News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond. The Thaiger delivers the latest national news that matters.
-
Sponsored 9 most common health issues covered by insurance for expats in Thailand
Thailand is a popular destination for expats due to its affordable lifestyle and excellent healthcare system. However, settling in a new country often brings health concerns. To ensure you’re covered for the most common medical needs, understanding what expat health...
-
Cuban government asks for humanitarian aid
Though Cuba has been undergoing an economic crisis for years, the situation has worsened considerably in the past few months. A monetary reform to put an end to the country’s dual currency system at the beginning of the year — plus the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent fall of tourism — have combined to create conditions that are increasingly untenable,…
-
Delta variant now the predominant strain, 78% of Thai infections
Weeks ago experts predicted that the Delta variant would become the predominant strain of Covid-19 in Thailand by early August. Now, as foreseen, a new study shows that 78.2% of all new Covid-19 infections throughout the country are of the Delta variant. The Medical Sciences Department’s Director-General revealed the results of a test the department had been running in their…
-
Kashmir: A conflict between wild animals and humans
On June 3, 4-year-old Adda Mudasir was playing with her toys a few feet away from her brother and grandfather on the lawn of her home in Ompora village in India-administered Kashmir. By the time her family heard the screams it was too late. A leopard had attacked the girl and dragged her away, leaving only her toys and shoes…
-
Controversial food delivery only rule faces criticism
Most people understand the need for Covid-19 restrictions and safety protections, but many people are complaining about one questionable restriction that affects anyone who owns a food establishment or indeed eats. Restaurants and their patrons are both miffed about the revision to the dark red zone Covid-19 restrictions that changed from food establishments being open for takeaway only to being…
-
Ebrahim Raisi: What to expect from Iran’s new president
On Thursday, 60-year-old Ebrahim Raisi will be sworn in before parliament as the Islamic Republic’s sixth president after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei inaugurated him on Tuesday in a ceremony broadcast live on state television. However, the handover of power to a new administration is being greeted by many Iranians with a sense of hopelessness and resignation. “Raisi and his…
-
On Tunisian streets, economic worries and political fury
Wadi bin Soleiman taps at his mobile phone. He’s sitting on his chair, inside his ceramics store in the historic old city of Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. The market is usually a focal point for tourists. But it’s shortly before midday and bin Soleiman has yet to get a single customer. Like so many other Tunisians involved in the…
-
Meet an Afghan who returned from space with a message of peace
As a child, Abdul Ahad Mohmand says he dreamed of flying, but he never imagined he would one day visit outer space. He was born in 1959 in Sardeh, a remote village south of Kabul. In 1988, he would become the first and only Afghan cosmonaut on Russia’s Mir space station. Now a German citizen, 62-year-old Mohmand spoke with DW…
-
Thai Airways selling 10 properties to raise capital
With deepening debt and the Covid-19 pandemic dragging on and flattening the tourism and travel industry, Thai Airways International is looking to sell off some large assets like buildings and properties to stabilise the struggling airline. The airline has been in the throes of bankruptcy and debt rehabilitation for months now after failing to secure a bailout from the government.…
-
Myanmar envoy updated to Brunei’s 2nd Foreign Affairs Minister
In a reversal of previous discussion and decisions that would have seen former Thai Deputy Foreign Minister Virasakdi Futrakul appointed as the ASEAN envoy to Myanmar, multiple sources are now reporting that it will be Brunei’s Second Minister for Foreign Affairs Erywan Yusof that will be taking up the envoy role. The agreement to send an envoy to Myanmar to…
-
Wednesday Covid Update: 20,200 new cases, provincial totals
Thailand’s daily counts for Covid-19 cases and deaths hit record highs today with 20,200 new Covid-19 cases and 188 coronavirus-related fatalities recorded today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. A total of 672,395 confirmed Covid-19 infections and 5,503 coronavirus-related deaths have been recorded in Thailand since the start of the pandemic last year. Thailand’s latest and most severe wave…
-
Third phase testing successful for Vietnam Covid-19 vaccine
The storyline of Covid-19 in Vietnam has run very similar to Thailand with early successes and recent widespread outbreaks. Now, just as Thailand is working on a domestic mRNA vaccine, Vietnam is developing its own locally created and manufactured Covid-19 vaccine, and the progress is promising. Vietnam, like Thailand, started strong throughout 2020, being among the first countries to detect…
-
Tour Phuket’s Islands with 5 Star Marine
Sponsored article 5 Star Marine Searching for a private boat charter in Phuket? Look no further than 5 Star Marine. Operating in Phuket for over 13 years, 5 Star Marine has since evolved to become industry leaders. Today, they are one of the top boat companies in Phuket, due to their strength in customer focus and premium boats at affordable…
-
31 anti-government activists granted conditional release
The Central Criminal Court has granted 31 anti-government protesters conditional release on the basis that they are not considered flight risks. The activists include Jatupat Boonpattararaksa, aka, “Pai Dao Din”, and have been in custody since their arrest in front of the Narcotics Suppression Bureau in Bangkok on Sunday and Monday. According to a Thai PBS World report, the protesters…
-
Ban on mass gatherings published in Royal Gazette ahead of anti-government protests this weekend
A new order has been published in the Royal Gazette banning all mass gatherings, including rallies, protests, and assemblies. The order was published last night, ahead of planned anti-government demonstrations in Bangkok this weekend. The order is being implemented under the Emergency Decree, which has now been extended 13 times since its introduction in March 2020. According to a Pattaya…
-
Wednesday Covid Update: Record high of 20,200 new cases and 188 deaths
A record high of 20,200 new Covid-19 cases and another high of 188 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Thailand now has 211,076 active Covid-19 cases. In the latest and most severe wave of the virus, first recorded on April 1, the CCSA has recorded 643,522 Covid-19 cases. In 24 hours, the CCSA says 17,975 Covid-19 patients were…
-
Phuket lays on Suvarnabhumi bus service for stranded sandbox tourists
The governor of Phuket has announced that a special bus service will transport stranded sandbox tourists from the southern island to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport. As a result of the cancellation of domestic flights, sandbox visitors who had plans to visit elsewhere in Thailand after their 14 days on Phuket now find themselves stuck. Governor Narong Wunsiew says a dedicated bus…
-
Why are there so few UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Africa?
This year, eight mosques in northern Ivory Coast and Ivindo National Park in Gabon have landed one of the coveted places on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. In addition to the two sites in Africa, the responsible committee at its 44th session in the Chinese port city of Fuzhou named 16 candidates from Europe and another 16 from other world regions…
-
Ethiopia: A catastrophe in the making
In Ethiopia’s Tigray province, a lack of medical supplies, frequent power cuts and a severe fuel scarcity — not to mention a cash shortage due to closed banks, and growing unemployment after factories were shut down or looted — is making life increasingly difficult for the population, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). “The humanitarian situation…
-
Transport Company announces bus services are suspended until August 31
The state-run Transport Company announced that all interprovincial bus services will be suspended until the end of the month. Under the recent order imposed by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, interprovincial public transportation out of the 29 “dark red” zones, including Bangkok, is not allowed. The CCSA’s order is in effect until August 16, but a spokesperson says the…
-
Volunteer ranger killed in grenade attack by suspected insurgents
A volunteer ranger was killed in a grenade attack by suspected insurgents at a Thai army camp in Narathiwat, a province in Thailand’s Deep South near the Malaysian border with ongoing violence related to the religious separatist insurgency. Four soldiers at the makeshift base were injured in the attack. The army set up a small camp along the Sungai Kolok…
-
Chon Buri sets local order, restaurants in malls to only offer food for delivery
In response to the uptick in Covid-19 cases in Chon Buri, with many clusters found in shopping centres, the provincial government imposed local orders focused on stores and restaurants in malls. Restaurants, cafes and eateries in shopping centres and department stores can open for delivery service, according to both the order by the provincial government and the Centre for Covid-19…
-
Samut Prakan man dies in fire, possibly self-inflicted
An Indian national, Thiruvadi Mari Prakash who lived in Samut Prakan, a central Thai province, has died after succumbing to burns from a petrol induced fire. Early reports suggest the man started the fire to commit suicide. Duty officer Adithep Phocharoen, says the fire was reported around 10:30 pm on the second floor of a 6 story apartment. Once alerted,…
-
Royal Thai Police say bitterleaf can’t cure Covid
The Royal Thai Police want the public to know that bitterleaf trees can’t cure cancer is not true and is fake news. Kissana Pattanacharoen, the deputy spokesperson for the RTT says the Anti Fake News Centre Thailand discovered the fraudulent claim about bitterleaf’s medicinal properties today and verified this with the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine. However, the…
-
Tuesday Covid Update: 18,901 new cases, provincial totals
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration reported 18,901 new Covid-19 cases and 147 coronavirus-related deaths today, raising the total case count since the start of the pandemic to 652,185 and the Covid death toll to 5,315. The latest and most severe wave of Covid-19 in Thailand, which was first recorded on April 1, has accounted for 623,322 infections and 5,221…
-
“Pattaya Move On” reopening likely to be postponed as Covid cases surge
With Chon Buri ranking as one of the top provinces with the highest number of daily Covid-19 infections, the “Pattaya Move On” reopening plan will likely be delayed due to the rise in cases and slow rollout of vaccines. September was the eyed start date for the reopening plan for specified areas in Chon Buri. The project is similar to…
-
3 metre long python caught near family’s house in Phuket
Recently, a group of civil defence volunteers were called to a family’s house in Srisoonthorn, Phuket to help catch a 3 metre long python. Nopparit Rungrueng, who is the headman of the Srisoonthorn Subdistrict led the team of snake finders/catchers. The volunteers got to the house just before noon and started to look for the snake, which was spotted by…
-
Government says not to buy Favipiravir/Avigan online, says it might be fake
Yesterday, Traisuree Taisaranaku, the deputy government spokesperson said that people should refrain from buying the antiviral medication Favipiravir online because it’s possibly fake. The drug also goes by the brand name Avigan, as well as other names. The spokesperson says the medication should only be taken if it is prescribed by a doctor. Traisuree says people were tricked through social…
-
Phuket bans alcohol sales at restaurants, issues order amid rise of Covid cases
The ban on alcohol sales and consumption at restaurants has been reimposed in Phuket and will be in place until at least August 16. Certain “social activities,” like parties at public places, are also now prohibited for the next two weeks. The order, Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew yesterday, could be extended longer if the Covid-19 situation does not improve. Phuket…
-
Phuket tourism sector calls for island to be “green-listed” for foreign tourists – VIDEO
The executive chairman of the Banyan Tree Group is calling for Phuket to be given “green” status, promoting the island as a safe haven for foreign tourists. Singaporean KP Ho was addressing the Phuket Sandbox Summit via video-conference when he called on European airlines, business leaders, and officials to differentiate the southern island from the rest of Thailand. According to…
-
What is so important about the Sandbox?
OPINION by Bill Barnett from c9hotelworks.com Being on the ground in Phuket over the past sixteen months of the pandemic I have experienced the up’s and downs of pandemic tourism firsthand. Over the past month with the Sandbox program coming into place, we have seen over 13,000 travellers arrive at the Phuket International Airport. “What is so important about the…
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.