Thailand News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, and lifestyle—get breaking updates from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond. Stay informed on Thai society, economy, tourism, and expat life with The Thaiger.
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Starting a new life abroad is exciting—new culture, new lifestyle, and new chances to grow. But living far from home also means taking steps to protect your health in unfamiliar surroundings. Without the right coverage, even small health issues can...
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Virologist predicts most of Thailand will have had Covid by 2023
If avoiding the coronavirus feels futile at this point, maybe it is. According to one of the country’s top virologists, by about the end of this year, nearly everyone in Thailand will have been infected with Covid-19. The chief of the Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology at the Department of Paediatrics of Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Medicine Yong Poovorawan…
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Bangkok gets 20 new electric buses next week
Finally, some good news for commuters as the government delivers its promise to introduce electric buses in Bangkok a week tomorrow. Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob yesterday announced that the department plans to introduce 20 electric buses for Line No 2-38, previously known as the No. 8 route from Memorial Bridge to Happy Land. Saksayam revealed the buses will start operating…
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Armed robber escapes with gold worth 800,000 baht in Thailand
Ban Pong Police is on the lookout for an armed robber who held up a gold shop inside Big C in Baan Pong district and got away with about 800,000 baht worth of gold. Police made known the robber barged his way into the Aurora gold shop at 6.40pm, located on the Ban Pong-Sam Krachab Intersection Road in the municipality…
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Foreigner faces prison for Parrotfishing in Thailand
The foreigner seen parrotfishing in the sea off Thailand is facing a five-year prison sentence and a 20,000 baht fine if he is caught. A TikTok video clip of the man emerged on social media yesterday with three parrotfishes, one moray eel, and two other unidentified fish in Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park in Krabi province, causing…
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Thai paramilitary ranger kills two, injures one after row in bar
A Thai paramilitary ranger faces prison after killing two people and injuring one after a row broke out in the early hours of this morning in a bar in the Muang district in the southern border province. The 25 year old ranger, Hadchaicharn (surname withheld), shot and killed one man, stabbed a woman to death, and shot and injured another…
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Thailand getting high on cannabis boost to tourist economy
Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha recently reported the government is expecting about 10 million tourists to hit the kingdom before the end of the year and it reports are true, most of them plan on getting high. The Thai government removed cannabis and hemp plants from its banned narcotics list on June 9 leaving people in Thailand free to grow and…
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Anupong says he will leave government with PM Prayut & Prawit
If the Constitutional Court decides, as many polled believe, that PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s eight years in charge are at an end, Minister of Interior Anupong Paochinda says that he and Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan would also depart the government. The trio sometimes referred to as the Three Por Generals or the 3 Ps have run the country since the…
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Thailand’s economy grows but it still misses China’s cash
A new poll revealed Thailand’s economy grew at its fastest in a year over the last quarter but the kingdom’s outlook is still threatened by the high cost of living and China’s decision to maintain a zero-Covid-19 policy. The Thai economy grew largely because of tourism and the government’s decision to relax entry rules into Thailand such as the Thai…
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Thailand workers could earn over 100,000 baht in Saudi Arabia
Workers can expect to earn monthly salaries of over 100,000 baht when Saudi Arabia opens its doors to Thailand later this year Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin made it known yesterday that Thailand has agreed to fill the skilled and semi-skilled workers’ void in Saudi Arabia after the kingdoms patched up a 30-year feud. Saudi Arabia cut trade and diplomatic ties…
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ICS creates a significant phenomenon on the Thon Buri area, collaborating with famous brand partners
Press Release ICS Creates a Significant Phenomenon on the Thon Buri Area, Collaborating with Famous Brand Partners – Lotus, Hilton Garden Inn and Innovative Health and Lifestyle Center – to Empower the Potential of Prime Location Connecting ICONSIAM to be an Impeccable City. New mixed-use lifestyle town, inclusive of retail, office tower and hotel Reinforcing the No. 1 prime location…
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CCSA to give thumbs up to 4am licensing in Thailand next week
The Tourism and Sports Minister yesterday revealed the department needs Centre of Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) approval before it can extend licensing hours from 2am to 4am. Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn acknowledged that many people don’t want opening hours extended across the country but the minister insists it is necessary for the greater economic good of Thailand. The extended entertainment hours apply…
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Covid-19 “hospitel” isolation in Thailand to end September 1
One option for Covid-19 patients with no or mild symptoms in Thailand is to check into a hotel designated for Covid-19 isolation, known as a “hospitel,” but not for much longer. The remaining “hospitels” are set to change back to regular hotels on September 1, according to the Director-General of the Department of Health Service Support Dr Thares Krasaniyarawiwong. The…
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BKFC THAILAND 3: Moment of truth set for September 3
Press Release Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) Thailand presented by Singha is set to return with an electrifying third event on Saturday, September 3, 2022, live from the world-famous Rajadamnern Stadium in Bangkok. The event is set to begin at 6:00 PM ICT/11:00 AM GMT/7:00 AM EST, and will be available worldwide on the BKFC app. Book for the event…
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Opposition to Thailand govt hosting former Sri Lanka president
The former president of Sri Lanka, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, is expected to travel from Singapore to Thailand today to seek temporary shelter. But an international relations expert suggests the Thai government shouldn’t host an official ceremony to welcome the ex-leader as the issue is politically sensitive. The 73 year old Rajapaksa was pressured to leave his position as president of Sri…
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UPDATE: Sri Lanka’s exiled president allowed temporary Thailand stay, with conditions
UPDATE Sri Lanka’s exiled president Gotabaya Rajapaksa will be allowed to stay in Thailand for 90 days, according to Thailand’s Deputy PM Don Pramudwinai. Don is also Thailand’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. Don told Thai media that he understands Sri Lankans are angry at their former president, and he stressed that Gotabaya will only be allowed to stay for a…
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UPDATE: Thailand introduces fine for not wearing seat belt in the back seat
UPDATE: The Royal Thai Police will go easy on people who break the new seat belt law “in the early phase” according to Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau Pol. Maj. Gen. Jirasan Kaewsaeng-ek. The officer confirmed yesterday that from September 5, the driver and all passengers – including those in the back seat – are required by law…
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Robots now serving people at Thai restaurant chain
Robots are now serving people at a Thai restaurant chain. S&P, the bakery and restaurant chain, is using robots as a way to cope with skyrocketing costs while keeping its prices down. Each restaurant usually employs 10 staff. S&P’s operator company, SET-listed S&P Syndicate Plc, currently operates 460 production hubs around the country. Its goal is to operate 480 by…
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Woman faces jail for trafficking girls after karaoke raid in Thailand
A Thai woman faces a ten-year prison term and a heavy fine after police raided a karaoke bar and found scantily-clad underage girls serving alcohol in the Lat Yao district of central Thailand. Acting on complaints from residents nearby, officers from the Department of Provincial Administration (DPA) law enforcement team burst into the Ran Theederm karaoke bar at Moo 11…
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Amnesty International urges Thailand to free activists and return bail rights
Amnesty International is urging Thailand to free all political prisoners, drop all current allegations made against activists and return bail rights to activists who get arrested. The requests are detailed in a letter signed by 4,701 people addressed to Justice Minister Somsak Thepsuthin. Amnesty International UK ran a campaign to gain support for the letter. Amnesty International Thailand gathered at…
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Jungceylon undergoes renovation to become a one-stop shopping paradise
Press Release “Jungceylon Shopping Center is renovating the shopping mall’s basement by allocating space and introducing new exciting shops to meet the lifestyles of Thai and foreign customers,” stated Mr Prawit Janyasittikul, Chief Executive Officer of Jungceylon Shopping Center Patong Phuket. The ‘Jungle Building’ inside Jungceylon has a total basement area is over 7,000 sqm. The food bazaar located in…
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StyleCation: Latest TAT campaign aims at young domestic tourists
Forget the staycation and the workcation, “StyleCation” is the hot new awkward portmanteau the Tourism Authority of Thailand is pushing to attract visitors. The TAT has recruited top actors/singers Krit “PP” Amnuaydechkorn and Putthipong “Billkin” Assaratanakul to promote a new campaign aimed at getting Thai people traveling around the country. “Amazing Thailand StyleCation with PP and Billkin” is the newest…
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Thailand to consider Chinese engines for S26T Yuan submarine
The Royal Thai Navy (RTN) yesterday revealed it is considering buying Chinese-made engines for the S26T Yuan-class submarine after complications in purchasing the said technology from Germany. Thailand originally turned down the offer of using Chinese-made engines for the Chinese submarine the Thai Government approved to buy in 2017 in favour of using German-made engines. But since the German government…
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Tropical storm ‘Mulan’ to hit several provinces of Thailand between August 11-13
Tropical storm “Mulan” which started at 4am this morning in the upper South China Sea is headed for Thailand, according to the Meteorological Department. The storm is travelling at 20 kilometres per hour and is expected to hit China’s Hainan island first, then Vietnam and then arrive in Thailand as soon as tomorrow. As a result, northern Thailand and some…
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Thailand introduces fine for not wearing seat belt in the back seat
Not wearing a seat belt in the back seat of a car in Thailand will soon be punishable by a 2,000 baht fine. The rule will come into effect 120 after its publication in the Royal Gazette on September 5, 2022. The Royal Gazette wrote the new rule into the Road Traffic Act (No.13) 2022, published on May 7. The…
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Toad travels from Thailand to Wales in student’s suitcase
A university student was toad-ally shocked when an unfamiliar amphibian jumped out of her suitcase in Cardiff, Wales, in the UK, having travelled over 6,000 miles from Thailand. Hannah Turian recently completed her second year studying psychology at Cardiff University and went to Thailand to volunteer in a school during the summer break. After travelling for 35 hours, she finally…
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US’s Chips & Science Act good news for Thailand’s car industry
The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) made it known yesterday that they feared China’s trade embargo with Taiwan would affect business in Thailand, particularly in the automobile industry. The FTI said the car industry was anxious China would deny Taiwan the raw materials Thailand needed to make semiconductors that the Thai transportation business is dependent on. Those fears remain in…
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Wife says boss of Mountain B in Pattaya is ‘not a villain’
The wife of the owner of the Mountain B nightclub tragedy in the Pattaya suburb of Sattahip where 15 people died in a blazing inferno insists that her husband is not a villain. Ponsgsiri Panprosong, who was released on 300,000 baht bail yesterday after appearing before the court on two counts of negligently causing the death of 15 people and…
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Policeman poses as Buddhist monk to trick drug dealers in central Thailand
A policeman swapped his tight, zip-up uniform for saffron robes last week in a cunning plan to lure two drug dealers to arrest in Ratchaburi province, central Thailand – but he also broke the law in doing so. Villagers in Ban Pong district complained to police that Ya Ba, a cheap version of Methenamine, was being sold at a famous…
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PM warns Thailand to brace itself for potential flooding
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha warned Thailand to brace itself for another deluge of water this month. The 68 year old PM ordered governors in provincial areas to prepare for potential flooding after weather forecasters predicted more heavy rainfall until the end of the month. Thailand witnessed a heavy taste of what is to come over the past 24 hours after…
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Local hero predicts building collapse, saves countless lives in eastern Thailand
A man from the Sattahip district in Chon Buri province saved countless lives on Saturday when he warned residents to quickly evacuate the precarious row of four townhouses on Soi Wat Noi road. The alert neighbour, 50 year old Saneh Wongpoon, heard creaking noises coming from his ceiling and noticed a part of the roof caving in. The row of…
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