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Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.
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Sponsored How to reduce out-of-pocket medical expenses in Thailand?
Managing medical expenses in Thailand is important as healthcare costs continue to rise. The country’s healthcare system includes both public and private options, but even with the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) for citizens, many still face high out-of-pocket medical expenses....
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Ban on mass gatherings published in Royal Gazette ahead of anti-government protests this weekend
A new order has been published in the Royal Gazette banning all mass gatherings, including rallies, protests, and assemblies. The order was published last night, ahead of planned anti-government demonstrations in Bangkok this weekend. The order is being implemented under the Emergency Decree, which has now been extended 13 times since its introduction in March 2020. According to a Pattaya…
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Wednesday Covid Update: Record high of 20,200 new cases and 188 deaths
A record high of 20,200 new Covid-19 cases and another high of 188 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Thailand now has 211,076 active Covid-19 cases. In the latest and most severe wave of the virus, first recorded on April 1, the CCSA has recorded 643,522 Covid-19 cases. In 24 hours, the CCSA says 17,975 Covid-19 patients were…
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Phuket lays on Suvarnabhumi bus service for stranded sandbox tourists
The governor of Phuket has announced that a special bus service will transport stranded sandbox tourists from the southern island to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport. As a result of the cancellation of domestic flights, sandbox visitors who had plans to visit elsewhere in Thailand after their 14 days on Phuket now find themselves stuck. Governor Narong Wunsiew says a dedicated bus…
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What is the India-France Rafale fighter jet deal all about?
As India continues to embark on modernizing its aging military amid ongoing geopolitical challenges, one of Delhi’s biggest defense deals continues to draw controversy years after it was concluded. In 2015, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the landmark defense deal with French aviation company Dassault to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets to refurbish India’s rusting air force. In late…
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Ethiopia: A catastrophe in the making
In Ethiopia’s Tigray province, a lack of medical supplies, frequent power cuts and a severe fuel scarcity — not to mention a cash shortage due to closed banks, and growing unemployment after factories were shut down or looted — is making life increasingly difficult for the population, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). “The humanitarian situation…
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Transport Company announces bus services are suspended until August 31
The state-run Transport Company announced that all interprovincial bus services will be suspended until the end of the month. Under the recent order imposed by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, interprovincial public transportation out of the 29 “dark red” zones, including Bangkok, is not allowed. The CCSA’s order is in effect until August 16, but a spokesperson says the…
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Volunteer ranger killed in grenade attack by suspected insurgents
A volunteer ranger was killed in a grenade attack by suspected insurgents at a Thai army camp in Narathiwat, a province in Thailand’s Deep South near the Malaysian border with ongoing violence related to the religious separatist insurgency. Four soldiers at the makeshift base were injured in the attack. The army set up a small camp along the Sungai Kolok…
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Hemp ice cream hits the Thai market
The ice cream maker “Hemp” has launched a CBD infused ice cream. Their products are produced using Golden Triangle Group’s assistance. The group represent a big business mover and shaker in Thailand’s legal cannabis industry. Previously they opened a cafe on Soi Sukhumvit 36 in Bangkok. The flavours include: Northern Lights: chamomile mint chip tea Pineapple Express: apple and mango…
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Samut Prakan man dies in fire, possibly self-inflicted
An Indian national, Thiruvadi Mari Prakash who lived in Samut Prakan, a central Thai province, has died after succumbing to burns from a petrol induced fire. Early reports suggest the man started the fire to commit suicide. Duty officer Adithep Phocharoen, says the fire was reported around 10:30 pm on the second floor of a 6 story apartment. Once alerted,…
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Royal Thai Police say bitterleaf can’t cure Covid
The Royal Thai Police want the public to know that bitterleaf trees can’t cure cancer is not true and is fake news. Kissana Pattanacharoen, the deputy spokesperson for the RTT says the Anti Fake News Centre Thailand discovered the fraudulent claim about bitterleaf’s medicinal properties today and verified this with the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine. However, the…
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Tuesday Covid Update: 18,901 new cases, provincial totals
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration reported 18,901 new Covid-19 cases and 147 coronavirus-related deaths today, raising the total case count since the start of the pandemic to 652,185 and the Covid death toll to 5,315. The latest and most severe wave of Covid-19 in Thailand, which was first recorded on April 1, has accounted for 623,322 infections and 5,221…
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Air Asia technician arrested for allegedly stealing electronics
Bangkok Police have arrested a technical who worked for Air Asia for allegedly stealing multiple pieces of electrical equipment. The thefts had been discovered after Air Asia had noticed the equipment was missing. Officials then checked CCTV and saw 27 year old Preecha Inthachai allegedly putting items in a bag. Don Muang police then arrested Preecha and searched his home…
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3 metre long python caught near family’s house in Phuket
Recently, a group of civil defence volunteers were called to a family’s house in Srisoonthorn, Phuket to help catch a 3 metre long python. Nopparit Rungrueng, who is the headman of the Srisoonthorn Subdistrict led the team of snake finders/catchers. The volunteers got to the house just before noon and started to look for the snake, which was spotted by…
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Government says not to buy Favipiravir/Avigan online, says it might be fake
Yesterday, Traisuree Taisaranaku, the deputy government spokesperson said that people should refrain from buying the antiviral medication Favipiravir online because it’s possibly fake. The drug also goes by the brand name Avigan, as well as other names. The spokesperson says the medication should only be taken if it is prescribed by a doctor. Traisuree says people were tricked through social…
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Phuket bans alcohol sales at restaurants, issues order amid rise of Covid cases
The ban on alcohol sales and consumption at restaurants has been reimposed in Phuket and will be in place until at least August 16. Certain “social activities,” like parties at public places, are also now prohibited for the next two weeks. The order, Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew yesterday, could be extended longer if the Covid-19 situation does not improve. Phuket…
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Man goes missing off Freedom Beach, Phuket
Yesterday, a man went for a swim off of Freedom Beach in Phuket and was carried away by a strong current. He was last seen early in the afternoon. Boonyarit Inthakarn from the Patong Police arrived at the beach just after 2 pm. 21 year old Thanakit Srisuwanwichian, told police he, and his then non-missing friend, Akkarapol Pattranonwere, were swimming…
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What is so important about the Sandbox?
OPINION by Bill Barnett from c9hotelworks.com Being on the ground in Phuket over the past sixteen months of the pandemic I have experienced the up’s and downs of pandemic tourism firsthand. Over the past month with the Sandbox program coming into place, we have seen over 13,000 travellers arrive at the Phuket International Airport. “What is so important about the…
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Thailand’s foreign tourist numbers expected to plummet during 2021
Tourism officials have repeated a bleak prediction that international arrivals in Thailand are likely to drop to an all-time low this year. According to a Bangkok Post report, Tourism Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn says foreign visitors to the Kingdom may only number 500,000 this year. “If the ongoing outbreak continues past September, the total number of foreign tourists this year might…
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Nurse dies of Covid-19 a week after receiving first dose of Sinovac
A nurse has died of Covid-19 a week after getting her first dose of the Sinovac vaccine, with a doctor saying she wouldn’t have built up enough immunity in that time. 45 year old Uraiwan Chantharaplin died at Rajavithi Hospital in Bangkok, with the death confirmed by Samutsakhon Hospital where she worked. The Bangkok Post reports that on July 25,…
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Tuesday Covid Update: 18,901 new cases and 147 deaths
18,901 new Covid-19 cases and 147 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, raising the total case count in the latest wave, first recorded on April 1, to 623,322 confirmed Covid-19 infections. There are now 209,039 active Covid-19 cases in Thailand. Dozens of isolation centres are being set up in Bangkok, the epicentre of the…
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COVID-19: France makes life difficult for unvaccinated
Business has been difficult for restaurateur Sylvain Belaud ever since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, with turnover plummeting by 60% last year. And now, the director of the Cafe Francoeur in the Montmartre area in northern Paris will have to face what feels like yet another obstacle on the way back to business as usual. A “health pass” will…
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How US-China sanctions create two parallel tech universes
As the US continues to blacklist dozens of Chinese companies, Beijing is increasingly imposing its own sanctions on US organizations and individuals it accuses of meddling in China’s internal affairs. Last month, the US government added 23 Chinese companies to an economic blacklist, including 14 companies that have allegedly enabled Beijing’s oppression of the Uyghur Muslim minority in Xinjiang province.…
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How US-China sanctions create parallel tech universes
As the US continues to blacklist dozens of Chinese companies, Beijing is increasingly imposing its own sanctions on US organizations and individuals it accuses of meddling in China’s internal affairs. Last month, the US government added 23 Chinese companies to an economic blacklist, including 14 companies that have allegedly enabled Beijing’s oppression of the Uyghur Muslim minority in Xinjiang province.…
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Phang Nga reopening and “Phuket Sandbox” island hop extensions postponed
The Phang Nga’s reopening to travellers from overseas has been postponed until August 15, and the “7+7 Island Hopping” extension to the “Phuket Sandbox,” which includes a sealed route to Phang Nga, has been postponed indefinitely. The province’s reopening to foreign tourists under the “Phang Nga Prompt” campaign was initially set for August 1, but the scheme has not yet…
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Bangkok Train Market official says they will reopen
The Thaiger recently wrote that Bangkok’s Train Market/Ratchada Night Market was possibly closing for good. However, now, a member of the management team for the market says the closure is only temporary and that it will reopen as soon as conditions allow it to do so. “We had to close because of the situation right now, and we will announce…
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August vaccination plan: 80% of Bangkok residents; open to general public, expats
Thailand has opened its mass Covid-19 vaccination campaign to the general public who are at least 18 years old, including foreign residents. Priority is still given to those who are 60 and above, and those who have one of the specified underlying conditions that puts them at risk of severe infection if they were to contract Covid-19. By the end…
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300 beds added to Phuket’s second field hospital
300 hospital beds have been erected at a meeting hall at Phuket Rajabhat University AKA PRU, in Rassada. It is set to be the second field hospital for “light green” Covid cases. The Phuket Vice Governor, Pichet Panapong says the 300 additional beds were set up because all beds at the first field hospital at Prince of Songkla University were…
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The Thaiger launches the ‘I Am Strong’ campaign
(Video Link Below) Here is a link to the donation page… https://gogetfunding.com/the-thaigers-i-am-strong-campaign/ The Thaiger (The Thaiger Pte Ltd) is reaching out to readers and viewers of our news channels to help the thousands of people who are falling through the cracks of government and community help at this time. Many of these people are migrant workers, but many are also…
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Man arrested for allegedly robbing 7-Eleven stores in Bangkok to pay off gambling debt
A man was arrested for allegedly robbing 7-Eleven stores in Bangkok because he needed to pay off the debts from the money he had lost from gambling. He apparently painted his face to hide his identity and used a pocket knife to threaten the cashiers. The 30 year old man, identified as Sugipri, allegedly robbed two of the 7-Eleven convenience…
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Protestors fill Bangkok streets to protest Prayut, many protest leaders present
Yesterday, a multitude of pro-democracy protesters sat in their cars and motorbikes gathered at Bangkok’s Democracy Monument demanding Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha resign. The “car mob” was full of pro-democracy leaders and anti-establishment groups, like Nattawut Saikua, former secretary general of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship/Red Shirt movement. As well as other protest leaders, such as Ratsadon leaders…
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