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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Japan: Princess Mako marries commoner amid controversy
Japanese Princess Mako has quietly married a commoner without traditional wedding celebrations and said their marriage “was a necessary choice to live while cherishing our hearts.” The couple’s marriage document was submitted by a palace official Tuesday morning and made official, the Imperial Household Agency said. There was no wedding ceremony, reception banquet or other marriage rituals for the couple.…
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November reopening concerns majority of Thais, Department of Health survey shows
While many seem excited with the plan to reopen the country to vaccinated travellers on November 1, apparently the majority of Thais are concerned with how the Covid-19 situation will be with an influx of visitors from overseas. Thailand’s Department of Health conducted a survey from October 14 to 20 and found that 94% of participants are concerned with how…
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British divers say they risked arrest for giving boys ketamine during cave rescue
Rescue divers who saved the 12 football players and their coach trapped in a flooded cave say they risked getting arrested for giving the boys ketamine to sedate them for the two and a half hour underwater journey out of the cave. The Sun reported that British divers Rick Stanton and John Volanthen say they warned that if any of…
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US President Biden to join ASEAN summit as leaders poised to discuss key regional issues
US President Joe Biden is taking part in Tuesday’s virtual summit with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, marking the first time the US has joined at a presidential level since his predecessor, Donald Trump, attended a meeting in 2017. Reuters reports that the US embassy in Brunei has confirmed Biden will lead the US delegation for the ASEAN-United States summit…
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Health officials play down concerns over Thailand’s first case of Delta Plus variant
The Disease Control Department has confirmed that Thailand has recorded its first case of the Delta Plus variant. However, Dr. Chawetsan Namwat from the DCD insists there’s no cause for alarm. The Delta Plus variant was first reported in the UK, which is currently experiencing a surge in infections. According to a Thai PBS World report, Delta Plus cases in…
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Chulalongkorn students drop royal parade on grounds it promotes “authoritarianism”
The Student Union of Chulalongkorn University has controversially ditched its tradition of holding a royal parade ahead of its annual football match with Thammasat University. The decision to scrap the Phra Kiew parade, which students say promotes authoritarianism and inequality, has sparked fierce debate between Thailand’s progressive thinkers and its traditional conservatives. The Chulalongkorn student body has issued a statement…
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Thai PM defends plan to spend 100 million baht on New Year’s Eve celebrities
The Thai PM is standing firm amid fierce criticism of a plan to spend 100 million baht on 2 global singing stars for New Year’s Eve festivities in Phuket. Prayut Chan-o-cha has defended the government’s plan to spend around US$3 million dollars to secure Italian tenor, Andrea Bocelli, and Lalisa “Lisa” Manobal, from the K-pop band, Blackpink. The Bangkok Post…
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Government’s domestic tour package subsidy receives lukewarm response
A tour package subsidy scheme aimed at domestic travellers is so far failing to prove popular with either tourists or tour operators. Tour Teaw Thai provides a 40% subsidy on tour packages up to 5,000 baht to 1 million people, but Chotechuang Soorangura from NS Travel and Tours says the conditions are proving a deterrent. “Locals find the hotel subsidy…
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Why Dubai plans to build infrastructure in Kashmir
The government of Dubai, one of the UAE’s seven emirates, recently inked an agreement with India to ramp up infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government said the deal will see Dubai building infrastructure in the troubled region including industrial parks, IT towers, multi-purpose towers, logistics centres, a medical college and a speciality hospital. “The world…
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Japan: Princess Mako set to marry commoner amid controversy
Hours before Japan’s Princess Mako is due to marry her commoner fiance, Kei Komuro, there is little indication of the public or the domestic press relenting their criticism of the first imperial family wedding in nearly 30 years. An unforgettable day of traditional pomp and finery will instead be reduced to the signing of paperwork and a press conference. The…
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“Free parking” signs placed at Pattaya pier after complaints of scammers
After numerous complaints that people were soliciting money for parking spaces at Pattaya’s Bali Hai Pier, some reportedly asking for up to 500 baht, city officials have installed signs announcing that parking is free and to report if they are being charged for a space. The Pattaya News has reported that the free spaces are located at the blue field…
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Bangkok land prices rising, but still below pre-pandemic average
While Bangkok land prices are hardly on a tear, they continue to rise even amid the economic uncertainty brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. Figures from the Real Estate Information Centre, known as REIC, show a quarterly rise of 0.5%, and a yearly rise of 7.6%, in the land price index in Greater Bangkok in the third quarter. As reported by…
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Monday Covid Update: 8,675 new cases; provincial totals
A low of 8,675 new Covid-19 cases were reported today by the CCSA. A spokesperson says the daily count is the lowest it has been over the last three months, adding that the low count is “very good news” and hopes the daily case count will soon dip below 8,000. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA…
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Qantas to resume flights from Sydney to Bangkok and Phuket early 2022
Qantas Airways is gearing up to resume flights from Sydney to Bangkok and Phuket from early next year, with the Aussie airline keen to get the ball rolling as international travel restrictions are gradually being lifted. Sydney is set to see the resumption of regular routes in January, more than two months ahead of schedule, as both the federal and…
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Huge quantities of used medical gloves shipped from Thailand to US
Huge quantities of used medical gloves have been shipped from Thailand as shady operators seek to cash in on Covid-fuelled demand for personal protective equipment, or PPE, according to a report from CNN following a months-long investigation. With demand having skyrocketed around the world, an underground industry based around reusing PPE has emerged in Southeast Asia, with the shoddy medical…
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Foreign airlines give up 80% of their slots at Thailand’s airports amid uncertainty of next 5 months
The managing director of Airports of Thailand says international carriers have returned around 80% of their slots at Thailand’s airports. Nitinai Sirisamatthakarn says around 80% of slots between October 31 and March 26 next year have been returned, indicating that airlines are uncertain about any imminent recovery in the aviation sector. Airport slots are the landing and take-off permissions that…
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Big vaccination push in Chiang Mai in bid to combat Covid-19 surge
The president of the Tourism Council of Chiang Mai is hoping a ramp-up of vaccination efforts will help combat a surge in Covid-19. Punlop Saejew says health officials are pulling out all the stops in a bid to get the northern province ready for the November 1 re-opening. “The current clusters have affected local confidence towards re-opening. Everyone is working…
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Government under pressure to lift alcohol ban, allow nightlife to resume
As Thailand prepares to waive quarantine for vaccinated tourists from low-risk countries, the government is coming under pressure to ease some Covid-19 restrictions. In particular, the Bangkok Post reports on calls to allow restaurants to sell alcohol and for nightlife to resume. Countless bars and clubs remain shuttered, with many operators questioning how Thailand’s re-opening can succeed under such conditions.…
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Monday Covid Update: 8,675 new cases and 44 deaths
Today, the CCSA reported 8,675 new Covid-19 cases and 44 coronavirus-related deaths. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA has reported 9,589 recoveries. There are now 100,042 people in Thailand receiving treatment for Covid-19. Since April 1, in the country’s most severe wave of the virus, the CCSA has reported a total of 1,830,294 confirmed Covid-19 cases.…
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Central African rebel commander faces war crimes charges
Mahamat Said is facing more than a dozen charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC), including torture, persecution, enforced disappearance, and cruel treatment, over his alleged role in war crimes during the Central African Republic’s civil war. Judges will make a decision within the coming weeks on whether or not to confirm the charges against the ex-rebel commander, potentially bringing…
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Border shacks to be demolished for aiding Burmese immigrants
In a unique twist on a common encroachment story in Thailand, vendor stalls on government land in Kanchanaburi along the highway in Sangklha Buri are being ordered to be demolished. But this time it’s not a land ownership debate, rather the government suspects that the vendor shacks are being used to shelter people after crossing the Burmese border illegally. These…
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Criminal gangs smuggle sodas into Portugal to avoid sugar tax
Customs officer Helder Mendes has lost count how of many trucks he has already stopped on this October day. “Good afternoon, your papers, please. What is your load?” he asks a truck driver. Since seven in the morning, he and five colleagues have been checking trucks en route from Spain at Vilar Formoso, one of Portugal’s busiest border crossings. The…
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Tourism calls for Russia and India to be added to safe list
Now that the 46 countries that can enter Thailand on November 1 without quarantine have been announced, many in the tourism industry are calling for some notable absences to be added to the list. Tourism groups in major travel hubs are calling on the government to add Russia and India to the list of approved countries, believing it will massively…
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Bank of Thailand plans real-world test of digital currency in 2022
The Bank of Thailand recently announced plans to do some real-world testing of digital currency in the near future as the popularity of cryptocurrency continues to grow. They plan to test their Central Bank Digital Currency in a real-world environment sometime in the second quarter of 2022. The BOT has been studying the CBDC since 2018 and is aware that…
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Chiang Mai Covid-19 infections swell ahead of reopening
November 1 is fast approaching and with it a major reopening effort all across Thailand. But a few of the target Blue Zone areas that the government has focused on due to their popularity with foreign tourists are struggling, as Chiang Mai in particular has been battling a swell in Covid-19 infections. Chiang Mai has seen their daily infection numbers…
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Thailand’s bars and beach parties remain strictly closed (cough)
Will some of Thailand’s most popular hotspots ever come back to life? It appears that the bars and beach parties will never restart as these photos reveal darkened streets and deserted beaches. Last week’s Full Moon Party was curtailed after initially getting the go-ahead from Koh Pha Ngan police. It eventually went ahead but in a vastly reduced ‘covid-era’ form…
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Covid-19 Sunday: Deaths fall to low of 56, provincial data
Today, the CCSA reported 9,351 new Covid-19 infections, down 391 since yesterday, and a long-time low of 56 Coronavirus-related deaths, down 18 from yesterday. Since April 1, in the latest wave of the virus in Thailand, a total of 1,821,619 confirmed Covid-19 infections have been reported. In the 24 hour period since the last count, the CCSA has…
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Ministry of Foreign Affairs sings praises of Thailand Pass
The promotion engines are rolling as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has launched a global charm offensive to win over travellers regarding the new Thailand Pass that will replace Certificates of Entry for international travellers to Thailand as the country reopens on November 1. The Thailand Pass, a collaboration between the Department of Consular Affairs and the Digital Government Development…
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Covid-19 deaths receding, but still here; 1 month old baby dies
Deaths as a result of Covid-19 in Thailand have fallen significantly from an average of around 250 at the beginning of last month, and today set a low over the past several months of 56 fatalities. But there is still a human toll to the tragedy of the pandemic, where 18,755 people have died since the beginning of the third…
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Joe Biden’s Taiwan gaffes create concern in China and Asia
In August, ABC television asked US President Joe Biden what he thought of Chinese media’s claims that the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan without a fight had shown Taiwan that Washington could not be relied on to come to its defense. Biden replied that the US’s commitments to Taiwan, South Korea and NATO were fundamentally different situations than what had happened…
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