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 Could bitcoin serve as a hedge against US Tariffs?
If you hold a certain amount of bitcoin or whether you’re planning to buy some soon, you must be wondering what impact the US tariffs have on the coveted crypto’s price. A market analysis by Inky Cho, Financial Markets Strategist...
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Phuket Lantern Festival 2022 runs now until February 20
The Phuket Lantern Festival 2022, also known as Yaun Xiao which is a traditional celebration following the Chinese New Year, will be running in Phuket Old Town from now until February 20. The festival was hosted to preserve the traditional culture of the Thai-Chinese people in the province and boost the economic situation. Phuket mayor of Phuket, Saroj Angkanapilas, kicked…
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Krabi rejects MEG 2 shark horror film request to shoot at Railay, Ton Sai beaches
The request to film the horror shark film MEG 2 was rejected by authorities in the Southern province of Krabi over environmental concerns. The foreign film producer for the Netflix movie had requested to shoot scenes at three beaches in the province along the Andaman coast, including a jet ski rescue mission scene Railay Beach and a helicopter landing at the…
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Monday Covid Update: 8,008 new cases; provincial totals
16 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 22,173 with 475 of those fatalities since the start of this year. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 8,008 new Covid-19 cases and 8,215 recoveries. There are now 84,319 people in Thailand being treated for Covid-19. Out of…
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Kerry joins forces with Grab to introduce two new delivery services in Bangkok
Just in time for an influx of deliveries for Valentine’s Day, two delivery giants in Thailand joined forces to launch two new pick-up services in the Greater Bangkok area: instant pick-up and express pick-up. Kerry Express, the top delivery service in Thailand, and Grab Thailand have teamed up for the services. Items can be picked up by a Grab driver…
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Spotify vs Neil Young: Spotify win round one, facts come second
Spotify have started to respond and offer commentary to the swirling debate over comedian Joe Rogan’s podcasts on their platform. Firstly it was musician Neil Young, then Joni Mitchell, who said they were taking their music off Spotify in protest to misinformation spread about Covid-19 by the Joe Rogan Experience. Now they’re being joined by other podcasters and musicians complaining…
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The show must go on: House to meet this week, despite 12 MPs having Covid-19
Parliamentary meetings scheduled for Wednesday and Friday of this week will go ahead, despite 12 MPs and 13 parliamentary officials being infected with Covid-19. Thai PBS World reports that House Speaker, Chuan Leekpai, says the meetings will take place, as his advisor, Dr. Sukit Atthopakorn, has stated, “the House must be able to function”. Sukit added that additional preventative measures…
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Tomorrow, Thailand opens its borders to the world (terms & conditions apply)
Thailand’s Test & Go entry scheme returns tomorrow after a short hiatus, during which it’s had a makeover. The scheme is now open to travellers from every country in the world and not just the previous 63 approved countries. Great news! However, travellers will now have to take not 1, not 2, but 3 PCR tests in order to participate…
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Dr Yong: I don’t think “endemic” means what you think it means.
Dr Yong Poovorawan, the country’s outspoken top virologist, is raining on Thailand’s endemic parade. The chief of the Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology at the Faculty of Medicine of Chulalongkorn University pointed out that while the nature of Covid-19 may be evolving over time to be less of a threat, it will never by definition be endemic. It seems…
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Man barely survives attack by 3 tigers in Kanchanaburi
After the horrific story that spurred multiple headlines about poachers killing 2 tigers in Kanchanaburi 2 weeks ago, the tables have turned as a local man barely survived an attack by 3 tigers that took the life of 2 of his dogs. A Karen tribal man was out herding his 9 buffalos as they grazed in the Samathor forest inside…
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COVID-19 SUNDAY: 12 deaths, over 2.4 million total infections
Today, the CCSA reported 8,444 new Covid-19 infections, down 174 since yesterday, and 12 Coronavirus-related deaths, down 7 from yesterday. Since April 1, 2021, in the latest wave of the virus in Thailand, today the country surpassed 2.4 million infections with a total of 2,403,661 confirmed Covid-19 infections have been reported. 22,157 total deaths have been recorded from the pandemic.…
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Thailand is 26th on Bloomberg Covid Resilience Ranking
The Bloomberg Covid Resilience Ranking this month places Thailand in the middle of the pack, 26th out of 53 countries on the list, and PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is satisfied with the rank. The government expressed satisfaction over the ranking after Thailand previously placed much lower at 44th on the list. The spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office said that PM…
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Anutin trolls US handling of Covid-19, compared to Thailand
Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul praised the way Thailand handled Covid-19 in comparison to the US over the past 2 years. In comments he made this week he said that in the US, many were still unvaccinated and death tolls remain very high, while in Thailand people are following Covid-19 safety rules and bringing the numbers down. GRAPH: Daily…
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COVID-19 SATURDAY: 19 deaths, over 200,000 infections in 2022
Today, the CCSA reported 8,618 new Covid-19 infections, up 168 since yesterday, and 19 Coronavirus-related deaths, down 9 from yesterday. Since April 1, 2021, in the latest wave of the virus in Thailand, a total of 2,395,217 confirmed Covid-19 infections have been reported, with 22,145 total deaths from the pandemic. Since the beginning of 2022, there have been 200,655 new…
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Woman steals 10,000 baht in lottery tickets from vendors in Isaan
A woman in the Isaan province Nakhon Ratchasima allegedly stole more than 100 lottery tickets, which cost a total of around 10,000 baht. CCTV footage from a local lottery shop shows a woman, who appears to be around 60 years old, talking tickets from the shop. The woman walked into the shop pretending to look at the numbers, but was…
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Local coffee shop fined 500 baht for tables placed on a crosswalk
Following the fatal accident where a police officer crashed his Ducati into a woman walking across the crosswalk, authorities throughout the country are tightening measures around traffic enforcement and working on ways to improve pedestrian safety. Many are now sharing photos of recently painted crosswalks, many painted a vibrant red to alert drivers to slow down. But one crosswalk in…
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“Pig Sandbox” to reopen farms in isolated areas to control the spread of African Swine Fever
We’ve all heard of the Sandbox entry programmes, designed to allow vaccinated travellers to roam freely in areas considered to be at low risk of Covid-19. But now authorities are discussing a so-called “Pig Sandbox” as a way to isolate farms from areas at high risk of the African Swine Fever, which is said to have caused a shortage of…
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Friday Covid Update: 8,450 new cases; provincial totals
28 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 22,126 with 428 of those fatalities since the start of this year. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 8,450 new Covid-19 cases and 7,484 recoveries. There are now 83,698 people in Thailand being treated for Covid-19. Out of…
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Thailand and Saudi Arabia patch things up 33 years after Blue Diamond Affair
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha visited Saudi Arabia earlier this week, and Thailand and Saudi mended relations they broke 33 years ago following the Blue Diamond Affair in 1989 where a Thai cleaner in Saudi’s royal palace stole diamonds worth US$20 million from the prince. The next year, three Saudi diplomats and a businessman trying to recover the gems were killed. According…
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Sneak peek into MONOPOLY: Phuket Edition coming in March
A new version of MONOPOLY heads to shelves this March, this time it’s Phuket edition. The game will include sights like Sarasin Beach, Kata Beach, Central Phuket and Karon Viewpoint. All these sites are well know to both locals and tourist. Sarasin Bridge was the first bridge that linked Phuket to mainland Thailand (a mere 300 metres). Kata Beach is…
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Top doctor asks tough questions on transitioning Covid-19 to endemic
After a meeting of the National Communicable Disease Committee was held yesterday, Thailand plans to declare Covid-19 as an endemic disease by the end of this year according to the Ministry of Public Health. While this declaration has raised hope and excitement among many who are sick of the seemingly never-ending pandemic, some have questioned some of the details involved…
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WARNING: Thailand Pass spoof email with malicious links
It seems that government websites in Thailand are often the target of successful hacker attacks and now it appears the Thailand Pass site is no exception. Reports are surfacing of people receiving a spoof email regarding the Thailand Pass pointing them to malicious content. It is believed that the email database collected by the Thailand Pass website has been accessed…
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Thai youth orchestra Siam Sinfonietta to perform in Bangkok’s Sathon
Thai youth orchestra Siam Sinfonietta will perform at the Bayan Tree Hotel in Bangkok’s Sathon area this Sunday at 7pm. The orchestra will perform music from Russian ballets, including Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. Tickets are 1,000 baht for people who go alone, and 800 baht for people who go in groups of two or more. People who go in groups of four…
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Employees laid off in insurance firm collapse demand overdue payments
Former employees from an insurance firm bankrupted by Covid-19 have rallied outside the Office of the Insurance Commission, demanding overdue salaries and severance monies be paid. Around 300 employees of The One Insurance were made redundant when the firm collapsed, but have yet to receive payments and other compensation owed to them. According to a Thai PBS World report, one…
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NHSO to give free condoms and birth control to anyone over 15
In a bold move for conservative Thailand, the National Health Security Office is providing free birth control pills and condoms to young people over the age of 15. A new programme by the NHSO is targeting teen pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases in a bid to encourage safe sex, especially among Thai youth. The Deputy Secretary-General of…
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VERSO – The School of the Future
Sponsored Article VERSO is not just another international school in Thailand. This school has one of the most unique learning concepts in which students are given the opportunity to develop their human potential and build a powerful set of future-ready skills. It is a pioneering, innovative and design-driven school that prepares students for the dynamic evolving landscape their future will…
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Real estate consultancy says pandemic continues to affect foreign demand
A leading property consultancy says the ongoing pandemic and associated restrictions continues to hamper the real estate market. CBRE Thailand chief, Roongrat Veeraparkkaroon, says the low number of foreign arrivals means the sector continues to rely on local demand and must now adapt to these circumstances. “A decline in tourist numbers affected both residential and retail sectors. Given this challenge,…
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Agencies partner to start cleaning 2,400 km of cables February 15
Could an end be in sight for Thailand’s infamously snarled mass of electric and communication cables overhead? The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission has set a goal this year of cleaning up 2,000 kilometres worth of cables in the provinces of Thailand, plus another 400 kilometres just in Bangkok alone. The Cabinet had previously set this ambitious cleanup goal last…
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Thailand will declare Covid endemic whether WHO agrees or not
Regardless of whether the World Health Organisation agrees or not, Thailand plans to declare Covid-19 as an endemic disease by the end of this year according to the Ministry of Public Health. A meeting of the National Communicable Disease Committee was held today where the decision was made. Thailand will create its own academically acceptable criteria for measuring whether Covid-19…
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British journalist documents beer-fuelled parties with Covid patients at Phuket quarantine hotel
British journalist Jonathan Miller was declared to be at high risk of Covid-19 after entering Thailand and ended up in a quarantine hotel in Phuket… which he says was more like an “Asian Hotel California” with “late-night discos fuelled by local beer.” Miller, known in Thailand as the first foreign reporter to interview King Vajiralongkorn after his coronation, wrote a…
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African Swine Fever spreads across Thailand, cases reported in 13 provinces
African Swine Fever is spreading across Thailand. The country’s agriculture minister said the disease has infected pig farms and one slaughterhouse in 13 Thai provinces in Central, Northeastern, and Southern Thailand. The infected farms and the five-kilometre radius around them are now declared epidemic zones. Instead of giving the ministry’s 2.9 billion baht emergency budget to pig farmers as he…
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