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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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What’s not covered by health insurance in Thailand?
Health insurance in Thailand has important limits that everyone should know. Many policies do not cover pre-existing conditions, motorcycle accidents, extreme sports, or specific treatments. These gaps can lead to unexpected costs during emergencies. Coverage for outpatient care and hospital...
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Coronavirus UPDATE: WHO fights the ‘infodemic’, recession fears in Europe
A total number of 67,100 cases of Coronavirus (covid-2019) have now been confirmed worldwide, along with 1,526 deaths reported and 8,193 people recovered. The number of reported full recoveries is now over 5 times the rate of reported deaths, and continues to rise each day. The infodemic… On top of the spread of the virus, there has been increasingly dangerous…
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Singapore megachurch suspends services, goes online
Facing a burgeoning crisis in the southeast Asian island-state, Singapore’s biggest megachurch, with a congregation of 16,000, will stop holding services this weekend due to the rising number of coronavirus cases and instead broadcast its lively, gospel-style message online. City Harvest Church is one of the most profitable churches in Asia, but has been embroiled in a corruption scandal in…
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Families of 27 Korat victims to get 1 million baht
Families of 27 of the people killed in last Saturday’s mass shooting in Nakhon Ratchasima will receive a million baht in compensation from the government. Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, who chairs a committee to decide such settlements, said today that no money has been earmarked for two of the fatalities, over which there is a “dispute,” or for the…
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Coronavirus UPDATE: Vietnam village quarantined, worldwide cases reach 64,448
Latest coronavirus stats Infected patients worldwide reaches 64,448 whilst the death toll from the coronavirus has plateaued in the past 24 hours to 1,383. According to the Chinese National Health Commission, the current number of infections of coronavirus (aka. covid-2019) in mainland China is 63,8591, up some 5,000 from the day before. 7,101 patients have now full recovered. There are at…
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MS Westerdam passengers, all cleared, alight in Cambodia
Passengers of the MS Westerdam, the cruise ship that spent two weeks at sea after being turned away by five countries including Thailand, over fears that someone aboard might have the COVID-19 coronavirus, finally disembarked today. The ship, carrying 1,455 passengers and 802 crew, docked in the Cambodian port town of Sihanoukville yesterday. It anchored offshore in the morning to…
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UPDATE: Shooter arrested. Shots fired around Chulalongkorn University this morning
UPDATE Police say that a 40 year old man has now been caught after a series of shots, more than 20 according to eye witnesses this morning. Shots were fired from a sports clothing store in Sio Chula 10, close to Chulalongkhorn University, in Bangkok’s Pratumnam district. No one was injured. (Video of the stand-off below from the Bangkok Post)…
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Slurpees, phonecard top-ups, snacks and now you can do your washing
…well, in one store anyway. Maybe more to come. You can pay your bills there, buy a Slurpee, get a good coffee and, now, do you washing too. A Bangkok 7-Eleven store has rolled out its own laundry service, not that anyone is going to be actually doing your laundry, but they will provide the washing machines. The laundromat at a…
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Chonburi immigration introduces “smart car” to check foreigners’ visa status
Overstayers and ne’er-do-wells beware: Thai media are reporting that Chon Buri immigration sent a brand new BMW “smart car” into action, with state of the art electronics onboard, to verify the status of foreigners in and around Pattaya. By “smart’ it’s basically some Pattaya cops riding around in an expensive car with a laptop. We presume that if the car…
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Thai Embassy in Beijing ordered to care for 3 locals stranded in Wuhan
Thailand’s Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai yesterday ordered the Thai embassy in Beijing to take care of three Thai citizens stranded in Wuhan, the epicentre of the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak. The three didn’t join the 138 Thai evacuees who returned on February 4. One of the three is a woman who overstayed her visa and has yet to pay the fine.…
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German man saved from 2nd-floor jump in Pattaya
A German man was saved after trying to jump from a second floor room in South Pattaya yesterday. Pattaya police were notified of the incident at 12:30pm yesterday. Police, emergency responders and local media rushed the scene. The 60 year old German man, identified as Nolte Uwe, was sitting on the balcony of a room on the second floor of a…
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Terminal 21 Korat, scene of mass shooting, reopens with prayers
Four days after the mass shooting that left dead and more than 50 injured, the public turned out this morning to reopen Terminal 21 shopping centre in Nakhon Ratchasima, the scene of the carnage, in hope of raising spirits. Terminal 21 in Korat reopened its doors today to thousands of people who came to pray and make offerings to more…
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Coronavirus UPDATE – sharp increase in cases, UK officials battle to contain a new threat
There’s been a sharp spike in new cases of coronavirus, principally in the central Chinese province of Hubei. There are now 60,373 world cases, 59,805 in China. 1,369 people have died and over 6,000 recovered. 242 new deaths were recorded yesterday, the deadliest day since the start of the outbreak. So what’s behind the big rise? It’s not actually a spike…
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Phuket’s cruise ship arrivals to be screened for coronavirus
Over 4,000 tourists and ship crews arrive in Phuket today, on two separate cruise liners, one from Hong Kong and one out of Singapore. There has been a sudden surge of interest in arriving cruise ships after the cruise boat still anchored in Yokohama Bay with a cluster The Seabourn Ovation arrived from Hong Kong just after 7am this morning…
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Teen kills friend with homemade gun
A 17 year old boy is dead after he was accidentally shot by a friend with a homemade hand gun in the western province of Kanchanaburi. His teenage friend was showing off the gun to a group of friends early Wednesday morning. Police say the shooting was reported about 4:20am and occurred in a rented room in Kanchanaburi. Police and…
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From Star Trek to the Galaxy Z Flip phone – a new foldable comes to Thailand
The $1,500 Motorola RAZR flip phone, a sort of ‘smartphone’ version of its original 2004 market favourite, was twice the cost of an iPhone 11, looked cool but had a small battery and plastic screen. It was a throwback to the earlier design but with a foldable screen, the latest ‘thaeng’ in the smart-phone world. Now there’s the new Galaxy…
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Dead infant discovered in Pattaya
Police are investigating the death of a newborn boy after his body was found dumped in front of a house in Pattaya. Barking dogs alerted neighbors. Pattaya City Police were notified of the incident at 8pm yesterday. Police, rescue workers and reporters rushed to the scene to find the body of a male infant. Its umbilical cord was also found…
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Don’t blame the Thai army, blame the soldier – General Apirat
“The army chief offered his condolences to families of those killed and the injured and promised a career in the army if the victims’ children want to join the service.” The 32 year old gunman who shot 30 people dead during his Saturday afternoon shooting spree in Korat over the weekend, Jakrapanth Thomma, owned legally registered guns. He had five guns –…
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MICE sector to get 200 million baht in relief funding
Thailand’s government will provide relief funding for the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions) sector after it declined by half due to the coronavirus outbreak. The cabinet approved the extra budget last week. The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), together with the Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC) and listed companies, will provide 200 million baht in cash incentives to promote…
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Third unidentified foreigner found dead in Pattaya
The body of an unidentified foreign man was found floating in Pattaya Bay yesterday with an 8 kilogram rock tied to his neck. Pattaya City Police were notified of the incident at 1pm. It is the third case of an unidentified foreigner’s death in a week in the resort town Police, divers and reporters rushed into the sea off Koh…
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UPDATE: 12 year old boy shoots friend dead in Kalasin
A thirteen year old boy is dead in the northeastern province of Kalasin, after being shot by a friend playing with his father’s gun. Police and medical services were called to a house in Nong Kung Sri district on Sunday morning after the boy was shot, local media report. Police say that three boys were playing when one boy, aged…
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Korat Massacre – Did police use a drone to find the gunman?
A story from Germany’s Deutsche Welle news agency today reveals how tactical police were able to use a drone to trackdown the 32 year old gunman to a storage room at the back of a supermarket (scroll through to 1.30 in the YouTube story below to watch the drone footage). Although no one else appears to have reported this aspect of…
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Jordanian man arrested for charging “protection money”
Immigration Police have arrested a Jordanian man in Bangkok for extortion, according to local media. 24 year old “Ali” collected protection money from other Jordanians and Middle Eastern foreigners staying illegally in Thailand, claiming to have government connections and “friends in high places.” Foreigners working or staying illegally paid him in the belief that they were protected. The suspect was…
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You’re not welcome here! Thai Health Minister refuses request to berth in Thailand
The Holland-US “MS Westerdam” cruise ship has been refused docking permission at Laem Chabang Port in Chonburi, south east of Bangkok, after having been turned away by three other countries who were concerned about the spread of coronavirus. Referring to the company’s website, which stated that Thailand would allow the ship to dock at Laem Chabang Port last Thursday, Deputy…
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Slain policemen honoured in Royal ceremony
The two policemen who died ending the shooting rampage in the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima were honourably received in a royally sponsored bathing ceremony in Bangkok yesterday. The bodies of Captain Trakul Tha-asa and Senior Sergeant Major Petcharat Kamchadpai, both 35 years old, were transported on ceremonial trucks from Nakhon Ratchasima to Bangkok, their coffins covered with the national…
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Thai Marine chief visits Phuket, bans boat captains, two Russian children dead
“If you see any unsafe boat, unsafe pier, dangerous boat driver, please inform the Marine Department hotline 1199.” The Thai Marine Department Chief visited Phuket yesterday afternoon for a full briefing following yesterday morning’s tragic speedboat crash that killed two Russian children, a 6 and 12 year old, and injuring up to 20 passengers around 7.50am. The incident happened in…
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HM The King offers condolences, grants royal patronage of funerals
“The government is profoundly saddened by the mass shooting and would like to extend its moral support to all Thais and the people of Korat.” This morning the Thai PM General Prayut Chan-o-cha made a statement across the Thai television pool. He passed on a message from His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Her Majesty Queen Suthida who expressed their…
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Government officials wear black today, Korat residents grieve
Thailand’s cabinet ministers and officials at Government House will be wearing black clothing today as the Kingdom wakes to the first full work day since the Korat massacre – a mass shooting that has left at least 30 people dead, including the gunman. Government officials will officially mourn the innocent people killed in the north-eastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima and…
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Irishman found dead in Pattaya
An Irish man has been found dead in a room at a condominium in Pattaya. Police were notified of the discovery Sunday night. Police, emergency responders and reporters rushed to the room, which was locked from the inside. Inside they found the naked body of an Irish man around 50 years old, identified as Peter Alexander Campbell, on the bed.…
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Korat massacre – Shooter’s mother was unable to get into the shopping centre
More information is now coming to light over some of the background operations at play during the Saturday evening search for a crazed gunman, now dead, who was responsible for the killing of at least 30 people and wounding 58 others. Some of the 30 or so people currently in hospital are reported to be in critical condition… the final…
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PM orders security review for nation’s armouries in wake of mass shooting
The death toll from the weekend’s shooting rampage in Korat has climbed 30, with 57 others injured. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha, himself a general, yesterday ordered a review of security at the nation’s armouries. “If we had fully followed the standard security procedure, we would have been able to mitigate the degree of violence in this incident. Even if we insisted…
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