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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Thailand is 26th on Bloomberg Covid Resilience Ranking
The Bloomberg Covid Resilience Ranking this month places Thailand in the middle of the pack, 26th out of 53 countries on the list, and PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is satisfied with the rank. The government expressed satisfaction over the ranking after Thailand previously placed much lower at 44th on the list. The spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office said that PM…
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Anutin trolls US handling of Covid-19, compared to Thailand
Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul praised the way Thailand handled Covid-19 in comparison to the US over the past 2 years. In comments he made this week he said that in the US, many were still unvaccinated and death tolls remain very high, while in Thailand people are following Covid-19 safety rules and bringing the numbers down. GRAPH: Daily…
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Thailand’s Rayong province declares emergency as oil slick reaches beach
Attempts since last Tuesday morning have failed to avert the oil spill reaching the Gulf of Thailand’s east coast beaches. Yesterday the oil started washing up on the Mae Ramphueng beach in Rayong, an hour’s drive south of Pattaya. Up to 200 people were patrolling the stricken beach using back hoes to try and scoop up the oil. Other volunteers…
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Australia to Kanye West: you must be fully vaccinated to play here
After the Australian public and government overwhelmingly agreed they didn’t want unvaccinated tennis champion Novak Djokovic in the country, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has a strong working for hip-hop superstar Kanye West. Kanye announced plans to tour Australia in March, but the government has responded: not without a vaccine you aren’t. While Kanye’s vaccination status is unknown, he has made…
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Pope Francis calls Covid-19 fake news a violation of human rights
While the church hasn’t always been on the same side as science, Pope Francis spoke out strongly against vaccine disinformation and Covid-19 fake news. In a statement Friday, he condemned any news source, including Catholic news media, that perpetuated misinformation about the pandemic, calling it a violation of human rights. In a talk with members of a group of Catholic…
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Body of unknown dead man found floating in sea near Pattaya
A local fisherman had a morbid catch when he stumbled upon the body of an unidentified man floating in the waters off the coast of Pattaya. The lifeless body was discovered yesterday afternoon in the ocean between Koh Larn and Koh Sarn. Pattaya City Police were notified of the floating man and they brought rescue divers along with them to…
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Asia’s second largest drug bust: 36 million meth pills in Laos
After a record-breaking bust in October, police in Laos have just captured 36 million meth pills, the second-largest Asian drug bust on record. A United Nations official confirmed the bust earlier today and say it points to changes in the patterns of drug smuggling in Southeast Asia. In the bust earlier this week, 36 million meth pills were found along…
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Chinese New Year uptick in BKK arrivals, but mostly domestic
More than 450,000 travellers will going through the turnstiles at Bangkok’s main airport Suvarnabhumi between January 26 and February 7, including the annual Chinese New Year celebrations. But they’re not all from overseas, indeed the majority, some 349,000 travellers, are domestic. The airport’s GM reports that 115,931 international travellers will be travelling through BKK during the 14 day period. That’s…
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Pattaya shop reports old foreign man dies during massage
While receiving a massage at a shop in the Pattaya area, an older foreign man died midway through. The incident took place yesterday in Bang Lamung at a massage shop in the late afternoon, and emergency responders were notified of an unidentified foreigner, believed to be an expat around the age of 70, who had passed away in the middle…
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Covid-19 vaccine does not kill athletes, despite consistent rumour
An apparently false conspiracy theory that the Covid-19 vaccine is killing athletes has once again been pushed by prominent “anti-vaxxers.” US Senator Ron Johnson claimed that 22,000 people have died from the vaccine including many athletes. And Basketball Hall of Famer John Stockton contended that over 100 athletes had died after receiving a Covid-19 vaccine. Neither of these statements were…
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Police charge motorbike rider for excessive speed through crosswalk that killed doctor last week
After a reflective week of Thai social media mulling over the death of the ophthalmologist Dr. Waraluck Supwatjariyakul last Friday, police have reported new circumstances surrounding the incident. Investigations have revealed that the policeman rider was well in excess of the speed limit when he struck, and killed, the doctor. Police now say that 21 year old Pol Lance Corporal…
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Countdown to February 1 – opening Thailand’s tourist floodgates?
The Test & Go program of the Thailand Pass is set to start again on February 1. Test & Go Version 2.0. In this reboot you will need to book an extra pre-paid SHA+ room, and PCR test, for Day 5 of your stay, in addition to the original version of Test & Go when you only had the one…
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Woman steals 10,000 baht in lottery tickets from vendors in Isaan
A woman in the Isaan province Nakhon Ratchasima allegedly stole more than 100 lottery tickets, which cost a total of around 10,000 baht. CCTV footage from a local lottery shop shows a woman, who appears to be around 60 years old, talking tickets from the shop. The woman walked into the shop pretending to look at the numbers, but was…
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Local coffee shop fined 500 baht for tables placed on a crosswalk
Following the fatal accident where a police officer crashed his Ducati into a woman walking across the crosswalk, authorities throughout the country are tightening measures around traffic enforcement and working on ways to improve pedestrian safety. Many are now sharing photos of recently painted crosswalks, many painted a vibrant red to alert drivers to slow down. But one crosswalk in…
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“Pig Sandbox” to reopen farms in isolated areas to control the spread of African Swine Fever
We’ve all heard of the Sandbox entry programmes, designed to allow vaccinated travellers to roam freely in areas considered to be at low risk of Covid-19. But now authorities are discussing a so-called “Pig Sandbox” as a way to isolate farms from areas at high risk of the African Swine Fever, which is said to have caused a shortage of…
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US funds upgrades to border patrol police training centre in Chiang Mai
Thailand today inaugurates the US-funded Close Quarter Battle Thai Border Patrol Police training centre in Chiang Mai’s Mae Taeng district, which will enable law enforcement officials to better defend Thai and regional people from transnational crime. Ranges, a mock village, a three-story tactical training building, and equipment are all part of this US$600,000 (19.8 million baht) project provided to the…
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Friday Covid Update: 8,450 new cases; provincial totals
28 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 22,126 with 428 of those fatalities since the start of this year. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 8,450 new Covid-19 cases and 7,484 recoveries. There are now 83,698 people in Thailand being treated for Covid-19. Out of…
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Thailand and Saudi Arabia patch things up 33 years after Blue Diamond Affair
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha visited Saudi Arabia earlier this week, and Thailand and Saudi mended relations they broke 33 years ago following the Blue Diamond Affair in 1989 where a Thai cleaner in Saudi’s royal palace stole diamonds worth US$20 million from the prince. The next year, three Saudi diplomats and a businessman trying to recover the gems were killed. According…
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Surat Thani immigration police arrest human trafficking suspect from Myanmar
A 46 year old Myanmar national was arrested by Surat Thani Immigration Police today for allegedly smuggling six others into Thailand. The suspect, who is identified as Bumaw, was reportedly seen on a road in Tambon Talad in Surat Thani province’s Mueang district, and Immigration Police arrested him at the spot, nearly four months after the Surat Thani Court issued…
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Sneak peek into MONOPOLY: Phuket Edition coming in March
A new version of MONOPOLY heads to shelves this March, this time it’s Phuket edition. The game will include sights like Sarasin Beach, Kata Beach, Central Phuket and Karon Viewpoint. All these sites are well know to both locals and tourist. Sarasin Bridge was the first bridge that linked Phuket to mainland Thailand (a mere 300 metres). Kata Beach is…
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Pattaya discusses “hotel isolation” for Test & Go, Sandbox travellers with Covid-19
After hundreds of horror stories of foreign tourists being required to stay in a quarantine hotels around Thailand after testing positive for Covid-19, officials in Pattaya discussed a so-called “hotel isolation” to allow travellers to continue staying at their hotel or resort if they test positive for the virus and have mild or no symptoms. The idea is not to…
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10 year high: Real estate price spike in Singapore
Last year, Singapore home prices rose to their highest level in more than a decade, boosting the island state’s government’s decision to impose “cooling” policies that will hopefully help the Singaporean property market’s stability. According to estimates released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority on Friday, prices increased by 10.6% in 2021. This is the highest level since 2010, when they…
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Insurance fraud ring uncovered after woman breaks her own finger
A woman busted for breaking her own finger led to the uncovering of a syndicate perpetrating insurance fraud around Thailand. The leader of the group and 16 members have now been arrested after at least 16 cases of buying insurance and then cashing in 1 to 2 months later. The group offered a service where they would find someone to…
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Top doctor asks tough questions on transitioning Covid-19 to endemic
After a meeting of the National Communicable Disease Committee was held yesterday, Thailand plans to declare Covid-19 as an endemic disease by the end of this year according to the Ministry of Public Health. While this declaration has raised hope and excitement among many who are sick of the seemingly never-ending pandemic, some have questioned some of the details involved…
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Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwon discusses Phuket pedestrian safety
Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwon brought up pedestrian safety crossings yesterday at an online meeting with a road safety policy committee, and the interior minister. Phuket officials have now been told to paint warning lines ahead of pedestrian crossings, letting drivers know they will have to slow down soon. The group also talked about the new points system that started in…
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WARNING: Thailand Pass spoof email with malicious links
It seems that government websites in Thailand are often the target of successful hacker attacks and now it appears the Thailand Pass site is no exception. Reports are surfacing of people receiving a spoof email regarding the Thailand Pass pointing them to malicious content. It is believed that the email database collected by the Thailand Pass website has been accessed…
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Suvarnabhumi airport predicts Lunar New Year flights up 37%
Suvarnabhumi Airport, the main airport in Bangkok, is predicting a swell of travellers for the upcoming Lunar New Year holidays. The bustling airport located in the Bangkok suburb province of Samut Prakan, is expecting to see about 380 flights each day during the holiday according to the Suvarnabhumi Airport General Manager. Airport officials, along with travel industry experts and airlines,…
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Government allocates 851 million baht for organic farming and projects
Thailand’s government will give 851 million baht to organic farming projects. 552 million will go to projects on production and management. 176.8 million will go to projects on research and development, innovation, database development and knowledge transfer to farmers. 122.2 million will go to projects improving marketing and standards. An agriculture ministry spokesperson said in the past five years, around…
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TAT offices in India introduce online training course for Indian travel agents
Indian travel agents can now sign up for an online training course to brush up on their knowledge of all things Thai, thanks to the Tourism Authority of Thailand. According to a TTR Weekly report, the so-called Thailand Specialist Programme is designed to teach the travel agents about new attractions and tourist offerings in the Land of Smiles. Cholada Siddhivarn…
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Spike in Covid clusters at Malaysia schools, many parents still concerned with vaccinating children
Covid-19 is on the rise at a number of schools in Malaysia following their reopenings and fingers are pointing at teachers and staff for not following and enforcing disease prevention rules like wearing a mask. The country’s health minister even says teachers with coronavirus symptoms are still coming to class. The cluster outbreaks at schools come just as the government is…
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