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. The Thaiger delivers the latest national news that matters.
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Sponsored 5 ways retirees in Thailand lose money (and how to stop it)
Retiring in Thailand can be affordable and enjoyable, but many retirees lose money due to common mistakes. High living costs, scams, and unexpected expenses can quickly drain savings. There are five ways that retirees in Thailand can lose money and...
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Melbourne City player mocks Bangkok Glass players’ height during match
Thai football fans are calling for Melbourne City FC to apologise on behalf of a player who mocked the height of two Thai football players during an AFC Champions League match between A-league club Melbourne City and Bangkok Glass, or BG Pathum United FC, at the BG Stadium in Pathum Thani province yesterday. Melbourne’s 34 year old defender Rostyn Griffiths,…
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Thursday Covid Update: 14,887 new cases; provincial totals
127 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 28,271 with 6,573 of those fatalities since the start of this year. In the 24 hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 14,437 new Covid-19 cases and 18,509 recoveries. There are now 158,768 people in Thailand being treated for Covid-19. The trend in daily infections continues…
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Thousands apply for ‘weed licenses’ prior to delisting of marijuana as a narcotic
Cannabis will be delisted as a narcotic in Thailand on June 9, and thousands of people and organisations have already submitted applications for a “weed license” to Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration, or FDA. The big questions such as “Can my home grown marijuana plant contain high levels of THC?”, “Does my medical condition qualify for cultivating and consuming marijuana…
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Chon Buri residents hunt for lizard when crocodile bites them
Two Chon Buri locals in Ko Chan district were in for a shock when hunting down a monitor lizard yesterday. The locals noticed that two of their ducks were missing, and they thought a monitor lizard they saw days ago had eaten them. The locals searched for the monitor lizard in a lagoon, when out of nowhere, a croodile snapped…
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Doi Suthep’s controversial land and houses returned to treasury department
After almost 4 years of waiting, protests and arguments, the Court had returned the controversial land and housing project at the foot of Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai to the Treasury Department. The Department’s Director-General revealed 45 houses would be demolished, and land would be adjusted for the “benefit of the residents”. For the other 9 condominiums in the area,…
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Thailand officials say diesel will be 32 baht per litre from May 1
Get ready to say goodbye to Thailand’s 30 baht per litre price cap on diesel on May 1. Starting on Sunday, the price will be 32 baht per litre, according to the Oil Fuel Fund Office. Thailand’s permanent secretary for energy said the current 11 baht subsidy per litre is falling to 9.6 baht per litre. Officials from Thailand’s energy…
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Thai virologist predicts more research into Covid treatments, not vaccines
Medical researchers will shift their focus from Covid vaccine development to specific Covid treatment, says one of Thailand’s top virologists. Dr Yong Poovorawan, citing the lower investment costs as a reason for the shift. “To study a vaccine’s efficiency, it is necessary to have more than 10,000 volunteers use both real and placebo jabs. However, a study on drug efficiency…
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Piece of suspected Chinese rocket washes up on Thai beach
What appears to be part of an aircraft, has washed up on a beach in Nakhon Si Thammarat province yesterday. A faded Chinese flag can be seen on the 1.2 x 3 metre sheet of aluminium, suggesting it could be part of one of China’s Long March Rockets used to send satellites into space. The sheet of metal washed up…
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Malaysia to ease restrictions for the unvaccinated, ditch outdoor mask mandate
From next month, Malaysia will no longer require people to wear face masks outdoors, although a mask mandate on public transport and for indoor activities will remain. The country will also lift restrictions on the unvaccinated, allowing everyone to enter public premises, whether inoculated or not. But the unvaccinated will still need a pre-travel negative PCR test. According to a…
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Krungsri Research gives conservative estimate of 5.5 million tourists this year
The research arm of the Bank of Ayudhya is forecasting just 5.5 million international visitors for Thailand in 2022, following the cancellation of Test & Go. Krungsri Research says that although the cancellation of the Test & Go entry scheme has generated some promising signs, the recovery of international tourism will be sluggish as a result of several factors. According…
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No more testing for fully vaccinated visitors coming on to Phuket
The governor of Phuket, Narong Woonciew, says all Covid-19 screening measures will be dropped for fully vaccinated visitors coming to the southern island. His announcement refers to DOMESTIC travellers. The announcement came on the back of the infection rate dropping to 98 cases a day. In addition, Narong says 70% of the island’s residents have now had a booster dose…
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Get the best quality dental treatment at Edelweiss Dental House
Press Release Do you dread visiting the dentist? Are you searching for the best quality dental treatment for you and your family? If yes, then Edelweiss Dental House would be exactly what you’ve been looking for. Edelweiss (ay-dal-vise) Dental House is named after the ‘Edelweiss’ flower, which represents purity and cleanliness. Living up to its name, Edelweiss’s utmost value is…
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Thailand Pass might be dropped by June 1
The cancellation of Thailand Pass registration could take place as early as June 1, according to the Tourism and Sports Ministry. With Thailand Pass gone, tourists would go back to using their TM6 immigration arrival forms for vaccine declaration. Earlier projected dates of July 1 to drop the much-debated Thailand Pass could happen a month earlier if the Centre for…
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Isaan province Khon Kaen maintains alcohol curfew at 9pm starting May 1
Last week the CCSA meeting agreed that Thailand provinces in the Blue and Yellow zones could serve alcohol until midnight (an hour later than the earlier curfew set at 11pm). However, the provincial governor of the Isaan province Khon Kaen believes it wouldn’t be safe for his residents and has decided to renew the alcohol curfew at 9pm starting on…
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Thailand’s postal rates to go up after nearly 2 decades
For the first time in 18 years, Thailand’s postal rates are going up. The country’s Digital Economy and Society Ministry said that according to data from 2011-2020, Thailand Post has a social service burden of up to 18.4 billion baht, and it’s likely to keep rising. Yesterday, the Cabinet approved a proposal by the ministry to raise rates. Thailand’s profit…
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Truck drivers rally in Bangkok against spiking diesel price
Now that Thailand has announced the upcoming end of its diesel price cap, Bangkok truckers have rallied today to demand that the price cap continues. Currently, the price for diesel is capped is 30 baht per litre. But On Tuesday, Thailand’s Energy Minister said the retail price is now at 40 baht per litre, so the government have had to…
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UPDATE: Police identify foreigners involved in shooting at Pattaya’s Harley-Davidson shop
Following a report on the shooting at a Harley-Davidson motorcycle shop in Pattaya, police expected that influential Thai residents and foreigners were involved. The officers say the group might have had some sort of conflict over the business and personal issues between members of two influential groups. The Harley-Davidson motorcycle shop located on Sukhumvit Road in Pattaya was the location…
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Unvaccinated Djokovic can compete at Wimbledon this year (transcript)
The world’s most polarising tennis player will be able to keep his anti-Covid-vaccine stance while competing for yet another historic grand slam title. Novak Djokovic – whom vaccination proponents dub “Novaxx” – will be allowed to defend his title at Wimbledon in June, following an announcement from the tennis tourney’s organisers, who said Covid-19 restrictions at the event will align…
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UPDATE: Corpse found floating in Gulf of Thailand
UPDATE: A man has confessed to the murder of 23 year old Chalermchai Siang, whose body was found floating on the surface of the ocean 500 metres away from the shore in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province on Monday. Three rocks had been attached to Chalermchai’s body in an attempt to weigh it down and his wrists and ankles had been…
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Travel Guide: A brief history of the sex industry in Thailand
Thailand is known for many things, but there is one thing that is either commonly joked about or remains hush hush locally. It’s the country’s sex workers and red light districts. There is a fair share of travellers who visit Thailand specifically because they want to experience this ‘vibrant’ side of Thai life. But how did it all start? This…
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North Korea prepared to use nuclear weapons at ‘any time’ if provoked
Kim Jong-un has warned the world that North Korea is ready to use nuclear weapons against foreign powers at ‘any time’ if provoked. In a state-televised military parade held in Pyongyang on Monday, the North Korean leader pledged to develop nuclear forces as quickly as possible… “If any forces try to violate the fundamental interests of our state, our nuclear…
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Phuket gets ready to shift into ‘endemic’ stage
Phuket Governor Narong announced in a meeting yesterday that the island province is getting ready to shift into an ‘endemic’ stage for its Covid-19 situation. At the meeting, held at Phuket Provincial Hall, it was noted that Phuket recorded an average of 162 cases a day. 87.7% of those were local infections. Only 2-3% of people confirmed infected required hospital…
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Thai ex boxer allegedly steals British tourist’s bag in Krabi
Police in Krabi arrested a former boxer at a house in Meuang district today for allegedly stealing a British tourist’s bag. The British man, 23 year old Fraser William, said he left his bag on the beach when he and his friend went swimming on Sunday. The bag had 5,000 baht in cash, along with credit cards and the key…
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Anutin says Thailand Pass may be scrapped, if Covid-19 continues to improve
The Covid-19 situation in Thailand is beginning to stabilise and if cases continue to decrease, the Ministry of Health will consider completely cancelling the Thailand Pass, according to Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul. In an interview today, Anutin said the Covid-19 situation in the kingdom is improving. He said the total number of infections, hospitalisations and deaths are all decreasing, as…
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Myanmar’s ex-leader Suu Kyi sentenced to 5 years in prison
Ousted leader of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi has been found guilty of corruption and sentenced to five years in prison by a court in Myanmar, according to an anonymous source with access to her trial, which is being tightly controlled by the junta. The charge was the first of 11 corruption charges filed against her, so her prison sentence…
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Wednesday Covid Update: 14,887 new cases; provincial totals
125 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 28,144 with 6,446 of those fatalities since the start of this year. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 14,887 new Covid-19 cases and 18,919 recoveries. There are now 162,967 people in Thailand being treated for Covid-19. The trend of new Covid infections…
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Canadian man to be deported from Bali for naked dance on volcano
They say fame comes at a price. It definitely did for one Canadian man in Bali who posted a viral video of himself dancing naked on a volcano believed to be sacred by the Balinese. After his little stunt, he is set to be deported from the Indonesian island. Craigen reportedly posted a video of himself doing a Maori dance…
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UPDATE: Police charge 6 suspects, close Tangmo investigation
Recklessness. That’s the conclusion police came to about what caused the death of Thai actress Nida “Tangmo” Patcharaveerapong, who fell from a boat and drowned in the Chao Phraya River in Nonthaburi, north of Bangkok, on the night of February 24. Police presented a summary of their monthslong investigation yesterday and announced charges against 6 suspects, including all 5 people…
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Man becomes first person ever to rollerblade across Thailand
A Thai man set a new record on Sunday by becoming the first person in the world to rollerblade from the northernmost to the southernmost tip of Thailand. The man’s journey from Mae Sai district in Chiang Rai to Betong district in Yala covered 2,051 kilometres and took 55 days. People have famously run the same route and many Thai’s…
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Koh Samui eyes European tourists following cancellation of Test & Go
Samui is eyeing European tourists after the Thai government confirmed the Test & Go entry program is being ditched from the end of April. On Koh Samui, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has met with local tourism associations, as well as over 30 leading European travel agencies. The get-together was to showcase several tourism attractions, activities, and hotels on the…
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