Thailand News
Discover the most recent and relevant news from across Thailand on The Thaiger’s National News page. Covering a wide range of topics, including politics, business, crime, and lifestyle, our dedicated team brings you breaking news, in-depth analysis, and exclusive stories from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.
Stay informed about the latest developments in Thai society, economy, and culture, as well as updates on travel, tourism, and expat life. With The Thaiger, you’ll never miss out on the essential news that matters to you.
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Sponsored Infinito helps hotels in Thailand with revenue management
Maximising revenue and profit–isn’t that the ultimate goal for every business in the hospitality industry? If you run a hotel, you might have heard that revenue management is an effective way to boost your top-line revenue. It involves using data...
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Thailand News Today | US investigation into Covid origins, Pattaya opens to foreigners in Q4 | May 27
Thai Airways is launching a limited number of direct flights from Europe to Phuket, 2 of the 62 people who were arrested at the alleged drug and sex party in Bangkok have tested positive for Covid-19, Pattaya officials are saying they’re ready to reopen to foreign tourists this year under a model similar to Phuket if 70% of residents are…
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1000 year old stolen lintels will arrive in Thailand tomorrow night
Two ancient stolen lintels from Thailand’s Khmer past, dated around the 11th century, are returning to Thailand after being smuggled out of Thailand during the Vietnam War. A lintel (don’t worry, we had to Google it too) is the top beam or arch of a doorway structure, and this artefact from the Lopburi period was carved from sandstone about 1000…
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Taxi drivers may switch to rideshare apps with new regulations
The president of the Thai Taxi Network Association says that many traditional licensed taxis will likely switch to driving their own cars as rideshare drivers. The statement comes in response to the government’s announcement that they have started to put together regulations for rideshare taxi apps, set to go into effect in a month or two. The new regulations would bring…
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Police arrest “key” labour trafficking suspect who allegedly earned millions of baht
Police say they’ve arrested a “key” suspect who allegedly earned millions of baht leading a human trafficking operation. Following the man’s arrest, police accessed his bank account and say he earned around 14 million baht over the past year with his earnings increasing during Covid-19 outbreaks. Over the past year, officers tightened border patrol along the Thai-Myanmar border and focused…
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Water monitor lizard blood studied in Thailand for potential to treat cancer and Covid-19
Asian water monitor lizard blood is being researched in Thailand for its medicinal properties and its potential to treat cancer and even Covid-19. The Thai government granted the Mahidol University permission to collect blood samples from the protected species and study proteins in the blood that contribute to the lizard’s immune defence. The large lizards, sometimes reaching 1.5 metres in…
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Man allegedly shoots and kills girlfriend in Bangkok taxi
A 53 year old man was arrested for allegedly shooting and killing his 19 year old girlfriend yesterday in Bangkok while they were riding in a taxi. Reports say the couple were in a taxi passing by the Big C Rama II complex on Rama II Road when the shooting took place. The woman apparently told her boyfriend that she…
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2 of the 62 people arrested at Bangkok sex party test positive for Covid-19
2 of the 62 people who were arrested at the alleged drug and sex party in Bangkok have tested positive for Covid-19. Large gatherings are prohibited in Bangkok, particularly those where people are in “close contact,” to prevent the spread of the virus. Reports say the large gathering at the Faros Sauna was a “chemsex” event involving drugs to enhance sex.…
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Thai Airways introducing limited direct flights between Europe and Phuket
Thai Airways is testing the waters (so to speak) by introducing a limited number of direct flights from Europe to Phuket, ahead of the southern island’s July 1 re-opening. The national carrier, currently in the throes of restructuring after teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, has started selling direct flights from 4 European cities to Phuket. According to a Bangkok…
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Pattaya plans for reopening with no quarantine for vaccinated travellers
Pattaya will reopen to foreign tourists this year under a model similar to Phuket… but only if 70% of residents are vaccinated against Covid-19. Local officials are seeking more vaccine doses in an effort to reach herd immunity and bring people back to one of Thailand’s most popular tourist destinations. Under the plan “Pattaya, Move On,” quarantine in Pattaya would be…
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Government “revamps” vaccination registration after scrapping Mor Prom
After scrapping its Mor Prom app, the government is now rejigging Covid-19 vaccine allocation, amid registration issues and new infection clusters. The much-lauded (by the government) technology was launched on May 1, initially so the elderly and those with 7 underlying conditions could register. However, the system quickly became overwhelmed with the numbers trying to register, which caused it to…
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Thursday Covid Update: 3,323 cases and 47 deaths
3,323 new Covid-19 cases and a record high of 47 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. There has been a total of 112,354 infections recorded since April 1, the latest wave of Covid-19. There are now 46,469 active cases. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has reported 141,217 Covid-19 cases…
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Mor Prom Covid-19 vaccine registration Line account scrapped
Less than a month after its not-so-triumphant launch, the Mor Prom Line account for vaccine registration, like so many Covid-19 plans before it, has been scratched. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration says the government decided to discontinue to online registration scheme in anticipation of the platform being overwhelmed by coming sign-ups. The plan is now to keep Mor Prom…
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Thailand News Today | BKK clubs deny responsibility, Sinopharm for Thailand, 2,455 cases | May 26
2,455 new Covid-19 cases were reported today, and 41 coronavirus-related deaths, the highest fatality count in Thailand since the start of the pandemic. Samples taken from Covid-19 patients in southern Thailand are being tested to check for the highly-contagious, so-called South African variant. The managers of 2 nightclubs in the Thong Lor district of Bangkok are denying any responsibility for…
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DIT chews on regulations to lower food delivery service fees
After pressure from the Department of Internal Trade, food delivery services in Thailand will lower their rates to aid struggling food vendors during Covid-19. Restaurants have been complaining about the high commissions that food delivery services like Food Panda, Gojek, Grab, and Line Man charge restaurants, typically taking a 30% bite out of profits. The DIT has requested that food…
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Repairman hospitalised after plummeting off roof in Pattaya
An air conditioner repairman working in Pattaya is in the hospital after plummeting off a roof. He was reportedly refilling refrigerant liquid in an air conditioner at the time. Around 1pm, emergency responders from Sawang Boriboon were alerted of the incident. 47 year old Panuwat Chuapkrasong broke his arm in the fall and injured his mouth and legs. He was…
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Police in Koh Samui arrest 9 people for gathering and drinking alcohol
Police in Koh Samui arrested 9 people for allegedly gathering and drinking alcohol, a violation of the strict disease control rules put in place to prevent the spread of Covid-19. The island has been working to contain the virus and administer vaccines quickly to prepare for the reopening to vaccinated foreign tourists on July 1 under a travel model similar…
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Thailand gets onboard with ridesharing taxi app regulations
Never one to be late to a trend, Thailand is jumping on the bandwagon, after hailing the bandwagon first using a ridesharing app. Many countries have wrestled with how to regulate the taxi-hailing app concept and the grey area it occupies between not-quite-a-taxi and not-quite-a-private-car, and now Thailand is looking to implement regulations within a month. A deputy spokesperson for…
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6 people arrested for allegedly running 200 million baht “romance scam”
Police arrested 6 people allegedly involved in a 200 million baht so-called romance scam, setting up fake profiles online and, after some sweet-talking, persuading their “lovers to transfer money to their account. A victim who came forward to police says she transferred hundreds of thousands of baht to whom she thought was an American businessman in Malaysia who needed money…
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Police in Bangkok arrest 6 people on gambling and drug charges
Six recent graduates have been arrested on charges of illegal gambling and using class 5 drugs. The graduates, between the ages of 23 and 25, allegedly used SIM cards to sign up for gambling sites to obtain bonuses from new players. According to media reports, they were allegedly earning between 1,000 to 10,000 baht a day on their gambling operation. Yesterday,…
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Social media users can face legal action for spreading false Covid-19 information
Those who post false information about the Covid-19 situation in Thailand could face legal action. Several people are facing charges for posts they made on social media with misleading information on the spread of the coronavirus in Thailand and vaccine side effects. The false statements could potentially provoke social unrest and threaten national security, according to the Digital, Economy and…
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Cabinet approves Emergency Decree extension, prison funding
The Emergency Decree enacted to attempt to curb the spread of Covid-19 in Thailand has just been extended for 2 more months, until the end of July. Cabinet ministers met yesterday to determine the future of the decree and agreed to extend it from June 1 to July 31, while also approving funding for fighting Covid-19 in the Thai prison…
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Four different Covid-19 variants detected in Thailand
Four different Covid-19 variants have been detected in Thailand since April 1, the start of the latest wave of the coronavirus. More than 100,000 people have contracted the virus and more than 700 Covid patients over the past couple of months. The original strain of SARS-CoV-2 spread from Wuhan, China to Thailand back in January of last year. The first…
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Managers of Bangkok clubs blamed for third wave deny any wrongdoing
The managers of 2 nightclubs in the Thong Lor district of Bangkok have denied any responsibility for causing a third wave of Covid-19. The Krystal and Emerald clubs have been widely blamed for sparking a resurgence of the virus that has now spread across the Kingdom, threatening tourism re-opening plans and further decimating an already-fragile economy. Both managers face charges…
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China’s Sinopharm vaccine up for approval in Thailand
China is seeking approval for its Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine to be used in Thailand. Documents have been submitted and Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration secretary general Paisal Dunkhum says the vaccine will be reviewed for its quality, safety, and efficacy. He says he expects a decision on whether to approve the vaccine for use to be made within the next…
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Thai industry body says government may miss vaccination target due to supply issues
The Thai government is being warned that ongoing issues with Covid-19 vaccine supply may cause it to miss its target of obtaining 10 million doses in June. The Federation of Thai Industries says the supply problems will impact the country’s vaccination rollout and is calling on the government to accelerate the process by allowing private companies to import doses from…
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Aghast! Outages for The Thaiger
Sincere apologies to all our Thaiger readers as we’ve been experiencing some outages as we migrate to a newer and faster server. With eyes on the long-game, we want to provide you with the fastest, most trouble-free experience but we may have some more problems in the next few days. Our YouTube channel is still fine with the daily programs…
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Health Minister insists AstraZeneca vaccines will be delivered on time
The required doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine will be ready for the government’s June 7 rollout. So says Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, in response to concerns over supply issues. A number of hospitals have already suspended use of the vaccine, due to low or no supplies. According to a Bangkok Post report, Anutin met with representatives from AstraZeneca…
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Motorbike death believed to be caused by face mask
PHOTO: Sanook.com A motorbike driver in the northern Thai province of Uthai Thani has died from injuries he sustained after he drove into a utility pole. Witnesses said they saw a face mask covering the motorbike driver’s eyes and they believe it obstructed his vision, causing the crash. Mew, a 43 year old Burmese national, had bought the motorbike only…
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Southern Thailand: Wet weather forecast from tropical cyclone Yaas
Heavy rain to very heavy rain is forecast for Southern Thailand from today until the end of the week. The rain, and the bad weather, is coming from the north-moving Tropical Cyclone “Yaas”, which is currently situated over the Bay of Bengal, south of Bangladesh and heading for landfall on the Indian coast. “Yaas” is heading in a North/Northwesterly direction…
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Motorbike driver sustains serious injuries after dog walks into Pattaya road
A stray dog in Pattaya has wandered into the street and caused 33 year old Supanya Saeeunf to crash his motorbike. The man incurred serious injuries and his unnamed female passenger sustaining minor injuries. The dog was sadly pronounced dead at the scene. Emergency responders were called to the scene, a spot on Sukhumvit Road in front of a Big…
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