News
Stay up-to-date with the latest news from across Thailand and beyond with The Thaiger. Our dedicated team brings you breaking news, in-depth analysis, and exclusive stories from this stunning part of the world, covering a diverse range of topics, including local politics, business, culture, and tourism. Keep yourself informed about the Kingdom’s rich history, stunning landscapes, and thriving expat communities, as well as updates on events, attractions, and transportation.
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Valentine’s Day is a time to celebrate love, care, and the bonds we share with those who matter most. This Valentine’s Day, show your love in a thoughtful and lasting way by choosing health insurance for your loved ones. Unlike...
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Chaiyaphum man allegedly slits father’s throat
Last night, a man allegedly slit his father’s throat with a kitchen knife in the central province of Chaiyaphum. Thai media adds that the alleged assailant is mentally ill. Police Captain Pirom Malasi, says the attack was reported in Ban Wang Hin in tambon Ban Thao. Rescue workers and police rushed to the scene. At the house, the assembled rescue…
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Remaining section of collapsed Florida condo building to be demolished overnight
The local mayor says the remaining section of a collapsed condo building in Miami, Florida, will be demolished overnight, some time between 10pm and 3am. The number of people confirmed as having died in the collapse is 24, with 121 still unaccounted for. With tropical storm Elsa on the way, the authorities have decided to demolish what is left of…
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Bangkok’s Siriraj Hospital closes emergency room until further notice
Yesterday, Siriraj Piyamaharajkarun Hospital in Bangkok declared that it has to temporarily close its Emergency Room, until… further notice, as there are more patients than there is room. The hospital played coy as to when the ER will resume normal operations. However, they did apologise to people for the inconvenience. Another hospital, Rajavithi Hospital announced they would be stopping general…
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Phuket reviews taxi rates after “Sandbox” tourists report high prices
The notoriously high taxi rates in Phuket have been looked into after reports of overcharging the “Sandbox” tourists. The governor says he ordered local authorities to review claims of overpriced rides and found that rates are appropriately priced. From the Phuket International Airport to Patong, a “Sandbox” tourist can pay 600 to 1,050 for a ride. One tourist planning a…
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Protesters to be charged over weekend rallies
The Metropolitan Police Bureau says it plans to charge the leaders of recent anti-government protests in Bangkok. Investigators from the Nang Loeng neighbourhood say they’ve reviewed footage of Saturday’s rallies and come to the conclusion that organisers broke several laws, including the emergency decree and disease control decree. The Bangkok Post reports that the first protest took place near Government…
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Tourism Ministry to ask for soft loans to help operators prepare for re-opening
The Tourism and Sports Minister says that if the Phuket sandbox is a success, he will have talks with the Finance Ministry about allocating soft loans to tourism operators. Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn says the loans would come from the government’s 500-billion-baht borrowing and would help tourism operators prepare for an October re-opening. In the interim, he says domestic tourists can help…
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Thai government slammed for delays in vaccine procurement
The Thai government has been blasted for the slow rollout of AstraZeneca vaccines, following the news that the monthly delivery would be cut from 10 million to 5 million. Opposition MP Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn from the Move Forward Party says Thailand is also obliged to send batches of the AstraZeneca vaccine overseas as other countries have already placed orders for them.…
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Monday COVID update: 6,166 cases & 50 deaths
Today, Thailand has reported another 6,166 new Covid-19 cases and 50 deaths. 84 of the new infections are in prisons. More news on those figures coming later. Provincial totals will be available early afternoon. • The Chulabhorn Royal Academy says there will be enough Sinopharm vaccine as long as, “no one exceeds their allocation or jumps the queue”. Millions of doses…
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Meet the Sellers: First arrival in the Phuket Sandbox
Darren and Supattra Sellers may not have been part of the Siamese revolution that changed Thailand to a constitutional monarchy, or the coup that overthrew the government 7 years ago, but they will forever be a part of Thailand’s modern history now. You see, the Sellers and their 2 children were the first family off of Etihad flight 430 on…
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France hopes deporting more alleged radicals will bring security
When the French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin summoned the country’s regional prefects in June, his message was clear. The authorities in France’s regions had to take swift, decisive action against foreigners who committed crimes. Residence permits should be reviewed, and more offenders should be deported if they had committed particularly serious crimes, such as second-degree murder, drug trafficking, and rape…
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Pair arrested for illegal clamming
2 people have been arrested for allegedly catching tiger clams. The pair, 28 year old Sawai and 45 year old Chatsuda were arrested after video clips emerged of the pair allegedly catching tiger clams in Chong Samaesan, which is in the Chon Buri Province. Tiger clams are protected wildlife. According to the police, the two clam-centric suspects confessed to their…
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Philippines military plane crashes, 17 confirmed dead
A C130 Hercules, Philippines military plane crashed earlier this morning. 92 people were on board. 17 people have been confirmed dead and 40 people have survived and were taken to a nearby military hospital. The plane crashed in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, 950 kilometres/600 miles south of the capital, Manila. The condition of the remaining soldiers is currently…
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South Korea launches Sandboxesque reopening
Vaccinated travellers can avoid 14-day quarantines as long as they have proof of World Health Organisation-approved vaccination, a negative Covid-19 test, are not travelling from a high-risk country, and get advance approval before travelling. Wait, wait! Before you click away, this isn’t yet another Phuket Sandbox story; this is the strikingly similar reopening plan enacted by South Korea that also…
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Man allegedly admits to killing his son
Last night in the southern Thai province of Nakhon Si Thammarat a man went to a police station and allegedly confessed to killing his son. 65 year old Boonyuen Waennak brought himself to a police station around 10 pm and admitted to his act of filicide, says Police Chief Thien Banthip. After being notified of the slaying, police investigated the…
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Sunday Update: 5,916 new infections, provincial totals, news briefs
Today the public health department has announced 5,916 new infections and 44 Covid-related deaths. 39 of the total are attributed to Thai prisons. The report indicates a stabilisation of numbers after 3 days hovering around the 6,000-per-day level of new cases. But Sundays often return lower-than-usual reports. Since April 1, 2021 there’s been 254,204 people infected, 2,132 dead (+44 today), 59,938 remain in care, 2,147…
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64 year old with kidney disease dies after inoculation, daughter claims vaccination link
A 64 year man in the northeastern Thai province Udon Thani died the day after he got a dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The man’s daughter believes his death could be connected to the vaccine. Akkradet Thongkham reportedly died suddenly yesterday, which sent a combination of police and health officials to his house after being notified of his passing by…
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Renowned Thai doctor says 70% of new Covid cases are Delta variant
One of Thailand’s top virologists is in the news again this week. This time, Dr Yong Poovorawan is making the news for his assertion that 70% of all new Covid cases in Thailand are of the Delta variant. Earlier this week, Dr Yong Poovorawan faced allegations of mishandling Thailand’s Covid situation. A petition was even started calling for his removal.…
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Inside Phuket’s Sandbox – Questions answered | VIDEO
Tim tries to answer as many Phuket Sandbox questions as possible as the fourth day of the ‘reopening’ emerges. So far, so good. Vaccines, tourism, getting back onto the island as an expat, flights, etc. The Sandbox is the first step in reopening Thailand to vaccinated travellers, without a formal 14 day quarantine in a hotel. Unfiltered, unshaven, unscripted. I…
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2 dead and 20 missing in Japanese landslide, rescuers continue to search for survivors
“The first thing that struck me was the sound of the ground rumbling” 2 people are dead and about 20 are stilling missing after a landslide in the hot spring resort of Atami in central Japan, which is southwest of Tokyo. 10 people have been rescued so far. The massive mudslide happened in the seaside town of Atami around 10.30am…
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Flights and passenger numbers slowly rising in Phuket Sandbox
As we enter day 4 of the Phuket Sandbox reopening, while numbers aren’t anywhere near earlier estimates or historical totals, they are steadily growing day by day. Each day has brought a few more flights and passenger numbers to Phuket and the arrivals are steadily creeping up. By today, the original first-day estimate of 1,500 arrivals, should be surpassed. Today’s…
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Sunday COVID Update: 5,916 new infections, news briefs
Sunday morning the public health department has announced 5,916 new infections and 44 Covid-related deaths. 39 of the total are attributed to Thai prisons. The report indicates a stabilisation of numbers after 3 days hovering around the 6,000-per-day level of new cases. But Sundays often return lower-than-usual reports (let’s hope we’re wrong on that today). Around the world the drastic…
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Moderna import process hasn’t begun, pending payment
The process to procure Moderna vaccines hasn’t really even begun, and the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation says they are waiting for money before starting. The director of the GPO explains that since Moderna is not one of the 5 vaccines purchased by the government, the process is drawn out and must be paid for. The justification and explanation come after a…
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Pro-democracy, Covid-19 protesters merge at Government House
A confluence of protesters merged in Bangkok today as multiple causes overlapped and demonstrated at Government House. Several groups protesting the government and calling for the dissolution of the Senate and the resignation of PM Prayut Chan-o-cha crossed paths with those that were rallying against the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and the lack of assistance for many sectors desperately…
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COVID-19: Africa plans a vaccine revolution
The third wave of coronavirus is rolling through much of Africa — and it could be the most severe of the pandemic yet, experts fear. The conditions on the continent could not be worse: The more contagious and arguably more dangerous delta variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which has already wreaked havoc in India, is now spreading in Africa, where…
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Sandbox: 6000 registered, no positive Covid-19 tests, new land restrictions
Now that the Phuket Sandbox is up and running, international travellers are trickling back in to enjoy the Thai tropical island. More than 6,000 people have reportedly registered for the Phuket Sandbox so far, no arrivals have tested positive for Covid-19 yet, and officials are tightening up the land entry borders to the island. The Director-General of the Department of…
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Saturday Covid Update: 6,230 new cases; provincial totals
6,230 new Covid-19 infections and 41 Covid-deaths were reported today by the Centre of Covid-19 Situation Administration. The number of deaths is a decrease after the counts hit record highs over the past few days. The average number of deaths each day, over the past 5 days, has been 50 people. The number of daily new local transmissions continues to…
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Local officials under investigation for multimillion baht purchase of street lamps
Following allegations of corruption over a local government’s exorbitant purchases on decorative street lamps, Thailand’s National Anti-Corruption Commission has been investigating and say procurements of the street lamps in a province just outside Bangkok were not in line with regulations. More than 20 people and local government officials, including the former Samut Prakan governor, are now being investigated by the commission.…
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Bangkok Red Line launches August 2 free rides for 3 months
If you’ve ever spent time in Bangkok, you know it’s easy to be taken for a ride. But for once, this is a good thing, as the Thailand Transport Ministry announced today they are giving free rides to many commuters to launch their new service line. Bangkok’s Red Line rail route is ready for its soft launch next month and…
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Despite struggles, Phuket tourists are happy to be here
One thing many forget when they’re considering the condition of Phuket for the returning international tourists is that, while we are comparing it to the pre-Covid-19 glory days of Phuket, those travelling in the first days of the Sandbox are comparing it to their life at home now. While Covid-19 has wreaked havoc on the Thai economy and tourists are…
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Covid UPDATE Saturday: 6,230 new infections, news briefs
(Provincial totals will be published after lunchtime) This morning the public health department reported 6,230 few infections and 41 Covid-deaths. 294 of today’s total were from the Thai prison system. The average number of deaths each day, over the past 5 days, has been 50 people. Yesterday, there were 6,087 new cases reported as the week displayed a steady growth…
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