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 How to reduce out-of-pocket medical expenses in Thailand?
Managing medical expenses in Thailand is important as healthcare costs continue to rise. The country’s healthcare system includes both public and private options, but even with the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) for citizens, many still face high out-of-pocket medical expenses....
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Health officials say Thailand’s Covid cases could reach 100,000 a day by Songkran
Thailand’s daily Covid-19 infections could reach 100,000 by the Songkran holiday next month. That’s the worst-case scenario prediction from the Department of Disease Control, according to a Bangkok Post report today. The DDC says everything hinges on how strictly disease prevention measures are adhered to. These include avoiding group activities, working from home, avoiding non-essential travel, and maintaining high vaccination…
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More than 100 officers investigate local politician fatal shooting
More than 100 law enforcement officers have been assigned to investigate a case where gunmen attacked a van carrying members of a tambon administrative organisation, or TAO, on Valentine’s Day in the central province Nakhon Nayok. A politician of the tambon, or subdistrict, and the driver were killed in the shooting. A TAO chairperson was injured. In an order by…
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Thailand’s ban on “claw” machines could be reversed after Chiang Mai ruling
The popular “claw” machines at arcades and malls, some filled with stuffed animals or toys, are actually banned in Thailand because, back in 2020, the Interior Ministry announced that the games of technique and chance were considered “gambling tools.” But the two-year ban could be reversed after a recent ruling in Chiang Mai. Earlier this month, the Chiang Mai public…
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Bangkok police allegedly shoots and kills colleague on accident while drunk
A 50 year old police officer was shot to death at a police station in Bangkok, allegedly by his close colleague who was reportedly drunk and showing off his new guns. A senior police officer told Thai media that the officers were not on duty or in uniform were the shooting occurred. The off-duty officers were lounging an office at…
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Monday Covid Update: 22,311 new cases; provincial totals
42 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 22,933 with 1,235 of those fatalities since the start of this year. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 22,311 new Covid-19 cases and 17,470 recoveries. There are now 213,645 people in Thailand being treated for Covid-19. Out of…
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Bangkok bridge collapses, officials say mistake made during construction
A 50-metre bridge in Bangkok collapsed over the weekend, reportedly due to mistakes made by the construction team that affected the structure. The collapse on Udomsuk road impacted traffic as well as the water tap system in the area. No accidents and losses were reported, and it was expected to be repaired within one month. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration Secretary Khajit…
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Drunk driver crashes into motorbike, killing woman and 9 month old
A 60 year old woman and her nine month old grandson died after their motorbike was slammed from behind by a pickup truck early Sunday night in Samut Prakan, southeast of Bangkok. The 35 year old mother survived. She told the police she was riding her motorbike home with her nine month old son and mother. Her motorbike was hit…
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First direct flight from Saudi Arabia to land in Thailand after mending diplomatic relations
The first direct flight from Saudi Arabia to Thailand will land at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, a significant step after bilateral ties between the two countries were patched up. Saudi Arabian Airlines flight SV846 from Riyadh will arrive at Suvarnabhumi Airport at 6:05pm today. The airline will operate three flights per week between Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Bangkok, with more flights…
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Fire breaks out at Major Cineplex in Bangkok’s Ekkamai area
A cinema in Bangkok’s Ekkamai area caught fire early this morning, with flames spread on the fourth and fifth floor of the theatre. Major Cineplex Sukhumvit was closed when the fire broke out at around 4:43am today. Firefighters are investigating to determine what caused the fire. Early this morning, a vendor outside the cinema was preparing to set up shop…
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Thailand expecting a million Middle Eastern tourists following restoration of Saudi ties
Thailand hopes to restore its battered tourism sector by welcoming around a million Middle Eastern tourists by the end of this year. Government spokesperson Traisulee Traisornkul says the restoration of ties with Saudi Arabia, after a 30-year freeze, will help revive the tourism industry in the kingdom. “Restoring relations between Thailand and Saudi Arabia would play a crucial role in…
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Rural Thai doctors report shortage of Covid-19 medicine Favipiravir
After an annoyed Public Health Ministry secretary warned patients on Thursday that the medicine Favipiravir is “not a snack“, Thailand’s Rural Doctor Society now complains of a shortage of it. Favipiravir is an anti-viral drug given to Covid-19 patients, but the secretary said last week that there was a misunderstanding that every Covid-19 patient had to take it. He said…
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Southern houses damaged by rainstorms and sea waves
Rainstorms and big sea waves damaged about 200 homes in the Southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat between Thursday and this morning. The storms hit the Gulf of Thailand, and drastically eroded about 500 metres of the beach at Na Saton village. The deputy provincial governor inspected the damage this morning, and the Na Satorn Municipality gave people tiles and…
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Forensic experts uncover more about Tangmo’s death, two charged so far
Forensic experts have dismissed reports that Tangmo, the Thai actress who’s body was found yesterday, went to the back of the boat she fell off to urinate. The experts say she was wearing a body suit, which would have made this difficult. A preliminary autopsy showed Tangmo had sand in her lungs. Toxicology results are expected to take about seven…
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Bangkok student president dismissed for controversial video chat
The president of Chulalongkorn Univesity’s student council was dismissed from his position after he presented a controversial video at a student orientation in 2021. The video featured talks by two prominent protest leaders, nicknamed Penguin and Rung, who are known critics of Thailand’s monarchy. In his talk, Penguin raised his middle finger, and encouraged students to do the same. Thai…
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Can Foreigners Own Guns In Thailand? | Lawyers, Guns & Money
What is gun ownership like in Thailand? Can foreigners own guns living in Thailand? What about gun violence in Thailand. If you have a gun license in your country, is that license still applicable in Thailand? Tim sits with Ben Hart from Integrity legal to find out the more about owning guns in Thailand.
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Covid-19 clinics for mild patients to open in March
Thailand’s Public Health Permanent Secretary announced yesterday that Covid-19 clinics for patients with mild symptoms or none at all will open in Thailand on March 1. The clinics, called Accute Resperatory Infection clinics, will offer mild patients Covid-19 tests, exams, medicines, and advice from doctors about home quarantining. The spokesman stressed that 90% of new infections are by the Omicron…
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Missing Thai actress’s body found in Chao Phraya river, Bangkok
The body of Tangmo, the Thai actress who fell in the Chao Phraya river on Thursday night, was found by a rescue team this afternoon. Rescuers from the Ruamkanyu Foundation reported finding Tangmo’s body flaoting in the river at around 1:10pm. Eakpan Bunluerit, a Thai actor who also happened to be volunteering in the search, confirmed the body was Tangmo’s.…
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Phuket officials pass out Covid-19 “survival bags”.
Phuket officials handed out Covid-19 “survival bags” to residents of the Kamala area yesterday. The bags contained food and medical supplies, and were given to high-risk people self isolating, many of whom have lost livelihood from not being able to work. So far there are no details available about how many bags were given out. The chief of the Phuket…
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French expat who went missing in forest turns up safe in Chiang Mai
A French man who went missing in a Chiang Mai forest made his way to a hilltop temple, and is now safe. The man, Jacques Moriceau, went missing in a forest in Doi Tao district between late Thursday night and early Friday morning. He had driven to submit documents to the French consulate, and got lost on his way home…
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60% Covid-19 hospital beds in Thailand are taken
Thailand’s director-general of the Department of the Department of Medical Services said yesterday that 60% of 180,000 Covid-19 hospital beds are occupied. This is a sudden increase from Wednesday, when 49.1% of beds were occupied. The Public Health Ministry reported that as of Thursday there were 42,044 beds beds for patients in “level 1”, with 89,141 beds occupied. There were…
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Ethnic group in Southern province complains losing residence due to tourism
Representatives of the Mani ethnic group in the Southern province of Satun in Thailand have handed a letter to the authorities complaining that they would lose their residence and couldn’t access a better quality of life due to the local tourism industry. The representatives told the authorities they didn’t even have a right to replace a thatched roof with a…
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Bangkok to open 9 community isolation centres with 970 beds for mild patients
Authorities from Bangkok Metropolitan Administration visited the new community isolation centre in the Thawee Wattana district of Bangkok. They were checking the centre before it officially opens. Nine more isolation centres will open, and are expected to offer 970 beds for Covid-19 patients in Thailand’s capital. The authorities also said the Bangkok Emergency Medical Centre improved its contact system to…
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Thai actress missing after falling off a Chao Phraya speedboat
A Thai actress, who goes by the name Tangmo (water melon), fell from a speedboat into the Chao Phraya River near Rama VII Bridge last night. Authorities are still searching for her body. The speedboat had five others who were travelling with her. She fell in at around 10 pm, in Nonthaburi’s Muang district, just north of Bangkok. She was…
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Public health secretary says “drugs are not snacks, no Favipiravir given if not necessary”
Previously, the Public Health Ministry had decided to provide the anti-viral drug Favipiravir to more groups of Covid-19 patients, including patients who had only mild symptoms or no symptoms. However, the ministry secretary told Thai media yesterday that the direction has changed, and Favipiravir will be given to Covid-19 patients “only if necessary”. The authorities also warned of side effects…
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Indian mafia member arrested in Pattaya, confirmed no links to Phuket murder
An Indian mafia member was arrested in Pattaya after a red Interpol notice. He was allegedly involved in robbery, murder, human trafficking, ransom and money laundering in India. But Thai police have already confirmed that there is no links between the arrested man and the ‘hit job’ on Indian citizen Jimi “Slice” Sandhu on February 4. The Pattaya suspect reportedly…
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CCSA says no travel restrictions over Songkran this year, but no parties either
Even though it’s still 7 weeks away, the Thai government is taking the front foot on the forthcoming Songkran “new year” celebrations. The CCSA will meet next week to discuss potential disease prevention measures for the big Songkran holiday. However, it says it will not impose travel restrictions to prevent Thais from heading home for the annual commemoration. Supot Malaniyom,…
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Pro-democracy activist Parit granted bail after proving he has to sit university exams
Pro-democracy protest leader, Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak, has been freed on 3 months’ bail after proving to the Bangkok South Criminal Court that he needs to sit final university exams. The court had refused to grant bail until the Faculty of Political Science at Thammasat University issued Parit with a certificate to prove his status. Thai PBS World reports that bail…
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Thailand’s health ministry wants to declare Covid-19 endemic within 4 months
Thailand’s health ministry wants to declare Covid 19 as endemic in the next 4 months, according to a Bangkok Post report. Senior ministry official Kiattiphum Wongrajit says the Omicron variant has resulted in a much lower fatality rate than in previous waves and while lung infections are increasing, cases of severe illness are still lower than earlier waves of the…
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Pattaya Music Festival postponed due to a rise in Covid-19 cases
Next month’s Pattaya Music Festival 2022 is being postponed due to the surge in Covid-19 cases which hit 1,250 new infections in Chon Buri today. With the recent decision to hold off the music festival, some are worried authorities may also yet again cancel April’s Songkran festival, the massive water fight celebrating the Thai New Year. Pattaya Music Festival was…
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Trang residents with Covid complain of lack of food in government’s aid packages
A number of locals in the southern province Trang say provincial authorities have skimped on the aid packages for those in home isolation while they recover from Covid-19. During the 10-day mandatory time in self-quarantine, the residents say authorities have only been giving them instant noodles, canned fish, and rice… not the three meals a day they say they were…
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