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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Indonesian fisherman rescued after 9 days adrift at sea
Over the weekend, an Indonesian fisherman who had been drifting in a small boat after his boat engine died, was rescued and brought to Vachira Phuket Hospital. He had been adrift at sea for 9 days before he was rescued by a Phuket fishing boat. Vice Admiral Choengchai Chomchoengphaet says that the fishing crew “Boonlaap 2” told the navy at…
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Tuesday Covid Update: Cumulative case count exceeds 200,000; provincial totals
Thailand’s total Covid-19 case count since the start of the pandemic last year has exceeded 200,000. Today, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration recorded 3,000 new Covid-19 infections and 19 coronavirus-related deaths. There are now 38,061 active cases in Thailand, a downward trend as the daily recovery count of 4,774 people released from treatment is higher than the today’s…
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Thai amulets come to blockchain, blessed by grandmaster of spells and charms
Thailand is introducing Thai amulets on the blockchain. Crypto Amulets are selling Amulet non-fungible tokens (i.e., NFTs). However, unlike other NFTS, this crypto has been blessed by a grand master monk of spells and charms. The monk is LP Heng and the company’s website that sells Crypto Amulets touts the monk for his mystical powers. The company, Crypto Amulets, praises…
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Dogs from Thailand and more than 100 countries banned from US due to risk of rabies
Dogs from Thailand as well as more than 100 other countries are banned from entering the United States for the next year due to a high risk of rabies. The US Centre for Disease Control released a notice yesterday on the temporary suspension of dogs from countries classified by the CDC as high risk for rabies among dogs. Dog rabies…
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“Bubble and seal” method to contain outbreaks at factories, keep business afloat
With a number of Covid-19 clusters at large factories, the Thai government has been working to contain the virus quickly and rollout of vaccinations to the workers to prevent a downfall in the industrial sector. One of the controversial methods of containing the virus is the so-called “bubble and seal” policy at factories where a cluster of infections has been…
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Thai government says vaccine rollout is going “according to plan”
A spokesperson for the Thai government says the vaccination rollout is going “according to plan”. The spokesperson, Anucha Burapachaisri, made the statement today. Anucha says the rollout has reached the government’s target. He says the total amount of people that were vaccinated in the first week of mass vaccinations, from June 7 to June 17 was 1,865,190. The spokesperson also…
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Taxi driver attacks woman at bus stop, has a history of violence
A taxi driver that attacked a woman standing at a bus stop has been arrested on assault charges. He was arrested yesterday and brought to the Phra Khanong police station, a district in Bangkok. Allegedly, the taxi driver approached the woman at the bus stop, pulled off her face mask, and threatened her with a stick. 46 year old Nana…
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Vaccine registration website for expats back up after data leak
The Covid-19 vaccination website for foreign residents is back up after an apparent data leak yesterday where others could see personal information, including passport numbers, of those who had registered for a vaccine. The faulty site is live again, but for us at The Thaiger, the button to set an appointment isn’t working. Posts of the ThailandIntervac.com data leak were…
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First Thai Covid-19 vaccine proceeds to human trials
Thailand’s first Covid-19 vaccine has begun human trials, after trials on monkeys and rats showed a high success rate in preventing transmission of the virus. Thai PBS World reports that researchers began human trials yesterday. The vaccine has been developed by the Chula Vaccine Research Centre at Chulalongkorn University and King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital in Bangkok. If successful, the “ChulaCov19”…
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UPDATE: Police officers, prosecutors may be investigated over acquittal of Red Bull heir
UPDATE Following yesterday’s report that at least 10 senior officials may be investigated for their role in helping Red Bull heir Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya escape justice, Thai media outlet Naew Na is reporting that 2 police generals are among the 10. ORIGINAL STORY After the Red Bull heir Vorayuth Yoovidhya, aka, “Boss”, was allowed to evade justice for a 2012…
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Tuesday Covid Update: 3,000 new cases and 19 deaths
3,000 new Covid-19 cases and 19 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration today. In the latest and most severe wave of infections in Thailand, the CCSA has recorded 173,401 Covid-19 cases since April 1. Out of the new cases confirmed today, 640 were detected in correctional facilities. In the recent wave of infections, more than…
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Pattaya tourism operators not getting their hopes up over foreign arrivals
Tourism operators in Pattaya are not holding out much hope of a mass return of foreign arrivals in the first few months after re-opening. Pattaya has been chosen as the first non-island location to re-open to vaccinated foreign tourists, but operators fear the constant indecision and changes to regulations will have a negative impact. Thanet Supornsahasrungsi from the Chon Buri…
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‘Clearview AI’ controversy highlights rise of high-tech surveillance
You don’t want your face to appear in the database of Clearview AI? The company’s CEO doesn’t seem to care. “All the information we collect is collected legally and it is all publicly available information,” Hoan Ton-That said Monday during DW’s Global Media Forum (GMF), addressing criticism that the firm’s controversial technology infringes on the privacy of hundreds of millions.…
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Global Media Forum highlights innovations after COVID disruption
The COVID-19 pandemic is shaping the start of this year’s Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum (GMF), which opened on Monday with a hybrid launch event held partly on site at DW’s broadcasting center in Bonn, and partly online with guests appearing via video link. German Chancellor Angela Merkel began proceedings by addressing participants in the two-day event, which included delegates…
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Myanmar: Time running out for NGOs to avoid humanitarian catastrophe
Myanmar has been in a downward spiral since the military overthrew the country’s democratically elected government in a coup on February 1. The economy has been battered and millions of people are falling into poverty. In Myanmar’s ethnic minority states, conflict between the military, known as the Tatmadaw, and armed rebel groups is quickly creating a refugee crisis. In Myanmar’s…
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Kashmir: Why are militants targeting Modi’s BJP leaders?
On June 2, anxiety and trepidation engulfed south Kashmir’s restive Tral town when militants shot dead a local leader of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Rakesh Pandita, 55, was murdered hours after Indian security forces had killed the brother of a slain militant, Muhammad Amin Malik, 38, inside a police station in Tral. Markets were shut…
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Purchases of fancy street lamps being investigated for possible corruption
The purchases of fancy street lamps in several provinces are now being investigated by the National Anti-Corruption Commission. The investigations were called for after the exorbitant 642 million baht purchase in Samut Prakan for thousands of fancy solar-powered street lamps, topped with Buddhist mythical figures, caught the attention of residents in the province just southeast of Bangkok. The commission’s secretary-general…
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After Netanyahu era, Israel ready for change
A special session of Israel’s parliament approved the country’s new coalition government with a razor-thin majority on Sunday evening, with 60 Knesset members voting in favor of the new government, 59 lawmakers opposing and one abstention. After four elections and years of uncertainty, Israel now has a new government made up of a potentially fragile coalition of eight parties. Naftali…
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Missing fisherman’s body found in sea off Nakhon Si Thammarat
2 days ago a local fisherman went missing. Today, his body has been located floating in the ocean in the Khanom district, an area in the southern province Nakhon Si Thammarat. His family has positively identified the body as belonging to 57 year old Sang Tenphusa. They say he was an experienced angler. Reportedly, Sang had gone out fishing off…
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CCSA: We’re out of vaccines
Earlier today, the Thaiger reported that 25 vaccination sites have postponed scheduled vaccinations. And last week, the Thaiger reported that a Rural Doctor’s group alleged there weren’t enough vaccine doses to meet demand. The CCSA has now fessed up that there is a vaccine shortage. No vaccine deliveries are anticipated this week, either. Nattapon Nakpanich, who is in charge of…
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13 teenagers arrested in Chon Buri for partying, gathering
13 teenagers were arrested last night in Nongprue, a town in the Chon Buri Province. Allegedly, they were partying in a luxury resort around midnight. A “concerned citizen” had reportedly alerted police, as they were concerned the gathering could lead to a Covid outbreak in the community. Police got to the Pool villa and arrested the 13 teenagers. The police…
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Crime Suppression Division seizes dozens of illegal firearms in a series of raids
Thai law enforcement officers are cracking down on the illegal firearms trade, primarily on the online sales of guns. The Crime Suppression Division, or CSD, executed a series of raids this month, seizing dozens of illegal weapons and arresting several people on illegal weapons charges. The raids were initiated following the investigation into the online sales of firearms on the…
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Marijuana valued at 10 million baht seized in Nakhon Phanom, 2 arrested
Last night in Nakhon Phanom, a northeastern province close to the Laos border, a navy patrol arrested 2 men and seized 520 kilogrammes of compressed and dried marijuana. The men were travelling by pickup truck. The deputy commander of Nakhon Phanom Mekon Riverine Unit, Nathapat Suemongkol, says the truck was stopped by a patrol on the Phanom-Mukdahan road. He did…
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Monday Covid Update: 3,355 new cases, provincial totals
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration recorded 3,355 new Covid-19 cases today and 17 coronavirus-related fatalities, raising the total case count since the start of the pandemic last year to 199,264 confirmed infections and the virus-related death toll to 1,466. Thailand now has 39,854 active cases, a downward trend over the past week. The recent and most severe wave of Covid-19…
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Almost 8 million register for stimulus scheme, app briefly goes down
Almost 8 million Thai people have registered for the 50:50 copayment in the scheme in just an hour. The application opened at 6 am today. There was a short “disruption” in the “Pao Tang” app as a result However, the disruption was short-lived and the app was available soon after going down. Currently, around 23 million people qualify to get…
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25 vaccination sites put on hold in Bangkok
This morning, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, announced that people who registered through the Thai Ruam Jai website and scheduled vaccination for tomorrow or later will have to wait to get vaccinated. All 25 vaccination sites that were not part of a hospital will be delayed. However, the BMA wants the public to know that they can be vaccinated. Once the…
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Ambulance crashes into a lightpole in Phuket
Early this morning, an ambulance crashed into a light pole and then a tree. The ambulance driver and two nurses sustained minor injuries. The vehicle was not carrying a patient at the time. The Phuket city police were called and they arrived at the scene around 1:30 am. Police and rescue workers (that weren’t in the ambulance) got to the…
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Southeast Asia sees highest tally of Covid-19 infections in a single day
Southeast Asia has recorded its highest number of Covid-19 infections in a single day, with 26,435 new cases reported yesterday. However, the death rate has lowered overall. Yesterday’s infections were an increase on Saturday’s 25,656 and the highest in 2 weeks. According to a Nation Thailand report, 387 additional deaths were reported yesterday, down from 426 the day before. ASEAN…
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Monday Covid Update: 3,355 new cases and 17 deaths
3,355 new Covid-19 cases were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, raising the total since April 1 to 170,401 confirmed infections. The CCSA also reported 17 more deaths related to the coronavirus. Out of the new cases, 784 were detected in Thailand’s overcrowded prisons, a spike in the past few days as the Department of Corrections rolls…
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Lockdown extended for another 2 weeks in Malaysia
The Covid-19 lockdown in Malaysia, which was due to be lifted today, is being extended for another 2 weeks, until June 28. The decision follows a spike in infections, including 60 clusters linked to religious festivals. According to a TTR Weekly report, the extension has been confirmed by Senior Defence Minister, Ismail Sabri Yaakob. During the lockdown, economic activities may…
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