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 How to reduce out-of-pocket medical expenses in Thailand?
Managing medical expenses in Thailand is important as healthcare costs continue to rise. The country’s healthcare system includes both public and private options, but even with the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) for citizens, many still face high out-of-pocket medical expenses....
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Thailand News Today | ‘Covid’ visa extensions, Bangkok aims for 70% vaccination in 1 month | May 31
The deadline to apply for a 60-day visa “Covid” extension has been pushed to July 29, now allowing stays up until late-September, The Department of Disease Control has set an ambitious goal to vaccinate at least 70% of Bangkok residents by July, Thailand has officially extended its Emergency Decree for a 12th time set to expire on July 31 and…
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Canadian woman sexually assaulted while doing a live stream video in Bangkok
Police are searching for a man who was caught on camera sexually assaulting a Canadian woman near Bangkok’s Lumpini Park while she was doing a live stream video for social media. The video shows the man running up to the woman from behind and appearing to reach is hand down below her waist. The woman made a post on Twitter…
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Border patrols in Thailand’s Deep South tighten following lockdown in Malaysia
Following the lockdown measures in Malaysia, troops in Thailand’s Deep South province of Narathiwat have tightened patrol along the natural border to make sure people are not entering Thailand illegally, evading checkpoints and the mandatory quarantine, to prevent Covid-19 from being spread through the country’s porous borders. Officers will focus primarily border districts Waeng, Su-ngai Kolok and Tak Bai, areas…
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Tokyo Olympics: Spectators must be vaccinated or test negative for Covid
Fans who wish to go to the upcoming Tokyo Olympics will either need to be vaccinated or have tested negative for Covid-19 before they will be allowed into venues. In addition to the requirements for spectators, officials are considering banning cheering, eating, giving high fives, or drinking alcohol, according to the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun Daily. Those who break the rules…
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All residents in Ho Chi Minh to be tested for Covid following outbreak in the city
A Covid-19 outbreak in Vietnam’s largest city of Ho Chi Minh has driven the Vietnamese government to test all residents for the virus. While infections in Vietnam have remained low, a new cluster linked to a religious mission has been reported in the city and what a local officials call a “very dangerous” new variant was recently found in the…
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Monday Covid Update: 5,485 new cases and 19 deaths, provincial totals
A record high of 5,485 new Covid-19 infections were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. 19 coronavirus-related deaths were also reported today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 1,031. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has reported a total of 159,792 Covid-19 cases, including 130,929 infections reported in the latest wave…
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Water outage in Pa Khlok, Phuket tomorrow
Starting tomorrow, there will be a water outage in Phuket’s Pa Khlok. The outages will be a result of a mains water supply shutoff on Thepkrasattri Road, which is near Phuket’s airport runway in Mai Khao, as announced by the Phuket Provincial Waterworks Authority. The PWA said that the mains water needs to be shut off in order to connect…
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Thai soldiers keep watch after bomb explosions in Myanmar border town
Over the weekend, local media in Myanmar reported that 2 bombs exploded near the Thai border. The blasts could be heard by those in Thailand at the Phra Chedi Sam Ong border checkpoint, known as the Three Pagodas Pass, in Kanachaburi’s Sangkhla Buri district. Thai soldiers were deployed to the checkpoint as a precaution. The explosions went off at 10:10pm…
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Ukrainian ambassador to Thailand dies while on holiday on Koh Lipe
The Ukrainian ambassador to Thailand died yesterday morning while on holiday on Koh Lipe, a small island west of the southern province Satun. Local health officials say the 45 year old ambassador, Andrii Beshta, died from a heart attack. Andrii’s son said that his father had vomited and lost consciousness before he died. They had been staying in the same hotel…
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Full lockdown in Malaysia from tomorrow
From tomorrow, Malaysia goes into full lockdown in an attempt to flatten the curve of Covid-19 infections across the country. PM Muhyiddin Yassin had been resisting calls for a lockdown, saying he was trying to balance public health needs with economic recovery. However, even some businesses in the country’s tourism sector have been pushing for tougher measures. Just hours before…
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Thai government accused of concealing AstraZeneca supply issues
Medics are accusing the Thai government of a lack of transparency over supply issues associated with the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine. The Rural Doctors Society says the administration is keeping quiet about the real situation and the supply challenges it faces. The government has consistently said that the first batch of locally-produced doses would be delivered this week. The Foreign Ministry…
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After woman’s death, doctor talks about birth control pills and Covid vaccine risks
Following the death of a 32 year woman, who suffered from blood clotting a couple weeks after receiving a Covid-19 vaccine, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Thailand has advised women think about whether to stop taking birth control pills before receiving the Covid-19 vaccines due to a possible increased risk of blood clots. The doctor spoke during a live streaming session following…
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Thai government calls on all foreigners to register for Covid vaccine
Roll up, roll up…your sleeves. The Thai government says all foreign nationals living in the Kingdom should register for vaccination, ahead of the national rollout next month. The news was confirmed by Natapanu Nopakun from the Foreign Ministry, who you may know from the daily English-language briefings on behalf of the Covid-19 Situation Administration. “All people living on Thai soil,…
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Eccentric architect to rebuild another perfectly good villa
Pattaya-based architect, designer, and engineer, Mario Kleff, is at it again – demolishing another perfectly fine villa to make way for one of his designs. Just like the Majestic Residence on Pratumnak Hill project The Thaiger reported last week, the villa at European Home Place in Pattaya City, Bang Lamung District will be raised to the ground before being reconstructed…
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DDC focus vaccines on 70% in Bangkok before provinces
The Department of Disease Control has set an ambitious goal to vaccinate at least 70% of Bangkok residents by July. The department will focus on the capital city and prioritise distribution of vaccines to other provinces based on how severe outbreaks are in the area. The DDC chief commented that the department will focus on Bangkok, speculating that if they…
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Emergency Decree extended a 12th time, until July 31
After running through the normal bureaucratic process, it’s now official: Thailand is officially extending its Emergency Decree for a 12th time. The Decree was set to expire May 31 and while there was little doubt that it would be extended, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has now signed the official document to extend the Decree two more months. It is now set…
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UPDATE: Phuket extends current Covid restrictions from June 1 “until further notice”
UPDATE: Today’s planned vaccination of foreign staff and teachers at Phuket Headstart International School was cancelled last night at 9pm without explanation. Also information about kids travelling to Phuket with parent from July 1 HERE. ORIGINAL STORY: On one hand Phuket officials are extending restrictions to control the Covid situation, and on the other hand the TAT is talking up the…
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Phuket reopens: Parents must be vaccinated, children can come too
Good news for parents of international travellers… if you got vaccinated but opted out of vaccinating your (age 17 and under) children, you can still visit Phuket starting July 1, as reported yesterday in the Phuket Info Centre’s Facebook page. With a month to go before the much-publicised re-opening of Thailand to international travellers, without quarantine, starting with Phuket, the…
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Covid-19 updates from Southeast and South Asia
Around Southeast and South Asia, Covid-19 infections are on the rise, with Thailand’s third wave still raging on and Vietnam experiencing a new outbreak with a newly found hybrid variant just identified. Today, Thailand recorded another 4,528 Covid-19 infections and 24 Covid-19 related fatalities. Vietnam has increased lockdown measures after topping 6,700 total infections, most of which have occurred in the…
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Government considering legal action against alleged Covid-19 vaccine provider
Duangrit Bunnag and Accap Assets, a real estate company located in Bangkok, with projects throughout Thailand, is facing legal action from The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society for allegedly falsifying documents about the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine, as well as allegedly spreading fake news about it. The government points at a document that allegedly shows that the company stated it…
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Recent poll shows most Thai residents pin high hopes on first dose
According to a recent Super poll, nearly 90% of respondents say they want every Thai citizen to receive the first dose to fight Covid-19, but are less concerned when the second dose is given. Furthermore, almost 80% of respondents believe they can resume their pre-Covid-19 life as soon as Thais get their first dose. The director of the Super Poll…
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Chinese media, Thai police argue over handling of mansion raid in Pattaya
Controversy is swirling around the police raid on the Pattaya luxury mansion last week where a Chinese National shot 2 police officers, as the man and Chinese media argue that the raid was “executed poorly”. Senior Thai police officers claim the raid was carried out appropriately, while the Chinese man claims he panicked after being approached by suspicious men who…
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Covid UPDATE Sunday: 4,528 Covid infections and 24 death, provincial totals
Today the public health department has reported another 4,528 Covid infections and 24 C-19 related deaths. Another huge proportion of todays cases – 1,902 – are from Thai prisons. We will post the provincial totals early in the afternoon as usual. Here’s all today’s provincial totals as announced this morning for the past 24 hours… • Thailand’s Department of Disease…
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Bangkok teenagers busted for party, drugs
Police have busted what Thai media is calling a “drug party” early yesterday morning in the Sai Mai district of Bangkok. They arrested 23 teenagers and “confirmed” 17 of them were using illicit narcotics. Locals had reported the teenager’s festivities citing fears that it could lead to a Covid-19 outbreak. When they arrived, police allegedly found almost 2 dozen teenagers…
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Over 20 arrested and dozens more told to go home from Bangsaen beach
Police were dispatched early this morning to Bangsaen Beach, in Chon Buri, north of Pattaya, following repeated warnings in the area over the last fortnight to people who were violating Covid-19 restrictions. Local police reportedly arrested dozens and gave dozens more “soft warnings” to go home. The province of Chon Buri announced a further 90 new cases of Covid-19 today.…
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Covid UPDATE Sunday: 4,528 Covid infections and 24 death
Today the public health department has reported 4,528 Covid infections and 24 C-19 related deaths. Another huge proportion of todays cases, 1,902, are from Thai prisons. We will post the provincial totals early in the afternoon as usual. • Chon Buri officials have announced 90 new Covid infections today, and 1 new death, mostly driven by clusters at factories and migrant…
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Wild elephants trampled Chaiyaphum sanctuary worker
A man working for a wildlife sanctuary in Chaiyaphum was found dead near his living quarters this morning, and the giant footprints found in the area leave little mystery of who killed him. Sangwian Phimdee, a 55 year old employee of the Phu Khieo wildlife sanctuary in Khon San district was working the night shift at the guard post when…
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11 elephants for sale from famous Sriracha Tiger Zoo
Hard times have forced the famous Tiger Zoo in Sriracha to offer their 11 elephants for sale, after closing April 30 due to Covid-19. The zoo in Chon Buri province put an ad on its website listing the 11 elephants and their caretakers available for purchase. The site is asking for 3 million baht per elephant and offers bulk discounts…
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Uruguay study of 862,000: Sinovac prevents 97% deaths
A new study of 862,000 recipients in Uruguay has found that the Sinovac vaccine is effective in reducing Covid-19 death by up to 97%. The study comes as early results are gathered from Uruguay’s vaccination campaign which has been 80% Sinovac vaccines. They found that for people who had already been fully vaccinated with 2 doses, infections were down 57%…
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Samut Prakan uncovers Covid-19 cluster of 800 infections
Worries that Covid-19 had spread through a condominium complex with 8,000 residents in Samut Prakan were justified today as a cluster of 800 infections were uncovered in the housing community. Over 8,000 people residing in the Sin Charoen Thani condo complex are being tested for Covid-19 by a team of public health officials and immigration officers led by the Muang…
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