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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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In Egypt, online group Qawem saving hundreds of women from sextortion
Last summer, Mohammed Elyamani was hit by the news that a 17-year-old girl who had reached out to him for help after her ex-boyfriend threatened her with “sextortion” had committed suicide. When the girl messaged Elyamani about her case, the 35-year-old social activist — who uses Facebook to raise awareness about sexual harassment and sextortion, threats to distribute private and…
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Officials predict 600,000 tourists to Phuket following reopening
Despite recent predictions lowering expectations to between 9,000 and 10,000 international arrivals in July, and about 7,000 tickets booked in the latest available statistics, officials announced they expect more than 600,000 tourists to arrive between July and September after the reopening of Phuket. The ambitious prediction comes with an expectation of about 15 billion baht in revenue for the financially…
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Technician electrocuted to death while trying to fix jacuzzi
On Saturday, a man was electrocuted while repairing a jacuzzi. The shocking incident happened in the Cherng Talay area of Phuket. Police and rescue workers were called around 6:50 pm last night to find 45 year old Surapol Samthong’s body next to the jacuzzi. Rescue workers were able to safely remove Suapol’s body from the scene. His body was then…
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Pattaya pushes for August 1 Sealed Route reopening plan
Pattaya is steadfastedly pushing forward with plans for reopening the tourist city on August 1, with 8 tourism associations submitting a proposal to the governor of Chon Buri. The city is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Thailand, but has been later on the schedule due to difficulties in controlling its porous borders, as opposed to islands like…
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1 million Sinopharm doses arrived Sunday
1 million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine arrived in Bangkok on Sunday. This coming from a Facebook post by the CRA Secretary General Dr Nithi Mahanonda. The vaccines will travel to the Medical Sciences Department to be tested on it efficacy and safety. This should take 2 days to finish. “Then, the vaccine will be distributed to hospitals picked by…
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Who is Iran’s new President-elect Ebrahim Raisi?
Ebrahim Raisi won the election by such a clear margin that a second round of voting won’t be necessary — and yet, his victory was tainted by historically low voter turnout. Many observers have said Friday’s election was tailor-made for the archconservative judiciary chief: the most promising opponents were prevented from running against him, and competitors with similar views withdrew…
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Reopening guidelines for Phuket and Samui
In a press release, the Tourism Authority of Thailand recently sought to lay out and clarify guidelines for how Thailand’s reopening will begin. The Phuket Sandbox plan rolls out first on July 1 (awaiting final approval), followed by a proposal for Surat Thani province reopening Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, and Koh Tao on a sealed route July 15. Here’s the…
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Covid UPDATE: 3,682 new cases, 20 covid-related deaths, provincial totals
Today the CCSA have confirmed 3,682 new infections of Covid-19 and 20 new deaths. 578 of today’s announced infections are from the Thai prison system. Today’s figures continue a slow rise in the daily case detections over this week. The median age of the people that died in the past 24 hours was 66. Over the past 24 hours, 2,401…
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Man returns lost parakeet, gets rewarded with BBQ
Recently, a man in Bang Lamung, a district in the eastern Thai province of Chon Buri, returned a missing parakeet to its owner. The delighted owner repaid the man with a BBQ dinner. Recently, a man in Bang Lamung, a district in the eastern Thai province of Chon Buri, returned a missing parakeet to its owner. The delighted owner repaid…
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Thai Lion predicts football matches, other abilities currently unknown
Step aside Aslan, there’s a new mythical lion in town. A Thai zoo up in the northern province of Khon Kaen is claiming they have a lion that can predict the Euro 2020 football matches. The lion, a 5 year old white lion named “Boy”, has supposedly correctly predicted 4 Euro 2020 matches. The lion lives and does his sports…
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Reopening details for Phuket, Samui and beyond laid out
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha made the bold announcement Wednesday that Thailand would be reopening in 120 days and now more details are being solidified for different regions around the country. The Phuket Sandbox leads the way July 1, and new plans look to launch Samui Plus on July 15, with Krabi, Pattaya, Chiang Mai, Buri Ram, and Phang Nga expected to…
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Multiple Chiang Rai schools to close after infections found
Per the Chiang Rai governor’s orders, multiple school’s in Chiang Rai have been ordered to close. Schools had reopened on Monday. The Chiang Rai governor, Prajon Pratsakul, says the following schools are doing classes online: Samakkhi Witthayakhom School Chiang Rai Technical School Chiang Rai Kindergarten School Also, schools that fall under the authority of the Chiang Rai municipality are also…
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Refinements to the Sandbox as the countdown continues to Thailand’s reopening
Nearing the 10 day countdown to the Phuket sandbox and it couldn’t be a more important milestone for Thailand’s battered tourist industry. The official re-opening to world travellers and tourists to the tropical island in southern Thailand is a vital pilot program for the rest of the country. This week the PM proclaimed that all of Thailand will be open…
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Covid UPDATE Sunday: 3,682 new infections and 20 covid-related deaths
Today the public health department have announced 3,682 new infections of Covid-19 and 20 new deaths. 578 of today’s announced infections are from the Thai prison system. Today’s figures continue a slow rise in the daily case numbers over this week. Notably, the worst outbreaks are still occurring around Bangkok and its adjacent suburbs. Also, the southern provinces are also…
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In Lebanon, one crisis follows the next
Many classrooms in Lebanon remain closed these days, and it has nothing to do with the coronavirus. “It is becoming more difficult for us as teachers to commute to our workplace because of the lack of gasoline,” says Taghreed Taki, who teaches at a public school in Rashaya, two hours from the capital Beirut. “If you want to get gas…
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Dole pineapple factory has 34 new Covid-19 cases, 413 total
A Dole pineapple factory in Hua Hin confirmed another 34 Covid-19 infections, accounting for most of the 45 new infections in Prachuap Khiri Khan today. The canned pineapple plant previously had nearly 400 infections. In a quarantine facility within the Dole Thailand pineapple factory, mass testing people consider to be at-risk turned up the 34 new infections. The factory in…
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Drug smuggler caught in Kalasin with 300 kg of marijuana
A police chase in Kalasin early this morning ended in the arrest of a suspected drug smuggler and the impounding of 300 kilogrammes of compressed marijuana. The chase took place around 2 am through the streets of the Na Khu district when police received a tip-off prompting them to attempt to pull over the car. The Chevrolet Captiva with Chon…
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Amendment to reform Constitution rejected by Parliament
A draft amendment started by Pheu Thai Party, an opposition party, to establish a Constitution Drafting Assembly has just been rejected in the parliament. The legal advisory committee to parliament rejected the amendment, which was intended as a path towards creating a new, revised charter. The section in question, Section 256 in Thailand’s constitution, would be amended in order to…
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Gender Health Clinic opens in Bangkok for transgender needs
One of the first clinics focused primarily on the needs of the transgender community has opened as part of Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital in Bangkok. The new Gender Health Clinic opened with the goal of being leaders in the ways clinics communicate and give treatment to transgender people. A co-founder of GHC pointed out that trans people often have special needs…
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30 million baht added to vaccine side effects compensation fund
The National Health Security Office had set up a 100 million baht fund to be used as compensation for vaccinated people experiencing side effects. Now the government has approved an additional 30 million baht to be made available as needed in the Loan Executive Decree in paying out those affected negatively by the vaccine. A previous poll showed 80% of…
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CCSA: 120 day reopening will proceed with conditions
If you believed that PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s declaration that Thailand will reopen in 120 days no matter what was set in stone, you don’t know much about Thailand. While the plan is still on, The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration held a meeting yesterday where they watered down the exuberant international tourism restart announcement with conditions and exceptions for the…
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Sandbox latest, CCSA says all regions reopening must reach 70% local vaccination
Discussions about re-opening Thailand have spread beyond Phuket with the latest decisions from the CCSA. Meanwhile, Phuket’s Sandbox re-opening date of July 1 looms. The main narrative out of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration is the need for regions or provinces, slated for re-opening to vaccinated overseas travellers, to have vaccinated 70% of their resident population before they can…
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Covid UPDATE Saturday: 3,667 new infections and 32 deaths
The trend of new Covid infection continues to steadily rise. Saturday’s totals are 32 new Covid-related deaths and 3,667 cases. 435 of today’s announced cases are from Thai prisons. Provincial totals will be available early afternoon on The Thaiger as usual. In other Covid-related news today… • The Department of Land Transport is resuming driving tests, issuing and renewing licences…
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Thamanat elected to role of head ‘fixer’ in Palang Pracharat party
Thamanat Prompow, still the Thai deputy agricultural minister, now has a firm grasp of the reigns of the ruling Palang Pracharat Party, the leading coalition party of the Thai government. Thamanat’s stay in an Australian prison for 4 years of a 6 year sentence on heroin trafficking charges back in the 90s, has not swayed his fellow MPs in electing…
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List: China has over 50% of all foreign-owned condos in Thailand
A list was recently released to the media regarding condo ownership in Thailand and from what countries condo owners originated. Foreigners have purchased approximately 1.4 million condominiums throughout the country. Of those, the top 10 list showed that over half of all foreign-owned condos in Thailand hail from China. Nearly 730,000 condominiums throughout Thailand are owned by Chinese nationals, just…
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India: COVID vaccine disparity makes inoculation a challenge
As India emerges from a devastating second wave of the coronavirus, experts have warned that the country’s slow vaccination drive and the easing of restrictions could soon lead to a third wave. The vaccination campaign, which began in January this year, aimed to inoculate 300 million of India’s 1.4 billion people by August. But by May, India had only fully…
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Why are sanctions against Belarus not more effective?
Dictators like to win elections. In the past 27 years, Alexander Lukashenko has stood for election six times, and each time he was victorious. Or supposedly victorious, that is, in what has been widely seen as rigged elections. Sanctions against him have been in place for the majority of his rule, and stricter punitive measures are set to come into…
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Made in Germany: Ukraine pendants without Crimea
S.W.W. Schmuckwaren is a company based in southern Germany that produces and sells jewelry, including gold and silver pendants shaped like the outlines of countries. They cost €22.95-€295.95 ($27-$350) and most of the countries are shaped in such a way that corresponds to their internationally recognized borders. There is one pendant, however, that is missing a region: Ukraine does not…
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Namibia’s Herero Chief Rukoro dies
Vekuii Reinhard Rukoro was born in Otjiwarongo, a farming town in central Namibia — then known as South West Africa — in 1954, a decade before the beginning of the armed struggle to rid Namibia of South Africa’s apartheid regime. He attended secondary school in Döbra, then a tiny settlement north of Windhoek before training to be a lawyer, first…
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Sierra Leone: Black Johnson Beach sold to China for industrial fishing harbor
Sierra Leone’s government cut a $55 million deal with China to finance the construction of a new harbor. The people living along the pristine beach fear losing their jobs and land. SOURCE: DW News
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