news in Thailand

  • Thailand video newsThailand News Today | Thailand to declare covid endemic in 4 months?

    Thailand News Today | Thailand to declare covid endemic in 4 months?

    Thailand’s health ministry wants to declare Covid 19 as endemic in the next 4 months. Senior ministry official Kiattiphum Wongrajit says the Omicron variant has resulted in a much lower fatality rate than in previous waves, and while lung infections are increasing, cases of severe illness are still lower than earlier waves of the coronavirus. Health officials say deaths are…

  • Thailand video newsAsia News Today | Asia’s stocks fluctuate, gold and Bitcoin rally

    Asia News Today | Asia’s stocks fluctuate, gold and Bitcoin rally

    In the Asia Pacific region, only Japan, South Korea and Australia have so far officially condemned the actions of Russia after its invasion of Ukraine yesterday. They’ve said they will join with the US in imposing international sanctions but have so far declined to add unilateral sanctions. Indonesia has taken a slightly different tack and is calling for negotiation and…

  • Thailand video newsThailand News Update | No impact to Thai aviation despite Ukraine-Russia tensions

    Thailand News Update | No impact to Thai aviation despite Ukraine-Russia tensions

    Recognising the current situation in Ukraine and the early phases of Russian aggression in the former Soviet state. Whilst there is no direct impact on Thailand as of right now we don’t have anything specific to report.Although the US and UK governments have already banned flights from the Russian national airline Aeroflot, planes are still arriving from Moscow to Thailand…

  • Thailand video newsFall out in Thailand following Russian invasion | GMT

    Fall out in Thailand following Russian invasion | GMT

    The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) is worried the Russia-Ukraine crisis may affect car exports. A charter flight is ready to be sent to help evacuate Thais in Ukraine if tensions with Russia escalate further. The Thai stock market tumbled 1.99% on Thursday while local gold prices rose by 850 baht after Russia launched attacks on multiple Ukraine cities. The…

  • World NewsAsia News Today | Starving Burmese Refugees & Terrorist groups in Philippines

    Asia News Today | Starving Burmese Refugees & Terrorist groups in Philippines

    South Korea’s PM is calling for calm after a record number of Covid infections, amid warnings that the latest surge is still yet to peak. He says that serious cases and deaths were still at “manageable levels”, after health authorities reported 171,452 new infections yesterday, a sharp increase from the 99,573 cases a day earlier and the previous all-time high…

  • Thailand video newsThailand News Update | Doubts on Thailand’s Songkran 2022

    Thailand News Update | Doubts on Thailand’s Songkran 2022

    Even after the Test & Go program was rebooted on February 1, along with the additional and unpopular Day 5 PCR test, there hasn’t been a large increase in the number of international tourists visiting Thailand. Indeed the new applications and actual arrivals have fallen well below expectations by Thailand’s tourism tzars.Now, Phuket officials are launching new plans to encourage…

  • Thailand video newsEntry Into Thailand Made Easier (Again) | GMT

    Entry Into Thailand Made Easier (Again) | GMT

    The Day 5 PCR test for the Test & Go entry scheme has been scrapped. Land borders in Nong Kai, Udon Thani, and Songkhla will also reopen to international travel. A long-stalled bill criminalising torture and political disappearances cleared its first hurdle in Parliament on Wednesday and The 2022 World Women’s Snooker Championship. All coming up on todays Good Morning…

  • Thailand video newsThailand News Today | Day 5 PCR test scrapped & Covid insurance reduced!

    Thailand News Today | Day 5 PCR test scrapped & Covid insurance reduced!

    The Day 5 PCR test for the Test & Go entry scheme has been scrapped. Instead, on day 5, travellers are required to take a self-administered ATK test without the need to stay at an SHA approved hotel. The new measures go into effect on March 1. Travellers entering under the Test & Go scheme must still undergo a PCR…

  • Thailand video newsThailand News Update | Will Thailand scrap 2nd test for the Test and Go?

    Thailand News Update | Will Thailand scrap 2nd test for the Test and Go?

    A meeting today with the CCSA where they will formerly discuss proposals regarding possible updates to Test and Go, the most popular option for the Thailand Pass online application system for international travellers. Although there’s been speculation that the controversial Day 5 PCR test may be dropped, we won’t know until alter today. The Thaiger will bring you up to…

  • Thailand video newsWill Thailand Ease Entry Restrictions Today? | GMT

    Will Thailand Ease Entry Restrictions Today? | GMT

    The government will on Wednesday weigh up whether it will scrap the second RT-PCR test for overseas arrivals under the Test & Go scheme. Tourism operators have thrashed the government announcement increasing the Covid-19 alert to Level 4. Prosecutors have indicted a junior police officer whose motorbike struck and killed a woman on a zebra crossing in Ratchathewi, Bangkok last…

  • Thailand video newsThailand News Today | Thailand battles with easing restrictions

    Thailand News Today | Thailand battles with easing restrictions

    As infections continue to rise sharply across the country, the government has raised the Covid alert to Level 4 nationwide. The move comes as the number of severe cases and deaths also continues to rise, with most of the deaths reported in the elderly, the unvaccinated, and those with underlying health conditions. However, the CCSA has stated that lockdowns will…

  • Thailand video newsThailand News Update | CCSA say ‘no changes’ for now

    Thailand News Update | CCSA say ‘no changes’ for now

    The CCSA spokesperson has pre-empted tomorrow’s official meeting saying that they will not impose any additional measures amid rising Thailand’s COVID-19 infections. But he says officials will strictly enforce the existing restrictions in the light of surging infections, mostly by the Omicron variant. She says that officials are taking into consideration all aspects of the Covid situation, including the number…

  • Thailand video newsThailand News Today | Phuket wants to declare Covid endemic

    Thailand News Today | Phuket wants to declare Covid endemic

    Phuket officials want to declare Covid endemic, even as the infection rate is rising on the southern island. According to a report, deputy governor Pichet Panapong says achieving endemic status would allow officials to focus on economic recovery. Local officials would also like to get rid of the daily reporting of new infections, instead only reporting Covid cases involving moderate…

  • World NewsAsia News Today | Vietnam’s vaccine passports & Hong Kong postpones elections

    Asia News Today | Vietnam’s vaccine passports & Hong Kong postpones elections

    In Vietnam, The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism has released guidelines for implementing the second phase of its COVID-19 vaccine passport pilot programme to welcome international tourists.Phase two will continue from now until the country’s full reopening of tourism activities via air, land, and sea routes, which is set for March 15. During this period, overseas Vietnamese and Vietnamese…

  • Thailand video newsThailand News Update | Reducing paperwork for incoming travellers

    Thailand News Update | Reducing paperwork for incoming travellers

    This Wednesday the CCSA convene for yet another meeting to consider both lifting persistent local restrictions, as well as reducing some of the paperwork and hassles for incoming travellers. For travellers, they will be looking for the scrapping of one or both the pre-paid PCR tests and accommodation when they arrive. New applications for the Thailand Pas have remained lack-lustre…

  • Thailand video newsDemands for Covid restrictions to be lifted in Thailand | GMT

    Demands for Covid restrictions to be lifted in Thailand | GMT

    The Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is calling on all 77 provincial governments to do everything they can to reduce the spread of the latest Covid surge in Thailand. Phuket is offering itself as the first province to declare the spread of Covid-19 as an endemic. Thai International Airways also plans to have direct flights between Bangkok and Riyadh in May.…

  • Thailand video newsThailand News Today | Tourism sector calls for full reopening in March

    Thailand News Today | Tourism sector calls for full reopening in March

    Tourism operators have written an open letter to PM Prayut Chan-o-cha and other government officials, calling for the country to be fully re-opened to foreign visitors from March. In the letter, the groups say they want all entry restrictions ditched, including the Thailand Pass and PCR testing on arrival, and want Covid declared endemic. They point to several other countries,…

  • Thailand video newsThailand News Update | Test & Go Improvements, Live Chat Function Added

    Thailand News Update | Test & Go Improvements, Live Chat Function Added

    In the wake of lower-than-expected take up of the revised Test and Go program in the Thailand Pass, the Thai PM has made direct orders for quick improvements in the reliability of the digital systemApplicants have been complaining about delays, receiving spam and hacked emails. Now a new entry pathway called TPHS has now been approved and promises to cut…

  • Thailand video newsNew Visa for foreigners to work in Thailand I GMT

    New Visa for foreigners to work in Thailand I GMT

    Thailand plans to use a newly introduced Thailand Elite Card programme offering a work permit to lure investments from international professionals. Another leak found in underwater oil pipeline off the Rayong coast. Thai PM orders Thailand Pass to be improved. Thailand is going a step further than the graphic (and disturbing) photos on packs of cigarettes to discourage the public…

  • Thailand video newsThailand News Today | Govt promises better Thailand Pass experience

    Thailand News Today | Govt promises better Thailand Pass experience

    After some glitches with the Thailand Pass, including a data breach, authorities say the system is being improved to make it more convenient for those travelling to Thailand. A government spokesperson says the Prime Minister has ordered related agencies to quickly fix the system to ensure there are no delays with the approval process, adding that foreign tourism is essential…

  • Thailand video newsThailand News Update | Only Fans Girl “Shoots herself in the foot”

    Thailand News Update | Only Fans Girl “Shoots herself in the foot”

    The cabinet eventually caved in this week by agreeing to cut the excise tax on diesel by three baht per litre, from the current 6 baht tax. This will for up to three months to help ease the impact of high energy prices on the cost of transport and consumer goods in Thailand.The cabinet approved halving the price until May…

  • Thailand video newsAsia News Today | Japan to ease border controls & Fears of Cambodian surveillance

    Asia News Today | Japan to ease border controls & Fears of Cambodian surveillance

    A new internet gateway in Cambodia, set to be launched today, is being delayed, apparently due to issues related to Covid 19 in the country. When enacted, all Internet traffic in Cambodia will be routed through the government-run National Internet Gateway, allowing authorities to monitor online activity, intercept and censor digital communications, and collect users’ personal data. But the Telecommunications…

  • Thailand video newsThailand News Today | Thai Govt takes steps to make Covid endemic

    Thailand News Today | Thai Govt takes steps to make Covid endemic

    Despite calls to delay removing Covid-19 treatment from the Universal Coverage for Emergency Patients scheme, Thailand’s health minister is pushing ahead as part of the government’s policy to downgrade the virus to endemic. Anutin Chanvirakul was responding to calls from a number of quarters, including his deputy, Sathit, who asked him to postpone the removal until April due to the…

  • Thailand video newsThailand News Update | Scamming expats in Pattaya

    Thailand News Update | Scamming expats in Pattaya

    A Frenchman is facing fraud charges for allegedly scamming expats in Pattaya out of millions of baht by claiming he had connections with several Thai authorities, and promising help with obtaining visas, opening businesses, and buying motorbikes and cars. Reports claim he scammed expats out of a total of 6.3 million baht.58 year old Herve Christian Robert Leonard from Compiegne…

  • Thailand video newsThailand News Update | No alcohol on 16th February

    Thailand News Update | No alcohol on 16th February

    Police say have identified the 2 suspect gunmen who are being sought over the apparent gangland killing of Indian-born Jimi Sandhu on February 4 in Rawai, Phuket. Arrest warrants for 2 Canadian men have been issued. The alleged gunmen have been named as 36 year old Gene Lahrkamp and Matthew Dupre, also 36. The arrest warrants follow an intensive investigation…

  • Thailand video newsCovid clusters in Thailand & Demand for shorts | Thaiger Bites

    Covid clusters in Thailand & Demand for shorts | Thaiger Bites

    Jay and Tim go through your messages, comments and feedback from Youtube, Facebook, Instagram and the Thaiger Talk forum on the website. Thaiger Bites, Ep.86

  • Thailand video newsThailand News Today | Controversial tourism fee likely to be postponed

    Thailand News Today | Controversial tourism fee likely to be postponed

    A 300-baht tourism fee which was set to be introduced from April 1 now looks likely to be postponed. Implementation is expected to be pushed out by around 2 months, although tourism operators have said they’d like to see the idea ditched completely, at least while the sector is fighting to survive the pandemic. However, Thailand’s tourism minister, Pipat Ratchakitprakarn,…

  • Thailand video newsMurder weapons found at the beach | Thailand News Update

    Murder weapons found at the beach | Thailand News Update

    On the day we were hoping to report some easing of restrictions, instead we may be staring at postponements, or even some more precautions added as Thailand struggles to move on from two years of any meaningful tourism recovery. At a meeting of the CCSA yesterday recent spikes in new infections, and the surges in Bangkok and Phuket, were discussed.A…

  • Thailand video newsThailand News Update | Songkran cancelled for 2022?

    Thailand News Update | Songkran cancelled for 2022?

    Thailand’s famous water festival Songkran might be cancelled for 1 third year in a row if the daily Covid-19 infections reach 30,000 per day. The massive water festival and gun fight, celebrating the Thai New Year, has already had the tap turned off due to coronavirus restrictions. The DDC warns that Songkran, which is April 13 to 15 this year,…

  • Thailand video newsThailand News Today | Proposal to change how Covid-19 cases are reported

    Thailand News Today | Proposal to change how Covid-19 cases are reported

    After Thailand’s number of daily Covid-19 infections went above 10,000 this weekend, the government plans to change how it does daily reports. In a two-day a week test, the government reports will only focus on deaths and serious cases where people needed to be hospitalized with ventilators, or had pneumonia. The Ministry of Public Health says that even though infections…