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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The 5 most common travel emergencies in Thailand and how to be prepared
Thailand is a popular destination known for its dynamic culture, stunning beaches, and bustling cities however, travellers can face unexpected travel emergencies that include medical issues, road accidents, petty theft, and natural disasters. To ensure a safe and enjoyable trip,...
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Human rights lawyer Anon Nampa granted 3-month conditional bail
Political activist and human rights lawyer, Anon Nampa, has been granted bail by the Bangkok South Criminal Court. The Ratsadon pro-democracy group leader has been in custody for over 200 days, on charges of lèse majesté and other charges related to political protests. His temporary release was tweeted by Norasate Nanongtoom of Thai Lawyers for Human Rights. According to Norasate,…
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Hong Kong officials eye China-style lockdown, as bodies pile up in hospitals
Hong Kong officials have not ruled out imposing a strict lockdown, similar to those imposed in China at the start of the pandemic. Officials are facing an increasingly desperate situation as the Omicron variant has run amok in the territory, destroying any hope of attaining the so-called zero-Covid status. The situation has deteriorated to such an extent that Reuters reports…
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Health officials admit ongoing surge in infections affecting Favipiravir supply
Thailand’s Department of Medical Services says it’s struggling to maintain adequate supplies of Favipiravir tablets, due to the ongoing surge in Covid-19 infections. DMS chief Dr Natthaphong Wongwiwat says the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation is both producing and importing the pills, but the increase in demand is outstripping available resources. He says the situation should stabilise this week, with additional supplies…
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Health officials say Thailand’s Covid cases could reach 100,000 a day by Songkran
Thailand’s daily Covid-19 infections could reach 100,000 by the Songkran holiday next month. That’s the worst-case scenario prediction from the Department of Disease Control, according to a Bangkok Post report today. The DDC says everything hinges on how strictly disease prevention measures are adhered to. These include avoiding group activities, working from home, avoiding non-essential travel, and maintaining high vaccination…
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UPDATE: What really happened to Tangmo? All we know (and the stuff we don’t)
What really happened to Thailand’s Nida Patcharaveerapong, known lovingly by her fans as “Tangmo” (pronounced Daeng-moo) or “Watermelon,” who died last Thursday night after reportedly “falling” from a speedboat into the Chao Phraya River? The Thai TV actress had starred in countless dramas and advertisements in her nearly 20 year career, living in the limelight since childhood. In 2007, a…
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More than 100 officers investigate local politician fatal shooting
More than 100 law enforcement officers have been assigned to investigate a case where gunmen attacked a van carrying members of a tambon administrative organisation, or TAO, on Valentine’s Day in the central province Nakhon Nayok. A politician of the tambon, or subdistrict, and the driver were killed in the shooting. A TAO chairperson was injured. In an order by…
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Thailand’s ban on “claw” machines could be reversed after Chiang Mai ruling
The popular “claw” machines at arcades and malls, some filled with stuffed animals or toys, are actually banned in Thailand because, back in 2020, the Interior Ministry announced that the games of technique and chance were considered “gambling tools.” But the two-year ban could be reversed after a recent ruling in Chiang Mai. Earlier this month, the Chiang Mai public…
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China straddles diplomatic tightrope on Russia’s invasion, Ukraine’s sovereignty
China has refused to condemn Russia’s attack on Ukraine, insisting it is not an invasion, and is standing by its biggest alley — without condoning its actions of unprovoked aggression on a sovereign nation. But its diplomatic ambiguity is forcing it to straddle an awkward line between Russia and the West. Like it or not, China’s Xi Jingping has become…
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Ukrainians and Russians in Thailand gather in Phuket to call for peace
Ukrainians and Russians in Thailand have been gathering in various locations in Phuket to call for peace and urge to stop the violence. Crowds waved flags and balloons in Ukraine’s national colours yellow and blue as they called for an end to the conflict. This morning, over 80 Ukrainian and Russian tourists and expats were on the roadside by the…
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Suspect in Jimi Sandu murder case arrested in Canada
A suspect in the Jimi Sandu murder case was arrested in Canada and a request for his return to Thailand has been submitted. Matthew Dupre, from Canada, was allegedly one of two hitmen who fired multiple shots at Sandu outside a villa in Phuket. Sandu, who was born in India, was a notorious gangster in Canada and had entered Thailand…
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Asia News Today | Calls for stronger sanctions by China over Russia & Singapore flash floods
The US White House is calling on China to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as the Russian onslaught against its neighbour continued. They also noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin has put nuclear forces on high alert, a significant ramp up in the ongoing rhetoric. China has implemented some sanctions imposed by the US and its allies against Russia over…
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Monday Covid Update: 22,311 new cases; provincial totals
42 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 22,933 with 1,235 of those fatalities since the start of this year. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 22,311 new Covid-19 cases and 17,470 recoveries. There are now 213,645 people in Thailand being treated for Covid-19. Out of…
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Drunk driver crashes into motorbike, killing woman and 9 month old
A 60 year old woman and her nine month old grandson died after their motorbike was slammed from behind by a pickup truck early Sunday night in Samut Prakan, southeast of Bangkok. The 35 year old mother survived. She told the police she was riding her motorbike home with her nine month old son and mother. Her motorbike was hit…
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First direct flight from Saudi Arabia to land in Thailand after mending diplomatic relations
The first direct flight from Saudi Arabia to Thailand will land at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, a significant step after bilateral ties between the two countries were patched up. Saudi Arabian Airlines flight SV846 from Riyadh will arrive at Suvarnabhumi Airport at 6:05pm today. The airline will operate three flights per week between Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Bangkok, with more flights…
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Southern Thailand flooding causes bridge collapse, 6 people reported dead
Six people have been reported dead and one missing after a bridge collapsed due to heavy rains and strong currents in the Deep South province Narathiwat. The bodies were found in a submerged pickup truck. Investigators are still searching for another body. Flooding from heavy rain over the past week has hit several provinces in Thailand’s southern-most region including Narathiwat,…
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15 dead after tourist boat capsizes in Vietnam
A tourist boat has capsized off the coastal city of Hoi An, central Vietnam, with 15 people dead, including a 12-year-old child. According to an AFP report, the boat sank in bad weather as it was transporting 39 domestic tourists and crew members back from a trip to Cu Lao Cham Island. The island, off the coast of the world-heritage…
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Philippines to lift most Covid restrictions in Manila from tomorrow
A spokesperson for Rodrigo Duterte, President of the Philippines, says most Covid-19 restrictions in the capital, Manila, will be lifted from tomorrow. According to an AFP report, it comes as government officials declare Manila’s vaccination rate to be 100%, although it’s much lower elsewhere in the country. Manila has also experienced a sharp decline in case numbers. The country just…
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Thailand expecting a million Middle Eastern tourists following restoration of Saudi ties
Thailand hopes to restore its battered tourism sector by welcoming around a million Middle Eastern tourists by the end of this year. Government spokesperson Traisulee Traisornkul says the restoration of ties with Saudi Arabia, after a 30-year freeze, will help revive the tourism industry in the kingdom. “Restoring relations between Thailand and Saudi Arabia would play a crucial role in…
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Evacuation of Thai nationals from Ukraine gets underway
The evacuation of Thai citizens from Ukraine is now underway, with 47 Thais having arrived at a dedicated facility in the Ukrainian city of Lviv, according to a Bangkok Post report. The Thai embassy in Warsaw, Poland, is managing the evacuation, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The embassy has opened a help centre in Lviv, with a specially chartered bus…
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Ukraine and Russia to meet for talks at Belarus border
The office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says officials will meet for talks with a Russian delegation at the Belarus border. AFP reports that the move comes after a phone call between Zelensky and Belarusian leader, Alexander Lukashenko. “The politicians agreed that the Ukrainian delegation would meet the Russian one without preconditions at the Ukraine-Belarus border, near the Pripyat River.”…
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Southern houses damaged by rainstorms and sea waves
Rainstorms and big sea waves damaged about 200 homes in the Southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat between Thursday and this morning. The storms hit the Gulf of Thailand, and drastically eroded about 500 metres of the beach at Na Saton village. The deputy provincial governor inspected the damage this morning, and the Na Satorn Municipality gave people tiles and…
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In Phuket, phoney monk publicly strips, changes into normal clothes
A man in Phuket who pretended to be a monk to convince people to give him ‘alms’ money publicly stripped off his monk robe in a field to change into normal clothes. The Phuket Provincial Police chief told The Phuket News people complained and sent videos of the man publicly changing in a field across the road from the Phuket…
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Forensic experts uncover more about Tangmo’s death, two charged so far
Forensic experts have dismissed reports that Tangmo, the Thai actress who’s body was found yesterday, went to the back of the boat she fell off to urinate. The experts say she was wearing a body suit, which would have made this difficult. A preliminary autopsy showed Tangmo had sand in her lungs. Toxicology results are expected to take about seven…
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Bangkok student president dismissed for controversial video chat
The president of Chulalongkorn Univesity’s student council was dismissed from his position after he presented a controversial video at a student orientation in 2021. The video featured talks by two prominent protest leaders, nicknamed Penguin and Rung, who are known critics of Thailand’s monarchy. In his talk, Penguin raised his middle finger, and encouraged students to do the same. Thai…
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Covid-19 clinics for mild patients to open in March
Thailand’s Public Health Permanent Secretary announced yesterday that Covid-19 clinics for patients with mild symptoms or none at all will open in Thailand on March 1. The clinics, called Accute Resperatory Infection clinics, will offer mild patients Covid-19 tests, exams, medicines, and advice from doctors about home quarantining. The spokesman stressed that 90% of new infections are by the Omicron…
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The west weaponises SWIFT as it ramps up sanctions against Russia
The US, European Commission, UK, France, Germany, Italy and Canada have announced they will cut “certain Russian banks” off from the world’s SWIFT bank code system, the global security network that connects thousands of financial institutions. The group said they will “collectively ensure that this war is a strategic failure for Putin”. “This will ensure that these banks are disconnected…
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Tangmo’s mum believes daughter’s death is suspicious
In the aftermath of the mysterious death of Thai actress Tangmo, and the recovery of her body, after falling into Bangkok’s Chao Phraya, her mother told the Bangkok Post she believes something is suspicious. Tangmo’s mother, Panida, said it was hard to believe Tangmo and her five friends, one of whom was her manager, were on the boat just to enjoy…
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ASEAN’s pathetic response to the people of Ukraine – OPINION
OPINION Issuing its first cautious statement over the invasion of Ukraine, ASEAN calls on… “all parties concerned to exercise maximum restraint, to pursue dialogue through all channels, including diplomatic means to contain the situation, to prevent it from further escalation and to see peaceful resolution in accordance with international law and the UN Charter.” No condemnation, no demands for an…
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Missing Thai actress’s body found in Chao Phraya river, Bangkok
The body of Tangmo, the Thai actress who fell in the Chao Phraya river on Thursday night, was found by a rescue team this afternoon. Rescuers from the Ruamkanyu Foundation reported finding Tangmo’s body flaoting in the river at around 1:10pm. Eakpan Bunluerit, a Thai actor who also happened to be volunteering in the search, confirmed the body was Tangmo’s.…
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Phuket officials pass out Covid-19 “survival bags”.
Phuket officials handed out Covid-19 “survival bags” to residents of the Kamala area yesterday. The bags contained food and medical supplies, and were given to high-risk people self isolating, many of whom have lost livelihood from not being able to work. So far there are no details available about how many bags were given out. The chief of the Phuket…
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