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Thailand hot news, breaking stories, crime, politics, tourism, and business—stay updated with in-depth reports and exclusive interviews on the latest events across the country. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Thailand news source.

  • The best smartwatches to buy in 2021 | Thaiger

    The best smartwatches to buy in 2021

    Want to upgrade your traditional watch by adding some apps to your wrist? Or are you looking for a newer, more advanced smartwatch to replace your old one? Smartwatches come in all shapes, sizes, and prices, but the best smartwatches do more than just letting you know if you’re getting a text or a call. They can offer many things…

  • JP Morgan includes Thailand in 5 economies most at risk from Delta variant | Thaiger

    JP Morgan includes Thailand in 5 economies most at risk from Delta variant

    The investment banking firm JP Morgan says there are 5 emerging economies that are most vulnerable to the Delta variant – and Thailand is one of them. According to a Reuters report, the others are South Africa, Colombia, the Philippines, and Peru. The primary reason given for these findings is the low rate of vaccination, with analysts comparing the pace…

  • Donald Trump files lawsuit against Facebook, Twitter, and Google | Thaiger

    Donald Trump files lawsuit against Facebook, Twitter, and Google

    Former US President Donald Trump has announced that he is leading a class-action lawsuit against Facebook, Google, and Twitter. He is claiming censorship as a violation of the United States Constitution’s right to free speech. Legal experts see no validity in the lawsuit as the constitutional right to free speech only applies to suppression by the government, not private companies…

  • Phuket taxi meeting: 20% fare cut, but doesn’t address gouging | Thaiger

    Phuket taxi meeting: 20% fare cut, but doesn’t address gouging

    The Phuket Office of the Public Relations Department has tried to paint a win for a meeting regarding overcharging taxis in the Phuket Sandbox, though the resolutions seem unrelated to the problem. During the meeting, taxi drivers agreed to a 20% discount for all fares until the end of the Covid-19 pandemic but did not address the problem of complaints…

  • Foreign Covid-19 case had Sinopharm, domestic infections bigger concern | Thaiger

    Foreign Covid-19 case had Sinopharm, domestic infections bigger concern

    More information is coming out now about the first Phuket Sandbox traveller to be infected with Covid-19 yesterday. The man from the United Arab Emirates was fully vaccinated with the Sinopharm vaccine more than 7 months ago and had tested negative before boarding his flight to Phuket. But while infections from abroad make headlines, the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office…

  • Chemicals being used to prevent further fires at Samut Prakan factory | Thaiger

    Chemicals being used to prevent further fires at Samut Prakan factory

    Today, 2 chemicals are being employed to help prevent more fires from breaking out at the Ming Dih Chemical factory, in Samut Prakan, says the Department of Pollution Control. The chemicals being used are the F-500 encapsulator agent and Diethyl hydroxylamine, or DEHA. F-500 stops the styrene monomer from igniting and evaporating. DEHA halts polymerisation wherein reacting monomer molecules join…

  • Phuket Sandbox growing with 33 airlines requesting flights | Thaiger

    Phuket Sandbox growing with 33 airlines requesting flights

    The Phuket Sandbox is slowly bringing international travellers back to Thailand, and while it’s had a few problems, signs indicate that confidence is growing in the scheme. With El Al, Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airways bringing in flights from the Middle East, Singapore Airlines connecting people in Southeast Asia, and Thai Airways operating 5 flights from Europe, international flights are…

  • Gaming laptops you should consider buying in 2021 | Thaiger

    Gaming laptops you should consider buying in 2021

    The top gaming laptops rankings changes every year. Gone are the days where gaming laptops were desktop replacements, with multiple power bricks, clunky chassis, and RGB lighting galore. Today, the powerful specs are packed in sleeker and slimmer builts so that you can enjoy a superb gaming experience and unbeatable portability. Some of them even rival the best Ultrabooks for…

  • Machinist in Nonthaburi arrested for allegedly making, selling guns | Thaiger

    Machinist in Nonthaburi arrested for allegedly making, selling guns

    Today, a factory machinist in Nonthaburi, a province north of Bangkok, was arrested for allegedly, illegally making, modifying, and selling guns out of a worker’s dormitory. Prajak Phoonphian, a 39 year old factory machinist was arrested early this morning after CSD police, acting on a warrant searched his dormitory at a lathe plant in the Pak Kret district in Nonthaburi.…

  • Man believes prostitute pickpocketed him in Pattaya | Thaiger

    Man believes prostitute pickpocketed him in Pattaya

    Last night, a German man lodged a complaint with police about his suspicion that a prostitute pickpocketed him. 68 year old Thomas Hatesaul alerted police at 11:30 pm that he was robbed on Soi 13/1 Pattaya Beach Road in Nongprue. He told police that he was walking by himself, to relax when he was approached by a woman. Thomas says…

  • Alleged leaders of a drug cartel in Germany arrested in Phuket and Koh Pha Ngan | Thaiger

    Alleged leaders of a drug cartel in Germany arrested in Phuket and Koh Pha Ngan

    The suspected leaders of a European drug trafficking network arrested by Thai police this week had reportedly been living in Thailand for several years as fugitives. Reports say German officials had filed an Interpol red notice for their arrest in a crackdown where 20 people allegedly involved in the drug trafficking operation were arrested in Germany. Allegedly, they were trafficking…

  • “Mastermind” arrested for posing as doctor, “selling” vaccines | Thaiger

    “Mastermind” arrested for posing as doctor, “selling” vaccines

    A man, and what some media reports are calling a “mastermind”, has been arrested for allegedly selling (or not selling) vaccines through a Line App. The man was apprehended yesterday in the central Thai province of Saraburi. Police arrested 26 year old Weerasak Suksamdang near the TPI Polene building. They charged Weerasak with fraud and computer crimes. The suspect denied…

  • Koh Samui hopes to attract 2,000 tourists in first month of re-opening | Thaiger

    Koh Samui hopes to attract 2,000 tourists in first month of re-opening

    The president of the Tourism Association of Koh Samui is paying great attention to how the Phuket sandbox scheme unfolds and hoping it succeeds. According to a Bangkok Post report, Ratchaporn Poolsawadee says the Samui Plus scheme could attract 2,000 guests in its first month if some rules can be eased. “Besides the virus situation on our islands and the…

  • Residents near burned-out factory return home, environmental concerns remain | Thaiger

    Residents near burned-out factory return home, environmental concerns remain

    The Pollution Control Department has confirmed that residents within 2 – 5 kilometres of a factory that burnt down in the central province of Samut Prakan can now return home. The air quality in the surrounding area has been tested and deemed safe. However, a number of environmental concerns remain. According to a Bangkok Post report, governor Wanchai Kongkasem says…

  • Bangkok Airways revises Koh Samui flights ahead of reopening | Thaiger

    Bangkok Airways revises Koh Samui flights ahead of reopening

    To prepare for the Samui+ reopening programme launching July 15, Bangkok Airways is revising its schedule to operate 3 inbound flights and 3 outbound flights daily between Koh Samui and Bangkok. The new schedule, released today and promoted by the Tourism Authority of Thailand in a press release this afternoon, will feature a morning, afternoon, and evening flight option beginning…

  • New terminal at Suvarnabhumi Airport to be field hospital | Thaiger

    New terminal at Suvarnabhumi Airport to be field hospital

    A new plan will have Bangkok residents heading to the airport, but not in a good way, as authorities have decided to convert Suvarnabhumi Airport’s new terminal into a field hospital. The recently built Satellite 1 facilities are large enough to house a minimum of 5,000 beds for Covid-19 infected patients as outbreaks surge in the capital city. With 216,000…

  • Bluetooth speakers you must buy in 2021 | Thaiger

    Bluetooth speakers you must buy in 2021

    One of the easiest and most affordable ways to spread sound from your phone or tablet across a room, backyard, or even a beach is by using a portable Bluetooth speaker. The best Bluetooth speakers are not only portable and waterproof but also come with the finest sound quality and battery life. Since Bluetooth speakers come in a wide range…

  • Officials: Don’t believe viral video, Phuket bridge checking all entries | Thaiger

    Officials: Don’t believe viral video, Phuket bridge checking all entries

    When the Phuket Sandbox launched, restrictions to enter the island by land were tightened to match, requiring any overland traveller to provide proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test within 72 hours of arrival or be denied entry. Authorities are once again reinforcing that messaging after a video has gone viral appearing to show vehicles passing freely through the…

  • 3 travellers escaped Phuket Sandbox but were quickly caught | Thaiger

    3 travellers escaped Phuket Sandbox but were quickly caught

    In light of the recent discovery of the first internationally imported case of Covid-19 in the Phuket Sandbox scheme, the news that 3 people so far have “escaped” from the strictly regulated accommodations might be a little unnerving. While the Sandbox may not be airtight, authorities successfully located and handled 3 tourists reported missing from Phuket hotels this week. The…

  • Phuket Sandbox over 2000 arrivals; 1 Covid-19 infection | Thaiger

    Phuket Sandbox over 2000 arrivals; 1 Covid-19 infection

    On day 7 of the Phuket Sandbox, international arrivals have surpassed 2,000 people, the first Covid-19 infection from abroad has been found, and a few hiccups have been addressed. Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew says the reopening is definitely benefiting the economy, but plenty of improvements are to be made. Government officials have been pleased to announce that with their strict…

  • More than 300 kilograms of heroin en route to Australia seized at Chon Buri port | Thaiger

    More than 300 kilograms of heroin en route to Australia seized at Chon Buri port

    More than 300 kilograms of heroin hidden in paint buckets was seized from a shipping container at a major port in Chon Buri just as it was about to be sent to Australia. Thailand’s Justice Minister ordered authorities to work with foreign agencies to investigate transnational drug trafficking with routes in Thailand after the May drug bust in Australia involving…

  • Calls for factories to be moved out of residential areas after blaze at plastics plant | Thaiger

    Calls for factories to be moved out of residential areas after blaze at plastics plant

    The Federation of Thai Industries is calling on the government to move factories away from residential neighbourhoods, following the devastating blaze in Samut Prakan, outside Bangkok. According to a Bangkok Post report, FTI chairman Supant Mongkolsuthree suggests factory owners could be given incentives to relocate, such as a reduction in corporate income tax and land tax. “Factory relocation requires support…

  • Entry registration under “Samui Plus” reopening planned to open this week | Thaiger

    Entry registration under “Samui Plus” reopening planned to open this week

    The registration for entering Thailand under the slated “Samui Plus” reopening scheme is planned to open this week. Similar to the Phuket “Sandbox,” the programme will allow foreign tourists who are vaccinated against Covid-19 to travel to the trio of islands in the Gulf of Thailand off the Surat Thani coast. Koh Samui, Koh Pha Ngan, and Koh Tao are…

  • 2 suspected drug cartel leaders arrested in Surat Thani and Phuket | Thaiger

    2 suspected drug cartel leaders arrested in Surat Thani and Phuket

    2 suspected drug cartel leaders whose operations were based in Europe were arrested in the southern provinces of Surat Thani and Phuket this morning. The suspects are Alek Karun, of German/Russian origin and Alexander Wolfien, a German national, says immigration Bureau chief Sompong Chingduang Alek was arrested at a luxury villa on the island of Koh Phangan, in the Surat…

  • 5 protest leaders to have bail revoked following weekend rallies in Bangkok | Thaiger

    5 protest leaders to have bail revoked following weekend rallies in Bangkok

    The Metropolitan Police Bureau has confirmed it is filing to have bail revoked for 5 pro-democracy leaders accused of breaking their bail conditions. The move comes after a number of political rallies in Bangkok last weekend. The Pattaya News reports that Sukhun Prommayon from the MPB says that an investigation into the behaviour of protest leaders attending the rallies shows…

  • Survey shows most hotels can only cover operation costs for less than 3 months | Thaiger

    Survey shows most hotels can only cover operation costs for less than 3 months

    A survey by the Bank of Thailand shows that most hotels can only cover their operating costs for less than 3 months. 220 properties were surveyed between June 14 and 27. Of those, 17 are alternative state quarantine facilities, while 3 properties serve as “hospitels”. 68% of those surveyed say they only have enough liquidity to cover their operating costs…

  • Phuket reports 7,347 “sandbox” hotel bookings for July | Thaiger

    Phuket reports 7,347 “sandbox” hotel bookings for July

    There have been 7,347 hotel bookings made for the southern island of Phuket as its “sandbox” re-opening continues. In the first 4 days of the scheme, the island has welcomed 1,416 international arrivals, most of whom are foreign nationals. Below is the breakdown: Day 1: 479 (303 foreign nationals, 176 Thais) Day 2: 544 (467 foreign nationals, 77 Thais) Day…

  • Top 8 laptops for productivity you can buy in 2021 | Thaiger

    Top 8 laptops for productivity you can buy in 2021

    A laptop is an essential device for most people. From school and office work to editing videos and creating spreadsheets, a laptop with a decent keyboard and excellent screen can help you get any task done. But there are just so many laptops out there, so choosing the right one can be overwhelming. Whether you need a lightweight laptop you…

  • Man films stranger leering at him in Pathum Thani shopping Centre bathroom | Thaiger

    Man films stranger leering at him in Pathum Thani shopping Centre bathroom

    Yesterday, a video shared on the Jay Moi V Plus page on Facebook showed a man leaning over a bathroom’s cubicle wall to watch his neighbour in the central Thai province of Pathum Thani. The bathroom was reported to be in a “well known shopping centre” in the Rangsit area. According to the person who shared the video, they heard…

  • Chaiyaphum man allegedly slits father’s throat | Thaiger

    Chaiyaphum man allegedly slits father’s throat

    Last night, a man allegedly slit his father’s throat with a kitchen knife in the central province of Chaiyaphum. Thai media adds that the alleged assailant is mentally ill. Police Captain Pirom Malasi, says the attack was reported in Ban Wang Hin in tambon Ban Thao. Rescue workers and police rushed to the scene. At the house, the assembled rescue…