News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.
-
Sponsored Long-term life in Thailand? 5 reasons private health insurance pays off in the long run
Thailand is a great place for expats and retirees, offering a warm climate, affordable living, and rich culture. However, healthcare can be tricky for foreigners since they aren’t eligible for public health coverage, and private care can be expensive. Private...
-
Thursday Covid Update: 18,501 new cases; provincial totals
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration reported 18,501 new Covid-19 cases and 229 coronavirus-related deaths today. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 20,606 more recoveries. There are now 186,934 active Covid-19 cases, a downward trend over the past week. With the situation improving, restrictions are likely to be eased. Since the start of the pandemic…
-
Phuket Covid-19 over 3000 total, nearly 900 this week, 189 today
Today’s Covid-19 numbers in Phuket push the overall total above 3000, bring the weekly total to just about 900 (10 times the original threshold for reevaluating the Phuket Sandbox), and sets yet another daily record. 189 new domestic cases of Covid-19 were reported yesterday, making the count for 6 of the last 7 days over 100 infections. 3 new Sandbox…
-
7 police officers face charges relating to suspect’s death in custody
Arrest warrants have been issued for seven police officers who were allegedly involved in the incident where a plastic bag was put over a drug suspect’s head before he was beaten, allegedly by officers demanding a 2 million baht bribe. Reports say the man died from suffocation, but officers wrote the death off as a drug overdose. As of this…
-
Red Cross pleads for blood donations due to shortage
The Red Cross Society is pleading with the public to donate blood as Thailand’s hospitals are currently experiencing a severe shortage of blood reserves for patients. The shortage has led to the postponement of multiple surgeries. Director of the National Blood Centre of the Thai Red Cross Society, Dr Dutjai Chaivanichsiri, spoke earlier today to say the Covid situation has…
-
“Sandbox” tourist safety measures tightened in Phuket following murder case
Safety measures for “Sandbox” travellers in Phuket are being tightened following the suspected murder of a Swiss woman who had entered Thailand under the “Sandbox” and was found dead in a creek near the Ao Yon waterfall. Accommodations that have the SHA+ certification are being told to closely watch Phuket Sandbox Tourists who are old, feeble, women travelling by themselves,…
-
19 arrested for gambling and drugs in Suphan Buri
Police arrested 19 people in the central province of Suphan Buri for illegal gambling and holding a gathering that violates the Emergency Decree. Officers also seized methamphetamine and a gun. Officers arrived at the scene and confiscated 3 bags of methamphetamine pills and a pistol. All the 19 suspects, between the ages of 23 and 50, also face drug charges.…
-
7 teenagers arrested for allegedly planning to use small bombs at protest
Police arrested seven teenagers for allegedly possessing ping pong bombs with plans to use them at an upcoming protest in Bangkok. Officers raided a home in Nakhon Pathom, right outside the capital, at around 3:30am yesterday and seized 18 ping pong bombs. The teenagers at the home, ages 12 to 19, were arrested. Police also confiscated 3.69 grams of marijuana,…
-
UNICEF says ongoing closure of schools is affecting child development
The United Nations Children’s Fund says many young children are missing the milestone of their first day at school as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to a Bangkok Post report, UNICEF says ongoing school closures risk harming children’s development and mental health. UNICEF executive director Henrietta Fore says countless children have already missed out on months of face-to-face…
-
Man arrested for allegedly pretending to be a cop and sexually assaulting prostitutes
Police in Bangkok arrested a man who allegedly posed as a cop and sexually assaulted prostitutes, stealing from some of them. Allegedly, he raped sex workers more than 40 times over the past 6 months. The 34 year old man, identified as Kittipop, was arrested in Bangkok’s Lat Phrao district. Kittipop allegedly admitted to police that he pretended to be…
-
Figures show Covid-related deaths 2.5 times higher among pregnant women
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration says Covid-related deaths in Thailand are 2.5 times higher in pregnant women. Assistant spokesperson Apisamai Srirangsan says the deaths are mainly caused by respiratory failure. Thai PBS World reports that findings from December to August 11 show that the deaths of pregnant Covid-19 patients accounted for 0.43% of all Covid-related fatalities. The Royal College…
-
Officials meet today to discuss easing some Covid-19 restrictions
Government officials are to meet today to discuss the possibility of easing some restrictions, ahead of a meeting of the Covid-19 task force tomorrow. Apisamai Srirangson from the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration says the proposal to ease some curbs is being driven by a fall in the infection rate across the country. Today, Thailand reported 18,501 new cases, compared…
-
Restaurant operators accept rules for re-opening dine-in services
Restaurant operators are happy to accept new rules for re-opening as laid out by the Public Health Ministry, if it means they can get back to business. The measures are strict and include the need for all customers to show proof of full vaccination. According to a Bangkok Post report, the re-opening of dine-in services would be done under a…
-
Thursday Covid Update: 18,501 new cases and 229 deaths
18,501 new Covid-19 cases and 229 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. There have been 20,606 recoveries recorded over the past 24 hours. Thailand now has 186,934 active cases. Since April 1, the CCSA has reported 1,092,006 Covid-19 cases. Out of the new cases, 139 were found in correctional facilities. More than 40,000 inmates at…
-
Bangkok Sandbox: open businesses to vaccinated customers
Perhaps feeling a bit jealous of more easily isolated tropical islands with their Sandboxes, who are reopening despite their own rising Covid-19 infections, the private sector has proposed its own reopening in the capital they are calling the Bangkok Sandbox. A “Factory Sandbox” has already been put into use in the industrial sector that maintains safety and confidence in the…
-
Wanted police superintendent has mansion, 13 luxury cars
The appalling story of the Mueng Nakhon Sawan Police suffocating a man to death while trying to extort him for 2 million baht continues with more and more shocking turns. Now details are emerging of the accused police station superintendent Pol Col Thitisan Utthanaphon’s luxury house on a large plot of land in Bangkok with 13 high-end cars. First, the…
-
Australia and New Zealand consider just living with Covid-19
With Covid-19 on the rise in Australia and New Zealand, officials in both countries have hinted at moving away from a strategy of eliminating the virus and instead learning to live with it. Australia has daily infection numbers nearing 1,000, setting new records each day and, while New Zealand had long avoided Covid-19 outbreaks, today the country reported 62 new…
-
Nepal fears ‘third wave’ as COVID cases surge
As COVID cases continue to rise, Nepal’s Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) has warned of a third coronavirus wave, instructing all hospitals and health centers to gear up and prepare necessary measures. Nepal’s second COVID wave in mid-May had overwhelmed the Himalayan nation’s health system. Hospitals ran out of oxgen supplies, hospital beds and ventilators. “We are at the…
-
Worldwide Covid-19 infections may be levelling off again
The World Health Organisation said this week that Covid-19 may be plateauing worldwide after 2 months of steady increases. The global Covid-19 totals saw 4.5 million new infections and 68,000 new deaths this week, stats that reveal only a marginal increase over last week’s totals of 4.4 million infections and 66,000 deaths. According to the WHO’s epidemiological update, the worldwide…
-
Apply for a business visa in Thailand easily
Are you looking to attain a business visa in Thailand? Don’t worry as The Thaiger’s partner Tadoo is here to help. The business visa is great for those who are looking to enter Thailand for business meetings and/or conferences. Moreover, if you already have a job and are needing to relocate to Thailand with that company, then the business visa…
-
Indigenous people protest land restrictions in Brazil
With feather headdresses and body paint, thousands of indigenous demonstrators camped out in Brasilia to protest President Jair Bolsonaro’s policies and an initiative that could take away their ancestral lands. SOURCE: DW News
-
Indonesian navy seizes tanker and crew, says they stole oil
Indonesia’s navy announced today that it has seized a tanker and the tanker’s crew, the seamen were wanted on charges of stealing almost 300,00 barrels of crude oil out of Cambodia’s reserves. The ship was stopped on July 27 while it was off the coast of Sumatra, says the Indonesian navy. Days prior, Phnom Penh had issued a red notice…
-
Mobile vaccination bus to travel around Bangkok, exact locations to be visited unknown
City Hall in Bangkok is planning a new service called “BMV” which stands for Bangkok Mobile Vaccination Unit. The service will be a bus that drives to people’s houses and provides vaccination services. The service is set to start next week, says the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration spokesperson Pongsakorn Kwangmuang. Pongsakorn did not say which Bangkok areas the service will go…
-
Afghan migrants trapped at the border between Poland and Belarus
There were originally about 50 people in the group stuck on on the Polish-Belarusian border, but according to the Polish border police, Belarusian border guards have since taken women with small children and some of the men back to Belarus. As of Monday, there were still about 24 Afghan men and women camping near the border and refusing to be…
-
Covid delays construction of 3 train lines
The construction of 3 electric train lines has been postponed due to Covid, says the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand governor Pakapong Sirikantaramas, today. The lines are the Orange Line, the Pink Line, and the Yellow Line. Pakapong says the lines were already 4% to 5% ahead of schedule. Now, the project is 2% to 3% slower than scheduled.…
-
Purchase of 8.5 million Chinese antigen test kits paused again
Like many things regarding Covid-19, or Thai policy in general, the saga of importing controversial antigen test kits has reversed directions yet again. Following an order last week to proceed with the purchase of 8.5 million Chinese-made antigen test kits, the cabinet has now withdrawn the purchase approval. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha supported the cabinet decision to withdraw the deal to…
-
Wednesday Covid Update: 18,417 new cases; provincial totals
18,417 new Covid-19 cases and 297 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has reported a total of 1,102,368 Covid-19 cases. The latest and most severe wave of the virus in Thailand, first recorded on April 1, has accounted for 1,073,505 of those cases. 10,085…
-
7 arrest warrants approved for police suspects in Nakhon Sawan torture killing case
A Thai court has approved 7 arrest warrants for police officers in Nakhon Sawan, the northern Thai province. The 7 officers are suspects in the alleged torture and subsequent killing of a suspect. A shocking video allegedly showed the police covering the suspect’s head with a plastic bag until he suffocated to death. The 7 police suspects are: Thitisan…
-
Phuket-Samui flights on Bangkok Airways resume from today
Flights between Phuket and Koh Samui that had originally been cancelled until the end of the month have now resumed nearly a week early as Bangkok Airways relaunched the flight route with limited service. From today, the Phuket Sandbox and Samui Plus schemes will be reconnected as part of the Sandbox 7+7 Extension, allowing people to arrive in Phuket, spend…
-
Blood donations desperately needed for Phuket expat
The Phuket Regional Blood Center calling blood donations for an elderly expat’s open-heart surgery. 87 year old Peter Ferry, who is originally from Glasgow, Scotland, told the Phuket News today that he is currently at Bangkok Hospital Phuket waiting for people to donate blood so he can have the surgery. Peter’s blood type is B negative, which is so rare…
-
Man was burned to death after a fire broke out in his room in Pathum Thani
A 38 year old man was killed in a fire that broke out in his home in Pathum Thani, just outside Bangkok. Firefighters responded to the fire after midnight yesterday morning. It took around 30 minutes for firefighters to extinguish the flames. Udon Pulatabtang’s body was found in front of his room at around 2:30am. Firefighters from the Suan Phrik…
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.