Thailand News

Thailand news, politics, business, crime, and lifestyle—get breaking updates from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond. Stay informed on Thai society, economy, tourism, and expat life with The Thaiger.

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    How one hospital visit in Thailand could cost more than your whole trip

    Thailand is a favourite spot for travellers who want to enjoy more while spending less. From cheap street food to low-cost hotels and fun attractions, it’s easy to stretch your budget here. But there’s one thing many people don’t think...

  • Political ban lifted ahead of February 24 election

    Political ban lifted ahead of February 24 election

    The Thai Junta, aka NCPO, has today lifted restrictions on political activities that have been in effect since the May 2014 military coup. The Nation reports the the lifts a previous prohibition on political parties holding meetings or organising political activities. The cancelled restrictions include the ban on political gatherings of five or more people. The Royal Gazette has published…

  • Thaiger Radio News – Tuesday

    Thaiger Radio News – Tuesday

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  • Wealthy Thai woman boasts online about her welfare card

    Wealthy Thai woman boasts online about her welfare card

    PHOTOS: Sanook Thais have take to social media slamming an apparently woman boasting about using a Thai welfare card intended for the poor. The woman was wearing a gold necklace and other expensive looking jewelry, was showing money to the camera and sitting in the driver’s seat of a car. Netizens say she was ripping off the state and depriving the needy. But some are…

  • HM King provides funerals for two Un Ai Rak cyclists

    HM King provides funerals for two Un Ai Rak cyclists

    His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn has agreed to sponsor the funerals for of two cyclists who collapsed while participating in the Bike Un Ai Rak bicycle ride on Sunday. One in Surat Thani and another in Ratchaburi the province rides. The two died following emergency medical attention. HM the King had a royal wreath sent to Wat Don Kathin, Poonpin…

  • Thaiger Radio News – Monday

    Thaiger Radio News – Monday

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  • Government says inequality report is ‘unreliable’

    Government says inequality report is ‘unreliable’

    The Thai government is dismissing the Credit Suisse Wealth Report 2018 as “inaccurate, incomplete and unreliable”. The report put Thailand at the top of the list of countries with the highest wealth gap between the rich and the poor putting the Kingdom in the company of Russia, India and Turkey leading the way in world financial inequality. In part, the report…

  • Thaiger Radio News – Sunday

    Thaiger Radio News – Sunday

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  • Tobacco giant survey says Thais want smoke-free alternatives

    Tobacco giant survey says Thais want smoke-free alternatives

    Thai people prefer less harmful products to cigarettes, due mainly to health concerns. These are some the results from a new survey on the tobacco industry and providing smoke-free alternatives. The study, by Philip Morris (Thailand) part of the largest transnational tobacco company in the world, found that 64 per cent of 1,200 smokers and non-smokers nationwide said they would…

  • “Lift all human rights restrictions” – Amnesty International

    “Lift all human rights restrictions” – Amnesty International

    Amnesty International is calling on the NCPO to end all its restrictions on human rights in Thailand before the next election which has now been confirmed as February 24 following yesterday’s meeting between the Junta and political parties. Amnesty says the Thai authorities must drop all, what it describes as, arbitrary restrictions on human rights and peaceful political activities before the…

  • Election date confirmed for February 24 next year

    Election date confirmed for February 24 next year

    PHOTO: Deputy PM Wissanu Kreangam arrives at the Army Club in Bangkok – The Nation Make it a date. February 24 is now the official date of the next Thai general election. The poll date has now been confirmed after years of delays, mis-starts and excuses. The NCPO has now announced that the ban on political activities will be lifted…

  • Thaiger Radio News – Saturday

    Thaiger Radio News – Saturday

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  • Truck ploughs into a Phitsanulok market killing one person

    Truck ploughs into a Phitsanulok market killing one person

    PHOTOS: The Nation One person is dead and another hospitalised after a trailer truck ploughed into stalls at a market in Phitsanulok this morning. The 64 year old river Thavorn Noppawan remained at the market in Bang Krathum district until police arrived, but it remains unclear how or why he lost control and swerved into the crowd of shoppers. Police…

  • Dystopian Thai film approved by censor board

    Dystopian Thai film approved by censor board

    A new Thai movie ’10 Years Thailand’ will screen nation wide next week after having finally been approved by the censor board last Monday. The film is a dystopian anthology made by four Thai film makers and is based on the 2015 Hong Kong film ‘Ten Years’. The film is directed by Aditya Assarat, Wisit Sasanatieng, Chulayarnon Siriphol and Apichatpong…

  • No public displays of affection for Prayut and Theresa May

    No public displays of affection for Prayut and Theresa May

    Following a lot of criticism, a billboard supporting Prayut Chan-o-cha as the PM after the general election, has been taken down in Ratchaburi, while an investigation takes place by provincial election commission officials. The billboard in question had British PM Theresa May shaking hands with Gen Prayut, claiming the English PM was already in full support of the Thai Prime…

  • Thailand meets its emissions target as richer nations fail

    Thailand meets its emissions target as richer nations fail

    by Pratch Rukivanarom “Emissions in Thailand have also been higher this year, with the energy sector having released 196.5 tonnes of CO2 in the first nine months of this year, marking a 0.98 per cent increase compared to the same period last year,.” The emissions of greenhouse gases has been rising for two years in a row, reversing efforts based…

  • Thaiger Radio News – Friday

    Thaiger Radio News – Friday

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  • Rolling out the e-visas – cutting time in immigration queues

    Rolling out the e-visas – cutting time in immigration queues

    Thailand has officially launched its new e-Visa on Arrival (E-VOA) application system. This way foreigners from approved countries will be able to apply for their visa before their travel date, online, and avoid paperwork and approval when they arrive. The new system is expected to cut processing times to little more than one minute when passengers arrive and is seen…

  • Event Round-Up – December 2018

    Event Round-Up – December 2018

    by The Sponsorship Experts – Paul Poole (South East Asia) Co. Ltd. The festive season is here and with it a slew of events from music and flower festivals to yachting events and road races. The month starts off with the popular Phuket King’s Cup Regatta running until December 8. Held for the 32nd time, it is one of Asia’s…

  • Thaiger Radio News – Thursday

    Thaiger Radio News – Thursday

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  • Political parties give the NCPO a cold shoulder

    Political parties give the NCPO a cold shoulder

    PHOTO: Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjaajiva – The Nation Thank you… next. Thai political parties are saying thanks, but no thanks, to an invitation to meet with the NCPO tomorrow for a ‘briefing’ about the forthcoming election. The number of parties boycotting tomorrow’s meeting with the junta is growing with Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjaajiva announcing his party also will not be attending. The…

  • Living with elephants – avoiding problems in Khao Yai national park

    Living with elephants – avoiding problems in Khao Yai national park

    Khao Yai National Park, north of Bangkok, is instructing tourists how not to anger the park’s wild elephants as they walk on or besides the roads. Tourists travelling to the national park from Prachin Buri Province at the Noen Hom entrance are likely to meet wild elephants in the morning and evening, according to national park officials. They are likely…

  • Bangkok #2, Phuket #11 – World’s most popular destinations

    Bangkok #2, Phuket #11 – World’s most popular destinations

    “Phuket rank 11th with about 11.9 million tourist arrivals this year, higher than last year’s 11.6 million arrivals making it Thailand’s most important economy outside Bangkok.” Bangkok has come in second place in the list of the world’s top cities for tourism. The list has been compiled by Euromonitor International. Their Top 100 City Destinations 2018 report has just been…

  • Thaiger Radio News – Wednesday

    Thaiger Radio News – Wednesday

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  • Government poised to cast tax net over online transactions

    Government poised to cast tax net over online transactions

    As the world continues its relentless move online, and away from traditional retail, governments are having to find new ways to track and tax online transactions. The Thai Revenue Department is poised to cast a wider net over online vendors and other businesses that have been evading taxes. The National Legislative Assembly (NLA) is soon to approve amendments to the…

  • How much should you be paid working in Thailand?

    How much should you be paid working in Thailand?

    The Thailand Board of Investment has an entire website listing key jobs and the wages that should be expected to be earned in the land of smiles. The webpage also lists years of experiences, penalty rates, public holidays, overtime payments and severance entitlements. So, as a Senior accountant, with five years experience, you should be earning up to 80,000 baht…

  • Registration renewals will be denied to traffic fine non-payers

    Registration renewals will be denied to traffic fine non-payers

    Maybe it belongs in the same category as the Patong Tunnel or the Phuket Light Rail – those stories that just drag on for, well, decades… Now the Land Transport Department is finally claiming they’re ready to link the data bases from the Police and Land Transport so they can better track traffic offenders who haven’t paid their fines. The…

  • Thaiger Radio News – Tuesday

    Thaiger Radio News – Tuesday

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  • December 4 – Thailand’s national day of shame

    December 4 – Thailand’s national day of shame

    Today is Thai Environment Day. Today convenience stores, trade stores and shopping malls will refrain from providing single-use plastic bags to shoppers and at the same time will campaign for donation of cloth bags to be distributed to hospitals for containing medicines. Whether any of this actually happens, we will see. The proposed plastic bag-free day is the outcome of…

  • E-visas available from February 2019. China first country.

    E-visas available from February 2019. China first country.

    The Consular Affairs department is launching a new e-visa service from February 2019. It will initially available in China and then expand to other countries over a period of three years. Kasikornbank Bank is co-operating with the Consular Affairs unit to handle the e-payments, . The service will be available from February 15, 2019 and, initially, for residents of Beijing only.…

  • Full steam ahead for the Thai high-speed railway

    Full steam ahead for the Thai high-speed railway

    PHOTO: CRRC Corporation “CRRC has also provided subways and high-speed trains for the US, Argentina, Brazil and Singapore.” Imagine getting on a train in Bangkok and being in Nakhon Ratchasima, in Thailand’s central north-east, within an hour. That’s what will happen when the first of the Thai/Chinese joint venture high-speed trains are launched. The construction for the Bangkok/Nakon Ratchasima link…