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.
-
Sponsored Digital nomading in Chiang Mai? What US$1,000 a month really gets you
Chiang Mai has become a popular destination for digital nomads due to its low living costs, rich culture, and active remote work community. The city offers affordable housing, tasty food, reliable internet, and many co-working spaces, making it a great...
-
Woman dresses as astronaut to show moon-like road condition
A Khon Kaen woman found a creative way to get the necessary attention from government officials to finally repair the terrible potholes on her road. Anyone who has driven around Thailand enough has encountered a road so rough and full of potholes that it resembles the surface of the moon. And if anyone wants to fake another moon landing, Khon…
-
CCSA announces vaccination goals for October; 50% inoculated
Today the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration released a statement outlining the vaccination goals for Thailand in October in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. Some of their list items seem to contradict each other, with the CCSA vaccination plan calling to inoculate people 50% and then 70% and then “fully”. The main intention of Thailand’s vaccine efforts is to…
-
Phuket Covid-19: 235 daily infections, 238 hospital beds available
Phuket Covid-19 numbers held steady today with no deaths and 235 new infections, though that’s only 3 less than the total available hospital beds as 39 more people were hospitalised. Hospital bed occupancy is just below 89% now, though Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew has insisted there is no shortage of beds. The number of “green” mild infections continues the drop…
-
Saturday Covid Update: 122 Deaths 14,109 new infections
122 Coronavirus-related deaths and 14,109 new Covid-19 cases were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, down slightly from yesterday’s totals. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA has recorded 13,280 recoveries. Thailand now has 130,128 active Covid-19 infections. Out of the new cases, 1,357 were detected through proactive case finding and 854 were found…
-
AfricaLink on Air — 17 September 2021
What next for Guinea after ECOWAS leaders imposed sanctions on coup leaders, among them holding elections in six months? +++ Gambia’s President Adama Barrow finally defends his alliance with former dictator Yahya Jammeh ahead of the December elections+++Zambians are divided on the fate of the expensive presidential jet. SOURCE: DW News
-
South Korean students embrace ‘niche’ learning alternatives
As a teenager, Young-chae Song studied German at his South Korean high school and had to pass an exam in the language to enter university. During that time, in the early 1980s, most high school students in South Korea would study English, plus another foreign language, typically German, French or Japanese. But today, young Koreans are turning their backs on…
-
Tanzania: First female defense minister ignites gender debate
“I have decided to break the longtime myth that in the defense ministry, there should be a man with muscles,” President Samia Suluhu Hassan said earlier this week as she administered the oath of office to Stergomena Tax. “The minister’s job in that office is not to carry guns or artillery,” Suluhu Hassan declared. Tax’s appointment was part of President…
-
COVID: How is India tackling a surge in fake test reports?
Indian officials are reporting a surge in the use of fake negative COVID-19 test reports across the country. Last week, police from the eastern state of Odisha busted a racket in which fake PCR test reports were being provided to devotees who wanted to visit the auspicious Jagannath Puri temple. Police arrested 12 people, including the mastermind of the well-organized…
-
African Swine Fever: China’s other pandemic
During a teleconference more than two years ago, Chinese Vice-Premier Hu Chunhua urged health authorities to step up efforts to rein in a growing pandemic despite initial “positive results,” and suggested that “enhancing quarantine and monitoring” measures would help prevent the spread of the virus. Hu’s comments came before the discovery of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Instead, he…
-
Osmani: If Kosovo delivers, the European Union should also deliver
In an interview with DW, the president of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, confirms her commitment to EU integration and NATO. She also emphasizes the country’s full support of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers war crimes court. SOURCE: DW News
-
Sahel terror threat persists despite the killing of al-Sahrawi
The war against armed Islamist extremists in Africa received a boost on Thursday following the killing of Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi. The self-proclaimed leader of the so-called Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) claimed responsibility for attacks in Niger in 2017 when four US troops and four Nigerien soldiers died. France also wanted him for the killing of six…
-
Final arguments Tuesday on dual pricing suit against Health Ministry
Courts are preparing to hear final arguments on Tuesday in a case that a Dutchman has been fighting for several years to end the dual pricing system many foreigners experience at hospitals in Thailand. The anti-discrimination suit was filed two years ago by Erwin Buse, after being routinely charged extra fees for his cancer treatment at Hua Hin Hospital. The…
-
Lebanon: Influencers join together to fight hate speech
Lebanon has no shortage of thorny issues sparking controversies that are often carried out on social media. The country has a tech-savvy population: Internet penetration is close to 80% — which translates to 5.3 million people — 4.37 million of whom are active on social media, according to datareportal.com. Seeing as the small country has a population of just 6.8…
-
No “October reopening” plan has been approved – CCSA
While there have been numerous reports on the proposed October 1 reopening date for 5 provinces, many quoting the tourism minister, a spokesperson for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration says nothing has been approved. No date on the potential reopening was announced. Natapanu Nopakun, who gives the CCSA report in English, says the current measures for a 14-day quarantine…
-
Public Health Ministry defends October 1 reopening
It’s been nearly an hour since The Thaiger has published an article on the potential/definite/impossible reopening of Thailand and it’s various provinces, so it’s time for an update. The Public Health Ministry has responded to criticism that the reopening of Bangkok and 4 other provinces on October 1 is premature and ill-advised. Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul responded to charges…
-
Friday Covid Update: 14,555 new cases; provincial totals
171 new coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Since the start of the pandemic last year, 15,124 people infected with Covid-19 have died. 15,030 of those deaths were during the country’s latest and most severe wave of virus, which was first recorded on April 1. In the 24-hour period since the last count, 14,555 new cases…
-
Bangkok Governor: NO reopening October 15 despite PM plans
As any well-informed reader of the news in Thailand knows, Bangkok will definitely be reopening on October 1. Also, it won’t be. It will be pushed back 2 weeks to October 15, the definitive date of Bangkok’s reopening for sure. Or… not. The Governor of Bangkok avowed today that despite the national government’s ever-changing and lofty plans, Bangkok will NOT…
-
Thai-Russian 4 year old girl drowns in Pattaya home pool
In Bang Lamung, a family is mourning the loss of a young girl who drowned in a small private swimming pool in a family friend’s home. The incident took place Wednesday evening while the family from Buri Ram was visiting their friend in the Pattaya area. The girl was half Thai and half Russian and 4 years old. The owner…
-
New centre proposed to provide ATKs cheap at Phuket entrance
To help aid people who need to travel frequently in and out of Phuket, the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation has approved a plan to create a centre near the Tha Chatchai Check Point that would provide ATKs. The plan would provide a cheap and easy way for those entering Phuket by land to provide a negative Covid-19 test before entering…
-
Thailand Daily Covid Update | Thursday, September 17 |
Caitlin gives you the daily covid 19 figures while going through the upward and downward trends in Thailand as well as looking at the provincial totals across Thailand.
-
Thai government officials offered special promotional fares on Air Asia
Thai Air Asia has launched a promotional deal targeting government officials, members of the Federation of Thai Industries and the Thai Chamber of Commerce, as well as employees of state enterprises. The perks will also apply to their travel companions. The thinking behind the deal is that government officials were some of the first to be vaccinated and are not…
-
Phuket: 5 Covid-19 deaths, 2 Sandboxers, drop in hospital beds
Phuket experienced a record high of 5 new Covid-19 deaths yesterday as well as 2 new Sandbox infections, while the statistics show a big drop from yesterday’s figures in both occupied hospital beds and total available hospital beds, suggesting a restructuring of how the beds are counted or where patients are located. 15 deaths have occurred in Phuket in the…
-
Occupancy at alternative quarantine hotels takes a nosedive
Bookings at alternative quarantine hotels have plummeted, with Prin Pathanatham from AQ Club Thailand saying average occupancy is currently around 25 – 30%. It’s believed rumours the quarantine period may be reduced from next month have led to the drop in bookings, coupled with signs that infections may have peaked. And Prin says the resumption of domestic flights from dark…
-
Thai FDA approves Moderna vaccine for ages 12 to 17
The Moderna vaccine has just won approval from the Thailand Food and Drug Administration to be given to teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17 years old. ZP Therapeutics, a division of Zuellig Pharma, distributor of the Moderna vaccine, made the announcement yesterday. In a statement, the company expressed gratitude to the Food and Drug Administration for approving the…
-
Friday Covid Update: 171 deaths and 14,555 new cases
171 coronavirus-related deaths and 14,555 new Covid-19 cases were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA has recorded 13,691 recoveries. Thailand now has 129,421 active Covid-19 cases. Out of the new cases, 1,156 were detected through proactive case finding and 790 were found in correctional facilities. Covid-19 infections at…
-
Will it, won’t it? October re-opening in doubt as Anutin defers to medical experts
Thailand’s public health minister has responded to comments from top medics who have questioned the wisdom of re-opening the country next month. Anutin Charnvirakul says any re-opening will need the go-ahead from the Department of Disease Control, adding that nothing has been confirmed yet. “No one said the country will re-open on October 1.” The Bangkok Post reports how, back…
-
Afghanistan: Pakistan braces for more ‘Islamization’ after Taliban victory
The Taliban’s capture of Kabul in 1996 gave impetus to Islamist militant groups across the world, but the country that was most affected by the rise of fundamentalism in Afghanistan was its neighbor, Pakistan. Not only did the victory of the “students” (the Taliban in Arabic) embolden extremist and militant groups in Pakistan, some people in the South Asian country…
-
Kenya’s shelter for suspected witches
These elderly people had to run away from home. Some have been brutally beaten. They are accused of practicing witchcraft. Many were persecuted by their own children. Kadzo Ngala has lived in this camp for two years. It’s a haven for those accused of sorcery in Kilifi County. Some in the region believe gray hair is a sign of witchcraft.…
-
Why COVID cases are rising again in some Indian states
After India’s deadly second wave in April and May, cases declined all over the country, even as restrictions eased. The past couple of months have seen a spike again in the western state of Maharashtra and the southern state of Kerala. Maharashtra on Wednesday reported 3,783 new coronavirus cases and 56 fatalities, taking the infection tally to 65,07,930 and the…
-
ICC opens investigation into Philippines President Duterte
Draconian laws in the Philippines’s war on drugs may be catching up with President Rodrigo Duterte as the International Criminal Court just approved a formal investigation into possible crimes against humanity under his regime. The ICC reviewed materials and announced the decision to pursue Duterte yesterday. Judges have approved the request by prosecutors to look into possible crimes against humanity…
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.