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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New delivery application focuses on reducing Thailand’s food waste
The following story was sent to The Thaiger from the Yindii, a business focused on sustainability and reducing waste produced from the food industry. Yindii, a Thai anti-food-waste startup, launches a mobile application designed to match hungry, deal-seeking Bangkok residents with environmentally-conscious restaurants, grocery stores and cafes offering delicious food that could otherwise go to waste. Through its discounted “flash…
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“Open the borders, safely”, Bill Heinecke, Minor International interview – VIDEO
Bill Heinecke speaks to Bill Barnett. The two heavy-hitters of Thailand’s hotel and hospitality sector, mull over the current Covid situation and the reopening of Thailand’s borders to some form of tourism. Bill Heinecke is the Chairman and Founder of Minor International. Bill Barnett is the Managing Director of c9hotelworks.com Now the Thai government has approved the special long-term tourist…
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St Mark’s International School ‘breaks ground’ with their new Bangkok campus
St Mark’s International School celebrated a groundbreaking event last Saturday by literally ‘breaking ground,’ by conducting a ceremonial dig on their new proposed campus in Bangkok. The successful Christian International School has been operating out of their current Rama 9 Campus for the last 20 years and is now planning to expand exponentially when the new campus in Sri Nakarin Road…
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5 new Covid-19 cases in quarantine, some with cough symptoms
5 new Covid-19 cases were detected whilst returnees or foreigners were in quarantine, with some reporting cough symptoms, according to Thailand’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Thailand now has 3,691 confirmed Covid-19 cases with 3,488 recoveries and 59 deaths. 744 cases were detected in the mandatory state quarantine for those entering the country. 144 people are currently receiving medical treatment…
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Governor halts movement of goods between Tak and Myanmar amid Covid fears
The governor of the north-western province of Tak has put a temporary stop on the transport of goods between the province and Myanmar, just across the border. The suspension comes amid increasing anxiety about the number of Covid-19 cases in the neighbouring country and is expected to remain in force until at least October 25. Governor Pongrat Piromrat called a…
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Koh Samui tourism operators want cheaper flights to lure tourists
Koh Samui needs more visitors, from anywhere. A number of hotels on the island, one of Thailand’s popular tourist destinations hit by the pandemic-induced travel bans, are certified for alternative local state quarantine, or ALSQ, and now tourism officials are looking to lure travellers in with cheaper flights. Getting the prices lower could be difficult. President of the Tourism Association…
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Isolated heavy showers forecast, but rainfall set to ease overall
Heavy wet season rainfall is taking its toll on 25 provinces around the country, with flash flooding and landslides affecting over 25,000 homes. 11 provinces are thought to be the worst-affected, as they continue to battle heavy flooding. They are Ubon Ratchathani and Nakhon Ratchasima, in the north-east of the country, Sa Kaeo in the east, the central provinces of…
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Pro-democracy protests grow across Thailand, plans to continue
Despite Bangkok’s State of Emergency banning public gatherings of more than 5 people, pro-democracy protesters continue to rally throughout the city every evening and are determined to do so until their demands are met. The movement, calling on the resignation of PM Prayut Chan-o-cha, an end to Thailand’s military-run government and rewrite of the 2017 Charter, has spread to other…
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The 3 finger salute. Why did it become the symbol for Thai protesters? – VIDEO
The 3 finger salute, now adopted by Thai protesters as their “go to” symbol in the current round of rally’s and protests against the Thai government and establishment, emerged originally from pop culture. In the Hunger Games movie franchise, the residents of a dystopian future North America, forced to compete in a televised death match for the pleasure of…
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Former Thai PM Yingluck reminds Prayut of protests calling for her resignation
Former PM Yingluck Shinawatra has taken to social media to remind the current Thai leader of the situation she found herself in 6 years ago, when she faced mounting calls for her resignation from Prayut Chan-o-cha and the People’s Democratic Reform Committee. The PDRC were instrumental in organising anti-government protests between 2013 and 2014, which culminated in a military coup…
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Thai PM adopts more conciliatory tone with protesters
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has switched to a softer tone with the young protesters calling for his resignation, as anti-government protests sweep the country… there were several smaller protests in other provinces over the weekend. The new, more conciliatory approach, is in contrast with his recent declaration that he had no intention of resigning, and that the police had acted “within…
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The Raja 4 salvage operations completed after the ferry sank off Koh Samui on August 1
Salvage operations have been completed for the Raja 4 car and passenger ferry which sank off the coast of Surat Thani, heading back from Koh Samui in the Gulf of Thailand, on August 1. 12 people drowned as a result of the sinking. The ferry foundered and sank in a sudden weather front about 2 nautical miles from Koh Samui…
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Saturday night protests around Bangkok end peacefully
Four different locations, between 15,000 – 20,000 protesters, all ending peacefully. Police were not far away from any of the gatherings but a clear message has come from the top to avoid another violent display like Friday night at the Pathumwan intersection in Bangkok’s central shopping district. Police and government officials tried to short-circuit the protesters plans early yesterday afternoon…
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Protests continue at 5 locations around Bangkok this evening – VIDEO
With the latest announcement from protesters about a new round of protests today, from 4pm, Police scrambled their resources to try and second guess the locations. Whilst the protesters are out-gunned by brute force and equipment, they remain nimble, digitally connected and committed to continue the latest round of protests, defying demand from the police that they are breaking the…
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Thai PM says he won’t resign as he has done “nothing wrong”
Unsurprisingly, Thailand’s PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is dismissing calls for his resignation as protests continue to escalate and protesters defy bans to rally in the streets of Bangkok. Rally organisers have already announced that they will be massing again today from 4pm, rumoured to be at numerous BTS stations around the central capital area. Out of a list of 10 key…
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Thailand’s media spend shrinks as brands shy away from ‘bad’ news
Young protesters, who use social media and messaging intuitively vs Thai officials and police who try and track those messages to keep up with the plans of the protest movement. Although Thai police have water cannons and brute force, the Thai youth at the core of the current protest movement also have a valuable weapon. And it’s being used more…
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Journalist detained during last night’s rally at Pathunwan intersection in Bangkok
Thai media are being targeted as part of the crackdown on the current round of protests. A Prachatai’s reporter was detained after casually asking attending police where he could stand to cover last night’s rally. The Thai Journalist Association posted a Tweet at 11pm saying that 6 journalist organisations “had been notified about the arrest and had been working with related parties”.…
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Foreign investors and businesspeople seek clarity about the current “situation” in Thailand
With Thailand battling to come up with a safe and sustainable manner of re-opening its borders, and the footage of the street protests reaching out to a world audience, foreign investors are saying they need more details of what they can or cannot do in Thailand under the new State of Emergency. The Thai Chamber of Commerce is calling for…
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Police break up Bangkok protest with high-power water cannons, more protests planned today
The latest round of protests took a violent turn last night when more than 400 police resorted to aiming high-powered water cannons directly at the students who were assembled in an otherwise peaceful display of unity. The protesters, mostly secondary and tertiary students, and young Thai adults, continued their demands for the release of their fellow protesters who had been…
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Pathumwan intersection protest kicks off in defiance of police and government orders
In the latest cat and mouse game between police and protesters, the students waited for Bangkok police to close down the Ratchaprasong intersection, the site of last evening’s rally, and then scheduled tonight’s rally at the nearby Pathumwan intersection instead, one of the busiest intersection in the city. The posted the switch of location at 4pm, after police had sealed…
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Mae Sot immigration chief transferred after inmate escape
Following the escape of 2 inmates, the immigration chief in Tak’s Mae Sot district has been transferred while an investigation takes place. The 2 Uighur inmates escaped by using soap to corrode the iron cell bars. They rubbed dish soap on the cell bars routinely. Over time, the iron started to rust and they were able to break the bars.…
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Bangkok in “State of Emergency” for 1 month, PM warns about possible curfew
For the next month, Bangkok will be in a “State of Emergency” with a ban on public gatherings of more than 5 people. If protests persist and get out of hand, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has warned today that the government will invoke a nightly curfew, prohibiting people from leaving their homes during certain hours. It should be said, that even…
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Train-car collision kills 1, second fatal railway crossing incident this week
A passenger train collided with a car, killing a woman and injuring 2 others at a railway crossing in Phetchaburi’s Khao Yai district last night. Just earlier this week, a freight train smashed into a charter bus, killing 18 bus passengers and injuring another 44 at a crossing by the Khlong Kwaeng Klan railway station in the Chachoengsao province. Officials…
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Bangkok city intersection closed and secured ahead of next rally at 5pm
Police have closed Bangkok’s Ratchaprasong Intersection and Ratchadamri Road, just hours before the next round of anti-government protests were scheduled to begin at 5pm. Ratchadamri Road is being closed all the way to the Pratunam intersection. The closure, on a Friday afternoon, provides the city an additional traffic headache. The police secured the area just before 2pm today. Early yesterday…
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Inmates escape from Thai prison using soap to rust the cell bars
2 Turkish inmates escaped from a Thailand prison in a daring, if not slippery, escape. Their main tool? Soap. They used soap to cover the bars of their cell in the Tak’s Mae Sot district. Over time, the soap caused the metal to rust and they were able to break the cell bars. Apparently, this isn’t their first cunning escape…
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2 activists could face life in prison for alleged violations against a royal motorcade
2 pro-democracy activists could face life in prison for alleged intention to harm HM the Queen’s liberty during Wednesday afternoon’s rally in Bangkok, which happened to coincide with the same time and same route as a royal motorcade. The Criminal Court issued the arrest warrants yesterday. Violence against the Queen or her liberty, in Section 110 of Thailand’s Criminal Code,…
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Human rights NGO, opposition parties, say State of Emergency infringes human rights
A Thai human rights NGO has criticised the government’s decision to declare a State of Emergency in Bangkok, as political unrest escalates in the capital and around the country. iLaw says the imposition of the emergency decree gives the PM the unrestricted right to use special powers that violate citizens’ human rights. iLaw points out that the new ban on…
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Phuket to host Cabinet meeting to review proposals for reviving local economy
Government officials are to hold a Cabinet meeting in Phuket on November 2 and 3, when they will meet with local authorities and business owners to hear their suggestions on re-igniting the province’s decimated economy. Phuket has been hit particularly hard by the country’s borders being shut since late March, with the absence of international tourists dealing a hammer blow…
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Activists vow to push ahead with political protests in Bangkok today
A mass gathering of protesters at Bangkok’s Ratchaprasong intersection and Ratchadamri Road ended around 10pm last night, with activists vowing to return for more of the same today. Members of Khana Ratsadon 2563 (People’s Party 2020) announced they will reconvene today to keep pouring pressure on PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s government. Among the group’s demands are a call for the PM…
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5,000 pack Bangkok’s central shopping district to continue the protest
Police have been taken aback by the huge amount of support for a protest at Bangkok’s famous Ratchaprasong Intersection, the site of the 2015 Erawan Shrine bombing incident where 20 people died. Bangkok, currently under a State of Emergency, declared by the Thai government in the early hours of this morning, is on edge this evening as huge crowds swarmed…
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