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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More internal bickering for Democrats over split of cabinet seats
Democrat party MPs find themselves again torn over important decisions.. This time the party is split over the sharing of eight cabinet posts allocated to them by their leading coalition partner, Palang Pracharat. Last week the decided to side with the pro-Junta Palang Pracharat party to vote Prayut Chan-o-cha into the PM position. They’d campaigned on ensuring that Prayut wouldn’t…
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Administrative Court rejects private hospitals’ plea to remove caps on pricing
Thailand’s private hospital sector has failed to win respite from an order controlling their medical prices, after the Supreme Administrative Court turned down their request. The court made the decision saying that the order will not cause irreversible damages to the hospitals even though an injunction has not been issued yet. The Private Hospital Association, together with 42 private hospitals,…
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Thai PM acts on illegal and unlicensed hotels and accommodation
Owners of shop-houses, rented properties, even entire floors of condos – running them as defacto hotels – are about to get the Article 44 treatment. The PM, acting in his capacity as the head of the NCPO (in the days before it is dissolved), says he will bring an estimated 20,000 illegal hotels and accommodations around the country under control…
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Complaints made over 41 pro-Junta coalition MPs over their alleged media shares
Just as it appeared the dust was settling on the fractious formation of a new parliament for Thailand, more than 40 MPs of the pro-junta bloc are now targeted in cases related to media shareholding after their names were submitted to the Constitutional Court. Should these MPs be suspended or disqualified, the pro-junta coalition’s narrow Lower House majority could vanish…
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Poll shows most respondents don’t believe Future Forward bribe claims
PHOTO: prachatai.com More than 53% of respondents to a recent poll don’t believe the claim that the Future Forward party made in the days before last week’s parliametrary vote for the PM, that they had been offered millions of baht for their supporting votes. At the time some Future Forward Ps went public claims they were offered amounts as high…
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Electric vehicles on the rise but the take up is slow in Thailand
“Two trends will develop in Southeast Asia. The first is new operators of EV taxi fleets such as cars and motorcycles, and the second is electric buses for public transport.” Justin Wu, head of Asia-Pacific for Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) says the electric vehicles (EVs) remain expensive and unaffordable for individual buyers in Thailand and ASEAN. Mr. Wu says…
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Prayut sworn in as 29th Thai PM. Cabinet appointments remain unresolved.
PHOTOS: The Nation Prayut Chan-o-cha was sworn in as the 29th Thai Prime Minister in a ceremony at Government House yesterday. Key points… • PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has received royal endorsement as the new prime minister in a ceremony at Government House, a week after winning a vote in Parliament. • The ceremony was attended by the leaders of the…
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Huawei running 5G testbeds in Thailand
China phone-giant Huawei, along with Thailand’s Digital Economy and Society Ministry and interested partners, is now turning the much-awaited 5G Testbed into a reality. As the first and only vendor so far to deliver the 5G network to Thailand’s 5G Testbed in the Eastern Economic Corridor in Sri Racha, Huawei is providing a platform that will be used for end-to-end…
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Preparing for the floods and Thailand’s wet season
The current deputy PM and Defense Minister, Prawit Wongsuwan, has instructed administrative, military and police officers to better prepare for flooding in all regions of the country this wet season. The call went out following severe flooding around the capital last Friday afternoon. Authorities have been instructed to prepare for the prevention and containment of torrential waters, landslides and flooding…
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SCB report says political instability will dampen economic confidence
The question over stability of the new government continues to dampen economic outlook, despite the recent sittings of Parliament and the formal election of a new prime minister – this according to a new economic outlook report. The report by the Siam Commercial Bank’s Economic Intelligence Centre says that the new government will face difficulty in balancing the interest of each…
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More prison time for Premchai over poaching case
Thailand’s construction tycoon Premchai Karnasutra has been sentenced to another year in jail after being found guilty of trying to bribe officials while being arrested at the Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary in Kanchanaburi in February last year. The Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases Region 7 acquitted Premchai’s aide Yong Dodkhruea of bribery, defined in law as inducing…
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Thai PM receives royal endorsement. Negotiations on hold for today’s ceremonies.
Thailand’s new Prime Minister, the old one but now elected by the new parliament last Wednesday, is reported to have agreed to the ministerial post quotas Palang Pracharath promised to the Democrat and Bhumjaithai parties. Prayut Chan-o-cha has reportedly invited all coalition partners to stop squabbling and attend the swearing-in ceremony for him to formerly take the post of PM in…
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Democrats say, as far as they’re concerned, nothing has changed
“Everything is OK. There have been no changes to ministry portfolios. The Democrat seats in Cabinet are secure.” Democrat Party leader Jurin Laksanavisit has been dismissive this morning about weekend reports of factional members within Palang Pracharat wanting to reclaim ministries in the new parliament. He says confusion over the ministerial portfolios in the new government arose after members of…
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Democrats decide today if they’ll walk away from Palang Pracharat coalition
PHOTO: Thai PBS A meeting of Democrat MPs today will either re-enforce the loose coalition with Palang Pracharat or walk away from the arrangement. If either the Democrats or Bhumjaithai walk away from the coalition it will leave the government in minority in the new parliament. Palang Pracharat have made it openly clear over the weekend they want to reclaim…
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Not negotiable. Democrats and Bhumjaithai draw a line in the Thai political sand
PHOTO: Bhumjaithai leader, Anutin Charnvirakul Bhumjaithai want to retain the Transport portfolio, as promised. The Democrats say they will not ‘return’ the Agriculture or Commerce portfolios, as it was promised. The deals were struck with the Palang Pracharat in the final hours before the parliamentary election of the next PM to secure votes for their candidate, Prayut Chan-o-cha. Both Bhumjaithai…
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We cast our eyes into Thailand’s political crystal ball
The new Thai government, still being legoed together after more than two months since the election, is fragile at best, terminal at worst. The government faces serious problems, no matter if you see it as a defacto military rule, a democratic hatchet job or a fair election (cough). • Prime Minister Prayut will now face lengthy debates, and even ridicule,…
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Not everyone is happy with the closure of Thailand’s National Park hot spots
PHOTO: Sunrise Divers Nature happy. Tour operators unhappy. The closure, albeit temporary, of several of Thailand’s favourite marine national parks and coastal sites, is not universally supported. As the country’s tourist growth plateaus, the baht remains strong and hungry tour operators battle for the same tourist dollar, having many of the most popular attractions struck off their tour list is causing…
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Government set to clampdown on overcharging in the pet medical care industry
Not content with just clamping down on some of the excesses of the Private Hospital system for humans in Thailand, the government is now planning to keep an eye on the prices of medication, medical supplies and medical services at pet clinics and pet hospitals as well. As with the Thai private hospital system a swell of complaints about high…
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Thais outraged by tourist doing yoga poses at historic and sacred sites
PHOTO: Andreita Levin New outrage alert. Doing yoga poses on famous or sacred sites around Thailand will get you into trouble with the authorities. Tourist Police say they’ve caught up with a foreign woman who shared photos on her Instagram account performing yoga exercises at sacred and historic sites around Thailand. “A Mexican yoga teacher from Canada is being criticised…
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Dumped shredded Thai baht notes found on the Trat roadside
by Poonsak Boonloy Confetti? Leftovers from a paper cannon? No, shredded and dumped Thai bank notes in far eastern Thailand. A large amount of the shredded banknotes, with denominations of 20, 50 and 500 baht, were found dumped on the roadside in Ban Khok Moo 5 of Tambon Nong Samet in Trat’s main city area yesterday. Pol Captain Somphok Srichuchit…
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‘Ministry deals’ in tatters – Palang Pracharat revoke cabinet post promises
“One source, a core leader in Phalang Pracharat, confirmed the previous deals had been revoked.” Thailand’s hosting of the ASEAN Summit from June 20 to 23 is forcing Palang Pracharat members to stitch together its government and sort out key ministerial posts before the event. More than two months after the election, and following the election of a PM that…
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Palang Pracharat are warned not to renege on Thai ministry promises
Amidst rumours circulating that the Palang Pracharat Party may renege on some of the promises it made to secure MP votes from the Democrats and Bhumjaithai, the Democrat party leader Jurin Laksanavisit says he believes the Palang Pracharat party will keep its promises. Thepthai Senpong MP, a key Democrat party member, is warning that the coalition government will be in…
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Palang Pracharat still quibbling over portfolios in the new Thai parliament
Election – check. Vote for PM – check. New government sworn in – not quite yet. There is still a reported back-room fight over cabinet portfolios between factions in the Palang Pracharat Party. Several key ministries were offered to Bhumjaithai and Democrat MPs in return for voting for Prayut Chan-o-cha as PM on Wednesday. Now that Prayut’s been installed back…
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Nation Multimedia Group takes legal action over alleged copyright violation
The Nation Multimedia Group is filing criminal cases against two media monitoring service companies for violation of its copyright. NMG’s subsidiaries Krungthep Turakij Media, Nation News Network and Kom Chad Luek Media, as plaintiffs, filed criminal cases with the Central Intellectual Property and International Trade Court on April 9 against iSentia Bangkok and iSentia Monitoring Services (Thailand). The two companies…
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General Prayut Chan-o-cha is Thailand’s 29th Prime Minister
General Prayut Chan-o-cha was elected as Thailand’s next prime minister in a joint upper and lower house Parliamentary vote around 9pm last night following a day of intense debate. Prayut beat his opponent Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit from Future Forward Party with 500 to 244 votes. Three MPs abstained from voting and one was on a sick leave. 250 of the votes came from…
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Thanathorn says he will be Thailand’s Prime Minister of change
Future Forward’s 40 year old leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit has called for change this afternoon. He made his speech outside of the temporary parliament as he’s been barred as an MP pending legal cases yet to be heard by the Constitutional Court over alleged media share holdings. The speech was made as the parliament hears from MPs about why they support…
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Thanathorn and Prayut officially nominated as Thai PM candidates
“The current PM, Prayut Chan-o-cha did not attend today’s proceedings.” The Future Forward leader, 40 year old Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, and NCPO chief and current PM Prayut Chan-o-cha have been formally named as candidates for the position of Prime Minister by their parties in Parliament this morning. They were the only two names put forward after the new House Speaker (and…
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Former Democrat Party leader and Thai PM resigns
Former Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva has announced his resignation as a parliamentary MP, saying he could not break his word and follow his Democrat Party’s resolution to support Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha as the next PM. He announced his resignation in the lead up to today’s vote for a new PM, now a cakewalk for the existing PM Prayut after…
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Democrats side with Palang Pracharat before today’s PM vote
PHOTO: Thai PBS The Democrat party has decided, following a fierce debate late yesterday, to join the Palang Pracharat-led coalition government. They cite ‘ending political uncertainty’ and ‘switching off’ the power of the junta, according to new party leader Jurin Laksanavisit. As the new parliament sits and votes on a new Thai PM today, the NCPO automatically dissolves once the…
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Last minute deal secures Prayut’s PM vote in today’s Thai parliamentary sitting
Leaving it to the last moment, the Democrats dramatically capitulated and decided to join the pro-junta Palang Pracharat coalition. The move gives the current PM, Palang Pracharat’s sole prime ministerial candidate, an easy walk into the PM job during today’s parliamentary vote. General Prayut Chan-o-cha and Future Forward leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit will face off in the 11am vote. Until yesterday’s…
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