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.
The Thaiger is your essential resource for staying connected with Thailand’s captivating blend of tradition and modernity. To remain in the loop with the country’s most trusted news source, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media.
-
Sponsored
5 best wine bars in Bangkok offering rich and quality wine
It’s wine o’clock! Whether you’re all about fruity reds, sweet whites, or funky naturals, Bangkok has many great spots to sip your favourite varieties. But with an array of options to choose from, and the constant rise and fall of...
-
Cancellation of the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix for 2021
Race promoter Singapore GP have announced the cancellation of the 2021 Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix due to “ongoing safety and logistic concerns” brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. Colin Syn, Deputy Chairman of Singapore GP says the local GP has attracted fans from over 100 countries. “We understand that our fans were looking forward to another edition…
-
Covid-19 sees a rise in dangerous scams in India
While Covid-19 was wreaking havoc across India, some devious scammers saw the desperation of a pandemic crisis as an opportunity. India has frequently been known to be a hotbed for ripoffs and scams, and the Coronavirus pandemic has only worsened the situation. In December an Indian call centre made US $14 million by cheating 4,500 Americans whom they tricked into…
-
BTS make musical history with a slice of ‘Butter’
Four #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 12 months! South Korean band BTS have made history again with ‘Butter’, topping Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart this week… the 4th #1 hit from the 7-member BTS on Billboard’s Hot 100 Singles chart in 1 year, following ‘Dynamite’ and ‘Life Goes On’, and their collaboration on the ‘Savage…
-
Foreign workers get jabs in 2-day Phuket mass vaccination drive
In 2 days, yesterday and today, Phuket has set out to vaccinate 22,613 migrant workers and 5,758 foreign workers who are legal with a work permit. Vachira Phuket Hospital has teamed up with Angsana Laguna Phuket resort in the north of Phuket and Central shopping centre in the middle of the island for the foreign worker mass vaccination drive. The…
-
Si Racha ice factory closed due to Covid
An ice factory in Si Racha, a district to the north of Pattaya and south of Samut Prakan, has been ordered to close for the time being as there have been multiple confirmed cases of Covid-19 infections stemming from their business. As ordered by the Chon Buri Governor today. Chon Buri Governor, Phakarathorn Teanchai, gave this notice via the Chonburi…
-
Man arrested for allegedly smuggling durian into Thailand
Last night, a man was arrested and charged with smuggling durian into Thailand from Myanmar. 25 year old Pairat Wattanom, a Thai Man from the Thai Province Ranong, which is part of the isthmus that has the Andaman Sea on one side and the Gulf of Thailand on the other, has been arrested and waits for the judicial system to…
-
Police arrest suspect who allegedly sold assault rifles stolen from military base
Officers in Thailand’s Deep South have arrested a man for allegedly selling assault rifles that were stolen from a military base in Narathiwat, a province by the Malaysian border with ongoing violence from the religious separatist insurgency. 6 out of the 26 AK102 assault rifles stolen from the the 4th Army Area base have been found. Earlier reports said 28 assault…
-
Siam Bioscience delivers 1.8 million local AstraZeneca vaccines
Well, it’s a start. Good news today for Thailand’s snail-paced rollercoaster of vaccine rollout as the Ministry of Public Health has taken possession of the first 1.8 million AstraZeneca vaccines produced domestically. The vaccines were manufactured in the Bangkok by Siam Bioscience and are slated to be an integral part of Thailand’s mass vaccination scheme officially launching next Monday. Siam…
-
Covid UPDATE Friday: 2,631 new cases and 31 deaths, provincial totals
2,631 new Covid-19 cases and 31 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Since April 1, the latest wave of infections in Thailand, the CCSA has recorded 143,116 Covid-19 infections and 1,083 deaths. In total, there have been 171,979 Covid infections and 1,177 Covid-related deaths reported in Thailand since the pandemic started last year. Of the…
-
Scrutiny over public and media idolising of suspect Uncle Phol
Following the arrest of Chaiphol Wipha, known as Uncle Phol to murdered 3 year old ‘Nong Champoo’, his elevation in the media to celebrity status is receiving criticism. He’s been a prime suspect in the murder for over a year, but a warrant was issued June 1, he surrendered yesterday, and is now in police custody. At first, the media…
-
India places order for 300 million doses of unapproved vaccine
India signed an order yesterday for 300 million doses of an unnamed Indian vaccine that will cost US $205-206 million. The currently untitled vaccine comes from the Indian firm Biological E, which is in Phase 3 trials. The vaccine has shown “promising results” in the first two phases, says the government. From the government: The arrangement with Biological-E is part…
-
US President Biden pledges vaccines donation, 25 million to start
The UN-backed COVAX program, to help supply vaccines around the world, got a boost today as US President Biden vowed that America will donate 25 million vaccines to start. The donation would make up nearly 25% of all vaccines procured through the COVAX program to date. The UN effort seeks to bulk up vaccine supplies in Asia, Africa, and South…
-
Pro-PM Prayut public relations campaign draws criticism
In what critics believe to be an ill-conceived plan, the Prime Minister Operations Centre has launched a campaign to tell people to lay off the criticism of Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha. In a charm offensive to encourage Thais to think “the PM is cool, so just chill out”, critics say the PR campaign has across as “aggressive and pompous”. The…
-
Train accident kills 9 in China
Early this morning, 9 people were confirmed dead from a railway accident in China’s Gansu Province, a northcentral province south of Mongolia. Reportedly, the train rammed workers. The train was coming from Urumqi and was head to Hangzhou, when it crashed into railway workers around 5:25 in the morning in Jinchang city. Emergency responders were sent to the scene to…
-
Chulabhorn Royal Academy receives no vaccines from government, postpones first doses
Bangkok’s Chulabhorn Royal Academy says it has to postpone its planned administration of first doses as the Thai government has not allocated it any supplies of the AstraZeneca or Sinovac vaccines. The academy, which is sponsored by Princess Chulabhorn, sister of His Majesty, King Maha Vajiralongkorn, says the administration of first doses will be stopped from June 14. However, those…
-
Car accident leaves woman in critical condition
Early this morning, a woman crashed her car into a trailer truck in Bang Lamung, a district in the Chon Buri province. She is currently in critical condition. At 1:30 am Bang Lamung police were alerted to the accident that happened in a U-turn on Sukhumvit Road. When emergency responders got to the scene they found a damaged sedan in…
-
Former army adviser convicted of human trafficking dies in prison
A former army adviser, convicted of trafficking Rohingya migrants to camps in Southern Thailand, died in a prison hospital this week. 65 year old Manas Kongpan had a heart attack while he was exercising at the Medical Correctional Hospital where he had been admitted to treat hypertension, high cholesterol and bradycardia. The former army adviser was one of more than 100…
-
Epidemiologist says “zero Covid” countries risk isolation unless vaccination is ramped up
A leading infectious diseases specialist in Australia says countries using tight border control measures to maintain their “zero Covid” status risk being left in limbo unless vaccination is accelerated. According to a Bloomberg report, Greg Dore from the University of New South Wales in Sydney says border restrictions that have kept Covid-19 deaths below 1,000 in Australia are not sustainable.…
-
Chiang Mai launches website for expats to register for Covid-19 vaccination
The northern province of Chiang Mai has launched a website where foreign residents can register to be vaccinated against Covid-19. Provincial permanent secretary Kanok Sriwichainan says foreigners who have not registered through the Mor Prom app can now do so at the Kampang Wiang website. They will need to provide their passport number and vaccination will be carried out with…
-
PM to chair meeting on Thailand’s re-opening as Phuket officials demand clarity
The Centre for Economic Situation Administration will today discuss plans for the revival of Thailand’s tourism sector at a virtual meeting chaired by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha. Attendees will discuss a future quarantine-free re-opening of 10 provinces considered popular tourist destinations: Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Phetchaburi, Chon Buri, Phuket, Surat Thani, Krabi, Phang Nga, and Buriram. While Phuket is…
-
Indonesian submarine salvage efforts called off
After the tragic search for Indonesia’s missing submarine ending in finding it had sunk with no survivors April 21, the government has officially ended attempts to salvage the sub. The KRI Nanggalla 402 was engaging in live torpedo trainings but disappeared in April with 53 crew members aboard. Days of frantic searches and hopes for survivors came to a close…
-
Monk killed in hit and run
Phra Charan, a 70 year old monk, was killed in a hit in Bangkok, yesterday. Phra had been a monk for years at the Wat Son temple. 30 metres from the monk’s body pieces of a “black car” were recovered, presumably from the car that struck Phra. When rescue workers arrived at the scene they found Phra’s head and leg…
-
Phuket residents to receive “survival bags”
Over 35,000 households throughout Phuket will receive “survival bags” to help residents cope with the financial burdens of Covid-19. The bags will contain “essential household supplies”. The bags are to contain: 2 x 5 kilogram packs of rice 1 x bottle of cooking oil 12 cans of canned fish 12 packs of instant noodles The bags are estimated to cost…
-
Siam Bioscience declares AstraZeneca vaccine ready to deliver
Much anticipated news came from Siam Bioscience yesterday, as the company announced that they are ready to begin deliveries of the AstraZeneca vaccine to the Thai government. The company was scheduled to provide over 60 million vaccines over the course of the year. The welcomed announcement came amidst frequent reporting of problems and delays in the production of the Covid-19…
-
Emirates and Etihad announce July Phuket flights
Joining in support of reopening Phuket, Emirates Airlines and Etihad Airways have both announced flights resuming in July. Etihad Airways will start back up flights from the United Arab Emirates capital of Abu Dhabi on July 1, while Emirates Airlines will resume flights from Dubai on July 2. Qatar Airways had announced yesterday that they will be resuming flights to…
-
Covid UPDATE Thursday: 3,886 new infections and 39 deaths, provincial totals
3,886 new Covid-19 cases and 39 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA. Since April 1, the latest wave of infections in Thailand, the CCSA has recorded 140,485 Covid-19 infections with more than 40,000 of those infections in Bangkok. The capital is still recoding nearly 1,000 new cases each day. Phuket, racing towards its July 1 ‘reopening’ reported another 6…
-
Motorcycle club donates 40,000 face masks, hand sanitiser to Pattaya prison
Yesterday, the Mini Siam Motorcycle Club Pattaya donated 40,000 face masks and 40 bottles of hand sanitiser to the Pattaya Remand Prison. The donation was led by Mr Thada Boonpan. “There are many confirmed cases of Covid-19 at prisons in Bangkok and other provinces, although Pattaya Remand has so far been spared. We want it to stay that way. We…
-
11 million Sinovac doses to arrive in Thailand over the next 3 months
Over the next 3 months, Thailand will import 11 million doses of China’s Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine. The locally-produced AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine is the primary vaccine planned for Thailand’s mass coronavirus immunisation campaign. Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul says the additional Sinovac doses will help reach the goal of obtaining 100 million doses. So far, Thailand has received 5.5 million doses…
-
American expats to US government: give us vaccines!
With the visit of US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R. Sherman, a collection of high-profile American expats living in Thailand released an open letter asking for Covid-19 vaccines. The letter pled with the US government to include arrangements to guarantee vaccines to all US expats in the kingdom. “Don’t abandon us! The US continues to have a growing vaccine…
-
US Deputy Secretary of State pledges Covid-19 aid
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha met with United States Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R. Sherman yesterday to discuss the Covid-19 vaccine situation. The US representative acknowledged Thailand’s struggle to procure and distribute vaccines to everyone in the country, observing that many countries are grappling with similar issues. She declared that the US has been pursuing a policy of procuring excess supplies…
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.