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 9 most common health issues covered by insurance for expats in Thailand
Thailand is a popular destination for expats due to its affordable lifestyle and excellent healthcare system. However, settling in a new country often brings health concerns. To ensure you’re covered for the most common medical needs, understanding what expat health...
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Water outage in Pa Khlok, Phuket tomorrow
Starting tomorrow, there will be a water outage in Phuket’s Pa Khlok. The outages will be a result of a mains water supply shutoff on Thepkrasattri Road, which is near Phuket’s airport runway in Mai Khao, as announced by the Phuket Provincial Waterworks Authority. The PWA said that the mains water needs to be shut off in order to connect…
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Ukrainian ambassador to Thailand dies while on holiday on Koh Lipe
The Ukrainian ambassador to Thailand died yesterday morning while on holiday on Koh Lipe, a small island west of the southern province Satun. Local health officials say the 45 year old ambassador, Andrii Beshta, died from a heart attack. Andrii’s son said that his father had vomited and lost consciousness before he died. They had been staying in the same hotel…
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Thai government accused of concealing AstraZeneca supply issues
Medics are accusing the Thai government of a lack of transparency over supply issues associated with the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine. The Rural Doctors Society says the administration is keeping quiet about the real situation and the supply challenges it faces. The government has consistently said that the first batch of locally-produced doses would be delivered this week. The Foreign Ministry…
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After woman’s death, doctor talks about birth control pills and Covid vaccine risks
Following the death of a 32 year woman, who suffered from blood clotting a couple weeks after receiving a Covid-19 vaccine, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Thailand has advised women think about whether to stop taking birth control pills before receiving the Covid-19 vaccines due to a possible increased risk of blood clots. The doctor spoke during a live streaming session following…
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Thai government calls on all foreigners to register for Covid vaccine
Roll up, roll up…your sleeves. The Thai government says all foreign nationals living in the Kingdom should register for vaccination, ahead of the national rollout next month. The news was confirmed by Natapanu Nopakun from the Foreign Ministry, who you may know from the daily English-language briefings on behalf of the Covid-19 Situation Administration. “All people living on Thai soil,…
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Emergency Decree extended a 12th time, until July 31
After running through the normal bureaucratic process, it’s now official: Thailand is officially extending its Emergency Decree for a 12th time. The Decree was set to expire May 31 and while there was little doubt that it would be extended, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has now signed the official document to extend the Decree two more months. It is now set…
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Phuket reopens: Parents must be vaccinated, children can come too
Good news for parents of international travellers… if you got vaccinated but opted out of vaccinating your (age 17 and under) children, you can still visit Phuket starting July 1, as reported yesterday in the Phuket Info Centre’s Facebook page. With a month to go before the much-publicised re-opening of Thailand to international travellers, without quarantine, starting with Phuket, the…
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Government considering legal action against alleged Covid-19 vaccine provider
Duangrit Bunnag and Accap Assets, a real estate company located in Bangkok, with projects throughout Thailand, is facing legal action from The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society for allegedly falsifying documents about the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine, as well as allegedly spreading fake news about it. The government points at a document that allegedly shows that the company stated it…
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Covid UPDATE Sunday: 4,528 Covid infections and 24 death, provincial totals
Today the public health department has reported another 4,528 Covid infections and 24 C-19 related deaths. Another huge proportion of todays cases – 1,902 – are from Thai prisons. We will post the provincial totals early in the afternoon as usual. Here’s all today’s provincial totals as announced this morning for the past 24 hours… • Thailand’s Department of Disease…
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Bangkok teenagers busted for party, drugs
Police have busted what Thai media is calling a “drug party” early yesterday morning in the Sai Mai district of Bangkok. They arrested 23 teenagers and “confirmed” 17 of them were using illicit narcotics. Locals had reported the teenager’s festivities citing fears that it could lead to a Covid-19 outbreak. When they arrived, police allegedly found almost 2 dozen teenagers…
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Covid UPDATE Sunday: 4,528 Covid infections and 24 death
Today the public health department has reported 4,528 Covid infections and 24 C-19 related deaths. Another huge proportion of todays cases, 1,902, are from Thai prisons. We will post the provincial totals early in the afternoon as usual. • Chon Buri officials have announced 90 new Covid infections today, and 1 new death, mostly driven by clusters at factories and migrant…
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Covid UPDATE Saturday: 4,803 cases and 34 deaths, provincial totals
This morning Thailand’s public health department has announced another 34 deaths and 4,803 new Covid infections in the past 24 hours. A staggering 2,702 of the new cases have emerged from Thailand’s overcrowded prisons. More than 30 people have died each day from Covid-related causes over the past 4 days. Bangkok had 1,054 cases reported in the past 24 hours…
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So what’s the deal with the Sinopharm vaccine?
Sinopharm is Thailand’s hot new vaccine, having been approved by the Food and Drug Administration yesterday, so what information do we have about the Covid-19 vaccine? The vaccine has been approved by World Health Organisation for people above the age of 18 and is administered in the same way as Sinovac and AstraZeneca, with 2 jabs spaced 3 to 4…
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Covid UPDATE Saturday: 4,803 cases and 34 deaths
This morning Thailand’s public health department has announced another 34 deaths and 4,803 new Covid infections in the past 24 hours. A staggering 2,702 of the new cases have emerged from Thailand’s overcrowded prisons. More than 30 people have died each day from Covid-related causes over the past 4 days. A total of 120,916 people in Thailand have now been…
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Sinopharm wins ok from FDA, the 5th approved Covid-19 vaccine
Thailand adds another Covid-19 vaccine to its arsenal, as the Food and Drug Administration has just approved the Sinopharm vaccine for emergency use. Biogenetech Co. submitted a registration application that has been under consideration by the FDA until receiving approval today. Sinopharm joins Sinovac, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, and Moderna to be officially approved for use in Thailand. Today Sinopharm…
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Thailand News Today | 500 Covid hospital ‘patients’ escape, 1 night, 1$ campaign for Phuket | May 28
Hundreds of Covid patients at a packed field hospital at a Phetchaburi factory attempted to escape during a power outage due to the hot and crowded conditions, 1 man has been rescued, while another is still missing, after a speedboat capsized in rough waters off the island of Koh Chang, Tourism officials are pushing for a proposed campaign they call…
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Teenagers claim they were attacked on popular Pattaya beach
Last night, teenagers visiting from Ayutthaya claim they were attacked on Jomtien Beach, a popular spot in Pattaya. They say local teens in a pickup had pulled up to the group, got out of the truck and started to attack them for no reason. The victims also allege that they were chased and that the rival group claimed to have…
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Government Lottery Office ordered to pay 1.65 billion baht over failed project
After a decade-plus struggle, the Supreme Administrative Court has ordered the Government Lottery Office, or GLO, to pay the Thai conglomerate Loxley 1.65 billion baht in compensation over a failed online lottery project. An online lottery system and machines were set up nationwide by Loxley GTech back in 2006. The company had also trained people on how to operate the…
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Police raid Pattaya bar and arrest 32 people for drinking alcohol
Police raided a Pattaya bar and arrested 32 Thais and foreigners who were allegedly drinking alcohol, violating Covid-19 disease control measures which prohibit gatherings, particularly where alcohol is involved. Police were called to the Sky Mountain Bar at around 11:30pm last night after a call from a local. Customers and bar staff emerge arrested and taken to the Pattaya City…
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15 most popular tourism provinces contribute 70% of total GDP
Wealth inequality around the world has always been the haves versus the have nots, but in Thailand, it has become the toured versus the toured not. The Fiscal Policy Officer’s senior expert on macroeconomic policy recently presented some stark figures showing the astounding gap in contribution to the GDP between tourism provinces and non-tourism provinces. Only 15 provinces contribute 70%…
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“Eating raw meat and no medical care” – Phetchaburi field hospital escapees
Earlier today The Thaiger wrote how 500 Covid patients tried to escape a field hospital in Phetchaburi. Now, we have further information on why they may have wanted to escape… power outages, they were being frequently in the dark, had to eat raw meat, and were not provided medical care. Tlay Nyo, one of the workers told Thai media… “We…
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Friday Covid Update: 3,759 new cases and 34 deaths, provincial totals
3,759 new Covid-19 infections and 34 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Since April 1, the CCSA has reported a total of 116,113 Covid-19 cases. There are now 46,150 active cases in Thailand. Out of the new cases, 1,294 infections were found in Thai prisons. Over the past month, 14 correctional facilities have reported…
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Toyota Motor Thailand under investigation for alleged judicial bribery
Thailand’s Court of Justice announced it is investigating a case involving top judges to the grand jury who were allegedly bribed by representatives from Toyota Motor Thailand, a subsidiary of Toyota, while the US Department of Justice says it is continuing its investigation into the auto company’s alleged judicial bribery in Thailand. Sitting judges on the Thai Supreme Court were…
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Gold shop owner arrested for money laundering 30 million baht
In a simultaneous raid of multiple locations around the Kanchanaburi province, police arrested a gold shop owner suspected of laundering money for drug smugglers. The Phet Thong Sap Thawee Lae Nalika Thong Thae Yaowarat gold shop in Muang district was raided by police and military and assets totalling about 30 million baht were impounded. The 32 year old shop owner…
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Tourism officials push for “One Night, One Dollar” campaign in Phuket
“…have been suffering from the pandemic for 15 months now. Only mass tourism will save us.” A night at a Phuket resort could drop down to just $1 USD. Tourism officials are pushing for a proposed campaign they call “One Night, One Dollar” to help draw travellers back to the popular tourist island as locals prepare for its July 1…
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Over 1,200 new infections found across 14 Thai prisons
The Corrections Department has confirmed that another 1,228 Covid-19 cases have been reported across 14 prisons around the country. According to a Bangkok Post report, Veerakit Harnpariyan from the department adds that another 2,054 patients have recovered, while 16,319 are being treated at prison facilities. Veerakit has also responded to reports on social media about a man who was found…
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Man missing after speedboat capsizes in rough seas off Koh Chang
1 man has been rescued, while another is still missing, after a speedboat capsized in rough waters off the island of Koh Chang in the eastern province of Trat. The Bangkok Post reports that the boat overturned off Khlong Phrao beach around 9am yesterday morning. The chief of Koh Chang district, Chatchai Thonglee, says there had been heavy rainfall on…
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UK health officials detect new Covid-19 variant first found in Thailand
A new Covid-19 variant which reportedly originated from Thailand has been detected in the UK. The Public Health England is now investigating the new mutated strain C.63.3. Reports say the new variant was first detected in Thailand. The patients had originally travelled from Egypt. No other details have been reported about the patients in Thailand, but given their international travel history,…
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Thailand News Today | US investigation into Covid origins, Pattaya opens to foreigners in Q4 | May 27
Thai Airways is launching a limited number of direct flights from Europe to Phuket, 2 of the 62 people who were arrested at the alleged drug and sex party in Bangkok have tested positive for Covid-19, Pattaya officials are saying they’re ready to reopen to foreign tourists this year under a model similar to Phuket if 70% of residents are…
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1000 year old stolen lintels will arrive in Thailand tomorrow night
Two ancient stolen lintels from Thailand’s Khmer past, dated around the 11th century, are returning to Thailand after being smuggled out of Thailand during the Vietnam War. A lintel (don’t worry, we had to Google it too) is the top beam or arch of a doorway structure, and this artefact from the Lopburi period was carved from sandstone about 1000…
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