Year: 2020
- Covid-19 News
Misery as arrival ban keeps families apart
Thailand’s ban on foreign arrivals is causing misery among families across the nation as foreigners married to Thai nationals plead with the government to let them return to be with their families. James Jacobs, a Briton stranded in France, told Nation Thailand he wants to return to his 29 year old wife Sopa, who lives in Chiang Mai. Speaking by…
Read More » - Crime News
Armed thief breaks into Pattaya toy shop – VIDEO
Pattaya Police are searching for a thief who was seen on security footage driving a motorbike with a sidecar, who broke into a toy shop. They believe the man was carrying a firearm. 26 year old Saifon Tanawong, a staff member at the shop, told police and The Pattaya News that at 2:30am the thief stole a computer tablet valued…
Read More » - Crime News
Former deputy commerce minister and 4 others plead not guilty to murder of judge’s brother
In a case which has shocked the nation, former deputy commerce minister, MP and police lieutenant Banyin Tangpakorn and 4 co-defendants have pleaded not guilty to the abduction and murder of the brother of the senior Bangkok judge who was handling his multimillion baht stock theft case. They entered their pleas via video conference from prison yesterday. The accused, including 56…
Read More » - Bangkok News
Car bursts into flames on the way home from dealer – VIDEO
A couple in Nonthaburi province, just north of Bangkok, bought a used car for 22,000 baht, not expecting that would go up in flames before they got it home. The couple ran for their lives as the car was incinerated on the roadside. The Pak Kret Police Station was notified at 12:30 on Thursday of a car on fire on…
Read More » - Covid-19 News
Phase 3 of lockdown relaxations could begin June 1: CCSA
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration confirmed yesterday, that Phase 3 of lockdown relaxation will take effect on June 1, after 5 relevant procedures are completed. CCSA spokesman Dr. Taweesin Visanuyothin says the procedures would be executed from today to May 31. The first procedure is the collection of information on the Covid-19 situation by officials involved with the lockdown…
Read More » - Crime News
Foreigner handing out cash in Pattaya robbed of more than 10,000 baht – VIDEO
A thief who snatched a bundle of 1,000 baht notes from a foreigner handing out cash to desperate people in Pattaya has been caught on video, according to an eyewitness at the scene. Musician Pom Santana said the clip, posted on his Facebook page, captures the aftermath of the incident at Jomtien beach, as people queuing for the cash handout look…
Read More » - Northern Thailand News
Udon Thani temple blaze claims abbot’s life
A famous forest temple in Issan’s Udon Thani province caught fire yesterday, claiming the life of its abbot. The temple has long been associated with the late Maha Bua Yannasampanno, thought by many of his followers to be an Arahant (someone who has attained Enlightenment) and a master in the Thai Forest Tradition. 75 year old Phra Ajarn Sudjai Thanthamano…
Read More » - World News
Pakistani airliner crashes into neighbourhood, 80 confirmed dead
UPDATE: As of 3:30pm, the death toll in the incident has risen to 97. A Pakistan International Airlines plane carrying 99 people crashed into a crowded Karachi neighbourhood yesterday afternoon after trying twice to land at the airport, according to an eyewitness. Provincial health authorities have confirmed at least 80 dead but it’s not clear whether they included casualties on…
Read More » - Thailand News
Thailand News Today – Friday, May 22
Zero new case in Thailand today. Upgrades to ‘luxury quarantine’ available for returnees Don’t like the accommodation the government have provided for you for your mandatory 14 day quarantine, sick of the boring Thai menu they’re serving you for three meals a day, don’t like the colour of the curtains? Fear not. Now you upgrade your quarantine accommodation. But you’re…
Read More » - Crime News
Surat Thani police extortion case – police chief promises swift and thorough investigation
Police in the southern Surat Thani province have been ordered to speed up their internal investigation into allegations that 3 of their officers demanded 5 million baht from a trader to drop charges relating to the purchase of seafood from local fishermen. The report will be submitted to the National Anti-Corruption Commission. A spokesman said today that the investigation is…
Read More » - Northern Thailand News
African horse sickness: Imported zebras need health check and quarantine
Humans have the coronavirus, the animal world in Thailand has an outbreak of their own: African horse sickness. The government is now requiring all imported zebras to be quarantined and tested before entering the country. The same goes for horses. Why are people importing zebras? Who knows, but apparently it hasn’t been that hard to get the exotic animals into Thailand.…
Read More » - Hot News
Cyclone Amphan’s death toll climbs to 83 in India and Bangladesh – VIDEO
Today the clean up starts in the aftermath of Cyclone Amphan after it reached the coastline Wednesday evening and started heading inland. In parts of Bangladesh and West Bengal (eastern India boarding Bangladesh), at least 83 people have died. It’s affected some 10 million Indian and Bangladeshi people, leaving countless homeless. With winds around 170 kilometre per hour, most of…
Read More » - World News
More stranded Burmese workers to be allowed home
Burmese workers, stranded in Thailand since the start of the outbreak, will be allowed to travel from Bangkok to Thailand’s western Tak province from today up to July 20, to expedite their return to their motherland across the border in Myanmar. The concession was finalised after the Transport Company met with the deputy permanent secretary of foreign affairs and representatives…
Read More » - Crime News
Man arrested for growing 1,200 cannabis plants
Police have arrested a man growing 1,200 cannabis plants in Eastern Thailand this morning. After a tip about the illegal marijuana plantation, police raided and uprooted the hundreds of cannabis plants, reporting that they weighed over 500 kilograms, according to Bangkok Post. The marijuana was planted on land near the Pang Sida National Park, in Sa Kaeo. The farm covered…
Read More » - Northern Thailand News
Police arrest 3 involved in mystery woman’s marijuana syndicate
Police seized hundreds of kilograms of marijuana from a drug network run by a mystery woman in the Isaan region, north east Thailand. The syndicate was run by a woman known as “Jae Saigon,” meaning “sister on the merit path,” according to Bangkok Post. A photo from a police suspects chart shows a woman wearing a white robe and her…
Read More » - Northern Thailand News
Accomplice in Chiang Rai robbery found hanging in Phayao forest
The alleged motorcycle driver in a recent Chiang Rai robbery has been found hanging in a forest in the upper northern Phayao province, in an apparent suicide. Two men pulled off the daring daytime robbery of more than a million baht in Chiang Saen district last Monday. Both men were then tracked down by police. The first suspect, identified only…
Read More » - World News
China proposes new “security law” for Hong Kong
After more than a year of often violent protests and unrest, China says it will introduce a proposal today for a national security law in Hong Kong in a move the US warns will be “highly destabilising” for the Asian financial hub. The announcement late yesterday was quickly criticised by pro-democracy lawmakers and activists as “the end of Hong Kong,”…
Read More » - Economy News
U-Tapao airport maintenance facility going ahead despite obstacles
U-Tapao Rayong-Pattaya International airport is going ahead with its proposed Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul project, despite Thai Airways entering bankruptcy, according to the secretary general of the Eastern Economic Corridor Office. The 11 billion baht project to has already been approved by the Cabinet and a contract is expected to be signed in June. “In early June, project owner the…
Read More » - Covid-19 News
Government prepares for safe reopening of schools on July 1
Officials from Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health are working closely with the Education Ministry to facilitate the safe reopening of schools on July 1. There has been recent debate if the schools system would be ready by that date. The rollout of online learning has only been since Monday this week, with early bugs being ironed out and teachers, and…
Read More » - Economy News
Thailand’s property market set to experience brokerage megashift
by Bill Barnett It’s clear that Thailand’s real estate sector is expected to undergo a megashift as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and search for a ‘new normal’, if that’s even possible. That said, one of the country’s leading PropTech groups FazWaz says the crisis has only accelerated dynamic charges to the sector that have been bubbling to the…
Read More » - Covid-19 News
Survey finds Bangkok’s public transport lacking when it comes to safety measures
A survey carried out by the Thai Health Promotion Foundation shows that some users of public transport in the capital are not confident new health guidelines are being adhered to. The biggest concern appears to be a lack of social distancing, blamed on a shortage of vehicles during peak times. A report in Nation Thailand says those considered “high risk”…
Read More » - Crime News
Thai prison governor fired for allowing inmate conjugal visit
Should prisoners get a little love? Not in Thailand apparently. Recently, a prison governor was booted after he allowed an inmate to have a conjugal visit. Typically, a conjugal visit in Western countries means the inmate and the visitor are in a private room together with a sofa or bed, sometimes a TV. In this case, the inmate at the…
Read More » - Covid-19 News
Upgrades to ‘luxury quarantine’ available for returnees
Mandatory 14 day state quarantine for Thai returnees may not be so bad – if you’re prepared to pay for it. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration revealed yesterday that there’s an upgrade option. CCSA spokesman Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin says state officials are providing the alternative quarantine arrangements for people “who need more options.” Returnees are currently sent either to…
Read More » - Covid-19 News
Thai Chamber of Commerce warns 10 million jobs in peril if lock-down persists
The Thai Chamber of Commerce is appealing for businesses to be allowed to reopen ASAP, warning that if the lock-down goes on much longer, an estimated 10 million people could lose their jobs. The Pattaya News reports that TCC Chairman, Kalin Sarasin, says businesses should be allowed to reopen provided they abide by new public health measures. He says the…
Read More » - Crime News
Animal activists claim police officer killed beloved campus dog
A Thai animal rights group is accusing a Chiang Mai police officer of abusing and killing a beloved dog, Tia, a stray adopted by students at Chiang Mai University. Watchdog Thailand, based in Chiang Mai, investigated the incident after the dog’s body was found last week and recently reported their findings to police, according to Nation Thailand. The autopsy of…
Read More » - Covid-19 News
Thailand’s contact tracing app currently unable to alert users
The Thai government says its contact-tracing app is vital to reducing a new flare up of the Covid-19 virus, while admitting the app is currently unable to issue alerts. Covid-19 Task Force spokesman Dr. Taweeslip Wisanuyothin adds that as the technology has only been in use since Sunday, any new cases reported since then are likely to have contracted the…
Read More » - Covid-19 News
Phase 3 of easing restrictions require Covid-19 case numbers to remain low for a fortnight
Thailand’s flamboyant public health minister and deputy PM Anutin Charnvirakul says the government is planning to announce the third phase of easing Emergency Decree restrictions if the number of new Covid-19 cases doesn’t rise within the next 2 weeks. Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin, spokesman of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration reported yesterday that the total number of Covid-19 cases had…
Read More » - Economy News
Second company in Thailand to be granted license to import natural gas
In a step to cut down energy costs, Thai Gulf Energy Development Company says that they have obtained a government license to import up to 1.7 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year. As Thailand moves to free up its natural gas market and position itself as a regional trading hub for LNG, Thai Gulf Energy has been reported…
Read More » - Việt Nam
Cập nhật tình hình COVID-19 tại Việt Nam (Ngày T5 21/5): Không ghi nhận ca nhiễm nCoV mới, bệnh nhân nặng âm tính
18h ngày 21/5, Bộ Y tế không ghi nhận thêm ca nhiễm nCoV mới. Tổng số ca nhiễm COVID-19 toàn quốc là 324 người, trong số đó, 266 người đã khỏi bệnh, 58 người đang tiếp tục điều trị. Như vậy, tính đến hết ngày 21/5, Việt Nam ghi nhận: Tổng số ca nhiễm: 324 Số ca khỏi bệnh: 266…
Read More » - Thailand News
Thailand News Today – Thursday, May 21
Covid-19 update: 3 new cases including German man, no deaths 3 new Covid-19 cases have been found over the past 24 hour period, but no deaths, bringing the national total to 3,037 and leaving the death toll at 56. The new cases were found in Bangkok and Chon Buri – 2 community infections while the other was a repatriate student…
Read More » - Covid-19 News
President Trump claims China responsible for “mass worldwide killing”
In one of his notorious Twitter posts, US President Donald Trump once again raged against China over the Covid-19 pandemic sweeping the globe, blaming Beijing for a “mass worldwide killing.” The early morning tweet yesterday, which referred to an unidentified “wacko in China”, is the latest heated rhetoric from Washington, where Trump is making attacks on Beijing a central narrative…
Read More » - Politics News
Thai Airways to lay off 30% of its staff
“THAI will stop repaying all debt and start from scratch.” The government announced today that Thai Airways will have to dismiss more than 6,000 employees after entering into receivership proceedings and a debt moratorium of 200 billion baht. The Cabinet decided to push Thai Airways into a bankruptcy procedure under the Bankruptcy Act and ordered the Ministry of Finance to…
Read More » - Environment News
Government claims they’re serious about northern air pollution
Thailand’s northern provinces, particularly Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, suffer mightily during the annual plantation burning season, infamously known as “smoky season,” when farmers there and in neighbouring Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia burn their fields in preparation for the next harvest. The season lasts from January to April, and during that time Chiang Mai often rates as having the worst…
Read More » - Phuket News
40 year old man injured in Phuket shophouse explosion
Police in Phuket are blaming a gas leak causing an explosion that injured a man when he switched on the kitchen light at his shophouse home in the island’s east coast Rassada subdistrict early this morning. The blast blew out the shopfront windows, brought down ceiling panels and tore off roofing tiles. Police were was called to the shophouse at…
Read More » - Crime News
19 kilograms of crystal meth, valued around 10 million baht, seized on Thai train
2 people are in custody and 19 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine or “ya ice” has been seized after it was discovered in their bags on an express train from Bangkok to the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat last night. 22 year old Ekkapong Kaewsa, of Bangkok, and his female companion 23 year old Methanee Suparb from Si Sa Ket,…
Read More » - Covid-19 News
Thai government urges the public to comply with contact-tracing system
The spokesman for Thailand’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, Taweeslip Wisanuyothin, says it’s vital the public complies with the government’s tracking and tracing system if the virus is to be suppressed. The country is currently recording daily new cases in single digits, most of them returnees and already in state quarantine. One of the 3 new cases today was a 25 year…
Read More » - South Thailand News
Officers demand 5 million baht bribe, hundreds riot – VIDEO
All claiming to be police officers, 3 men in Southern Thailand tried to extort a man for 5 million baht so he could avoid arrest. Somehow hundreds of villagers in Surat Thani got involved and surrounded the policeman’s Toyota Fortuner, according to Thai media. A video from Thai PBS shows villagers rocking the vehicle back and forth, and the rear…
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