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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Sponsored Do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?
Thailand’s healthcare system is well-regarded across Southeast Asia, with options ranging from public hospitals to world-class private facilities. But when it comes to foreign residents or tourists, healthcare access isn’t as straightforward. So, do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?...
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Missing moggie rescued in Rayong
A pet cat was rescued this week in Rayong province, near Pattaya, after being stuck between walls for two days. Rescue workers were notified of an emergency at a building in central Rayong. They arrived at the scene to find a cat stuck in a narrow gap between two walls. It took about 10 minutes to pull the cat up.…
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Top 10 dos and don’ts for the 2020 Songkran festival
Heading to Thailand for the 2020 Songkran festival? Want to know the dates, where to go and the dos and don’ts for this amazing water festival in Thailand? Songkran is a single name given to a series of concurrent events – an astrological ‘new year’, a Buddhist festival, the ‘change’ from dry season to wet season and a humongous water…
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US embassy, Amnesty International oppose Future Forward dissolution decision
In a statement today, the US embassy in Bangkok said the Constitutional Court’s decision to dissolve the Future Forward party risks disenfranchising more than six million Thai voters who voted for the party in last March’s general election. “The United States strongly supports democratic governance around the world, and appreciates Thailand’s recent seating of a democratically elected government. While the…
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Thai MotoGP will go ahead after coronavirus check
Race organisers yesterday announced that The Thailand MotoGP race in March will go ahead as planned, saying the government has decided theere is “no major risk” from the COVID-19 coronavirus. A statement from organisers of the race in Buri Ram on March 22 said: “With the outbreak of coronavirus affecting a number of locations and events worldwide, the decision required…
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No virus cover-up, PM tweets
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha went on Twitter yesterday, in an apparent bid to counter “fake news,” and announced there is no COVID-19 coronavirus cover-up happening in Thailand. He insisted the government is neither hiding nor distorting the number of infections in the country and said citizens should “gain confidence” in its remarkable success managing the disease. Earlier in the day, Prayut…
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Thailand’s abortion laws to be amended
Thailand’s Constitutional Court has ruled that a section of the Criminal Code is unconstitutional as it fails to hold men responsible for illegal abortions. The ruling will take effect on Febuary 13, 2021, twelve months after it was made. The court handed down the ruling after pro-abortion activist Srisamai Chueachart petitioned the court to rule whether Sections 301 and 305…
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Pro-vaping group to request public hearing to legalise vaping in Thailand
The below is the contents of a press release sent to The Thaiger by the consumer group End Cigarette Smoke Thailand. The opinions expressed therein do not necessarily reflect those of The Thaiger or its subsidiaries. The Tobacco Control Research and Knowledge Management Center (TRC) revealed results from the meeting of the Ministry of Commerce’s review panel on e-cigarette import…
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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…
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Three Thais on Yokohama virus ship have COVID-19 coronavirus
Officials today announced that three Thai nationals aboard the quarantined cruise ship Diamond Princess, moored off Yokohama, are infected with the Covid-19 coronavirus, the same day two elderly Japanese passengers are reported to have died from the disease. Foreign affairs spokesman Cherdkiat Atthakor said three Thais, one passenger and two crew members, are now being treated in hospital in Japan.…
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3 solutions to Thailand’s English teacher shortage
by Eric Haeg Thailand needs 10,000 English teachers. News of a teacher shortage is no surprise, but news that the Ministry of Education has recently urged embassies to find English teachers has raised eyebrows. The US Embassy confirmed it participated in the meeting, and it has also been reported that over 20 other embassies participated in the discussions. According to Thailand’s…
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Thailand’s General Motors plant sold to China’s Great Wall Motors
China’s Great Wall Motors has agreed to buy the General Motors’ Thailand manufacturing plant in Rayong. It’s expected than the transaction will be completed by the end of this year. GM announced this week that it is accelerating a retreat from “unprofitable markets”, becoming more dependent on the US, China, Latin America and South Korea for its manufacturing. Read more about…
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Thai government ponders nine day Songkran holiday
With the impact of the coronavirus cutting deep into the Thai tourism industry, and tourism accounting for around 18% of the Thai GDP, the government are eyeing some additional public holidays to boost spending and activity. The Thai PM announced yesterday that the government is considering adding two public holidays to the annual Songkran festival. Songkran, the Thai new year…
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Cooler weather in north, cloud and possible rain in south
The TMD (Thailand Meteorological Department) says that another high-pressure system originating in China is covering Thailand’s north-east and affecting weather in the South China Sea, while weak easterly winds continue to prevail across the Gulf of Thailand. The forecast is that cool to cold conditions will prevails in the mornings across the North and the Northeast. Temperatures in the North…
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Three Thai lottery winners take home 6 million baht each
781403. That’s the magic six numbers you needed for yesterday’s lottery, which would award you with a grand prize of 6 million baht if you had a winning lottery ticket. Three people won, a convenience store owner in Nakhon Ratchasima and married couple from Rayong. Suwarn Sinthao bought her ticket hoping to win a three-number prize of 4,000 baht but…
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Police say the ‘Skullbreaker Challenge’ could lead to injury, death and jail terms
Thai Police are warning teenagers against copycat versions of a idiotic and dangerous craze known as the ‘Skullbreaker Challenge’ citing victims ending up with spine and head injuries. And even death. The online fad, gaining notoriety on social media, involves tricking someone into jumping into the air before friends on either side kick the player’s legs out causing them to fall heavily…
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Thai Airways starts to trim back schedules due to loss of demand
Thai Airways is cutting back services to South Korea and Singapore out of Bangkok due to “a dramatic fall in demand” and cancellations caused by the coronavirus outbreak. The vice president of sales at Thai Airways, Nond Kalinta, says the national carrier had adjusted flight schedules to match commercial demand. He confirmed the following changes. • Flights reduce on the…
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“Tourist arrivals to plunge 50% in first half of 2020” – Thai Tourism Minister
Thailand’s Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn has painted a gloomy outlook for Thailand’s previously-robust tourism industry. He says he expects tourist arrivals to plunge by 50% in the first half of 2020 because of the coronavirus outbreak. His predictions are born out by sluggish arrival numbers at the country’s main airports, hotel forward bookings and ‘landing slots’ cancelled by international…
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New coronavirus case confirmed in Thailand, brings total to 34
A new case of the coronavirus (covid-19) has now been confirmed in Thailand which brings the total in the country to 34 since the start of this year. The public health ministry made the announcement yesterday. The new case is a 35 year old Thai female, a medical personnel, who was infected after contact with a patient, Suwanchai Wattanayingcharoenchia, according…
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From Star Trek to the Galaxy Z Flip phone – a new foldable comes to Thailand
The $1,500 Motorola RAZR flip phone, a sort of ‘smartphone’ version of its original 2004 market favourite, was twice the cost of an iPhone 11, looked cool but had a small battery and plastic screen. It was a throwback to the earlier design but with a foldable screen, the latest ‘thaeng’ in the smart-phone world. Now there’s the new Galaxy…
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You’re not welcome here! Thai Health Minister refuses request to berth in Thailand
The Holland-US “MS Westerdam” cruise ship has been refused docking permission at Laem Chabang Port in Chonburi, south east of Bangkok, after having been turned away by three other countries who were concerned about the spread of coronavirus. Referring to the company’s website, which stated that Thailand would allow the ship to dock at Laem Chabang Port last Thursday, Deputy…
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Makha Bucha Day – Why does Thailand have a public holiday?
For Thai buddhists the day is a day of reflection and visits to the temple. For many others it’s a day of alcohol abstinence. In fact there is always a 24 hour alcohol ban imposed on the day, from midnight to midnight. Buddhist commemorations make up a number of the public holidays on the Thai calendar, among them is Makha…
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No alcohol sales today – Makha Bucha Day
A 24 hour ban on alcohol sales for Makha Bucha Day will remain in effect until midnight tonight (Saturday). Makha Bucha is a sacred Buddhist holiday which refers to a day to honour the third lunar month and, in particular, the Buddha and the teachings that he delivered on the full moon day of the fourth lunar month. The 24 hour…
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New bikes must meet Euro 4 emissions standards
A new government policy, which will take effect on March 29, requires all new motorbikes sold in Thailand to meet Euro 4 emissions standards. Officials of the Thai Industrial Standards Institute met yesterday with representatives of more than 40 motorbike manufacturers, including Honda and Yamaha, informing them of the requirements. The measure is intended to help tackle Thailand’s PM2.5 dust…
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Thailand’s plastics industry wants the government’s help to keep afloat
There may be less plastic bags being handed out around Thailand, and that’s a good thing. But there’s been a down side – the failure of an entire industry and the people it employees. Now the Thai Labour Minister is being asked to step in and help the dozens of Thai plastic bag manufacturers which are at risk of closing…
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Prawit defends police chief promoting his own son
Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan said yesterday that there is nothing illegal about the police commissioner promoting his own son to a senior police rank despite not meeting all of the criteria. The Royal Thai Police Office insists that Chanant Chaijinda was promoted on merit, and not because he’s the son of national police chief Chakthip Chaijinda. The RTPO was responding…
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Alarms raised after Hunan bird flu outbreak
The Livestock Development Department raised alarms yesterday in the wake of a bird flu outbreak in the Hunan province of China, just south of Hubei, the epicentre of the Novel Coronavirus outbreak. Director-general of the department Sorawit Thanito says provincial officials were ordered to advise local farmers to prevent the disease and apply medicine in high-risk areas. According to Sorawit,…
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Thai Lion Air offers Thais stuck in China free “Fly them back home” flights
Thai Lion Air, the Thai subsidiary of the Indonesian budget airline, is saying it will help repatriate Thais living in various cities in China, where air transportation is still allowed, under the airline’s “Fly them back home” project, free of charge. They are planning the flights home between February 5 and 8. “Passengers will be given a thorough examination as…
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Rural students to get digital boost with “e-School”
College students in rural areas of Thailand will soon get a boost in the quality of their education: Mae Fah Luang University (MFU) in Chiang Rai has developed an e-School system for the administration of education in rural areas with a 7 million baht grant from the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Research and Development Fund for Public Interest (BTFP), under the…
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Thai doctors claim drug cocktail treats Coronavirus
Doctors in Bangkok believe they’ve discovered a cocktail of drugs that effectively treats the Wuhan Coronavirus. At a media briefing yesterday, the two doctors claimed that a combination of flu and anti-AIDS drugs has been shown effective in treating patients who tested positive for the virus. The two doctors from Rajavithi Hospital, Kriangsak Atipornwanich and Subsai Kongsangdao, declared the combination…
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Coronavirus UPDATE – Confirmed cases exceed 17,000, 362 deaths
The Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) has now spread to 27 countries and territories worldwide. There are 17,387 confirmed cases and 362 deaths as of this morning. Welcome to our Monday morning update as we enter a new month with the coronavirus still growing , both inside China and outside, with the first death outside China over the weekend – a 44…
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