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 8 Pneumonia prevention tips for expat families in Thailand
With World Pneumonia Day on November 9, it’s the perfect time to consider how you can protect your family from this serious illness, especially in Thailand, where unique climate and seasonal factors come into play. Pneumonia can be especially dangerous...
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Government Lottery Office ordered to pay 1.65 billion baht over failed project
After a decade-plus struggle, the Supreme Administrative Court has ordered the Government Lottery Office, or GLO, to pay the Thai conglomerate Loxley 1.65 billion baht in compensation over a failed online lottery project. An online lottery system and machines were set up nationwide by Loxley GTech back in 2006. The company had also trained people on how to operate the…
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Police raid Pattaya bar and arrest 32 people for drinking alcohol
Police raided a Pattaya bar and arrested 32 Thais and foreigners who were allegedly drinking alcohol, violating Covid-19 disease control measures which prohibit gatherings, particularly where alcohol is involved. Police were called to the Sky Mountain Bar at around 11:30pm last night after a call from a local. Customers and bar staff emerge arrested and taken to the Pattaya City…
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15 most popular tourism provinces contribute 70% of total GDP
Wealth inequality around the world has always been the haves versus the have nots, but in Thailand, it has become the toured versus the toured not. The Fiscal Policy Officer’s senior expert on macroeconomic policy recently presented some stark figures showing the astounding gap in contribution to the GDP between tourism provinces and non-tourism provinces. Only 15 provinces contribute 70%…
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Police seize more than 100 monkeys allegedly trafficked in illegal meat trade
More than 100 wild monkeys caged in plastic carriers were seized off a pickup truck in Prachinburi province. The 25 year old driver was arrested, and allegedly told police that he had been hired by a network that trafficks wild animals to be purchased by restaurants and later eaten. The 102 monkeys were in poor condition, some with wounds and…
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Friday Covid Update: 3,759 new cases and 34 deaths, provincial totals
3,759 new Covid-19 infections and 34 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Since April 1, the CCSA has reported a total of 116,113 Covid-19 cases. There are now 46,150 active cases in Thailand. Out of the new cases, 1,294 infections were found in Thai prisons. Over the past month, 14 correctional facilities have reported…
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Toyota Motor Thailand under investigation for alleged judicial bribery
Thailand’s Court of Justice announced it is investigating a case involving top judges to the grand jury who were allegedly bribed by representatives from Toyota Motor Thailand, a subsidiary of Toyota, while the US Department of Justice says it is continuing its investigation into the auto company’s alleged judicial bribery in Thailand. Sitting judges on the Thai Supreme Court were…
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Gold shop owner arrested for money laundering 30 million baht
In a simultaneous raid of multiple locations around the Kanchanaburi province, police arrested a gold shop owner suspected of laundering money for drug smugglers. The Phet Thong Sap Thawee Lae Nalika Thong Thae Yaowarat gold shop in Muang district was raided by police and military and assets totalling about 30 million baht were impounded. The 32 year old shop owner…
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More than 500 Covid patients try to escape field hospital in Phetchaburi
Hundreds of Covid-19 patients at a packed field hospital set up at a Phetchaburi factory attempted to escape during a power outage due to the hot and crowded conditions. A field hospital was set up following an outbreak at the factory in the province’s Khao Yao district, about 100 kilometres southwest of Bangkok. A source told Nation Thailand that the…
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Over 1,200 new infections found across 14 Thai prisons
The Corrections Department has confirmed that another 1,228 Covid-19 cases have been reported across 14 prisons around the country. According to a Bangkok Post report, Veerakit Harnpariyan from the department adds that another 2,054 patients have recovered, while 16,319 are being treated at prison facilities. Veerakit has also responded to reports on social media about a man who was found…
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Man missing after speedboat capsizes in rough seas off Koh Chang
1 man has been rescued, while another is still missing, after a speedboat capsized in rough waters off the island of Koh Chang in the eastern province of Trat. The Bangkok Post reports that the boat overturned off Khlong Phrao beach around 9am yesterday morning. The chief of Koh Chang district, Chatchai Thonglee, says there had been heavy rainfall on…
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UK health officials detect new Covid-19 variant first found in Thailand
A new Covid-19 variant which reportedly originated from Thailand has been detected in the UK. The Public Health England is now investigating the new mutated strain C.63.3. Reports say the new variant was first detected in Thailand. The patients had originally travelled from Egypt. No other details have been reported about the patients in Thailand, but given their international travel history,…
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Princess steps in to approve alternative vaccine imports
Princess Chulabhorn, sister to His Majesty, King Maha Vajiralongkorn, has signed a decree to allow the Chulabhorn Royal Academy, which she sponsors, to import Covid-19 vaccines. It’s understood that the institution will import another Chinese vaccine, Sinopharm, which the Food and Drug Administration is expected to approve in the coming week. The surprise development has been confirmed in the Royal…
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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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Cannabis tourism may be a key to Thailand’s recovery
Thailand may have an opportunity to help recover its nearly dead tourism economy from an unusual source: cannabis tourism. Thailand is the first Southeast Asian country to legalise many aspects of cannabis – production and importing and exporting for medical use, and recently broader recreational use, with the first cannabis-infused drinks hitting convenience store shelves. This could open the door…
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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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93% of Covid samples from April test positive for variant found in the UK
The Covid-19 variant first detected in the United Kingdom is said to have been found in many of the cases detected in April. Out of 300 samples, 93% tested positive for the mutated strain, B.1.117, according to director general of the Public Health Ministry’s Department of Medical Sciences, Supakit Sirilak. The latest outbreak of Covid-19 started in clusters in Bangkok’s…
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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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Mahidol University: We did not state Fingerroot is effective medicine for treating Covid-19 symptoms
Mahidol University, located in Nakhon Pathom, a central Thai province, has denied they are associated with any claims made by product advertisers that extracts from Fingerroot, a root that has the appearance of long, jaundiced fingers, can be used to treat Covid-19 sufferers. A rector from the university, Professor Dr. Banchong Mahaisavariya, attempted to distance the university from the advertisers’…
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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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Woman driving to market slides into canal, drowns in flash flood
A 60 year old woman in the Isaan province Nakhon Ratchasima drowned after her motorcycle was swept into a canal during a flash flood and the woman was carried away by a strong current. Her body was found about 1 kilometre away from the village in the Wang Nam Khieo district. The woman, later identified as Kanchanee Kanpraser, was driving her…
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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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