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 5 ways retirees in Thailand lose money (and how to stop it)
Retiring in Thailand can be affordable and enjoyable, but many retirees lose money due to common mistakes. High living costs, scams, and unexpected expenses can quickly drain savings. There are five ways that retirees in Thailand can lose money and...
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Thai-Malaysian border set to open this weekend
The Thai-Malaysian border is set to reopen this weekend to assist the struggling rubber trade, causing locals to express concern that a spike in new Covid 19 cases could result in Thailand because of the move. Security officials, however, are assuring the public that intensive screening measures are in place in anticipation of the re-opening. Commander of the Fourth Army…
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Lampang’s horses, and their caretakers, doing it tough
2020 has been a bleak year for horses and their owners in northern Thailand. Horses and their and caretakers in Lampang province are now starving. Travel restrictions due to the national state of emergency and the Covid-19 crisis mean no income for the owners, and no grass or hay for the horses to feed on. A local rescue team presented…
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Taiwan considers rebranding its flag carrier, China Airlines
Taipei is considering changing the name of its flag carrier: China Airlines. Perhaps an opportunistic excuse to distance itself from any anti-Chinese ‘Covid’ fallout or just a political ploy whilst China has, well, other things to worry about at the moment. It seems the Covid-19 pandemic has reignited calls to change the name after the airline sent a series of…
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Loophole closed – more unemployed to receive payments from Thai government
The loophole for employees whose businesses were not ordered to close, but are still affected by Covid 19 pandemic, has finally been addressed. The Thai Ministry of Labor secretary Sutthi Sukosol says that compensation will be similar to what employees whose businesses were ordered to close are paid, which is 62% of daily wage based on a maximum monthly salary…
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‘Ranger’ the civet and friends saved from Chiang Mai forest fires
Twenty wild animals including ‘Ranger’ the palm civet, hawks, yellow throated martens, gibbons and leopards, have been rescued from forest fires in Thailand’s northern province of Chiang Mai. The wildlife conservation department says that although some of the animals have been injured in forest fires, they are all now safe and under the care of the animal clinic. They estimate…
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Can air-con spread Covid-19?
A research letter published by Guangzhou Centres for Disease Control in China looked at 10 coronavirus cases of 3 families who ate in adjacent tables at the same time. The study proposes that droplet transmission by the restaurant’s air conditioning system was increased. The initial patient arrived from Wuhan and dined at the restaurant with 3 family members. Two other…
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Thai Government pharmaceutical organisation boosts production of key medicines
Dr Mukdavan Prakobvaitayakit, the deputy managing director of The Government Pharmaceutical Organisation says “the GPO has been increasing the amount of production for chronic disease medication by 50%. ” This unexpected Covid-19 pandemic has hit the stockpile of 5 – 6 key medicines, which are being used in the treatment of Covid-19. In normal circumstances, GPO usually purchases raw materials…
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Police arrest 3 as they crack down on fake mask and gel network
Provincial Police Region 1 officers have arrested 3 people who have been charged with selling a large quantity of fake hand gel dispensers and face masks. The arrests were made in Samut Prakan (south of Bangkok), Pathum Thani (north of Bangkok) and Bangkok. The provincial police believe that all 3 suspects are part of a bigger network of distributors and…
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Medical team from Songkhla come to Phuket to help during Covid-19 outbreak
Phuket health workers have welcomed a special team of much-needed medics from southern Thailand’s Songkhla Nararin Hospital. The 50 medics arrived in Phuket yesterday to assist with Covid 19 cases and testing on the island. The team, led by the Nararin Hospital director, set up a field hospital to assist patients suffering from Covid 19. Phuket currently has the second…
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Food queues run 2 kilometres around Chiang Mai moat
There was a group of Chiang Mai city volunteers who published a donation point to receive offerings that are serving the dual purpose of helping impoverished victims of the Covid-19 pandemic and letting the goodness of this year’s otherwise-non-existant Songkran festival shine through. The response, from donators and recipients has been phenomenal. Over the last week the queues running around…
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Police nab another suspect in notorious Forex-3D Ponzi scheme
Police in Bangkok have arrested yet another suspect in the infamous Forex-3D Ponzi scheme which duped thousands with false promises of high returns and resulted in losses of tens of billions of baht. Department of Special Investigation officials have now arrested 30 year old Sitthanat Pho-ngern on a warrant issued by the Criminal Court. He’s charged with luring people to…
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Mobile blood driver deployed in Khon Kaen
“Families that have 3 or more people who are willing to donate blood, authorities will be sending mobile units that will visit homes in the main city area of Khon Kaen province today.” This from Dr Sujira Kwasaen, director of The Khon Kaen Regional Health Promotion Centre 7. The Khon Kaen Regional Health Promotion Centre 7 is working with The…
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Australian man arrested over child sexual abuse charge
Thailand’s Crime Suppression Division police have arrested 63 year old William James Petrie, an Australian man living in Central Thailand on sexual abuse charges in his home country. He was arrested at his house in Chachoengsao, east of Bangkok, where he was living with his Thai wife and her family. The man’s wife, whose identity has been withheld, said she…
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Songkhla zookeepers close up whilst keeping the tigers cool
Songkhla Zoo has announced its closure today as part of the southern province’s lockdown, but the zookeepers still have to take care of animals with the summer temperatures high and on the rise. The animals can become distressed at this time of the year with the extreme heat and need constant veterinary care. The zookeepers say they’re are trying as…
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New Phuket governor announced, old Governor shunted off to Petchaburi
The southern island province of Phuket is to have a new governor, it was announced today. Phuket’s governor, Pakkapong Tawipat started work on the island on October 1, 2018. He was a former Phang Nga governor and former vice governor of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya and Saraburi in central Thailand. ‘Former’ Governor Pakkapong will be taking up a new post in the…
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Canadian students create hotline to cheer up quarantined elderly
Quarantine might not be so terrible for Gen X, Y, or Millennials with subscription services such as Netflix, HBO Go, Amazon Prime and other streaming services, plus fads like TikToc, et al to keep them busy. But for the elderly, isolation can be quite lonely. Canadian High school students wanted to change that by creating a hotline that plays pre…
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Covid-19 crisis delays Thailand’s biofuel future
Thailand’s Energy Ministry has postponed a nationwide plan to switch to biofuels until the Covid 19 crisis subsides. The ministry initially told oil refineries to stop producing gasohol 91 at the end of May and planned to increase consumption and manufacture of biofuels like gasohol E20, which will generate income for local farmers who grow biofuel energy crops like sugarcane…
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Kratom Food Panda-monium in Phuket
Phuket Police have arrested Grab and Foodpanda delivery drivers for transport and possession of kratom. Yesterday morning, two men were riding together on a motorbike with one clad in a Grab delivery uniform while his passenger carried the green insulated Grab delivery bag. Officers stopped and searched the two after suspecting the men were acting suspiciously. Conducting a search, officers…
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Bangkok man arrested for flogging dodgy medical certificates online
A young man in Bangkok has been arrested for peddling fake medical certificates on Facebook Marketplace. Police arrested 24 year old Phitchayaphat Somsri at a house in Lat Phrao district for selling the false certificates, including for Covid-19, for up to 1000 baht each, and say he used quite a number of tools in manufacturing them. A spokesman says the…
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Bank robber comes in from the rain, makes off with 106,000 baht
Staff at the Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives in Prawet district of southeastern Bangkok got a surprise this week when a lone armed robber came in off the street, out of the torrential rain, and stole 106,000 baht. Brandishing a pistol, the man, caught on security cameras, wore a sky blue cap, a facemask, black shirt, jeans and trainers.…
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Singapore hit by a second wave of coronavirus cases
Singapore was a paragon of coronavirus containment. Covid-19 was under control in the island state. Case number were flattening out. But the virus has made a resurgent return with the previous ‘flattening’ of new cases now spiking. As Italy, Spain, the UK and US founder under a seemingly relentless pandemic, despite lockdowns and best intentions, several Asian nations stand out…
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Phuket’s Covid-19 new cases fall to 3
Health officials in Phuket today reported just 3 new Covid-19 cases, substantially fewer than yesterday’s 10 and the continuation of a generally encouraging downward trend. Yesterday was the first time new cases reached double digits since 10 were reported on April 5. 13 cases were reported on April 3. All yesterday’s cases were from the Bang Tao beach community. Travel…
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US President halts funding for WHO – VIDEO
At over 600,000 cases, the US has more Covid-19 infections than any other country. Now, the US President Donald Trump has now announced a cut in US funding for the World Health Organisation, the UN agency tasked with fighting the outbreak worldwide. In a press briefing at the White House Rose Garden yesterday, he said he had instructed his administration to…
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Thai Covid 19 “Super Spreader” song goes… VIRAL
“Don’t just think of fun, or you’ll suffer from Covid If you can’t recover, you could die!” After witnessing the successful Vietnamese public service song and #EndCov campaigns educating the Vietnamese population to wash their hands and take action in the battle against the Coronavirus, the Thai government has doubled down and weaponised the power of Issan music to create…
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Thailand facing double whammy – Covid-19 and worsening seasonal drought
The Office of the National Water Resources says up to 6,255 villages in 24 provinces have already been declared as drought-affected areas, while national dams and reservoirs are only at an average of 49% capacity (only 26% of that water is usable.) It has been predicted that the drought could last until at least July. Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwon says…
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A golden moment for Thailand’s gold sellers
The streets of Bangkok’s Chinatown today have been paved with gold… sellers. Today, dozens of Bangkok citizens lined up outside Yaowarat Road gold shops, creating chaos as they tried to sell off their gold ornaments and gold bars after the price gold rose by 550 baht per baht of gold (15.244 grams.) It is reported that this is the highest…
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AoT, already struggling, deny investing in faltering Thai Airways
“We’ve got enough problems of our own.” Airports of Thailand is denying claims that it is interested in acquiring a stake in the financially floundering flag carrier Thai Airways, saying that they too are struggling with the sharp drop in revenue after airlines and airport shutdowns related to the Covid-19 pandemic. Thai Airways, once considered one of Asia’s most luxurious…
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Singapore issues permanent ban for breaking curfew
Twenty four work pass holders had their work permits cancelled and are now permanently banned from working in Singapore for breaking Covid 19 “circuit breaker” rules. The foreign workers were caught eating, drinking and socialising in groups near Tuas View Square in Singapore’s western region. The Ministry of Manpower stepped up inspections of dormitories to ensure safe distancing measures are…
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Up to 100,000 Thais at risk from alcohol-related ‘withdrawals’ during national ban
Yesterday experts announced that up to 100,000 Thais who have become seriously dependent on alcohol are at risk during the nationwide booze ban. The ban on alcohol sales was imposed in order to minimise large gatherings and also to curb coronavirus related infection risks, especially during the traditional Songkran celebrations. According to the director of Centre for Alcohol Studies at…
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Drunken man incinerates ATM after running out of alcohol
Last night around 10pm a drunk man, apparently desperate to get more alcohol, became angry and aggressive, whereupon he decided to incinerate an ATM machine hoping that it was going to explode and rain cash, or alcohol, in Rayong, south east of Bangkok. General Montree Yimyam along with officials from the Rotong Police Station, arrested the man, later revealed as…
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