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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Police: No foul play in Vorayuth witness’s death
Police today ruled out the possibility of murder in the death of a key witness in Red Bull drinks heir Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya’s hit-and-run case. The regional police commander in Chiang Mai, where the witness died in a motorcycle incident last month, said new autopsy results found no trace of any suspicious substance apart from alcohol in Jaruchart Mardthong’s body.…
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Thailand urged to promote itself as production hub for medical supplies, PPE
Thailand is being encouraged to promote itself as a manufacturing hub for medical and personal protection equipment as part of its financial strategy amid the coronavirus crisis, as industries like tourism and hospitality struggle. The director of the Centre for International Trade Studies at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce told reporters that the latest survey of 200…
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DSI says enough evidence, testimony to pursue case of vanished Karen activist “Billy”
Thailand’s Department of Special Investigation has announced it will challenge prosecutors’ decision to drop charges against 4 men allegedly involved in the presumed murder of a Karen land rights activist. Department director Korawat Panprapakorn said there is sufficient evidence and eyewitness testimony to press murder charges against the 4, including the former chief of Kaeng Krachan National Park, for the…
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Authorities deny stalking student activists, deny arrest imminent
Student activists said today they were stalked by what they believed were plainclothes police officers at their residence overnight. Pro-democracy campaigner Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul, who is the spokesperson for the Student Union of Thailand, said on her Facebook that she saw several men loitering around her dormitory near Thammasat University’s Rangsit Campus, while another activist, Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak, reported that several…
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Auckland cluster grows with 13 new Covid-19 infections reported
Health officials in New Zealand announced yesterday that the new coronavirus cluster in Auckland has risen to 17 cases, raising the prospect of an extended lockdown in the country’s biggest city. National health chief Ashley Bloomfield said there are 13 new confirmed infections, all linked to 4 family members found on Tuesday, ending New Zealand’s record of 102 days without…
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Study finds 82% of Thais “confident” in reopening tourism sector
As Thailand gradually reopens its borders, new findings from a global study suggests that 82% of Thais are confident that Thailand is well prepared to reopen its tourism and leisure activities, the highest globally. The study also found that tourists from Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, and India are all targeting Thailand as their first destination when their countries’ borders…
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US dollar denominated gold trade to be allowed
Ending decades of regulations limiting gold trade in Thailand to the baht, the US dollar will now be allowed as well. 2 weeks ago, in a bid to slow the rapidly rising baht and avoid landing on the US list of “currency manipulators”, the Bank of Thailand announced a policy to allow trading gold products in US dollars. Market players…
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Study finds smartphone addiction among Thai children on the rise
A study by the Thai Health organisation shows that Thai children spend an average of more than 35 hours a week on smartphones or the internet. It indicated that children who spend most of their time on smartphones and computers are at risk of developing gaming addiction and even violent behaviour. The director of the Healthy Child, Youth, and Family…
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Protesters add more demands as academics defend manifesto
Pro-democracy demonstrators yesterday called on schools and colleges to allow on-campus rallies as pressure grows on them to ban “risky” political activities. The leader of the opposition Move Forward Party posted on Facebook that safe places for students to air their views are dwindling and that youngsters “should be allowed to carry out activities there”. Pita Limjaroenrat’s remark came after…
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Pattaya nightlife venues call for closing time to be extended to pre-Covid hours
Nightlife operators in Pattaya are pleading to be allowed to revert to the later closing times that were in place prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, while the government’s Covid-19 task force is further easing restrictions on transport, schools, and sporting events, the emergency decree still remains in place. This means that former tourist hotspots like Pattaya, whose special designation…
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Appeals Court upholds 6 month sentence for Premchai on weapons charge
The Appeals Court has upheld the 6 month prison term handed down to construction tycoon Premchai Karnasuta for illegal possession of firearms. Premchai, the president of Italian-Thai Development Plc, appeared on Tuesday to hear the verdict. The court ruled to uphold the lower court’s decision. Premchai was granted release on unconditional bail, with 500,000 baht cash placed as bond. His…
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Flights into Thailand – “It’s an indefinite ban”
A ban on international scheduled flights into Thailand remains in force “while the pandemic situation remains critical in many countries.” “It’s an indefinite ban.” This was further confirmation from the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand yesterday in response to clarification of the country’s ban on allowing foreign tourists back into Thailand. CAAT director Chula Sukmanop and the Centre for Covid-19 Situation…
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CCSA to allow sports gatherings, exempt Chinese fruit traders from travel ban
The Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration announced on Monday that will allow fans to attend sports events, and allow Chinese traders to enter Thailand for fruit export. The CCSA said that as Thailand approaches 80 days without a local Covid-19 transmission, it’s believed to be safe for spectators to attend large sports gatherings, although measures will be tighter for events…
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Korat man terrifies locals with “musical instrument”
Residents of Isaan’s Nakhon Ratchasima province were terrified when a man, dressed in a civil servant’s uniform, pulled out what looked like a heavy rifle to threaten someone who had jumped the queue at a local mechanic’s shop yesterday. Shop staff said the man argued with the person who had cut the queue for 10 minutes before heading to his…
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Korat mother found with throat cut
A mother in the lower northeastern Nakhon Ratchasima province was found dead at her home with her throat slit today, in what police believe is a murder stemming from an extramarital romantic affair. 29 year old Nattarika Shibahara lived with her 6 year old daughter, who was at school when the crime happened. Her Singaporean husband was also away. A…
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Allegedly drunk woman tries to run down Bangkok pedestrians
A 37 year old businesswoman tried to run over pedestrians with her car near Bangkok’s Khae Rai Intersection and Tao Poon MRT station, after learning her business was embezzled out of millions of baht. She was allegedly drunk at the time. Bang Sue police were notified of the incident in the early hours of this morning and tracked down the…
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No tourists until 2021 – Thailand shuns travel bubbles and general travel
Thailand is currently caught in a number of quandaries that will continue to threaten the economy and stability of the country. Meanwhile the borders remain largely sealed, with the prospect of general tourist travel being pushed forward until at least 2021. There have been a number of official comments to support the prediction that Thailand’s borders will remain closed to…
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New Zealand surprised by 4 new confirmed Covid-19 local transmissions
Its first Covid-19 new cases in 3 months has New Zealand reeling and Auckland, its biggest city, back on lockdown. The country went 102 days without a local transmission, until late yesterday with the announcement that 4 new cases were found in an Auckland household. A further 4 probable cases were identified today. Authorities are trying to stop spread to…
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Malaysia returning vehicles left behind by Thais
Malaysia is returning vehicles left behind by Thais who left when Kuala Lumpur imposed a lockdown to combat the spread of Covid-19. The first batch was returned yesterday via the Sungai Kolok immigration checkpoint. They were handed over to Thai authorities about 5pm. The chief of Sungai Kolok district in the southern border province of Narathiwat said Thais living in…
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Crane, “toppled by ghosts,” destroys southern wat – VIDEO
A boom crane toppled in the southern Nakhon Si Thammarat province yesterday, taking down a wat ‘temple’ that it sat atop, along with its crematorium. Temple officials had hired a contractor to dissasemble the structure, because they’d already outlaid 3 million baht to build a new one nearby. But they couldn’t take down the shrine before removing its towering smokestack.…
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Officials deny plans to make elderly drivers re-take tests in order to keep licences
The Department of Land Transport says there are currently no plans to make elderly drivers re-take a test in order to keep their licences. The statement comes after rumours began to circulate that drivers over 70 and in possession of “lifetime” driving licences, would need to re-take both a driving test, as well as hearing and eyesight tests. Despite Thailand’s…
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Man found hanged in Kanchanaburi
An unidentified man was found hanged yesterday in the western border province of Kanchanaburi, in the forest behind a railway station in Sai Yok district. Emergency responders and local rescue volunteers walked about a kilometre into the forest after the discovery was reported just after 4pm. They found a man hanging by the neck from a tree, about 2.5 metres…
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University protesters may be prosecuted over comments
Monday night’s anti-government rally at Thammasat University is said to have risked “offending the Monarchy”, sparking fears that it could trigger violent confrontations between royalists and their opponents. Comments made by protesters at the university’s campus in Pathum Thani may have violated Section 112 of the Criminal Code, also known as the lèse-majesté law. Students announced a set of 10…
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Deputy AG in Vorayuth case resigns
The deputy attorney-general who endorsed public prosecutors’ decision not to prosecute Red Bull heir Vorayuth Yoovidhya in the controversial hit-and run case which took the life of a senior police officer, has handed in his resignation. A statement released today from the Office of the Attorney-General announced that Deputy AG Nate Narksook has tendered his resignation letter to Attorney-General Wongsakul…
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Happy birthday to Her Majesty Queen Mother Sirikit
Thailand celebrates Mother’s Day and the birthday of the Queen Mother, HM Queen Sirikit, today. A lot of Thai people will be heading down to their local temples, district and provincial offices to join in ceremonies and other activities to mark her 88th birthday. Many will ‘tam boon’ (make merit) for the Queen Mother on this auspicious day. Queen Sirikit was…
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Russia claims a breakthrough in the global Covid-19 vaccine race before completing testing
Russia has jumped past a number of critical steps in its rush to announce a breakthrough in the development of a vaccine for Covid-19. The vaccine formula was developed by the Gamaleya Institute in Moscow. The vaccine even has a name – Sputnik V – referencing the first orbital satellite launched by the Soviet Union in 1957. The name evokes…
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Pattaya’s Walking Street. Will it return to high rents and high heels?
Now that Pattaya’s infamous Walking Street is open to traffic along with parking for the first time in many, many years, what’s next? Thai officials and the local constabulary have long had a love-hate relationship with the red light district. It has attracted tourists but perhaps to the tourists the bosses in Bangkok were hoping for. It was a hive…
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A Covid-19 vaccine “within 6 months”
Countries around the world are battling to be first out with a sustainable, reliable and cheap vaccine for Covid-19. If they are successful it will be the first time a successful vaccine has been developed for a coronavirus. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause sickness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as…
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1 drowned, another missing in storm off Nakhon Si Thammarat
A tourist has drowned and a 63 year old man remains missing, presumed drowned, after a tour boat capsized during a sudden rainstorm in Thong Nian Bay, off Khanom district in Nakhon Si Thammarat yesterday. The incident happened around 3pm when a sudden storm, over-turning the boat and dropping everyone in the water. A search was quickly organised after the…
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Unexploded mortar shell found at construction site in eastern Thailand
An unexploded mortar shell has been discovered at a construction site in Rayong, in the east of the country. Local villagers found the device while clearing land and trees at the site and alerted police. Officers from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit arrived on the scene to examine the device. It was transferred to dense forest nearby and successfully dismantled…
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