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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Thailand cancels visas-on-arrival and some visa exemptions for 21 countries
On top of all the changes announced in the past few days for passengers arriving in Thailand, today the government has announced an additional measure. The Thai government has now cancelled the automatic granting of the visa-on-arrival for 18 countries as well as cancelling visa exemption for three other countries in additional efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus.…
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400 billion baht stimulus announced to boost Thai economy
“The package will inject an estimated 400 billion baht into the economy in a bid to return growth to positive territory.” Yesterday’s Thai cabinet meeting gave the greenlight to a new stimulus package. The government expects the approved 400 billion baht to reduce the impact of the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak. Last week’s 2,000 baht cash stimulus proposal, which was largely…
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Thailand News Today, Tuesday, March 10, 2020
Thai road toll, worst of the year yesterday Yesterday 90 people, including 2 foreigners, died in Thailand. This was the year’s single worst death toll day on Thailand’s roads this year. 3,200 lives have already been lost this year. 69 deaths were motorcyclists, 2 were foreigners and 2 children died as well. Hotting up in northern Thailand Hot, damn…
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Thailand CP Group’s take over bid for Tesco Asia
The 332.6 billion baht deal between the UK’s Tesco-branded Asian interests and Thai conglomerate CP Group, is coming under scrutiny as there are fears it could lead to a mega-retail monopoly. In the deal, the Chareon Pokphand Group will acquire all of Tesco Asia. CPAll and CPF informed the Stock Exchange of Thailand of their surprise investment in Tesco Asia…
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Worst case scenario – Thailand loses 10 million tourists this year
Thailand’s tourist industry could be decimated in the wake of the world coronavirus outbreak. Tourism accounts for an estimated 16% of Thailand’s total GDP. The Tourism Authority of Thailand governor, Yutthasak Supasorn, says that, in a worst case scenario, Thailand could bleed 10 million of it’s projected 40 million tourist arrivals this year. He says his estimates were based on…
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Thai PM Prayut quashes 2,000 baht handout package
Easy come, easy go. Well that was quick. Last Friday’s announcements for 2 x 1000 baht handouts to poorer Thai citizens has been quashed by the PM. Prime Minister Prayut officially shelved plans to hand out the cash to low income earners. Last Friday the Finance Ministry made the announcement for a new round of stimulus packages to prop up…
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Thailand News Today, Monday, March 9, 2020
Daily TV news update with Tim Newton… Village leader slain in drive-by shooting in South Gunmen in Pattanni province in Thailand’s restive South shot dead an assistant village headman while he was exercising at a children’s playground yesterday. Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala are home to Thailand’s 22 decade-long Southern insurgency. The drive-by shooting occurred at playground in front of a…
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Government looking at ways to lower public electricity bills
The ministry is also studying ways to lower the price of cooking gas and fuel. Thailand’s Energy Ministry is examining ways to lower electricity bills for the general public to ease their burden in response to the impact of Covid-19 on the economy, according to Energy Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong. The ministry’s permanent secretary has been asked to call a meeting…
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Thais reject the Government’s cash giveaway scheme
A new Super Poll survey shows that 71.2% of respondents disagree with the Government’s recently announced plans to hand out two 1,000 baht monthly cash give-aways to low income earners. The new economic stimulus package was announced last week by the finance ministry to help cushion the impact of the sagging economy and threats from the COVID-19 outbreak. A spokesperson…
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80 Thai workers returning from South Korea escape airport, search underway
Thai media report that some 80 Thai nationals, out of a total of 200 who arrived at Suvarnabhumi International Airport yesterday on four flights after returning from working illegally in South Korea, have fled. Authorities are urgently searching for the 80, who escaped from a restricted area as they were about to be escorted to a naval base in Chon…
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59 “little ghosts” quarantined at Chon Buri naval base
Fifty-nine Thais, 27 men and 32 women, “phee noi“ (meaning “little ghosts” in Thai) who returned from South Korea last night have been detained at a naval reception facility in Chon Buri province’s Sattahip district for a 14 day quarantine, as a measure to stem the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. They were among dozens of passengers who arrived at…
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Thais returning from South Korea ignoring quarantine “recommendation”
Hundred, perhaps thousands of Thai workers returned from South Korea to their hometowns this week, facing a “recommendation” from the Ministry of Public Health to self-quarantine for 14 days, due to fears over the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak. But some are stirring panic by ignoring the rule. They are travelling in public, even posting photos on Facebook, causing panic amongst shoppers,…
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100 kilograms of crystal meth wash ashore in Thailand’s southeast
It’s been a busy week for the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), as police in Trat province seized 100 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, or “ice,” found washed ashore on two beaches. Nineteen packets of the drug were found on Koh Mak beach, and another 81 packs on Koh Kut beach. Trat is the easternmost province along the Thai…
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Help is on the way: 100 billion baht stimulus package passed
Eyeing the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on the nation’s already battered economy, the government yesterday approved a stimulus package, anticipated to cost more than 100 billion baht. The package was approved in a meeting of the Council of Economic Ministers, led by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, and will be forwarded to the cabinet for approval on Tuesday. After the…
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More than 2,000 stranded on cruise liner in Phuket over Italian “risk” tourists
Over 2,000 passengers and crew on board the Costa Fortuna cruise liner, which arrived in Patong yesterday, have been denied permission to disembark. The ban comes after official confirmation that 64 Italians onboard left Italy in the past 14 days. The move follows the Thai government’s institution of a 14 day self-quarantine on all people arriving from China, South Korea,…
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Thailand News Today – March 6, 2020
Daily news update hosted by Tim Newton… https://www.facebook.com/thethaigernews/videos/2612664995679519/ Burmese military seize drugs and equipment valued over 2 billion baht north of Chiang Rai The Burmese military raided a meth lab in Shan State, northern Myanmar. Soldiers seized a vast quantity of drugs, chemicals and equipment valued around 2 billion baht. The raids ran between February 28 and March 3. The…
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Briton becomes Thailand’s 48th confirmed coronavirus case
Thailand’s Ministry of Health announced today that a British man flying from Hong Kong is the latest Covid-19 coronavirus patient in Thailand. The ministry’s permanent secretary Sukhum Kanchanapimai says the Briton became the 48th confirmed case after he tested positive and was admitted to a hospital on Tuesday after he developed symptoms associated with the virus. The patient, who was…
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North to see thunderstorms, rains predicted for Bangkok
Thailand’s Meteorological Department today says there is a possibility of thunderstorms, gusty winds and even hail in the North, the Northeast, the Central and East regions, due to a low pressure area covering the lower North and Central regions and a high pressure system from China in the Northeast. In the South, less rain is predicted. The department advises people…
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Tourism Authority of Thailand clarifies “self quarantine” situation
The Tourism Authority of Thailand has posted a notice to clarify the “self-quarantine requirements” of all visitors coming to Thailand from “risk area” countries, relating to the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak. The clarification comes after two days of confusing announcements coming out of the Thai Public Health Department. On Tuesday night a document was released on the Thai Public Health Minister’s…
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Thailand now disinfecting overseas parcels: WHO says they’re safe
Despite specific admonitions from the World Health Organisation (WHO), Thai Post (a privately owned company) began disinfecting all overseas parcels today in an effort to stem the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. The WHO has publicly announced that it is safe to receive mail even from badly affected countries, like China, where the outbreak began. Thailand confirmed four new cases…
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Health minister won’t say why quarantine order deleted, Facebook account inactive
Health minister Anutin Charnvirakul yesterday declined to explain why he removed an order requiring people arriving from 9 countries and 2 Chinese territories designated as high risk areas for the Covid-19 virus to be placed in self-quarantine. According to the quickly deleted document posted on his official Facebook page (now inactive), the nine destinations are “disease areas” and people arriving…
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Thailand announces 4 new coronavirus cases, all from Italy or Iran
“There is still no sign of true community spread in Thailand.” Thailand has confirmed four new cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus, bringing its total to 47 since January. All were recent arrivals from Italy or Iran. Suwanchai Wattanayingcharoen, director-general of the Department of Disease Control made the announcement in a news conference today. The new cases are: A 29 year…
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Thai tourism ministry proposes 5 billion baht in tourist stimulus packages
Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn says he will propose new domestic travel stimulus packages valued at 5 billion baht this Friday. The Minister says the aim is to cushion the impact of the coronavirus for the tourism service sector across the country. The Minister says that domestic tourism is “the priority during this difficult time. The government should implement…
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Finance ministry announces new stimulus packages and tax breaks
Thailand’s Finance Ministry has announced a raft of new stimulus measures to help prop up parts of the Thai economy suffering under the impact of the coronavirus. They say the measures will assist “all sectors of Thai society currently affected by the Covid-19 situation”, which arrived at the same time as an economic slowdown, an export slump and drought. The…
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Thailand News Today, March 4, 2020
Man arrested with 44 kilograms of marijuana in Phuket A 60 year old man is in custody after he was found collecting 44 kilograms of dried marijuana, valued at about 400,000 baht, from a parcel delivery company in Phuket. Police told a press conference yesterday that officers were tipped off about a large shipment of marijuana arriving in Phuket via…
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Soi Dog Foundation official statement on Covid-19 and the risk to animal health
Sent to us from Soi Dog Foundation by Dr.Alicja Izydorczyk MRCVS… There have not been any cases of suspect COVID-19 infection in dogs or cats in Thailand. At present, there is no evidence to show that companion animals such as dogs and cats can be infected with COVID-19. Additionally, there is currently no evidence that companion animals could be a…
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PM announces urgent measures to handle coronavirus
State agencies will seek the cooperation of private companies to avoid or postpone activities that will see a mass gathering of people, which might expose them to the risk of virus infection. Even as the government announces new travel restrictions and struggles to create a plan to deal with thousands of Thai workers returning from South Korea, Prime Minister Prayut…
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Urgent meeting on thousands of “little ghosts” returning from South Korea
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has called an urgent meeting today to discuss how to handle thousands – estimates put the number between five and then thousand – of Thai workers preparing to return home from South Korea to escape the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. The announcement comes after the Ministry of Public Health expressed serious concerns about how to handle…
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Buri Ram MotoGP “postponed indefinitely” over virus fears
In a shocking reversal, the Thai MotoGP 2020, scheduled for March 20-22 in Buri Ram province, has been “postponed indefinitely” due to the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul made the announcement yesterday. Despite earlier reassurances the race would go on, Anutin said the decision to suspend the event was made at…
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Thai social media frenzy as 5000 set to return from South Korea
Thai social media is abuzz with fears that some of the roughly 5000 Thai nationals preparing to return from South Korea may carry the COVID-19 coronavirus, which has now killed 17 people there and 2979 worldwide. Most of the 5,000 are thought to be Thai prostitutes and agricultural workers among the thousands of Thais who work illegally in the country…
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