News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.
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Sponsored See the best of Northern Thailand this winter on a budget
The Thaiger key takeaways Peak season brings higher prices, but smart planning and local know-how can help you experience Northern Thailand affordably. Chiang Mai, Pai, and Chiang Rai offer plenty of free or low-cost attractions, from temples and canyons to...
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Phetchabun man lucky to be alive after bomb discovery
A man in Phetchabun province, central Thailand, has had a narrow escape after picking up an abandoned box, not realizing it was a bomb. Thai Residents reports that the unnamed villager, from the Tha Phon district, was cycling back from the local temple when he spotted a box with a clock attached to it lying on the ground. He stopped to…
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Ratchaburi women scammed by “American’ Instagrammer
A 33 year old woman in Ratchaburi (west of Bangkok) has filed a complaint to the local authorities that she was tricked by an ‘American man’ to make her fall in love and inducing her to transfer almost 200,000 baht of her money. After she thought everything was going as planned, the man, including the money. vanished. The female victim…
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Government refuses Opposition’s request for debate on executive decrees
Calls from Opposition parties for a special session of parliament to debate the Thai Government’s executive decrees have been given short shrift, with the government saying the debate will have to wait until May 22, when parliament is set to reconvene. The three decrees relate to the procurement of significant loans, reported to be up to 1.9 trillion baht, in…
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Thailand News Today – Monday, April 27
Recommendation for the Emergency Decree to be extended for another month Thailand’s Emergency Decree is now very likely to be extended for another month after it expires this Thursday. The emergency decree gives the Thai PM sweeping powers and is provided for in the Thai Constitution for situations like this. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration today decided to extend the…
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To wear or not to wear, that is the question. Face masks in a Covid-19 world.
The hot topic du jour is face masks – to wear or not to wear. Are they useful? Do they just make wearers ‘feel’ protected, or can they actually contribute to the prevention of spreading Covid-19, or any other virus for that matter. In Asian countries, generally, it’s become a common look, as people move around and go shopping while…
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Thailand loses US free trade benefits worth billions of baht
Thailand loses duty free access for 42.2 billion baht in exports to the US market from today, 6 months after Washington warned it would pull back on trade privileges unless the kingdom committed to labour rights reforms. Once trade preferences for Thai products are removed they are subject to tax of between 4% and 5%, making them more expensive in…
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North Korean leader reportedly in “vegetative state”
For days the government of North Korea has been tight-lipped as speculation about the health of the nation’s leader Kim Jong-un’s health spreads. Now the Japanese weekly magazine Shukan Gendai is reporting that a failed surgery has left the 36 year old in a vegetative state. American celebrity tabloid website TMZ has gone a step further and claimed he’s actually…
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Ethical sanctuaries looking after over 250 elephants in southern Thailand
The Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai, and elsewhere in Thailand, have been forced to close their doors in late March. As people around Thailand been hunkering down in our houses waiting for the virus outbreak to pass, some of the country’s elephants are suffering? As mentioned in the original story, Lek had been in touch with camps from all over…
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Online video platform TikTok assessing live streaming in Thailand
TikTok, the most downloaded app in the world for 2 years running and the world’s leading short-video platform, has announced a trial of its first live streaming series in Thailand as part of its push to develop platform experiences for users around the world. TikTok’s first live streaming in Thailand was hosted by Vuthithorn “Woody” Milintachinda, a celebrity and influencer,…
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“Thai Airways will survive”. Emergency meeting next Wednesday.
“Thai Airways will not collapse. The fact that Deputy PM Somkid stepped in to handle the issue means the government will rescue it.” It’s no secret that Thailand’s national carrier has been a financial basket case for over a decade, bleeding money and marketshare as the years pass. The top-heavy Thai company is bailed out by the Thai government each…
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Knicker-sniffing panty thief arrested in Chiang Mai – VIDEO
After receiving complaints, police in Chiang Mai have arrested a food delivery driver for stealing women’s knickers (panties) while making deliveries throughout the city. 27 year old Nontawat Intanachan was arrested after at least one woman reported to police that her knickers had frequently been stolen while hanging out to dry. When police examined the surveillance footage, they saw a…
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3 people jump to their deaths within 24 hours
Unfortunately 3 people are reported to have jumped to their deaths yesterday, 2 in Bangkok and a third in Sara Buri, about 90 kilometres to the northeast. It’s believed the man jumped to his death from his 31st floor condominium in Ramkhamhaeng district at about 8:30 yesterday morning. The body of the man, who was not identified and who appeared…
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Australians and New Zealanders commemorate ANZAC Day with driveway tributes
Australians and New Zealanders have stood outside their homes at dawn this morning to mark the annual ANZAC Day. This year’s tributes and salutes to the fallen who have served their countries at war have been from a distance. A new generation stood quietly at the entrance to their homes, in some cases wearing the medals of their relatives that…
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Thailand’s wildlife is thriving in shutdown, but maybe not for long
by Ben Schaye There have been a lot of viral news stories going around Thailand the last few weeks about the way wildlife is rebounding while humans are all hunkered down at home under Covid-19 lockdown. Dugongs (sea cows) have been seen frolicking off the coast of Trang, a pod of false killer whales appeared near Koh Lanta, and endangered leatherback…
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Thailand News Today – Friday, April 24
15 new Covid-19 cases in Thailand, no new deaths 15 new confirmed Covid-19 cases were announced today. This brings the total since the start of the outbreak to 2,854. 60 more people recovered and were released in the same 24 hour period. The total number of patients recovered is now 2,490. Only 314 patients remain in hospital undergoing specific Covid-19…
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Japan cruise ship: 14 more crew test positive for Covid-19
The Costa Atlantica, the cruise ship docked in Nagasaki, Japan, has had 14 more crew members test positive for the Covid-19 virus. The additional cases come on top of 34 confirmed cases earlier this week. Thai PBS World reports that the ship has been in Nagasaki since January, when it docked to have maintenance work carried out. It’s believed to…
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Four arrested for shooting videos at Phuket Zoo and soliciting donations
“Their lawyer claims the situation was ‘all a misunderstanding’.” Following last week’s posting of a video taken at the Phuket Zoo ‘whilst on a walk’, 2 foreigners and 2 Thais have now been arrested after allegedly scaling a wall at the Phuket zoo. They shot videos of crocodiles and tigers then edited and posted them online with a narration asking for…
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China opens 2 more border points to allow transport of Thai fruits
The director-general of the Department of Agriculture announced today that China has opened two more points at its Vietnam border to allow the transportation of Thai fruits during the Covid-19 crisis. The move comes after the existing Youyi Guan checkpoint was overwhelmed with 15 kilometre queues of Thai and Vietnamese goods vehicles. The Department of Agriculture together with National Bureau of…
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Thailand News Today – Thursday, April 23
Thousands of tourists stranded on a trio of Gulf islands An estimated 10,000 foreign tourists are stranded on three islands in the Gulf of Thailand – Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao. More than half of them, around 5,700 are on Koh Samui, another 3,300 foreign tourists on Koh Phangan and about 1,000 on Koh Tao, after passenger flights…
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Thailand names 5 more ASEAN countries as ‘high risk’, 4 are border nations
A Ministry of Public Health announcement yesterday, signed by Deputy PM and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, and published in the Royal Gazette, claims the Covid-19 situation in 5 nearby countries is escalating. Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia and Myanmar have now been added to the list of countries and territories considered as high risk areas for infection. On March 6,…
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Police officer clings to hit-and-run car for 2 kilometres – VIDEO
A policeman in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat was taken on an unplanned car ride yesterday when a Mitsubishi Mirage tried to run him down, forcing him to jump onto the front of the car and hold on for about 2 kilometres. The incident was caught on security cameras. Officer Montri Nitichai of Tha Sala police station says…
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Man allegedly shoots his wife after argument over money for alcohol
A man has allegedly shot and killed his wife as she lay next to their baby yesterday after, according to neighbours, she refused to give him money to buy more alcohol. Nation Thailand reports that Police in Samut Songkhram province, south west of Bangkok, say the alleged killer was still on the run. They found the body of 36…
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Buriram police officer injured as knife-wielding man has meltdown
A former convict went into meltdown yesterday, screaming and brandishing a knife as he made his way around an apartment building Buriram, north-eastern Thailand. Thai Residents reports that the building’s residents alerted police when they spotted a clearly deranged man screaming and swinging a knife like a samurai sword. Police officers arrived and discovered the man wandering around on the second…
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Tropical storms on the menu today for northeastern, northern and central provinces
Thailand’s northeastern, central and eastern provinces are threatened with tropical storm today. The country is currently in the shoulder season transitioning from the dry season to the wet season. Traditionally, Songkran, on April 13 each year, is the celebration of the coming wet season, coinciding with the Thai New Year. “According to the Thai Meteorological Department, a high-pressure wedge will…
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Thailand News Today – Wednesday, April 22
Thailand confirms 15 new Covid-19 cases, 1 death (Wednesday) Thai health officials have confirmed 15 new cases of Covid-19 and 1 death today. The new cases bring Thailand’s total to 2,826 since the outbreak began, of whom 2,352, or 83% have now been released from hospital and returned home. Today’s new death brings Thailand’s total to 49. 3 of the…
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Thai government addresses widespread sexual abuse
“There have been few complaints in the past because the victims are afraid of their harassers who are usually their bosses,” Sexual harassment is a hot-button issue in many countries, today, with awareness rising of a topic which has long been unaddressed and taboo. Yesterday the Thai government pledged to protect victims who come forward and to investigate complaints of…
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Study finds no benefit from hydroxychloroquine for Covid-19 treatment
“The experiments and report has limitations, but adds to growing doubt over the efficacy of the drug.” There was plenty of hype, even shared by the US President. But a study published yesterday, the biggest of its kind to date, found no benefit from a malaria drug earlier touted as a potential treatment for Covid-19. It ended up being associated with…
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2 Songkhla immigration officers infected with Covid-19, 70 at risk
2 immigration officials from the southern province of Songkhla are reported to be infected with Covid-19, putting about 70 others at risk after close contact with the officials. The provincial communicable disease committee made the announcement today. The new cases, both officers working at the Sadao border checkpoint, brings the tally in the province to 39 after 2 weeks with…
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Car thief rammed as the owners take matters into their own hands
A car thief has been apprehended by the owner of the car he stole. Police in the central Samut Sakhon province, just west of Bangkok, arrested 32 year old Not Jeankow on Monday. The theft took place at around half past midnight at a used car lot. ‘Not’ already had a warrant out for motor vehicle theft and broke the…
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Thailand visa amnesty extended to July 30
Thailand’s cabinet has approved a second automatic visa extension for foreigners for three more months. The extended amnesty is a bid to prevent long queues at immigration centres around the country. Narumon Pinyosinwat, spokeswoman for the Thai government, says they want to stem the spread of the coronavirus and avoid foreigners having to wait in lines and threaten their own health…
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