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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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They arrived! One Thai/Australian family’s battle to re-unite.
Common sense has prevailed and the uphill task faced by father Sam Kelly last week has had a favourable ending with his Thai wife, Kannika, and 2 children. Ronny and Adam, arriving safely this morning in Brisbane, Australia. His months-long battle with common sense and the vagaries of Thai officialdom has resulted in at least one family being re-united soon…
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Phuket’s hotels can now open. Someone forgot to tell the hotels.
Phuket is open. Sort of. And the hotels on the island are officially allowed to re-open but few are flinging open their doors anytime soon to welcome the hordes of tourists lining up to book a room. The holiday island is in a Catch 22 situation with the hotels waiting for the guests to return and potential visitors waiting until…
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Cyber minister wants Netflix-like Thai streaming platform
Thailand’s minister of digital economy and society, aka. “cyber minister” says that Thailand should have its own streaming platform to bring in revenue and promote Thai movies and television overseas. Puttipong Punnakan remarked at a forum that creating a Netflix-like platform to stream and sell Thai films and series to foreign audiences would reel some sweet, sweet subscription revenue into…
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Thailand News Today – Friday, June 5
Former senior prosecutor says Thai Airways rehab plan will unveil extensive corruption A former senior Thai crime prosecutor predicts that the rehabilitation plan for Thai Airways is bound to expose extensive corruption in the management of the stricken airline. Wanchai Roujanavong says what’s about to come will be the revealing of a veritable Pandora’s Box of dishonesty and bad practice…
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All public transport allowed to resume
The Transport Ministry today allowed all public transport, including buses, trains and planes to resume, to meet the people’s demand for travel, with the exception of some provinces that have not ended lockdown measures. The ministry’s deputy permanent secretary says the move is in line with the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s third phase of relaxation of Emergency Decree restrictions.…
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Phuket governor courts envoys of 16 nations to promote tourism
“I would like Phuket to organise activities leading the consulates from various countries to travel to Phuket in order to see the beautiful tourist attractions and to promote tourism for Phuket.” Phuket’s governor called yesterday for foreign envoys to visit and inspect Phuket for themselves as a mark of confidence that the island is ready to receive tourists. The call…
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Exiled Thai dissident kidnapped in broad daylight in Phnom Penh
In the latest in a string of mysterious disappearances of Southeast Asian dissidents living in exile, gunmen kidnapped a Thai political activist in Cambodia, rights advocates announced today. 37 year old Wanchalearm Satsaksit, who fled Thailand after 2014’s military coup amid accusations he broke the country’s strict lèse-majesté law, was abducted at gunpoint and bundled into a car as he…
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88 billion baht Covid-19 spending bill, criticised by opposition, passes first reading
Thailand’s House of Representatives kicked off a debate this morning on a bill that would transfer about 88 billion baht from the budgets of each government ministry to a central fund, to fight the Covid-19 pandemic and rehabilitate the nation’s economy. The first reading was approved with 264 votes. 4 MPs rejected it, 185 abstained and 1 MP failed to…
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Covid-19 cases in Thailand (June 5)
At this morning’s daily press conference, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration announced a single new case of Covid-19. The case is a 45 year old Thai man who recently returned from Kuwait. He’s reportedly a factory worker and arrived in Bangkok on May 24. He was diagnosed with the virus after a second test on June 3. Today marks the…
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Monkeys drown in water tank after food and water shortage
15 monkeys were found dead in a water tank yesterday in Songkhla, near the Malaysian border. The province’s long-tailed macaque monkeys are facing a food shortage due to the lack of tourists in the area. Officials say the monkeys found yesterday must have been thirsty when they jumped in the 3 metre deep tank and drowned. There hasn’t been much rain in…
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Gold necklace snatched from Banglamung motorcyclist – again
Police in Chon Buri’s Banglamung subdistrict are hunting for a suspect on a motorbike who allegedly snatched a gold necklace worth 65,000 baht from another motorcyclist in the Nongprue area. 40 year old Somchai Jandaphon, a contractor, filed a report with Nongprue Police yesterday. He told police that he was driving a motorbike in Soi Marb Tado when the suspect,…
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Special boxes made for delivering smelly durian
You either love durian, or you hate it. But many people can agree, it smells bad… really bad. Some hotels and transportation services even ban the pungent fruit. Thailand researchers have now developed a special odour-proof boxes to be used to deliver durian. The box is important when selling the Thai fruit because just the smell of it can drive…
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Thailand to produce thermal face scanner for use in public spaces
For anyone who’s noticed their body temperature varying from store to store (The Thaiger has registered a temperature that would indicate hypothermia on more than one occasion), there may be a solution in the not-too-distant future. Two of Thailand’s top technology agencies are working together to develop a thermal facial scanner which it’s hoped will be able to provide the…
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Bars, massage parlours may be be allowed to reopen in Phase 4
Drinking at a bar and a massage at some of the country’s larger massage parlour may become possible again in Phase 4 of the lifting of restrictions, originally enacted to contain the spread of Covid-19. Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration spokesman Dr. Taweesilp Wisanuyothin says that such venues are being considered for the fourth phase of reopening, as no local…
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Temple criticised for painting internet comedian in ‘Buddhist’ mural
Thai internet comedian, Sitang Buathong, is known for her “power,” making a rolling orange stop by saying “orange stop!” At a central Thailand temple, an artist included 58 year old Buathong in a painting. Instead of facing up at Buddha like some others in the painting, she is portrayed looking down and pointing at an orange. Religious officials are not…
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Former senior prosecutor says Thai Airways rehab plan will unveil extensive corruption
“…the public would continue to be kept in the dark, while the parasites carried on sucking the blood out of the airline.” A former senior crime prosecutor predicts that the rehabilitation plan for Thai Airways is bound to expose extensive corruption in the management of the stricken airline. Posting on his Facebook page, Wanchai Roujanavong says what’s about to come…
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Army denies punishing sergeant over graft allegations
In a press briefing yesterday, an army spokesman denied that a sergeant is facing punishment for exposing alleged graft in an army unit, saying rather that Narongchai Intharakawee faces disciplinary and criminal action for “dereliction of duty”. Previous reports said Narongchai, who serves as a budget clerk at the army ordnance department, claimed he has been intimidated, threatened, and faced…
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Heavy rains, thundershowers predicted nationwide
Thailand’s Meteorological Department says a low pressure cell is covering the upper Bay of Bengal, and the strong southwest monsoon across the Andaman Sea and Thailand is becoming stronger. Continuous rains are predicted across much of the country today, especially in the afternoon, with isolated heavy rains in some areas. People in the North, the East and the South are…
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Show of support for Japanese man stranded in Pattaya
Several local organisations have rallied to help a homeless Japanese man living on Pattaya beach after being left destitute by the Covid-19 crisis. It’s understood that Pattaya Tourist Police found the visibly upset man on the beach with his luggage. After a representative from the Pattaya Japanese Association was called to translate, police learned that the man had been stranded…
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Man arrested after hacking bank account of nearly 400,000 baht
Police arrested a man for fraud after he hacked into a rich businessman’s bank accounts using a smartphone sent in the mail, posing it as a prize. 34 year old Anontwat Vorametchayangkul took 395,000 baht from the man’s accounts, police announced yesterday. He has a background in computer science, and police say he is wanted in 9 cases which are…
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Hospital director denies corruption, threatens to sue government health official
The director of Khon Kaen Provincial Hospital in north-east Thailand is threatening Public Health Permanent Secretary Dr. Sukhum Kanchanapimai with a lawsuit following allegations of corruption. Dr. Charnchai Chanvorachaikul was transferred to Chanthaburi province in the east of the country following unconfirmed reports of corruption relating to donations to the Hospital Development Fund. Dr. Charnchai completely denies the allegations, which…
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Prachuap Khiri Khan’s scenic Ao Manao beach reopens today
Chon Buri and Hua Hin aren’t the only places reopening their beaches. Today, Ao Manao, the scenic beach in the western province of Prachuap Khiri Khan will also be open to the public. The crescent shaped bay belongs to the Air Force Wing 5 miltary base. Like all Thai beaches, it’s been closed for two months due to the Covid-19…
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Electricity discount has been switched off
Yesterday the Ministry of Energy announced that the national electricity discount from March to May, which differed based on the amount of electricity used and size and type of the venue, has ended and will not be renewed. But, at best, the discount was merely a perfunctory political gesture, not a useful saving for most Thai residences. The discount was…
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Government to decide which “red” businesses can reopen in next phase
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration revealed today that the government is now considering which high-risk or “red” businesses will be allowed to reopen under Phase 4 of lockdown easing. CCSA spokesman Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin says that the virus could be with us for months or even years, so the government must carefully consider which “red” high-contagion-risk businesses can reopen.…
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Bangkok braces for Black Lives Matter rally
The death of black American George Floyd at the hands of police burgeoned into a storm of protests reaching across the globe; one that will reach Bangkok this weekend. The vast majority of demonstrations over the past 8 days in the US have been peaceful, but some have turned violent and curfews have been imposed after looting in a number…
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Thailand News Today – Thursday, June 4
17 new Covid-19 cases in Thailand, all repatriated citizens from Middle East Today the Centre of Covid-19 Administration reported 17 new cases of Covid-19 infection. All the cases were repatriated Thai personnel returning from the Middle East. Most the returnees were asymptomatic and were confirmed as infected after a second test. • 13 of the new cases had returned from…
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17 new Covid-19 cases in Thailand, all repatriated citizens from the Middle East
Today the Centre of Covid-19 Administration reported 17 new cases of Covid-19 infection. All the cases were repatriated Thai personnel returning from the Middle East. Spokesperson Dr Taweesilp reported that most the returnees were asymptomatic and were confirmed as infected after a second test. “13 of the new cases had returned from Kuwait, 12 were men aged 31-56, and the other…
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TAT will use domestic tourism as dress rehearsal for international returns
“…the tourism sector will continue to be stifled by disease control measures until a Covid-19 vaccine is developed.” Due to the current ban on international arrivals, extended several times and now in effect until at least July, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has created a strategy to support domestic tourism and “learn from the experience”, as it eases into the…
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Carpenter killed at migrant workers’ camp
A Burmese carpenter was killed early yesterday morning at a central Thailand workers’ camp which houses hundreds of migrant workers. 32 year old Thein Tun, was stabbed multiple times and was dead by the time police arrived at the Sino-Thai Engineering camp in the Samut Prakan province, just south of Bangkok. Police found a knife but are still looking for possible…
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Thailand’s health volunteers are ‘unsung heroes’ WHO rep says
Thailand’s village health volunteers have been deemed “unsung heroes” in the coronavirus pandemic by a World Health Organisation representative for Thailand. “The volunteers have helped keep the number of cases low by educating villagers about the virus and prevention measures as well as collecting temperatures.” While Thailand had the first coronavirus case outside of China, the country has not been…
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