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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10 biggest challenges retirees face in Thailand (and how to overcome them)
Retiring in Thailand comes with many benefits, like warm weather, affordable living, and a rich culture. However, it also brings challenges. Retirees must deal with visa rules, healthcare costs, language barriers, and cultural differences. Rising medical expenses, required insurance, and...
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Coffee shop employee attacked while at work in Si Racha
A coffee shop employee sustained serious injuries after he was attacked by two men while he was at work. The coffee shop wasn’t identified. The incident happened in Si Racha, the town and subdistrict on the east side of the Gulf of Thailand. CCTV footage captured the assault. The victim has been identified as 23 year old Songchaiphon Donchai, who…
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Hua Hin opts for quarantine-free re-opening, similar to Phuket sandbox
The head of Hua Hin Recharge, which aims to re-open the popular tourist spot from October 1, says the programme will be similar to the Phuket sandbox scheme. Krod Rojanastien adds that he’s confident Hua Hin can achieve the required herd immunity in time. The Bangkok Post reports that as of yesterday, 55% of Hua Hin’s 90,564 residents have been…
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Calls for former police chief’s wealth to be investigated
An activist from the Association for the Protection of the Thai Constitution has petitioned the Anti-Money Laundering Office to look into the wealth acquired by former police chief, Thitisan Utthanaphon. Thitisan has been fired as police chief in the northern province of Nakhon Sawan and is being investigated for his alleged role in the death of a suspect in custody.…
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Wednesday Covid Update: 252 deaths and 14,802 new cases
252 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by Thailand’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. The CCSA also 14,802 new Covid-19 cases and 18,996 recoveries in the 24-hour period since the last count, bringing the number of active cases in Thailand to 166,922. In the latest and most severe wave of the virus in Thailand, first recorded on April 1, the CCSA has reported 1,013,342…
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Germany’s Afghanistan veterans struggle with mission’s fate
Jenni Bruns found the images of the Taliban’s invasion of Kabul hard to bear. “I’m not doing well at all,” the former soldier says on the phone. In 2010 she was deployed to Afghanistan. In an outpost in the north of the country, she worked to manage the treatment of water. While there she witnessed attacks by the Taliban and…
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Afghanistan pullout chills US-German relations
After the Taliban took Kabul and desperate Afghans flooded the airport trying to escape the country, outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her dismay: “The developments are bitter, dramatic and terrible,” she said at a press conference on August 16. “It seems right now like it was all in vain.” For Germany, whose military has spent nearly 20 years in…
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Will post-Afghanistan US foreign policy shift focus to Southeast Asia?
The calamity of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan over the past two weeks has drawn scathing rebukes of US foreign policy, while raising serious questions over how the US intends to project power in the future. In Southeast Asia, the US has been working to shore up regional alliances vis a vis China. Last week, US Vice President Kamala Harris…
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The aftermath of Hurricane Ida
Hurricane Ida caused massive destruction in the US state of Louisiana, killing at least two people. Almost 400,000 people are without electricity in New Orleans alone and it could take months to repair the damage. SOURCE: DW News
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Domestic opinion divided on Albania’s decision to host Afghan refugees headed to US
The Albanian coastline is teeming with domestic and foreign tourists wrapping up their summer holidays. But the coastal town of Durres is not only a holiday resort. It’s also a temporary home for hundreds of Afghan refugees. Space has been made available for them in a number of hotels. We would like to talk to the refugees, but are sent…
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Parks, sports fields and other venues allowed to reopen in Bangkok
Following the decision to ease restrictions in “dark red” provinces, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration announced they were revising the provincial order to be line with the national measures set by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration and to now allow parks, sports stadiums, department stores, and other venues to reopen. In line with the order by the CCSA, restaurants, including those…
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Kanchanaburi’s Phu Nam Rom border with Myanmar to reopen tomorrow for cargo
The Phu Nam Rom border crossing in western Thailand’s Kanchanaburi province will reopen tomorrow for the transportation of cargo between Thailand and Myanmar. Governor Jirakiat Phumsawat, who is also the chairman of the provincial communicable disease committee, issued the order today to reopen the Phu Nam Ron checkpoint, which sits opposite Myanmar’s Tiki checkpoint. Jirakiat says the Covid situation on…
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Officials say employees are to resume work, compensated accordingly following ease on restrictions
With restrictions easing in “dark red” zones tomorrow, the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare has declared that employees can go back to work with their normal compensation, according to Thai media sources. The department has declared that employers are required to summon all employees back to work and pay them accordingly. If employees are not paid their wages, their…
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Thai health officials warn against eating raw earthworms after video of “spicy worm salad” goes viral
Health officials in Thailand are warning people not to eat raw earthworms after a video of a man eating a spicy salad with raw earthworms went viral on YouTube. In a previous clip, the man told viewers that if his video received 10,000 likes, that he would film himself eating raw earthworms. The man mixed the earthworms with fish sauce,…
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Why Qatar fosters close contact with the Taliban
Just a few days ago, US President Joe Biden picked up the phone to thank the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, for the generous support in the ongoing evacuation from Afghanistan. Biden also thanked Qatar for facilitating intra-Afghan talks — even though they had failed even before the Taliban took power. Germany, meanwhile, criticized Qatar after the…
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Regulations for flights between “dark red” provinces set
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand announced over the weekend that starting tomorrow airlines will be able to take passengers between the 29 “dark red” provinces. The flights must strictly adhere to disease control measures. The announcement follows the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s announcement on Friday that the cessation of domestic air travel will be removed. In order to…
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Tuesday Covid Update: 14,666 new cases; provincial totals
190 coronavirus-related fatalities were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 11,589. Out of that number, 11,495 people infected with Covid-19 died during the country’s latest and most severe wave of the virus, which was first recorded on April 1. The CCSA reported 14,666 new Covid-19 cases and 19,245 recoveries in the…
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Finding the best roasted coffee in Thailand with Coffee Culture
Sponsored Due to all of the changes happening in our daily routines, as coffee lovers, it has become vital to make sure that we have a coffee maker at both our home and our office. Plus, a few packs of delicious fresh roasted coffee to enjoy. Thailand’s demand for shopping for roasted coffee beans and ground coffee online has never…
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Train that was bombed over the weekend in Southern Thailand resumes service
A freight train that was bombed and experienced gunfire over the weekend in Southern Thailand is back up and running. The bomb exploded as the train was passing through Narathiwat on the Bangkok- Sungai Kolok route Saturday at around 12:30pm. Gunshots were fired at one carriage. The explosion damaged the train and the rail track, but luckily no one was injured…
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Last US troops leave Afghanistan, ending 20-year war
Ending the 20-year war, the longest in American history, the United States completed its withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan yesterday, leaving the country in hands of the Taliban. The Islamic militant group swiftly took over the country’s capital, Kabul, earlier this month. Gunshots were fired in celebration after the last US soldiers left Afghanistan. In an Al Jazeera TV yesterday, Taliban…
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Illegal timber seized in Kanchanaburi, 1 person arrested
A young man was arrested and an undisclosed amount of Siamese Rosewood logs were seized at a temple in the western province of Kanchanaburi yesterday. The endangered wood is protected under Thai law and those charged with illegal logging can face up to 20 years prison and an up to 2 million baht fine. Officials had received reports that the Nong Pla…
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UN agency says North Korea appears to have re-started nuclear reactor
A UN atomic agency has described as “deeply troubling” the news that North Korea seems to have re-started its plutonium-producing reactor. The International Atomic Energy Agency says the re-starting of the nuclear reactor at the Yongbyon complex could mean the regime is expanding its arsenal of banned weapons. “Since early July, there have been indications, including the discharge of cooling…
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Tuesday Covid Update: 190 deaths and 14,666 new cases
190 coronavirus related-deaths were reported today, a decline over the past few weeks as the daily Covid death count has been in the 200s and hit a high of 312 on August 18. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration reported 14,666 new Covid-19 cases and 19,245 recoveries in the 24-hour period since the last count. Thailand now has 171,368 active Covid-19 cases,…
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Anti-government protesters arrested after police officer injured at weekend rally
Following Sunday’s anti-government protest in Bangkok, 2 activists have been arrested after video footage allegedly showed them injuring a police officer. The Bangkok Post reports that the pair are among a total of 27 protesters arrested, according to Pakapong Pongpetra from the Metropolitan Police Bureau. He says 13 of the detainees are minors and 2 are women. Sunday’s rally began…
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Vaccination not required for dining in at restaurants in dark red provinces
In a contradiction of earlier reports, patrons will not need to be fully vaccinated in order to dine in at restaurants in the dark red zones. The announcement by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration has been published in the Royal Gazette, making it official. The Bangkok Post reports that restaurant customers will not need to pass a Covid-19 test…
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“Dark red” interprovincial transport ban lifted, flights and bus services resume Wednesday
The ban on public transportation out of “dark red” zones has been lifted. Following the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s decision to ease the restrictions, both the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand and the state-run Transport Company announced domestic flights and interprovincial bus services will resume on Wednesday. While domestic travel from the “high risk” provinces, like Bangkok, there are…
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Autopsy report confirms man who died in police custody died of suffocation
A newly-released autopsy report confirmed that Jirapong Thanaphiphat, the man who died in police custody in northern Thailand’s Nakhon Sawan province, died of suffocation and not of a drug overdose. The same hospital, Sawanpracharak Hospital, initially supported the police’s account of the man’s death that he died of a drug overdose, according to Coconuts Bangkok. Jirapong’s body was cremated earlier this…
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Thailand tourism officials call for restrictions on Indian tourists to be lifted
Tourism officials say Thailand should allow Indian tourists to visit the country again as the Covid-19 situation in India has significantly improved. There have been no commercial flights between Thailand and India since April when Thai authorities suspended the issuance of Certificates of Entry, which are mandatory to enter the country, to Indian nationals due to the emergence of the…
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Mahidol University’s Faculty of Dentistry patents mouthwash they claim reduces chances of spreading Covid
There may be a new way to reduce your risk of contracting Covid besides washing your hands, social distancing, and following Covid safe sex guidelines. Mahidol University’s Faculty of Dentistry has recently patented a mouthwash that reduces the user’s chances of spreading Covid by targeting their saliva. The mouthwash was created by researchers at Mahidol University’s Faculty of Tropical Medicine…
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More than 600 mine explosions have taken place in Myanmar since February
Myanmar officials have arrested over 300 suspects connected to over 600 mine explosions that have taken place in Yangon since February, says a spokesperson for the State Administration Council. 59 other suspects have been arrested for violent acts which resulted in the deaths of 84 civilians in Yangon from February 1 to August 26, the head of the council’s Information Team,…
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Skeleton found in Indonesia sheds light on ancient humans
The remains of a 7,200 year old skeleton from a female hunter-gatherer have been found by archaeologists in Indonesia. Local media says the remains represent a “distinct human lineage” not previously seen anywhere else in the world, citing research that came out last week. The mostly intact fossil is believed to be from a teenage girl, between the ages of…
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