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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 See the best of Northern Thailand this winter on a budget
The Thaiger key takeaways Peak season brings higher prices, but smart planning and local know-how can help you experience Northern Thailand affordably. Chiang Mai, Pai, and Chiang Rai offer plenty of free or low-cost attractions, from temples and canyons to...
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COVID-19 SATURDAY UPDATE: 53 deaths, vaccinations, provincial totals
Today, the CCSA reported 6,595 new Covid-19 infections, down 260 since yesterday, and 53 Coronavirus-related deaths, up 2 from yesterday. Since April 1, in the latest wave of the virus in Thailand, a total of 2,028,702 confirmed Covid-19 infections have been reported. In the 24 hour period since the last count, the CCSA has reported 8,478 recoveries, up 823 from…
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3 Cathay Pacific pilots broke Covid-19 rules, got fired and infected
After what Cathay Pacific described as a serious breach of pandemic regulations, 3 cargo pilots were fired after becoming infected with Covid-19 and putting many others at risk. An internal investigation found the pilots for Hong Kong’s flagship airline broke Covid-19 safety rules while abroad in Frankfurt, Germany. The airline is known for being very proactive about Covid-19 safety and…
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Austria to enter lockdown Monday, Germany may follow
As Europe is increasingly engulfed in another wave of Covid-19 infections, Austria announced it will go into a full lockdown on Monday, and Germany in a national emergency is considering following with a lockdown of its own. The announcement makes Austria the first country in Western Europe to go back into a lockdown in the face of a worsening Covid-19…
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TAT: 400,000 tourist in 2021, 18 million in 2022 worth 1 trillion
The November 1 reopening of Thailand has received mixed results, with Pattaya reportedly seeing the vast majority of arrivals being expats coming home, and Hua Hin welcoming less than 100 of the 100,000 predicted tourists. But, as always, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has nothing but rosy predictions for the boom that will start any minute, with TAT Governor Yuthasak…
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Belarus crisis: Airlines threatened with sanctions
Once things started to move, they did so very quickly. On Wednesday evening, just 48 hours after the EU introduced new sanctions in response to crisis at the border between Poland and Belarus, the Lebanese Transport Ministry announced that it, too, would allow only Belarusians, Lebanese citizens with valid visas and foreign citizens with permanent residence permits to fly to…
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Sudan’s protest movement: ‘Now we are driven by anger’
The messages came in without prior warning. On Thursday evening, millions of texts, photos and videos about the protests and the violent clampdown finally reached cell phones in Sudan. “The footage is horrific,” Rania Aziz, a 36-year-old activist in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, told DW in a video call. Then she started crying. “We are experiencing a national shock now,” she…
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West Bank: Harvesting olives under rabbis’ protection
On a sunny autumn day, Palestinian Bashar Sharab is busy pouring freshly brewed coffee in small paper cups for Israeli and Palestinian volunteers who are helping him pick olives near the village of Awarta, near the West Bank town of Nablus. Pickers are perched on ladders to reach the small fruits, while others lay plastic sheets underneath the trees to…
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PM Prayut holds unscheduled meeting with US CIA head
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha had an officially unscheduled meeting this morning with David Cohen, the deputy director of the US Central Intelligence Agency. The unannounced meeting took place this morning when the deputy director of the CIA dropped in on the prime minister at Government House. The unscheduled meeting between the Thai prime minister and the American intelligence official was held…
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McDonald’s Covid-19 alert: Pattaya area residents cautioned
Following a similar announcement a few days, the Chon Buri Public Health Office issued a new warning today for anyone who attended an area McDonald’s to get tested for Covid-19. The statement released today advised anyone who had eaten at or been inside the Pattaya area McDonald’s located at Mini Siam Pattaya should use an antigen test kit to check…
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Sea gypsies hope better livelihood ahead upcoming local elections
Local elections are coming up and it will be the first time many of Thailand’s Moken tribes, or also known as sea gypsies, will be voting in the Tambon Administration Organisation elections. The indigenous Moken tribes are known for their lifestyle of semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers for centuries in the Andaman Sea. They are known to be able to hold their breath…
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Truck veers off road and smashes through Chon Buri grocery store
A local grocer met with a rude awakening as he slept in a bedroom in the back of his grocery store in Chon Buri. At 2 am, the owner of a grocery store in Bor Thong was woken by a pickup truck smashing through the front of his shop, nearly into his bedroom behind the store. Bor Thong Police responded…
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Friday Covid Update: 6,855 new cases; provincial totals
51 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 20,305 with 20,211 of those fatalities during the latest wave, which was first recorded on April 1. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 6,855 new Covid-19 cases and 7,655 recoveries. There are now 89,821 people in Thailand being…
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Government to expedite the revision of the civil partnership bill for same-sex couples
Following a court ruling on marriage that was seen as a setback for same-sex couples, the Thai government is now expediting the revision of draft law on civil partnerships. Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krae-ngam says the law will protect the rights of all genders, according to the Bangkok Post. Wednesday the Constitutional Court upheld the language in Section 1448 of…
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TAT highlights November and December events in Blue Zones
Throughout the Blue Zone, designated as tourist provinces that are welcoming tourists in a 7-day Sandbox scheme, events and celebrations are taking place to welcome people back to Thailand. The Tourism Authority of Thailand compiled a list of activities and highlights in November and December from these 17 zones where fully vaccinated travellers can arrive from around the world with…
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Mali’s dancing plastic monster
Bamako, Mali, has an environmental star. Contemporary dancer Zol uses his constume and dancing skills to highlight plastic pollution. SOURCE: DW News
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Singapore-Malaysia Vaccinated Travel Lane starts Monday, 6 airlines offer flights
With Singapore and Malaysia’s so-called “Vaccinated Travel Lane” launching Monday, allowing quarantine-free travel for those going to and from the two countries, six airlines will offer flights under the scheme. AirAsia, Jetstar Asia, Malaysia Airlines, Malindo Air, Scoot, and Singapore Airlines are set to fly between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur under VTL programme, starting Monday, according to the Civil Aviation…
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Public transport drivers subject to safety points system from December
The Department of Land Transport is implementing a points-based system to punish public transport drivers for bad behaviours starting December 1. The system will give drivers 100 points to begin with and demerit points for every violation of traffic laws or safety, resulting in a temporary suspension of their license. The Director-General of the department explained the system that will…
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11 inmates climb through hole in ceiling, escape from prison cell in Nakhon Sawan
Nearly a dozen inmates climbed through a hole in a holding cell and escape from the Khlong Pho Temporary Prison in the central province Nakhon Sawan where they were held as a isolation period before being sent to Nakhon Sawan Central Prison. Officers say the inmates have been found. Police Major-General Raphiphong Sukphaiboon from Nakhon Sawan police station said the…
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Pattaya tourism quiet until entry and booze rules are eased
According to the acting president of the Chon Buri Tourism Council, Pattaya is still quiet, and 95% of tourists there are Thai since the reopening to international tourists on November 1. Of the 200 to 300 people per day who do come, the majority are not tourists but businesspeople and expats. And many of the tourists who do come end…
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APEC summit in Thailand to focus on regional economy
Next year Thailand will be hosting the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. The Foreign Ministry explains that this year the meeting will be focused on economic recovery and growth in the region following the global Covid-19 pandemic. Promoting cooperation between member nations is the emphasis of this event, reports Thai PBS. The theme of the summit is said to…
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Phuket to emphasise safety during Loy Krathong
As Phuket prepares for its Loy Krathong festivities tonight, the governor is imploring citizens to be safe and to respect the Covid-19 protocols in place. Celebrations on the island are scheduled to go forward, despite the lingering concerns over Covid. Governor Narong Woonciew expanded upon the many requirements that are in place this evening to mitigate the chances of the…
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Today’s Loy Krathong breaks traditions, Thais encouraged to celebrate “virtually”
Every year, on the 12th full moon on the lunar calendar, Thais celebrate Loy Krathong, giving thanks to the water goddess by releasing lotus-shaped floating offerings onto the water. Rivers, canals, and other bodies of water are filled with the beautiful offerings, known as krathongs, which are usually made from banana tree trunks and decorated with flowers, leaves, candles, and…
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Schools closed in north-east as shared transport blamed for Covid-19 outbreak
A Covid-19 outbreak has closed 2 schools in the north-eastern province of Ubon Ratchathani, with students and teachers quarantined. According to a Thai PBS World report, provincial health officials are blaming shared school vans for the spread of the virus. 24 students have tested positive and 295 other students and their teachers have been quarantined for observation. It’s understood a…
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American businesses pledge continued investment in Thailand
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says that he is pleased with the ongoing economic relationship between Thailand and the United States. American businesses have pledged continued investment in the country as they acknowledge the many opportunities in Thailand, despite the setbacks that have been caused by Covid-19. A meeting between PM Prayut and the American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand (Amcham) was…
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Thai and Cambodian police rescue 99 Thais from forced labour in Phnom Penh
Thai police have worked with their Cambodian counterparts to rescue another 99 Thai nationals working in forced labour conditions in Phnom Penh. It follows the earlier rescue of Thai workers held in similar conditions in the Cambodian border city of Poipet. According to a Bangkok Post report, the workers were rescued from a fenced-off 3-storey building in the Cambodian capital.…
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ChulaCOV-19 vaccine enters a promising third phase of trials
ChulaCOV-19, the mRNA Covid-19 vaccine in development by the Centre of Excellence in Vaccine Research at Chulalongkorn University, is expected to be registered by the middle of next year as it enters a promising third phase of clinical trials. The third round of trials on human test subjects is scheduled to see injections at the beginning of 2021, no later…
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Anti-doping agency bans Thailand from hosting international football tournaments
The World Anti-Doping Agency has hit Thailand with a number of sanctions over its failure to comply with WADA conditions. The ruling means Thailand cannot host any international football tournaments and the Thai flag cannot be displayed at such events. It’s understood the ruling is a result of Thailand’s failure to follow WADA’s 2021 code. According to a Bangkok Post…
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Mass lay-offs at Thai AirAsia as aviation sector continues to struggle
Thailand may have re-opened to international travellers, but the aviation sector continues to struggle as a result of the pandemic. Today, the Bangkok Post reports that Thai AirAsia has announced mass redundancies and extended furlough arrangements for many of its staff. Asia Aviation, the largest shareholder in TAA, says the outlook for the aviation sector remains unstable and the company…
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19 year old claims Sinovac vaccine caused his hair to fall out
After getting 2 Sinovac vaccines, a 19 year old student in Phuket claims his hair began falling out in clumps, leaving him bald. The vocational school student is from Phang Nha but stays now in Chalong in order to study at school and told the press that a doctor had verified the condition. The man said he travelled to his…
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China: Detained journalist Zhang Zhan on ‘brink of death’
Detained journalist Zhang Zhan is reportedly on the “brink of death” amid a hunger strike, as international pressure mounts on the Chinese government to release her. Zhang was also unveiled as the recipient of the 2021 Press Freedom Award in the courage category, by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), on Thursday. She was arrested in May 2020, after posting dozens of…
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