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Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.
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Sponsored What do you need before moving from the US to Thailand?
The Thaiger key takeaways The most common medical emergencies for expats in Thailand include motorcycle accidents, tropical diseases, and food or water-borne illnesses. Air pollution and heat-related conditions like heatstroke also pose serious seasonal health risks, especially in northern and...
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CCSA says no new restrictions are needed to fight Covid-19
With Covid-19 infections surging and spreading throughout the country, and daily infection numbers rising along with an increasing death toll, officials have decided what additional measures need to be taken to cope with the situation: none. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration has announced that the rules and restrictions in place now are adequate in the fight against the increasing…
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Doctor documents people camping out for Covid treatment
A doctor is documenting the struggle of people hoping for a hospital bed for Covid treatment. His pictures capture winding lines of people sitting on the ground, sleeping in the backs of cars. He provided the images last night of the scene outside the Ramathibodi Hospital in Bangkok Thiravat Hemachudha whos is a neurologist and director of the Health Science…
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Vietjet urges testing after Phuket passenger gets Covid-19
Budget airline operator Vietjet Air put out a statement addressing an incident involving one of their passengers being diagnosed with Covid-19. The passenger travelled last week, and 2 days ago the airline put out a call for those seated near the infected passenger to come forward and seek testing and treatment. The flight in question was Vietjet Air flight VZ314…
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Thailand still plans to fully reopen on October 15, despite Covid-19 uptick
Despite the recent and most severe wave of Covid-19 infections still peaking, Thailand is on track to reopen on October 15 to those travelling from overseas who have been vaccinated against the coronavirus. The “Phuket Sandbox” model, which launched yesterday, will serve as a pilot project for the nationwide reopening plan. The “Samui Plus” travel model next on the list,…
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Phuket Sandbox: European flights have 400 people arriving Saturday
As flights roll into Phuket International Airport today, the Sandbox scheme is slowly coming alive. Tomorrow (July 3) should see the arrival of the first European flights into the Phuket Sandbox reopening as Thai Airways welcomes 3 arriving flights. Overnight flights from Copenhagen and Frankfurt departing now should arrive in the early hours of the morning followed an hour later…
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Phuket Sandbox trickle: Friday’s arriving international flights
The Phuket Sandbox scheme is off the ground and the desperately needed foreign travellers have begun to trickle back onto the Thai island. The earlier predictions of 1,500 people on the first day were met with just over 20% of that amount actually arriving on the first 4 flights to land internationally in Phuket. But slow and steady wins the…
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Friday Covid Update: 6,087 new cases and 61 deaths; provincial totals
An uptick of 6,087 new Covid-19 cases and a record high of 61 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 270,921 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 2,141 fatalities. The recent and most severe wave of infections has accounted for the majority…
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NACC to establish 5 panels looking into pricey lamp controversy
The saga of the pricey lamps continues with the news that Thailand’s National Anti-Corruption Commission is establishing 5 panels to investigate the matter in Samut Prakan. The NACC Deputy Secretary-General Niwatchai Kasemmongko realized the TAO’s budgetary spending for the fiscal years 2013 and 2014, then 2018-2021 for the lamp posts fell out of the scope of the Interior Ministry’s regulations…
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Khon Kaen schools closed until July 16 as Covid continues to spread
Khon Kaen, a northeastern province and part of the Isan region, is closing its schools closed until July 16 as Covid continues to spread throughout the province and nearby areas. Further, students that attend boarding schools have been closed off and parents are not allowed to visit until July 16. In the Khon Kaen province, there have been 667 reported…
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Construction workers blamed for Covid outbreaks
Health officials are pointing fingers at Thai workers who left their Bangkok/nearby dormitories for the Covid outbreaks throughout the nation. Thai media says “many” construction workers left their home provinces prior to Monday’s new lockdown. Health officials say many of the new Covid infections seen in over 30 provinces are connected to people coming from Bangkok (and close by provinces).…
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Emergency restrictions to be imposed in Indonesia as Covid infections surge
The Indonesian government is introducing emergency measures aimed at curbing the spread of Covid-19 as infection rates rise steeply. President Joko Widodo says the restrictions are aimed at reducing new daily cases to below 10,000 and avoiding a collapse of the country’s healthcare system. “This situation has forced us to take stricter steps. I have decided to impose emergency restrictions.”…
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Police warn of Covid-19 vaccine booking scam by fake insurance company
Police are warning people about a Covid-19 vaccine booking scam after 20 people in the Isaan province Udon Thani were defrauded by a fake life insurance company promising Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccines. A spokesperson for the Royal Thai Police says the fraudulent group claimed they could obtain the Chinese-made vaccines from the Federation of Thai Industries, which had ordered the doses…
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Volcano eruption in the Philippines, thousands evacuated
The public is reminded that the entire volcano island is a Permanent Danger Zone One of the world’s smallest active volcanoes, the Taal Volcano in the Philippines, is forcing tens of thousands of residents to evacuate after it started blasting out a kilometre high plume of gas and steam yesterday. The alert went out that that the volcano, which is…
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ICU beds full at Bangkok’s Siriraj Hospital
The head of the respiratory disease and tuberculosis division at Siriraj Hospital says the facility has run out of beds in its intensive care unit. Dr. Nithiphat Chiarakun says at least 5 Covid-19 patients have been left waiting for an ICU bed as healthcare workers try to juggle what’s available. The Bangkok Post reports that one Covid patient whose symptoms…
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Friday Covid Update: Another record high, 61 deaths and 6,087 new cases
Another record high in Covid-related deaths and an uptick in new coronavirus cases were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. The CCSA recorded 61 more deaths involving Covid-19 patients, the highest daily death count in Thailand since the start of the pandemic last year. 6,087 new Covid-19 cases were also reported, an uptick in cases over the…
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Pro-democracy activists to march in support of restaurant operators
The pro-democracy Ratsadon group is planning another march today, calling once again for the resignation of PM Prayut Chan-o-cha. Activists are also organising a flea market to shows its opposition to the current ban on dining-in at restaurants in Bangkok and a number of other provinces. The controversial restrictions were introduced at short notice on Monday, taking restaurant operators by…
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Belarus tells Germany’s Goethe Institute, DAAD to shut down
On Thursday, Germany’s cultural Goethe Institute issued a short press statement announcing that it had been asked to cease its Belarus activities. It was clear that they were taken by surprise. “This is an unprecedented step for the Goethe Institute, which can freely work in its 157 institutes across the world,” the organization’s secretary-general, Johannes Ebert, said on Thursday. He…
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Department of Land Transport tackles motorbike delivery boxes
With all of Thailand laser-focused on Covid-19 outbreaks, vaccine availability, and apparently Phuket has got some sort of brouhaha over some foreigners showing up, it’s easy to lose track of the important daily tribulations of keeping a country functioning. But never fear, there are those that don’t get distracted by the glitzy headlines and are doing the thankless work to…
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Entertainment and nightlife reps submit petition for aid, reopening
At 10 o’clock this morning a rally of owners, staff, musicians and entertainment sector workers gathered at the House of Representatives to submit a petition for support after long-term Covid-19 closures or permission to reopen August 1. Dozens of representatives from the entertainment industry took part in the demonstration after 3 continuous months of shuttered businesses due to the pandemic…
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COVID: Vaccination workers come under attack in Kashmir
Zareena Bano, a health care worker from Srinagar city, has not been to her home for almost two months. She’s currently on duty in India-administered Kashmir’s northern Bandipora district, where she’s carrying out a door-to-door COVID vaccination campaign. Last week, Zareena and her co-workers visited Zaban village, located 8 kilometers (5 miles) away from Bandipora town. In the village, Zareena…
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Uptick in Covid-19 in Isaan as workers flee Bangkok construction camps
With numerous workers fleeing to their home provinces to avoid Bangkok’s recent disease control restrictions sealing off construction camps for the next month, there has been an uptick in Covid-19 cases in other various provinces, particularly in the Isaan region. This week, 129 people in 32 provinces tested positive for the virus after travelling from Bangkok. 84 people tested positive…
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DTAC extends benefits and policies to LGBTQ+ employees
As Pride month came to a close yesterday, one large Thai corporation took a big step towards equality, extending policies to same-sex unions and offering policies helpful to the LGBTQ+ community. Mobile phone service provider DTAC, officially known as Total Access Communication PLC, has enacted a range of LGBTQ+-friendly new policies for their employees. The CEO of DTAC made clear…
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More than 30 children at Isaan care centre test postive for Covid-19
More than 30 young children at a care centre tested positive for Covid-19. Health officials say a 2 year old boy, who was first infected by this mother, spread the virus to the childcare centre in the Isaan province Khon Kaen. Altogether, 8 teachers and 34 students at the centre tested positive for the virus. The 2 year old boy’s…
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Laos reports first Delta variant cases, patients had returned from Thailand
Laos has reported its first Covid-19 cases involving the rapid-spreading Delta variant of the virus. The patients who tested positive for the variant had returned to Laos from Thailand, according to the National Taskforce for Covid-19 Prevention and Control. Since the mutated strain, which was first found in India, is the most transmissible Covid-19 variant identified, Laos health officials are…
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South Korea lifts quarantine for some travellers who are vaccinated
Today, South Korea is lifting its 14-day quarantine for some foreign arrivals who have been vaccinated against Covid-19. Those from countries classified as a high risk for infection must still undergo quarantine. Foreigners who are vaccinated against the coronavirus can enter South Korea under the new policy, but only if they are entering the country for business, for academic or…
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Man and underage girlfriend arrested for allegedly stealing from government office to bankroll girlfriend’s birthday party
A man and young girl have been arrested in Bang Lamung, a district in Chon Buri for allegedly twice stealing items from a culture offical’s office. Reportedly, the unemployed 28 year old Lek Aksorn stole items from the Culture Ministry’s office valued at hundreds of thousands baht for his 14 year old girlfriend’s birthday party. According to Thai media, the…
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COVID: Life slowly coming back to normal in India
Less than two months ago, India’s health care infrastructure was dealt a hefty blow by the second wave of the coronavirus. After a period of collective grief, Indians are now stepping out as life resumes. SOURCE: DW News
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3 planes arrive in Phuket; 25 on 1st flight, 400 expected today
The first 3 flights have now arrived in Phuket for the Sandbox reopening, with details emerging from the first arrival this morning, an Etihad Airways flight from Abu Dhabi. A total of 25 passengers, down from yesterday’s estimate of 37, were the first to be welcomed back to Phuket with fanfare and celebration. A total of 400 international travellers are…
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Can drone warfare in the Middle East be controlled?
Last weekend, the US launched airstrikes against militant groups loyal to Iran near the Iraqi-Syrian border. According to a statement issued by United States defense officials, the strikes were in retaliation for the groups’ drone attacks on American troops in Iraq. The US military said that drones, also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (or UAVs), have been used against their…
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Bangkok police arrest suspected motorcycle stealing ring
Bangkok police announced yesterday they had arrested suspects who they believed were stealing motorcycles in Bangkok and selling them to neighbouring countries. The 4 suspects that were arrested are 37 year old Prateep or “Dee Dee Iamsamang”, 34 year old Sarayut AKA “Mu Yosain”, 22 year old Sutharat or “Jane Lomchan”, and 46 year old Wichai AKA “Nu Ku Rahong”.…
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