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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Sponsored 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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Vietnam issues final extension of stay for stranded travellers
Foreign nationals who’ve been stranded in Vietnam can now avail of an automatic final extension of stay issued by the country’s Immigration Department. The automatic extension allows foreigners who arrived on visa waivers, e-visas, and tourist visas from March 1, 2020, to remain in Vietnam until July 31 and to depart the country without applying for an extension of stay.…
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Friday Covid Update: 9,276 new infections and 72 deaths
9,276 new Covid-19 cases and 72 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. With the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant, the CCSA expects daily cases to soon hit 10,000. While today’s case count is an uptick over the past several weeks. Thailand hit a record high in new cases in mid-May with 9,635…
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Bangkok’s Bumrungrad Hospital opens registration for Moderna vaccine
Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok has opened an online booking system for the Moderna vaccine, with priority going to healthcare workers and people who remain unvaccinated. The Bangkok Post reports that the vaccine will cost 1,650 baht per dose. Chief Executive Artirat Charukitpipat says the hospital has not been able to receive the number of vaccines it would have liked and…
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JP Morgan includes Thailand in 5 economies most at risk from Delta variant
The investment banking firm JP Morgan says there are 5 emerging economies that are most vulnerable to the Delta variant – and Thailand is one of them. According to a Reuters report, the others are South Africa, Colombia, the Philippines, and Peru. The primary reason given for these findings is the low rate of vaccination, with analysts comparing the pace…
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Haiti: Violence and politics culminate in presidential assassination
Haiti has become “a country in a state of shock” following the murder of President Jovenel Moise, Radio Metropole broadcaster Richard Widmaier told listeners as they tuned in to his news program from the capital, Port-au-Prince. The newscaster and station director later told DW that following the killing: “it’s like the streets of the capital have been swept clean.” Wednesday’s…
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Africalink 08.07.21 – 16 UTC – MP3-Stereo
South Africa’s ex-president Zuma starts serving jail term for contempt+++Nigerian kidnappings becoming the norm?+++Tales of returning migrants in the Gambia SOURCE: DW News
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Donald Trump files lawsuit against Facebook, Twitter, and Google
Former US President Donald Trump has announced that he is leading a class-action lawsuit against Facebook, Google, and Twitter. He is claiming censorship as a violation of the United States Constitution’s right to free speech. Legal experts see no validity in the lawsuit as the constitutional right to free speech only applies to suppression by the government, not private companies…
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Phuket taxi meeting: 20% fare cut, but doesn’t address gouging
The Phuket Office of the Public Relations Department has tried to paint a win for a meeting regarding overcharging taxis in the Phuket Sandbox, though the resolutions seem unrelated to the problem. During the meeting, taxi drivers agreed to a 20% discount for all fares until the end of the Covid-19 pandemic but did not address the problem of complaints…
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Troubled vaccine registration site replaced by hospitals
Abraham Lincoln famously advised people not to change horses midstream, but with the ever-changing vaccine rollout, the Thai government seems intent on test-driving the entire herd in the middle of the flood. A Tourism Authority of Thailand press release today confirmed the Department of Disease Control announcement of yet another new Covid-19 vaccine registration plan for foreigners. After the Thailand…
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Taliban advances in Afghanistan give Kashmir militants a boost
As the NATO mission in Afghanistan approaches its end after a two-decade-long war, the uncertain prospects for the war-ravaged nation are raising security concerns in India. Policymakers in New Delhi are mulling over the implications for the disputed territory of Kashmir and calibrating ways to ensure that a Taliban resurgence in Afghanistan wouldn’t embolden militancy in the region. Multiple reports…
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Cannes: Film highlights societal sexism in Bangladesh
A new film screened at the 74th Cannes International Film Festival highlights widespread sexism and dangers for women in Bangladesh. The film, “Rehana Maryam Noor,” is based on the story of a woman who comes from a society where sexism and gender-based abuse is the norm. The movie also breaks ground for the Bangladeshi film industry, as the country’s first…
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Thailand ranked 3rd to last worldwide on Covid-19 handling
In a display of just how far you can fall, Thailand, once ranked as one of the top countries in the world for Covid-19 handling is now almost at the bottom of the rankings, number 118 out of 120. The Nikkei Asia Covid-19 recovery index calculated data from 120 countries worldwide and ranked Thailand third from last. The study combines…
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Thursday Covid Update: Record high of 75 deaths; new infections in all 77 provinces
A record high of 75 Covid-related deaths was reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 2,462. An uptick of 7,058 new Covid-19 infections was recorded today with new cases in all of Thailand’s 77 provinces. The latest and most severe wave of the virus continues to rise due to the spread…
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Laos Covid-19 cases rise as migrant workers return from Thailand
Covid-19 cases in Laos has spiked, reportedly due to migrant workers returning home from Thailand, bringing the virus with them. In Thailand’s latest wave of infections over the past several months, many of the workers had lost their jobs while others returned to their home country to flee from lockdown restrictions at construction camps and factories, primarily in Bangkok. Covid-19…
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Pathum Thani governor donates 3 months’ salary to help residents during pandemic
The governor of Pathum Thani, just north of Bangkok, is donating 3 months of his salary to support the community as Covid-19 cases rise. An announcement was recently made on a Facebook page run by the provincial government saying governor Chaiwat Chuenkosum donated his salary to help Pathum Thani residents. A Covid-19 hotline has been set up to help those…
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Foreign Covid-19 case had Sinopharm, domestic infections bigger concern
More information is coming out now about the first Phuket Sandbox traveller to be infected with Covid-19 yesterday. The man from the United Arab Emirates was fully vaccinated with the Sinopharm vaccine more than 7 months ago and had tested negative before boarding his flight to Phuket. But while infections from abroad make headlines, the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office…
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Man in Chon Buri province arrested while allegedly trying to deliver drugs
A man was arrested in the central Thai province Chon Buri for possessing methamphetamine and yaba pills. 24 year old Nawin Triupot was arrested in the Sattahip district of Chon Buri as he was allegedly making a drug run to clients. Police seized 159.54 grams of crystal methamphetamine and 1,615 methamphetamine pills (yaba) on Nawin. The alleged drug businessman is…
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Woman infected with Covid-19 dies at home after waiting 6 days for hospital treatment
A 50 year old woman infected with Covid-19 died at her home in Bangkok’s Huai Khwang district after waiting for nearly a week for a hospital bed to become available. She died at 3am yesterday morning, just hours before an ambulance was scheduled to take her and her infected family members to the hospital, a source told the Bangkok Post.…
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Phuket Sandbox growing with 33 airlines requesting flights
The Phuket Sandbox is slowly bringing international travellers back to Thailand, and while it’s had a few problems, signs indicate that confidence is growing in the scheme. With El Al, Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airways bringing in flights from the Middle East, Singapore Airlines connecting people in Southeast Asia, and Thai Airways operating 5 flights from Europe, international flights are…
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Pair arrested in Pattaya for allegedly running “romance scam”
More people have been arrested for involvement in an alleged “romance scam”. This time the suspects were busted in the Pattaya area. The man, Robinson Ibuka Ade, from Nigeria, and Thidarat Biraban, a Thai national, were arrested recently on charges of joining to commit fraud and importing forged data into a computer system. Police seized 148,00 baht and $2,000 US…
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Pattaya school for the blind struggling, requests public’s help
Some students are learning online at their homes but they don’t have the basic tools they need to learn A Pattaya school for the blind is reportedly struggling under the Covid pandemic as tourists and visitors that usually assisted the school in their charity and other efforts are now scarce. The school says they need mobile phones and computers to…
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UPDATE: PM calls for urgent meeting, expected to discuss “lockdown” measures
UPDATE: The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration meeting set for 10am tomorrow will address the “worsening situation” in Thailand, according to spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Natapanu Nopakun, who gives the daily CCSA meeting in English. Natapanu says the media has been “predicting the results” of the meeting, but he assures the public that there will not be…
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Hundreds wait outside Bangkok temple overnight for Covid test
Use the rapid antigen test to speed up testing. Last night, hundreds of people waited outside a Bangkok temple for a free Covid test that began this morning. Like an anxiety-ridden new shoe launch, crowds of people were photographed outside the Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat temple in Bangkok’s Bang Khen district. Testing began at 8 am and the queuestarted…
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Man believes prostitute pickpocketed him in Pattaya
Last night, a German man lodged a complaint with police about his suspicion that a prostitute pickpocketed him. 68 year old Thomas Hatesaul alerted police at 11:30 pm that he was robbed on Soi 13/1 Pattaya Beach Road in Nongprue. He told police that he was walking by himself, to relax when he was approached by a woman. Thomas says…
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Pattaya looks into September reopening despite uptick in Covid-19 infections
Despite the uptick in Covid-19 infections, Pattaya is planned to reopen to foreign arrivals, possibly in September, under a scheme similar to Phuket and the trio of islands off Surat Thani, where tourists who are vaccinated against Covid-19 can enter without undergoing a 14-day quarantine. Yesterday, Pattaya City Mayor Sonthaya Khunplume met with the deputy mayors and those in the…
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Over 200,000 sign petition calling for mRNA vaccines
Over 200,000 people, including prominent Thai doctors and medical practitioners, have signed a petition demanding the government purchase more effective vaccines and administer them for free. A petition from the Mor Mai Thon (Doctors Won’t Tolerate It) group has been signed by 215,409 medical practitioners, calling on the government to purchase mRNA vaccines. The Bangkok Post reports that the campaign was run…
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Thursday Covid-19 update: 7,058 new infections, 75 deaths
Thailand records a depressing new high today, with a record 7,058 new infections and 75 Covid-related deaths. 68 infections are from Thai prisons. This is the highest number of new cases and deaths this month, as concern grows over the highly contagious Delta variant, which is expected to become the dominant strain in the Kingdom by the end of the…
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Koh Samui hopes to attract 2,000 tourists in first month of re-opening
The president of the Tourism Association of Koh Samui is paying great attention to how the Phuket sandbox scheme unfolds and hoping it succeeds. According to a Bangkok Post report, Ratchaporn Poolsawadee says the Samui Plus scheme could attract 2,000 guests in its first month if some rules can be eased. “Besides the virus situation on our islands and the…
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Lockdown not out of the question: CCSA
Will they, won’t they – it’s the question on everyone’s lips as Bangkok residents wait to hear if officials will lock down the capital in a bid to curb the spread of the virus. Natthapol Nakpanich from the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration has not ruled it out, saying the CCSA is prepared to consider all options as new cases…
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Coronavirus digest: WHO puts death toll at 4 million
The global death toll from the coronavirus had reached 4 million, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday. The UN’s health agency called on governments to be cautious in lifting measures aimed at combating the pandemic. “The world is at a perilous point in this pandemic,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, saying the latest toll was an underestimate…
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