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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Thailand’s DDC director says Covid may enter post-pandemic phase this year
As Thailand has seen a downswing of daily new Covid-19 infections, which have remained below 10,000 since the beginning of January, the country’s Department of Disease Control director-general Dr Opas Karnkawinpong says the widespread virus may enter the post-pandemic stage this year. The global outbreak has three stages: pre-pandemic, pandemic, and post-pandemic, the director says, adding that the world may…
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Foreigner steals 3,600 baht from Phuket cab driver
A Phuket cab driver caught a foreigner stealing 3,600 baht from his cab on camera last Sunday, January 30. The driver works for the inDriver app. He had stopped to get out of the car for a bathroom break when the foreign man snatched the cash into his pocket from the centre console between the two front seats. The driver…
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Bangkok airport warns passengers not to travel abroad with more than 30 face masks
Suvarnabhumi Airport is warning passengers not to travel abroad with more than 30 face masks, according to Thai media. Only passengers with medical certifications will be allowed to carry up to 50 masks onboard. No one is allowed to send face masks out of the kingdom except those who have received approval. For those travelling out of the country, face…
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Thai navy lieutenant arrested for allegedly installing cameras in women’s bathroom
The 54 year old Lieutenant Commander from the Royal Thai Navy was arrested for allegedly installing hidden cameras inside bathrooms at an IT department in a Chon Buri hospital. Maintenance staff found the cameras hidden in the bathroom ceiling. Reports say more than 1,000 videos were recorded on the cameras, which were apparently up for more than six years. The…
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Friday Covid Update: 9,909 new cases; provincial totals
22 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 22,250 with 552 of those fatalities since the start of this year. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 9,909 new Covid-19 cases and 7,827 recoveries. There are now 86,473 people in Thailand being treated for Covid-19. Out of…
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UPDATE: Indonesia welcomes fully vaxxed travellers with 5 day quarantine from today
Fully vaxxed and dreaming of white beaches? Starting from today, Indonesia welcomes you with a reduced quarantine of 5 days. You might even be able to book a direct flight to Bali this month, if you’re traveling from select countries. For those with a single jab, the duration of quarantine is reduced from 10 to 7 days. Ministry of Coordinating…
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Thailand to discuss travel bubble with China and Malaysia this month
Thai tourism officials plan to hold talks with their counterparts in Malaysia and China for travel bubble schemes allowing quarantine-free travel between the countries. Thailand’s Tourism and Sports Minister, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, shared with Thai media that the ministry plans to talk with the two Asian counties about a sealed route this month. Piphat says they plan to start discussions with China…
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Anonymous complaint against Bangkok governor candidate causes probe
The House committee on corruption and misconduct prevention and suppression plans to probe a Bangkok candidate for governor after an anonymous party sent a complaint to the House committee chairman last month. The complaint said the candidate’s wealth was unusual, and he had committed wrongdoing. A committee spokesperson said the probe will start soon. The candidate, Suchatvee Suwansawat, said he…
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Myanmar junta and its supporters will face more sanctions – US State Department
The US, along with the UK and Canada, imposed new sanctions on people and organisations linked to Myanmar this week, focusing on judicial officials involved in prosecutions against Myanmar’s deposed leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained since the coup last year. According to US State Department Counselor Derek Chollet, Myanmar’s military and those who assisted the junta…
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Covid-19 vaccination begins for Malaysian children between the ages of 5 and 11
Malaysian children between the ages of 5 and 11 are now being given a Covid-19 vaccine as officials try to boost immunity in the very young. According to a Reuters report, yelps of pain could be heard at a vaccination centre in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, where young kids waited nervously beside their parents. Despite a degree of anxiety in…
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Another day, another data breach: Thai students’ data hacked, sold on dark web
The personal information of over 23,000 students has been stolen as a result of the Thai University Central Admission System being hacked. According to a Bangkok Post report, the security breach has been confirmed by the Council of University Presidents of Thailand. It’s understood the data, which pertains to over 23,000 students who took part in last year’s exams, has…
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9 children get blood disorder after eating sausages from illegal Chon Buri factory
Nine children have methemoglobinemia, a blood disorder, after they ate sausages from one factory in Chon Buri. Local police and officials from the Food and Drug Administration inspected the factory and talked to the owner after labels on the factory’s products matched what the children had eaten. The owner admitted to producing sausage products for five years without a permit.…
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Officials will install traffic lights and surveillance cameras at 100 Bangkok crossings
In the aftermath of a fatal accident where a motorbike hit and killed a pedestrian, Bangkok officials plan to install traffic lights and surveillance cameras at 100 zebra crossings. The lights will be installed in two weeks, and the cameras in a month. Out of the city’s 3,280 zebra crossings, only 1,277 have flashing lights warning drivers to slow down…
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Thailand’s health minister says there’s no legal requirement to wear a face mask
Legally, we can’t force you to do it, but just do it, okay? That seems to be the message from Thailand’s Public Health Minister in relation to the wearing of face masks. According to a report from the National News Bureau of Thailand, Anutin Charnvirakul has confirmed there’s no legal mandate for the wearing of face masks…. at least that’s…
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Phuket officials comment on recent ‘taxi’ fiasco – everything except taxi meters
It’s the public, especially tourists’, “misunderstanding” of the way taxis fares are charged on the island of Phuket that is the problem. That’s the explanation from Phuket Land Transport Chief Jaturong Kaewkasi during an interview on an island radio station this week. The Phuket Land Transport has responded to last week’s viral video clip when a Thai man posted the altercation…
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New Zealand announces 5 step border reopening plan, starting this month
New Zealand is slowly starting to ease restrictions and gradually reopen borders. The country announced a five-step plan for loosening some of the world’s most restrictive Covid-19 measures, starting with allowing citizens in Australia, who have been fully vaccinated, to travel back home at the end of the month. Vaccinated travellers will be free to enter on March 13, according…
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Myanmar sees rapid uptick of narcotics production, trafficking since coup
Illicit drug production and trafficking in Myanmar has rapidly increased since the February 2021 military coup, when Tatmadaw (Burmese army) seized power and overthrew the civilian, elected government. A senior official from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime says, that over the past year, there has been a spike in narcotics production, particularly methamphetamine, in the country’s Shan State…
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Infected inmate escapee from Koh Samui Hospital surrenders, says he got hungry
The inmate infected with Covid-19 who escaped from Koh Samui Hospital has reportedly surrendered to police. Apparently, he turned himself in to police because he got hungry. With prisons and correctional facilities requiring a quarantine period for all new inmates, and with a number of them testing positive for Covid-19, there has been an increase in prisoner escapes, according to…
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Security guards allegedly stab resident to death at Bangkok housing project
Yesterday, the police officers from Tian Tale Metropolitan Police Station arrested three security guards suspected of killing a resident at a state dormitory of the National Housing Authorities project in Bang Khun Tian, Bangkok. Officer seized weapons and say the suspects confessed to killing the resident, claiming they didn’t mean to murder him, they just wanted to get revenge because…
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Greek tourists robbed in Phuket get 51,000 baht gift from anonymous donor
The Greek family who claims 200,000 baht was stolen from their car in Phuket have received a gift of 51,000 baht from an anonymous donor to help them continue their travels. The Facebook page named KNIGHTS BORDER made a post saying an “anonymous kind and beloved brother” donated the money to the family after hearing that hundreds of thousands of baht…
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Cambodian domestic airlines resume flights as tourists flock in
Since many international visitors have begun to flock to the country, Cambodia has resumed some of its domestic airlines, with Cambodia Angkor Air starting its weekly flights between Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, and Sihanoukville from tomorrow. AirAsia also started flying between Phnom Penh and Kuala Lumpur last week, whilst Vietnam Airlines began flying between Phnom Penh and Ho Chi Minh…
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Deputy PM vows stricter punishments for traffic violators following fatal crosswalk accident
Following the deadly crosswalk accident where a police officer struck a pedestrian with his Ducati motorcycle, Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan ordered harsher legal punishments for traffic violators in a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, although it has not yet been announced exactly what the punishments will be. He also called for providing info online about violators’ histories and past offences and…
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Bali to reopen fully vaccinated travellers starting tomorrow, quarantine required
The island of Bali is reopening to fully vaccinated visitors from all countries starting tomorrow. Travellers who are vaccinated against Covid-19 must quarantine for five to seven days, according to Senior Minister Luhut Pandjaitan. The popular tourist destination in Indonesia had initially reopened in mid-October, but only to those travelling from certain countries, including China, New Zealand, and Japan. And even though…
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Man severely injured in Bengal tiger attack in Kanchanaburi
A man was severely injured in an attack by a wild Bengal tiger in a Kanchanaburi forest near the Myanmar border last Friday. The 48 year old man was walking from a nearby village to the forest to care for a buffalo when two Bengal tigers started chasing him. Reports say the man ran, but was then faced with a…
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Healthcare standards in Laos need to be improved, country’s health minister says
Health officials in Laos are being pushed to do a better job of increasing access to and enhancing the quality of the country’s public healthcare system, similar to how private hospitals and clinics operate. Although Laos has been able to protect people’s right to healthcare in recent years, and most people now have access to better quality health services, the…
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Most Phuket tourists infected with Covid travelled from Russia and Kazakhstan
Most tourists who tested positive for Covid-19 when they arrived in Phuket travelled from Russia and Kazakhstan, but particularly Russia, the Phuket provincial governor told the Bangkok Post. The governor says there will be an investigation of why a significant number of infections involved travellers from those countries. Governor Narong Woonciew says that out of about 300 daily diagnoses in Phuket,…
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Phuket reports higher infection rate in second Covid tests for Test & Go travellers
With two RT-PCR tests now required for Test & Go travellers, one of Thailand’s most popular tourist destinations, Phuket, is reporting a higher infection rate for the second test. Following the emergence of the Omicron variant in Thailand, with many travellers testing positive for the mutated strain, the Thai government decided to require two RT-PCR tests instead of the initial…
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Thai health officials see signs of dementia in some recovered Covid-19 patients
A number of patients who’ve recovered from Covid-19 are displaying signs of dementia, according to Thai health officials. According to a Nation Thailand report, the Department of Medical Services says the symptoms tend to develop between 1 and 6 months after contracting Covid-19. DMS boss Somsak Ankasil says the risk appears to be higher in patients with pre-existing brain or…
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Tourism officials call for travel bubble talks to resume with Thailand’s neighbours
Thailand’s tourism minister is pushing for travel bubble discussions to resume with neighbouring countries now that the Test & Go scheme has re-started. The Bangkok Post reports that Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn would like to see more reciprocal travel arrangements with countries like Malaysia, Laos, and Cambodia, pointing out that such places normally generate significant cross-border traffic for Thailand. According to Phiphat,…
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Over 23,000 travellers register for Test & Go scheme on day 1 of relaunch
A government spokesman says out of 29,194 foreigners who applied for a Thailand Pass on Tuesday, over 23,000 were registering for the Test & Go entry scheme. Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana says 23,660 registered for Test & Go on day 1 of its return. According to a Bangkok Post report, Thanakorn is optimistic that this number will increase. Test & Go was…
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