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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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Goverment kind of discloses what the secret budget is spent on
The Thai government has shed some light on its “secret budget allocations” to parry criticisms that it should increase transparency about money being used on defence. The Prime Minister Operations Centre shared details on its Facebook page. They say the secret allocations taken out of the 3.1 trillion baht budget deal amounted to only .03% of the total (930 million…
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Penis statue works as village sees rain after erection
Laugh and make jokes if you must (we certainly did!) but yesterday’s report on the village that erected a giant penis to bring rain has a, erm, happy ending. We’ll give you one guess on what the weather is like in the Yothaka sub-district of Chachoengsao province this weekend. If you guessed that the penis statue and rain blessing ceremony…
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Man busted for allegedly possessing over 100 marijuana plants, selling marijuana online
Yesterday, police in the eastern Thai province of Sa Kaeo arrested an unnamed man for allegedly selling marijuana online along with possession of marijuana. At the 42 year old man’s residence, police allegedly found 111 marijuana plants in the backyard. The plants, strains unknown, were seized as evidence. Reportedly, police also seized 16.6 kilograms of marijuana, also known as dope,…
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Bangkok parks, salons, tattoo, massage reopen Monday
Does your dream day in Bangkok start with a manicure before viewing some great art or history, followed by a stroll through the park, maybe a quick neck tattoo before ending the day with a nice massage for your tired feet? If so, the restrictions in place for Covid-19 has had you sitting at home bored, waiting for everything to…
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Covid UPDATE Sunday: 2,804 new infections and 18 Covid-related deaths
The Thai public health department has announced another 18 Covid-related deaths and 2,804 new infections. 409 of today’s cases come from the prison system. The numbers coming out of the public health department, and announced each morning at around 11.30am by a CCSA spokesperson, have been statistically similar for the past 2 months, with the exception of the cases coming…
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With nearly 60% of their population vaccinated, why is Chile’s Covid rate surging?
Chile, with nearly 60% of its population fully vaccinated, has gone into another lockdown to curb a new surge of the coronavirus. The Chilean Health Ministry says the 7 day average of new Covid infections remain above 7,000 people per day, and there were only 30 intensive care beds left in the capital as of last night. Santiago has a…
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Are we losing the fight against child labor?
When global coronavirus lockdowns and economic disruptions closed schools and curtailed millions of families’ income, an alarming increase in child labor across developing nations made headlines. But even before the pandemic, the number of children forced to work was on the rise. A report by the International Labor Organization found that 160 million children around the world are engaged in…
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Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya says ‘harsh’ sanctions needed
Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya — currently living in exile in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius — has called for harsher sanctionsagainst strongman Alexander Lukashenko’s regime, adding this is the only effective way to put pressure on him and his administration. “Lukashenko only understands the language of force and economic sanctions. This is the mechanism that should be used … the…
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Pattaya October reopening hampered by obstacles
Pattaya has been working on its reopening plan, aiming to bring back international tourism in the fourth quarter of 2021. Officials have launched the “Pattaya, Move on” scheme which aims to open back up the popular tourist city in October, but the Public Health Ministry disagrees with their plan so far. The goal is to reopen Pattaya without the need…
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Thong Lor again: 31 arrested in club violating Covid-19 rules
Some people never learn. After frequently being named as the source of the Covid-19 third wave outbreak, which brought the more contagious Alpha variant to Thailand and spread it to every province in the country, the clubs and Hi-So people of the Thong Lor area of Bangkok are still flouting Covid-19 safety restrictions. Today 31 people were arrested after partying…
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Pfizer vaccine application received, review process begun
The Food and Drug Administration in Thailand is now processing the application for the Pfizer vaccine for domestic use against Covid-19. The secretary-general of the FDA says they have received the application from Pfizer Thailand and have begun the review process, taking the vaccine one step closer to use in Thailand. The government had just submitted an order of 20…
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Covid-19 prevention leads to 14 arrests of longterm overstays
While attempting to curb the spread of Covid-19 through migrant workers and illegal immigrants, Immigration Police have arrested 14 foreigners with “egregious overstays”. Today’s announcement of the bust of 14 foreign nationals took place mostly in northeastern provinces. The Immigration Chief explained that officials at immigration have been proactive in seeking out people who entered Thailand illegally to prevent an…
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Red tape and restrictions suggest a slow Phuket reopening
With the rollercoaster ride of the Phuket Sandbox reopening scheme, some government officials remain mostly optimistic, while many others are scaling back predictions and expectations. A slow return of tourist to Phuket is forecast as the plan, which won’t be officially approved until just days before the scheduled reopening on July 1, is meeting with a fair amount of blowback…
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UPDATE: Tourism Minister reportedly says July 1 ‘sandbox’ won’t happen
UPDATE By the conclusion of a meeting in Phuket this afternoon the only confirmation was that the July 1 date for a re-opening of Thailand, via the Phuket sandbox was “still on”, according to Bill Barnett from c9hotelworks.com who attended the meeting. More details when they emerge. Bottomline, nothing is confirmed until the Thai Cabinet discusses the issue, probably Tuesday,…
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Koh Samui eyes August 1 reopening, “Samui Sealed Route”
While Phuket’s July 1 reopening is hotly debated, Koh Samui has been quietly vaccinating its population and putting together plans to welcome tourists back, proposing an August 1 reopening. The proposal aims to ease Koh Samui and neighbouring islands Koh Phangan and Koh Tao back into tourism, potentially as a second stop for travellers arriving into Phuket with their Sandbox…
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Village need rain? Have you considered a giant penis?
Yothaka Subdistrict of Chachoengsao province is a fertile low river plain along the Nakhon Nayok River with rich agriculture. Since the residents there are heavily dependant on farming and therefore rain for their crops, locals in one village have a tradition to call in the rainy season by really using their (other) heads. Bringing new meaning to the phrase “member…
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COVID vaccines in the workplace: Can I ask who got their shots?
Jon works for the local government in the US state of Virginia. The 40-year-old received both his COVID shots in April. Most of his coworkers are vaccinated, too. But how does he know that’s the case? “I find most people will volunteer the information,” Jon told DW. “Even though we’re not supposed to ask.” In many other workplaces around the…
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8.3% of Thailand’s 50 million vaccine target reached so far
Thailand has set a goal of 50 million people vaccinated against Covid-19, and as of today, they have given at least one vaccine to 8.3% of that target. The spokesperson for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration announced that since beginning vaccinations in Thailand on February 28, 5.66 million injections have been administered. On Thursday, 223,315 vaccines were given around…
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Site launched for June 14 vaccine signup for all foreigners
The latest update on Thailand’s Covid-19 vaccine registration plans indicates that all foreigners can sign up online from June 14. The Thailand Intervac website seems to be constantly evolving and was first opened for diplomats on a specific URL and then for general foreigner signups on the main site, though hiccups and problems are often reported. The main site was…
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UN report: Changes in Southeast Asia drug trafficking during the pandemic
While the notorious Golden Triangle remains a major production base for methamphetamine, drug syndicates in Southeast Asia have changed up trafficking routes and added production bases to not only survive but capitalise during the pandemic. Large-scale methamphetamine production has emerged in Cambodia during the pandemic, according to the annual UN Office on Drugs and Crime report on synthetic drugs in…
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Autopsy reveals heart attack killed woman who received AstraZeneca vaccine
A 46 year old Bangkok woman that died on Tuesday after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine, died from a heart attack, says the autopsy. Dr Atthasit Dulamnuay says: The right atria of the woman’s heart was found to be ruptured, causing a haemorrhage of 180cc of blood and severe pulmonary oedema, in which excessive amounts of fluid builds up in the…
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Thailand’s Golf Quarantine on hold until Covid situation improves
Thailand’s “Golf Quarantine” is on hold until the Covid-19 situation improves, an alternative quarantine option at a certified golf resort. The postponement was first announced last month. Travellers who made arrangements prior to the announcement and have been granted a Certificate of Entry, or COE, can still enjoy the Thailand’s Golf Quarantine. The programme allows foreign golfers to undergo the…
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Thai woman wants to sell her kidney to help with financial problems during Covid-19
A 64 year old Thai woman says she wants to sell her kidney to help her family with their financial problems brought on by the Covid-19. The woman from the central province Nakhon Pathom, just west of Bangkok, says that due to the disease control restrictions during the outbreak, she was forced to close her Chinese restaurant. Since then, she’s…
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Monk offers 10,000 baht reward for information that leads to turtle thief’s capture
A monk in Chon Buri, an eastern Thai province, is offering a 10,000 baht reward to anyone who helps return his stolen turtles. The monk says the turtles are ancient. The specific species of turtles has not been given. The turtles were allegedly stolen from the Samet Temple in Chon Buri and the abbot says the turtle stealers took between…
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Thai Airways to offer international flights to 16 destinations next month
Starting next month until September, Thai Airways will offer international flights from Bangkok to 16 destinations including Tokyo, Osaka, London, Paris and Frankfurt. The airline’s chief commercial officer says there’s an increase in demand for air travel and they plan to increase flights later this year under its 2021 Winter Programme. The airline says it “prioritises hygiene excellence” and strictly…
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Friday Covid Update: 2,290 new cases, provincial totals
2,290 new cases and 27 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, raising the total infection count since the start of the pandemic last year to 189,828 and the death toll related to the virus to 1,402. Thailand now has 43,428 active Covid-19 cases. Bangkok remains the epicentre of infections with tight restrictions to control…
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Alpha variant of Covid-19 makes up 9 in 10 infections
The Department of Medical Sciences confirmed today that nearly 90% of all Covid-19 infections in Thailand are from the newly-labelled Alpha variant. The strain, previously known as the UK variant as it was first identified in the United Kingdom, was found in 88.48% of 4,185 cases that university labs studied between April and June, with 3,703 infections of the Alpha…
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2 Chon Buri officials arrested for allegedly taking bribes
2 Chon Buri officials were arrested this week by anti-corruption police for allegedly taking bribes for a construction project. 67 year old Mr Payon, the chief executive of the Nong Hong subdistrict office, and the 51 year old head of engineering Mr. Boonmee from the same subdistrict, were arrested for allegedly taking bribes. Their full names were not provided to…
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Best-case for Phuket’s Sandbox: up to 1.2 million tourists, Kasikorn predicts
Up to 1.2 million foreign tourists could travel to Thailand through Phuket’s “Sandbox” travel scheme. That’s the best-case scenario, according to the Kasikorn Research Centre. They estimate that the scheme, which is planned to allow vaccinated tourists to enter the country and stay on the island without going through quarantine, could draw in 550,000 people to 1.2 million from July…
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CCSA says tighter scrutiny needed for construction workers leaving sites
The CCSA says a triad of forces (soldiers, police, thessakij inspectors) will work in tandem to make sure construction workers don’t leave their sites. Gen Natthapon Nakpanich says the combined joint forces will keep an eye on construction sites and dormitories to ensure the workers and dwellers adhere to public health orders. Nattapon adds that the increased scrutiny comes after…
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