News
Stay up-to-date with the latest news from across Thailand and beyond with The Thaiger. Our dedicated team brings you breaking news, in-depth analysis, and exclusive stories from this stunning part of the world, covering a diverse range of topics, including local politics, business, culture, and tourism. Keep yourself informed about the Kingdom’s rich history, stunning landscapes, and thriving expat communities, as well as updates on events, attractions, and transportation.
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Sponsored How to reduce out-of-pocket medical expenses in Thailand?
Managing medical expenses in Thailand is important as healthcare costs continue to rise. The country’s healthcare system includes both public and private options, but even with the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) for citizens, many still face high out-of-pocket medical expenses....
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Face masks become mandatory in Malaysia’s fight against Covid-19
Even when it was in the grip of Covid-19 in March, reporting daily new cases in triple digits, Malaysia never made the wearing of face masks mandatory. Defense Minister Ismail Sabri says this was to avoid placing financial stress on the country’s poor, given that face masks should be changed at least once a day. However, as the country reports…
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Demonstrators turn Isaan protests into celebrations – VIDEO
Students held protests yesterday on campuses across Isaan, Thailand’s northeastern region, demanding that the government dissolve parliament, rewrite the constitution to be more democratic, and stop official and unofficial harassment and prosecution of its opponents. The demands echoed their Bangkok counterparts in last Saturday’s massive demonstration, demanding accountability and the end of military involvement in politics. Thousands of student protesters…
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Man arrested for stealing Phuket ambulance
A man has been arrested in Phang Nga after allegedly stealing an ambulance in Phuket. Reports in Thai Residents and The Phuket News say the vehicle was stolen from outside the Kathu office of The Kusoldharm Foundation at around 4am yesterday and discovered missing by a member of the foundation shortly after. After notifying police, foundation workers initially tried driving…
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Hit-and-run charges against Red Bull heir “Boss” Yoovidhya dropped
In a shock ending to a case which has dragged on for years, charges against Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya, in a 2012 hit and run incident – one that resulted in a police officer’s death – have been dropped. Vorayuth is heir to the Red Bull fortune and a member of one of Thailand’s wealthiest families. The Office of the Attorney…
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University students defy ban, hold protest
With anti-government demonstrations flaring up around the country, a bid by the dean of the Mahasarakham University to prevent one there failed yesterday as students defied his ban and went ahead with their protest. University campuses are exempt from the Emergency Decree’s ban on gatherings, and the university initially said only that any rallies held on campus grounds must abide…
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Transport Ministry says they still want to negotiate the 24 billion baht Hopewell pay-out
Driving out to Don Mueang Airport it’s difficult not to notice the new BTS line that now extends from Mo Chit and past the airport. It looks finished and, apparently, will open before the end of the year. But running alongside are the remnants of an earlier, and very expensive, attempt to build a link out to Don Mueang, at…
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Hospital steps up security after gang fights
Following incidents at 2 hospitals in greater Bangkok, in which 3 staff were injured, prompting a female doctor to resign, Udon Thani Hospital has set up a new security system to prevent damage from brawls between the northeastern province’s rival gangs. The hospital’s director says tight security is necessary, citing 4 patients recently brought in with severe injuries from a…
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Chon Buri sees large anti-government rally
The eastern province of Chon Buri was the scene of a peaceful anti-government protest yesterday evening. The rally attracted a large crowd who afterward cleaned Bang Saen beach. The demonstration comes on the heels of several larger protests in Bangkok and elsewhere this week, and was led by a group calling themselves the Youth Liberation Front. No official number of…
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Red shirt leader warns activists against insulting Monarchy
The chairman of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship, aka the “red shirt” movement, says the Student Union of Thailand and the Free Youth group, who launched anti-government protests last week, should stick to their 3 demands and not “cross a line” by including discussion about Thailand’s Monarchy. He warns that, otherwise, they will meet the same fate as…
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Phase 6 of re-opening to see thousands of foreigners granted entry to Thailand
A number of additional categories of foreigners will be able to apply to re-enter the Kingdom. These include migrant workers from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, Elite Visa holders, medical tourists, film crew, convention exhibitors and select business visitors. Anyone that doesn’t fall into one of those groups will remain excluded from the country as the borders remain shut to almost…
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10 returning soldiers found with high fever
151 Thai soldiers, who went to Hawaii to participate in the Lightning Forge 2020 joint training program with the US, returned home yesterday on a Thai Airways flight that landed at Suvarnabhumi airport at 5:40 pm. 10 soldiers were found to have high fevers and were rushed to a hospital in Bangkok to be tested for Covid-19. Another soldier was…
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Female doctor resigns after hospital attack; director suggests “gold shop security”
The director of Vibharam-Chai Prakan Hospital in Samut Prakan, just south of Bangkok, says he may need to upgrade security to that used by gold shops to protect hospital staff. His remarks come just days after violence erupted at 2 hospitals in the area. 2 gangs were fighting after 1 of their members died. A female doctor resigned after the…
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Covid-19 documentary to feature Thailand and New Zealand as success stories
Thailand and New Zealand have been chosen by the World Health Organization as successful models to be featured in a documentary about handling and stemming the spread of Covid-19 . A WHO official in Thailand confirmed to the Bangkok Post that the documentary is in production. No further details of the project have been revealed. The National Institute of Health’s…
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Bangkok “sadist” arrested for man’s death, woman’s abduction
Bangkok police have arrested a man for the abduction of a woman and the death of her boyfriend in the city’s Lumpini Park Tuesday night. Authorities say he is a sexual sadist who preyed on sex workers in the downtown area. Police say a woman, identified as 35 year old Natchada Kiengkaiwaykin, was lured into his Volkswagen van. Her boyfriend,…
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Global aviation recovery could take 3 years – Survey
“Widespread recovery of the global airline industry could be up to three years away.” That’s the consensus out of n industry poll conducted as part of FlightPlan: Charting a Course into the Future. 500 professionals around the world were asked questions about the likely recovery of the global aviation industry. Apart from the dire predictions of a slow recovery over the next…
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American busted for fraud in Bangkok
An American man in Bangkok has been arrested and faces charges of defrauding a Thai investor out of 300,000 baht. Immigration police arrested the 37 year old for allegedly conning the victim into investing in an application to search for condominiums, jobs, cleaning and other services. The man, identified only as “Matthew”, was arrested under a warrant obtained by immigration…
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Chiang Mai madam arrested over underage gay sex shop
A team of police and provincial officers have arrested a transgender woman on charges of operating a brothel after raiding a Chiang Mai massage shop. 2 young masseurs were caught in the sting operation on Tuesday night. The arrested woman identified herself as the manager of the shop although police believe she’s the owner of the business. Authorities say the…
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Last Qantas 747 flight draws kangaroo logo in the sky to mark final voyage – VIDEO
The Qantas Boeing 747 has taken to the skies for the last time, marking its final journey by drawing the airline’s famous kangaroo logo in the sky. The design could be seen on flight radar maps as the aircraft, affectionately known as the Queen of the Skies, ascended out of Sydney for the last time. It flew over the Harbour…
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Sudden downpour floods Pattaya’s main roads
More rain in Pattaya today brining flooding to some of the ‘usual’ spots and affecting traffic. The mid-afternoon downpour flooded Pattaya’s major arteries, causing water up to 50 centimetres deep on some of the roads, including (of course) Beach Road. The rain battered the seaside city for around 2 hours. The Bangkok-Pattaya motorway was also hit by the sudden downpour…
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“Priceless” ancient manuscripts vanish from university, feared stolen and sold
“Hundreds” of priceless historical manuscripts have been stolen from the Arts and Cultural Centre of the Nakhon Si Thammarat Rabhabhat University. A senior monk said the ancient folding-book paper manuscripts, known as “samut khoi”, contained stories and drawings featuring local history, traditions and culture, and might have been stolen and sold to people unaware that they belonged to the university.…
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Chiang Mai eatery fined for alcohol promotion
A Chiang Mai restaurant is warning other eateries to be very careful about promoting alcohol after being raided and fined. Police went to Ai ToMoE restaurant in Chiang Mai after a tip that it was promoting beer in its 499 baht buffet menu, according to the restaurant’s Facebook post yesterday. Offices arrested the chef, named “Boy”, and fined him 50,000…
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Isaan students say they’ll defy protest ban
Students at Isaan’s Mahasarakham University say they’re going ahead with a planned anti-government rally despite a ban from the institution. Organisers of the protest made the announcement earlier today. The university initially said yesterday that any rallies held on campus grounds must abide by the laws and refrain from anti-monarchy rhetoric. The university later revised its policy and banned all…
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Government says Emergency Decree extension won’t ban protests
Although the Emergency Decree was officially extended again today, through the end of August, the government says political gatherings and rallies won’t be banned. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha approved the extension earlier today but officials insist the emergency measures are strictly for guarding against the resurgence of Covid-19 and unrelated to the ongoing protests. According to the secretary-general of the National…
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310 out of 50,000 repatriates tested positive for Covid-19: minister
Thailand’s foreign affairs minister has reported to the Senate that full assistance is being provided to Thai nationals stranded overseas due to the Covid-19 world pandemic. This is despite the recent controversy surrounding an Egyptian airman visiting Thailand who tested positive after visiting shopping spots in the eastern Rayong province. The minister responded to questions from Senators, pointing out that…
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Bangkok police seize fake drugs, cosmetics, supplements in factory raid
Police and officers of the Food and Drug Administration seized 119 items made using hazardous substances and sporting fake labels in a raid on an illegal factory near Bangkok’s Pratunam intersection. The products were valued at 200,000 baht. The FDA reported the production of illegal healthcare products, which led police to Tofu Skincare based in the capitol’s Ratchathewi district. The…
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Woman says emergency operator joked and hung up on her as father lay dying
A young woman in Ratchaburi province, western Thailand, says an emergency operator joked that he couldn’t hear her, then said, “beep, beep” before hanging up on her. The woman, 18 year old Pronrawin Ongpisut, was trying to reach emergency services to help her dying father. The man has since passed away. A report in Coconuts says Pronrawin first called the…
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PM approves Emergency Decree extension
PM Prayut Chan O’Cha has signed off on a proposal by the National Security Council and the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration to extend the Emergency Decree until the end of August. The Emergency Decree gives the government sweeping powers to manage the Covid-19 crisis at the national level from a “top down” perspective. It also provides draconian penalties for…
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Video catches Thai immigration officials asking for a bribe
Officers from an immigration office near Bangkok have been “suspended” after a Facebook video showed an immigration official asking for money to help “speed up his visa process”. The caption read… “This is real, such a shame, when will the cheating stop”. “Thailand is good, foreigners get Visas to work in the country. They go to the Nonthaburi Immigration for…
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Bangkok entertainment venues still face strict safety checks
Although there have been no community transmitted cases of Covid-19 in Thailand for 60 days, a deputy governor in Bangkok is urging authorities and the public not to let their guards down, after details were revealed in the case of a Sudanese diplomat’s daughter who tested positive for the virus. The deputy governor chaired a meeting yesterday in which he…
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Bangkok university professor says no “travel bubbles” for at least 6 months
A professor at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University says Thailand’s “travel bubble” plan, which would allow small groups of foreign tourists to visit Thailand, should be put on hold for at least another 6 months. In a Facebook post yesterday, he said that the global Covid-19 situation remains “of serious concern”, as new infections are still surging, with more than 200,000 new…
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