News
Stay up-to-date with the latest news from across Thailand and beyond with The Thaiger. Our dedicated team brings you breaking news, in-depth analysis, and exclusive stories from this stunning part of the world, covering a diverse range of topics, including local politics, business, culture, and tourism. Keep yourself informed about the Kingdom’s rich history, stunning landscapes, and thriving expat communities, as well as updates on events, attractions, and transportation.
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Sponsored 5 best wine bars in Bangkok offering rich and quality wine
It’s wine o’clock! Whether you’re all about fruity reds, sweet whites, or funky naturals, Bangkok has many great spots to sip your favourite varieties. But with an array of options to choose from, and the constant rise and fall of...
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Pattaya businesses say they desperately need foreign tourists to stay open
“If borders stay closed to international tourists for another 6 months, nearly the entire tourism industry in Pattaya could collapse.” Pattaya needs tourists. The city’s famous Walking Street could go under if international tourists aren’t let back in the country, according to the resident business owners. Many shops have already closed, after re-opening in June when the restrictions were lifted,…
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Thai health authorities track and trace 600+ people linked to 37 year old DJ
More than 600 people are now being traced as a result of the random Covid-19 case of the 37 year old DJ who tested positive last Wednesday without being out of the country at any time. Thai health authorities are under pressure to find the source of his infection. It’s only 1 local case after exactly 100 days of no…
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Amnesty International says drop the charges pressed on protesters
“This recent slew of arrests of peaceful demonstrators illustrates the authorities’ intensifying crackdown on freedom of expression and assembly.” Amnesty International is calling on the Thai government to drop the charges pressed on pro-democracy activists. So far 31 activists have been arrested on charges relating to their involvement in the July 18 rally at Bangkok’s Democracy Monument. Many leaders of the…
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Covid-19 case: 600 people facing quarantine
Hundreds may need to go into quarantine after they came in contact with a Bangkok DJ who recently tested positive for Covid-19. Health officials say around 600 people have been in close contact with the man and 78 people have been classified as “high risk” of being infected. Thailand went 100 days without a local transmission of the coronavirus. The…
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Immigration to deport men after alleged eco-vandalism in Koh Phangan
Immigration officials say they will deport the Hungarian and the Dutch man who were photographed handing sea creatures whilst diving in Gulf of Thailand off Koh Phangan. The men were arrested earlier this week and charged with “intruding in an area designated for environmental protection.” Attila Ott and Francesco Simonetti have been so-called “long-stayers” in Koh Phangan. Ott is a…
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UPDATE: Local DJ Covid case, 3 pubs closed down for cleaning
UPDATE: 4 more Covid-19 cases today. 3 were new patients – Thais returning from overseas. The other 1 included in today’s tally is a prison inmate from Bangkok – his positive test has rattled the CCSA who had just spent most of Wednesday crowing about their achievement of reaching 100 days without any locally-based infections. His positive test has led…
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Police arrest 7 for alleged face mask scam
Police arrested 7 people allegedly involved in a multi-million baht scam selling face masks online and not delivering them. The Royal Thai Police teamed up with police in Seoul and Hong Kong for the investigation. Police say 3 Thai women and 4 Cameroon nationals were arrested on fraud charges. The transnational investigation started when complaints were filed by people in…
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Covid-19 case: Negative results for 150 officials
Tests results are negative for all 150 officials who came in contact with the recent Covid-19 patient. The patient, a 37 year old inmate at a Bangkok prison, tested positive for the virus this week after the country went 100 days without a local transmission. From the time the inmate was detained on drug charges and went to court on…
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BTS looks to a Grammy nomination after scoring their first Billboard #1 single
After scoring South Korea’s first-ever #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, K-pop supergroup BTS now says it’s set its sights on a standalone performance at next year’s Grammy Awards, perhaps even a nomination or an award. BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan) are RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook, and have fought over their 7 years together to…
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Social distancing at the bar? Pattaya Police remind venues about Covid-19 rules
Does anyone wear a face mask at the bar? How about social distancing? With people ready to party for the long weekend, Pattaya Police are reminding entertainment venues to continue to use coronavirus preventative measures. That means those at a nightclub or bar need to keep 6 feet apart, if the venue owners enforce the rules. Police held a meeting…
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Belgian arrested after living and working in Thailand without a passport for 4 years
A 49 year old Belgian man has been arrested by Thai immigration police after being discovered living in the Kingdom without a passport. The man was reported to be living in an apartment at Wang Thonglang, a north east suburb of Bangkok. Officials started an investigation into a “good looking European man” that spoke fluent Thai and discovered that the man has…
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Thailand enters space race, air force satellite launched
Thailand has entered the space race. The Royal Thai Air Force launched its first satellite into space yesterday morning. The satellite will be used for general data collecting as well as for security purposes in efforts to prevent foreign countries from spying on Thailand. The nanosatellite, Napa-1, was launched at the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana. It was one…
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Tourism officials look to end dual pricing for expats
“The key factor is we have to treat expats like locals, without discrimination or a negative attitude towards foreigners.” Admission fees at national parks and tourist attractions are often drastically higher for expats than they are for Thai nationals. Foreigners sometimes even pay 10 times more than Thais. Tourism officials say they might put an end to dual pricing for…
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50 tonnes of dodgy durian seized and destroyed in China
In a move that will attract thanks from 1000s of westerners, China has destroyed nearly 50 tonnes of illegally imported durian, valued around 5.5 million baht. The durians had been smuggled into China. Shiokou, a border town in Cao Bang Province in Vietnam, was where the dodgy durian was intercepted. The land port has been operating since 1792 and plays…
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5 key recommendations emerge from Boss investigation
5 proposals have been made by an independent panel as the government mops up the recent internal investigations into the mishandling of the “Boss” case. The Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission has been given the task of implementing the 5 key recommendations made by panels that have examined the botched investigations over the hit-and-run case against Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya, grandson of…
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Bangkok prisoner tests positive for Covid-19… first local transmission in 100 days
A 37 year old prisoner has tested positive for Covid-19 on the same day Thailand reached 100 days since a local coronavirus infection. The male inmate has already been moved from the Bangkok prison to a Corrections Department hospital and the other 34 inmates who had contact with him have been tested. The infected man is reported to have worked in…
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1,500 year old human bones and pottery found in Isaan province
An Isaan woman found what experts say are 1,500 year old human bones and pottery. Fine Arts Department officials say they believe the bones and pottery were buried together during a funeral hundreds of years ago. A Surin local, 60 year old Muay Maichai, says she was walking through an area she frequents when she saw part of a jar sticking…
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Bangkok cop under fire after releasing inmate
A Bangkok police officer is looking at potential criminal charges after he allegedly let a drug suspect go free and took her to a hotel. Some reports claim officer Pot Boontip made a deal with the inmate, trading sex for freedom. The officer says that part of the story isn’t true. Boontip says he took the 48 year old woman…
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British man killed in a hit and run incident in Korat
A 43 year old British man has been killed by a hit-and-run driver whilst driving his motorcycle at an intersection in the main city area of Nakhon Ratchasima last night. Emergency responders headed to the Phon Lan gate intersection on the Ratchasima-Chok Chai Road around 11.30pm. At this stage Police believe he was hit by a truck and the driver had fled…
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Chinese nationals caught crossing the border
Border patrol officers arrested 6 Chinese nationals who allegedly crossed the Thai-Myanmar border this morning. The arrests follow a series of busts driven by Thailand’s heightened border patrol, a measure aimed at preventing the return of the coronavirus after Myanmar reported a spike in cases. The migrants had waded through the Moei River, which separates Thailand and Myanmar, and were…
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Koh Phangan cannabis farm raided by police
A Koh Phangan cannabis farm was raided today and police seized 40 plants. Meanwhile, Thai lawmakers are reviewing a bill that would allow people to grow cannabis. But these growers might have jumped the gun. Police say the farm was around 1 rai (.3 acres), and hidden in the forests of Koh Phangan. The seized cannabis plants weighed around 60…
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Phuket beach to ban pet dogs, but strays are okay
Don’t bring your dog to Phuket’s Nai Harn Beach. Stray dogs are fine to keep roaming, but if a new ban is passed, dog owners will face an up to 2,000 baht fine if they bring their pet woofer. The new rules comes after a visitor at the beach was attacked by 2 dogs an owner allowed to run around…
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Mandatory Covid insurance of up to 3 million baht for foreign visitors to Thailand
A spokesman for Thailand’s State Insurance Commission says all foreign arrivals into the Kingdom will need to have insurance cover for Covid-19. Suthipol Taweechaikarn says the insurance will need to cover people for the duration of their visit and that various packages are being made available for online purchase. Coconuts reports that travellers coming from countries considered low-risk for Covid-19…
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Odd number wins the Thai lotto
It’s enough to send a Thai gambler into a frizz. A rather odd number won the 6 million baht jackpot in Tuesday’s bi-monthly Thai lottery. The ticket ‘999997’ was the prize winning number and Thai netizens are going ballistic! Usually when picking out a lucky number, people would rarely choose a ticket with so many repeating numbers. But 52 year…
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Chiang Mai official accuses YouTuber and ‘life coach’ of fraudulent fundraising
An official in the northern province of Chiang Mai is accusing prominent Thai life-coach Sean Buranahirun of fraudulent fundraising and misleading the public. Bunyarith Nipvanich, assistant chief of the Mae Rim district, has filed a police report, accusing Sean of not distributing funds he raised in March to help officials fight forest fires in the renowned Doi Suthep area. Sean…
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Another school closed after Covid-19 scare
Another school near the Burmese border, along western Thailand provinces, temporarily closed down after students came in close contact with those who crossed the border and reported a “fever,” although no traces of the coronavirus have been detected or confirmed at this stage. The Ban Kui School in Kanchanaburi closed after some of their students came in contact with people…
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Burmese man seriously injured after violent attack in Pattaya
A Burmese man has been hospitalised in Pattaya after being violently attacked by a group of unidentified men in the main city area. The Pattaya News reports that the 32 year old man, named only as ‘Aree’, sustained several injuries, including one to his left eye, after being beaten with a belt with a metal buckle. The attack occurred around…
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Thai Airways announces extra repatriation flights for European and Asian cities
The executive vice president of Thai Airways, Wiwat Piyawiroj, says the national carrier is introducing 18 repatriation flights to cities in Asia and Europe. The flights will permit additional foreign nationals in Thailand to return to their home countries, while also allowing repatriating Thais or eligible foreigners to return to the Kingdom on the return flights. The flights are aimed…
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Thailand’s Health Minister optimistic about admitting business travellers
The Thai Public Health Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, admits Thailand is caught between a rock and a hard place and can’t go on locking all foreigners out forever, in an effort to prevent a resurgence of the Covid-19 virus. “We will either die of the disease or of hunger, so we have to face the challenge.” He adds that the Kingdom…
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PM’s daughters sue 100 people for defamation
Rumours spreading over social media about the Thai PM’s twin daughters are so far from the truth that the twins have filed a lawsuit against more than 100 people for defamation. Lawyer Apiwat Khanthong, representing twins Thanya and Nittha Chan-o-cha, says more than 100 social media accounts are facing libel charges under Thailand’s Computer Crime Act and the Criminal Code.…
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