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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Sponsored 10 biggest challenges retirees face in Thailand (and how to overcome them)
Retiring in Thailand comes with many benefits, like warm weather, affordable living, and a rich culture. However, it also brings challenges. Retirees must deal with visa rules, healthcare costs, language barriers, and cultural differences. Rising medical expenses, required insurance, and...
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5 police officers injured in suspected insurgent bomb explosion
5 police officers were injured in a bomb explosion in Narathiwat, a predominantly Muslim province bordering Malaysia that has been plagued with violence related to the religious separatist insurgency. Officers were on their way to investigate a fire at a cell tower in the Si Sakhon district when a bomb planted under the road exploded, injuring 5 officers and damaging…
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Thai court orders opposition leader to take down videos criticising Covid-19 vaccine plan
Thailand’s Criminal Court is ordering one of the government’s biggest critics to take down videos on YouTube and Facebook where he says the government’s Covid-19 vaccine plan lacks transparency and unfairly favours a company owned by HM the King. The government is also accusing Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, founder of the Progressive Movement, of violating the draconian lèse majesté law which carries…
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Changes to Thai provincial Covid zones – what’s re-opening today?
There are quite a few changes coming into effect today around many of the Thai provinces. Some types of businesses will be re-opening and some restrictions are being lifted. The new measures go into effect TODAY. Here is a list from the National News Bureau of Thailand… Maximum control (Dark Red): Samut Sakhon The following locations will remain closed: Pubs,…
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Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi arrested and detained, NLD spokesman
Myanmar’s leader, officially the incumbent State Counsellor, Aung San Suu Kyi, along with other senior government figures have been arrested and detained, according to a spokesman for the governing National League for Democracy, Myo Nyunt. “State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and some other senior figures are being detained in Nay Pyi Taw.” There has been days of escalating tension…
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Sunday’s Covid-19 report for Thailand, 829 new infections
829 new Covid-19 infections have been announced today at the daily briefing of the CCSA from the past 24 hours, bringing the accumulated national total 18,782 since Thailand’s first case was announced in January last year. Sunday’s new infections comprised 822 local cases and 7 imported from overseas arrivals. Read about Thailand’s first case, and the first case of Covid-19 outside…
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Railway union rejects plans to close the Hua Lamphong Station which is set to be closed in November
Trains, planes and buses in Thailand all have restricted travel at the moment. In the case of the flights, domestic carriers have been forced to cancel or reschedule hundreds of flights due to the high drop off of passenger traffic since the start of Thailand’s second wave of Covid-19 which kicked off on December 20 last year. But amidst the…
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North East aviation college faces funding shortfall and allegations of corruption
Almost 200 million baht has “disappeared” from the bank account of the International Aviation College, part of the Nakhon Phanom University. They’ve now approached the Thai government for support to help tackle its liquidity problems. Without an injection of cash the aviation college may have to close down. The IAC has trained thousands of Thailand’s commercial pilots in one of the…
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Lights, camera, Covid – Tourism Ministry wants film crews to come to Thailand now
Without much luck with their ‘cunning ideas’ to draw back a few of the remaining world’s travellers, Thailand’s tourism officials are turning to the film industry to attract some people and investment. The Tourism and Sports Ministry is aiming to generate around 3 billion baht from foreign film crews and is targeting film projects with an investment over 100 million baht.…
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Pattaya Beach, fly over the pristine but horrifyingly empty beaches | VIDEO
The Thailand Discovery YouTube channel has captured an empty Pattaya beach front for the first month of 2021. The first month of any year would usually be one of the busiest months of the year and the beaches should be heaving with tourists in the post Christmas/New Year break and the lead up to the Chinese New Year travel burst.…
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7 million Thais already signed up to latest stimulus package
7 million Thais have already registered for the latest economic stimulus package – Rao Chana (We Win). But Thailand’s Finance Minister believes that 10 million will finally register for the new relief in the wake of the second wave of Covid-19 infections sweeping the Kingdom. The new scheme is similar to other government stimulus packages where recipients aren’t just given…
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Road sweeper finds an unexploded shell on Chon Buri highway
A 56 year old road sweeper did more than just clean a Chon Buri highway yesterday, he cleared the road completely. The man found a large piece of explosive ordnance on the main city motorway yesterday afternoon. Chon Buri city police were notified of the 45 centimetre long ‘shell’ found on the side of the road on the main motorway. The…
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Covid-19 – Thailand report for Saturday
The CCSA has announced the Saturday totals for new Covid-19 infections over the past 24 hours. A total of 930 new cases of Covid-19 has added to the country’s total, since the start of the outbreak, of 17,953. A 31 year old Thai man, who suffered from cirrhosis and alcoholism, also died from complications of the Covid-19 infection. He contracted Covid-19…
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Thai police officers crippled by accumulated 270 billion baht debt
Thailand’s police officers have amassed a total of 270 billion baht in debts. The staggering accumulated debt trap of the country’s individual police officers was revealed yesterday by the national police chief Suwat Jangyodsuk. During Covid there has been fewer hours and overtime for duty policeman. And in the popular tourist areas there have been fewer tourists to ‘police’ and…
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Re-openings and easing of restrictions in Chon Buri, effective Monday, February 1
Re-open for business, sort of. Chon Buri province’s PR department has released its latest list of orders which will come into force on Monday. It follows the CCSA changing the Chon Buri provinces Red Zone classification into an Orange Zone. More about the latest provincial zones and restrictions HERE. The hard-hit bar and entertainment scene in Pattaya will be breathing…
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3 arrested over January 16 ping pong bomb attack in Bangkok
3 men have been arrested in over a bomb attack that injured 5 people who were part of a a pro-democracy demonstration near Chulalongkorn University earlier this month. The 5 people injured included 3 police and 2 protesters. The injuries were only minor. The arrested men are 23 year old Pornchai Prakapuang, 30 year old Weerayut Sumritruangsri and 19 year…
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Myanmar Election Commission pours cold water on the Army’s claims of election fraud
Tensions are high in Myanmar with rumours swirling of a possible military coup. Some in the leadership of the Burmese military have openly circulated inflammatory statements regarding possible electoral fraud. The US embassy, along with 16 other countries including former colonial power Britain and EU countries, released a statement yesterday urging for the military “adhere to democratic norms”. They’ve expressed…
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Taxi and transport drivers calling for help from the Thai government
Unions of Thai Taxi workers and Thai automobile drivers have handed over an official request to a government labour committee to file a request to the government seeking financial support. Thai Taxi workers passed over their requests to Suthep Yoo-on, the chairman of the Labour Committee officially seeking industry support. Just about all sectors of the country’s transport infrastructure have…
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Thailand News Today | Monk busted over ‘ice’ alms | January 29
Police arrested a 45 year old Buddhist monk for allegedly getting high on methamphetamine at a temple in the north eastern province of Buriram. The monk allegedly told police that a follower gave him the drugs as a merit gift and convinced him to take it. Local police say they received a complaint from the Baan Kok Mueng temple’s abbot…
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Chon Buri hotels and tourism businesses ordered to close
Hotels and tourist attractions in Chonburi must close, according to an official order from the province’s communicable disease committee. Hotel and other businesses related to the tourism industry, who struggled due to the provincial travel restrictions, actually requested the order so employees could get unemployment benefits. With the official closure order, the employees can receive 3 month compensations from the…
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Hemp now legal to grow in Thailand
Hemp is now legal to grow in Thailand, the Food and Drug Administration announced. The general public can seek permission to grow hemp for commercial, medical, educational, personal, traditional, and cultural purposes. There will be training sessions to educate the public about laws and regulations on hemp as well as health-related products made from hemp. According to the FDA deputy…
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Thailand’s immunisation plan might be delayed, EU threatens ban on vaccine exports
Thailand plans to receive the first batch of AstraZeneca vaccines within the next couple of weeks, but the mass immunisation campaign might be put on hold due to possible restrictions on exports from the European Union. The EU warned pharmaceutical companies, like AstraZeneca, that they would take legal action and possibly block exports if the drugmakers do not deliver shots…
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Monk arrested on drug charges, allegedly told police methamphetamine was a merit gift
Police arrested a 45 year old Buddhist monk for allegedly getting high on methamphetamine at a temple in the Isaan province Buriram. The monk allegedly told police that a follower gave him the drugs as a merit gift and convinced him to take it. Satuek district police say they received a complaint from the Baan Kok Mueng temple’s abbot claiming…
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Chon Buri tutoring centre owner arrested for allegedly sexually abusing a student
A 59 year old teacher and owner of a tutoring centre in Chon Buri’s Bang Saen district was arrested for allegedly sexually abusing a 15 year old student. Police say the sexual abuse was caught on camera. In a video obtained by police, the teacher was seen touching the girl’s breasts and then moving his hand under her skirt while…
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Man killed and 2 injured after sports car collides with van in Bangkok
A man was killed and 2 others were injured in a traffic accident last night in Bangkok’s Nong Khaem district. Thai media says 35 year old Natthawat was driving a “souped up” Nissan Skyline when he lost control of the sports car, driving over the median and colliding with an oncoming van. Police responding to the accident on Petchkasem Road…
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Germany advises AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine only be given to adults under 65
German officials advise that the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine should only be administered to people between the ages of 18 and 64. The recommendation follows reports that the AstraZeneca vaccine, developed in partnership with Oxford University, has an efficacy less than 10% in those over 65 years old. The pharmaceutical firm shot down the claims saying the reports are “completely incorrect.”…
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Scrub away Pattaya’s restrictions with a Walking Street wash-a-thon
Without much other good news on the horizon, Pattaya officials have celebrated almost two weeks of no new Covid-19 infections with a celebratory ‘wash down’ of Walking Street. The ritual ‘wetting’, in the Songkran tradition, was seen as a new beginning, washing away the bad spirits and the bad times that had fallen on the once-busy red light district. Sonthaya…
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Thailand News Today | Island Party Crackdown | January 28
Around 9,000 people will face criminal charges for allegedly defrauding the “We Travel Together” subsidy scheme which was launched to stimulate the local tourist economy and to help hotels and restaurants ravaged from the long list of restrictions and international border closure. The national police chief says the police plan to prosecute around 9,000 people for conspiring with hotel operators…
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15,000 people in Samut Sakhon at high risk of infection, health officials concerned
The rising number of infections in Samut Sakhon, most detected through proactive testing, has prompted serious concerns over a “high risk” group of 15,000 people, many who still work and travel as normal. The number for the high risk group is a rough estimate based on the assumption that there are at least 3 people who came in close contact…
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PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says 19 million people will be vaccinated in the first phase of immunisations
After criticism that the Thai government is taking too long to start mass Covid-19 immunisation, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha announced that 19 million people will be vaccinated in the first phase of inoculations starting next month. Vulnerable groups and frontline workers in areas at the highest risk of infection are first priority. Out of the 19 million people to be vaccinated…
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Norwegian man arrested at Bangkok airport for allegedly faking Certificate of Entry
Thai immigration police arrested a Norwegian man at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport for allegedly faking his Certificate of Entry, a document issued by the Thai Embassy to allow foreigners to enter Thailand during the Covid-19 pandemic. The man presented the document to immigration officers at the Bangkok airport. Officers were suspicious and contacted the Royal Thai Embassy in Oslo, Norway who then…
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