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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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Australia might keep borders closed throughout 2021
It might be a while until tourists can visit Australia. Borders might not be fully reopen until at least 2022. Australia is rolling out its immunisation program next month, but even if most of the population is vaccinated against Covid-19, the Australian government says it will probably wait to make sure the vaccine prevents the transmission of the virus before…
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Disease control measures ease up in Samut Sakhon
Disease control restrictions are easing up in Samut Sakhon. The coastal fishing province that has been under “maximum control” since last month’s Covid-19 outbreak at a major seafood market in the province’s Mahachai area. Salons and barber shops are now allowed to open from 6am to 9pm in all districts of Samut Sakhon, but services are limited to hair cutting,…
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Police raid Bangkok restaurant, more than 80 people face charges for violating Emergency Decree
More than 80 people face jail time and fines for allegedly violating disease control measures under the Emergency Decree after police raided a Bangkok pub and restaurant. The Indian restaurant Taj Café off Sukhumvit Road in the Watthana district was raided over the weekend after a complaint reporting that customers were smoking hookah, which is illegal in Thailand, and that…
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Police say at least 2 people to be arrested in Bangkok bomb attack – UPDATE
Police say they will issue arrest warrants for at least 2 people in connection to yesterday’s bomb attack in Bangkok. According to Thai PBS World, the people are suspected of throwing a ping pong bomb into a group of police officers in front of the Chamchuri shopping centre that injured 3 policemen and 1 reporter. But previous reports by Khaosod…
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Police hunt for those behind Bangkok bomb attack near pro-democracy protest site
Police are hunting for those responsible for yesterday’s bomb attack that hit near a pro-democracy protest site in Bangkok. The attack occurred at Samyan Intersection at around 6pm, leaving 4 people injured, including 2 policemen. Bangkok police chief Phukphong Phongpetra says the device used appears to be a pingpong bomb, which was filled with nails. Demonstrators gathered yesterday in front…
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Thailand’s first low-cost airline founder dies
Thailand’s first low-cost airline founder has died at the age of 66. Udom Tantiprasongchai, who passed away yesterday, started his business in 1994 with Cambodia International Airlines. The airline began operating regular flights from Phnom Penh to Phuket before expanding to other areas in Southeast Asia. After his airline licences were revoked by the Cambodian government, he started Orient Thai…
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374 new cases today – Covid update
New case numbers have jumped alarmingly again today, even though the growth curve was starting to flatten a bit this week. Thailand is reporting 374 new cases of Covid-19 today over the past 24 hours, bringing the total to over 12,000 infections since the pandemic began. Only 10 of those cases were non-local infections as they were found in state quarantine.…
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Companies pull out from Trump brand after storming of Capitol incident
Corporate America is adding its weight in response to the insurgency at the Capitol building on January 6, and are pulling out from any association with the Trump brand after the storming of the capitol incident which economists say will have a profound medium and long-term effect on his business interests. Recently, Signature Bank closed Trump’s personal accounts and the…
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BTS skytrain maximum fare rate increasing to 158 baht despite backlash
Bangkok’s BTS skytrain maximum fare rate is being raised to 158 baht despite receiving backlash over the hike. The Transport Ministry is behind the calls for City Hall to stop the increase as it says it is too expensive for the average commuter who takes the BTS 2 times a day. Saksayam Chidchob, the Transport Minister, says other routes should…
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Week in review – the best of Thailand News Today | VIDEO
Click to watch HERE….. https://youtu.be/O0HpP6nOSbs Thailand News Today covers five days a week. Now we have a weekend edition which goes over the biggest, or best stories from the week. Out every Saturday afternoon, catch up with Jett and Tim’s major Thai news stories. Welcome to the Thailand News Today Weekend Edition. Click to watch HERE….. https://youtu.be/O0HpP6nOSbs
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Norway adjusts advice after 28 possible vaccine-related deaths of elderly people
The deaths of 23 elderly people are being investigated after dying a short time of receiving their first Covid-19 vaccine in Norway. Apart from the 23 deaths, medical officials are also reporting several people falling ill after receiving their first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine. At this stage there has been no direct correlation between the people’s deaths and…
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The road less travelled – trekking to the Kalim Viewpoint
There are two well known ways to get from Kathu to Kalim or Kamala – one is across the Patong Hill, and the other is much longer, through Srisoonthorn and along the coastal road from Surin the Kamala (very scenic too). But there’s also another way. Also very scenic but will take you about 2 hours through dense forest although…
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Nonthaburi gamblers given jail sentences
Following a raid on an illegal gambling den in the central province of Nonthaburi, 41 people have been handed jail sentences at Nonthaburi Provincial Court. Somjit Hinkerd and Sorasak Janthamanee were convicted of running a gambling den in the Bang Bua Thong district and sentenced to 3 months and 15 days’ imprisonment. The other gamblers were sentenced to 15 days’…
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Pattaya City mayor planning local rollout of Covid-19 vaccine
The mayor of Pattaya city says officials hope to be able to buy 240,000 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine for administration to local residents. Sonthaya Khunpluem is reviewing finances and plans to set aside approximately 80 million baht for vaccine procurement, subject to government approval. “Currently, house registration of Pattaya City has reached a total population of 120,000 people, then…
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Government considering another registration round for co-payment scheme
The Finance Ministery is considering adding another registration round to the Khon La Khrueng (“Let’s Go Halves”) co-payment scheme, as 1.34 million rights have not yet been taken up. The government introduced the scheme last October, in an effort to stimulate the Covid-battered economy. Under the scheme, Thai citizens get a 50% subsidy on the purchase of food, drink and…
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Arrest warrants sought for 8 civilians suspected of smuggling migrant workers
Deputy national police chief Damrongsak Kittiprapas has confirmed that arrest warrants are being sought for 8 civilians implicated in the illegal smuggling of migrant workers. The Bangkok Post reports that the 8 face charges of aiding and abetting illegal immigration. The workers were trafficked from Myanmar to the central Thai province of Samut Sakhon, where the latest outbreak of Covid-19…
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Thailand News Today | Stray car on runway, Indonesian quake, 300 baht tourist fee | January 15
A man has driven his car onto the runway at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport while allegedly under the influence of illicit substances. AOT officials are now trying to figure out how the man was able to breach airport security and drive onto the airport runway. Airport security vehicles were seen escorting the car off the runway, passing by waiting planes. The…
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A wild elephant kills 80 year old camper in Khao Yai
A wild elephant killed an 80 year old man camping in Khao Yai National Park early this morning. Park officials believe the bull elephant was in musth, which is when the elephant has rise in reproductive hormones and becomes aggressive. 80 year old Prayot Jitbun was sleeping in his tent when the elephant attacked. Other nearby campers alerted park officials…
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40 arrested in a suspected gambling house in Nonthaburi
Last night, police raided a house in Nonthaburi and arrested 40 people for allegedly gambling. According to the deputy chief of the Central Investigation Bureau, 33 are Thais and 7 are migrant workers of the casino. The officials also confiscated decks of cards of the Dragon-Tiger game, plastic chips and some cash as evidence. During the raid, the migrant workers…
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Former finance minister proposes legalisation of gambling
With Covid-19 cases linked to some illegal gambling dens, causing a headache for health officials trying to track down elusive gamblers to contain the virus, the former Finance Minister floated the idea to legalise gambling. The former Finance Minister and current leader of the Kla Party, Korn Chaitkavanich, claims legalising gambling will help contain the spread of Covid-19. He also…
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Covid-19 projected to reduce Americans’ life expectancy – USC/Princeton study
With Covid-19 linked to more than 336,000 deaths in the United States, American’s life expectancy will decline, especially among black and latino people, according to researchers from the University of Southern California and Princeton University. The study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that life expectancy at birth for Americans will shorten by 1.13 years to…
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Customers steadily decline at seafood market due to Covid-19 fears
The tourists’ well-known Mae Klong Seafood Market in the coastal province Samut Songkram is seeing a steady decline of seafood buyers due to fear of Covid-19. Samut Songkram is a neighboring province of Samut Sakhon, a hot spot of the new wave of the Covid-19 outbreak. Although the Samut Songkhram Municipality has imposed stringent measures on all markets in the…
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UPDATE: At least 34 dead and 600 injured after Indonesia earthquake
UPDATE: At least 34 people were killed after a 6.2 magnitude earthquake shook Indonesia’s Sulawesi island just after midnight today. As of this evening, reports say more than 600 people were injured during the earthquake which caused buildings to collapse and residents to flee their homes in the dark. Original story below… Indonesian island Sulawesi was shook by a 6.2…
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Pattaya hotels want official closure order to get unemployment benefits
Pattaya hotels and tourism businesses want to close… just temporarily until the Covid-19 situation improves, but they say an official closure order needs to be issued by the Chon Buri governor so employees can claim unemployment benefits. The hospitality and tourism industry in the 5 highest risk red zones (the coastal provinces Chonburi, Rayong, Chantaburi, Rayong, Samut Sakhon, and Trat)…
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Police say Phuket school won’t be charged for employing foreign teachers without a work permit
An international school in Phuket is not facing charges for employing foreign teachers without a work permit, police told the Phuket News. Back in November, 2 British nationals were arrested at the Palm House International School in Rawai in a raid by Phuket Immigration officers, acting on a tip that teachers were working at the school without a work permit.…
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Tower Of Babble – Have your say on The Thaiger | VIDEO
Tower of Babble is where we read some of your comments to The Thaiger YouTube videos. Some are insightful, some are interesting, some need to be shared! And some are just plain funny. If you leave a comment under any of our videos it may be shared on our Tower of Babble each day. Go to our YouTube channel and…
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Man drives car onto Bangkok airport runway while allegedly under the influence of drugs
A man drove his car onto the runway at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport yesterday afternoon while allegedly under the influence of drugs. The airline officials are now trying to figure out how the man was able to breach airport security and drive onto the airport runway. Airport security vehicles were seen escorting the car off the runway, passing by an airplane.…
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Koh Samui senior police officer faces charges for allegedly raping a suspect
A senior police officer in Koh Samui faces charges for allegedly raping a 21 year old Burmese woman at the Bo Phut Police Station. The officer, who was an investigation squad leader at the Bo Phut station, has been suspended and is now in detention at the Koh Samui Court, according to Nation Thailand. The senior sergeant major allegedly took…
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Student arrested in dormitory at night, charged with lèse majesté offences
A student at Thammasat University’s Rangsit Campus has been arrested and charged with violating Thailand’s strict lèse majesté law. Ironically, it was his calls for the law to be abolished that led to Sirichai Natueng, aka, “New”, being charged. The group, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, has confirmed the student’s arrest on its Twitter page. After being taken into custody,…
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