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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Sponsored What do you need before moving from the US to Thailand?
The Thaiger key takeaways The most common medical emergencies for expats in Thailand include motorcycle accidents, tropical diseases, and food or water-borne illnesses. Air pollution and heat-related conditions like heatstroke also pose serious seasonal health risks, especially in northern and...
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97 new cases of Covid in Thailand, 5 imported – Covid-19 Update
Today, Thailand is reporting 97 new cases of Covid-19 with 5 cases being imported, raising the total to 28,443 since the pandemic began. This is up from the 69 cases reported yesterday. The government has reported no new deaths, leaving the total at 92 Covid deaths in Thailand. Bangkok logged the most amount of new cases, at 70% of today’s…
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Foreigners seeking 60 day tourist visa extensions crowd Phuket Immigration
Many foreigners seeking to extend what some are calling the “Covid visa” crowded Phuket Immigration this morning. The queue stretched from the second floor, out the door and down the stairs at the front of the building. One man told the Phuket News that many were waiting to file a 60 day tourist visa extension. The visa extensions are intended…
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Protesters call for PM’s resignation, release of activists, abolition of lèse majesté law
Protesters gathered at the Ratchaprasong intersection in Bangkok last night, calling for the release of fellow activists and the resignation of the Thai PM. The anti-government activists assembled yesterday from around 5pm and listened to speakers blasting the PM and Thailand’s strict lèse majesté law. The protesters are calling for the law to be abolished, for those charged under the…
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Lazada, Shopee go head to head in attracting more online shoppers
The Internet shopping websites of Lazada and Shopee are going head to head as they are competing for more online shoppers. The economic downturn has prompted more efforts to attract new shoppers just as the festive sales season is right around the bend. Thanida Suiwatana, chief business officer of Lazada Thailand, says the Covid-19 pandemic has spurred a new trend…
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800,000 doses of Chinese vaccine to go to 22 provinces next month
The Thai government will send 800,000 doses of China’s Covid-19 vaccine to 22 selected provinces from next month. According to a Bangkok Post report, the Sinovac vaccine will be distributed to provinces that fall into 3 groups. The first group consists of 6 provinces that have experienced a resurgence of the virus or where clusters of infections have been reported.…
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Thailand News Today | Dry Songkran, Prayut’s ‘spare’ political party, protest on NOW | March 24
It’s going to be another dry Songkran in Bangkok. Last year the annual Thai New Year celebrations were cancelled altogether. This year it will be Songkran without much of the celebration. No water gun flights. No buckets of water poured over… well just about everybody. City officials say strict measures will be in place to prevent the spread of Covid-19…
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Thailand drafting new regulations for cannabis and hemp seeds
A new regulations for cannabis and hemp seeds imports is in the works by Thailand’s Agriculture Department. With certain parts of the cannabis plant now off the narcotics list, many are tapping into the market for CBD, or cannabidiol, the non-psychoactive component in hemp and cannabis. With the rising demand for hemp and cannabis, the department is revising regulations to…
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Ratsadon protester to stay in jail after court denies bail
A member of the pro-democracy Ratsadon group is staying in jail as his requests to be released on bail are being denied by Thailand’s Criminal Court. 30 year old Chukiat “Justin” Saengwong, was charged with lese majeste, inciting unrest, and breaking the Emergency Decree while taking part in protests. Police are accusing Chukiat of placing a paper with offensive words…
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Bangkok sets rules for a dry Songkran, large events must submit a plan
It’s going to be another dry Songkran in Bangkok. No water gun flights. No buckets of water poured on passersby. City officials say strict measures will be in place to prevent the spread of Covid-19 during the holiday, which was extended and now stretches from April 10 to 15. While water splashing is banned, Songkran’s traditional activities, like religious ceremonies and…
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“We Travel Together” plan to boost domestic tourism expanded
Thai lawmakers are giving the third phase of the government’s “We Travel Together” scheme a green light to continue boosting domestic tourism. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha along with other lawmakers approved the scheme, titled “Rao Tiew Duay Kan” in Thai, which is a programme that subsidises hotel bookings. The scheme’s third phase is set to cover an additional 2 million people…
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Tom yum goong to be nominated for UNESCO cultural heritage list
Thailand’s famous hot and spicy shrimp soup, or tom yum goong, as it’s better known locally, is being nominated for inclusion on UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list. Thai PBS World reports that the government has approved a proposal from the Culture Ministry that the renowned dish be put forward for inclusion. UNESCO established its Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage with…
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Another pro-democracy protest confirmed for Bangkok today
The pro-democracy Ratsadon group has announced another anti-government protest to be held in Bangkok today. News of the rally was posted on the Facebook page of the United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration group, with organisers pledging to ensure the safety of participants. “March 24, 2021 bring your bags and tie your shoelaces. There will be a rally stage this…
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Thailand News Today | Samui and Phuket request 1 million vaccines, Covid update | March 23
401 new Covid-19 cases and 1 new death have been reported today. Most of the cases were at an immigration detention centre in Bangkok’s Bang Khen district. Thailand currently has 1,419 active Covid-19 infections. A total of 92 deaths have now been recorded as a result of the coronavirus. A 75 year old Thai man in Bangkok died after…
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400 illegal migrants test positive for Covid-19- UPDATE
Earlier today, Thailand authorities announced that almost 300 allegedly illegal migrants tested positive for Covid-19, and now, that number has raised to almost 400. The migrants are being housed in Bangkok’s Bang Khen district awaiting to be transferred to a field hospital, with authorities saying the situation is “under control.” Sompong Chingduang, commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, said on Tuesday…
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Thailand’s PM speeds up stimulus measures to boost domestic spending
Thailand’s PM is speeding up economic stimulus measures to continue the effort to boost domestic spending throughout the year. In a meeting yesterday, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha told the Finance Ministry to push forward the rollout of the 3rd phase’ co-payment scheme, financial relief scheme and the Section 33 We Love Each Other programme. Deputy PM Supattanapong Punmeechaow, noted that the…
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Activists try to call off auction for cats confiscated in drug trafficking raid
With pedigree cats worth tens of thousands of baht up for auction by the Narcotics Control Board after being seized in a suspected drug network raid, animal rights activists in Thailand are calling on officials to suspend the auction. The cats, 5 Scottish Folds and a Bengal, were seized last week along with 35 million baht in assets suspected of…
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Police officer’s son caught on camera firing shots at Thai restaurant
The son of a local police officer and 2 other men were caught on camera firing shots and pointing guns at employees at Thai barbeque restaurant in the southern province Trang. Surveillance camera footage shows the men parking a pickup truck nearby and the man, identified as the police officer’s son, holding a gun and then shooting it at the…
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UNAids staffer who reported sexual assault at a Bangkok hotel loses dismissal case
A former policy advisor for a United Nations programme fighting AIDS, who claims she was sexually assaulted in a Bangkok hotel elevator by a then-senior official for the agency and was later fired after going public with the accusations, lost her appeal against her termination from UNAids. The 41 year old Martina Brostrom from Sweden says she was sexually assaulted…
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Petrol station attendant stabbed to death allegedly by a motorcyclist who refused to pay for gas
A petrol station attendant was stabbed to death yesterday morning allegedly by motorcyclist who refused to pay for gas. Staff members at the Esso gas station in Pathum Thani, north of Bangkok, say a motorcyclist pulled out a knife, refusing to pay for 40 baht worth of fuel before stabbing the pump attendant, 39 year old Sorawut Nakwichai. Police say…
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CCSA Update: 401 new Covid-19 cases and 1 death, most at an immigration detention centre
401 new Covid-19 cases and 1 death were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. Most of the cases were at an immigration detention centre in Bangkok’s Bang Khen district Thailand now has 1,419 active Covid-19 cases. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has reported a total of 28,277 coronavirus infections and…
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Thailand’s detention centres see almost 300 immigrants test positive for Covid-19
Almost 300 immigrants to Thailand have positive test results for Covid-19, according to The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. The immigrants, in which most allegedly entered Thailand illegally, were tested at the Immigration Bureau’s detention centres in Suan Phlu and Bang Khen, with 297 testing positive for the virus. The overcrowded centres have stopped accepting new detainees as the bureau…
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Oops! Culture Ministry deletes website suggestion that traditional Thai garment could be used to commit suicide
Thailand’s Culture Ministry is in hot water after suggesting on its website that one of the many uses for the Thai waistcloth (pha khao ma) could be to hang oneself. The suggestion appeared on the website as part of a list of ways the traditional garment could be used. Other helpful suggestions included using it as a towel or a…
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Man falls asleep while allegedly robbing a home in Phetchabun – VIDEO
A 22 year old man was arrested on burglary charges after the homeowner found him asleep in his daughter’s bed at his home in the central province Phetchabun. Apparently, the man had broken into the house at around 2am, but felt sleepy, so he turned on the air conditioner and laid down on the bed, Thai media reports. When the…
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Thailand starts human trials of local Covid vaccine
Thailand is beginning human trials on its locally-developed Covid-19 vaccine, while setting its sights for a rollout of the vaccine next year. While the process seems sluggish compared to other vaccines, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul says the development would enable Thailand to be self-reliant as the country would not have to rely on vaccines from other nations. “Production is…
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Soi Cowboy bar owner says the business has survived the pandemic, but revenue has fallen by 70%
Bangkok’s notorious red light district Soi Cowboy has survived the pandemic, but barely. An owner of a bar along the street said the business is only earning enough to cover operating costs. Bars and nightclubs were hit hard by disease control restrictions with the government banning alcohol, shutting down the venues and limiting operating hours during peaks in the pandemic.…
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Thailand News Today | Fallout from weekend protest violence, Samut Prakan Covid cluster | March 22
We apologise for some poor patches of sound in the opening of today’s Thailand News Today… the fallout from the weekend’s protests in Bangkok and the violence that followed, the latest from the Samut Prakan Covid cluster, next door to Bangkok, and a wind-fall for a couple in Nakhon Si Thammarat digging around their backyard. The Thaiger is unable to…
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“Samui Wonder Island” safe and sealed travel scheme to launch in July
Under the new safe and sealed foreign travel campaign “Samui Wonder Island,” foreign visitors will be able to visit Koh Samui under disease control measures starting in July. Travellers will undergo a rapid Covid-19 swab test on their second or third day at the alternative state quarantine hotel or resort. The results will come back within 3 hours. If the…
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Health minister says locals on Phuket and Koh Samui will be vaccinated before tourists return
Thailand’s health minister is reassuring the public that there will be enough vaccines to immunise locals, particularly on the popular holiday islands Phuket and Koh Samui, before Thailand reopens to foreign tourists. Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul says 800,000 doses of the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine arrived in Thailand over the weekend. He says 100,000 doses will go to Phuket and…
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CCSA Update: 73 new Covid-19 cases, 1 death
73 new Covid-19 cases and 1 death were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. Thailand now has 1,122 active cases. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA reported a total of 27,876 coronavirus infections and 91 deaths. A 60 year old Thai man in Bangkok died after testing positive for Covid-19. He…
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Thailand’s media organisations issue joint statement in wake of political violence
The 6 organisations that represent Thailand’s media have issued a joint statement, calling on all sides in the current political conflict to show restraint. The statement comes following ugly scenes at Saturday’s anti-establishment protest in Bangkok. At least 33 people were injured near Sanam Luang, including police officers and journalists. Police officers used tear gas, water cannon, and rubber bullets…
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