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 Long-term life in Thailand? 5 reasons private health insurance pays off in the long run
Thailand is a great place for expats and retirees, offering a warm climate, affordable living, and rich culture. However, healthcare can be tricky for foreigners since they aren’t eligible for public health coverage, and private care can be expensive. Private...
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Where to post all of your job positions: Completely free!
Recruitment can cost you more than you realize. You do not want to sacrifice candidate quality, but you don’t wish to spend too much time and money to find them. All types of employers are searching online for platforms they can use to post their job positions for free. From social networking websites to job boards, there are many ways…
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Screws tightening on Non Immigrant visas for expats wishing to live in Thailand
SOURCE: ThaiVisa A decade ago there seemed to be various ways to stay in Thailand long-term. There was a bit of wriggle room in the interpretation of the guidelines and there was always ‘ways and means’ of securing a visa (nudge nudge, wink, wink). But the screws are being tightened on expats, retirees and long-stayers who are finding their options…
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Ayutthaya Elephant Palace to be relocated for park make-over
Ayutthaya Historical Park has sent a notice to the popular Ayutthaya Elephant Palace, located on Pa Ton road, to vacate the area within 30 days to allow for improvements of the park’s landscape. The elephants, keepers and mahouts are still providing services to tourists visiting the park. Laithongrient Meephan, owner of the Elephant Palace, told Thai PBS that he is…
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How many tourists visit the real Thailand?
PHOTO: Sarah Lazarus – CNN Thailand is best known for its beaches, astonishing street food, markets and diverse south-east Asian culture. But how many people get out of the cities and tourist traps and get to experience the real Thailand? How many expats, living in Thailand, even get to experience the real Thailand? Thailand is the fourth most popular holiday…
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PM cannot legally attend cabinet meetings or ASEAN Summit – Future Forward
…but we bet he will. Future Forward’s secretary-general says the PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has violated the Constitution by chairing cabinet meetings both last week and yesterday. He also cast doubt over Prayut’s capacity to host next week’s ASEAN Summit in Bangkok as Thailand’s PM. Piyabutr Saengkanokkul claims that PM Prayut was appointed the post-election prime minister by a Royal Command dated…
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Tesco looks to open 750 new convenience stores in Thailand
by James Davey, Editing by Paul Sandle Tesco, the UK’s largest retailer, has announced that it could grow its business in Thailand by opening 750 new convenience-style stores. There are currently1,583 Tesco stores in Thailand. Tesco’s Asian investment plunge will likely target the Chinese and South Korean markets as well. The Thai subsidiary, Tesco Lotus, was the first western supermarket to set…
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Owner of boarding school arrested for allegedly killing 15 year old student
PHOTO: Tapakorn “Chaidaen” Sapsin, who died on June 13 by Wasukit Lao-in Police have arrested the 27 year old owner of a boarding school in Nakhon Sawan, his wife and his mother-in-law, for their alleged role in the assault of a 15 year old schoolboy earlier this month which led to his death five days later. The school owner has…
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Bus conductor fired, company fined for molesting ladyboy passenger
An inter-provincial Thai bus conductor has been fired and the bus company fined 5,000 baht after he allegedly molested a transgender passenger on-board. The bus was travelling to Nong Bua Lamphu, near Udon Thani, north-east Thailand, from Bangkok. The bus company, which Land Transport officials have declined to name, was fined 5,000 baht by his office for providing substandard bus…
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Homeopathy ‘doctor’ forced to back down on Dengue-cure claims
The Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine has been forced to backtrack from its un-researched claims that its homeopathic formula is highly effective for dengue-fever protection. “It’s just a supplementary measure that needs further research,” Dr Sunpong Ritthiruksa admitted in his capacity as the chair of the department’s centre for herbal medicine, Thai traditional medicine, folk medicine and alternative…
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Thailand to sit on UN committee from 2020
PHOTO: Thailand’s Foreign Affairs Minister Don Paramudwinai Thailand has been selected as a member of the UN Economic and Social Council from 2020 to 2022 on behalf of Asia and the Pacific region, alongside China, South Korea and Bangladesh. Thailand won 186 votes in the selection process. Thailand’s Foreign Affairs Minister Don Paramudwinai also participated in the session. Last time…
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Russian tourist drowns in red flag swimming zone in Trat
PHOTOS: The Pattaya News | Siam Rath A Russian tourist has drowned at a beach on Koh Chang in Trat, far east Thailand, in the red-flagged, no swimming zone yesterday. Navy officers on Koh Chang are warning tourists going to beaches with red flags along the shore to stay out of the water when there are high waves in the…
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More internal bickering for Democrats over split of cabinet seats
Democrat party MPs find themselves again torn over important decisions.. This time the party is split over the sharing of eight cabinet posts allocated to them by their leading coalition partner, Palang Pracharat. Last week the decided to side with the pro-Junta Palang Pracharat party to vote Prayut Chan-o-cha into the PM position. They’d campaigned on ensuring that Prayut wouldn’t…
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Thai PM acts on illegal and unlicensed hotels and accommodation
Owners of shop-houses, rented properties, even entire floors of condos – running them as defacto hotels – are about to get the Article 44 treatment. The PM, acting in his capacity as the head of the NCPO (in the days before it is dissolved), says he will bring an estimated 20,000 illegal hotels and accommodations around the country under control…
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Complaints made over 41 pro-Junta coalition MPs over their alleged media shares
Just as it appeared the dust was settling on the fractious formation of a new parliament for Thailand, more than 40 MPs of the pro-junta bloc are now targeted in cases related to media shareholding after their names were submitted to the Constitutional Court. Should these MPs be suspended or disqualified, the pro-junta coalition’s narrow Lower House majority could vanish…
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45 year old British man found dead at Koh Chang luxury hotel
PHOTO: Tourist Police Bureau A British man has been found dead in front of his hotel room on Koh Chang. Koh Chang is in Thailand’s far east, off the coast of Trat. The 45 year old tourist died near a swimming pool at the Sea View Koh Chang Hotel, according to tourist police. Police say the man was lying in…
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Poll shows most respondents don’t believe Future Forward bribe claims
PHOTO: prachatai.com More than 53% of respondents to a recent poll don’t believe the claim that the Future Forward party made in the days before last week’s parliametrary vote for the PM, that they had been offered millions of baht for their supporting votes. At the time some Future Forward Ps went public claims they were offered amounts as high…
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Prayut sworn in as 29th Thai PM. Cabinet appointments remain unresolved.
PHOTOS: The Nation Prayut Chan-o-cha was sworn in as the 29th Thai Prime Minister in a ceremony at Government House yesterday. Key points… • PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has received royal endorsement as the new prime minister in a ceremony at Government House, a week after winning a vote in Parliament. • The ceremony was attended by the leaders of the…
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Huawei running 5G testbeds in Thailand
China phone-giant Huawei, along with Thailand’s Digital Economy and Society Ministry and interested partners, is now turning the much-awaited 5G Testbed into a reality. As the first and only vendor so far to deliver the 5G network to Thailand’s 5G Testbed in the Eastern Economic Corridor in Sri Racha, Huawei is providing a platform that will be used for end-to-end…
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Thai Medical Council warns local men against penis enlargement scams and bogus treatments
WARNING: This story may make men squirm and some women laugh. The Thai Medical Council on Facebook is warning Thai men to stop trying to enlarge their penises, especially with DIY treatments. They report that there thousands of Thai men, mostly between 20-30 years, who are injecting themselves with various substances in the hope of ending up with a larger…
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Preparing for the floods and Thailand’s wet season
The current deputy PM and Defense Minister, Prawit Wongsuwan, has instructed administrative, military and police officers to better prepare for flooding in all regions of the country this wet season. The call went out following severe flooding around the capital last Friday afternoon. Authorities have been instructed to prepare for the prevention and containment of torrential waters, landslides and flooding…
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More prison time for Premchai over poaching case
Thailand’s construction tycoon Premchai Karnasutra has been sentenced to another year in jail after being found guilty of trying to bribe officials while being arrested at the Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary in Kanchanaburi in February last year. The Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases Region 7 acquitted Premchai’s aide Yong Dodkhruea of bribery, defined in law as inducing…
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Thai PM receives royal endorsement. Negotiations on hold for today’s ceremonies.
Thailand’s new Prime Minister, the old one but now elected by the new parliament last Wednesday, is reported to have agreed to the ministerial post quotas Palang Pracharath promised to the Democrat and Bhumjaithai parties. Prayut Chan-o-cha has reportedly invited all coalition partners to stop squabbling and attend the swearing-in ceremony for him to formerly take the post of PM in…
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Private sector waits for new economic ministers to raise investor confidence
The private sector says they’re waiting to see the new ministers emerge from the current negotiations that will be in charge of economic portfolios, who may raise the confidence of investors. Meanwhile, the Consumer Confidence Index was at 77.7 in for the month of May, the lowest in 19 months. Thanawat Pholvichai, director of University of the Thai Chamber of…
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Democrats say, as far as they’re concerned, nothing has changed
“Everything is OK. There have been no changes to ministry portfolios. The Democrat seats in Cabinet are secure.” Democrat Party leader Jurin Laksanavisit has been dismissive this morning about weekend reports of factional members within Palang Pracharat wanting to reclaim ministries in the new parliament. He says confusion over the ministerial portfolios in the new government arose after members of…
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Not negotiable. Democrats and Bhumjaithai draw a line in the Thai political sand
PHOTO: Bhumjaithai leader, Anutin Charnvirakul Bhumjaithai want to retain the Transport portfolio, as promised. The Democrats say they will not ‘return’ the Agriculture or Commerce portfolios, as it was promised. The deals were struck with the Palang Pracharat in the final hours before the parliamentary election of the next PM to secure votes for their candidate, Prayut Chan-o-cha. Both Bhumjaithai…
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We cast our eyes into Thailand’s political crystal ball
The new Thai government, still being legoed together after more than two months since the election, is fragile at best, terminal at worst. The government faces serious problems, no matter if you see it as a defacto military rule, a democratic hatchet job or a fair election (cough). • Prime Minister Prayut will now face lengthy debates, and even ridicule,…
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Facing headwinds in 2019, Thai economy looks better for 2020
The Thai economy is projected to grow 3.8% in 2019, slightly below last year’s 4.2%. The main reason is slower growth in the global economy. thailand-business-news.com reports that this is likely to lead to a deceleration in Thai exports and tourism, which will impact domestic consumption. But the report says that foreign direct investment and government stimulus measures could prop up…
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Not everyone is happy with the closure of Thailand’s National Park hot spots
PHOTO: Sunrise Divers Nature happy. Tour operators unhappy. The closure, albeit temporary, of several of Thailand’s favourite marine national parks and coastal sites, is not universally supported. As the country’s tourist growth plateaus, the baht remains strong and hungry tour operators battle for the same tourist dollar, having many of the most popular attractions struck off their tour list is causing…
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Thais outraged by tourist doing yoga poses at historic and sacred sites
PHOTO: Andreita Levin New outrage alert. Doing yoga poses on famous or sacred sites around Thailand will get you into trouble with the authorities. Tourist Police say they’ve caught up with a foreign woman who shared photos on her Instagram account performing yoga exercises at sacred and historic sites around Thailand. “A Mexican yoga teacher from Canada is being criticised…
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Dumped shredded Thai baht notes found on the Trat roadside
by Poonsak Boonloy Confetti? Leftovers from a paper cannon? No, shredded and dumped Thai bank notes in far eastern Thailand. A large amount of the shredded banknotes, with denominations of 20, 50 and 500 baht, were found dumped on the roadside in Ban Khok Moo 5 of Tambon Nong Samet in Trat’s main city area yesterday. Pol Captain Somphok Srichuchit…
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