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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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Human rights group calls for transparency on Covid outbreaks in Thai prisons
Yesterday, Thailand’s Department of Corrections announced that thousands of inmates in Bangkok prisons have tested positive for Covid-19. 1,795 inmates at Bangkok Remand Prison are infected, along with 1,040 at the Central Women’s Correctional Institution. The announcement comes after political activist Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul, aka, “Rung”, tested positive for Covid-19 shortly after her release on bail. According to a Coconuts report,…
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Thailand’s FDA says vaccines don’t have to have WHO approval
Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration says vaccines don’t need to be approved by the World Health Organisation before countries can register them. Paisarn Dunkum from the FDA says the vaccines that have been given WHO approval are for distribution through the Covax scheme. He adds that approval by the WHO can also be taken into consideration when vaccines apply for…
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Amnesty International calls for Thailand to limit ‘unnecessary detention’ to reduce Covid-19 at prisons
Human rights activists are calling on the Thai government to reduce unnecessary detention to prevent the spread of Covid-19 at prisons. So far, more than 2,000 inmates at 2 Bangkok prisons and at least 7 political prisoners have tested positive for Covid-19. Amnesty International Thailand addressed an open letter to the Justice Ministry says the move to stop placing suspects…
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TAT looks forward to welcoming 129,000 foreign tourists to Phuket
The Tourism Authority of Thailand says it expects 129,000 tourists to arrive on the southern island of Phuket in the first 3 months of its re-opening. Officials still insist the island will re-open for quarantine-free travel for vaccinated foreign tourists from July 1. And according to the Bangkok Post, the TAT also plans to team up with airlines to offer…
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Thursday Covid UPDATE: 32 deaths and 4,887 new infections
The public health ministry has announced 32 new Covid-related deaths and 4,887 new infections from the past 24 hours. 2,835 of the new cases are from 2 of Bangkok’s largest prisons (below). • In another major blow to Thailand’s worst bout of Covid-19, 2,835 inmates from the Bangkok Remand Prison and the Central Women’s Correctional Institution, 2 of the largest prisons in…
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UPDATE: Phuket restrictions and bans extended, new ‘party’ clause added
UPDATE: Including a new clause… “5.2 Participating in eating or drinking of alcohol, in the family home or in any other place of residence, must not be attended by outsiders. In addition, gathering together or the organising of any other activities is prohibited. If the person who violates or commits this offence is a foreigner, the permission to remain living…
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Former pageant queen in Myanmar sides with ethnic armies opposing military coup
A former pageant queen Htar Htet Htet has been vocal about her opposition to the military takeover in her home country, Myanmar. But recently, she took her stance even farther by posting a photo of herself in a black combat outfit with an assault rifle, showing support for the ethnic armies fighting against the state military. The Myanmar military took…
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More than 2,000 inmates in Bangkok test positive for Covid-19
More than 2,000 inmates at the Bangkok Remand Prison and at the Women’s Correctional Institution have tested positive for Covid-19. The announcement from the Department of Corrections follows the recent news that a protest leader tested positive for Covid-19 after spending 8 weeks in jail awaiting trial for lese majeste charges. Pro-democracy activist Panusya “Rung” Sithijirawattanaku made a post on…
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Man, posed as Bangkok modelling agent, arrested for allegedly raping 36 women
A man in Bangkok was arrested on rape charges after 36 women came forward to police, claiming the man posed as a modelling agent to lure the women into an in-person meeting, then threatening them to take drugs and forcing them to have sex with him. The victims say 39 year old Denphum Wattanachotpinyo had posed as an agent, saying…
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Thai Airways debt restructuring vote pushed back to next week
The vote on Thai Airways International’s debt restructuring plan has been postponed and rescheduled for next week. The national airline needs the plan to be approved by more than 50% of creditors to move forward with the bankruptcy proceedings. The airline’s total liabilities stack up more than 300 billion baht. With flight suspensions over the past year brought on by…
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Phuket restrictions and bans to stay in place until end of May
Phuket’s list of current ‘Covid’ restrictions have been extended until at least May 31. All the current levels of restrictions will remain until the end of the month after the Phuket Governor announced the continuation of restrictions this afternoon. Daily new infection numbers continue to add to the island’s total of 556 since the start of April. The island’s latest…
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Monks gather for a special ceremony in Pattaya to pray Covid-19 away
Hands placed together in the “wai” position and seated in chairs placed a safe “social distance” apart, monks in Pattaya gathered together at a local temple for a special ceremony to pray Covid-19 away. The Wat Chai by the Pattaya Walking Street was given special permission to hold the event where dozens of monks from other temples in the area…
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Protest leader tests positive for Covid-19 a week after being released from jail
A pro-democracy movement leader has tested positive for Covid-19 after she spent 8 weeks in jail awaiting a trial on lese majeste charges which prohibit statements that insult or defame the Thai Monarchy. 2 other protest leaders facing similar charges have tested positive for Covid-19 while in court detention. After being released from the Central Women’s Correctional Institution on May…
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Covid-19 infections cast doubt on plan to reopen Phuket July 1
With surging Covid-19 infections, the original plan for Phuket to reopen the international border to tourism on July 1st without quarantine may be unlikely. The governor warned today that the plan may be in jeopardy if they don’t reach the proposed May 15 goal of reducing infections to less than 10 each day. Governor Narong Woonciew called on everyone to…
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Covid UPDATE: 1,983 new infections and 34 deaths, provincial totals
The daily Covid-19 death toll hit a record high today with 34 deaths reported. 1,983 new Covid-19 infections were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has reported 88,907 Covid-19 infections and 486 coronavirus-related deaths. There are now 29,378 active Covid-19 cases in Thailand. Active cases…
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Bangkok’s Union Mall will close until May 27, casualty of Covid-19
In another sign of Thailand’s Covid-19 battered economy, the Union Mall in Bangkok has announced that it will close temporarily, purportedly for Covid-19 safety but likely because of a lack of customers during the pandemic. The mall, in Ladprao opposite the Central Ladprao shopping mall, took to Facebook this week to announce that they were closing. Mall management made an exception…
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Fear over Covid in India has some washing themselves with cow dung
Fears over Covid-19 has some people in India, bathing themselves in cow feces. Doctors, however, warn that there is no evidence that cow dung is effective at curing the novel coronavirus and even warn of other diseases that can be acquired from the bacteria and germs in the feces. The pandemic has brought widespread devastation to India, with 22.66 million…
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Pineapple defamation case finally dismissed for activist Andy Hall
After fighting multiple defamation charges for nearly 10 years, British activist Andy Hall has been finally cleared of the last pending charge. Hall had lived for 12 years in Thailand before leaving in 2016 after fighting charges brought by the pineapple company Natural Fruit in Prachuap Khiri Khan when he had reported on their poor work conditions. In 2012, Hall…
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30 year old Thai woman found dead in car in Patong from apparent suicide
The Thaiger acknowledges that the names of the family and the contents of a suicide note were published in error in an earlier version of this story. We have spoken to the writer and can assure readers that this will never happen again. We apologise for the distress caused. A 30 year old Thai woman has been found dead in…
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Health officials aim to vaccinate 5 million Bangkok residents in 2 months
To combat the Covid-19 outbreak in Bangkok, infecting more than 20,000 people in the capital since April, health officials plan to vaccinate 5 million Bangkok residents within the next 2 months in an effort to reach herd immunity. So far, only 5% of Bangkok residents have been vaccinated against the coronavirus. The Public Health Ministry has set a goal to…
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Pattaya sandwich maker gives out food and face masks to needy in Banglamung
A Pattaya sandwich maker is giving back to the community by donating more than 500 sets of food and face masks to the needy in Banglamung district. The business operator prioritised giving the packages to medical staffers first, then to migrant communities and others in need. 29 year old Kanjana Wongsin and her friends handed out juice, food, and face…
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Beaches closed in Vietnam following rise in Covid-19 infections
Several beaches have been closed in Vietnam as the country battles a resurgence of the Covid-19 virus. Officials in Hai Phong City have closed Do Son and Cat Co beaches following news that 47 new infections had been reported in the country’s capital, Hanoi. In Quang Ninh province, which is 150 kilometres east of the capital, Tuan Chau, Quan Lan,…
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Chon Buri sees lowest amount of daily Covid infections since latest wave began
Chon Buri province, which features Pattaya, is seeing the lowest amount of daily Covid infections today, at 57, since the latest wave began in early April. Now, the total amount of cases in the province is 3,491 since April 9th. 1,430 are still listed as in medical care, with 10 deaths. 2,051 people have been released from care and have…
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Over 190,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine touch down in the Philippines
The Covid-19 vaccine rollout in the Philippines just got a significant boost, thanks to the arrival of at least 193,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine. The much-needed supply was donated by Covax, a global initiative set up to ensure equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines. Thailand declined to join Covax when given the opportunity, preferring to strike deals with manufacturers directly.…
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Nong Pong, a new lagoon park nearing completion in Pattaya
Project developers have announced that they are nearly finished building Nong Pong, a large new public park on Jomtien Second Road in the Pattaya area. The park began construction last May with an original completion date of August which the construction crew says should be met without a problem. The Pattaya park features a large lagoon creating beautiful scenery and…
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Health officials point to Thailand’s porous borders as biggest “Indian variant” threat
Thailand’s health officials say the Kingdom’s porous borders pose the greatest risk in terms of the so-called Indian variant of Covid-19 being imported. Prasit Watanapa from the Faculty of Medicine at Siriraj Hospital says there is a distinct possibility the highly contagious variant, currently wreaking havoc with India’s healthcare system, could be imported by migrants slipping into the country illegally.…
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Nakhon Phanom man struck and killed by lightning bolt
An unfortunate farmer seems to have been killed by a lightning bolt in his rice field in the Phon Sawan district of Nakhon Phanom. His wife found his body on Monday afternoon in a condition described as unconscious and burned. Kamol Praking was 49 years old and lived and farmed near Huay Hai Village. After calling for emergency help, medics,…
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Krabi tourism operators call for vaccination ramp up, clarity on national park rules
With Krabi eyeing October 1 for a re-opening to vaccinated foreign tourists, operators in the region are calling for greater clarity and for vaccination to be ramped up. Ekawit Pinyotamanotai from the Krabi Tourism Association says tourism workers need to be prioritised for vaccination and there is a need for clarity on regulations governing national parks. The Krabi sandbox model…
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Thai Airways’ creditors to vote on rehab plan today
Today is D-Day for Thai Airways, with 13,000 creditors voting on whether or not to accept the struggling airline’s rehabilitation plan. According to a Bangkok Post report, a source at the airline has warned that should creditors reject the plan, the carrier will be declared bankrupt and they would only receive 12.9% of what they’re owed. In the event of…
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Jailed activists Penguin and Ammy finally granted bail
Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak, the high-profile student activist leader that has been jailed for months, has finally been granted bail after 10 requests. Another student protester champion, singer Chaiamorn “Ammy the Bottom Blues” Kaewwiboonpan, was also released yesterday. Both activists were being held without bail in Bangkok Remand Prison, charged under Thailand’s strict lèse majesté laws that prohibit anyone from speaking…
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