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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Thai Cabinet extends waiver of Visa On Arrival fees
Thailand’s Cabinet has extended the waiver of the fees for ‘visa on arrival’ for some foreign tourists to Thailand. The waiver of the 2,000 baht VOA fee will be extended to at least October 31. The fee had previously been waived until January 14 this year in a bid to boost tourism. It was then extended until April 30 and has…
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Buyback Option at VIP KATA Condominium by Phuket9
Phuket9 Company announces a buy-back option for VIP KATA Condominium Project with a rental return of 56% over 8 years. The first two buildings of VIP KATA Condominium were launched in July 2018. After one month in August 2018, Phuket9 commenced construction of the second phase – 2 more buildings including 209 apartments, 2 common swimming pools, rooftop gardens, restaurants and a kids club.…
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‘Endgame’ proves a marvel on opening day
The Avengers are annihilating the competition. And that’s even before the 22-film franchise’s last hurrah reaches US movie theatres. “Avengers: Endgame” features the entire Marvel Universe of superheroes and has proven an effective weapon for Disney at destroying old opening-day records across Asia, specifically in China. The movie raked in US$169 million on its first day of screening when it…
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New iMac models – same, same but 2.4 times faster
by Paisal Chuenprasaeng “The all-in-one design looks elegant and sleek. Everything – display, processor, graphics, storage and memory – is contained inside one simple enclosure.” More powerful yet just as slim and sleek as earlier models, Apple’s new iMac is now powered by 8-core Intel 9th-generation processors and its graphic horse power is unleashed by superfast Radeon Pro Vega graphics.…
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Tourist arrivals stagger and drop 1% – March figures
What goes up must go down, or at least falter occasionally. Newton’s law of gravity applies to just about everything, including’s Thailand’s rise and rise of tourist traffic. At some stage the numbers will actually (horror!!) start to plateau and even go down. For the first quarter this year the numbers have actually stalled. The Kingdom suffered a combined drop in…
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Thai owner and two Chinese fined for not reporting change of address within 24 hours
PHOTO: Naew Na A Thai property owner and two Chinese nationals have all been fined for not abiding by the law that states that a foreigners’ location must be reported within 24 hours when they have changed addresses. Naew Na used the word “property” in its report so it’s not known if the premises was a private dwelling, Airbnb-style or hotel.…
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3.6 million coronation souvenir coins ordered
The Treasury has reported that orders have been placed for more than 3.6 million souvenir coins of different models that are being especially minted to mark the May 4 coronation of His Majesty the King. The orders include 200 for the highest value platinum coins worth 1 million baht apiece, and 10,000 for gold coins, department chief Amnuay Preemonwong said.…
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Driver killed and 10 Burmese workers injured in Tak crash
by Pipat Jongmeekwamsook A van driver has been killed and 10 migrant workers injured after the passenger van careered into a roadside ditch and hit a tree in Khamphaeng Phet in Thailand’s central west today. The 27 year old van driver was killed and 10 Burmese workers were injured when their vehicle crashed in Khamphaeng Phet’s Kosamphee Nakhon district early…
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Thailand is ‘least miserable’ country in the world again
Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says he’s delighted over Thailand’s rating as the “least miserable” economy in the latest Bloomberg Misery Index. The annual Misery Index is calculated as the sum of a country’s inflation and unemployment rates. The index compares the average of economists’ forecasts for each country. The US moved six places to 13th least miserable and the UK improved four spots to 16th least.…
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Phuket seastead being removing by Thai Navy today
Navy officers are in the process of dismantling and removing the Phuket seastead today. About 300 navy officers are currently in the process removing the structure off the south east coast of the island. The operation is expected to be done by today, according to a spokesperson. The seastead will be kept at the Phuket Deap Sea Port as evidence…
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Infamous ‘large’ passenger dies in Koh Samui
PHOTOS: The Sun A 200 kilogram tourist, who forced flight crews to wipe his bum as he moaned with pleasure in January, has died on Koh Samui. The American, who hasn’t been named, died whilst staying on the Gulf island due to an undisclosed illness. But he has left an indelible memory in his wake. At the same time, as…
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Average hotel prices drop in Thailand in 2018
The latest Hotel Price Index (HPI) released by Hotels.com reveals no sign of a slowdown for the global travel industry. Prices are up for overnight accommodation by 3% globally in 2018 across every regional index, except for the Pacific region, including Thailand. Hotel.com has 85 websites in 34 languages, and lists over 325,000 hotels in approximately 19,000 locations. Its inventory…
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Ambulances must not exceed 80kph, except in emergencies
The Public Health Ministry’s directive to ensure ambulances keep below 80 kph only applies to non-emergency referral cases. The clarification issued today after a lot of criticism in social media. The ministry’s deputy permanent secretary, Dr Prapon Tangsrikertikul, says… “The policy has been introduced to ensure the safety of those inside the ambulances. But, of course, drivers can use appropriate…
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Twitter shares the Songkran experience – 2.8 million tweets
Thais flocked to Twitter during this year’s Songkran to share their experiences. This year’s #Songkran’s festivities generated 2.8 million Tweets from April 12-16 and the conversation peaked on April 13, around 6pm, with 71,000 Tweets per minute. The celebration of the Thai Buddhist New Year, Songkran, is a time for family. It’s the time for reflection on the past year, for…
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Surachate on holiday in the US
PHOTO: Bangkok Biz News Former Immigration Chief and high-profile crime-buster, Lt Gen Surachate Hakparn, has been laying low since being dramatically sidelined two weeks ago, being demoted to ‘office duties’ at the Police HQ in Bangkok. Now he’s on holiday in America. Thairath says that government spokeswoman Patcharaporn Inthiang revealed that the Lt Gen Surachate had put in a request for…
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HM Queen Sirikit advised to stay in hospital for treatment
Her Majesty Queen Sirikit has been admitted to Chulalongkorn Hospital in Bangkok suffering cystitis, which is an inflammation of the bladder, according to the Bureau of the Royal Household today. Queen Sirikit is the ‘Queen Mother’ of Thailand, the mother of the current King Maha Vajiralongkorn and was married to King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The Queen’s doctors examined her at 6pm…
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Stateless Thais can now apply for birth certificates and Thai ID
PHOTOS: The Nation “Rootless” people, born in Thailand but abandoned at birth – so without any Thai identification number or household documents – are now permitted to file for a birth certificates and apply for Thai nationality. The new laws have been published in the Royal Gazette, effective this week. The new edition of Civil Registration Act also allows these…
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Pro-democracy coalition remains positive following weekend glitch
by Kai Chanwanpen The see-saw continues as the anti and pro-junta groups continue to tussle to form a coalition government. Meanwhile the Election Commission (EC) is no closer to announcing the allocation of Lower House seats… three weeks after the vote! They maintain that May 9 is the day they will announce the results although this deadline has been muddied…
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Day Three: Songkran road deaths show a dramatic drop
There has been 1,665 traffic accidents, with 174 deaths and 1,728 people injured in the first three days of the Songkran ‘seven days of danger’ (Thursday, Friday, Saturday). This equates to a significant drop from the 2018 road toll and lower even than Thailand’s average daily road deaths throughout the year. According to the WHO an average 66 people die…
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The coronation of King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun
PHOTO: A younger King Maha Vachiralongkorn with his father, the Late King Bhumibol Adulyadej May 5, 1950. King Bhumibol Adulyadej was coronated in a grand ceremony at the Grand Palace and around the streets of Bangkok. That’s nearly seven decades ago when the last coronation took place in Thailand. The 1950 coronation ceremony began the reign of King Rama IX,…
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The four days of Songkran. Do it like a local.
Over four days of festivities, Songkran officially begins on April 13 with each day focusing on different activities and traditions. April 13 – Wan Sangkhan Lohng On this day residents clean their houses in preparation of the New Year’s festivities and the Chiang Mai Songkran parade. This procession involves the passing of revered Buddha images and parade floats through the…
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Six deaths, many injured as train slams into minivan in Lop Buri
PHOTOS: อาสาสมัครมูลนิธิร่วมกตัญญู เขตพัฒนานิคม จังหวัดลพบุรี Six people have died while many others are injured after a train collided with a minivan in Lop Buri, north of Bangkok, early this morning. At 4am this morning the train collided with the minivan on the Lop Buri – Bang Muang Road in Pattananikom, Lop Buri. Six deaths have been reported and another 10 injured…
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Getting ready for 5G. NCPO extends digital band payments.
Thailand’s mobile phone operators using the 900Mhz band and digital TV licensees have been given an extension for their concession fee payments. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha, as head of the NCPO, has invoked Article 44 of the interim Constitution, to extend the concession fee payment schedule for mobile phone operators from 4 months to 10 months. The relaxation in the timing of payments to be made to the NBTC will greatly ease the financial…
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‘Seastead’ set up off coast of Phuket
PHOTOS: Nation TV A Thai couple has successfully set up a ‘Seastead’ near Phuket. Seasteading is aiming to build floating societies with “significant political autonomy”. Nearly half the world’s surface is unclaimed by any nation-state, and many coastal nations can legislate “seasteads” in their territorial waters (like a “homestead” but wetter). The nation TV reports that website ‘Bitcoin.com’ and ‘Ocean.builders’…
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One killed, another injured after train slams into upside-down van in Ayutthaya
PHOTO: Matichon Online One man is dead and another severely injured after their van hit a road barrier and flipped onto railway tracks before being hit by a train in Ayutthaya, just north of Bangkok, early today. The Ayutthaya police station was alerted of the accident at the u-turn under the Ban Ma flyover on the Asia highway’s frontage in…
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Body of missing boy found in canal in Phetchburi
The body of a one year old who has been missing for eight days has been found in a canal in Phetchburi today. The body was found floating face down in the klong in Phetchburi early this morning. The male toddler, just over a year old, was reported missing to police in Pakin Kidtalod eight days ago. The mother of ‘Nong…
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“Thailand Travel Shield” insurance scheme to continue – TAT
The TAT (Tourism Authority of Thailand) says that the Thailand Travel Shield insurance project will continue. The service provides online travel insurance for foreign tourists. Reported in Phuketify, TAT Governor Yuthasak Supasorn, says that the TAT had initiated the creation of the Thailand Travel Shield project as a local insurance scheme alternative back in July 2014. “This year marks the fifth…
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Sacred waters begin their journey to Bangkok for Royal Coronation
PHOTOS: Phuket – Kritsada Meuanawong Thailand’s 76 provinces have taken part in a nationwide ceremony to draw sacred water from 108 water sources to be used during the Coronation of HM King Maha Vajiralongkorn on May 4. The ceremony began in all provinces at the same time of 11.52am. The only exception was Bangkok where the same ritual will be held on April 12 at the Haw Sastrakhom, inside…
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“We have sufficient evidence against Thanathorn” – Police
Deputy national police chief says that police likely have sufficient evidence to support the sedition charge filed against Future Forward’s Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit. Future Forward eclipsed even their own projections with a surprising performance on the Mach 24 election, coming in a close third behind the heavyweights Pheu Thai and Palang Pracharat, at the expense of the Democrats. Thai PBS reports…
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Recounts and new elections ordered in eight polling stations
PHOTOS: The Nation The Election Commission has decided that two polling stations should recount their ballots while six others should re-hold the election due to discrepancies in the number of ballots in those booths. The two polling stations that have been ordered to re-count the ballots were in Nam Pong District in Khon Kaen province. The poll results they provided…
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