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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BOI approves new rail services, new port investment
PHOTO: Duangjai Asawachintachit, BOI secretary general The Board of Investment of Thailand (BOI) has laid out strategies to boost the development of rail services and the country’s cruise tourism. Duangjai Asawachintachit, BOI secretary general, says the latest BOI meeting chaired by the Prime Minister had resolved to instigate measures to attract investment in rail development and related infrastructure for continued…
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VIDEO: Woman has meltdown in Thai airport
A video posted on social media has been doing the rounds. In the video a woman is seen yelling at an Air Asia airport staff for being told her carry on must be checked in because it was 7.2 kilos over the 7 kilogram weight limit. The woman is calmly told that she will have check-in the extra luggage and…
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Event Round-Up – January 2019
Into a new year and a month packed with activities around the country. The highly anticipated Thailand Yacht Show & RendezVous 2019 kicks off at Phuket Royal Marina on January 10-13. A collaboration between some of the most respected and experienced figures in the Southeast Asian yachting industry, Thailand Yacht Show & RendezVous is the country’s new and improved yacht…
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Thai cabinet extends visa-fee-waiver until after Songkran
Tourists from over 21 countries will continue to benefit from an extension to the visa fee waiver introduced in November last year. In a move to boost tourism, the cabinet has extended the 2,000 baht visa-on-arrival fee waiver, according to Tourism and Sport Minister, Veerasak Kowsurat this morning (Tuesday). The waiver was set to end on Sunday, January 6, 2019,…
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Medical cannabis crops to be tightly controlled
The Thai narcotic control board head says that only Thai citizens who join hands with the government will be allowed to cultivate medical cannabis. The board yesterday stressed that growers of the potentially lucrative crop must be cooperatives, community enterprises or social enterprises made up of citizens – and not private companies. Their business will be under the scrutiny of…
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Saudi refugee granted asylum, flying to Canada
18 year old Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun boarded a Korean Air flight last night, bound, ultimately for Toronto, Canada, via Seoul. She came to public attention last weekend when she barricaded herself in a Bangkok airport hotel room saying she had been abused by her Saudi family. In a widely followed social media (Twitter) campaign, the plucky 18 year old explained she…
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Saudi refugee: Friday milestones and developments
Confusion reigned today over where the 18 year old Saudi woman, who fled from Kuwait to Thailand to escape her allegedly abusive family, would be resettled. Here are some of the key developments in the story today… • Surachate Hakparn, Thailand’s Immigration Police Chief, initially spoke to CNN saying that Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun had been offered asylum by Australia as…
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No sign of elections, but election officials want 22 million baht of new cars
Voters were disappointed to see yesterday’s deadline for publication of the royal decree slip away, which means the intended February 24 election date is unlikely. To add salt to the wound, the election commission has now announced that its directors will be needing new cars, and the lucky tax payers will be providing them. The budget for the new fleet…
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Thai preparedness limits Pabuk damage
Just a week ago the tropical storm Pabuk was poised to make landfall on the southern Thailand Gulf coast after days of predictions, warnings and anticipation. Now the entire event can be assessed in hindsight and lessons learned for next time. Reliefweb.int has issued a compiled report on Pabuk. “Early warning and early action helped ensure that tropical storm Pabuk,…
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Waiting game for Saudi refugee in Thailand
The ordeal of Saudi Arabian refugee Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun continues, with Australia’s foreign minister Marise Payne telling reporters no asylum deal had been reached. VOA News is reporting that Al-Qunun, who barricaded herself in a hotel at Bangkok airport to prevent officials from deporting her after fleeing her family in Kuwait, has been granted refugee status by the UN refugee…
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Thailand back on track in the Asian Cup after win over Bahrain
Chanathip “Messi Jay” Songkrasin helped to drag Thailand football back on track at this year’s Asian Cup. The revitalised team won a 1-0 win over Bahrain in their Group A match at the Al-Maktoum Stadium in Dubai last night. The victory over Bahrain was the first positive sign after switching coaches, as the War Elephants won only their second match…
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Saudi teen seeks asylum as Australian foreign minister visits Thailand – Thaiger Bites
Australia’s Foreign Minister Marise Payne is in Bangkok today after the Australian Government says it would consider giving asylum to the 18 year old Saudi woman who fled to Thailand from Kuwait, saying she feared her family, which she accused of abuse. Reuters reports that Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun refused to meet her father and brother, who arrived in Bangkok yesterday…
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Thai Interior Affairs ministry confirms memo ‘halting election preparations’ is genuine
PHOTO: South China Morning Post A leaked memo on social media, addressed to election officials in every province, to halt election preparations has now been confirmed to be genuine by the interior affairs Minister. The internal memo called for “all preparations for election are hereby halted” in absence of the Royal Decree, which was expected around New Year’s Day, but…
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Greenpeace positive on lifting of Thailand’s Yellow Card fishing sanction
PHOTO: VOA Thai Kobsak Pootrakool, from the PM’s Office says that the European Union (EU) decision to lift its yellow card status on the Thai fishing industry practices reflects significant progress made by the Government in recent years. “The government continues to work hard to improve the state of fishery industry regulations and administration. The next step is to make…
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Man shot dead by colleague in front of daughter
PHOTO: Amarin TV A man has been killed by his colleague in front his young daughter after he refused to conspire with him to cheat their boss out of money in Kanchanaburi, in western Thailand. Amarin TV reports that on Sunday 25 year old salesman Pongsin Pinkate, was shot dead by 35 year old colleague Pakkapon Kaewprink. Pongsin was killed…
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Backgrounds checks incoming for novice monks
PHOTO: The Japan Times The National Office of Buddhism (NOB) is going to get the Royal Thai Police (RTP) run background checks on applicants seeking to join the monkhood. The NOB has requested police to run the checks in a move to create a stronger screening system for all those joining the monkhood. The NOB has been advised to send…
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Serbian coach sacked after Thai thrashing in Asian Cup
The Football Association of Thailand has unceremoniously dumped the national coach Milovan Rajevac, just seven hours after Thailand was thrashed by India 1-4 in the Asian Cup group A game in Abu Dhabi. Thailand were far from impressive against the more powerful Indian team who beat the Kingdom’s side for the first time in 32 years. Thai Football Association reacted…
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In the wake of Pabuk, a media storm is brewing
by Tim Newton Now the actual storm has passed, a media storm is brewing over two key issues – tourists claiming they had little knowledge about the approaching storm and local tour operators, especially in the Andaman region, who say the media coverage was ‘hyped’ and overblown. “Stranded British tourists have spoken of their anger after being allowed to travel…
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NLA President urges critics not to blame Coronation for election delays
The country’s NLA President Pornpetch Wichitworachai is warning critics to refrain from blaming the forthcoming King’s coronation ceremony for causing potential delays in the national election. He says that authorities concerned with planning the election must choose appropriate timing for the election and ensure that it doesn’t affect the auspicious ceremony. “The ceremony would bring joy and happiness to the…
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Halving Thailand’s road toll by 2020 – The impossible dream
“The WHO report points out that progress has been made in certain areas, such as legislation. But it has not been fast enough to meet the UN goal of halving road traffic deaths between 2016 and 2020.” Thailand draws world attention for its amazing scenery, vibrant foodie scene, raunchy nightlife and local festivals. It also draws attention for all the…
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Election Commission throws onus for election date back on Government
The Election Commission is throwing the ball back into government’s court, saying it can only set an election date after the government formally issues the Royal Decree announcing an election date. Over the past year the date of February has firmed, been confirmed by numerous Government officials, including the PM and his Deputies. The Election Commision president Ittiporn Boonpracong made…
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Pabuk: Now sits over Andaman Sea, moving west
The south of Thailand awakes this morning to a wet and windy aftermath of tropical storm Pabuk. The storm centre has crossed the Peninsula and now sits west of Phang Nga province as it weakens and continues to move westerly away from the coast. Gale-force winds, storm surges and flash flooding are still predicted as the remnants of the weakening…
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40 more people died during Seven Days of Danger
463 people died due to traffic collisions and chaos over the past week – the seven days of danger – with drink diving and speeding, again, the major cause of traffic incidents. The death toll was up by 40 from last year’s count of 423 and close to the 2017 record of 478. Drink-driving was listed as the cause of…
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Deputy PM throws doubt on election date
by Chanwanpen and Somroutai Sapsomboon The NCPO has throw a curved ball at the Election Commission, placing the onus on the Commission’s committee to decide the date of the general election whilst taking into account the preparations for the royal coronation ceremony. There’s also been suggestions of a month’s delay from the election’s tentative date of February 24. Deputy PM…
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Pabuk: A very rare event – Remembering ‘Harriet’ in 1962.
The last major tropical storm to hit the southern coastal Gulf region in January was back in 1962. It started, just like Pabuk, as a weather system off the western coast of the Philippines. In this case on October 19, 1962. After making its way across the South China Sea and scooting across the bottom of southern Vietnam, the system…
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Thailand’s new highlands – unravelling the new ‘cannabis’ legislation
by Voice of America Thailand has become the first country in Southeast Asia to legalise medical marijuana, but the fine print of the legislation has left advocates of the drug’s healing potential with mixed feelings. Since the bill was passed on Christmas Eve, some medical marijuana advocates have expressed disappointment the legislation will effectively exclude the private sector from the…
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Two key tests for the Land of Smiles in 2019
Thailand faces two major challenges in 2019 – conducting a general election and chairing the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN). Mishandling either task would invite serious damage to both the country and the wider region, according to a New Year editorial in The Nation. “Junta chief General Prayut Chan-o-cha has made a bad start in tackling the first challenge,…
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Election Commission denies election date delays
PHOTO: EC Secretary General Jarungwit Pumm The Election Commission has been forced to again reiterate that there is no postponement to the February 24 election day. EC Secretary General Jarungwit Pumma said: “There is currently no royal decree for the election but this does not mean the election date will be postponed.” He was responding to widespread rumours that the…
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Poll shows favour towards Prayut as next PM
• 39 percent of the respondents were satisfied with the efforts in solving ‘dark influence’ problems • 31.9 percent said they were satisfied with the achievement in tackling human trafficking problems Thirty-nine percent of more than 2,000 respondents in the latest Super Poll opinion poll are satisfied with the performance of the Prayut government and the NCPO in peace restoration and…
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Seven dead after murder/suicide at New Year party in Chumphon
PHOTO: Thinnakorn, right, speaks to his family following the murders by Prasit Leelahakhunakorn A 41 year old is dead after killing six of his relatives, including his two children aged 6 and 9 and then turning the gun on himself. The incident happened during a new year party at their home in Chumphon. Police were alerted to the shootings just…
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