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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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Thai PM slams controversial and “unacceptable” Lazada advert
The Thai PM, Prayut Chan-o-cha, has joined the hysteria surrounding a now-deleted advert from online shopping platform, Lazada. The ad, in the form of a video, features online influencers, Nara Aniwat and Thidaporn “Nurat” Chaokuwiang. Thidaporn is seated in a wheelchair and dressed in traditional Thai costume. In the clip, Nara accuses Thidaporn, who plays the role of her mother…
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Minister of Digital Economy and Society wants 42 websites banned
Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn, the Minister of Digital Economy and Society, has asked the court to ban access to 42 websites including YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook pages that are spreading the controversial Lazada advert. He was responding to a contracted ad on e-commerse platform Lazada, where 2 influencers, Nara Aniwat and Thidaporn “Nurat” Chaokuwiang wear hi-so clothing, who royalists deemed to be…
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Man steals ฿300,000 from his stepmother and gives it away “to make merit”
A man from the Isaan province of Buriram allegedly stole ฿300,000 from his stepmother because he wanted to “make merit” by giving it away. He gave away ฿109,000 cash at a local market and bought products valued at ฿200,000 which he gave away to locals for free. CCTV footage shows 39 year old Wuttisak sitting on a motorbike and spreading…
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“Doctor loses”: Mor Chana Covid-19 application to be discontinued from June 1
Thailand’s once-mandatory Covid-19 tracking application “Mor Chana”, or Doctor Wins, will be discontinued from June 1. Mor Chana was once commonly used to track coronavirus cases and notify people if they had been exposed to Covid-19. Mor Chana, which was launched on April 29 2020, used GPS and Bluetooth to track the movement of users, who were expected to use…
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Dog kills its owner’s sister in Phuket
A woman was found dead with bite marks on her neck at her home in Phuket in southern Thailand this morning. She was taking care of her brother’s two Thai ridgeback dogs while he was away on a business trip to Bangkok. One of the dogs had traces of blood on its mouth and fur. Police found 38 year old…
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Opening ceremony of SEA Games set for Thursday
After a 6-month hiatus, the Southeast Asian Games, or SEA Games, is now set to kick off on Thursday in Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital city. The sports tournament, which takes place every 2 years, attracts thousands of athletes from South East Asian countries, who will compete for over 500 gold medals. The SEA Games are under the regulation of the Southeast…
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Thailand “War Elephants” beat Singapore 5 – 0 at SEA Games
Yesterday, Thailand’s under-23 team beat Singapore 5 – 0 at the Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam. The landslide win gained the War Elephants their first 3 points at the SEA Games 2022 at the Thien Truong Stadium. The Thai team’s win was well received after the team lost their first match in the competition 2 – 1 to Malaysia…
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Thailand’s Sex Industry – A Brief History
Thailand is well known and famous for many things. Food, massages, beaches and friendly smiles… but there is one thing that is either commonly joked about or remains hush hush locally. It’s the country’s sex workers and red light districts. There is a fair share of travellers who visit Thailand specifically because they want to experience this ‘vibrant’ side of…
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A piece of ceiling at Phuket airport falls, one passenger sent to hospital
An aluminium ‘bar’ from Phuket Airport’s domestic terminal ceiling has fallen to the floor, just avoiding hitting a female passenger standing nearby. No injuries were reported, but the woman was in shock and fainted. Ceiling structures at Thailand’s airports have suffered from ‘gravity’ over the past few weeks. Yesterday, at 11.20 am, officials at Phuket airport’s domestic terminal were notified…
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Museum Siam launches Ukraine exhibition and Ukrainian language audio guide
Museum Siam in Bangkok will hold a photography exhibition entitled “Diverse Ukraine” to showcase Ukraine’s diverse national costumes from May 9 – May 29. The museum has also launched a Ukrainian language audio guide for their longstanding “Decoding Thainess” exhibition which explores what it means to be “Thai,” giving Ukrainian tourists the opportunity to learn about Thailand’s history, culture and…
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300,000 travellers arrive in Thailand during first week of May
About 300,000 international travellers have arrived in Thailand within the first week after the Thailand Pass program was simplified and the Test & Go and Sandbox schemes scrapped on May 1. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says he’s “happy with the number of visitors” according to Government Spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana. A proportion of the ‘visitors’ continues to be Thais. After removing the…
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UPDATE: Royal Thai Navy and Air Force join Lazada ban
Yes, the Lazada-gate fiasco rolls on. Following yesterday’s report that Lazada was banned from entering Royal Thai Army bases, the unit later launched an “emergency announcement” warning of penalties to anyone who violates the ban. Now the Royal Thai Navy and Air Force have also joined the boycott, stating that a zero-tolerance policy “will be considered” as Lazada ads “could…
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Suspected insurgent dies in military custody, court rules no foul play
Yesterday, a court in Songkhla province, southern Thailand, ruled that there was no evidence of foul play in the case of a suspected insurgent who fell into a coma and died while being held in military custody in Pattani province in 2019. A suspected leader of an insurgency group accused 34 year old Abdullah Esomuso of being involved with a…
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Labour Minister says government considering increasing minimum wage to 492 baht
Thailand’s Labour Minister says the government is considering increasing the daily minimum wage to 492 baht. Suchart Chomklin was addressing the Anti-Fake News Centre in an attempt to clarify rumours circulating on social media, according to a Nation Thailand report. “The ministry has discussed the raise with representatives of workers’ unions and businesses based on the rate submitted by the…
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14 year old boy accidentally shoots and kills himself in northern Thailand
A teenage boy from Phitsanulok province, northern Thailand, died yesterday afternoon after accidentally shooting himself in the neck with a gun. The boy was playing with the gun when it slipped out of his hands, according to his younger brother, who witnessed the incident. Yesterday at around 1:30pm, police officers from Nakhon Thai Police Station received a report that a…
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Anutin to give away 1 million cannabis plants to Thai households from next month
Thailand’s kind-hearted Public Health Minister says he will offer households a million cannabis plants for free from next month. Anutin Charnvirakul’s generous gesture is to mark June 9, from when people will be legally permitted to grow cannabis plants in their own homes. However, it will have to be medical-grade cannabis only and can only be used for medicinal purposes.…
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WHO warning of infectious Omicron sub-variants has Thai officials on high alert
Thai health officials are on high alert after at least 1 foreign national was found to be infected with an Omicron sub-variant that has the potential to cause severe illness. The Bangkok Post reports that Supakit Sirilak from the Department of Medical Sciences says the World Health Organisation has issued a warning about 3 highly infectious Omicron sub-variants, known as…
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Putin uses Victory Day speech to defend invasion of Ukraine, mobilise support
Vladimir Putin has used his Victory Day speech to defend the ongoing war on Ukraine, pointing the finger of blame at the West and the government in Kyiv. The Russian president was speaking at the start of an annual military parade in Red Square, which has traditionally commemorated the Soviet defeat of Nazi Germany. In his attempts to mobilise support…
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Thai school introduces points system for “bad students”
A school in Surin, northeastern Thailand has introduced strict, conservative guidelines that will deduct points off students for not following the school rules. A photo of the student’s handbook was shared on the “Bad Student” or “Nak Lien Leaw” Facebook page. The school’s principal told students on orientation day if they don’t like the rules, they are free to leave,…
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Thailand’s Covid-19 alert decreases to Level 3
Today, the Ministry of Public Health announced that Thailand’s Covid-19 alert level has decreased from Level 4 to Level 3 nationwide. Whether Thailand is ready to declare Covid-19 as endemic will depend on vaccination rates, according to the ministry. Director-General of the Disease Control Department Opas Kankawinpong said Level 3 means Thai residents still can’t go to bars and entertainment…
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PM Prayut wants Thailand’s monks to clean their act up
Buddhist monks keep acting inappropriately, and Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has had enough. Yesterday, PM Prayut ordered the National Office of Buddhism to strengthen discipline among Thailand’s Buddhist monks, following a long string of cases of monks breaking the rules. The Sangha – the collective word for Thailand’s monastic community – has existed for thousands of years in Thailand.…
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Norwegian man found hanged in Pattaya home
A 74 year old Norwegian man has been found dead in his Pattaya home’s toilet over the weekend. Police say they were horrified at the scene of the man’s death on Saturday evening. The man had cuts on his wrists, a slit throat, and he was hanging on a rope that was connected to the ceiling with a pool of blood…
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Myanmar’s “Myancopharm” Covid-19 vaccine available for use
A new vaccine against Covid-19 from Myanmar has been made available for use for everyone, including children under 5 years of age and pregnant women. “Myancopharm” is a jointly produced by Myanmar’s Ministry of Industry and China’s Sinopharm China National Biotec group. Myancopharm was first administered on May 4 at Zabuthiri Hospital in Myanmar’s capital Nay Pyi Taw. While China’s…
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Durian valued at 120 billion baht will be shipped to China this year
Thailand will export durians to the vale of 120 billion baht to China this year, about a 10% increase, according to Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives Chalermchai Sri-on. The Chinese government has set strict controls against fruit imports during their Covid-19 pandemic response. Thailand exported 875,100 tonnes of durian to China last year, valued at 109 billion baht. Thailand’s durian…
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Malaysia watches more pornography than any other Asian country, study reveals
As cases of Covid-19 surged around the world, so did consumption of pornography. Lockdowns and restrictions necessary to combat the pandemic encouraged more and more people to search for adult entertainment online. In a recent survey conducted by Pornhub, Malaysia was found to be the #1 country in Asia with the most visits to pornography websites. Globally, Malaysia was ranked…
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Pattaya to ‘officially’ reopen floating restaurants and water activities
The Pattaya Marine Committee has held a meeting with representatives from local marine business to discuss legally reopening floating restaurants and other water activity services, like jet ski and parasailing. The committee unofficially agreed on the reopening plans but insists restaurants offer only traditional Thai shows at this stage – no parties, no dancers. The Pattaya News reported that some…
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Thai cult raided, 11 corpses found, followers urged to consume leader’s waste
Police and residents in the Isaan province of Chaiyaphum, together with Thai media, have raid the ‘secret’ make-shift compound of a cult hidden in the middle of a rice paddy field after one victim complained that the cult leader “imprisoned followers” and urged them to “consume human waste”. Thai media reported that 11 unidentified corpses were found inside the compound,…
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Taliban impose head-to-toe coverings for women in Afghanistan
On Saturday, the Taliban announced that Afghan women must cover their face, hair and body in public. According to the Taliban, woman should ideally wear a burqa, an all-encompassing garment which leaves only the hands and feet visible with netting over the eyes for vision. The Taliban said the decree is a “recommendation,” rather than a rule, but said the…
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Government economic agency says China’s zero-Covid policy hurting Thai economy
China’s relentless pursuit of a zero-Covid status, coupled with tough import restrictions, is having a negative impact on the Thai economy. So says the Thai economic planning agency, the National Economic and Social Development Council. According to a Nation Thailand report, the NESDC says it’s watching China closely, after a strict lockdown was enforced in Shanghai and other cities. “China’s…
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Thailand won’t take sides in Russia – Ukraine war, says PM Prayut
Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha says that his upcoming visit to Washington for the US – ASEAN summit on Friday does not mean Thailand will choose sides in the Russia – Ukraine war. He says the purpose of the summit is to discuss economy, trade and investment in the region. However, Ukraine has requested that Southeast Asian nations suspend dialogue…
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