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.
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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...
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Narcolepsy suspected as cause of car accident in Chon Buri
Yesterday morning, 1 person died and 2 people sustained serious injuries after their truck hit a trailer truck and then went off the road in Chon Buri. The driver reportedly had narcolepsy and drove despite the protestations of his family. Early reports suggest the driver may have fallen asleep while driving. Police and medical personnel got to the scene around…
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Healthcare worker pleads with PM to set up “war room” to manage pandemic
A healthcare worker at the Thammasat University field hospital in central Thailand has urged the Thai PM to set up a “war room” for daily Covid-19 meetings. In a Facebook post, the unnamed medic pleads with the PM to hold daily meetings with his ministers in order to stay on top of developments and deal with issues immediately, as opposed…
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Official detained after spreading rumour of planned coup to oust PM
Following a rumour that a military coup to remove PM Prayut Chan-o-cha from office was in the works, a state official has been detained, accused of spreading fake news. The Bangkok Post reports that deputy police spokesman Kissana Phathanacharoen has confirmed that a man has been detained for questioning in the central province of Chachoengsao, where he has admitted to…
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Thai AirAsia suspends flights, cuts salaries as financial woes continue
As Thailand’s airlines continue to struggle with the financial fallout from Covid-19, Thai AirAsia has suspended all flights for this month. The carrier is also cutting staff salaries or deferring partial or whole payment until September. According to a Bangkok Post report, the airline’s financial woes are worsening as low passenger numbers show no sign of improving and cash flow…
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Europe remembers Sinti, Roma murdered under Nazi rule
“Dear Banetla, I have to tell you that my two youngest children have died.” Those words were written by Margarete Bamberger in a 1943 letter to her sister in Berlin. It was smuggled out of the so-called “gypsy camp” at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Margarete, her husband Willi and their children were all detained at the death camp. Margarete and…
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Thailand conservation adds 17 rare Indochinese tigers this year
In one of the great injustices of the animal kingdom, sharks get a whole week, while the majestic tigers of Thailand are afforded only International Tiger Day, recently celebrated on Thursday. But the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation used the occasion to announce that Thailand has at least 17 more wild Indochinese tigers roaming the country this…
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Man falls off 4th story roof only breaking arm and chin
A broken arm and a broken chin are serious injuries, but quite a bit less severe than what you’d expect to get after falling off a building. Yet that’s the entirety of the injuries sustained by a man in Pattaya after plunging 4 stories off an area roof. The 38 year old man had been on top of a residential…
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Palestinians in Jerusalem neighborhood fear for their future
Muna al-Kurd, a 23-year-old university graduate living in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied east Jerusalem, is facing possible eviction along with her family from their home of more than 60 years. “All probabilities are on the table. They might reject our appeal which means expulsion, or they might postpone again,” said al-Kurd in a video update on social media…
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16 new dark red provinces and restrictions extended to August 16
16 more provinces will be added to Thailand’s dark red zones and all will see partial lockdown restrictions extended until August 16 according to a statement this late afternoon by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. The announcement extended the lockdowns set to expire August 3 for an additional 2 weeks, and expanded the number of provinces classified as dark…
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Hua Hin Maya Club execs get 3 months for superspreader event
Many people living in Thailand long term grow weary of the persistence of action without consequence, especially for those that are well connected or with deep pockets. But a new ruling Hua Hin gives credit where credit is due and sentenced 2 executives of the Maya Club in Hua Hin to 3 months in prison plus fines for the illegal…
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Thai candidate selected as ASEAN envoy to Myanmar
Following the ASEAN Summit in Jakarta April 24 where nation leaders and representatives met to push for a resolution to the worsening crisis following the February 1 Burmese military coup, several steps had been laid out by the hopeful association on nations, but the Burmese junta has since seemed in no rush to implement any measures to work toward the…
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Foreigners able to register on vaccine site despite data leaks, glitches
The debut of Thailand’s new vaccine appointment registration site expatvac.consular.go.th has now opened to mixed reviews. Many reported a host of problems, but quite a few people said that in the end they received emails confirming their registration and forthcoming appointments. And of course, it opened to a data breach. The vaccine registration site launched at 11 am and within…
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More violence, less income: Arab women bear the brunt of COVID-19, study finds
The COVID-19 pandemic has turned Heba Mordaa’s life upside down. “Ever since the lockdowns started in March 2020, my work has been deteriorating,” the 29-year-old manicurist and mother of three in Beirut says. “At first, the shop owner deducted our salaries because we had no customers coming in. Then, in July 2020, the owner decided that we will start offering…
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Covid UPDATE Sunday: 18,027 infections, expat vaccine registration
Today the public health department has announced an additional 18,027 infections and 133 Covid-related deaths from the past 24 hours. 374 of the new cases were found in Thai prisons. 13,402 patients have been released from hospital. Yesterday there were 18,912 new infections announced, a record high. 4,691 patients are still under care in ICU with 1,012 people on ventilators. Thai…
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August flight plans: Bangkok Airways, Nok Air, Thai Lion
With lockdowns, sealed provinces, travel restrictions and ever-changing updates due to the continuously growing Covid-19 infections around the country, struggling airlines are scrambling to keep up. AirAsia was the first earlier this month to cancel all domestic flights, and other local airlines quickly followed suit. Yesterday Bangkok Airways cut nearly all of their domestic flights, extending their flight suspension until…
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New site for foreigner vaccine; Mor Prom deletes appointments
In life – as in vaccine registration processes – if at first you don’t succeed, try a few dozen more times. Following on the myriad plans to register people, local and foreigners for vaccines, many of which started and ended within days and suffered data leaks, site crashes, glitches (see the second half of this article) and near-constant confusion, a…
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Samui Covid-19: 14 new Black Club infections, 2nd cluster
[UPDATE 9 pm: Information on Black Club staff with Covid-19 has been updated, as well as Bangkok Airways Samui flight cancellations and Bangkok Hospital bed shortage details.] The emergence of Covid-19 in Koh Samui has caused some upheaval for the residents as more infections and more details are revealed each day. 14 new infections were diagnosed today on the island,…
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Phuket Sandbox Covid-19 infections: 35 today, 209 this week
35 new Covid-19 infections pushed rolling 7-day total in Phuket to 209, more than doubling the feared 90 per week that would trigger Sandbox reconsideration according to the original official plans. When the total first passed the 90 infection threshold and surpassed 100, the Department of Disease Control declared that the overall situation was still far from critical and the…
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Prayut says he will not resign, warns politicians to behave
Thailand’s Prime Minister, Prayut Chan-o-cha, says he will not answer the reoccurring call for him to resign, neither will he dissolve the House as Thailand’s Covid situation continues to worsen. The PM also cautioned politicians against exploiting the crisis, and/or inciting hatred which he says will only make the situation worse. The recondite hatred statement mirrors a statement from government…
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Bangkok Train market to possibly close for good
It has recently been reported that the immensely popular Ratchada night market/AKA the Train market located in Bangkok, will possibly close for good. The train market, which enjoyed patronage from both farangs/and Thais alike was previously closed due to restrictions with the goal of curbing Covid infections. Now, however, it seems the market will close permanently. Vendors have already reportedly…
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Covid UPDATE: 18,912 infections, provincial totals
Today the Public Health department has announced 18,912 new infections and 178 Covid-related deaths for the past 24 hours around Thailand. There were 810 cases from Thai prisons. Today’s totals are a new record for daily cases since the start of the pandemic. Here are today’s provincial totals for the past 24 hours… • 10,678 patients were released from medical…
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PCD says don’t throw away used masks in water bottles after infections linked to bottles
Don’t discard your used face masks in water bottles is the advice the Pollution Control Department wants the public to heed after 20 people tested positive for Covid in Nakhon Ratchasima/Kora, a northeastern Thai province. The department says the infections stem from virus ridden water bottles. Atthapol Charoenchansa, the PCD director general, says a plethora of face masks have been…
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Government says it’s okay to criticise them, if it’s fact based
It’s okay to criticise the government, such as the Health Minister who recently suggested huge crowds of people were an optical illusion. It is also okay to demand the government get more vaccines, and faster, as long the criticisms are based on facts, said government spokesperson Anucha Burapachaisri and the Deputy Spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek, yesterday. The recent government order forbidding…
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Bangkok volunteer group “Sai Mai Will Survive” overwhelmed with calls
Covid infected people in Bangkok’s Sai Mai district are reportedly desperate for help. A volunteer group, “Sai Mai Will Survive”, which assists the area, is being inundated with calls for assistance. The group gets around 100 calls a day asking for assistance. Sai Mai Will Survive was established during the first wave of Covid in Thailand. At that time, the…
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Covid UPDATE Saturday: 18,912 infections, news briefs
Today the Public Health department has announced 18,912 new infections and 178 Covid-related deaths for the past 24 hours around Thailand. There were 810 cases from Thai prisons. Today’s totals are a new record for daily cases since the start of the pandemic. We will announce the provincial totals just after lunch, Thai time. • 10,678 patients were released from…
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Shell’s Niger Delta cleanup: Ogoniland’s uncertain future
The conflict between the indigenous people of Ogoni in Nigeria’s Niger Delta is a perennial one. This year’s court ruling by an appeals court in the Netherlands — in favour of Milieudefensie/Friends of the Earth Netherlands and four Nigerian farmers — was heralded by some of them as justice. The court delivered its judgment at the end of a long-running…
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Koh Samui unaccustomed to Covid-19, many act in dismay
Koh Samui is not accustomed to Covid-19 worries and has been rocked by the outbreak this week as many locals struggle to cope with the first significant cluster on the island. So far 40 Covid-19 infections have been identified from the Black Bamboo Club cluster, and several other seemingly unrelated infections had popped up also. A few more bars have…
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Shell’s Niger Delta cleanup: What hopes for the Ogoni?
The conflict between the indigenous people of Ogoni in Nigeria’s Niger Delta is a perennial one. This year’s court ruling by an appeals court in the Netherlands — in favour of Milieudefensie/Friends of the Earth Netherlands and four Nigerian farmers — was heralded by some of them as justice. The court delivered its judgment at the end of a long-running…
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Thailand moves to strengthen EU ties amid US-China rivalry
European investors are increasingly playing a bigger role in the Thai economy, allowing the Southeast Asian country to diversify trade and business away from the United States and China, analysts say. In 2020, European Union investment accounted for 8.2% of all overseas investment in Thailand, compared with 3.8% for the US and 15.4% for China. The figure has increased each…
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Bangkok Airways extends flight suspension to August 11
In a post to Facebook this afternoon, Bangkok Airways announced that they will be extending the suspension of their domestic flights until August 11. They will ground all flights except flights connected to the Phuket Sandbox and Samui Plus international reopening programs. The announcement comes following Covid-19 outbreaks in both Koh Samui and Phuket that threaten the international programs and…
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