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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‘Vongfong’ heads northwest along Philippines coast
The first potential typhoon for this year’s typhoon and storm season in the western Pacific now has a name. It’s been called ‘Vongfong’ and is is quickly becoming a threat to the Philippines. While the peak of the western Pacific typhoon season is late summer, there are frequent storms in the winter or early spring due to the warm waters of…
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Kalasin policeman fired, faces prosecution for drunken sexual assault
A senior police officer in northeastern Thailand is facing dismissal and criminal charges after drunkenly trying to grope a teenager. According to his supervisor, the police lieutenant allegedly “asked the girl if he could touch her private parts.” Charoenwit Sriwanit, deputy inspector at Sahatsakhan police station in the northeastern Kalasin province, claimed yesterday that Uthit Onprasong confessed he had been…
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Gang leader arrested for fraud million baht scheme
Police have caught the leader of a gang who stole millions posing as government officials to bribe contractors into handing over money for fake construction projects. The alleged boss of the scheme, 50 year old Rachasak Butpornprasert, was arrested at an Ayutthaya temple after being wanted by police for a year. Butpornprasert also goes by the name “Noppadol Srino” according…
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Regional travel bubbles, the short-term tourism solution
As nations slowly get their heads around the first outbreaks of Covid-19, the attention is now pivoting to re-opening businesses. And re-opening borders for tourism. But, at least for the short term, the future of tourism will probably be regional travel bubbles – loose agreements between neighbouring nations to allow (reasonably) free travel between two or three countries. Staying isolated…
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Former Future Forward members claim they’re behind political slogan campaign around Bangkok
Former members of the now defunct Future Forward party say they are responsible for projecting a political slogan on to some of Bangkok’s most iconic landmarks Sunday night, and say more’s to come. Coconuts reports that the political figures, now members of a group called “Progressive Movement,” shared a video of activists using projection equipment from within a van. The…
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Lightning kills one, injures another in northern Thailand storms
One man was killed and another was injured in lightning storms in northern Thailand. Both were tending cows on their farms. 62 year old Prachuab Phunok died while he was working on a field in the northeastern Mukdahan province’s Nong Sung district, near the Laos border. Police say he was sitting under a tree when lightning struck and killed him. Meanwhile…
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Newborn found dead in southern Thailand university pond
There was a tragic moment last Monday when the body of a newborn baby was discovered in a pond at a southern Thailand university. . A security guard at Walailak University in Nakhon Si Thammarat province saw a black plastic bag floating near the edge of the pond. He told police that “the smell was strong and foul”. Inside the…
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44 arrests at Pattaya pool party, drugs and firearm seized – VIDEO
44 people have been arrested at a birthday party after police raided a pool villa in central Pattaya at 1:30 this morning. It’s understood 3 of those arrested were Chinese tourists; the remainder were Thai. All face charges of breaking curfew and violating the Emergency Decree. 1 man, 41 year old Thanasak Kaewsri, had an outstanding warrant for drugs and…
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Fishing industry seeks 50,000 men amidst Covid-19 migrant exodus
With millions of Thais unemployed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, one business is definitely hiring: a senior government official said Saturday that Thailand’s fishing industry is seeking to hire as many as 50,000 men to go to sea aboard trawlers. The chief of the Department of Employment’s provincial branch in the southern province of Ranong, Phithoon Damsakhon, was quoting a…
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Minister proposes 300 baht tourist levy
It’s going to be challenging enough for both the Thai tourism industry and the travellers to get Thailand’s tourist wheels in motion again without a new levy being added as well. But now, the Tourism and Sports Ministry says they’re considering a new 300 baht tax from every foreign arrival. The reasoning is that the new levy would cover “pandemic…
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Thailand News Today – Tuesday, May 12
Thailand’s national figures for Covid-19 patients – May 12 Only 2 new Covid-19 cases have been announced today bringing the national total in Thailand to 3,017 cases. No additional deaths were reported keeping the accumulated death toll from Covid-19 at 56 cases. One case was a 19 year old Bangkok woman, the other a 51 year old Thai woman from…
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Checkpoint-tech introduced at the Phuket road entry point
Today 10 million baht was donated to the Tha Chatchai checkpoint (at the northern road entry on the island) for a new project called “Phuket Smart Check Point”. The project is aimed to support the islands’ reopening measures and help conduct screenings for high-risk groups. Not only will the project be used for Covid-19-related issues but the project will also…
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Thailand rescue dog from meat trade performs on Britain’s Got Talent
A dog rescued from Thailand’s illegal meat trade brought tears to those on the TV show Britain’s Got Talent. There was silence as the story of Miracle the dog played on a screen to the audience. A photo flashed on the screen of when the dog was crushed in a cage piled high with dogs. “When the dog rescuer first saw him…
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Instant noodle exports increase as neighbouring countries stock up
Craving noodles? Seems like many people stuck at home want the cheap and quick meal. Preparation is quick, the price is low, there’s flavours aplenty and they’re easy to find. Thailand’s exports of instant noodles have gone up this year, the country’s Ministry of Commerce reported yesterday. With ridiculously low prices, a long shelf life and, let’s admit, some pretty…
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Thailand’s national figures for Covid-19 patients – May 12
Today at the daily press conference led by Dr. Taweesin Visanuyothin, the regular spokesman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, he reported only 2 new Covid-19 cases bringing the national total in Thailand to 3,017 cases. No additional deaths were reported keeping the accumulated toll at 56 cases. Both confirmed cases were reported to have lived in the same…
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Thailand receives 30 million baht shipment of medical PPE from China
Today at Don Mueang International Airport General Chanchan Changmongkol, the Deputy Minister of Defense represented the Thai government in receiving medical equipment and supplies from Mr. Yang Xin, the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China, to aid the people of Thailand during the Covid-19 outbreak. The shipment had a value of 6 million yuan or 30 million baht and…
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Phuket bus driver shares government quarantine facility with coffin
A bus driver who left Phuket to return to his home city of Trang was left feeling a little, well, uneasy when he realised he would be sharing his government quarantine facilities with a coffin. Were the authorities just ‘planning ahead’? Or just a ‘whoops’ moment? The man had left Phuket as part of the exodus of some 50,000 people…
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Bangkok’s largest international hospital hurts from halt in medical tourism
The coronavirus outbreak has hospitals across the world at their limits, but at one Thailand’s largest and most famous hospitals, the number of patients has been cut in half. Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok heavily relies on medical tourism. Since the pandemic has ground much of international travel to a halt, Bumrungrad is getting hit hard. 50% of the patients at…
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Health officials say they’re ready for a “second wave” of Covid-19
As countries around the world start to ease some of the restrictions put in place to stop the spread of Covid-19, the fear of a “second wave” persists. Now a report in Nation Thailand says healthcare officials in Thailand are using the lessons from the past fews months, in the treatment of Covid-19 patients, tracing and testing, and are prepared…
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Survey shows a third of people believe Thailand will be Covid-free in 3-6 months
A survey conducted by the Super Poll Research Office shows that a third of people believe Thailand will be free from the Covid-19 virus within 3 to 6 months. Thai Residents reports that Super Poll conducted a survey of 1,255 citizens on May 6, which also revealed that over 32% believe the virus will be gone in as little as…
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Bangkok police hunt activists who projected slogans onto landmarks of 2010 protests
The slogan Seek the Truth (in Thai) has been projected onto several Bangkok landmarks in what appears to be a commemoration of the violent end to political demonstrations in 2010. That year, protests rocked Bangkok for 3 months between March and May, when over 100,000 supporters of former PM Thaksin Shinawatra (known as the “Redshirts”) descended on the city, demanding elections.…
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Fake survey promises gifts from the Thailand Post
“Your chance to win… ” tends to be too good to be true, every time. Go with your gut if you come across a chance to earn a free gift from the Thailand Post. It’s fake. An internet scam, posing as the country’s mail carrier, is luring people in with gifts such as smartphones and vouchers. Thailand Post, for their…
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A 16 year old girl has now come forward in Mukdahan school rape case
Three of the teachers, suspected in a gang rape case against a 14 year old girl at a school in Mukdahan province in Thailand’s northeast are now likely to face charges for the sexual assault of a 16 year old student as well. The teenager has been placed into the custody of the ministry of Social Development and Human Security.…
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The next batch of reopenings in Thailand, coming this Sunday
We should find out more today about the next raft of re-opening for Thailand’s businesses. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration has been consulting with the private and public sector to make the next move as Thailand reboots its economy in a second phase of re-openings. The Thai cabinet will meet today to discuss the proposals. Dr. Taweesin Visanuyothin says…
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24 people arrested after police raid on Samui bar
22 foreigners and 2 Thai nationals have been arrested at a bar called La Bohemia on the Gulf island of Koh Samui last night. All were charged with breaking the emergency decree, which prohibits restaurants selling alcohol and gatherings of people. Acting on a tip off from local residents, police from the Bo Phut police station raided the La Bohemia…
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24 Patong police placed under quarantine
Today at around 1pm, 24 Patong police officers were placed under quarantine at a prominent three-star hotel on Rat U Thit Road, Patong. This was after a police officer was confirmed as one of the cases founded in Phuket yesterday. Read more HERE. While 20 tested negative, 4 are still waiting on the results from supervising medical staff. Thai media…
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Human Rights Watch says Thailand should free detained migrants
A significant number of migrants in Thailand’s Songkhla immigration detention centre have the coronavirus and the Human Rights Watch is saying all them should be free due to the dangers of the coronavirus pot the other detainees. In an article urging the release of the migrants, the HRW said the virus infections “spread like wildfire in squalid lockup” and that…
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Food sharing pantries across Thailand help the hungry
The coronavirus outbreak hit some families hard and some are without income and in need of basic food. Community pantries, stocked with basic, yet essential, food items have been popping up all over Thailand to help the hungry and people simply knocked sideways by the suddenness of the impact from the outbreak. The project is called “Pantry of Sharing.” One sign says…
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Thailand national figures for Covid-19 – May 11
This morning Dr. Taweesin Visanuyothin, spokesman of the Centre for Covid-19 Coronavirus Situation Administration, announced in his daily press conference that 6 new cases of the Covid-19 cases were confirmed across the country, bring the total in Thailand to 3,015 cases. Of the 6 cases, 4 were reported in Phuket yesterday afternoon but were not included in yesterday’s national tally…
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Zoo animals eat frozen treats to chill out in high heat
It’s hot. And humid. So hot that zookeepers are getting creative when it comes to cooling down the animals. Lions and tigers are licking on frozen blood cubes while bears are munching on fruit popsicles made by zookeepers at Khon Kaen Zoo in Northern Thailand. Temperatures have recently reached over 40 degrees Celsius, sometimes for days on end. Along with…
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