Thailand News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, and lifestyle—get breaking updates from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond. Stay informed on Thai society, economy, tourism, and expat life with The Thaiger.
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Sponsored Planning to extend your Thai visa? Why health insurance is more important than ever
If you plan to stay longer in Thailand, having health insurance is now more important than ever. Thai immigration often asks for proof of medical coverage when you apply to extend your visa. This applies to many types of visas,...
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Private hospitals in Thailand to confirm price of Moderna Covid-19 vaccine today
The Private Hospital Association is expected to confirm the price of the Covid-19 Moderna vaccine, which will be provided as a paid alternative outside of the government rollout. The Moderna vaccine has been approved by Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration and will be made available for purchase at private hospitals. According to a Pattaya News report, Paiboon Eksaengsri from the…
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Health Ministry insists supply issues won’t affect vaccine rollout
Thailand’s Public Health Ministry says the country’s vaccine rollout will begin today, with 2 priority groups: the elderly and those with 7 underlying health conditions. The Deputy Minister of Public Health, Sathit Pitutecha, acknowledges that many hospitals around the country have postponed vaccination appointments scheduled for today over concerns they had not received enough vaccine doses. “We are aware of…
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Tourism operators pinning hopes on vaccine rollout
Thailand’s tourism operators are pinning all their hopes on the national vaccine rollout, which kicks off today. However, the government’s reputation for vaccine procurement and management has come in for sharp criticism and confidence is not high. Already, a number of provinces have had to postpone their vaccine rollouts after receiving an insufficient number of doses from the Public Health…
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Thailand Foreign Ministry concerned about Myanmar situation
A spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry of Thailand expressed the country’s concern for their troubled neighbour Myanmar and the violence that rages on there. They called for the country, mired in protests and violent skirmishes against the military junta that seized power on February 1, to follow the actions agreed upon by leaders of the surrounding Southeast Asian nations. In…
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Last WWII Thai airman died at 102 years old
World War II ended 76 years ago before many of us were born, but this week, the last Thai airman who actively fought in World War II died at the age of 102. Thai airman Choy Lodethanong died on Wednesday morning. At the age of 102, the death was considered to be of natural causes. Choy was part of the…
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Pride Month celebrates the LGBTQ community in Thailand
In the United States, June is Pride Month – a month to celebrate the LGBTQ community, in memory of the Stonewall riots in June of 1969. It is a month to recognize the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer population in the US. While Pride Month isn’t officially international, some acknowledgement and celebration have been seen in Thailand. In Bangkok,…
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500,000 Sinovac doses reach Thailand
Yesterday, China’s embassy in Thailand announced that the second shipment of 500,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccines given by the Chinese government got to Thailand. This second shipment brings the total donations of Sinovac from China to 6.5 million doses. Globally, China and Thailand have the most doses of Sinovac. Earlier this week, The Thaiger reported that 11 million doses…
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TAT proposes eased restrictions and 10 year visa to key groups
Key word – PROPOSAL. Perhaps tired of piecemeal baby steps to attract tourists while missing the bigger picture, The Tourism Authority of Thailand proposed a sweeping plan to give 4 target groups easy access to live, work and prosper in Thailand for a decade at a time. The radical proposal was presented to PM Prayut Chan-o-cha in a video conference…
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Covid UPDATE Sunday: 2,671 new infections and 23 deaths
There has been another 2,671 new infections of Covid-19 detected across Thailand in the past 24 hours. There’s also been 23 deaths. 604 cases were detected in Thai prisons. Thailand has now registered a total of 148,604 cases, the vast majority since the start of April in what’s being called the third wave, which emerged from the bars, nightclubs and…
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Studio designs solution to online class uniform debate
They say nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool and a controversial school rule for online classes has just proved that to be the case. When school authorities announced the foolproof plan of making it mandatory to wear a uniform even during online classes, the decision was met with backlash from students who didn’t see the need to dress…
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Compensation for side effects or death from Covid-19 vaccine
Though serious side effects and death from vaccination are exceedingly rare, the Thai National Health Security Office will provide compensation for those negatively affected by a Covid-19 vaccine. The plan calls for 100,000 baht compensation for anyone with an adverse vaccine reaction that prevents them from working for a while, up to 240,000 baht for disabilities resulting from vaccination, including…
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Covid Update Saturday: 36 deaths and 2,817 infections
For Saturday the Public Health department has announced 36 new Covid-related deaths and 2,817 infections. 315 of those cases are from prisons. The daily totals have been statistically consistent for over a month now. Bangkok is still the key ‘hot spot’ with clusters around shopping areas, high density housing communities and worker camps. • Alternative state quarantine hotels are aiming…
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Man arrested for allegedly smuggling durian into Thailand
Last night, a man was arrested and charged with smuggling durian into Thailand from Myanmar. 25 year old Pairat Wattanom, a Thai Man from the Thai Province Ranong, which is part of the isthmus that has the Andaman Sea on one side and the Gulf of Thailand on the other, has been arrested and waits for the judicial system to…
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Siam Bioscience delivers 1.8 million local AstraZeneca vaccines
Well, it’s a start. Good news today for Thailand’s snail-paced rollercoaster of vaccine rollout as the Ministry of Public Health has taken possession of the first 1.8 million AstraZeneca vaccines produced domestically. The vaccines were manufactured in the Bangkok by Siam Bioscience and are slated to be an integral part of Thailand’s mass vaccination scheme officially launching next Monday. Siam…
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Covid UPDATE Friday: 2,631 new cases and 31 deaths, provincial totals
2,631 new Covid-19 cases and 31 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Since April 1, the latest wave of infections in Thailand, the CCSA has recorded 143,116 Covid-19 infections and 1,083 deaths. In total, there have been 171,979 Covid infections and 1,177 Covid-related deaths reported in Thailand since the pandemic started last year. Of the…
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Scrutiny over public and media idolising of suspect Uncle Phol
Following the arrest of Chaiphol Wipha, known as Uncle Phol to murdered 3 year old ‘Nong Champoo’, his elevation in the media to celebrity status is receiving criticism. He’s been a prime suspect in the murder for over a year, but a warrant was issued June 1, he surrendered yesterday, and is now in police custody. At first, the media…
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Covid-19 vaccination to be delayed in provinces with low infection rates
Several Thai provinces with low infection rates have had to delay their Covid-19 vaccine rollout after receiving fewer doses than expected. The Bangkok Post reports that the Public Health Ministry has cut the vaccine allocation of provinces that have reported substantially lower infection rates. However, Kiattiphum Wongrajit from the Health Ministry says 2 million doses of both Sinovac and the…
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Former army adviser convicted of human trafficking dies in prison
A former army adviser, convicted of trafficking Rohingya migrants to camps in Southern Thailand, died in a prison hospital this week. 65 year old Manas Kongpan had a heart attack while he was exercising at the Medical Correctional Hospital where he had been admitted to treat hypertension, high cholesterol and bradycardia. The former army adviser was one of more than 100…
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PM to chair meeting on Thailand’s re-opening as Phuket officials demand clarity
The Centre for Economic Situation Administration will today discuss plans for the revival of Thailand’s tourism sector at a virtual meeting chaired by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha. Attendees will discuss a future quarantine-free re-opening of 10 provinces considered popular tourist destinations: Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Phetchaburi, Chon Buri, Phuket, Surat Thani, Krabi, Phang Nga, and Buriram. While Phuket is…
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New oversight committee chair vows to review Red Bull heir case
Phachorn Yutthithamdamrong is the new chairman of a committee that oversees Thailand’s public prosecutors and he has set his sights on an infamous 2012 case involving the grandson of the co-founder of the Red Bull empire. Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya fled Thailand years ago but has never been prosecuted after allegedly killing a police officer while drunk and speeding in the…
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Siam Bioscience declares AstraZeneca vaccine ready to deliver
Much anticipated news came from Siam Bioscience yesterday, as the company announced that they are ready to begin deliveries of the AstraZeneca vaccine to the Thai government. The company was scheduled to provide over 60 million vaccines over the course of the year. The welcomed announcement came amidst frequent reporting of problems and delays in the production of the Covid-19…
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Emirates and Etihad announce July Phuket flights
Joining in support of reopening Phuket, Emirates Airlines and Etihad Airways have both announced flights resuming in July. Etihad Airways will start back up flights from the United Arab Emirates capital of Abu Dhabi on July 1, while Emirates Airlines will resume flights from Dubai on July 2. Qatar Airways had announced yesterday that they will be resuming flights to…
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Covid UPDATE Thursday: 3,886 new infections and 39 deaths, provincial totals
3,886 new Covid-19 cases and 39 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA. Since April 1, the latest wave of infections in Thailand, the CCSA has recorded 140,485 Covid-19 infections with more than 40,000 of those infections in Bangkok. The capital is still recoding nearly 1,000 new cases each day. Phuket, racing towards its July 1 ‘reopening’ reported another 6…
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Motorcycle club donates 40,000 face masks, hand sanitiser to Pattaya prison
Yesterday, the Mini Siam Motorcycle Club Pattaya donated 40,000 face masks and 40 bottles of hand sanitiser to the Pattaya Remand Prison. The donation was led by Mr Thada Boonpan. “There are many confirmed cases of Covid-19 at prisons in Bangkok and other provinces, although Pattaya Remand has so far been spared. We want it to stay that way. We…
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Phuket bust nabs 2 men with drugs valued at 5.3 million baht
2 men in Phuket town were arrested on Tuesday for allegedly possessing methamphetamines and crystal valued at around 5.3 million baht. The men allegedly had 14,000 methamphetamine pills (also known as yaba, which roughly translates to “crazy drug”) and about 3 kilograms of crystal meth (also known as ice, tina, or speed). The news of their arrest was announced at…
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American expats to US government: give us vaccines!
With the visit of US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R. Sherman, a collection of high-profile American expats living in Thailand released an open letter asking for Covid-19 vaccines. The letter pled with the US government to include arrangements to guarantee vaccines to all US expats in the kingdom. “Don’t abandon us! The US continues to have a growing vaccine…
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US Deputy Secretary of State pledges Covid-19 aid
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha met with United States Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R. Sherman yesterday to discuss the Covid-19 vaccine situation. The US representative acknowledged Thailand’s struggle to procure and distribute vaccines to everyone in the country, observing that many countries are grappling with similar issues. She declared that the US has been pursuing a policy of procuring excess supplies…
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Police seize clouded leopard rug after it was posted for sale on Facebook
Police seized a rug made from wildcat fur last week after it was posted for sale on Facebook for 7,500 baht. The rug appears to be from a clouded leopard and investigators now suspect it may have come from one of the two clouded leopards recorded on hidden camera in a rare sighting last December at the Erawan National Park in…
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Patong Thieves cite unemployment for theft
Yesterday morning in Patong, a town in Phuket, 2 men, 42 year old Samran Luiprasert and 34 year old Amphon Boonchuaynamphon, were arrested by Patong police for stealing a coffee machine and 2 televisions from a restaurant. The men said they needed money to survive. In the police report, it was said the alleged criminals were found after the owner…
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Fire in Rayong kills 1, injures 6
Yesterday morning in Rayong, a province on the Gulf of Thailand, a fire broke out in an entertainment venue that was under renovation. 1 worker was killed and 6 workers were reportedly injured. Around 8 am yesterday morning the Rayong fire department showed up at the scene, after being alerted to the fire. The fire department discovered a large one…
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