changes
- Politics News
Charter amendment: Thailand’s Move Forward Party seeks controversial rewrite
The Move Forward Party (MFP), Thailand’s principal opposition, is determined to push for a renewed charter amendment through a motion in Parliament on Wednesday. The motion, which is the first item on the debate agenda and is supported by the MFP and its spokesperson, Parit Wacharasindhu, has sparked concern among lawmakers due to the potential broad changes it could bring…
- Thailand News
End of the line: Thailand’s railway police disbands after 72 years
After 72 years of service, the Thailand Railway Police Division (RPD), colloquially known as the train marshals, are bidding farewell today. These officers have been a stalwart presence on the trains coursing through Thailand since the modern railway system was established during King Chulalongkorn’s reign. The decision to disband the railway law enforcement unit comes in the wake of the…
- Thailand News
Thai VietJet offers passengers change of flights during Covid outbreak
Thai VietJet, along with all the other Thai domestic airlines, is being impacted by a drop in traffic during the current list of restrictions during the latest Covid-19 outbreak in Thailand. According to Thai Residents, “for passengers who booked tickets and made payments before January 1, 2021 with travel date between January 5 – 3, 2021, can change their travel…
- Thailand News
Thailand News Today | Protesters v Police, Quarantine reduction, VietJet passenger arrest | Nov 17
A busy day of news with the protests underway as we were preparing today’s program. We will keep you up to date with the latest at thethaiger.com Police use tear gas and water cannons against protesters outside Thai parliament this afternoon Police in riot gear and gas masks have deployed water cannons and tear gas on protesters out the front…
- Thailand Protest News
Changes proposed to dress codes, haircuts and gender identity for Thai students
The ‘Bad Student’ campaign and its withering attacks on the Thai education minister appear to have hit their mark. The Education Ministry has now announced amended regulations that cover dress codes and haircuts for students after a 4 month campaign. The Bad Student protests have been under-reported due to the larger protest movements, but have seen hundreds of students conducting…
- Pattaya News
Pattaya – fighting to survive its Covid crisis
Pattaya, like some of Thailand’s other former tourist hotspots, is facing some critical challenges. Hundreds of thousands of workers have left the city because there’s simply no work and up to 50% of the city’s shops are closed, some never to re-open. The Thaiger filmed most of this video on a long weekend at the end of October, the busiest…
- Visa Information
TAT announces update to compulsory Covid-19 insurance for foreign visitors
The Tourism Authority of Thailand has announced today an update about compulsory Covid-19 insurance. They say it’s now “conveniently” available online in a one-stop-shop. Up to now the compulsory Covid-19 insurance, a pre-requisite before foreigners can come to Thailand, under any visa, was through selected insurance providers at their own websites. The Thailand Office of Insurance Commission has allowed the…
- Expats
Expat shift drives changes in Bangkok’s condo market
Thailand’s dominant working expat nationality in past decades has been Japanese, currently making up 18% of expatriates in the country. But, while Japanese expatriate numbers are decreasing, a CBRE report notes that Chinese and Filipinos are on the rise. There were 28,560 Japanese expats in Thailand as of Q3 2020, just ahead of the Chinese expat contingent at 25,811. As China’s manufacturing has…
- Crime News
“Boss” commission chief says Thai justice system in need of reform
Former National Anti-Corruption Commissioner, Vicha Mahakun, who led the recent inquiry into the handling of the case against Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya, says Thailand’s justice system is in need of reform. Red Bull heir and grandson of co-founder Chaleo Yoovidhya, “Boss” stood accused in a 2012 hit-and-run case that caused the death of a 47 year old Bangkok police officer who…
- Things To Do
Things that have changed in Thailand in the Covid Era | Top 10 | VIDEO
Top 10 things that have changed in Thailand during the Covid-era Things have changed. In some cases they’ve changed a lot and may never be the same again. Many people are suffering as a result of the impacts of lockdowns and the border closures. Some people are being forced to re-invent their lives as a result. Here are some of…
- Things To Do
Top 10 ways life is different in the Covid Era
Get used to it. Things have changed. There is no ‘new normal’, there is just NEW. We’re living in the Covid era and all having to adjust to economic calamity, changed schedules and some things, previously easy, are now difficult, or banned altogether. What are some of the things that have changed? Wearing masks Like it or not, the wearing…
- Politics News
Thanathorn demands answers over budget increase for Royal office
Progessive movement leader and former head of the now-defunct Future Forward Party Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit has been banned from politics for 10 years… but he’s still making his voice heard in the halls of power. In his capacity as an advisor to the House committee examining the budget bill, he questioned the justification for the increase in the budget for the…
- Business News
Business winners and losers, and the lumpy recovery
As we slowly start to emerge from enforced lockdowns, how have things changed? There have been early ‘winners and losers’ but the profound changes to our lives will now start to morph into lingering economic hardships and unpredictable business outcomes. Different countries are going to restart their economies at varying speeds and retain some restrictions and drop others, depending on…
- Covid-19 News
What could happen after April 30? Thailand’s new ‘normal’
What could happen after April 30? Will it be the same in all provinces? Will the government prioritise public health, or a return to business? At this stage no final decisions are made. This is a collection of the latest information from various sources which provide a framework for what is likely to be the Thai government’s response to the…
- Expats
UPDATE: Thai immigration scraps TM28 reporting requirements
Well, for most foreigners anyway (full list of exemptions below)… Thai immigration have scrapped the TM28 form’s change-of-address reporting requirements for all but a few foreigners. The changes came into effect, with little fanfare, on January 28. The TM28 is still listed on the Immigration website but there’s now a long list of exceptions added which means that almost no…
- Covid-19 News
World travel suffers as coronavirus outbreak drags on
The Public Health Ministry is asking Thais planning trips to Japan and Singapore to reschedule their visits, saying that travellers need to be aware of the rising number of people infected by the coronavirus (Covid-19) in those two countries. Dr Sukhum Kanchanapima, the permanent secretary at the Thai Public Health Ministry, says the coronavirus outbreak had reached the third stage…
- Transport News
Shake-up at the top in Thai state enterprises – Transport Minister
PHOTO: BTS station – YouTube In a major management shakeup in Thai state enterprises, the transport minister has now appointed a new chairmen to the boards of the Port Authority of Thailand, the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) and the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMA). The list of new chairmen has been…
- Tourism News
Japan’s Okinawa takes on Bali and Phuket
by Bill Barnett While Okinawa is often called the Hawaii of Japan, a changing Asian travelscape driven by low-cost airline carriers is seeing the resort destination attract a rising number of regional tourists. Last year, arrivals hit 9.84 million which is now elevating the market to the likes Asia’s twin resort icons, Bali and Phuket. Summing up the current shift…
- Things To Do
Ten things the Thai Government could to do right now
OPINION Thailand is a proud country with a rich cultural tradition. And great food. Expats and visitors have been flocking to the Land of Smiles for a century, especially the last 20 years when tourism has surged to become a major contributor to the country’s GDP. But the veneer of a never-ending rise in tourism numbers lost some of its…
- Technology News
Nation Multimedia Group aims to counter tech ‘disruption’
PHOTO: NMG group chief, Shine Bunnag Thailand’s media giant Nation Multimedia Group say they are poised to ride the new “digital wave” to tide over the industry disruption brought about by technology, group chief Shine Bunnag said while outlining his vision. Shine, who is chairman of NMG’s executive committee, said in an interview with Krungthep Turakij newspaper that with the…
- Expats
Organisers meet with immigration over TM30 petition – full report
(This post, re-published with permission, has been edited by The Thaiger to clear up the grammar and spelling without changing any of the intentions or meanings. Here it is, in full…) Yesterday, I met the Officer Longtor at Korat immigration. He was very nice, very polite and we had a conversation in Thai. I had with me a copy of…
- Transport News
Thai transport minister agrees to taxi fare hikes in Bangkok
The Ministry of Transport has given approval for taxi fares in Bangkok to go up within a month. Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob met with representatives of four Bangkok taxi groups and officials of the Land Transport Department to discuss demand by taxi drivers to hike taxi fares. Taxi drivers have been pleading for an increase for years and have staged…
- Expats
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…
- Tourism News
Travel’s dynamic changes – A personal perspective
by Andrew J Wood – President SKÅL International Bangkok With the dramatic announcement of the sale of retail travel giant Thomas Cook following the loss of £1.5 billion brings the blight of the travel agent community into the news once more. Last week Wall Street bank Citigroup advised investors to sell shares in the travel company. Confidence that travel agents…
