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.

  • Woman with high blood pressure died after mixing vaccines | Thaiger

    Woman with high blood pressure died after mixing vaccines

    A woman with high blood pressure was found dead by her family in her home after the controversial practice of mixing vaccines, receiving one Sinovac vaccine and one AstraZeneca vaccine Monday. The woman from Prachuap Khiri Khan was a 39 year old private tutor before her untimely death. An autopsy has been ordered to determine the exact cause of death.…

  • 4 small earthquakes rattle Kanchanaburi, no injuries reported | Thaiger

    4 small earthquakes rattle Kanchanaburi, no injuries reported

    4 small earthquakes rattled residents of western Thailand’s Kanchanaburi province, last night and into this morning. The strongest earthquake was reportedly measured at a 3.7 magnitude. Earthquakes between magnitudes of 2.5 to 5.4 are often felt, but only minor damages occur. The Meteorological Department says the tremors were focused on tambon Khao Jode and that the epicentre was 1-2 kilometres…

  • Thursday Covid Update: 13,655 new cases and 87 deaths; provincial totals | Thaiger

    Thursday Covid Update: 13,655 new cases and 87 deaths; provincial totals

    Another record high of 13,655 new Covid-19 cases and 87 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. In the latest and most severe wave of Covid-19, first recorded on April 1, the CCSA has reported a total of 424,269 infections. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has reported 453,132 Covid-19 infections…

  • Suphan Buri car accident kills 2, injures 4; all had Covid, 3 knew | Thaiger

    Suphan Buri car accident kills 2, injures 4; all had Covid, 3 knew

    Yesterday, 2 people died and 4 more were injured in a car accident in the central Thai province of Suphan Buri. Thai media says the people were on their way home to receive Covid treatment. A pickup truck carried the 6 relatives on their journey from Bangkok. However, for reasons unknown, it veered off the road and hit a tree…

  • 2 people infected with Covid-19 rally in Bangkok to demand medical care | Thaiger

    2 people infected with Covid-19 rally in Bangkok to demand medical care

    A small group of people, including 2 who claimed they were infected with Covid-19, held a rally outside the Government House in Bangkok yesterday evening, calling for the Thai government to provide proper medical treatment for coronavirus patients. 25 police officers dressed in personal protective equipment, or PPE suits, were called to monitor the rally. Just 7 people attended the…

  • Samut Sakhon man allegedly sold police badges on Facebook | Thaiger

    Samut Sakhon man allegedly sold police badges on Facebook

    Recently, police arrested a man for allegedly using Facebook to sell a police badge and a certificate for being a member of the commando police. Reportedly, both the badge and certificate were being sold for 7,000 baht. 35 year old Natchathorn Dechakunaporn was arrested in the central Thai province of Samut Sakhon after he allegedly posted on Facebook through the…

  • Study finds 2 doses of Pfizer, AstraZeneca effective against Delta strain | Thaiger

    Study finds 2 doses of Pfizer, AstraZeneca effective against Delta strain

    A study published yesterday shows that 2 doses of the Pfizer vaccine or 2 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine are almost as effective against the rapid-spreading Delta variant as they are against the Alpha variant. In Thailand, the AstraZeneca vaccine is being produced locally and is the primary vaccine being used in the nationwide Covid-19 immunisation campaign. Thailand recently approved…

  • 3 bodies found in Bangkok streets, 2 positive for Covid-19, result pending for third | Thaiger

    3 bodies found in Bangkok streets, 2 positive for Covid-19, result pending for third

    Netizens have slammed Bangkok police, claiming that the bodies of 3 men who died separately on the streets of the capital were left uncollected for hours. The Metropolitan Police Bureau has called for understanding, insisting that the claims on social media are untrue. According to a Bangkok Post report, spokesman Piya Tawichai says 2 of the 3 bodies have tested…

  • Firefighter in this month’s factory fire dies suddenly of Covid-19 | Thaiger

    Firefighter in this month’s factory fire dies suddenly of Covid-19

    One of the brave firefighters who battled the recent factory fire in Samut Prakan July 5 was diagnosed today with Covid-19, just hours before he died from the virus. Naruphon Wongyaem was among the teams that responded to the explosion at the Ming Dih Chemical Co factory just south of Bangkok in Samut Prakan’s Bang Phli district. After putting out…

  • Kenya: Elephant herds seen from a unique angle | Thaiger

    Kenya: Elephant herds seen from a unique angle

    The sunrise at Amboseli National Park is breathtaking. A hot air balloon is prepared for a fascinating experience. Tourists will view animals from a different angle. The balloon can fly up to 20 meters. And the elephants remain undisturbed. The unique view delights everyone. Amboseli National Park has over 3,000 elephants. There has been no single case of elephant poaching…

  • New Phuket checkpoint rules see 392 people denied yesterday | Thaiger

    New Phuket checkpoint rules see 392 people denied yesterday

    New restrictions for entering Phuket announced Sunday went into effect yesterday, causing a rash of nearly 400 people to be turned away at the entrance checkpoint. While previous rules allowed unvaccinated people meeting certain criteria to enter, now everyone who enters Phuket needs to be fully vaccinated in addition to testing negative for Covid-19. This new strict requirement applies to…

  • AfricaLink On Air – 21 July 2021 | Thaiger

    AfricaLink On Air – 21 July 2021

    News+++Tanzania arrests opposition leader+++Fighting domestic violence in Niger+++Kidnapped Nigerians freed+++Slow Niger Delta clean up angers locals+++Sexual harassment on Rwanda’s mines+++Veritcal farming grows in Kenya SOURCE: DW News

  • Tokyo Olympics unable to heal Japan-South Korea rift | Thaiger

    Tokyo Olympics unable to heal Japan-South Korea rift

    Hopes that Japan and South Korea might finally be able to build new bridges through a summit of their leaders on the sidelines of the Tokyo Olympic Games have been dashed after Seoul announced that President Moon Jae-in would not be going to the opening ceremony on Friday. The northeast Asian neighbors have long been at loggerheads over differing interpretations…

  • Russian arms trader working closely supplying Burmese military | Thaiger

    Russian arms trader working closely supplying Burmese military

    The head of a Russian state arms trader was attributed as saying that Russia is working closely with the Burmese military junta to supply military equipment. According to the Interfax news agency, the head of Rosoboronexport, the arms trader in question, spoke of the partnership between the military coup that overthrew the government in Myanmar on February 1 and the…

  • Bangkok’s Bang Sue vaccination centre open to expats 60 and above | Thaiger

    Bangkok’s Bang Sue vaccination centre open to expats 60 and above

    Expats ages 60 and above in Bangkok and surrounding provinces can now register from an AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine appointment at the Bang Sue Grand Station Central Vaccination Centre. Walk-in services are offered to foreign residents who are 75 years old and older from 9am to 4pm. Foreign residents who are at least 60 years old must fill out a registration…

  • Pegasus spyware allegations leave Indian democracy hanging by a thread | Thaiger

    Pegasus spyware allegations leave Indian democracy hanging by a thread

    The Indian government has found itself at the heart of a spyware scandal that has sent seismic waves across the entire political world. A collaborative investigation, based on information accessed by non-profit Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International and shared with a host of publications, into the Pegasus spyware has revealed a list of potential targets for surveillance. More than 300…

  • Lifeguard rescues Polish man in Phuket | Thaiger

    Lifeguard rescues Polish man in Phuket

    A lifeguard at Phuket’s Nai Harn beach saved a Polish man who got caught in the rough current while he was swimming this afternoon. The lifeguard swam out and pulled the man to the beach where he administered first aid and provided oxygen to help the man’s breathing. With the quick reaction provided by the lifeguard, the man made a…

  • Interprovincial transport suspended in “dark red” zones; bus services stop nationwide | Thaiger

    Interprovincial transport suspended in “dark red” zones; bus services stop nationwide

    All interprovincial public transport services have been suspended in the 13 “dark red” provinces under maximum control to curb the spread of the coronavirus, the Department of Land Transport announced today. Domestic flights in and out of those provinces have also been suspended. The suspensions are in place at least until August 2. The public transportation company, known as BorKorSor,…

  • Pattaya restaurants suffering, closing over dark red restrictions | Thaiger

    Pattaya restaurants suffering, closing over dark red restrictions

    New severe Covid-19 restrictions go into effect as Chon Buri province and Pattaya inside it were classified as dark red zones, causing already hard-hit restaurants to suffer and some to close completely. Being pushed to take-away only after their customer base is already severely reduced by international borders being all but closed to tourism for over a year has left…

  • Boat tours to nearby islands offered to Phuket “Sandbox” travellers | Thaiger

    Boat tours to nearby islands offered to Phuket “Sandbox” travellers

    “Phuket Sandbox” tourists can travel to nearby islands on special “sealed” boat tours during their required 14-day stay in the province. Travellers must enable the tracing application “Mor Chana” and notify the Phuket Marine Office or the Phuket Sandbox Command Center at least 6 hours before the trip. Groups of tourists who wish to travel and participate in marine activities…

  • Sandbox traveller escaped to Chon Buri, faces prosecution | Thaiger

    Sandbox traveller escaped to Chon Buri, faces prosecution

    A person who came into Thailand under the Phuket Sandbox plan left the island before completing the 14-day stay and now faces prosecution. A Thai national stayed just 9 days in their SHA Plus hotel before disappearing without checking out, according to Phuket Provincial Public Health Office Chief Dr Kusak Kukiattikoon. The person’s gender was not revealed, but it was…

  • Wednesday Covid Update: Record high of 13,002 new cases; provincial totals | Thaiger

    Wednesday Covid Update: Record high of 13,002 new cases; provincial totals

    A record high of 13,002 new Covid-19 cases was reported today by the Centre of Covid-19 Situation Administration. Thailand now has 131,411 active Covid-19 cases. Another 108 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 3,610. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has reported a total of 439,477 Covid-19 infections. The latest…

  • Locked in a construction worker camp in Bangkok – Thailand’s hidden Covid tragedy | VIDEO | Thaiger

    Locked in a construction worker camp in Bangkok – Thailand’s hidden Covid tragedy | VIDEO

    Friso Poldervaart and Greg Lange, founders of the Bangkok Community Help Foundation, spoke to The Thaiger this week about the critical problems emerging in some of the worker and construction camps. Some 80,000 people – mostly Burmese, Cambodian and Thai workers – have been isolated in these shanty towns, basically imprisoned. They are guarded by Thai police and army. Some…

  • Covid-19 “survival boxes” funded by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s donated salary | Thaiger

    Covid-19 “survival boxes” funded by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s donated salary

    PM Prayut Chan-o-cha waived his salary for the next 3 months to support the public amid the most severe wave of Covid-19 infections. Some of the funds will be used for so-called “survival boxes” to distribute to those in “dark red” zones, according to government spokesperson Anucha Burapachaisri. Several cabinet members and other public officials announced they would temporarily forgo…

  • Muay Thai recognised by International Olympic Committee | Thaiger

    Muay Thai recognised by International Olympic Committee

    Muay Thai might soon be an Olympic sport. The International Olympic Committee has fully recognised the traditional martial art and its governing body, the International Federation of Muay Thai Associations, or IFMA, a committee member announced yesterday during the 138th IOC session in Tokyo. “This is the beginning of the possibility of Muay Thai to become an Olympic sport.” Thailand’s…

  • Teenager arrested after student allegedly killed with an axe at Singapore school | Thaiger

    Teenager arrested after student allegedly killed with an axe at Singapore school

    High school students in Singapore have been left reeling after the murder of a 13 year old boy on campus. A 16 year student is in custody, charged with murder, after the horrifying event at River Valley High School. Coconuts reports that the unnamed student, who appeared in court via video link, has been sent for a psychiatric assessment. Singapore’s…

  • Private sector says lockdowns won’t work without vaccines, mass testing | Thaiger

    Private sector says lockdowns won’t work without vaccines, mass testing

    Industry representatives in Thailand say Covid-19 lockdowns won’t work unless accompanied by mass screening and vaccination. Supant Mongkolsuthree from the Federation of Thai Industries has expressed scepticism that the proposed tightening of restrictions in 13 high-risk provinces will bring the virus under control. Instead, he says the proposal could cost the economy around 100 billion baht and will be ineffective…

  • 39 year old dies after AstraZeneca vaccine, a second dose following Sinovac | Thaiger

    39 year old dies after AstraZeneca vaccine, a second dose following Sinovac

    A 39 year old teacher died the day after she was injected with the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, according to reports in Thai media. Her first dose was the Sinovac vaccine. She also had pre-existing health conditions. Under the Thai government’s new so-called “mix-and-match” Covid-19 vaccine policy, the AstraZeneca shot is being used as a second dose for those who had…

  • Ethiopia: Fear Tigray conflict could trigger all-out war | Thaiger

    Ethiopia: Fear Tigray conflict could trigger all-out war

    Special forces and militias from a number of Ethiopia’s regions are mobilizing to back the federal government’s military operations in Tigray, signaling a widening of the conflict. Regular forces from Amhara — a large region abutting the south of Tigray — have been fighting alongside federal troops ever since Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched the military offensive in Tigray…

  • President Pedro Castillo has radical plans for Peru | Thaiger

    President Pedro Castillo has radical plans for Peru

    Only one road leads to Puna. The village in Tacabamba District consists of two dozen houses scattered around a few fields and paths — and a school where Jose Pedro Castillo Terrones taught until 2017. From here it takes a whole day to travel to the regional capital, Cajamarca, about 200 kilometers (120 miles) away. Born in Tacabamba in 1969,…