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 Why retirees in Thailand are choosing long-term health insurance over quick fixes
Retirees in Thailand are increasingly seeing the importance of health insurance in protecting their well-being during retirement. With insurance requirements for retirement visas and rising healthcare costs, many are moving away from short-term plans and choosing long-term coverage. Long-term health...
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Are face masks still required on domestic flights in Thailand?
The world is moving on from the Covid-19 pandemic, but face masks are still popular in Thailand. You might see people on domestic flights in Thailand wearing masks, but are they mandatory? The Thai government made face masks “voluntary” back in June but still recommends wearing them in crowded spaces. The news was published in the Royal Gazette and said……
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Yell signs a collaboration agreement with BACON Singapore and SOUNDS Shanghai
Press Release Yell, an independent agency, has partnered with Singapore’s Bacon Creative and China’s Shanghai Soundsplan Marketing & Planning to expand the organisation’s global reach through partnership creation. This enhances Yell’s ability to serve Asia-Pacific customers and transform into the first Thai agency with an international network. Dissara Udomdej, Yell’s founder and CEO, said, “Yell has developed a more entity…
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Tourists see solar phenomenon at Phanom Rung Temple
Tourists gathered at Phanom Rung Historical Park in Isaan province of Buriram this morning to observe a solar phenomenon through the 15 doors of the ancient Phanom Rung Temple, an event which happens only four times a year. The Phanom Rung Temple is located on Phanom Rung mountain in the Tapek sub-district, Chaloemprakiat district of Buriram province. The temple, constructed…
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Fire breaks out at Indian restaurant in Patong
A fire broke out at an Indian restaurant in Phuket’s famous tourist town of Patong in the early hours of this morning. Firefighters rushed to the restaurant on Taweewong Road to find it ablaze. The firefighters took 40 minutes to bring the flames under control. The restaurant was damaged, but luckily no injuries were reported. The restaurant owner said there…
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Flood at dangerous level in Rangsit after water pumps fail
Flood levels in the Rangsit district of Pathum Thani province near Bangkok are at a dangerous level after nine water pumps broke down. It will be three days before they are repaired. The official district website revealed the level of water in the Rangsit Canal had risen to 1.8 metres from 1.78 metres this morning. Rangsit had 20 water pumps…
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Driver crashes pickup into noodles bar, injuring 17 in central Thailand
Seventeen people were injured after a pickup crashed into a noodles shop in Chantaburi province, in the central part of Thailand. He is suspected of being drunk at the wheel or high on drugs. A CCTV camera in front of the shop showed the vehicle losing control and suddenly crashing into the shop while customers were either standing outside or…
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140,000 chickens die in flood at poultry farm in eastern Thailand
Approximately 140,000 chickens drowned in a flood today at a poultry farm in Klaeng district, Rayong province, eastern Thailand. Rayong has been hit particularly hard by the heavy rainfall and flash flooding that has swamped Thailand this week, with over 200 houses flooding in the Klaeng district. All six houses at Kamnan Boonsueb’s poultry farm in Ban Na subdistrict flooded,…
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Thaiger Unfiltered
Here’s a chance for our viewers to ask Jay and Sara any questions they have, and they will answer you with their honest responses unfiltered! Please be kind and appropriate.
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Mother blames Bangkok hospital for the death of her baby
The devastated mother of a stillborn baby blames the hospital near Bangkok where she gave birth for the death of her child. Remarkably, the hospital blames the mother for not trying hard enough. The family of the tragedy is demanding justice after it emerged there was no doctor in the delivery room as the pregnant woman, 25 year old Noi…
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Heaviest rain in two decades pushes Bangkok’s canals to the brink
Bangkok’s heaviest rains in over two decades are pushing its canals to the brink. The downpours started Tuesday evening, overwhelming the canals. Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said Bang Khen district has reported 170 millimetres of rain since Tuesday, which has been the highest amount in 20 years. Klong Lat Phrao and Kong Prem Prachakon canals have seen water levels rising to…
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AirAsia X disagrees with government’s proposed tourism fee
AirAsia X’s chief executive disagrees with the Thai government’s proposal of a tourism fee on flights. Tony Fernandes, the acting group chief executive of AirAsia X says, instead, that the government should bank on the influx of travellers as aiding the economy. He says the tourism fee would be a smaller impact on the economy than an increase in tourism.…
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Central department stores to get facelift funding
The Central department stores, seen throughout Thailand and other countries, may be looking a lot less shabby as the retail giant has approved a 15 billion baht makeover for its stores. Central Department Store Co, under Central Retail Corporation, has approved the funding as part of its efforts to expand the retail business from 2023 to 2027. Oliver Bron, the…
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Thailand to apply alcohol tax to non-alcoholic beer
Not only is Thailand planning on increasing existing tax on all types of alcohol, but it also plans on applying alcohol tax to non-alcoholic beer, according to Director-General of the Revenue Department Ekniti Nitithanprapas. Ekniti said that the department will increase tax on all types of alcohol, in the fiscal year 2023, to help combat alcoholism among Thailand’s youth. More…
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Cabinet approves 1.6 billion baht to solve Thai flood problems
The Thai Cabinet yesterday approved a budget of almost 1.6 billion to deal with Thailand’s perpetual flood problems. Some 912 million baht has been set aside for water management during the rainy and drought seasons while 664 million baht has been allocated for new water pumps. Prime Minister Office spokesperson Anucha Burapachaisi told an assembled Thai press conference yesterday that…
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Horny monk sexually harasses former OnlyFans actor
A former gay OnlyFans actor claims he was sexually harassed yesterday by a randy monk in his clothing store in a shopping mall in the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima, or Korat. The former OnlyFans actor, who goes by the name of Graf, posted a video of the alleged horny monk on his TikTok account @graf19. The video caption said……
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Gran’s drowning attempt thwarted by her strong swimming ability
An 81 year old granny from the Baan Pom sub-district in Mueng Ayutthaya district tried to kill herself by drowning yesterday because she felt a burden on her family. But her attempted suicide failed when she was fished out of the Chao Phraya River at 7am by a fish farm owner – four hours and 20 kilometres after she took…
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Thailand importing 2nd gen vaccines, producing 3 domestically
Next month should see the start of procurement of the second generation of Covid-19 vaccines, as the Ministry of Public Health plans to import them to Thailand. The National Vaccine Institute (NVI) will convene to discuss the plan sometime in October, according to the Deputy Director-General of the Department of Disease Control. Up for debate is how many vaccines are…
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Hate traffic tickets? Traffic court may replace them
Not getting a ticket when you get pulled over by police in Thailand sounds nice, but not if it’s replaced with a traffic court date instead. The Cabinet Committee approved a motion yesterday under the Traffic Case Draft Act to create a Traffic Law Enforcement Department which would make being cited for a violation a more formal process that could…
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2nd of 3 statements to court may support PM Prayut until 2025
The ongoing saga continues of whether suspended Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha will be able to extend his tenure more than the eight years he has already served, with speculation rife about a court document suggesting his constitutional eight years ends in 2025. The Constitutional Court is currently considering a pitch by Prayut himself as well as documents from two legal…
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New study shows smallpox vaccine ineffective against monkeypox
Despite previous hopes, the Department of Medical Sciences warned that most adults and seniors who have been previously vaccinated against smallpox are not protected from monkeypox, unfortunately. The news comes after testing in labs of people who received the smallpox vaccine when they were younger and are now over 40 showed no correlation between the inoculation and any immunity from…
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New MRT Pink Line causes flood to local school & community
The director of a school in Nonthaburi province near Bangkok said a flood to her school and nearby community is because of construction work to a new train station for the MRT Pink Line. The school director filed a complaint with the police and urged the construction company to take responsibility. The provincial governor demanded that the water is drained…
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‘Fish sauce’ leaking through ceiling turns out to be corpse fluid in central Thailand
Last night, a 49 year old teacher living in Nonthaburi province, central Thailand, told her apartment manager that fermented fish sauce was leaking through her ceiling and dripping down her wall. Pornphimon went away for the weekend and when she returned yesterday at 8pm, she noticed a putrid smell in her apartment. She said, “black water” was coming through the…
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Opening day of 2022 welfare sees 1.86 million people register
Yesterday marked the opening date for registration for state welfare for 2022, and people flooded the registration process both online and in person. By 3pm on the opening day, officials reported that 1.86 million people across Thailand had already registered for the state welfare card project. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance, who also serves as the director-general of…
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Study uses mobile data to improve domestic tourism trends
A new study used mobile data from mobile operator DTAC’s customers to analyse their movements and extrapolate strategies for increasing domestic tourism within Thailand. The study was conducted by Chulalongkorn University, the National Digital Economy and Society Commission, and Boonmee Lab, and used data from June 2020 to October 2021 of 10% of DTAC’s customers who fit the travel parameters…
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Proposal would allow small hotels to operate as a homestay
The Ministry of Interior’s proposal for relaxing regulations on small homestay hotels has been met with opposition from the Thai Hotels Association. The plan would expand a “homestay” exemption in the Hotel Act for small businesses with no more than 20 guests in no more than four rooms, increasing the maximum size and occupancy to 10 rooms and 30 guests.…
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Truck carrying elephant overturns in northern Thailand
UPDATE The 50 year old male elephant who was badly injured in a road accident in Chiang Mai yesterday finally made it to the elephant hospital in Lampang province, 20 hours later. At around 9am yesterday, the truck transporting “Pooh Kham” from Mae Chaem to an elephant camp in Mae Wang overturned on the windy roads. At first, Pooh Kham…
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Hike on traffic fines delayed, but ticket prices will be consistant
Writing news in Thailand frequently means announcing something and then the next day announcing the opposite. And true to form, the new major hike in penalty fines for traffic violations announced before the weekend and scheduled to go into effect yesterday… have been retracted. But when they do go into effect, repeat offenders will be further penalised, and a new…
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British tourist hospitalised after accident at the Grand Canyon in northern Thailand
A 21 year old British tourist ended up in hospital after a backflip gone wrong off a giant inflatable at the notoriously dangerous ‘Grand Canyon’ water park in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand. The Grand Canyon – somewhat less spectacular than its American counterpart but still beautiful – is located in a once-deserted quarry in the Hang Dong district. The park…
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Thailand’s caretaker PM caught sleeping on the job
Caretaker Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan was caught sleeping on the job this afternoon. The 77 year old was in Krabi province today overseeing a joint meeting with several water and land use agencies to discuss water management issues when he dozed off. The image quickly went viral on Thai social media and drew a number of cheeky comments. Suthaporn Suriyakarn…
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Constitutional Court may make prime minister decision Thursday
The decision on Prayut Chan-o-cha’s future and the prime ministership may be decided this week as the Constitutional Court scheduled a special meeting on Thursday to discuss it. Last Thursday his legal team submitted a 30-page document that lays out his defence against all the arguments regarding his term limits to the Constitutional Court. The court will review this document,…
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