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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Welcome back home: Phuket’s message to the world, echoes its X-Factor, its people
“As the countdown to the Sandbox hits seven days, resort island pays tribute to its real-life tourism attraction.” OPINION by Bill Barnett, c9hotelworks.com Tourism eyes around the world are focused on a resort island in Thailand this week for the reopening of international, vaccinated travel to the Phuket Sandbox. A key emerging storyline from the island’s frenzied runaway to July…
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Covid UPDATE Sunday: 3,995 new cases and 42 deaths
For Sunday the public health department have announced another 3,995 new infections and 42 Covid-related deaths. Only 45 more cases were detected in Thai prisons, a sharp drop off from a few weeks ago when the daily cases from prisons were in the 100s. The main outbreaks around Thailand are occurring in the capital, adjoining provinces, and provinces directly to…
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Multiple business associations oppose lack of Bangkok lockdown
After the government announced yesterday a one-month closure of construction camps, the Federation of Thai Industries and many other business associations complained that the action was too weak. The FTI and other business groups believe that a full lockdown is necessary to control Covid-19 outbreaks in Bangkok and half-measures like this are ineffective at best. The federation is one of…
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Tanzania: President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s 100 days in office
On the streets of Tanzania’s commercial capital, Dar es Salaam, the hustle of life goes on. Many, it appears, are oblivious that it has been 100 days since Samia Suluhu Hassan made history when she was sworn in as the first female president of Tanzania. Those who spoke to DW had differing opinions on Suluhu Hassan’s performance so far. “We…
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Malaysian businessman found dead in his parked car
The body of a missing Malaysian businessman was found dead in his car parked near a fish pond in Samut Prakan an apparent suicide. The 43 year old man was found dead in the car with the engine still running, and with a still-warm charcoal stove in the passenger seat beside him. Wong Chen Hoe, a Malaysian national, was discovered…
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121 arrested in raid of “restaurant” clubs violating Covid-19 rules
A raid around Pattaya at the earliest hours of this morning brought over a hundred arrests for violating Covid-19 measures, drinking, gathering, and smoking shisha. The raid of 2 venues that attempted to skirt the national bar and club closure laws by operating as an alleged restaurant took place between midnight and 2 am. The so-called restaurants had been operating…
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Covid UPDATE: 4,161 new infections, 51 deaths, provincial totals
Today the public health department announced 51 deaths and 4,161 new infections of Covid-19. Only 72 were related to detections in Thai prisons, a further drop in prisoners testing positive for the coronavirus. Here is Saturday’s announcement of Provincial cases announced in the past 24 hours. Notably Chon Buri added a whopping 320 new infections to today’s total. Phuket, ready…
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Tech-savvy Egypt targets TikTokers and digital dissidents
In recent years, Egypt has become a thriving place for digital technology — as well as the Middle East’s No. 1 internet censor. “Communications and technology are the fastest-growing sectors of the Egyptian economy, with recent growth averaging about 16%,” David Butter, analyst at the London-based think tank Chatham House, told DW. However, he said, there is an obvious contradiction…
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Senator tests positive for Covid-19 after Parliament sessions
After a week of important meetings with most of Parliament in attendance, Senator Lieutenant General Lertrit Wechsawan has tested positive for Covid-19. The 74 year old member of parliament was in attendance for the parliamentary proceedings regarding government referendum voting and later confirmed the diagnosis. It is hoped that exposure and close proximity was limited with the senator, and it…
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Full text of Phuket Sandbox order released in English
Today, Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew signed Phuket Province Order No. 3491/2564 officially detailing the rules of the Sandbox reopening. While most provisions have been widely discussed – fully vaccinated travellers coming from at least 3 weeks in a low- to medium-risk country, negative Covid-19 test within 72 hours, US $100,000 Covid-19 insurance, 14 days in an SHA+ hotel, tests on…
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Covid UPDATE Saturday: 4,161 new infections, 51 deaths
For Saturday, the trend of new infections, and deaths, from Covid-related disease, remains on the rise. Today the public health department announced 51 deaths and 4,161 new infections of Covid-19. Only 72 were related to detections in Thai prisons, a further drop in prisoners testing positive for the coronavirus. As the Thai government is faced with its worst week of…
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Must you be married to share a room in the Phuket Sandbox?
In an attempt to clarify without actually clarifying the issue, the Phuket Tourist Association was compelled to release a follow-up statement in response to an off-the-cuff remark by an official that implied that only legally married couples could share a room in the Phuket Sandbox rollout. Apparently, the grapevine went like this… During a Zoom meeting with the Association of…
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Protest groups vow continued demonstrations this weekend
Protest groups Prachachon Khon Thai and Thai Mai Thon, who led large protests against threats of legal action yesterday, have vowed to continue the protests tomorrow. A third prominent anti-establishment group, Ratsadon, were demonstrating yesterday at the Democracy Monument but have not committed to a protest event tomorrow. Despite police declaring they would prosecute leaders and protesters at yesterday’s events…
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India: Do calls for reforms to respect LGBTQ rights go far enough?
Manoj (name changed) from the southern Indian state of Karnataka was forced to undergo the “gay conversion therapy” as a teenager. Now an adult, he lives and works in Delhi, and hasn’t spoken to his family in years. “I was made to believe there was something wrong with me. I was given shock treatment among other methods. I escaped home…
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Man wanted for attempted murder arrested on train
A man who slashed a relative for not helping with car payments has been caught on a train in Nakhon Si Thammarat. An arrest warrant had been out for Kitiphong since November of last year for attempted murder. Kitiphon was arrested on a train in Nakhon Si Thammarat. He allegedly confessed to the slashing. According to the police, Kitiphon was…
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Update list of high/medium/low risk countries for travelling to Thailand
Update: Under the “Phuket Sandbox” and “Samui Plus” travel models, travellers not only need to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 to be eligible to enter Thailand under the schemes, but they also need to be travelling from countries classified by Thailand’s Department of Disease Control as a low to medium risk for Covid-19. The DDC posts a new list on…
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Anutin says health system won’t collapse despite shortages
After senior doctors said the Covid-19 outbreak situation was critical and suggesting a one-week lockdown in Bangkok, Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul reassured people that the health system will not collapse. With a rise in new Covid-19 infections, available hospital beds are getting scarce and there are shortages of medical staff, despite the reassurances of Anutin.…
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Ethiopia: Deadly Tigray airstrike further alienates western allies
Eyewitnesses are adding more details to what started as a rumor about one or more explosions with dozens of civilian casualties in the village of Togoga in Ethiopia’s restive Tigray region. “When the military jets bombed our area, many of us fell to the ground,” Negasi Berha, a Tigray resident who was being treated at Ayder Hospital, told DW. “We…
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Fire at Chinese martial arts school kills 18, mainly kids
Earlier today, 18 (and maybe more) people died and 16 were injured after there was a fire in their martial arts school. The fire happened at the Zhenxing Martial Arts Centre in the Henan province, the birthplace of Chinese martial arts. Chinese media says most of the victims were between the ages of 7 and 16. When the fire ran…
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Why is it so difficult to live with HIV in Uganda?
We will call this young man Patrick. The 26-year-old lives on the outskirts of Kampala. His daily life is filled with discrimination. Patrick was born with HIV. The virus created barriers to living in his community. Thousands of HIV-positive people suffer the same stigma. There are about 1.3 million people living with HIV here. UNAIDS reports progress in fighting HIV…
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Illegal cigarette shipment busted, valued at 30 million baht
Naval officials and other police agencies have seized illegal cigarettes valued at 30 million baht. The officials seized a boat that had been used to transport the goods. 1,900 boxes with 475,000 packs of cigarettes were discovered. Allegedly, the smugglers were trying to move their shipment without paying tax. Thai media reports that government agencies had received information from a…
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Pair allegedly steals phone cards valued at 240 million baht
Yesterday, 2 people have been arrested for allegedly stealing prepaid phone cards. Collectively, they caused north of 200 million baht in damages. The two phone card nabbing suspects are 43 year old Naret Chamnong and 46 year old Phatcharalak Waenwong. They are both former employees of a mobile phone operator. Police searched 2 locations yesterday in Bangkok and Saraburi, a…
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A Korean restaurant catches fire at a Phuket shopping centre
Yesterday afternoon in Kathu, Phuket, a fire erupted in a Korean restaurant that is part of the Central shopping centre. Thai media speculates that the fire broke out in the kitchen of the Sukishi Charcoal Grill Restaurant on the 3rd floor of the shopping centre. Witnesses told police they saw smoke emerging from the restaurant. Chatri Chuwichian of the Wichit police…
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Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine approved for emergency use in Thailand
It’s been rolled out successfully around the world for several months now, with a seemingly high efficacy rate. And now, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has finally been approved in Thailand. The Food and Drug Administration has confirmed that the mRNA vaccine has been approved for emergency use in the Kingdom. mRNA vaccines work by instructing cells in the body to make…
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Airlines participate in trials of IATA Travel Pass app
A number of airlines worldwide are participating in trials of a Travel Pass app from the International Air Transport Association. TTR Weekly reports that at Montréal-Trudeau airport in Canada, Air France is trialling the app for outbound flights until July 15, just one of a number of airlines testing it globally. The app is designed to ease passengers’ concerns about…
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A bed in the sky: Shanghai opens world’s highest luxury hotel
China’s largest city has just opened the world’s highest luxury hotel – and it doesn’t come cheap. The J Hotel in Shanghai has a restaurant 120 floors up and wealthy travellers (who don’t suffer from vertigo) can enjoy personal butler service 24 hours a day. The hotel is located on the top floors of the Shanghai Tower, in the financial…
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Covid-19 cluster found at children’s home outside Bangkok
A cluster of Covid-19 infections has been reported at a children’s home in the central province of Pathum Thani, with at least 33 children testing positive. The Bangkok Post reports that the children at the Rangsit Babies Home are all between the ages of 3 and 6 and 6 babysitters at the home are also infected. Apisamai Srirangson from the…
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Phuket officials in last-minute scramble to fix sandbox hiccups
The president of the Phuket Tourist Association says clarity is needed around a number of issues if the island’s July 1 re-opening is to proceed smoothly. According to a report in the Bangkok Post, Bhummikitti Ruktaengam says confusion over tracking apps and vaccine certificates are just 2 of the issues that need to be sorted out. The sandbox scheme was…
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TAT claims 1,500 travellers arriving in Phuket July 1
The much-maligned and restriction heavy Phuket Sandbox plan might open with a bang, as the Tourism Authority of Thailand announced that 1,500 people would arrive on July 1. The governor of TAT said that international flights scheduled to arrive in Phuket on the first day of reopening have 1,500 tickets booked so far. The island intends to welcome back the…
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EU condemns Ethiopia’s deadly Tigray airstrike
Eyewitnesses are adding more details to what started as a rumor about one or more explosions with dozens of civilian casualties in the village of Togoga in Ethiopia’s restive Tigray region. According to health workers, who spoke to international media outlets mostly on the condition of anonymity, an airstrike hit the village market on Tuesday afternoon, killing at least 50…
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