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...
-
Domestic flights added to Phuket/Samui, CAAT says be careful
Yesterday, additional, domestic flights, were added going to and from Phuket. Bangkok Airways also confirmed it was bringing back its Phuket to Samui route. Nok Air resumed its Phuket to U-Tapao route. The announcement comes on the heels of the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand issuing a reminder to airlines/passengers to adhere to all conditions for safe travel. The CAAT…
-
4th body found on a Bangkok street
Yesterday morning, an octogenarian, who tested Covid positive, was discovered dead on a Bangkok street. This marks the 4th time someone was found dead on a Bangkok street in the past week. The 80 year old’s body was located near the Victory Monument at 7:30 am. Nearby vendors spotted the man’s body and then alerted health officials. At first, the…
-
OPINION: Where have all of Thailand’s boat shows gone?
OPINION by Paul Poole (The opinions stated here are those of Paul Poole’s and do not necessarily represent the thoughts of the boating industry or those of The Thaiger) In 2017, ahead of the usual stream of boat shows and yachting events scheduled around the Kingdom, and before the current worldwide pandemic, I was asked if there was room for…
-
Covid UPDATE Sunday: 15,335 new infections, news briefs
This morning the Thai public health department has announced 15,335 new infections & 129 Covid-related deaths. 641 of today’s announced cases came from Thai prisons. The number of new infections detected in the past 24 hours is another record for Thailand. Provincial totals will come out just after lunch today. • The Department of Disease Control said yesterday that the…
-
Kitchen raiding elephant breaks same wall in house for more food
They say elephants have exceptional memories, and today one proved that true by finding his way back to a familiar place. Perhaps Thailand’s most memed elephant, Phlai Boonchuay, has returned to the home he infamously broke into just one month ago to search for more food. The wild elephant went viral around the world when he broke down the kitchen…
-
1st Taekwondo Olympic gold as Panipak wins for Thailand
Panipak Wongpattanakit brought home a historic gold medal today – Thailand’s first in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games, first-ever in taekwondo, and 10th gold medal of all time. The 23 year old has won 2 world championships and is currently ranked number 1 in the world. She barely edged out her competitor, the current European Championship winner Adriana Cerezo Iglesias…
-
The Netherlands gears for future with flood-control project
“We were really lucky,” says Jan Heymans from the Dutch village of Neer on the Maas river. “The new flood wall was completed just a few months ago. Without it, everything here would have been flooded.” With massive steel gates and 10-cm-thick (4-inch-thick) glass panels at the top, the wall was able to resist the heavy rainfall from Germany and…
-
AstraZeneca Thailand writes open letter to people of Thailand
With Covid-19 infections rising in Thailand and bad news after bad news after bad news coming out of the vaccine supply and distribution chains, the managing director of AstraZeneca Thailand penned an open letter to the people of Thailand today. In it, he gave a brief overview of the manufacturing process, the efforts made to supply more vaccines, and words…
-
Surat Thani announces new Covid-19 measures for Samui Plus
Less than 10 days after the less-than-thrilling Samui Plus reopening that saw just 31 international arrivals to Samui (with 2 to Koh Phangan and 1 to Koh Tao) so far and 110 people from the Phuket Sandbox, Surat Thani province in which the islands reside has announced immediate Covid-19 measures to curb the spread of the virus. The announcement today…
-
West Africa’s liver cancer cases linked to hepatitis
The World Cancer Research Fund collects data on the prevalence of cancer types across the globe. When it comes to liver cancer, 8 West African nations are in the top 25 countries with highest prevalence of liver cancer. These include Liberia, Guinea, Ghana Burkina Faso and Senagal. In fact, liver cancer is the most common cancer in the Gambia, with…
-
His Majesty the King donates 2.8 billion baht in Covid-19 aid
Chulabhorn Royal Academy posted on Facebook that His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn has donated more than 2.8 billion baht of his personal money in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. The King had made donations to institutes and hospitals involved in the treating and care of people infected by the Covid-19 virus. In the post to Facebook yesterday, the academy…
-
Covid UPDATE Provinces: 14,260 new infections, 119 deaths
The Thai Public Health Department have announced another 14,260 infections and 119 Covid-related deaths over the past 24 hours. 655 cases have been detected in Thai prisons. Notably, Phuket registered 21 new infections, pushing it close to its threshold of 90 new cases in a week whereby officials would consider the future of the Sandbox (70 over the past 7…
-
DR Congo faces major challenges in COVID-19 vaccine rollout
Almost every day, there are huge traffic jams in front of the district hospital in Goma, a major city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Cars, motorcycle cabs and pedestrians clog the road as friends and relatives come to pick up the deceased to bury them. For several weeks, an increasing number of COVID-19 patients have been among the dead…
-
Covid UPDATE Saturday: 14,260 new infections, news briefs
The Public Health Department have announced another 14,260 infections and 119 Covid-related deaths over the past 24 hours. 655 cases have been detected in Thai prisons. Whilst a slight drop from yesterday’s total new infections it maintains a rising trend in new infections around the country. 3,984 are currently in critical hospital care and 900 people remain on ventilators. The…
-
Department head predicts Covid-19 could last up to another year
Depending on the actions the government and the people of Thailand take, the Director-General of the Department of Medical Services predicts Covid-19 could continue for just a few months or drag on for another year. Director-General Somsak Ankasil asserted that declaration in a recorded video message this week made to thank the medical officials across the nation. In it, he…
-
Nord Stream 2 deal stokes fears of Russian aggression in eastern Europe
For most countries in central and eastern Europe, the German-Russian Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline is not simply a controversial project. Rather, they see it as a measure of the credibility of German policy in the region. And, right now, that credibility is in tatters. This week’s US-German agreement in the Nord Stream 2 dispute, which would allow the…
-
Swedish prison hostage situation resolved with pizza
Have you ever just had a really strong food craving? In a Swedish prison this week, 2 inmates were able to take 2 guards hostage and refused to release them until their demand was met: pizza. The pair of inmates incarcerated in Hallby high-security prison outside of Eskilstuna on murder charges were able to force their way into a secure area…
-
Minister: Foreigners, migrant workers are cared for amid Covid-19
Facing mounting criticism of the plight of migrant workers, often Burmese or Cambodian immigrants, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Minister of Labour Suchat Chomklin has spoken out in defence of the treatment of foreigners within Thailand. He stressed to the press that all laws and policies are non-discriminatory and that the government has addressed the concerns and safety of foreign…
-
“Withhold Intubation” for certain older Thammasat Hospital patients
Thammasat University Hospital, overwhelmed with Covid-19 infections, has decided to implement a fatal “Withhold Intubation Rule” for patients over 75 years old with severe conditions like incurable cancer and AIDS. The hospital is experiencing an extreme shortage of ventilators and together critical life-saving equipment, and was forced to make the tough decision that will inevitably lead to unnecessary deaths. The…
-
Bang Sue vaccination centre open for expats 60+, under must wait
Bangkok’s Central Vaccination Centre at Bang Sue Grand Station is open to expats 60 years old and up for their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, a spokesperson for the CCSA reiterated today, adding that some younger foreigners had been showing up to the centre seeking a Covid-19 vaccine. Photos of the vaccination centre show the area packed with people…
-
Leaked document: military arranging private Moderna vaccines
A controversial and unconfirmed leaked document appears to show that the Thai military attempted to get Moderna vaccines for themselves while the rest of Thailand only had access to Sinovac and later AstraZeneca vaccines. The document seems to be of the military requesting a private supply of the Moderna vaccine from the Thai Red Cross for army personnel and their…
-
19 year old man drowns in a Kanchanaburi river while rescuing his puppy
A 19 year old man drowned after he jumped into a river to rescue his puppy yesterday. The victim identified as “Aphisit” and his co-worker drove to the Mae Klong River in the western province of Kanchanaburi to fetch some water for their construction work. His puppy fell in the river, but he didn’t notice until it had been swiped…
-
Online registration site up for interprovincial travel permission
Those travelling between provinces, especially from “dark red” zones under maximum control, are advised to fill out a registration form online for permission to travel. A QR code will then be scanned by relevant authorities at checkpoints. Click HERE for a registration form in English. Many interprovincial transportation services in “dark red” zones, including Bangkok and surrounding provinces, are suspended until…
-
18 infections today in Phuket creeps closer to 90/week threshold
Today saw an infection spike in new local Covid-19 cases in Phuket, crossing the daily average number that threatens the future of the Sandbox scheme. Officials had laid out several factors that could cause the Sandbox to be reconsidered or even cancelled, chief among them was if weekly infections crossed over 90 people a week. Today saw 18 new local…
-
Rural Kanchanaburi students struggle with lessons
The Covid situation has affected nearly all walks of life in Thailand and throughout the world. In a rural location in Kanchanaburi, western Thailand students can be seen several kilometres outside of their villages. They stare at smartphones in their hands. They’re not making Tik Tok videos and they’re not playing games. They are in their online classes. The students…
-
Phuket company plans to pitch “Diving Sandbox” for liveaboard trips
A local diving company is working on a project to offer liveaboard dive excursions to travellers entering Thailand through the “Phuket Sandbox” travel scheme. Under the plan in the works by Seafarer Divers, travellers would get picked up directly from the airport after arriving in Thailand and be transferred to a dive tour boat. While on board the boat, the…
-
Baan Kru Ja in Pattaya gets a week’s worth of food
Recently, a pair of companies in Pattaya spent a whole week cooking and distributing food for Pattaya children. The Fair Tech Company/Colour Ocean Company cooked food for children at the Baan Kru Ja Anti Human Trafficking and Child Abuse Center. Fairtech Company and Colour Ocean Company cooked food for children at the Baan Kruja Anti Human Trafficking and Child Abuse…
-
Buffalo charges at motorbikes and cars stopped at intersection – VIDEO
A water buffalo ran into the middle of a traffic intersection yesterday afternoon, charging at cars and motorbikes stopped at a red light in the Deep South province Narathiwat near the Malaysian border. People quickly fled out of the buffalo’s path and some jumped off their motorbike. The buffalo knocked over a motorbike with its horns and charged at 2…
-
Former Phuket tour guide suspected of drowning in Phuket
A former Phuket tour guide, who was previously denied entry onto the island, is believed to have drowned after he slipped and fell into the water next to the Sarasin Bridge, yesterday. Police were called to the scene at half-past 2. Then, police and rescue workers attempted to save the former tour guide, 42 year old Sutep Sae Man. By…
-
Pro-choice women struggle against spiritual detractors
Starting in February, women who sought an abortion could legally get one, in the first trimester. However, pro-choice activist Supecha Baotip says women still encounter discrimination in the form of spiritual objections. Supecha says that many nurses and doctors do not want to assist women who want help, despite the procedure’s legality. She says it’s “more than just a feeling.…
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.