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 Top 10 reasons for expats to get a comprehensive health insurance in Thailand
Moving to Thailand offers plenty of excitement and adventure, but the local healthcare system can be complex to navigate as an expat. From unique health risks to high costs at private hospitals, having a comprehensive health insurance plan is essential....
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Thailand’s private sector to open 372 vaccination points nationwide
Thailand’s Chamber of Commerce has confirmed the private sector will open 372 vaccination centres in an effort to accelerate the Covid-19 vaccine rollout. Nation Thailand reports that 82 of the centres will be in Bangkok, which, along with neighbouring provinces, is currently bearing the brunt of the third wave. The private sector aims to support the government’s plans to vaccinate…
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Foreigners can register for vaccination next month (next week for some on Phuket)
But when they will actually be vaccinated remains up in the air. While a Public Health Ministry spokesperson declared just days ago that Covid-19 vaccines were reserved for Thais, not expats, the government now says that statement was taken out of context. Yesterday, Opas Kankawinpong from the Disease Control Department confirmed that foreigners living in Thailand would also be vaccinated. “Anyone living…
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Friday Covid UPDATE: 27 more deaths, 2,044 new infections
The Friday report, compiling the regional totals from Thursday, indicates that has been 27 new Covid-related deaths and 2,044 new Covid-19 infections in the past 24 hours. The numbers continue a statistically consistent rise in the number of Covid infections over the past 2 weeks. The CCSA yesterday declared that is is focusing on containing major Covid clusters in 3…
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Education program ends September, 1,964 teachers face layoffs
Nearly 2,000 maths and science teachers are calling upon the Education Ministry to help them avoid layoffs in September. The teachers were hired in 2018 under a special project by the Office of the Basic Education Commission to improve maths and science teaching standards in Thailand. Now 1,964 teachers may face unemployment if action is not taken. The OBEC had…
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Thailand increases durian exports to China by 14% this year
Thailand has exported 14% more durian to China in this year’s first quarter over the same period last year. The Trade Negotiations Department Director General says Thai durian auctions in the first quarter secured 186 million, making up 88% of the total amount of Thai durian exports to world markets. Last year, Thailand exported US1.5 billion worth of durian to…
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Hundreds of Thailand slums at risk of Covid-19 as many can’t afford to quarantine
Following the Covid-19 outbreak at the Khlong Toey slum neighbourhood in Bangkok, there have been more than 1,000 slum communities have been identified as having similar living conditions as the Khlong Toey slum, and are now communities at high risk advised to be under watch to prevent another outbreak. The Social Development and Human Security Ministry’s Community Organisations Development Institute…
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Thailand removed from New York Times graphic on Pfizer vaccine
The New York Times removed Thailand from their infographic of countries that have imported the Pfizer vaccine after initial reports could not be confirmed. Pfizer denied that Thailand had made a deal to acquire jabs of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. The early rumours of the deal sparked controversy in Thailand, as they were listed as having the jab available only for…
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Covid-19 outbreak contributes to elephant population decline in Southern Thailand
The following was submitted by the Southern Thailand Elephant Foundation. There has been a significant decline in the elephant population of Southern Thailand as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. In Phang Nga Province, which normally has more domesticated elephants than any other Southern Thailand province, the elephant population has dropped by a third of its normal number. This fall…
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Chiang Mai on track to reopen 2 districts to foreign tourists in October
Chiang Mai is still on track to reopen to foreign tourists under the sandbox model this October. The so-called sandbox model would allow foreign tourists, who are vaccinated against Covid-19, to travel to designated areas in Thailand without undergoing quarantine. In Chiang Mai, tourists will be able to travel in the area with tour guides on designated routes. Phuket is…
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Expats are included in Thailand’s vaccination plan, Phuket to start registration
Expats are included in Thailand’s vaccination plan, a spokesperson from the CCSA said today, clarifying recent reports that said Thais have priority in the first phase of inoculations. The spokesperson says comments were taken out of context and, in fact, foreigners have already been included in the first phase of vaccinations. We’d like to confirm that Thailand’s vaccination strategy is…
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Multi-day traditional Thai funerals shortened for Covid-19 safety
Traditional funerals in Thailand last several days with ceremonies and mourning before the eventual cremation of the lost loved one. But with the rising death toll of Covid-19, funeral ceremonies have needed to be revised and shortened for the safety of attendees. With infections in Thailand catapulting from 29,000 in early April to 74,900 as of yesterday, funerals have to…
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COVID Update: 1,911 new infections, provincial totals
1,911 new Covid-19 infections and 18 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 76,811 Covid-19 infections and 336 virus-related deaths. There are now 29,680 active cases. 1,073 patients are in critical condition including 356 on ventilators. The majority of the recent deaths were elderly…
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Thai hotels call for extension to domestic travel stimulus packages
The Thai Hotels Association is urging the government to extend the domestic travel stimulus schemes, set to end on September 30. THA president, Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi, says the stimulus packages, “We Travel Together”, which subsidises flights and hotel accommodation, and the Tour Teaw Thai co-payment scheme, must be continued until the current Covid-19 crisis is under control. She points out…
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Everything you need to know about Covid vaccines in Thailand right now
Which Covid vaccines are available in Thailand? Thailand’s FDA has licensed 3 Covid-19 vaccines – AztraZeneca/Oxford University, Sinovac from China and Johnson Johnson. Only the AztraZenaca and Sinovac vaccines are currently delivered and available in Thailand at this time. Others will likely be approved for use in Thailand in the next few months, including the Pfizer/Moderna mRNA vaccine (paperwork submitted)…
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Officials deny Pfizer vaccine already available in Thailand for “a certain group”
Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration has denied that the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine is already in Thailand and available for the exclusive use of some. The FDA was responding to a claim made by former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, who says the vaccine is available for emergency use to inoculate a certain group. Thaksin made the claim online using the Clubhouse app.…
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Thailand jumps on the electric bandwagon, aims to become EV production hub
The Thai government has ambitious plans to turn the Kingdom into a Southeast Asian hub for the manufacture of electric vehicles. Nikkei Asia reports that big companies in Thailand are preparing to invest substantially in the greener mode of transport, after the National Electric Vehicle Policy Committee suggested a new manufacturing target could mean half of Thailand’s auto-production is made…
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Thailand’s global reputation for pandemic management goes down the pan
Oh, how the tables have turned… This time last year, Thailand was in strict lockdown to combat a pandemic that was starting its march around the globe, while countries such as the US and UK dithered over how to handle the crisis. The upshot was both western countries ended up with 2 of the world’s highest infection rates and preventable…
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Thursday Covid UPDATE: 18 deaths and 1,911 new infections
The Thai ministry of health has announced the Wednesday tally from Bangkok and the provinces. There has been 18 new Covid-related deaths and 1,911 new infections in the past 24 hours. The oddly consistent daily tally suggests that the infection rate is steady and not running “out of control”. (The Thaiger is not suggesting anything ‘sinister’ about the numbers but…
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225 billion baht Covid-19 stimulus package gets initial approval
Thailand’s cabinet gave initial approval today for a stimulus package of 225 billion baht to provide low-income groups relief from the devastating third wave of Covid-19. The plan to invest nearly a quarter of a trillion baht into financial stimulation measures passed its initial stage today and will be reviewed and voted on within the next few weeks according to…
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Thailand News Today | Big Covid effort in Klong Toey, ICU field hospitals open | May 5
2,112 new Covid-19 cases and 15 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today during the CCSA’s daily briefing, Officials are accelerating vaccination efforts in the Klong Toey district of Bangkok, hospitals are being pushed to their limits, with a new ICU field hospital opening to take up some of the case-load, Car burst into flames with 1 million baht cash in the…
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Thammanat Prompow is cleared to continue serving as an MP and cabinet minister
Deputy Agriculture Minister, and Palang Pracharat ‘fixer’, Thammanat Prompow, has been cleared by a Thai court to continue to hold office in Thailand despite his previous heroin trafficking charges in Australia in 1993. The Court maintained that, as the case was tried in another country other than Thailand, his conviction has no bearing on his standing as a member of…
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Songwriter, actor and director Chalee Intaravijit dies at 98
Well-rounded, artistic Thai jack-of-all-trades Chalee Intaravijit has died at the age of 98 after a full and diverse life as a songwriter, film director, theatre actor and more. Last night the artist passed away at Sirijaj Hospital. Born on July 6 1923, his prolific career spanned more than 5 decades, and the National Cultural Commission named him a National Artist…
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Food delivery companies and customers receive new Covid health measures to abide by
Thailand’s food delivery services and customers, especially in its capital of Bangkok, are now having to follow 4 additional health measures to help curb the spread of Covid-19. The Director-General of the Department of Disease Control handed down the orders after meeting with food delivery company representatives. The new measures include stricter supervision of employees to ensure that they are…
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Mekong unseasonal water levels endanger nesting birds in Thailand
The following story was written by Tyler Roney for Third Pole, a “multilingual platform dedicated to promoting information and discussion about the Himalayan watershed and the rivers that originate there.” Just 50 metres from the Mekong, in the shadow of a discarded plastic cup, a lone chick sits camouflaged on the sand. It is a newly hatched small pratincole in…
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Desparate expats in Thailand turn to vaccine tourism
Travelling overseas just to get a prick used to have a much more negative connotation. But with limited supplies and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines in Thailand, many expats are turning towards vaccine tourism, travelling to another country in order to secure a jab. With recent reports that Thai people will be prioritized and timelines vague for foreigners getting vaccinated, impatient…
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3 Covid-19 vaccines approved by Thai FDA, 3 more in registration process
3 Covid-19 vaccines have been approved by the Thai Food and Drug Administration while 3 more pharmaceutical and biotech companies are in the process of registering Covid-19 vaccines for use in Thailand, according to FDA secretary general Phaisan Dankhum. So far, the FDA has approved the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, which was made in partnership with Oxford University in the UK…
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Thailand requires in-person registration for cryptocurrency
Thailand has launched new regulations for anybody opening a cryptocurrency account that requires physical registration and forbids online setup. The Anti-Money Laundering Office created this rule that goes into effect in September 2021 in an effort to reduce money laundering, a practice that plagues crypto. People registering a cryptocurrency account in Thailand will be required to scan their Thai ID…
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Covid UPDATE: 2,112 new infections and 15 deaths, provincial totals
2,112 new Covid-19 cases and 15 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. Since April 1, there have been 46,037 confirmed Covid-19 infections in Thailand, making up more than half of Thailand’s cumulative count of 74,900 infections since the start of the pandemic last year. There are 30,222 active Covid-19 cases in Thailand.…
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Immigration police in Bangkok arrest 2 people on fraud charges
Immigration police in Bangkok arrested a Japanese man and a Chinese man on fraud charges in separate cases. One suspect arrested for allegedly scamming people out of millions of baht and the other arrested for allegedly making fake electronic cards to make purchases online. The Japanese man, identified as ‘Yamada’, allegedly scammed 3 people by claiming he knew many influential…
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Renowned Thai monk investigated for criticising government’s handling of pandemic
One of Thailand’s most prominent Buddhist monks has been accused of meddling in politics after he criticised the government’s handling of the Covid-19 crisis. Thai PBS World reports that the Sangha Supreme Council has found Phra Maha Sompong Talaputto guilty of expressing political views, which is considered inappropriate. The monk and popular preacher from Bangkok’s Soi Thong Temple is renowned…
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