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 one hospital visit in Thailand could cost more than your whole trip
Thailand is a favourite spot for travellers who want to enjoy more while spending less. From cheap street food to low-cost hotels and fun attractions, it’s easy to stretch your budget here. But there’s one thing many people don’t think...
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Bryde’s whale in Gulf of Thailand gives birth to third baby
A Bryde’s whale living in the Gulf of Thailand has given birth to her third baby whale. Nation Thailand reports that Mae Thong Dee was photographed by wildlife photographer Jirayu Ekkul, whose team has been monitoring the whale. It’s understood she has a number of injuries, including a ripped dorsal fin and serious eye injuries. “We found Mae Thong Dee…
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Injuries and arrests as Bangkok protests turn violent
Pro-democracy protesters clashed with police in Bangkok yesterday, leading to injuries and arrests as activists attempted to reach the residence of PM Prayut Chan-o-cha. At least 33 people were injured, including 23 police officers. The clashes happened in front of 1st Infantry Regiment barracks, King’s Guard on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road and involved around 1,500 activists from REDEM (Restart Democracy), part…
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Public Health Minister gets first Covid-19 vaccine shot in Thailand
Thailand’s Covid-19 vaccine campaign started with Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul who was jabbed with China’s Sinovac vaccine. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha was initially planned to be the first to kick off Thailand’s immunisation plan with the AstraZeneca vaccine, but due to problems with paperwork, the prime minister’s injection was postponed. Doctors advised Prayut to get the AstraZeneca vaccine due to…
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Royal Thai Police accused of “ticket” promotion system to buy senior positions
The Royal Thai Police are being accused of using so-called “elephant tickets” to buy their way into promotions and pay their way up the police force’s chain of command. The corruption among the police force and the buying of positions without meeting the requirements for a promotion has been a longtime problem, according to the Bangkok Post. The “elephant ticket”…
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Thai man accidentally kills himself with homemade bomb
A young Thai man has accidentally killed himself with a homemade bomb in the Muang district of Kanchanaburi province this morning. 22 year old Amornthep Thongchomphu was found dead with his arm blown off after the bomb exploded in a field near his home. Local police went to the scene at about 11am, outside the man’s house in Ban Nong…
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Thailand News Today | Week In Review | February 26
Thailand News Today usually covers five days of the news week. This week only four days as today (Friday) is a public holiday. Now we have a weekend edition which goes over the biggest, or best stories, from the past week. Out every Saturday afternoon, catch up with Jett and Tim’s major Thai news stories. Welcome to the Thailand News…
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45 new cases today, 37 local‐Covid‐19‐Update
Thailand reports 45 new cases of Covid-19 cases today, with 37 infections being locally-transmitted. 8 of those infections were imported, raising the total amount of infections since the pandemic began to 25,809. The Department of Disease Control reports that 32 cases were confirmed at hospitals with 5 confirmed through active case finding in communities. Samut Sakhon province, the 2nd wave…
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Surveys show Thailand still one of the top holiday choices post-pandemic
The Stockholm office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand has conducted a survey in which 62% of respondents say they want to spend winter in Thailand provided restrictions are lifted. The top destinations are Phuket, Krabi and Khao Lak, followed by Koh Samui, Koh Pha-ngan, Koh Tao, Bangkok, and Hua Hin. 68% say they would cancel bookings if the 14-day…
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Jailed former politicians await outcome of bail hearing
8 former politicians, now behind bars for their role in protests that toppled the Yingluck Shinawatra administration and led to the 2014 military coup, are waiting for the outcome of their bail hearing. The detainees, all former members of the People’s Democratic Reform Committee, are Suthep Thaugsuban, Issara Somchai, Chumpol Julsai, the Deputy Transport Minister Thaworn Senneam, Education Minister, Nataphol…
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Police investigate “offensive” posts on Facebook pages of jailed activists
The authorities are investigating the origin of content deemed offensive, which has appeared on the Facebook pages of 2 jailed activists, despite them having no access to phones or the internet. The Department of Corrections has asked the Technology Crime Suppression Division to investigate content posted on the pages of jailed protest leaders Parit Chiwarak and Anon Nampa. Both Parit…
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PM to receive AstraZeneca vaccine on Sunday
The Thai PM, Prayut Chan-o-cha will receive the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine on Sunday, while Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul will receive the Chinese jab. According to a Bangkok Post report, Sopon Mekthon from the sub-committee on vaccine management says both politicians will receive their vaccines at the Bamrasnaradura Infectious Disease Institute. On Monday, the vaccination of priority groups in specific provinces…
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Foreign tourists must use Covid-19 tracking app when travelling to Thailand
Foreign tourists travelling to Thailand will need to download the Covid-19 contact tracking mobile application “ThailandPlus” before arriving in Thailand and use it throughout their stay. The app will notify travellers if they have been in close contact with any confirmed cases. Throughout their trip to Thailand, tourists will need to keep the app “on” and check in and out…
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Canadian Embassy to help Thailand recruit English teachers
Thailand officials want more native speaking English teachers and plan to recruit more than 10,000 English teachers for 300 schools to improve English proficiency among Thai students. To help draw in potential teachers, the Education Ministry is teaming up with the Canadian Embassy in Thailand. Teachers will be placed in schools once the pandemic has eased. Recruitment for the plan…
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Police officer arrested for allegedly stealing grenade launcher and other weapons
A police officer was arrested for allegedly stealing a M79 grenade launcher and other weapons from a police station armoury in Mae Hong Son, a province in Northern Thailand bordering Myanmar. Police say officer Santichai Luerat planned to sell the guns and ammunition to a buyer who would then sell the weapons to members of an ethnic minority across the…
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Did the Covid-19 virus actually originate in Thailand? | VIDEO
South East Asia was the source of Covid-19, not China. Even more specifically, it came from Thailand… from the famous Chatuchak market, or, as quoted correctly “a market LIKE Chatuchak”. That’s the claims of a Danish epidemiologist Thea Kolsen Fischer, who was on a recent World Health Organisation fact-finding mission to Wuhan to examine the origins of the latest coronavirus…
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Koh Samui to start Covid-19 vaccinations early next month
Covid-19 vaccinations on Koh Samui will start early next month with 2,500 doses planned to be given to 1,250 people on the island, according to Surat Thani governor Wichawut Jinto. Island authorities are also proposing that foreign visitors be allowed to quarantine on their yacht, at a villa hotel or at a wellness centre. The tourist island off the coast…
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Civil rights activist contests new version of NGO bill
A civil rights activist is accusing Thailand’s cabinet of revising a law without gaining the public’s input. The new version of the bill, which is supposed to dictate transparency in the promotion and development of civil society organisations, includes the words “non‐profit,” while the original version does not. The bill is also supposed to provide oversight of NGOs who may…
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Top epidemiologist warns that vaccination is not a cue to re-open borders
A specialist in infectious diseases at the Faculty of Medicine of Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University says the arrival of vaccines does not mean it’s safe to re-open to foreign visitors. Thira Woratanarat says opening the borders too soon will only put Thailand in more danger, pointing to a lack of data on the efficacy of vaccines against transmission. Thira adds that…
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Police raids shut down online network of casinos across 7 provinces
Police have shut down a network of online casinos in raids that took place across 7 provinces, with 19 suspects arrested and cash and other goods seized. In total, 8 online casino networks in 7 provinces have been shut down, with police apprehending 19 out of a total 22 suspects. Thai PBS World reports that the raids took place in…
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Behind bars: government ministers among 29 jailed for Yingluck protests
A number of government ministers have been jailed for their part in protests against the government of Yingluck Shinawatra that crippled Bangkok and ultimately led to the 2014 military coup. Yesterday, the Criminal Court handed prison sentences to 29 former members of the People’s Democratic Reform Committee, some of whom were serving in the current administration. Former politician and former…
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Thailand News Today | Vaccines have arrived, roll out from Monday | Feb 24
In today’s Thailand News Today, the government is at least now talking about lifting the mandatory quarantine, the first Covid vaccines will start in Thailand next Monday, and protesters change gears and go after alleged corruption in the Thai police force. We’ve also got a special report about the latest in the Thai Airways saga, all on our YouTube Channel.…
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Phuket police officer charged with attempted murder for shooting and critically injuring a noodle vendor
The drunk, off-duty police officer in Phuket who has caught on camera shooting and beating a noodle vendor on Bangla Road is now facing attempted murder charges as well as charges of carrying a firearm in public without a necessary reason and firing a weapon in a public area. The commander of the Phuket police station said he ordered investigators…
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AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine is also set to arrive in Thailand today
While news has been focused on today’s arrival of China’s Sinovac vaccine, it’s now being reported that 117,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will also arrive in Thailand today. The vaccines will be distributed to 13 provinces, including 9 that are considered the “highest risk” of Covid-19 infection as well as 4 popular tourist destinations that are of “economic significance”…
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Thai Vietjet resumes Phuket-Chiang Rai flights, launches promotion on air fare
The following is a press release from Thai Vietjet on its new promotion “Welcome Back to the Sky” and the resumption of Phuket-Chiang Rai flights. Thai Vietjet today announced the flight resumption of its domestic cross-regional service between Phuket – Chiang Rai, in response to the increasing travel demand after the government began relaxing travel measures in each province. The…
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Thai Airways president says “no,” they’re not buying more airplanes in 2025
After news that the bankrupt airline was planning to buy 20 to 30 more passenger jets in 2025, the Thai Airways International acting president says “no,” there is no plan to purchase more aircraft, and if flight demand goes up, the strapped-for-cash company will consider renting first. Nation Thailand reported that the airline was planning to buy up to 30…
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Pro-democracy activists rally against corrupt police promotion system
The pro-democracy group, Ratsadon, held a rally in Bangkok yesterday, this time with their sights set on Thailand’s police force and the corrupt practices involved in promotion. The system in which officers have to pay bribes to senior figures, allegedly including senior politicians, was highlighted in a debate in parliament last week. Activists met at the Ratchaprasong intersection in the…
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Bangkok bars are back open, restaurants serving booze again
Bangkok bars are back in business. People flocked to the city’s streets last night after hearing the news that bars could reopen and restaurants could start serving alcohol again… as long as they close by 11pm. Some started rolling out their mobile bars stocked beer and liquor, setting it up along a busy street. Restaurants changed their signs, erasing 9pm…
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Health Minister says PM will get AstraZeneca vaccine, too old for Sinovac
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha was initially first in line for China’s Sinovac vaccine, which just arrived in Thailand today, but Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul now says the the prime minister will be getting the AstraZeneca vaccine. Apparently, 66 year old Prayut is too old to get the Chinese-made vaccine. “It’s important that General Prayut take the first Covid-19 vaccine shot…
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Tourism officials aim for vaccinated travellers to enter Thailand by the third quarter of 2021
Vaccinated against Covid-19? You might be able to enter Thailand by July. The country’s tourism officials are now working on a plan to allow foreign tourists who have been vaccinated against the coronavirus to enter the country by the third quarter of 2021. The Tourism Authority of Thailand is waiting for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration to relax certain…
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Thailand News Today | Bars, pubs and restaurants ‘sort of’ back to normal | Feb 23
Bars and pubs throughout Thailand will be able to open from March 1 in every province except Samut Sakhon, the recent epicentre of new Covid-19 infections. With Thailand’s number of coronavirus infections now on a downward trajectory, many provinces with little to no cases have been reclassified by the CCSA. The majority of Thailand’s 77 provinces are now classified as…
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