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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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Health Minister says Bang Sue not crowded, blames “camera angles”
Health minister, and TikTok star hopeful, Anutin Charnvirakul wants to reassure the public that images of crowds of people packing into Bangkok’s Bang Sue Grand Station might be deceptive. Anutin says that viewers might be deceived by “camera angles or whatever” that give the viewer the false impression that there are large crowds at the station. Yesterday, Anutin said he…
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Sleeper trains in Bangkok to become isolation facilities for Covid-19 patients
Sleeper trains in Bangkok are being converted into isolation facilities for Covid-19 patients who are waiting for a hospital bed to become available. With the surge of Covid-19 cases, today hitting a record high of 17,669 new cases, hospitals in Bangkok, the epicentre of infections, have run low on beds to treat patients infected with the coronavirus. At Bang Sue…
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Surge in new Covid infections on Koh Samui
Koh Samui has recorded its highest 1-day jump in Covid-19 infections since the southern island re-opened to international tourism. According to a Bangkok Post report, officials have confirmed 20 new cases but insist the development will not affect the island’s Samui Plus re-opening programme. 16 of the new infections are a cluster linked to a cashier at a local gym.…
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Thursday Covid Update: Record high of 17,669 cases and 165 deaths
A new record high of 17,669 new Covid-19 cases and 165 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Since April 1, in the latest and most severe wave of cases, the CCSA has reported a total of 532,167 Covid-19 infections since the start of the pandemic. The number of daily new cases hit a new…
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Patrolling Lithuania’s border with Belarus
Carefully, Justas moves through the undergrowth, using his flashlight to illuminate the dark forest. He’s pulled a brown balaclava over his face. The 22-year-old officer and his colleague Vitautas have been on patrol at Lithuania’s border with Belarus for hours. “Three days ago, a hole was cut into the fence to make crossing the border easier,” Justas tells me. Justas…
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Police investigate hackers selling stolen vaccine appointments
Amid vaccine scarcity in Thailand’s slow rollout, and a tumultuous registration process with changing systems and tiny sign-up windows, people have taken to desperate means to get vaccinated. People posing as doctors online sold fake vaccine appointments, and authorities accused members of the Hi-So elite of renting motorbike taxi vests to pose as taxi drivers who are given priority for…
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Ghana: Anti-gay bill seeks long jail terms for LGBTQ people
Ghana’s laws already criminalize gay sex by forbidding “unnatural carnal knowledge”. Now West African country wants to go a step further in its efforts to outlaw the LGBTQ community. If the bill is passed, people of the same sex who engage in sexual activity could be fined or jailed for between three to five years. The law would also make…
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Driver blames GPS for durian truck wedged under overpass
We’ve all had GPS mishaps, either we followed and it leads us astray or we misunderstood and messed up a turn. If you haven’t, you’ve probably never driven in Bangkok. But one durian delivery truck driver is finding herself at the centre of ridicule after blaming her GPS for her truck getting wedged in an impressive wheelie under an overpass…
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Despite low riders, Covid-19 train to continue
Despite a rocky start, the special train service the Transport Ministry arranged with the State Railway of Thailand to help bring Covid-19 infected patients in Bangkok to their hometowns for treatment will continue. The train, dubbed the “Covid Express”, will schedule more trips from Bangkok to the North and Northeast provinces even though the first train ended up with less…
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Planning for “Pattaya Move On” reopening scheme continues
Despite the high Covid-19 infection rate in Chon Buri, planning for the “Pattaya Move On” reopening programme will continue. With the ongoing spread of the virus and the emergence of the highly transmissible Delta variant, infecting more than 500,000 people in Thailand over the past several months, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has been considering whether to postpone the reopening…
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Thailand: Is royal reform a far-fetched dream?
The youth-led, pro-democracy movement in Thailand began coalescing in mid-2020 and at its peak saw hundreds of thousands of protesters calling for the government’s resignation and a more transparent and accountable monarchy. The demonstrators — who in recent months have focused their complaints on Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha’s handling of the pandemic as Thailand struggles with surging COVID-19 cases —…
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Thailand to apply for Guinness World Record for longest petrified log
Thailand is trying to break a Guinness World Record. Officials believe the longest petrified log in the world is in Thailand’s Tak province near the Myanmar border. Apparently, the 120,000 year old log at Doi Soi Malai National Park stretches 72.2 metres, the same height as a 20 storey building. China’s Qitai, Xinjiang currently holds the title of the world’s…
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Koh Samui bar and club finds 16 Covid-19 infections
The Thaiger recently reported that some bars and clubs in Koh Samui continue to operate seemingly indifferent to Covid-19 restrictions in place without any masks or social distancing and during periods that nightlife was shut down nationally. Now the freedom from regulation on the island has come back to bite as 16 Covid-19 infections were found traced to one of…
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Exploring Phuket’s islands with 5 Star Marine’s Captain’s Choice | VIDEO
Phuket and nearby island beaches are always here, despite the different seasons. So, even when you visit in the rainy season, with so many beaches to experience, you can always find one to enjoy. At this time of year, travellers might need to dodge the occasional heavy shower. It happens. But most of the time the rain is brief… and…
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Thousands of inmates granted royal pardon on HM the King’s birthday
On his 69th birthday, HM the King granted a royal pardon to more than 200,000 prison inmates and convicts on house arrest. 35,000 of them from 143 prisons will be released on parole while prison sentences for the others will be reduced. Under the 2021 Royal Pardon Royal Decree imposed today, pardons will be granted within the next 120 days,…
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Wednesday Covid Update: 16,533 new cases; provincial totals
A record high of 16,533 new Covid-19 cases, including 3,997 in Bangkok, was reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. In the latest and most severe wave of infections in Thailand, first recorded on April 1, the CCSA has reported 514,498 Covid-19 cases. The latest wave accounts up for the majority of Thailand’s total case count of 543,361…
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Wednesday Covid Update: Record high of 16,533 new cases
A record high of 16,533 new Covid-19 cases were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. In the latest and most severe wave of infections in Thailand, first recorded on April 1, the CCSA has reported 514,498 Covid-19 cases. Today, the CCSA also recorded another 133 coronavirus-related deaths. Out of the new cases, 202 were found in correctional…
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China flood disaster: Passersby harass German reporter
“Are you that BBC guy?” a passerby asked Mathias Bölinger, a German journalist who has been reporting for DW and other broadcasters from the flooded regions in China. Ever since the BBC aired an investigative TV report on the origins of the coronavirus pandemic — a report Beijing considers “fictitious” — the British broadcaster has had a credibility problem in…
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Tunisia: A political crisis fueled by economic woes
Tunisian President Kais Saied had barely announced his decision to dismiss Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi and freeze parliament for 30 days when he began justifying it on Sunday evening, arguing that he had acted in accordance with the constitution. The president, a lawyer, said he based his decision on Article 80 of the Tunisian constitution, which grants the president the…
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Afghanistan: What does NATO withdrawal mean for India?
The final stages of the withdrawal of US-led foreign forces from Afghanistan, coupled with the Taliban’s sweeping offensive, have forced regional stakeholders to recalibrate their position in the war-torn country. One of those stakeholders is India — the largest regional donor to Afghanistan. India has long supported the civilian government in Kabul, heavily investing in the country over the past…
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“Phuket Sandbox” still on, provincial restrictions set after uptick in Covid-19
The “Phuket Sandbox” is still on, but the uptick in coronavirus infections pose a threat to the tourism experiment. Before the July 1 reopening, the government said it would reconsider the travel scheme if cases exceeded 90 Covid-19 infections. Over the past week, the island reported 125 new infections. With the weekly case count exceeding the government’s threshold, new restrictions…
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UPDATE: Dying Samut Prakan mother tells daughters to go to orphanage
Earlier today, the Thaiger wrote about 2 girls whose mother passed away. However, before the mother died, she expressed a desire to her daughters that they go to an orphanage so someone could still take care of them Recently, it was found that the 2 girls will be taken to an orphanage and that the mother’s name is Apaporn Soontrarachun.…
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Couple “drops off” Covid infected 80 year old father at Korat temple, drive off
A husband and wife dropped off an 80 year old man they referred to as father, at a temple in Nakhon Ratchasima/Korat in northeastern Thailand. After they dropped off their patriarch with nothing but a cloth bag, they drove off. The man was later found to have Covid. One Facebook user who claims to be a medical worker at the…
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Phuket officials add new layers of restrictions, Central closed for 7 days
It’s starting to get real in Phuket. New measures have been announced to further restrict the gathering places for people. Meanwhile, for now, the Sandbox continues unabated. The new restrictions are effective until at least August 2. The province has already surpassed its threshold of 90 cases in a week, earlier cited as the upper limit before the government would…
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Attorney General still plans to indict Red Bull Heir, cites new ‘evidence’
Today, The Office of Attorney General reaffirmed the long-gestating indictment against Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya, heir to the Redbull empire. The OAG cites new evidence against Vorayuth for allegedly killing a police officer in a hit and run incident. The “new evidence” was not specified. The plans to still indict Vorayuth were announced by the deputy spokesperson for the OAG, Prayut…
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Bang Sue walk-in vaccinations for elderly expats to end Saturday
Walk-in vaccination services for elderly expats at Bangkok’s Bang Sue Grand Station is ending on Saturday. The government is preparing to roll out the next phase in its Covid-19 immunisation plan. Starting Sunday, August 1, registration in Bangkok will open up to those 18 and older, but there will be no walk-in services. Until Saturday, foreign residents who are 75…
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Special train takes Covid patients home to northeastern Thailand
Today, “Special” train No. 971 took 137 Covid patients to various northeastern Thai provinces. The Special train left from the Rangsit railway station. A cabinet resolution earlier in the month decreed that the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Public health were to arrange transportation to bring Covid patients back to their home provinces. Both ministries were ordered to…
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Dying Samut Prakan mother tells daughters to go to orphanage
Yesterday, 2 young girls had to be rescued from their home in Samut Prakan, a province south of Bangkok. They had watched their mother die of Covid and would later test positive for Covid themselves. The dying mother told her daughters to go to an orphanage. The 2 young girls were ages 7 and 9. The unnamed 9 year old…
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Over 66 people arrested in police raid at Pattaya beach club
Police in Pattaya have raided a beach club and arrested at least 66 people accused of violating the emergency decree. According to a Pattaya News report, the raid took place at around 8.30pm last night and those arrested were a mixture of foreign and Thai nationals. 37 Thais and 29 foreigners are accused of drinking, partying, and mingling, in violation…
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Tuesday Covid Update: 14,150 new cases and 118 deaths
Today, Thailand’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration reported 14,150 cases and 118 coronavirus-related deaths. In the latest and most severe wave in Thailand, first recorded on April 1, the CCSA has recorded 497,965 Covid-19 cases. Out of the new cases, 245 cases were found in correctional facilities. Over the past several months, more than 40,000 inmates have been infected with…
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