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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And then there was three – a new bloc emerges from the political number-crunching
PHOTO: The latest political weapon – an adding machine A third possible bloc is emerging as the phones run hot with major parties trying to persuade the smaller parties and solo MPs to side with them. The magic number is 251 seats to form a workable majority coalition. Any fewer than 250 will mean they risk being defeated on any…
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Rising tide of concern over lifting ban on elephant exports
by Pratch Rujivanarom Animal rights activists, along with a strong voice of disapproval on social media, are complaining about the Commerce Ministry’s plan to legalise the export of live domesticated elephants. Somsak Soonthornnawaphat, head of Thai operations for the organisation World Animal Protection, strongly disapproves of the plan, citing the likelihood of the elephants suffering distress and even agony on…
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Prayut sacks the Lottery board and chief, Army Commander-in-Chief Apirat Kongsompong
Thailand’s Government Lottery Office board has been removed by an executive order issued by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha. The board was chaired by the ultra-loyalist Army Commander-in-Chief General Apirat Kongsompong. The same executive order appointed Mr. Patchara Anantasilp, director-general of the Excise Department, as the new board chairman. The order was made coming into immediate effect. Three other people were also appointed to the new…
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Thailand to re-open the export of elephants after a 10 year ban
After more than ten years with a ban on the export of Thai elephants, Thailand’s Foreign Trade Department is now poised to ease restrictions paving the way for the export of the protected species for ‘non-commercial purposes’. The director-general of the Foreign Trade Department, Mr. Adul Chotenisakorn, says the Ministry of Commerce issued a new regulation on April 10 to…
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Massive corals off Rayong start bleaching
PHOTOS: Thon Thamrongnawasawat Massive and aged corals have started to bleach off the coast of Rayong in the Gulf of Thailand. Dr Thon Thamrongnawasawat, assistant dean of the Faculty of Fisheries at Kasetsart University and a marine biologist says, “The coral in Rayong has started to bleach. From a bird eye view we can see clearly the white coral around…
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First batch of practitioners qualify to prescribe medical cannabis
Thailand is now certifying the first batch of 175 professionals who will be qualified to prescribe marijuana-based medication. Medical Services have released the names of the first 175 practitioners who successfully completed the two day course. According to The Nation, 192 attended the training, but only 175 had passed it. The successful professionals will become the first to qualify for handing…
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Forming the next Thai government – Bhumjaithai and Democrats will decide
The result of who becomes the next government won’t come down to Palang Pracharat, Pheu Thai or even Future Forward. The horse-trading, that has been ongoing since the first results emerged after the March 24 election, has come down to some very simple maths. The ‘swinging’ Bhumjaithai Party. Their votes will sweep either Pheu Thai or the Junta-in-civilian-clothing, Palang Pracharat,…
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A Phitsanulok district has been declared a drought zone
The Phitsanulok provincial administration has declared the Wat Bote district a drought disaster zone. They’ve taken the action to speed up assistance for villagers as the volume of water in a local dam has dropped to less than 25% of its capacity. Phitsanulok province is in central Thailand. Chamnarn Chuthiang, director of the Phitsanulok Irrigation Office, said the Wat Bote…
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Election Commission’s ‘formula’ lands 27 parties in Lower House
The Election Commission has announced that a total of 26 parties have secured party-list MP seats in the new Lower House. 11 of the parties didn’t even win enough votes to be entitled to the seats under the guidelines announced before the election. The EC deputy secretary-general Sawang Boonmee refused to explain why the junta-appointed poll authority had chosen this controversial…
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The Election Commission awards 27 parties with seats in the new parliament
PHOTO: The Thai PM warms up for the next round of musical chairs in the new Parliament “Someone has moved the goal posts and changed the soccer ball to a golf ball.” The new Thai parliament has now officially become unworkable, and that’s before anyone even sits down to take a vote. Today the Election Commission awarded 26 political parties…
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Court says party-list seat calculation is constitutional
FILE PHOTO In news unlikely to shock anyone, the Constitutional Court has ruled unanimously that Article 128 of the MP Election Act, regarding the calculation of the 150 party-list seat allocation, is constitutional. They’ve ruled that it does not conflict with Article 91 of the Constitution. The Charter Court’s ruling has been released in a statement which was timed to perfection before the Election Commission was set…
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Second batch of official election results due today
Five weeks after the country’s general election, the Election Commission has endorsed 349 successful constituency candidates for the House of Representatives, of the 350 seats contested. One constituency in Chiang Mai province had its winning candidate disqualified – a bi-election will be held at the end of the month. Today, the EC will reveal the 150 successful party-list MP candidates who…
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60 NLA members resign to become Senators in the new parliament
About 60 members of the National Legislative Assembly are expected to tender their resignations in the next two days to be ready to join the military-appointed Senate. NLA vice president Phirasak Porchit says that about 60 members of the assembly, himself included, as well as NLA president Pornpetch Wichitcholachai, NLA vice president Surachai Liangboonlertchai, Somchai Sawaengkarn and Klanarong Chantik, had been handpicked to…
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NCPO to consider lifting old ‘orders’ passed after the 2014 coup
PHOTO: The Thai PM says, following the coronation, it’s time to revoke some of the old orders Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-gnam says that the junta and the government are meeting today to discuss the revocation of orders and announcements originally issued by the NCPO, but were no longer considered necessary. He noted that some of these orders were issued as…
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NCPO and NLA members resign to take up positions as senators in next parliament
Members of the current Cabinet and the National Legislative Assembly, who are hoping to become senators in the new parliament, are expected to resign as the NCPO prepares senatorial appointments for royal endorsement by the end of this week. Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam says that the NCPO will submit its list of 250 appointed senators by this Friday. He said…
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Junta and government looking to unwind some orders made since 2014
The junta and the government are scheduled wind back orders and announcements originally issued by the junta but which are no longer considered necessary – some of them issued back in 2014 when the Junta took control in May of that year. Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam passed on the news earlier today. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha said the junta and the…
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Summer storms forecast for the central and north of Thailand
The Thai Meteorological is warning provinces in the North, Northeast, Central and East about the threat of ‘summer storms’ until Monday. The latest storm warning was issued at 5am today. The Thai department said the thunderstorms were being caused by a high pressure system from China that covers the upper part of the Northeast and the South China Sea, while…
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Thailand passes new laws to reduce begging
Thailand is aiming to purge itself of beggars in the latest laws to outlaw the practice. General Anantaporn Kanjanarat, head of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (MSDHS), says his agency would co-ordinate with the National Office of Buddhism to ask for co-operation from temples to educate the public about appropriate merit-making and to stop them from giving…
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Thailand event round up – May
with The Sponsorship Experts Those with a love for shopping should head to Pattaya for the Thailand One Stop Shopping Expo Pattaya, on until May 5. With more than 47,000 square metres of floor space, TOSSE Pattaya is Thailand’s largest shopping expo with departments showcasing everything from Wedding, Electronics, Garden & Pet Baby & Family and Fashion. The Samui Regatta…
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Weather warnings for northern and central summer storms
The Thai Meteorological Department yesterday has announced some more weather warnings for summer storms in upper Thailand and the South China Sea. From May 3-6, a high pressure system from China will extend to upper Thailand and the South China Sea. The southwesterly prevailing winds in upper Thailand will strengthen and the weather continue to be hot over upper Thailand.”…
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Thailand’s first Rabies death for the year
PHOTOS: PR Office The first death from rabies this year was in Surin, north of Thailand. The Public Relation Department today reported that Dr. Suwannachai Wattanaying- Charoenchai, Director-General of the Department of Disease Control says, “We were notified that a 32 year old man in Surin has died from rabies.” “Before he died he was being treated for fever and was…
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Thai business sector drops 2019 export projections by 1%
The Thai Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade are revising down Thailand’s 2019 export growth projections from 3.1% to 2.1%. They say several unfavorable external factors are contributing to the revised outlook. Thai PBS reports that Mr. Sanan Aung-ubonkul, vice president of TCC and BoT, says that, in order to maintain the 3.1% growth projection, the value of monthly…
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Phuket Airport passenger arrivals dip
by Bill Barnett, c9Hotelworks.com To date, 2019 is shaping up to be a slightly volatile year for tourism to the island. Passenger arrivals at Phuket International Airport rose 1% year-on-year in January, but took a step backwards in February with a substantial 6% decline. While we are still early in the year, overall visitor arrivals to Thailand on a country-wide…
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EC dogged by new controversy after poll re-run in Nakhon Pathom
Five times they counted and five times they got different results. The re-run of the election and the counting of votes in Nakhon Pathom, west of Bangkok, couldn’t have gone worse for the Election Commission, coming under fire from all directions over irregularities, forced recounts and hundreds of small errors in the counting process. The credibility has come under renewed…
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Buyback Option at VIP KATA Condominium by Phuket9
Phuket9 Company announces a buy-back option for VIP KATA Condominium Project with a rental return of 56% over 8 years. The first two buildings of VIP KATA Condominium were launched in July 2018. After one month in August 2018, Phuket9 commenced construction of the second phase – 2 more buildings including 209 apartments, 2 common swimming pools, rooftop gardens, restaurants and a kids club.…
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‘Endgame’ proves a marvel on opening day
The Avengers are annihilating the competition. And that’s even before the 22-film franchise’s last hurrah reaches US movie theatres. “Avengers: Endgame” features the entire Marvel Universe of superheroes and has proven an effective weapon for Disney at destroying old opening-day records across Asia, specifically in China. The movie raked in US$169 million on its first day of screening when it…
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New iMac models – same, same but 2.4 times faster
by Paisal Chuenprasaeng “The all-in-one design looks elegant and sleek. Everything – display, processor, graphics, storage and memory – is contained inside one simple enclosure.” More powerful yet just as slim and sleek as earlier models, Apple’s new iMac is now powered by 8-core Intel 9th-generation processors and its graphic horse power is unleashed by superfast Radeon Pro Vega graphics.…
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56 elephant skeleton fragments found in a Chon Buri mine
PHOTOS: DNP 56 bones from an elephant skeleton have been found inside a mine area in Chon Buri yesterday. The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) reports that officials and veterinarians yesterday examined the 56 skeleton fragments of a male elephant found inside a mine in Chon Buri, just 300 metre from a protection zone. The elephant was…
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Thai owner and two Chinese fined for not reporting change of address within 24 hours
PHOTO: Naew Na A Thai property owner and two Chinese nationals have all been fined for not abiding by the law that states that a foreigners’ location must be reported within 24 hours when they have changed addresses. Naew Na used the word “property” in its report so it’s not known if the premises was a private dwelling, Airbnb-style or hotel.…
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3.6 million coronation souvenir coins ordered
The Treasury has reported that orders have been placed for more than 3.6 million souvenir coins of different models that are being especially minted to mark the May 4 coronation of His Majesty the King. The orders include 200 for the highest value platinum coins worth 1 million baht apiece, and 10,000 for gold coins, department chief Amnuay Preemonwong said.…
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