News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond. The Thaiger delivers the latest national news that matters.
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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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Governments & old media versus social media – who will win? | VIDEO
We look at the recent changes made by the Australian and Indian governments to except control over the world’s biggest social media platforms. India has issued strict new rules for Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms just weeks after the Indian government attempted to pressure Twitter to take down social media accounts it deemed, well, anti social. There is…
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Myanmar’s representative to UN urges strong action against military after increasing violence against protesters
A representative to the UN for Myanmar is urging the “strongest action“ to be used against the military after it has used increasing amounts of violence against anti‐coup protesters. The latest round in violence occurred as riot police violently broke up peaceful protesters, arresting over 100 people in 3 major Myanmar cities. Kyaw Moe Tun made the appeal to the…
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PM Prayut postponing Covid‐19 vaccination citing paperwork issues
Thailand’s PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is postponing his inaugural Covid‐19 vaccination citing paperwork issues with the AstraZeneca vaccine shipment. According to Khaosod English, the vaccine shipment was sent to Thailand last Wednesday from South Korea, but was missing the additional required paperwork. Prayut was supposed to receive the vaccine tomorrow, but the highly‐publicised event will not be happening. According to Khaosod…
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Phuket Monopoly game creators need your help with token designs
Phuket is set to get its own version of the popular game MONOPOLY and its creators want your help with ideas for the specialised tokens. ‘MONOPOLY: Phuket Edition’ was announced last month which will see the street art on the board game replaced with that of famous places around Thailand’s famous tourist destination. Such art will include beaches, hotels, shops,…
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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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The social media giants in battle with ‘old’ media and world governments | VIDEO
https://youtu.be/HKKIuWHw_t8 “The rules signal greater willingness by countries around the world to rein in big tech firms such as Google, Facebook and Twitter that the governments fear have become too powerful with little accountability.” India has issued strict new rules for Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms just weeks after the Indian government attempted to pressure Twitter to take…
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Thailand’s most exclusive Beach Club | BaBa Beach Club Hua Hin | VIDEO
Nothing speaks more ‘private’ and ‘vacation’ than enjoying the beachfront view with a balcony pool and luxurious room. Follow Chris, as he (along with his family) takes you on a private get away in Hua Hin, one of Thailand’s most popular beach destinations on the Gulf of Thailand coast, for both tourists and locals. *our vlogger’s stay at the BaBa…
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Roadtrippers take a break at petrol station only to find dead body under car
A group of holiday road trippers from Pathum Thani got a horrifying surprise after finding a partial human body underneath one of their cars. The group was on their way to Koh Chang when they stopped at a petrol station this morning in the eastern province of Khao Saming. The 10 holidaymakers reported the discovery at Sawang Sawai PTT petrol…
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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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Phuket holds vaccine administration rehearsal as it waits for green light
Phuket is rehearsing procedures to ready themselves for the Covid‐19 vaccine administration green light. A rehearsal at Vachira Hospital’s Lan Muang Khao open area was held late yesterday to iron out any kinks in the administration process. Phuket Vice Governor Pichet Panapong watched over the procedures along with other health officials. Pichet says the first vaccine round of 4,000 doses…
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Chon Buri zoo invites people to vote on baby hippo’s name – VIDEO
A zoo in the eastern province of Chon Buri is inviting people to vote on the name of a baby pygmy hippopotamus born last month. Anuphong Anont from Khao Kheow Open Zoo says the baby made its first public appearance yesterday. “The female baby hippo was born on January 14 to 6-year-old mother Kanya and 21-year-old father Tony. The baby…
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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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Long Buddhist holiday to see over 40 percent reduction in domestic tourism
The long Buddhist festival holiday, which starts today, is set to see over a 40% reduction in domestic tourism. The Tourism and Transport Authority of Thailand has made the estimation which tallies around 1.09 million domestic trips, a number that is down 44% from last year’s Makha Bucha Day. The 2nd wave of the Covid pandemic this year has made…
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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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Lady Gaga offers US $500,000 reward for stolen bulldogs
Who knew that finding 2 french bulldogs would earn US $500,000? That is the case for the lucky person that finds Lady Gaga’s equally lucky stolen dogs. The dogs, Koji and Gustav, were stolen in Los Angeles, California while out on a walk with their dog walker. But that’s not all. The employee in charge of keeping the dogs healthy…
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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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Motorbike taxi attacked tourist in Pattaya because he was annoyed
A Pattaya motorbike taxi driver is saying he was annoyed when he attacked a Chilean man out of nowhere early yesterday morning. Amorn “Jeab” Boonmee was arrested after confessing to allegedly slapping and kicking 24 year old Salvatore Andres Castromedina, breaking his nose. According Khaosod English, Amorn says he acted in a “blind moment of fury” because he was annoyed…
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Day trip to Bangkok’s closest island – Koh Si Chang | VIDEO
Ko Si Chang (or Koh Sichang) is a district of Chon Buri Province, Thailand. It consists of the island of Ko Si Chang and its adjoining islands. Ko Si Chang is in the Gulf of Thailand, 12 kilometres off the shore of the Si Racha District coastline. It’s the closest island to Bangkok and a popular weekend away for Bangkokians.…
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Thailand News Today | Pollies in jail, Covid originated in Thailand? | Feb 25
Today on Thailand News Today, a number of government ministers have ended up in jail, the vaccines are about to roll out but experts say the injections are not the end of the pandemic, and A Pattaya motorbike taxi driver is being accused of attacking a Chilean national. We’ve also get a special report on the channel about accusations that…
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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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Another Thai man claims to have found a rare Melo pearl, shell was sold at a Pattaya market
Another Thai man is claiming to have found a rare Melo pearl. The Pattaya chef says he bought a shell from a local market a decade ago and had no idea the object inside was a rare pearl. After hearing the news about the man in Nakhon Si Thammarat finding what he believes is a Melo pearl possibly worth millions…
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Pattaya motorbike taxi allegedly attacks Chilean national
A Pattaya motorbike taxi driver is being accused of attacking a Chilean national, leaving his nose broken and face bloodied. 24 year old Salvatore Andres Castromedina, filed a report to the Pattaya City Police at around 2am this morning after saying he had left a nightclub on Pattaya’s Walking Street after it had closed. “I wanted to go to Soi…
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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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Indonesian and Thai foreign ministers meet with Myanmar counterpart, seek peace after coup
To seek a peaceful solution in Myanmar after the country’s military seized power, foreign ministers of Indonesia and Thailand met with the new, military-appointed foreign minister of Myanmar Wunna Maung Lwinat at Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport for a brief, 20 minute discussion. Both the Indonesian and Thai counterparts say they want peace, but the Indonesian foreign minister says Thailand has…
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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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Pattaya driver injured after falling asleep at the wheel, plunging into ditch
A driver asleep at the wheel of his car has broken both legs after the vehicle ended up in a ditch in the Banglamung area of Pattaya. The Pattaya News reports that 33 year old Nattaphon Sukmanat had to be cut out of the vehicle before being rushed to hospital for surgery. The local police force was notified of the…
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