Month: February 2020

  • World News

    Two passengers of virus-hit cruise ship die in Japan

    Two elderly passengers of the Diamond Princess, the coronavirus-stricken cruise ship which spent two weeks in quarantine in Japan’s Yokohama Harbour, have died. State broadcaster NHK made the announcement this morning, as a second group of passengers began disembarking after fourteen days quarantined onboard. The passengers were both Japanese, a man and woman in their 80s. More than 620 of…

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  • Economy News

    Baht remains strong despite virus, economic slowdown

    The minutes of today’s meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Thailand predict the Thai economy will expand at a much lower rate in 2020 than previously forecast, and far below its full potential. The discrepancy is mainly attributed to the combined impact of the coronavirus outbreak, delay to enactment of the Annual Budget Expenditure Act, and…

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  • Crime News

    Abbot who embezzled 69.7 million baht gets fines, suspended sentence

    An ex-abbot of Wat Sa Ket (Golden Mount Temple), found guilty of embezzling 69.7 million baht in temple funds, has been fined 27,000 baht and given a jail term of 36 months, suspended. The sentence was handed down at the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases yesterday. The court found 64 year old Thongchai Sukkho guilty of “malfeasance.”…

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  • Economy News

    Asset World says hotel bookings in Thailand starting to recover

    The hotel development unit of billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, Thailand’s richest man, says bookings have begun to recover from the disruption caused by the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. The epidemic has impacted some 60% of the hotel and retail properties in Asset World Corp’s portfolio, deterring tourism and causing events to be cancelled, according to CEO Wallapa Traisorat. “We’re starting to see…

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  • Crime News

    Dutchman’s killer, sentenced to death in absentia, arrested after 13 years on the run

    A former municipal councillor in the southern Chumphon province, sentenced to death in absentia for the murder of a wealthy Dutchman, was arrested yesterday after 13 years on the run. 54 year old Anupong Suthani was arrested in the northern province of Phrae. He was wanted on an murder arrest warrant issued by the Pattaya provincial court in December 2007.…

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  • Covid-19 News

    CORONAVIRUS update: Scientists debunk conspiracies, South Korea cases jump to 82

    “We stand together to strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin.” China’s National Health Commission reports there has been 114 new deaths from the coronavirus outbreak bringing the death toll to at least 2,126. 16,433 people have now fully recovered around the world. Around the world, there are 31 new cases in South Korea…

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  • World News

    Hong Kong police on a roll as third suspect in toilet paper heist flushed out

    Hong Kong has been gripped by panic buying since the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, as frightened residents hoard essentials like rice and toilet tissue. Now, a third man man has been arrested there for his role in a bizarre toilet paper heist, as a gang aimed to clean up during a run of frenzied buying in the city. The 26 year…

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  • Việt Nam

    Tội phạm truy nã bỏ trốn bất ngờ về Việt Nam đầu thú vì sợ nhiễm corona

    Một tội phạm truy nã về tội buôn bán ma tuý bỏ trốn ra nước ngoài vừa về đầu thú vì sợ lây dịch corona. Hôm nay, Công an huyện Tương Dương (Nghệ An) cho biết vừa tiếp nhận đối tượng truy nã Lương Văn Tú (SN 1993, trú xã Yên Na, Tương Dương) đến đầu thú sau hơn 3…

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  • Việt Nam

    Hàn Quốc có số ca nhiễm virus nCoV tăng đột biến

    Hàn Quốc hôm nay có thêm 20 ca dương tính virus corona, trong đó 15 trường hợp được cho là do một bệnh nhân không được cách ly kịp thời lây nhiễm. Trung tâm Kiểm soát và Phòng ngừa Dịch bệnh Hàn Quốc (KCDC) cho biết số ca nhiễm tại đây đã lên 51 ca với 20 ca nhiễm mới.…

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  • Covid-19 News

    All but one of 138 Thai evacuees from Wuhan return home as quarantine ends

    137 Thai nationals evacuated from China’s city of Wuhan city, epicentre of the global COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak were allowed to return to their homes today after two weeks of quarantine. The 137 were certified by the Public Health Ministry yesterday to be free from the virus. One patient is still being monitored at a Chon Buri Hospital. Some of the…

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  • Covid-19 News

    Korea reports 15 more coronavirus cases, total now 46

    South Korea today confirmed 15 more cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus bringing its total number of infections to 46, amid growing concerns that the illness is spreading despite tighter quarantine measures. According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), 13 new patients were found in Daegu, 300 kilometres southeast of Seoul. It’s presumed they contracted the illness…

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  • Covid-19 News

    Chinatowns around the world fall quiet over coronavirus fears

    Chinatowns around the world, some centuries old, are quiet, as businesses to survive the effects of global concern over the COVID-19 outbreak. Businesses in Australia’s oldest Chinatown enclave, dating back to the influx of fortune-seekers during an 1850s gold rush, report their earnings have dropped by more than half and they have been forced to cut staff hours dramatically, a…

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  • Crime News

    Korean tourist allegedly attacked in Pattaya after refusing to give money to a Thai woman

    UPDATE: The Pattaya News now reports that the suspects in the case have apologised and the matter has been settled amicably. Read the full story HERE. ORIGINAL STORY: A Korean man was allegedly attacked by a group of Thais after refusing to give money to a woman he met at a beer bar in Pattaya. 57 year old Sung Ho…

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  • Northern Thailand News

    Prayut visits Korat, offers compensation to shooting victims, families

    Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha went to Korat, in the northeastern Nakhon Ratchasima province, scene of the shooting rampage earlier this month that left 30 dead and 58 wounded. He met with people and families affected by the massacre and offered compensation totalling tens of millions of baht. He and accompanying ministers met locals after praying for peace at the…

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  • Covid-19 News

    Ministry says no entry for banned cruise ship passengers, even by air

    The Thai Public Health Ministry announced yesterday that no flights carrying passengers from the barred cruise ship MS Westerdam, whether chartered flights or otherwise, will be allowed to land in Thailand before the end of February. Department of Disease Control deputy chief Dr Thanarak Palitpat says the decision is the result of a discussion among authorities including the DDC, the…

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  • Northern Thailand News

    Drug runners killed in Chiang Rai clashes

    Police in Chiang Rai province report that three drug smugglers were killed and another arrested in two clashes with security forces near the Burmese border last night. A total of 400,000 methamphetamine pills and 7 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine were seized. The first clash occurred about 9:30pm after a number of pickup trucks and motorbikes were spotted crossing the border…

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  • Covid-19 News

    137 Thai evacuees head home after 14 day quarantine

    137 Thai evacuees, repatriated from the Chinese city of Wuhan on February 4, were given a warm farewell as they started on their journeys back home from the Royal Thai Navy’s Sattahip base, south of Pattaya this morning. The Thai Deputy Public Health Minister Sathit Pitutaecha, Chon Buri governor Pakkarathorn Thienchai, naval officers and medical personnel sent the group on…

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  • Health

    Thailand’s hospitals well equipped to handle Coronavirus patients

    Thailand was the first country outside of China to report novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) on 13 January 2020. As of February 19, the number of confirmed cases remains at 35 – 15 of whom have recovered and been discharged, while the other 20 remain in hospital. Thai officials have stated that the Kingdom is one of the most prepared countries in…

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  • Covid-19 News

    Passengers leave Yokohama virus ship, China toll tops 2000

    Passengers onboard the Diamond Princess, the coronavirus-wracked cruise ship which has been quarantined in Yokohama’s harbour for two weeks, began disembarking today after testing negative for the disease that has now claimed more than 2,000 lives in China. The ship proved a fertile breeding ground for the COVID-19 coronavirus, with at least 542 positive cases, the largest cluster of confirmed…

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  • Thailand News

    3 solutions to Thailand’s English teacher shortage

    by Eric Haeg Thailand needs 10,000 English teachers. News of a teacher shortage is no surprise, but news that the Ministry of Education has recently urged embassies to find English teachers has raised eyebrows. The US Embassy confirmed it participated in the meeting, and it has also been reported that over 20 other embassies participated in the discussions. According to Thailand’s…

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  • Road deaths

    Rescue worker struck and killed at accident scene

    A member of a rescue unit is dead after he was hit by a speeding pickup truck while helping victims at an accident scene in the western province of Prachuap Khiri Khan yesterday. Police identified the victim as Atthawut Nubanko of the Sawang Phae Paisan Thammasathan rescue unit. Another rescuer from the same team, Likit Inklam, told police that he…

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  • Covid-19 News

    Westerdam passengers in Thailand found virus-free

    Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob has announced that all 27 passengers from the cruise ship MS Westerdam who arrived in Thailand have tested negative for the COVID-19 coronavirus. The passengers, who disembarked in Cambodia on Valentine’s Day and came to Thailand, “…have tested negative and been allowed to continue to their destinations.” Two Thai passengers onboard the luxury cruise also showed…

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  • Bangkok News

    Bangkok gunman arrested this morning in Phetchaburi

    A lone, jealous gunman, who killed his ex-wife in her place of employment in a shopping centre near Victory Monument yesterday afternoon, has been arrested. The 34 year old gunman was arrested in a home in Phetchaburi, south west of Bangkok, at 4.30am today. He has been charged with pre-meditated murder, illegal possession of a weapon and carrying a gun…

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  • Crime News

    Students turn themselves in after brutally beating teacher

    Five men including two minors surrendered to police after allegedly attacking a 67 year old computer teacher, identified as Weerapong Masusai, in northeastern Thailand. The five surrendered to police in Nakhon Phanom yesterday morning. Police identified the suspected attackers as 20 year old Chokchai Mapan, 22 year old Natthawut Taiboontiam, 23 year old Laisue Yolai, and two minors aged between…

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  • Songkran News

    PM says no to 9 day holiday

    Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has dismissed the idea of extending the Songkran Festival holiday to nine days. The PM says the idea was not brought up at a government cabinet meeting yesterday and will not be discussed any further. Prayut said he personally does not agree with a longer Songkran holiday and doesn’t believe it would have a great effect…

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  • Việt Nam

    Giá thanh long bất ngờ nhảy vọt mặc dịch corona hoành hành

    Giá bán thanh long đột ngột đảo chiều, tăng mạnh gấp ba so với lúc cần giải cứu. Anh Phan Trương Bá Toàn ở xã Hàm Hiệp, huyện Hàm Thuận Bắc cho biết: “Không ngờ giá cả tăng nhanh như vậy, lứa này được 100 triệu, trừ chi phí gia đình lãi hơn 40 triệu”. Ông Nguyễn Văn Tú ở xã…

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  • Crime News

    Gunman allegedly shoots and kills ex-wife at mall in Bangkok, another injured

    Bangkok police report that a woman was shot and killed and a bystander wounded after a man opened fire in a shopping centre this afternoon. The gunman fled the scene straight after the shooting. He’s still at large. The incident took place in front of a beauty clinic inside Century Movie Plaza, near the Victory Monument. The clinic is identified…

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  • Crime News

    1 dead, 1 injured in Bangkok mall shooting, gunman escapes

    One woman is dead and a bystander injured after a gunman opened fire at a shopping mall in downtown Bangkok on this afternoon. The incident occurred in front of a beauty clinic inside Century Movies Plaza, just steps away from a tourist shopping area. The victim killed was a 28 year old employee of the clinic, while the injured victim…

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  • Environment News

    Air purifiers to be added to the top of Bangkok buses. Really…

    “It is like a single dead pixel on your phone, hardly noticeable” Air purifiers sitting on tops of buses. Apparently this is another solution for Bangkok’s air pollution problems. Sounds like the people selling the mobile bus-top air purifiers have a very convincing sales person! But Bangkok’s Mass Transit Authority director Surachai Eamvachirasakul says the department will go ahead with plans…

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  • Business News

    Thailand’s General Motors plant sold to China’s Great Wall Motors

    China’s Great Wall Motors has agreed to buy the General Motors’ Thailand manufacturing plant in Rayong. It’s expected than the transaction will be completed by the end of this year. GM announced this week that it is accelerating a retreat from “unprofitable markets”, becoming more dependent on the US, China, Latin America and South Korea for its manufacturing. Read more about…

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  • Việt Nam

    Giám đốc bệnh viện ở Vũ Hán tử vong vì virus corona

    Truyền thông nhà nước Trung Quốc đưa tin giám đốc của một bệnh viện tại Vũ Hán vừa qua đời do nhiễm virus corona. Bác sĩ Lưu Trí Minh (51 tuổi), giám đốc Bệnh viện Vũ Xương ở Vũ Hán, Hồ Bắc, đã qua đời lúc 10h30 ngày 18/2 vì nhiễm virus, theo Đài truyền hình trung ương Trung Quốc…

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  • Pattaya News

    Chon Buri police say illegal beauty clinics dumped dozens of syringes in canal

    Police in Chon Buri province are investigating after dozens of needles and blood capsules were found yesterday in a canal in the Samae San area near Sattahip. The Chonburi Public Health Department and Provincial Health Administration confirms that none of the needles or capsules came from local hospitals, clinics or government organizations. After investigating the needles and samples, officials say…

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  • World News

    Cambodia’s carelessness over coronavirus could bring disaster

    When passengers from the MS Westerdam disembarked in Sihanoukville, Cambodia on Valentine’s Day last week, it was smiles and handshakes all around, as Prime minister Hun Sen greeted them with roses. Protective masks were nowhere to be seen. Not only did the PM not wear one, his bodyguards ordered people wearing masks to take them off. The next day, the…

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  • Environment News

    National park staff scramble to prevent more wildfires as dry season approaches

    Phu Kradueng National Park officials told the press today that although they had contained the bushfire that started on Sunday and damaged over 3,400 rai of park forests, they still need to build additional firebreaks to prevent a reoccurrence, which is more likely during the dry season. “Currently we have only one tractor truck to build the firebreaks. It has…

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  • Environment News

    Chiang Mai blanketed in smoke as fires burn around the province

    It’s smoggy, smokey and generally unpleasant in northern Thailand today. But don’t take our word for it, look up to the skies around Chiang Mai or check the copious amounts of graphic evidence, freely available, about the seriousness of the fires, almost all deliberately lit, around the region. “It’s been bad all morning and there’s a noticeable smell of smoke…

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  • Covid-19 News

    Public Health Ministry urges Thais to delay visits to Japan, Singapore

    The Public Health Ministry is urging Thais to postpone any planned visits to Singapore and Japan, citing the rising number of COVID-19 coronavirus cases in the two countries. Thailand’s total confirmed cases of the virus has risen to 35. The permanent secretary at the Public Health Ministry Dr Sukhum Kanchanapima says that the virus outbreak in the two countries has…

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  • Thailand Weather Updates

    Pollution Control Department issues “red alert” for the North

    A “red alert” is in effect for northern Thailand today: The Pollution Control Department warns that unsafe levels of PM2.5 pollution have been recorded in several areas, including Mae Hong Son, Chiang Rai, Phayao and Chiang Mai. PM2.5 is particulate matter suspended in the air with a diameter of less than 2.5 microns, which is about 3% the diameter of…

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