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Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.
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Sponsored Is private health insurance in Thailand worth it? Real costs vs risks explained
Thailand has a strong healthcare system with both public and private options. Public hospitals offer affordable care, but many people, including expats, choose private health insurance for faster service, modern facilities, and more treatment choices. To decide if private health...
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Department of Land Transport tackles motorbike delivery boxes
With all of Thailand laser-focused on Covid-19 outbreaks, vaccine availability, and apparently Phuket has got some sort of brouhaha over some foreigners showing up, it’s easy to lose track of the important daily tribulations of keeping a country functioning. But never fear, there are those that don’t get distracted by the glitzy headlines and are doing the thankless work to…
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Entertainment and nightlife reps submit petition for aid, reopening
At 10 o’clock this morning a rally of owners, staff, musicians and entertainment sector workers gathered at the House of Representatives to submit a petition for support after long-term Covid-19 closures or permission to reopen August 1. Dozens of representatives from the entertainment industry took part in the demonstration after 3 continuous months of shuttered businesses due to the pandemic…
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COVID: Vaccination workers come under attack in Kashmir
Zareena Bano, a health care worker from Srinagar city, has not been to her home for almost two months. She’s currently on duty in India-administered Kashmir’s northern Bandipora district, where she’s carrying out a door-to-door COVID vaccination campaign. Last week, Zareena and her co-workers visited Zaban village, located 8 kilometers (5 miles) away from Bandipora town. In the village, Zareena…
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India: Fake vaccines undermine fight against COVID
The discovery of fake vaccination camps in cities like Mumbai and Kolkata has shocked India, with authorities vowing to take firm action against unauthorized inoculations. Media reports say that thousands of people, desperate to get a COVID vaccine, have fallen prey to the scam. In one such case, Debanjan Deb, a 28-year-old man, posed himself as a civil servant and…
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DTAC extends benefits and policies to LGBTQ+ employees
As Pride month came to a close yesterday, one large Thai corporation took a big step towards equality, extending policies to same-sex unions and offering policies helpful to the LGBTQ+ community. Mobile phone service provider DTAC, officially known as Total Access Communication PLC, has enacted a range of LGBTQ+-friendly new policies for their employees. The CEO of DTAC made clear…
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More than 30 children at Isaan care centre test postive for Covid-19
More than 30 young children at a care centre tested positive for Covid-19. Health officials say a 2 year old boy, who was first infected by this mother, spread the virus to the childcare centre in the Isaan province Khon Kaen. Altogether, 8 teachers and 34 students at the centre tested positive for the virus. The 2 year old boy’s…
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Laos reports first Delta variant cases, patients had returned from Thailand
Laos has reported its first Covid-19 cases involving the rapid-spreading Delta variant of the virus. The patients who tested positive for the variant had returned to Laos from Thailand, according to the National Taskforce for Covid-19 Prevention and Control. Since the mutated strain, which was first found in India, is the most transmissible Covid-19 variant identified, Laos health officials are…
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Police arrest woman for possession of 20,000 meth pills she claims she found next to electrical pole
Police in the Sai Mai district of Bangkok have arrested a 56 year old woman for possessing 20,000 meth pills. Yesterday, the Sai Mai police arrested 59 year old “Somgsong” yesterday for possessing 20,00 meth pills that she claims she found the pills next to an electrical pole. The woman allegedly confessed that pills were in her room in a…
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Man and underage girlfriend arrested for allegedly stealing from government office to bankroll girlfriend’s birthday party
A man and young girl have been arrested in Bang Lamung, a district in Chon Buri for allegedly twice stealing items from a culture offical’s office. Reportedly, the unemployed 28 year old Lek Aksorn stole items from the Culture Ministry’s office valued at hundreds of thousands baht for his 14 year old girlfriend’s birthday party. According to Thai media, the…
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COVID: Life slowly coming back to normal in India
Less than two months ago, India’s health care infrastructure was dealt a hefty blow by the second wave of the coronavirus. After a period of collective grief, Indians are now stepping out as life resumes. SOURCE: DW News
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3 planes arrive in Phuket; 25 on 1st flight, 400 expected today
The first 3 flights have now arrived in Phuket for the Sandbox reopening, with details emerging from the first arrival this morning, an Etihad Airways flight from Abu Dhabi. A total of 25 passengers, down from yesterday’s estimate of 37, were the first to be welcomed back to Phuket with fanfare and celebration. A total of 400 international travellers are…
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Thai researchers to study animal antiparasitic drug for treating Covid-19
Thai researchers are studying whether an antiparasitic medication, which is typically used for animals, can be used to treat humans infected with Covid-19. Reports on the new study come after a warning from Thai Food and Drug Administration advising people not to use the drug Ivermectin as it is typically used for veterinary treatment and not for human use, especially…
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Bangkok police arrest suspected motorcycle stealing ring
Bangkok police announced yesterday they had arrested suspects who they believed were stealing motorcycles in Bangkok and selling them to neighbouring countries. The 4 suspects that were arrested are 37 year old Prateep or “Dee Dee Iamsamang”, 34 year old Sarayut AKA “Mu Yosain”, 22 year old Sutharat or “Jane Lomchan”, and 46 year old Wichai AKA “Nu Ku Rahong”.…
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Thursday Covid Update: Cases and deaths spike amid Phuket reopening
Just as Phuket is reopening to foreign tourists, Thailand’s current and most severe wave has hit a high of 52,052 active Covid-19 cases, according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. The daily death toll has set a record high with 57 coronavirus-related fatalities today, raising the total Covid fatality count since the start of the pandemic to 2,080. 5,533…
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Man allegedly poses as Government Lottery Office official, steals millions
Yesterday, the Department of Special Investigations (DSI) working with the Government Lottery Office announced they had arrested a man who was posing as a GLO employee to swindle the GLO out of millions. The Thai national, identified only as “Mr Jaturong” was arrested and had a laundry list of items seized including property, a house, land, 5.5 million baht in…
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Thailand’s virology expert: give Sinovac to children over 3
Thailand’s top virologist Yong Poovorawan has suggested that the Sinovac vaccine be given to children older than 3 years old by the end of 2021 in an effort to reach Covid-19 herd immunity. The doctor who heads the Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology at Chulalongkorn University said he believes that the Chinese vaccine has the least severe side effects…
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Police raid alleged money sharks’ operation centre, many escape jaws of justice
An alleged online lending network has been busted in Nonthaburi, a province north of Bangkok. Police say the lending operation was led by Chinese nationals. The police arrested multiple people after raiding 3 buildings at the Pailin Park housing estate, yesterday. According to the police, the financial assistance network provided loans at exorbitantly high interest rates through the app “Chang…
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Phuket reopens but botched preparation limits travellers
So Phuket is finally reopened with today marking the start of the Phuket Sandbox and the welcoming of international travellers without quarantine. But the days leading up to the launch saw a precipitous drop in expected arrivals as constant changes, lack of preparation, delays in implementation, and overall chaos marred the Phuket rollout and damaged tourist confidence in the scheme.…
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Thailand to import 5 million Moderna vaccine doses for private hospitals
5 million doses of the US-made Moderna Covid-19 vaccine will be imported to Thailand at the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022 to be administered by private hospitals. A set price of 3,400 baht for a package of the 2-dose vaccine, including service fees and insurance, was agreed on by the Private Hospitals Association. The first 3.9 million…
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Phuket police to patrol bridges for Covid carriers
Police in Phuket have been ordered to patrol the bridges to be on the lookout for anyone not adhering to Covid protection measures. However, it is not just the police that will be monitoring the bridges, soldiers and navy personnel will also monitor the bridges. The news came at a general assembly earlier this week. Region 8 Police Commander Kitrat…
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30-day curfew for Songkhla following a surge in Covid-19 cases
Officials in Songkhla have announced a 30-day curfew in an effort to fight a surge of Covid-19 infections in the southern province. According to a Bangkok Post report, the provincial communicable disease committee has confirmed the curfew, which came into effect last night and is in place until July 29. Governor Jaruwat Kliangklao says residents must remain home between the…
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Petrol station heist possibly inside job
Last week, a petrol station in the Bang Bon district of Bangkok was robbed. New information has come to light to suggest that the robbery was an inside job. “Information” has come out that the petrol station employee acted as a lookout while his friend burglarised the station. Police arrested the main suspect “James” on Tuesday and interrogated him, but…
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Government urged to provide booster shots in sandbox destinations
Tourism representatives are calling on the government to provide vaccine boosters for people who live in sandbox destinations. Chamnan Srisawat, president of the Tourism Council of Thailand, says the country can’t wait for the virus to disappear completely and the only solution is for residents in sandbox areas to get maximum protection against new variants and outbreaks. “Herd immunity across…
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Thursday Covid Update: Record high of 57 deaths; 5,533 new infections
5,533 new Covid-19 cases and a record high of 57 Covid-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Since April 1, the latest and most severe wave of the virus in Thailand, the CCSA has reported 235,971 Covid-19 cases. Out of the new cases, 44 were reported in correctional facilities, showing an improvement in the Covid…
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Officials defend dine-in ban amid fears of a fourth wave
The government’s Covid-19 task force has defended new restrictions that ban dining in at restaurants, saying the country is heading into a fourth wave of the virus. According to a Bangkok Post report, Natthapol Nakpanich from the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration says the Delta variant is now spreading across the country. Acting on the advice of healthcare experts, the…
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Phuket opens – Around 300 seats sold for July 1 arrival flights
Officially, Phuket is open again. The doors are now open to vaccinated international travellers. Driving north along Thepkasattri Road this morning around 6.45am was a convoy of 15 white passenger vans, vans which haven’t really seen the light of day, ferrying tourists around the island, since April or May last year. Today they are being pressed into service for a…
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Finnish judges acquit Danish man of 1987 Baltic ferry murder
A Danish man accused of bludgeoning a German backpacker to death on a Baltic Sea cruise more than three decades ago was set free by judges in Finland on Wednesday. Prosecutors accused the 52-year-old, identified in court only as Herman H, of killing Klaus Schelkle, 20, and attempting to murder his girlfriend Bettina Taxis. The fatal incident took place on…
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Nicaraguan President Ortega eyes dictatorship
It was late evening when Miguel Mora heard a loud banging at his door. His wife, who was in the process of putting their son to bed, remembers the moment well. Police officers stormed inside, took Miguel Mora and locked him up. He runs Nicaragua’s opposition news platform 100% Noticias. His work landed him in jail in 2018. Now, he…
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At former Indigenous schools, Canada unearths a brutal history
WARNING: This story contains details some readers may find distressing Dustin Ross Fiddler was raised with these stories. They are not new. He heard them from his grandparents, his parents, the elders in his community, countless uncles and aunts — stories of the stolen children who never came home. “This was something that was truth and knowledge to Indigenous people.…
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Small businesses fear Phuket Sandbox will leave them behind
With the Phuket Sandbox reopening just hours away, many businesses in the tourist-reliant province hopefully await the return of foreign travellers and the restart of the economy. But while businesses that had the financial means to weather the long-term closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic prepare excitedly, many smaller businesses that lacked the funding to revive themselves are not nearly…
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