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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Village leader slain in drive-by shooting in South
Gunmen in Pattanni province in Thailand’s restive South shot dead an assistant village headman while he was exercising at a children’s playground yesterday. Pattani and its neighbouring provinces are home to Thailand’s Southern Conflict. The drive-by shooting occurred at playground in front of a football field in Ban Prawae of tambon Yarang. Witnesses say Chanwit Kaso, assistant headman of Ban…
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Thais reject the Government’s cash giveaway scheme
A new Super Poll survey shows that 71.2% of respondents disagree with the Government’s recently announced plans to hand out two 1,000 baht monthly cash give-aways to low income earners. The new economic stimulus package was announced last week by the finance ministry to help cushion the impact of the sagging economy and threats from the COVID-19 outbreak. A spokesperson…
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Lost at sea: Thailand – A study from ISLA
By Daren Jenner, Thailand Section Chief, Marine Safety Officer, International Surf Life Saving Association The International Surf Lifesaving Association has just released an alarming study it calls “Lost at Sea: Thailand”. The study highlights the stark reality of the dangers of the two-faced Andaman Sea that surrounds the famous holiday Island of Phuket, Thailand. During the dry season (November to…
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Yala judge’s suicide letter forces spotlight on independence of the Thai judiciary
The suicide letter from a former Yala judge, who took his own life on Saturday, continued to raise many suspicions about the independence of the Thai judicial system. Khanakorn Pianchana, previously the head of the trial court at Yala Provincial Court in southern Thailand, took his own life on Saturday in his Chiang Mai residence. He posted a 2 page…
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80 Thai workers returning from South Korea escape airport, search underway
Thai media report that some 80 Thai nationals, out of a total of 200 who arrived at Suvarnabhumi International Airport yesterday on four flights after returning from working illegally in South Korea, have fled. Authorities are urgently searching for the 80, who escaped from a restricted area as they were about to be escorted to a naval base in Chon…
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Miss International Queen 2020 crowned in Pattaya at the Miss Tiffany’s Universe pageant
The crowd was smaller, face masks became a fashion accessory, contestants had their temperatures checked before going on stage. And the winning contestant’s last name was, (given the coronavirus issues) ironically, ‘Fluchaire’. The annual glitter-fest is open to the world’s transgender women who may or may not have gone through sex reassignment surgery. Mexico’s Valentina Fluchaire was crowned Miss International…
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7 dead, dozens trapped in China quarantine hotel collapse
China’s state media are reporting that seven people died when a hotel used as a coronavirus quarantine centre collapsed last night in southeastern China’s Fujian province. The Ministry of Emergency Management says 80 people were in the building when it came down; nine escaped, while about 70 people were trapped. Of those, 43 have been pulled from the rubble and…
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59 “little ghosts” quarantined at Chon Buri naval base
Fifty-nine Thais, 27 men and 32 women, “phee noi“ (meaning “little ghosts” in Thai) who returned from South Korea last night have been detained at a naval reception facility in Chon Buri province’s Sattahip district for a 14 day quarantine, as a measure to stem the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. They were among dozens of passengers who arrived at…
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Phuket announces quarantine for arrivals from South Korea only
Breaking with national policy, Phuket’s governor yesterday announced forced quarantine for arrivals from South Korea, but mentioned no other “risk areas” for the Covid-19 coronavirus. Governor Phakaphong Tavipatana chaired a meeting of the Phuket Communicable Disease Committee at which four quarantine zones were announced, where arrivals from South Koreans are to remain for 14 days before being allowed to mingle…
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Tips for Covid-19 coronavirus prevention
Worried about coronavirus (aka. Covid-19)? Do you, or someone you know, exhibit symptoms? If you live in Thailand, your risk of contracting Covid-19 is exceedingly low, so there’s no need to be overly concerned. Even in a worst-case scenario, the vast majority of healthy people, particularly the younger, will get over a bout of this new virus. We understand that…
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Transgender queen crowned in Pattaya
“This is for you, I made this for you.” The crowd was smaller and there were temperature checks for attendees, but the show went on: Mexico’s Valentina Fluchaire was crowned as the winner of what is billed as the world’s biggest transgender pageant yesterday in Pattaya. To allay fears over the Covid-19 coronavirus, the entire venue in the seaside resort…
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Ayutthaya mother and son drug gang, police seize 5 million meth pills
A mother and son, suspected to be part of a larger central Thailand drug gang, have been arrested after 5 million methamphetamine pills were discovered inside a rented rooms in Prainracha, Ayutthaya, north of Bangkok. Officials searched the property on March 6, noting that there were two bedrooms in bad repair with sacks of pills strewn around the rooms. Sacks…
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One officer killed, two injured in Narathiwat insurgent attacks
A police officer is dead and two others in hospital after shooting and firebomb attacks in Thailand’ southern Narathiwat province, bordering Malaysia, yesterday. Police say three officers in a patrol truck were attacked shortly after they leaving Sri Sakhon Hospital on their way back to their station, at about 11:55. Narathiwat and its neighbouring provinces of are home to Thailand’s…
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Drunken woman, legally dead, uses calling card to make 50 emergency calls in a day
Police in northern Thailand’s Loei province were notified that someone using a calling card had been calling 191 all day. The police went to inspect a location whre they found a drunk woman, identified as 51 year old “Mrs. Waruni.” She had no home address and was using her calling card to call 191, the emergency hotline of the Royal…
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100 kilograms of crystal meth wash ashore in Thailand’s southeast
It’s been a busy week for the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), as police in Trat province seized 100 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, or “ice,” found washed ashore on two beaches. Nineteen packets of the drug were found on Koh Mak beach, and another 81 packs on Koh Kut beach. Trat is the easternmost province along the Thai…
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Judge commits suicide
A judge is dead after shooting himself in the heart in his home in Chiang Mai province. He had previously attempted suicide in his courtroom after being pressured to change a verdict. In October last year, Kanakorn Pianchana, then a judge in the provincial court of Thailand’s southern Yala province, publicly claimed he had been approached by someone who “forced”…
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More than 2,000 stranded on cruise liner in Phuket over Italian “risk” tourists
Over 2,000 passengers and crew on board the Costa Fortuna cruise liner, which arrived in Patong yesterday, have been denied permission to disembark. The ban comes after official confirmation that 64 Italians onboard left Italy in the past 14 days. The move follows the Thai government’s institution of a 14 day self-quarantine on all people arriving from China, South Korea,…
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No Songkran for Pattaya this year
Pattaya’s mayor today confirmed that Pattaya is cancelling virtually all official Songkran activities for this year due to concerns over the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak. This includes the Wan Lai Festival scheduled for April 19, the single biggest event on the city’s calendar, which attracts up to a half million tourists, both Thai and foreign, in what many consider Thailand’s wildest…
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Thailand News Today – March 6, 2020
Daily news update hosted by Tim Newton… https://www.facebook.com/thethaigernews/videos/2612664995679519/ Burmese military seize drugs and equipment valued over 2 billion baht north of Chiang Rai The Burmese military raided a meth lab in Shan State, northern Myanmar. Soldiers seized a vast quantity of drugs, chemicals and equipment valued around 2 billion baht. The raids ran between February 28 and March 3. The…
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Motorcyclist crushed by train in Pattaya
A motorcyclist has been killed after being struck by a train in Pattaya this morning at 10.30am. The man, a 33 year old local car salesman, drove through a railway crossing barrier and `straight into the path of a freight train. Anucha Singthong drove around the lowered barriers at the crossing on a road near Muang Pattaya 7 School in…
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Briton becomes Thailand’s 48th confirmed coronavirus case
Thailand’s Ministry of Health announced today that a British man flying from Hong Kong is the latest Covid-19 coronavirus patient in Thailand. The ministry’s permanent secretary Sukhum Kanchanapimai says the Briton became the 48th confirmed case after he tested positive and was admitted to a hospital on Tuesday after he developed symptoms associated with the virus. The patient, who was…
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US Surgeon General says virus risk low, no need for masks
“Seriously people, STOP BUYING MASKS!” The US Surgeon General Vice Admiral Dr. Jerome Adams reiterated his blaring tweet from the weekend, urging people to “STOP BUYING MASKS.” He says they are “NOT effective” for the general public. Adams told Americans the risk of the coronavirus to the general public is infinitessimally small, and to stop wearing face masks. He says…
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Patong cancels all official Songkran events
“This year, Patong will not hold any official Songkran festival celebration events at all.” All official Songkran events in Phuket’s Patong municipality, including the “Songkran on the Beach” play zone and the DJ dance party have been cancelled. Patong Mayor Chalermluck Kebsup made the announcement on her social media channels yesterday. Patong is the traditional epicentre for Songkran festivities in…
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North to see thunderstorms, rains predicted for Bangkok
Thailand’s Meteorological Department today says there is a possibility of thunderstorms, gusty winds and even hail in the North, the Northeast, the Central and East regions, due to a low pressure area covering the lower North and Central regions and a high pressure system from China in the Northeast. In the South, less rain is predicted. The department advises people…
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Burmese military seize drugs and equipment valued at 2.02 billion baht north of Chiang Rai
The Burmese military raided a methamphetamine pill factory and warehouses in Shan State, about 400 kilometres north of Chiang Rai province in Thailand’s northeast. Soldiers seized a vast quantity of drugs, precursor chemicals and drug-making equipment worth an estimated 2.02 billion baht. A spokesman for the Burmese military said that its soldiers conducted raids on plants in Kaungkha Village in…
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Document confirms Covid-19 case at Vachira Hospital Phuket
A document from the Bangkok Disease Control Department has confirmed that there was a 35 year old Chinese patient at Phuket’s Vachira Hospital with coronavirus last month. The documents were made available at a media conference confirming the latest figures from around Thailand yesterday. One of the listings of confirmed cases was the Phuket patient (below). The patient’s listing was…
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Second Princess cruise ship held over virus “links”
After the nearly month-long ordeal of the Diamond Princess, the cruise ship quarantined off the coast of Japan on which more than 700 Covid-19 coronavius cases were confirmed, now a second Princess Cruises ship, the Grand Princess, is reportedly being held off San Francisco after authorities discovered “links” to the virus onboard. According to the Los Angeles Times the liner…
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Singapore coronavirus patients to have their meals, medicine delivered by robot
Patients at a Singapore hospital suspected or confirmed to be infected with the Covid-19 coronavirus will soon get their meals and medicines from a robot. What’s more, a second robot is being deployed to clean, and will chat with patients in four languages, as well as “Singlish.” Details of the use of the robot technology were outlined in Singapore’s Ministry…
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Thailand News Today, Thursday March 5, 2020
Thailand announces 4 new coronavirus cases, all from Italy or Iran Thailand today confirmed four new cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus, bringing its total to 47 since January. All were recent arrivals from Italy or Iran. Reuben Tuck reports… (Reuben VO) IT SHOULD BE NOTED that Thailand has recorded only one coronavirus-related fatality Thailand’s Koh Phangan full moon party cancelled…
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Health minister won’t say why quarantine order deleted, Facebook account inactive
Health minister Anutin Charnvirakul yesterday declined to explain why he removed an order requiring people arriving from 9 countries and 2 Chinese territories designated as high risk areas for the Covid-19 virus to be placed in self-quarantine. According to the quickly deleted document posted on his official Facebook page (now inactive), the nine destinations are “disease areas” and people arriving…
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