrender and will continue to fight what they term, “the dictatorial power and its feudal followers”. “Khana Ratsadon (“People’s Party”) was a Siamese group of military and civil officers, and later a political party, which staged a bloodless coup against King Prajadhipok’s government and transformed the country’s absolute…
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New budget in the works for emergency services after “insufficient” funds complaint
The Thai government is working on to setting aside more money for emergency medicine after an “insufficient” budget is said to have caused delays in emergency work and response time for emergency 1669 hotline calls. The new budget request comes after emergency medicine expert Dr. Atchariya Phaengma complained that the National Institute for Emergency Medicine, or NIEM, wasn’t receiving adequate…
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Thailand News Today | BKK protest update, Chiang Mai ‘quiet’, Baby klong crocs | October 14
Daily TV news about what’s happening in and around Thailand. Check out the daily Thai News, uploaded around 5pm, Thai time, weekdays. “Elevated risk of unrest” after 21 activist arrests, UN department says Things are heating up ahead of this afternoon and this evening’s protests and planned march to Government House from the Democracy Monument. Even the United Nations Department…
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9 new Covid-19 cases detected in quarantine, all asymptomatic
9 new Covid-19 cases were detected in quarantine in the past 24 hours. All were reported as asymptomatic and from those travelling back from India, Japan, South Sudan and the United Arab Emirates, according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Thailand now reports a total of 3,652 confirmed Covid-19 cases with 59 deaths. 3,457 people have recovered and 136…
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More arrests made in major online gambling operation bust
Police arrested an alleged online gambling operator and 3 others allegedly involved in running 9 illegal gambling websites that brought in millions of baht. The recent arrest follows a bust earlier this month where police arrested 25 Thai nationals in Chiang Rai and Nonthaburi, a suburb just north of Bangkok, who were allegedly involved in running illegal websites. An arrest…
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Thailand News Today | No STV tourists, Boss in Dubai, border fears in Tak | October 13
Daily news about Thailand. Latest information, and tourism and visa news. No one in Guangzhou applied for the Special Tourist Visa, Foreign Ministry In a stunning revelation yesterday, it turns out that not a single person from Guangzhou, China, actually applied for the new Special Tourist Visa. That’s the sad and bizarre truth, according to Thai media outlet Siamrath. Around…
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Royal Thai Police form new bureau to investigate cybercrime
The Royal Thai Police have formed a new organisation to investigate cyber-related crimes. Commissioner of the new Cybercrime Investigation Bureau, Kornchai Klaiklueng, says they will work with international counterparts, but officers need to train first before dealing with transnational cybercrime investigations. The bureau is short on staff and still needs to recruit more officers before it can begin operations, according…
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Domestic tourism survey indicates long road to recovery
“Entrepreneurs in the tourism industry need to adjust their strategy to suit consumer behaviour in the new normal era.” A government survey looking at the travel habits of domestic tourists indicates an uphill struggle for the tourism industry’s recovery. Pimchanok Vonkorpon, from the Commerce Ministry’s Trade Policy and Strategy Office says around a quarter of those surveyed travelled during weekends…
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Health officials considering more relaxed quarantine for short-term visitors
The director-general of the Health Service Support Department says Thai officials are discussing a “more flexible form of quarantine” that would allow short-term tourists the freedom to travel within designated zones in provinces that are ready to re-open. Thares Krassanairawiwong says the tourists would be permitted to travel on specially designated routes, aka. “green lanes”, during their 14 day quarantine,…
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Border schools close for cleaning, thousands test for Covid-19 after Burmese truck drivers test positive
Nearly a dozen schools in Tak’s Mae Sot district closed today to be disinfected and around 4,000 people in the community are expected to be tested for Covid-19 after 3 Burmese cargo truck drivers tested positive for the virus after crossing through a border checkpoint. Those in communities deemed at high-risk have been told not to leave their home, unless…
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Where’s Boss? Wanted Red Bull heir spotted in Dubai
Some say they’ve spotted the wanted Red Bull heir in Dubai. Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya has an Interpol Red Notice out for his arrest and is wanted for allegedly killing a police officer in 2012 when he sped his Ferrari through Bangkok’s Thong Lo area, allegedly running over and dragging the police officer down the street. While Thai media reported the…
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Thailand News Today | Land bridge project, “Thai Bridge”, Chaing Mai black widow | October 12
Daily Thai TV News, with all the latest updates. Posted around 5pm, Monday to Friday. Protest leader says activists “in it for the long haul” Human rights lawyer and protest leader, Arnon Nampa, says political activists seeking to oust the current Thai government are “in it for the long haul”. The leader of the People’s Group (formerly the Free People…
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UPDATE: Broken railway crossing signal contributed to fatal bus-train collision east of Bangkok
A broken crossing signal led to the fatal collision yesterday, where a freight train smashed into a charter bus, killing 18 bus passengers and injuring another 44. Officials from the department as well as the State Railway of Thailand governor visited the site after the accident and say the broken crossing signal “contributed to the fatal incident”. The bus was…
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4 Burmese men arrested after crossing Moei River to Thailand
Tak border patrols have arrested 4 Burmese men who allegedly waded across the Moei River, crossing the natural border into Thailand illegally. Border officials have tightened their patrol since Myanmar reported a second wave of Covid-19 cases in August, and even more after this past weekend when 3 Burmese truck drivers tested positive for Covid-19 after entering Thailand through the…
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Thai Airways seeks to conserve finances by offering unpaid leave, early retirement
Thailand’s long-suffering national carrier is trying to conserve what cash it has by offering staff early retirement or unpaid leave. Thai Airways says it’s seeking to reduce its workforce in an attempt to stretch its finances to April 2021. According to a Bangkok Post report, acting president Chansin Treenuchagron says 80% of the airline’s employees have agreed to salary cuts…
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Thailand’s land bridge plan still floating
Deputy government spokeswoman Traisuree Taisaranakul says the government is still mulling the idea of a land bridge between the southern provinces of Ranong and Chumphon. The project’s aim would be to improve the infrastructure in the region by connecting the Gulf of Thailand directly with the Andaman Sea, “thereby making the Kingdom more competitive”. In a report in the Bangkok…
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The Pattaya to Hua Hin bridge. Government discusses 900 billion baht investment.
The government is looking into a so-called “Thai Bridge” that would connect Pattaya to Hua Hin, an estimated 900 billion baht investment. The project would be part of the Eastern Economic Corridor development plan aimed at improving the transportation and infrastructure in Thailand. The 900 billion baht investment is expected to take 10 years to financially implement, according to chairperson…
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UPDATE: 18 dead, 44 injured, bus collides with train in Chachoengsao
A bus has collided with a train next to Khlong Kwaeng Klan railway station, killing 18 passengers and injuring 44. The incident happened just after 8am this morning. The chartered bus was carrying some 60 factory workers to a Buddhist ceremony and was crossing a railway track when it was struck by a freight train headed to Samut Prakhan, south of…
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German politician raises questions about the status of Thailand’s Head of State
German politicians have raised questions in parliament about the status of Thailand’s Head of State as a part time resident in the state of Bavaria, after protests in Thailand have continued to make international news, drawing attention to Thailand and the Thai government’s fragile political situation. Frithjof Schmidt, from Germany’s Green Party, has questioned the German Foreign Ministry about its…
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New Bangkok BTS line to start running in December
A new Bangkok public transport monorail extension, the BTS Gold Line, is expected to start running before the end of the year. The scheduled run is the first phase of the BTS Gold Line to be rolled out along the Chao Phraya River in the Bang Phlad district. The new 1.72 kilometre BTS line will link Krung Thon Buriskytrain station…
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2 new cases, Covid-19 update (Sunday)
Thailand’s CCSA has reported 2 new cases of Covid-19 today, with a Thai soldier returning from South Sudan included in the daily report of new cases. The total of Covid-19 positive cases in Thailand sits at 3,636 with reported deaths remaining unchanged at 59. The 36 year old Thai soldier tested positive on his 4th test on Friday after returning…
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UPDATE: 18 dead, 44 injured, bus collides with train in Chachoengsao
A bus has collided with a train next to Khlong Kwaeng Klan railway station, killing 18 passengers and injuring 44. The incident happened just after 8am this morning. Earlier it was reported in Thai PBS World that 20 people had died. The incident in Chachoengsao province, about 50 kilometres east of Bangkok, occurred as passengers were on their way to…
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