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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Starting a new life abroad is exciting—new culture, new lifestyle, and new chances to grow. But living far from home also means taking steps to protect your health in unfamiliar surroundings. Without the right coverage, even small health issues can...
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Thai virologist echoes WHO, other experts, in dismissing claims of “Deltacron variant”
Following recent media reports in Cyprus that a new “Deltacron” variant had been discovered in the country, a number of virology experts have downplayed the claims. Leonitios Kostrikis from the University of Cyprus says his researchers have identified 25 cases of the so-called variant. It supposedly combines the traits of both the Delta and Omicron variant, but experts now believe…
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Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok denies data breach after post lists patient records for sale
In what appeared to be the latest breach of the country’s public health sector, around 39 million patient records from Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok have been listed for sale on an internet database-sharing platform, raidforums.com. The hospital is now denying that its database was hacked. The Bangkok Post reported that the Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital of Mahidol University, which…
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Health officials in Phuket warn of bed shortages amid rise in Covid infections
Health officials in Phuket say hospital beds are running out as the infection rate begins to climb once more on the southern island. Kooksak Kookiatkul says that, as of Sunday, Phuket has reported 742 new cases. According to a Bangkok Post report, 513 of those are in local residents, with 2 in foreign residents. 133 have been imported by the…
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Health ministry says Covid-19 will become endemic in Thailand this year
Thailand’s Public Health Ministry plans to move Covid-19 from pandemic status to endemic status this year. According to a Bangkok Post report, Dr Kiattiphum Wongrajit says this can be achieved thanks to people cooperating with the vaccine rollout. While the Omicron variant is highly-contagious and spreading rapidly across the country, symptoms are milder and the death rate is lower. “The…
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National park officers save wild boar from trap, locals hunt following pork price crisis
The surge in prices for pork over the past month as affected Thais throughout the country. Some street food vendors have upped their prices for pork soup and dishes by 5 to 10 baht, while others have just stopped selling due to the high market prices. Some locals in Prachuap Khiri Khan started hunting wild boar. Officials at the Namtok…
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Myanmar’s Suu Kyi slapped with jail terms
Myanmar’s deposed leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been sentenced to four years in jail for three charges brought by a Naypyidaw court under the military junta this afternoon, according to reports. The court ruled that 76 year old Suu Kyi, who was detained since the military took power in early February 2021, was found guilty of two offences linked…
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Australian government mulls deportation of unvaccinated tennis star Djokovic after judge orders his release
The Australian government has exceeded a four-hour time limit to decide whether to deport Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic, after a federal judge ordered his release from detainment on Monday afternoon, allowing the tennis star to remain in the country — at least for tonight. The world No. 1 tennis player has been detained since Thursday for allegedly breaking the…
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Travellers from Africa told to re-register for Thailand Pass to change entry scheme
Starting tomorrow, some entry restrictions lift for those travelling to Thailand from countries in Africa. Those from nations in Africa who have been approved to enter through the Alternative Quarantine scheme can now apply to enter under the more relaxed Sandbox entry scheme, which allows travellers to roam freely in a designated province or district rather than undergoing isolation at…
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Man arrested for tricking a 12 year old into sending sexual videos on Free Fire
Thai police arrested a 24 year old man for allegedly deceiving a 12 year old girl into sending sexually explicit videos of herself through Thailand’s popular online survivor shooter game Free Fire, which is played on a smartphone. He allegedly used the photos to blackmail the girl’s parents. The child’s parents filed a complaint with local police in November and…
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“Ghost ship” found off Thailand coast, Navy investigates abandoned Chinese vessel
What many are calling a “ghost ship” was found sinking in the Gulf of Thailand off the coast of Nakhon Si Thammarat. The abandoned Chinese cargo ship was spotted by staff working at an offshore oil rig. No one was on board the vessel. The staff at the Chevron rigs reported the vessel to the 2nd Naval Area Command in…
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Merchants ask government to import pork as local prices surge
Have you noticed that many Thai street vendors have upped their price for pork dishes by around 5 baht? Some have even stopped selling pork dishes altogether. The price of pork has surged in Thailand and many merchants are now demanding the government to import pork quickly to control the fluctuating prices. They say the high prices are pushing away…
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Man focused on GPS drives into Chon Buri pond, sinks car
A man focusing on the directions on his GPS drove into a pond in Chon Buri. He was able to escape through the car’s window and swim to shore, but his car sunk in the 15-metre deep pond. The man says he was driving from Bangkok to Chon Buri to visit relatives over the weekend when he went onto a…
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Koh Chang national park closed due to Covid-19, but island remains open
The popular tourist destination of Mu Koh Chang, on the Gulf of Thailand’s eastern seaboard, has been partially-closed, as a result of Covid-19. Officials have decided to close camp sites and other tourism facilities in the national park. However, the remainder of the island remains open to visitors. According to a Thai PBS World report, there had been some initial…
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Hospitals in the Philippines prepare more beds amid surge in infections in Manila
Officials in the Philippines have ordered hospitals to prepare more beds and resources, in response to a surge in infections in Manila. According to a Reuters report, the capital leads the way with record case numbers, with nearly 60% of 28,707 infections reported in the Manila region. Acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles says health authorities have also been ordered to…
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Officials set up child treatment facilities, expecting a surge in cases in the young
The Public Health Ministry is working with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration to prepare treatment and isolation facilities for young children infected with Covid-19. According to a Thai PBS World report, officials are anticipating a surge in infections in the young. Dr. Adisai Pattanatang from The Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health says the facility can accommodate young Covid-infected patients…
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New York apartment fire kills at least 19, including 9 children
A fire that ripped through a high-rise apartment building in New York has left at least 19 people dead, 9 of them children, according to media reports. The fire broke out mid-morning on the second and third floors of a building on East 181st Street in the borough of the Bronx. According to an AFP report, New York city mayor…
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NEW RULES: Test and Go cut-off dropped, 3 new Sandboxes, 8+18 Blue Zones
So the new Covid-19 restrictions and regulations have been passed by the CCSA and put into effect by the Royal Thai Government now. What exactly are the rules now with Test & Go, Sandboxes, and Blue Zones? TEST & GO CUTOFF New applications for the Test & Go programme, that allowed people to enter without quarantine, requiring only a short…
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1-year ceasefire declared in Myanmar by junta leader
After nearly a year of deadly conflict between the Burmese military junta that overthrew the government and citizen protesters and rebel insurgent groups, Burmese junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing has declared a ceasefire in Myanmar after meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. The Prime Minister met with the junta leader on Friday after months of the Association of…
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Police apprehend man who killed 2, injured 3 at Phuket market
After a shooting on Friday at the Phuket City Municipality Fresh Market 1 that left 3 injured and 2 dead, police announced today that they have apprehended the suspect they hold responsible for the shootout. Investigators have been tracking his escape after he fled the scene of the crime and managed to pick him up this morning. He allegedly confessed…
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NIDA Poll: No optimism about pandemic, economy, and politics
A new NIDA Poll asked people about their thoughts on 2022, asking about politics, the economy, and the Covid-19 pandemic, with the majority of respondents not having a particularly positive outlook on the coming year. They were asked if the economy will improve, if the pandemic will subside, and also if PM Prayut Chan-o-cha will remain in power or what…
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COVID-19 SUNDAY UPDATE: 8,511 infections, 12 deaths
As Covid-19 infections continue to surge upward, the CCSA reported 8,511 new Covid-19 infections today, up 248 since yesterday, and 12 Coronavirus-related deaths, down 2 from yesterday. Since April 1, 2021, in the latest wave of the virus in Thailand, a total of 2,240,677 confirmed Covid-19 infections have been reported, with 21,825 total deaths from the pandemic. In the 24…
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France Saturday: 105,000 protest vaccine, 303,669 get Covid-19
French President Emmanuel Macron made waves recently when he came out hard against unvaccinated people saying that he would make life harder for them and “piss off” those who refused inoculation as it hurts the society as a whole. Yesterday, over 100,000 people came out to protest the government restricting the rights of people who refuse a vaccine all across…
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Experts say Omicron variant infections widely underreported
While the Omicron variant is now estimated to account for about 30% of all new Covid-19 infections in Thailand, experts believe that the actual number of cases of the strain is massively underreported. Dr Yong Poovorawan, the chief of the Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology at the Faculty of Medicine of Chulalongkorn University, says that the more intensive testing…
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Have a Test & Go QR code to enter Thailand? Read this.
Details emerging from last Friday’s deliberations by the CCSA have now been published in the Royal Gazette, enacting them into law. Missing from the published guidelines about changes to the Thailand Pass, is any reference to a cut-off date which was both stated and then published by government representatives on Friday following a meeting of the CCSA. Speaking to the…
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How do you get permanent residency in Thailand?
What is the point of getting permanent residency in Thailand? What are the benefits of having such a document? What are the things you can and can’t do? What is the criteria for being able to apply for a PR? Find out more in todays episode where Tim sits down with Benjamin Hart from Integrity Legal to talk about the…
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Child abducted 33 years ago finds family with map shared on TikTok
After being kidnapped in 1989 and sold in a child trafficking ring, a man in China was reunited with his family 33 years later with the help of TikTok and a hand-drawn map. Li Jingwei drew a rudimentary map of land features he remembered from his village as a child, memories of a 4 year old preserved for decades. After…
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Phuket to 8 foreign reps: your citizens must obey Covid-19 rules
When children in class misbehave, teachers contact the parents and tell them to keep their kids in line. But what do you do when foreign tourists are misbehaving in your country? Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew met today with Consul Generals and Honorary Consuls from 8 countries to ask them to warn their citizens to follow the rules – especially Covid-19…
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23 Chiang Mai restaurants closed due to Covid-19 outbreaks
Due to several Covid-19 outbreaks in the Muang district, Chiang Mai authorities have closed 23 restaurants from between 3 days and 2 weeks. The order came as Chiang Mai battles with increased Covid-19 infections like most of the rest of Thailand, pummelled by post-New Year’s holiday outbreaks and the rise of the Omicron variant. Chiang Mai reported 304 Covid-19 infections…
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Police searching Coconut Island for fresh market shooter
After a shooting spree at a fresh market in Phuket Town that left 2 people dead and 3 injured, the gunman phoned the police and announced his intention to confess to the crimes and turn himself in. But Maneenop Meethong, the 47-year old seafood vendor at the Phuket City Municipality Fresh Market 1, did not surrender to police and is…
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COVID-19 SATURDAY UPDATE: Infections spike, deaths stable
Covid-19 infections have taken a sharp rise from 3,000 at the start of the year to over 8,000 infections recorded yesterday, with imported cases doubling, though deaths have been fairly stable and low. Today, the CCSA reported 8,263 new infections, up 737 since yesterday, and 14 Coronavirus-related deaths, down 5 from yesterday. Since April 1, 2021, in the latest wave…
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