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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Thailand’s healthcare system is well-regarded across Southeast Asia, with options ranging from public hospitals to world-class private facilities. But when it comes to foreign residents or tourists, healthcare access isn’t as straightforward. So, do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?...
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Makha Bucha Day – Why does Thailand have a public holiday?
For Thai buddhists the day is a day of reflection and visits to the temple. For many others it’s a day of alcohol abstinence. In fact there is always a 24 hour alcohol ban imposed on the day, from midnight to midnight. Buddhist commemorations make up a number of the public holidays on the Thai calendar, among them is Makha…
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No alcohol sales today – Makha Bucha Day
A 24 hour ban on alcohol sales for Makha Bucha Day will remain in effect until midnight tonight (Saturday). Makha Bucha is a sacred Buddhist holiday which refers to a day to honour the third lunar month and, in particular, the Buddha and the teachings that he delivered on the full moon day of the fourth lunar month. The 24 hour…
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New bikes must meet Euro 4 emissions standards
A new government policy, which will take effect on March 29, requires all new motorbikes sold in Thailand to meet Euro 4 emissions standards. Officials of the Thai Industrial Standards Institute met yesterday with representatives of more than 40 motorbike manufacturers, including Honda and Yamaha, informing them of the requirements. The measure is intended to help tackle Thailand’s PM2.5 dust…
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Thailand’s plastics industry wants the government’s help to keep afloat
There may be less plastic bags being handed out around Thailand, and that’s a good thing. But there’s been a down side – the failure of an entire industry and the people it employees. Now the Thai Labour Minister is being asked to step in and help the dozens of Thai plastic bag manufacturers which are at risk of closing…
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Prawit defends police chief promoting his own son
Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan said yesterday that there is nothing illegal about the police commissioner promoting his own son to a senior police rank despite not meeting all of the criteria. The Royal Thai Police Office insists that Chanant Chaijinda was promoted on merit, and not because he’s the son of national police chief Chakthip Chaijinda. The RTPO was responding…
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Alarms raised after Hunan bird flu outbreak
The Livestock Development Department raised alarms yesterday in the wake of a bird flu outbreak in the Hunan province of China, just south of Hubei, the epicentre of the Novel Coronavirus outbreak. Director-general of the department Sorawit Thanito says provincial officials were ordered to advise local farmers to prevent the disease and apply medicine in high-risk areas. According to Sorawit,…
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Thai Lion Air offers Thais stuck in China free “Fly them back home” flights
Thai Lion Air, the Thai subsidiary of the Indonesian budget airline, is saying it will help repatriate Thais living in various cities in China, where air transportation is still allowed, under the airline’s “Fly them back home” project, free of charge. They are planning the flights home between February 5 and 8. “Passengers will be given a thorough examination as…
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Rural students to get digital boost with “e-School”
College students in rural areas of Thailand will soon get a boost in the quality of their education: Mae Fah Luang University (MFU) in Chiang Rai has developed an e-School system for the administration of education in rural areas with a 7 million baht grant from the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Research and Development Fund for Public Interest (BTFP), under the…
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Thai doctors claim drug cocktail treats Coronavirus
Doctors in Bangkok believe they’ve discovered a cocktail of drugs that effectively treats the Wuhan Coronavirus. At a media briefing yesterday, the two doctors claimed that a combination of flu and anti-AIDS drugs has been shown effective in treating patients who tested positive for the virus. The two doctors from Rajavithi Hospital, Kriangsak Atipornwanich and Subsai Kongsangdao, declared the combination…
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Coronavirus UPDATE – Confirmed cases exceed 17,000, 362 deaths
The Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) has now spread to 27 countries and territories worldwide. There are 17,387 confirmed cases and 362 deaths as of this morning. Welcome to our Monday morning update as we enter a new month with the coronavirus still growing , both inside China and outside, with the first death outside China over the weekend – a 44…
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Danish man dies in Chon Buri skydiving incident
A 30 year old Danish man is dead after his parachute failed to open in central Thailand on Saturday. The incident occurred at a jump site in the Sri Racha district of Chon Buri province. Police were alerted at 12:30pm. The 30-year-old Danish national, Stefan Eiriksson Andersen, was found lying face-up and unconscious, blood coming from his mouth and nose.…
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Government to extend the “Chim Shop Chai” stimulus program this month
The government is set to roll out a new phase of last year’s successful Chim Shop Chai (Eat Shop Spend) stimulus program to promote domestic spending. The measure is also intended to encourage investment by businesses in an economy hampered by a slowdown in tourist arrivals as a result of the ongoing Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak. The package, to be implemented…
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Washington imposes travel ban, quarantines
In a dramatic reversal, the Trump administration yesterday announced severe travel restrictions and quarantines that officials say are meant to limit the spread of the Wuhan Coronavirus. The move is an about-face after the government initially downplayed the potential risks. The administration declared a national public health emergency and, from tomorrow at 5pm, will bar all non-citizens who recently visited…
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Baht loses nearly half its 2019 gains
The Thai baht, whose meteoric rise seemed unstoppable only weeks ago, has become Asia’s worst performing currency so far this year. It’s lost nearly half of its 2019 gains in just a month as fears over the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak threaten Thai tourism. The Year of the Rat has not been kind to Thailand. As late as December, there were…
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Coronavirus – Taxi driver first human-to-human infection in Thailand
Four Chinese airline passengers from China’s Hubei province, and one Thai citizen – a taxi driver – have now been confirmed as infected with the novel coronavirus. The announcement came from the Permanent Health Secretary Sukhum Karnchanapimai says in a briefing in Bangkok. The latest announcement brought the current toll of confirmed coronavirus cases in the Kingdom to 19. Of…
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Thailand charters civilian plane to repatriate stranded Thais in Wuhan
The Thai government will charter a plane from a commercial airline to evacuate Thai citizens trapped in the Chinese city of Wuhan. The Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says they’ve opted not to use a military transport plane as the Chinese government declined to permit a military aircraft repatriate the Thais earlier this week. It was reported that there remains about…
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Grab plans to be in 30 Thai provinces this year
Grab, the everyday-everything-travel-food-delivery-super-app, has kicked off 2020 by announcing its expansion plan to second-tier cities and provinces across Thailand through a new, innovative business model using Mini-Grab Centres (Mini-GCs). The move will see it extend its presence to 30 of Thailand’s 76 provinces before the end of 2020 and help increase the benefits of Thailand 4.0 and the digital economy…
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Thailand considers suspending visa-on-arrival for Chinese
The Cabinet committee responsible for “preventing emerging diseases” will meet today to roll out various measures in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak affecting the region, according to Thai Public Health Minister Anuthin Charnvirakul. One proposed measure is the temporary suspension of visa-on-arrival for Chinese nationals, in line with the Chinese ban on outbound group tours. Anuthin stressed that the…
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Sixth virus patient in Thailand discharged, 8 remain in hospital
A sixth coronavirus patient in Thailand has been cleared, discharged and sent home. Sophon Iamsirithavorn, director-general of the Department of Disease Control, say the count of 14 detected cases remains the same in Thailand as of noon yesterday. All 14, believed to have contracted the disease in China, were treated at Bamrasnaradura Infectious Disease Institute in Nonthaburi. Six of the 14…
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‘Blind’ beggar found driving SUV, fined
Further to a story already reported by The Thaiger, a gambler, pretending to be a blind beggar to pay his debts, is blaming his daughter’s refusal to send him money. Somporn Kueyen’s ruse was exposed after a video on social media went viral, showing him parking a Toyota Fortuner outside a temple in Nonthaburi, near Bangkok. He was wearing ragged…
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U-Tapao, AIS collaborate on smart terminal
U-Tapao Rayong Pattaya International Airport and AIS, Thailand’s largest GSM mobile phone operator, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to turn the airport’s Passenger Terminal 2 into a “smart terminal.” U-Tapao, a joint civil/military public airport serving Rayong and Pattaya City, has been working on developing digital solutions with AIS in its second passenger terminal since 2018. Now it is…
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Thai police scrutinised over record number of dismissed human trafficking cases
Thailand is home to about 610,000 modern-day slaves, or about one in 113 of its population of 69 million, according to the Global Slavery Index by the Walk Free Foundation. Yet Thai prosecutors turned down nearly a fifth of human trafficking cases sent to them by police last year. This has raised concerns that police were on a drive to…
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The rise of the e-bicycle in Thailand, a bit of motorised assistance
by Nicole Kash Cycling tours offer a unique way to explore Thailand. Faster than walking but slower than driving, cycling tours cover plenty of ground while allowing cyclists to immerse themselves in the sights, smells, and culture of Thailand without the boundary of a car window. Cycling tours can cover up to a heart-pumping 150 kilometre a day. Though exciting…
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Deputy transport minister says Thai Airways must increase revenue, cut costs
Thai Airways International is in the process of slashing costs and restructuring. Deputy Transport Minister Thaworn Senneam discussed Thailand’s open sky policy and stressed the importance of increasing revenue and reducing expenditure to turn the airline around and make it sustainable. Thaworn, along with the assistant secretary at the Ministry of Transport and other officials visited Thai Airways’ HQ to…
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Thailand to screen all airline passengers from China for coronavirus
Beginning yesterday, all airline passenger arrivals from China, regardless of their point of origin, are being screened for the Wuhan Coronavirus when entering Thailand. Health officials announced the measure after six more Chinese visitors were diagnosed with the virus, bringing the total in Thailand to 14 cases. The death toll from the outbreak now stands at 131 (as of Wednesday morning),…
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School of weed: Ministries preparing course on medical marijuana
The government wants people to have the facts as the medicinal effects, and possible risks, of ‘ganja’ emerge. UPDATE: The Cabinet today gave the greenlight for kanchong (cannabis) cultivation to make this type of hemp a cash crop, according to Thai News Agency’s English news. As earlier reported by The Thaiger, two Thai government agencies have agreed to cooperate to…
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Coronavirus UPDATE – 5,578 confirmed cases, 131 dead
We awake to the latest news today on the spread of the Coronavirus where 5,578 people are now confirmed as infected and undergoing treatment, and the death toll reaching 131. 125 of those deaths are isolated to Hubei Province in central China (graph below). The largest city of Hubei is Wuhan, the epicentre of the current outbreak which first came…
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Coronavirus – six new cases confirmed in Thailand
Six new cases of of the novel coronavirus are now confirmed for Thailand by the Ministry of Public Health. That brings the total number of cases detected to 14. The six new cases have all been hospitalised. Dr. Suhum Kanchanapimai, the Public health permanent secretary, confirmed that five of the six confirmed cases were members of the same Chinese family…
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No permission from Beijing to evacuate Thais from China
China has so far not granted Thailand permission to land a plane to evacuate Thais in light of the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says China is handling the situation, and the Thai government must prepare a list of Thai nationals currently in China, an assembly point and a departure table before permission is given. “China confirmed that it can…
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Thai tourism to take hit over Coronavirus
by Bill Barnett of c9hotelworks.com A travel ban is now in effect in Mainland China for tour groups who were booked for holidays overseas. Over the past few days hoteliers in Phuket, Bangkok and throughout the country are reporting significant cancellations, not only of groups but also independent travellers (FITs). Last year Mainland Chinese travellers to Thailand nearly eclipsed 11 million,…
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