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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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Chinese Covid-19 vaccine reported as just over 50% effective, down from 78%
Confusion reigns over the exact efficacy rate of a Chinese Covid-19 vaccine due to be rolled out in Thailand next month. Thailand has ordered 2 million doses of the Sinovac Biotech vaccine, while its rollout among high-risk groups in Indonesia is expected to begin this week. However, questions now hang over the vaccine’s efficacy rate, originally reported as 78% in…
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PM announces the distribution of 3,500 baht to help during Covid outbreak
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha announces the 3,500 Baht distribution to help people financially affected during this second major outbreak of Covid-19, including informal workers, freelancers, and the unemployed. At the same time, the government will also help reduce the cost of living expenses of all households nationwide including electricity and water bills in February and March. Special internet packages will also…
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Thailand ranks 4th in the world for highest loss of tourism revenue – Official ESTA
The following article was submitted by a public relations company representing Official ESTA, a visa application and assistance processing firm. Thailand has one of the highest loss of tourism revenue in the world with a loss of $37,504 million USD. The country ranks fourth on a list complied by the company Official ESTA intended to show the financial impact the Covid-19…
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Thailand News Today | Bangkok may ease restrictions, Phuket bar curfew, Vaccine roll out | January 12
• Starting off in the capital today, where officials in Bangkok say they may look at lifting some restrictions, despite yesterday’s reported infections going up by another 37, to a total of 1,989. But officials say they’re optimistic about the overall situation. The BMA has announced that, provided the capital avoids any further “super-spreader” events, officials may consider lifting restrictions…
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Malaysia PM imposes nationwide travel ban, lockdown measures due to Covid-19 spike
As the number of Covid-19 cases continues to climb in Malaysia, PM Muhyiddin Yassin imposed a nationwide travel ban and ordered lockdown measures for Kuala Lumpur and 5 other states for the next 14 days. The country’s prime minister says “our healthcare system is at a breaking point.” Malaysia was able to keep the coronavirus at bay during the early…
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Strong surf hits Prachuap Khiri Khan beach
High waves, peaking at 2 to 4 metres, hit Prachuap Khiri Khan’s coastal beaches, gushing over the breakwater and flooding some spots of the beachside road. Beachfront shops and restaurants have been temporarily closed while all on-water activities are prohibited in the affected areas. Over 100 fishing boats and small boats have moored in the areas around the Khao Ta Mong…
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Mae Sot plans field hospital for Covid-19 patients fleeing from Myanmar casino outbreak
A field hospital will be set up in Tak’s Mae Sot district bordering Myanmar to treat Thai returnees for Covid-19 as many are fleeing the neighbouring country due to an outbreak at a Myawaddy casino where around 200 to 300 Thais worked. The local communicable disease committee agreed to convert the municipality’s sports stadium into a field hospital to treat…
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Cool weather in central and northern Thailand, strong wind, waves in the south
Temperatures are dropping throughout the North, Northeast and Central regions. Frost is even on some mountaintops. The Thailand Meteorological Department says the cool weather is due to the high-pressure system from China covering the upper part of Thailand. Bangkok today reports a temperature drop with a low of 16-18 degrees Celsius, while the Central region is expected to have cool…
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Late-night alcohol ban in Phuket, bars to close at midnight
Bars and other entertainment venues in Phuket must close at midnight, according to an order imposed by Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Restaurants can stay open late, but are ordered to stop selling alcohol at midnight. The order is effective today until January 20, but could be extended further if the Covid-19 situation does not improve.…
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Cannabis café: Prachin Buri hospital opens “Taste of Ganja” restaurant
Cannabis is now on the menu at a Thailand hospital restaurant, but don’t expect to get high from the meals seasoned with cannabis leaves. Only parts of the plant that contain very, very low traces of the psychoactive component tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, are legal for consumption. The THC-rich, euphoria-inducing buds are still illegal and classified as a Category 5 narcotic.…
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Angry passenger attacks motorbike driver following collision in Pattaya – VIDEO
An angry motorbike passenger involved in a collision that injured 3 in Pattaya has attacked the driver for crashing. The Pattaya News reports that 3 people have been injured after a motorbike drove into road barriers at an intersection on South Pattaya Road. Emergency workers arrived at the scene to find a damaged motorbike and the injured driver and his…
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Roi Et records first case of Covid-19 in employee from Chon Buri karaoke bar
The north-eastern province of Roi Et has confirmed its first Covid-19 case since last month’s resurgence of the virus. Governor Chayan Sirimas says the patient is a female employee from a karaoke joint in the Sri Racha district of Chon Buri province, in the east of the country. “She had close contact with another patient from Chon Buri province (her…
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Trump ban is indefinite: Facebook exec
“We are a private company, and we have a service we provide.” A senior executive at Facebook says the social media giant has no plans to reverse its ban on outgoing US President, Donald Trump. Sheryl Sandberg says the ban is “indefinite” and there is currently no end date in sight. “Our ban is indefinite. We have said at least…
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Thai health officials form vaccine rollout committee
Health officials have formed a sub-committee to oversee the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines in Thailand. The Bangkok Post reports that the sub-committee will be headed up by Sophon Mekthon, chairman of the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation and adviser to the Public Health Minister. The team will be responsible for the overall vaccine programme, including deciding priority groups. Meanwhile, Opas Kankawinpong from…
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21 Thais test positive for Covid-19 after allegedly crossing the Thai-Myanmar border illegally
21 Thai returnees tested positive for Covid-19 after they were detained for allegedly crossing the Thai-Myanmar border illegally, fleeing from a Covid-19 outbreak at the Sky Complex Casino where they had worked. The returnees are now in quarantine at a Mae Sot district hospital. Around 300 Thais work at the casino in the neighbouring country’s Myawaddy town just across the…
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Thailand News Today | Covid latest, Cockfights closed down, Bryde’s Whale beached | January 11
249 new Covid-19 infections have been reported today in the daily briefing. Thailand now has 3,914 active cases and has reported a total of 10,547 cases with 67 fatalities since last year. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs deputy spokesperson, apparently with a Covid crystal ball, speculated that the number of daily new cases is expected to decrease and significantly slow…
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Can Phuket survive? Interview with Bill Barnett | VIDEO
Interview with Bill Barnett from c9Hotelworks. Phuket has now been hit with a 3rd major crisis, each one more profound than the long-term effects from the 2004 tsunami. Now the island has new restrictions imposed on arrivals on the southern island, imposed by the Phuket Provincial Authority.
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Elephant dies after month of treatment for gunshot wounds, 40 bullets found in the body
A wild elephant died yesterday after nearly a month of medical treatment for gunshot wounds. Officials say more than 40 bullets were found in the body. The 3 tonne elephant had also attacked and killed a park officer last month who was trying to bring the elephant in for treatment. The elephant, around 20 to 25 years old, was being…
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Phuket is hit with a triple Covid crisis | VIDEO
Phuket has had a triple hit over the past 12 months. Firstly with the original Covid-19 outbreak and lockdowns back in April and May in 2020, then again just before Christmas and New Year when the new clusters emerged in Samut Sakhon and the eastern coastal provinces, further dampening even local traveller traffic to the island, then some further restrictions…
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Police raid 5 homes and businesses suspected of gambling, arrest 21 people
Police arrested 21 people on gambling charges after 5 raids in Bangkok over the weekend. While deputy chief of the Central Investigation Bureau, Jiraphop Phuridet, says the raids on January 8 and 9 are part of a nationwide crackdown initiated by the national police chief after a Covid-19 outbreak at a Rayong gambling den, the raids busted what seems like…
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Thai Red Cross Society calls for urgent blood donations, reserves run critically low
The Thai Red Cross is urging people to donate blood as Thailand hospitals are in “critical condition.” Blood reserves have run low and the number of blood donors has dropped by 50%, according to the Thai Red Cross Society. The Covid-19 pandemic has contributed to the dwindling blood supply. Many people are worried about Covid-19 and less likely to donate blood,…
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Black box data located from the crashed Boeing 737 in Jakarta
The black boxes from a passenger plane which crashed in the sea soon after take-off from Jakarta on Saturday have been located. The black box recorders record conversations in the cockpit as well as an array of data from the plane’s control systems. Indonesian ships has been searching the crash site with navy divers hoping to retrieve the two flight…
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Fallout from President Trump’s Twitter ban
President Trump’s Twitter ban has been getting plenty of flak, particularly from friends, family, hard core supporters and advisors. Twitter banned the president from the platform on Friday after his supporters stormed the US Capitol building. But those supporting the president say the ban amounts to an assault on free speech by “radical leftists”. Ironically they aired their grievances… on…
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Pakistan goes dark after electrical fault causes nationwide blackout
Pakistan is slowly recovering after the entire country experienced an electrical blackout today. Power minister Omar Ayub Khan tweeted that this latest blackout was caused by a fault in southern Pakistan at 11:41pm local time yesterday, which was at 3:41am today here in Thailand. “The fault tripped the transmission system of the country… leading to the shutdown of power plants.”…
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Pattaya motorbike taxi commended after returning wallet to foreigner
A Pattaya motorbike taxi driver is being commended online after finding and returning a lost wallet to a foreigner. The woman, 43 year old Kelaya Supaphol, was dropping off a customer by the McDonald’s on Pattaya’s Second Road when she says she saw the wallet on the ground. She picked up the wallet and checked inside, with another motorbike taxi…
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UPDATE: Phuket announces restrictions for travel to Phuket
Thailand: ‘Real world’ versus the ‘rules’, Part 378. Arriving in Phuket this morning (Sunday), nearly 24 hours after the introduction of new restrictions for travellers back to the island from around Thailand, we’ve had 4 people contact The Thaiger saying that ‘nothing has changed’ from recent weeks. On 2 of the flights the passengers were asked, before boarding’ to download…
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Body parts and debris found after Indonesia’s 737 plane crash
Body parts and debris from Indonesia’s Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737 crash are being found today near the capital as the Jakarta police spokesman Yusri Yunus detailed the findings, which leave little hope of any survivors. “As of this morning, we’ve received two (body) bags, one with passenger belongings and the other with body parts.” 62 passengers and crew were on…
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Public Health Ministry speculates new infections likely to slow by end of January
Thailand’s Public Health Ministry speculates that the 2nd wave of Covid-19 infections is likely to “slow down” by the end of this month. However, Dr. Opas Kankawinpong, the director-general of the Disease Control Department is warning that the virus could spread in office buildings and congested areas after such infections has been detected found in a few Bangkok offices. “We…
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Domestic air travel drops 60 percent at start of 2021
Thailand’s domestic air travel is seeing a 60% drop in the early weeks of the new year, thanks to the recent Covid-19 outbreaks around the country. The Department of Airports drew the figure from 20 airports under its supervison nationwide, according to Apirat Chaiwongnoi, the acting Director-General of the department. Such domestic passengers at those airports also dropped in numbers…
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16 foreigners, 5 Thais arrested in Pattaya for illegal gambling
Pattaya police have arrested 16 foreigners and 5 Thais for illegal gambling in a Pattaya condo. They raided the Espana Condominium & Resort at 1am yesterday morning, arresting the lawbreakers, after receiving a tip that an illegal gambling casino was being hosted at the condo. Officials found 21 people gambling inside rooms 517 and 518 located on the 5th floor.…
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