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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Sponsored 10 biggest challenges retirees face in Thailand (and how to overcome them)
Retiring in Thailand comes with many benefits, like warm weather, affordable living, and a rich culture. However, it also brings challenges. Retirees must deal with visa rules, healthcare costs, language barriers, and cultural differences. Rising medical expenses, required insurance, and...
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Forensic analysis ordered for elephant killed with 120 bullets
Grandfather of Pala-U, a 60 year old elephant who died after being shot more than 120 times, will be aided by forensic experts in an attempt to identify his killer. Earlier this month, the elephant was found in Phetchaburi province with more than 100 bullet wounds all over its body. Last Saturday, despite the best efforts of veterinarians who have…
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AstraZeneca vaccines free for Bangkok walk-ins from Monday
Starting Monday, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration will be offering AstraZeneca vaccinations for people over 18 of any nationality. They are broadening the scope of who can be vaccinated in an attempt to accelerate national inoculation, a criterion announced today in Thailand plan to declare Covid-19 endemic by the end of this year. The vaccinations will be open to anybody as…
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Thailand will declare Covid endemic whether WHO agrees or not
Regardless of whether the World Health Organisation agrees or not, Thailand plans to declare Covid-19 as an endemic disease by the end of this year according to the Ministry of Public Health. A meeting of the National Communicable Disease Committee was held today where the decision was made. Thailand will create its own academically acceptable criteria for measuring whether Covid-19…
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Phuket gov calls for investigation, charm offensive after report on hospitel parties
Following British journalist Jonathan Miller’s harsh and lengthy report of his stay at a Phuket quarantine hospitel, Governor Narong Woonciew called for an investigation into the reporter’s claims. The reporter documented the impromptu parties with Covid-infected travellers during his two-week stay at the “hospitel.” In the Sunday Times, Miller who was classified as high risk of contracting Covid-19, was ordered…
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Appeal Court upholds ruling: army needn’t compensate for shooting activist
A human rights activist who was shot by the army in 2017 at a checkpoint in Chiang Mai is not entitled to compensation according to the Appeal Court. Yesterday the court upheld a previous ruling by the Civil Court that dismiss the lawsuit arguing that the army pay compensation to the family of Lahu human rights activist Chaiyaphum Pasae. The…
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African Swine Fever spreads across Thailand, cases reported in 13 provinces
African Swine Fever is spreading across Thailand. The country’s agriculture minister said the disease has infected pig farms and one slaughterhouse in 13 Thai provinces in Central, Northeastern, and Southern Thailand. The infected farms and the five-kilometre radius around them are now declared epidemic zones. Instead of giving the ministry’s 2.9 billion baht emergency budget to pig farmers as he…
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Thursday Covid Update: 8,078 new cases; provincial totals
22 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 22,098 with 400 of those fatalities since the start of this year. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 8,078 new Covid-19 cases and 6,595 recoveries. There are now 82,760 people in Thailand being treated for Covid-19. Out of…
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Another Bangkok pedestrian killed crossing the road
After last week’s tragic killing of a pedestrian by a motorbike at a Bangkok zebra crossing, a pickup truck killed a pedestrian crossing the road in Samut Prakan this morning. A pickup truck struck 33 year old Win Mar Soe, who is from Myanmar, and reportedly swung her 10 metres. First responders took her to Chularat 9 Airport Hospital in…
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Koh Samui hotel, business owners call for PCR test price cut to draw in Test & Go tourists
Hoteliers and business owners on the southern island of Koh Samui are asking the Thai government to lower the costs of RT-PCR tests in an effort to draw in more foreign tourists. The calls follow the decision to reopen registration for the Test & Go entry scheme starting February 1. The quarantine exemption scheme requires tourists to isolate themselves at…
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Krabi rescue volunteer catches giant king cobra with bare hands
A volunteer from the Ao Nang rescue team in southern Thai province of Krabi caught a giant king cobra with his bare hands. The 4.5 metre, 10 kilogram snake was reported by the residents after it slithered into a palm plantation. The giant cobra tried to hide in a septic tank near locals’ houses. It took 40 year old volunteer,…
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Domestic vacationers, not international, will be majority of Phuket hotel guests
A report by one real estate consultancy says domestic vacationers, not international tourists, will probably make up the majority of Phuket hotel guests in 2022. After a peak of 5.3 million arrivals at Phuket hotels in 2019, the arrivals dropped by 80% in 2020 to only 1.1 million. Constantly changing Covid-19 policies and confusion over them hinder travellers from booking…
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Foreign man in Pattaya arrested for allegedly trying to fight locals
Police arrested a shirtless foreign man at a supermarket in South Pattaya between last night and this morning. The man allegedly harassed locals by shouting and trying to pick fights. Police say he seemed very intoxicated. They eventually arrested the man and brought him to the station to slap him with multiple legal charges. The man’s nationality hasn’t been reported…
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2 Pattaya venues acting as “restaurants” busted for Covid-19 violations
In the continuing struggle to rein in restaurants and venues violating the ever-evolving Covid-19 restrictions, police in Pattaya arrested 2 managers of so-called restaurants last night. Police reported that they were in violation of the new 11pm closing time, as well as the Covid-19 health and safety rules for venues that serve alcohol. The Pattaya City Police Chief personally led…
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Thai man assaulted on Pattaya Beach, hospitalised for severe facial injuries
A 27 year old was found lying in a puddle of his own blood on Pattaya Beach and his face severely injured. A beach mat vendor nearby found the man at around 11:30pm last night after he heard men yelling. Responders from the Pattaya-based non-profit humanitarian organisation Sawang Boriboon arrived at the scene by the Central Festival shopping centre. The…
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Officials say Vorayuth cocaine charge could be dropped as time running out
Prosecutors say they’re concerned that time is running out to prosecute fugitive Red Bull heir, Vorayuth Yoovidhya, for cocaine use. The Office of the Attorney-General says the statute of limitations on the charge is set to expire in September. According to a Nation Thailand report, the OAG has released a statement on the progress of the case against Vorayuth, aka…
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Thailand asks for Singapore’s help in freezing assets of former TAT governor
Thai officials are seeking Singapore’s cooperation in freezing the assets of Juthamas Siriwan, who previously served as governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand. She was sentenced to 50 years’ imprisonment on corruption charges related to the hosting of the Bangkok International Film Festival between 2002-2007. According to a Bangkok Post report, Ittiporn Kaewthip and Prayut Phetkun from the Office…
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Not so fast, government tells Thailand’s pot growers new law not in effect yet
People planning to grow cannabis after it was removed from Thailand’s list of controlled drugs should just be patient and wait as the new law is not in effect yet. This from the deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam, who points out that the regulation only relates to some cannabis products, not all. The Bangkok Post reports that the law will be…
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First Pfizer doses for children arrive, vaccination starts Monday
The Department of Disease Control has confirmed the arrival of the first shipment of Pfizer vaccines to be administered to children aged 5 to 11. The lot of 300,000 Covid-19 vaccines arrived in Thailand today, with vaccinations scheduled to begin on January 31. The first round of vaccines will be given to those children considered high-risk due to having one…
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Thai man arrested for shooting a foreign man at a Patong resort
Though few details are available now, a Thai man was taken into custody by Patong Police early this morning for allegedly shooting a foreign man in a resort. The incident took place around 2 am at a resort along the Patong Beach Road and police arrested the local man just outside the resort around 4am. The victim’s condition is currently…
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BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron in Thailand reaches 14, 1 death
After earlier reports that 9 cases of the new sub-strain of Omicron, the BA.2 sub-variant, had been identified in Thailand so far, that total has already increased to 14. The infections in Thailand involve both Thai nationals and international travellers. It was also confirmed that the first death in Thailand from the Omicron variant reported earlier this month was in…
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Digital assets as payment requires more regulation in Thailand
After studying the risks and benefits of using digital assets and cryptocurrencies to pay for goods and services, a coalition of financial bodies have decided that more regulation is necessary in Thailand. The Ministry of Finance, along with the Bank of Thailand and the Securities and Exchange Commission, have partnered together to assess the regulation needed for crypto usage in…
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Venues in Phuket selling alcohol must apply for new permit
First, they shut all the bars and entertainment venues selling alcohol in Thailand. Then they said those venues could reopen, but not as a boozy bar, rather as restaurants, who eventually were allowed to sell a bit of alcohol again, now until 11 pm. But now in Phuket, entertainment venues that were originally licenced to sell alcohol but then got…
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Malaysia’s new airline SKS is now flying to northern tax-free island resort Pangkor
Following the approval from the country’s civil aviation regulator last week, SKS Airways became the first airline to launch short-haul flights to Malaysia’s northern tax-free island resort of Pangkor yesterday, resuming domestic travel after months of closure due to the Covid-19 outbreak last year. The first flight of SKS Airways took off from the smaller Subang airport near Kuala Lumpur…
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Laos government allows Chinese firm to dig rare earth minerals, locals concerned
Villagers in northeastern Laos have voiced concerns over losing their land to a Chinese firm that was recently approved by the Southeast Asian government to dig for rare earth minerals. A government source says some displaced villagers will receive compensation. Although the Lao Ministry of Plans and Development signed an agreement on January 21 allowing the Tong Lee Seung Industrial…
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Indonesia vows to end Joke Widodo’s extension, says new president will be elected in 2024
The electoral commission of Indonesia declared today that Southeast Asia’s archipelago nation will see its next leader in February 2024, putting an end to rumours that President Joko Widodo may seek to prolong his second and constitutionally mandated last term. Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian, the General Election Commission, and members of the House of Representatives met earlier this week…
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Cambodia PM invites Myanmar junta to the Summit if progress made on peace plan
Despite objections from his counterparts, Cambodia’s leader and incumbent chair of the 10 member bloc, PM Hun Sen, confirmed he had invited Myanmar’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing to the next ASEAN summit if he makes progress on a peace plan he agreed to last year. Hun Sen reportedly spoke to the military head, Min Aung Hlaing, today via video…
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Rangers find man’s body in Nakhon Ratchasima national park
Yesterday, park rangers found a man dead in Thap Lan National Park in Nakhon Ratchasima in Northeast Thailand, known as the Isaan. The ranger team was on patrol when they stopped to rest at a waterhole. They then found the man lying on the ground, looking as though he was sleeping. The team called the national park chief, who reported…
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Bangkok district invites LGBTQ+ to sign unofficial marriage certificate this Valentine’s Day
For this Valentine’s Day, Bang Khun Thian district in Bangkok has invited LGBTQ+ couples and people of all genders to sign the unofficial “marriage” certificate for the first time in Thailand. However, the district’s official Facebook page seems to have taken down the post advertising the event. Under Thai law, marriage is only between a man and a woman. The…
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Thai women’s football team to play against Australia tomorrow
After winning 4-0 against Indonesia on Monday, the Thai women’s football team will play against Australia tomorrow. The AFC Women’s World Cup is being hosted in India right now. Even though Thailand lost their first game to the Philippines, the win over Indonesia has brought back their stride. The team hopes that player Chaba Kaew will help it qualify for…
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Thailand to study whether to increase the daily minimum wage
Thai authorities are studying whether to increase the daily minimum wage. The Labour Ministry will start a feasibility study. The State Enterprises Workers Relations Confederation has recommended 492 baht as the starting pay. Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin told reporters that the Office of the Permanent Secretary for the Labour Ministry would conduct a study to examine the minimum wage’s suitability.…
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