Thailand News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, and lifestyle—get breaking updates from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond. Stay informed on Thai society, economy, tourism, and expat life with The Thaiger.
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Sponsored Where to travel in Thailand in April [2025]
Travelling in Thailand is peak during April if you are looking for a real taste of summer. With high temperatures, amazing beaches, and exciting events, April is an amazing time to visit the country as a whole. Due to the...
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PM defends government’s performance, wants to move Thailand forward
The Thai PM has defended his government’s performance since seizing power in a military coup 8 years ago. According to a Bangkok Post report, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says he’s led Thailand through “crisis after crisis” and is doing his best to move the country forward. The PM says at the time he seized power, the nation was deeply divided and…
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Expect more floods coming up this weekend in most of Thailand
If you’ve loved all the heavy rains and flash flooding throughout Thailand this past week, then get excited for this weekend! The Thai Meteorological Department warned yesterday to expect heavy to very heavy rains in most areas including the north, northeast, central Thailand, the east, the Bangkok area, and the south. The heavy rain may cause flash floods from May…
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SAIJAI homecare launch English language online bookings in Bangkok and Phuket
Thailand’s fast-growing online homecare marketplace SAIJAI has added an English language, on-demand booking option. Greater Bangkok and Phuket are the first two areas in the country now where customers can tap into a wide selection of caregivers. Services provided by SAIJAI include maids, babysitters, elderly care, tutors, drivers, and home beauty. The pandemic resulted in high unemployment in Thailand’s service…
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Proposal for new “green zone” provinces goes before CCSA today
Thailand’s Public Health Ministry has submitted a proposal to classify some provinces as “green zones”. The proposal will be considered by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration when it meets today. Kiattiphum Wongrajit from the health ministry says the proposal involves adjusting the Covid-19 colour-coded zoning, which currently has provinces listed as yellow (high surveillance) or blue “tourism” zones. The…
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UPDATE: Bangkok governor candidates answer Russell Crowe’s questions on TV
UPDATE: Bangkok governor candidates answer Russell Crowe’s questions on Thai TV Russell Crowe’s pre-recorded questions for Bangkok governor candidates were streamed on Channel 7HD’s live programme “22 May: Deciding Bangkok’s Fate” this afternoon, prior to the election coming up this Sunday. Crowe asked the questions in English, and three Bangkok governor candidates answered in Thai. Each candidate was given 2…
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Thai man injured in turbulence demands airline to take responsibility
A Thai man demands an airline to take responsibility for injuries that he said were caused by turbulence during a flight from Nakhon Si Thammarat to Bangkok yesterday evening. He said his lower back and coccyx were in “agony,” but when he expressed the wish to go to hospital, he was allegedly told to pay for the expenses himself. The…
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Canadian man arrested for stealing traffic barriers in Chiang Mai
Police have arrested a Canadian expat in Chiang Mai after driving his car around the city to steal metal traffic barriers. Yes, traffic barriers. 69 year old Ronald John Price was arrested today on Ratchadamnoen Road in Chiang Mai. According to reports, Mr. Price covered his face whilst stealing metal traffic barriers from around the province. He drove his sedan…
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Wife dies, husband in coma after eating poisonous mushrooms in northeast Thailand
A couple from Udon Thani in northeast Thailand made a curry from mushrooms they picked from the jungle on Tuesday, May 17, but the mushrooms turned out to be poisonous. The wife died from poisoning in the early hours of yesterday morning and her husband is currently in a coma in an Intensive Care Unit. The man’s mother, who lives…
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Unconscious 75 year old woman survives floating 500 metres along a river
A 75 year old woman was scooped unconscious from the middle of a river in the central province of Chachoengsao after she fainted while paddling. The elderly lady floated for around 500 metres before a man witnessed the incident and contacted a rescue team to save her. Noramin Tongsamak, who witnessed the incident, contacted a rescue team via Facebook after he…
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Thai-Chinese gang arrested for dating app scam at Chiang Mai’s luxury resort
Police yesterday revealed that a Thai-Chinese gang had been arrested in Chaing Mai for operating illegal dating scam activities after a tip off. Police apprehended 24 people after a member of the public alerted authorities to a group of Chinese men behaving suspiciously at the luxury Chaing Mai holiday resort. The gang included 20 Chinese and 4 Thai, 2 of…
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Leaders of smaller Thai parties want to legalise online casinos
Twenty representatives of smaller Thai political parties have submitted a draft amendment for the Gambling Act to Thailand’s parliamentary house speaker yesterday. The draft amendment would aim to legalise online casinos. An MP from the Thai Local Power Party said that legalising online casinos will let authorities collect taxes from license holders, and decide how to punish illegal casino operators.…
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Thai officials vow to solve household debt problem at Phuket event
Thai officials held a ‘Household Debt Reconciliation Fair’ in Phuket yesterday. At the event, Thailand’s Minister of Justice Somsak Thepsutin said the government has designated 2022 as the “Year of Solving Household Debt”. He said that 2,810 people had registered for the event. Somsak said that several government departments have organised events to “facilitate the mediation process of household debts…
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Nok Air gamble fails to take off costing airline millions
Low-cost budget airline Nok Air’s gamble of investing in a special route to boost tourism has backfired to the tune of 40 million baht. The Thai airline, which mostly operates domestic services out of Don Mueang International Airport, introduced the Bangkok to Betong route in February but plan to scrap it in July after suffering heavy losses. The Betong International…
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Stolen gold found scattered in northern Thailand
After a robber stole several pricy items from a gold shop earlier this week, police found 7 trays of gold ornaments in the middle of a river in northern Thailand’s Tak province. Local people showed the gold to police after they spotted it on an islet in the middle of Ping River in the main city district. The locals also…
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Political activist has bail denied over missing pay slip
A bail application from monarchy reform activist Tantawan Tuatulanon has been rejected over a missing pay slip. Thai PBS World reports that the Criminal Court denied a bail application submitted by Move Forward leader, Pita Limjaroenrat. The reason given was that Pita had not submitted his MP’s pay slip with the application. According to the court, Pita needed to provide…
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Thai officials say schools can set their own hair rules, but no harsh punishment
Thailand school haircut drama continues as the Education Ministry has announced yesterday that schools are free to set their own hairstyle rules. While Education Minister Trinuch Thienthong added that schools have been ordered not to impose harsh punishments on students who violate hairstyle rules, the secretary-general of Thailand’s Basic Education Commission reiterated that responsibility over the rules lies with schools.…
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Thai airlines say recovery being held up by high fuel prices
The head of commercial operations at Thai Lion Air says high oil prices continue to hinder recovery in the aviation sector. Nuntaporn Komonsittivate says that, while tourism is slowly improving since the easing of entry restrictions, airlines are still struggling. “The airline business has grappled with the pandemic for more than 2 years. Oil prices account for 30% of operational…
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Health Ministry to propose “green zones” where bars, nightlife could re-open
Bars and entertainment venues are demanding the right to re-open for business, with reports the Public Health Ministry could allow this in some provinces it would designate as “green zones”. The Bangkok Post reports that owners of nightlife venues will meet with Supoj Malaniyom from the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration today. According to Khathawut Thongthai from the Association of…
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Bangkok University to stream classes by Bill Clinton, Natalie Portman, Gordon Ramsay
Bangkok University is the first in the world to collaborate with MasterClass to provide over 150 streamed online classes by internationally renowned celebrities and experts in various fields. The university hopes the unconventional learning style will inspire students to develop their own skills, foster their creativity, improve their performance and set them up for success. Students will get the chance…
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Thailand’s biggest light festival is headed to Phuket
After it began last week in Krabi, Thailand’s biggest light festival, known as the Aqua Lumina Illumination Festival, is headed towards Phuket. The festival will dazzle the shores of Nai Harn Beach from this coming Friday until May 31. The festival in Phuket will display lit up sculptures and multimedia shows, as well as projection mapping with 3D images with…
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Karma in Kalasin: Man steals drain cover then drives his car into the hole
A thief from Kalasin province in northeast Thailand got a taste of his own medicine today after he stole a drain cover and proceeded to drive his pickup truck into the open hole. He was forced to request help from municipality officers, who instantly recognised him as the thief from CCTV footage, detained him and handed him over to the…
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Alcohol sales ban planned for Pattaya and Bangkok elections
Following Thailand’s alcohol ban for the Buddhist holiday of Visakha Bucha Day, Pattaya and Bangkok dwellers can prepare for yet another alcohol ban coming just a week later! The upcoming alcohol sales ban will begin on Saturday, May 21, at 6pm, and last for 24 hours until Sunday, May 22, at 6pm. The ban is in light of Pattaya’s Mayoral…
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Thailand-made armoured truck delivered to Royal Thai Army for trial use
A snazzy 8×8 VN1 armoured truck made by Thailand’s Defense Technology Institution, or DTI, was delivered to the Royal Thai Army’s Cavalry Centre in Saraburi province in central Thailand yesterday. The truck flaunts a 12.7 millimetre canon, armour to protect military personnel inside from bombs and explosives and a Battlefield Management System, or BMS, intended to increase effectiveness of command…
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Foreigner claims Bangkok taxi driver overcharged on a Thai holy day
A Reddit user has posted about an experience of using a Taxi service in Bangkok… “Bangkok Scam on Vesak Day” (the Visakha Bucha Day Buddhist holiday). The user claimed the driver overcharged him and asked for a toll fee for the highway even though the toll was waived on the day. On Monday the aggrieved passenger posted pictures of the…
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Prosecutor in Red Bull heir case kicked out of civil service
Today, Thailand’s public prosecution committee unanimously agreed to kick ex-general attorney Nate Naksuk out of the civil service for choosing not to indict the “Red Bull heir,” who killed a police officer in a hit-and-run incident back in 2012. Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidya – the grandson of billionaire Red Bull co-founder Chaleo Yoovidhya – became a fugitive after speeding through the…
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Health and safety a priority as kids return to Bangkok schools after two turbulent years
The Thailand Ministry of Education yesterday allowed schools to reopen their doors for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the nation in 2020 in line with the government’s transition to living with Covid as an endemic disease. Some children celebrated their return to school in style in Tak province, northern Thailand, taxied in by elephants, as reported in…
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LINE app popular in Thailand warns users, look out for scams
LINE, a chat app popular in Thailand, is warning users to be on the lookout for scammers who might use SMS and LINE chat to steal personal information. The app said today that recently, some scammers claimed to be company officials, and posted job announcements via SMS and Line chat. LINE said that scammers are also adding people as ‘friends’…
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Risk of dengue fever is higher in rainy season, warns Thai doctor
The risk of contracting dengue fever in Thailand is higher in the rainy season, because pools of water are breeding grounds for mosquitoes, warns Songkhla Provincial Public Health Doctor Songkran Maechum. Monsoon season began last Friday, and intermittent rain is expected to cause a spike in dengue fever cases in Thailand, so be prepared. In Songkhla province in southern Thailand,…
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UPDATE: Phuket’s Narong visits recovering German tourist in hospital
UPDATE As Barbara Lange recovers in Bangkok Hospital Phuket after she went missing for a week, Phuket’s Governor Narong has paid Barbara and her family a visit yesterday. The governor reportedly went to the hospital with other officials, and the group presented Barbara and her family with flowers. The 76 year old woman first went missing from a hotel in…
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Thai officials visit Saudi Arabia for roadshow, push for more tourists
As part of a push to draw more Middle Eastern tourists to Thailand, tourism officials visited Saudi Arabia on May 15-16 in a roadshow. There, the Tourism Authority of Thailand signed a memorandum of cooperation with Almosafer, the biggest OTA in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The TAT also signed an MoC with Saudia, Saudi Arabia’s flag carrier, to promote a…
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