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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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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Thais speak out against police violence after riot officers beat volunteer medic
Many Thais are condemning police after officers in riot gear beat a medical volunteer at Saturday’s protest outside the Supreme Court near Sanam Luang in Bangkok. Photos circulated on Twitter of the man on the ground surrounded by police in riot gear. The man was wearing a bright yellow medic vest (confirmed). Many used a hashtag which translates to #policebeatingmedic.…
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Ancient artefacts smuggled to the US in the 1960s will be sent back to Thailand
Ancient artefacts that were smuggled out of Thailand decades ago and ended up on display at a museum in the United States will be shipped back to Thailand. The 2 hand carved lintels, each weighing more than 680 kilograms, were stolen from temples in Buri Ram and Sa Kaeo, according to a complaint filed with the Attorney’s Office of the…
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Thailand News Today | Week In Review | February 14
Thailand News Today covers five days of the news week, except this week which was the Chinese New Year on Friday. Now we have a weekend edition which goes over the biggest, or best stories, from the past week. Out every Saturday afternoon, catch up with Jett and Tim’s major Thai news stories from Thailand News Today. Welcome to the…
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More than 20 police injured in clash with protesters in Bangkok
More than 20 police officers were injured in a clash with protesters last night at Bangkok’s Democracy Monument, according to the police’s deputy spokesperson. Youth activists gathered to rally against Thailand’s use of the lèse majesté law which prohibits insults against the royal family under Section 112 of the Criminal Code. Numerous activists calling on monarchy reform have faced lese majeste…
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Phuket says snakes caught in homes will be taken off island
Phuket authorities are saying that large snakes found in homes will now be taken off the island after residents voiced fears of the snakes re-entering their living quarters. Pongchart Chouehorm, Director of the Khao Phra Thaew Natural and Wildlife Education Centre in Thalang says that the large snakes, including king cobras, will be handed over to a wildlife reserve in…
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Thai and Chinese officials come together for Chinese New Year
Thai and Chinese officials are coming together to celebrate the Chinese New Year by marking 46 years of diplomatic relations with each other. The ceremony in Bangkok was led by Thailand’s Minister of Tourism and Sports and China’s Charge d’Affaires of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China to Thailand. The ceremony also included other high-ranking government officials who…
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126 new cases, 116 local transmissions-Covid-19 Update
Thailand is reporting 126 new cases of Covid-19 today over the last 24 hours with 116 of those cases being locally-transmitted. The death toll remains unchanged at 80 deaths since the pandemic began. Of the 116 locally-transmitted cases, 37 were found by testing at medical facilities and 79 were found by proactive testing. Most of the cases found through proactive…
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Domestic air passenger numbers double those of January
Passenger numbers on domestic flights within Thailand have doubled within a month, rising from 4,000 in January to over 10,000 this month. Having nearly recovered to pre-pandemic levels, domestic travel plummeted once more when Covid-19 resurfaced late last year. Apirat Chaiwongnoi from the Department of Airports says 15 of Thailand’s 29 airports are now operating domestic flights, with more expected…
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175 new cases of Covid-19, 167 local- Covid Update
Thailand is reporting 175 new cases of Covid-19 today with 167 of those cases being locally-transmitted. Of those local infections, 120 were found via pro-active testing and 47 were found through tests at medical facilities. The pro-active testing cases were mostly found in Samut Sakhon (95 cases) where the 2nd wave of the virus initially broke out. Such cases were…
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Thai government steps into the matchmaking game
Looking for a hot date? Don’t worry, the Thai government is stepping in the matchmaking game in case you haven’t found your soulmate. The Bureau of Reproductive Health is launching a campaign this week with the hopes of boosting Thailand’s birth rate. The bureau is hosting a singles’ meetup on May 14 with registration for the event opening up today.…
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Bangkok police threaten to use full riot-control equipment at future rallies
Following confirmation that several officers were injured at a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok on Wednesday, the Metropolitan Police Bureau says it may resort to using full riot-control equipment in future. This would imply a return to the water cannon and tear gas deployed by police late last year. Pakapong Pongpetra from the MPB says 7 police officers were injured by…
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Chinese New Year – The Year of the Ox – Thailand 2021 | VIDEO
The Thaiger visited the Jui Tui Shrine in Phuket Town this morning where the island’s huge Thai-Chinese community flock to commemorate Chinese New Year. So what’s the annual Chinese New Year, or Lunar New Year, all about? Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) The date of the Chinese New Year is determined by the lunar calendar and takes place in January…
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Health Ministry says 2 million vaccine doses to be administered by April
Thailand’s Health Ministry says it hopes to have vaccinated over 960,000 people across 10 provinces come April. The Bangkok Post reports that Sopon Mekthon from the government’s Covid-19 vaccine task force says the initial rollout will target high-risk groups, such as those over the age of 60, those with underlying conditions, as well as frontline healthcare workers and disease control…
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Thailand News Today | Home-made Thai vaccine ready to start trials | February 11
Thailand’s Health Minister, Anutin, is now claiming that the first stage of human trials of a locally-produced vaccine brew will get underway next month. The local Thai vaccine is a joint collaboration between the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation and the Faculty of Tropical Medicine of Mahidol University. It’s understood the vaccine has performed satisfactorily in animal testing, showing an ability to…
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Human Rights Watch says Thailand abuses lèse majesté law to silence protesters
The Human Rights Watch is speaking up against Thailand’s use of the lèse majesté law after 4 prominent pro-democracy activists were denied bail by the Bangkok Criminal Court and ordered into pretrial detention for allegedly insulting or defaming the Thai Monarchy. The HRW says the activists could be in detention for years until their trials are concluded. At a time…
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PETA calls on Thai officials to ban photos with exotic animals due to Covid-19
After reports that some exotic cats and primates in captivity have tested positive for Covid-19, animal rights activists are calling on Thailand’s public health minister to ban all photo opportunities with the exotic animals to avoid potential coronavirus outbreaks either from human to animal, or from animal to human. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, better known as PETA,…
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Police arrest alleged gambling den boss in Rayong
An alleged gambling den boss in Rayong has been arrested in the Muang district of the province this morning. The man, Somchai Chutikidecha, aka Longchu Somchai, allegedly operated a large illegal gambling den, which was thought to be the source of a major Covid-19 outbreak. Police say he was found in a house surrounded by high walls, in Soi Ratsamakhi…
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DSI raids Thai model agency, finds 500,000 photos and videos of child pornography
Around a half a million pornographic photos and videos of children allegedly from a Thai modelling agency were seized by officers from the Department of Special Investigation, or DSI. Officers raided the modelling agency, which is run from a home in a Pathum Thani neighbourhood, and arrested the owner of the agency. Police say the home had a studio with…
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201 new cases, 185 locally transmitted- Covid-19 Update
Today, Thailand has reported 201 new Covid-19 cases, with 185 being locally-transmitted. 16 of those cases were imported, raising the total number of cases in the country to 24,104 since the outbreak began. An assistant spokeswoman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, says 96 new cases were confirmed at hospitals and 89 others through active case finding. Samut Sakhon,…
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Top travel destinations grapple with re-opening during the pandemic
Tourism, not only in Thailand, but all over the world, was hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Hotels shut down. Tour companies closed. Airplanes grounded. Millions lost their jobs. Before diving into Thailand’s tourism situation, here’s a quick look at what’s going on in some of the world’s top tourist spots… DUBAI Dubai, with its huge chunks of expats and…
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Pro-democracy groups vow to intensify rallies in 2021, aim for 2 million protesters a day
Pro-democracy activists have pledged to continue and increase their protest action this year, aiming for 2 million protesters a day. The Bangkok Post reports that protest leader Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul, aka “Rung”, confirmed the intention yesterday, a day after 4 fellow activists were denied bail by the Criminal Court in Bangkok. Around 1,000 protesters gathered at the Pathumwan intersection in the…
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Thailand News Today | Violence in soap operas and SPM Shopping Mall scam update | February 10
The governor of the eastern province of Rayong has given the go-ahead for bars and other entertainment venues to re-open after they were closed at the start of January to prevent the spread of Covid-19. The province has now gone 9 days without any new Covid-19 infections. On February 1 Rayong’s Covid zone status was changed from red to orange.…
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CCSA Update: 157 new Covid-19 cases and 1 death
157 new Covid-19 cases and 1 new death were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. Thailand now has 4,909 active cases. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has reported a total of 23,903 Covid-19 infections and 80 coronavirus-related deaths. Out of the 157 new cases, 106 cases were detected in active…
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Outrage on Twitter as rape scenes continue to be portrayed in Thai soap operas
It’s a debate that’s been raging in Thailand for years now, and yet, little appears to have changed. The portrayal of rape in Thai soap operas, done in a manner which critics say normalises sexual assault and victim blaming, is once more under fire. Thai PBS World reports that yesterday, the hashtag #ข่มขืนผ่านจอพอกันที (#NoMoreRapeOnScreen) became the fastest trending hashtag on…
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Court refuses bail applications for 4 pro-democracy activists
4 prominent members of the pro-democracy Ratsadon group have had their bail applications rejected at a court hearing in Bangkok. The Criminal Court denied bail for activist and human rights lawyer, Anon Nampa, and for fellow activists, Parit Chiwarak, aka, “Penguin”, Somyos Prueksakasemsuk, and Patiwat Saraiyam, aka, “Bank”. The 4 activists are being charged with sedition under section 116 of…
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Health Minister hits back at accusations of vaccine “failure”
Thailand’s Public Health Minister has refuted accusations that the government has failed to procure Covid-19 vaccines in a timely manner, demanding that the media stop confusing the public. A somewhat vexed Anutin Charnvirakul says Thailand cannot be compared with other countries as the Kingdom now has a deal to produce the AstraZeneca vaccine locally. This will make it easier to…
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Thailand aims for 30% electric vehicle production by 2030
By 2030, Thailand aims to have 30% of car production to be electric vehicles in an effort to minimise air pollution as the air quality in a number of provinces in Thailand, especially Bangkok and Chiang Mai, has been at levels classified as unhealthy and even hazardous in reports by IQAir. Electric vehicles would include cars, motorbikes and buses. Industry…
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Man arrested for allegedly shooting and killing a police officer outside a petrol station
A 23 year old man was arrested for allegedly shooting and killing a police officer outside a petrol station station in Suphan Buri. The 53 year old police officer, who was wearing civilian clothes, had approached a group who were drinking outside the PTT station, telling them to turn down the music and advising them to go home, a witness…
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3 men arrested for allegedly stealing more than 700,000 baht from an ATM machine
Thai police arrested 3 men who allegedly broke open an ATM and ran off with more than 700,000 baht in cash. The men allegedly used a gas torch to melt and cut through the metal of a Siam Commercial Bank ATM outside a CJ convenience store in Prachinburi. The men allegedly burned the keyhole and cut a square on the…
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World Tourism hotspots re-opening – success or failure? | VIDEO
The world of tourism has been turned upside down, not just in Thailand but around the world. Globally, it’s certainly the hardest hit industry from the coronavirus pandemic, shutting down hotels, tour companies, grounding aeroplanes and putting millions out of work. Before we look at the latest situation, and predictions for Thailand, let’s take a quick tour of some of…
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