Year: 2020

  • Covid-19 News250 Thai citizens repatriating from UK and Ireland today

    250 Thai citizens repatriating from UK and Ireland today

    The Royal Thai Embassy in London has confirmed that 250 Thai nationals are to be repatriated from the UK and Ireland today. The UK has recorded Europe’s highest number of deaths from the Covid-19 virus, currently standing at 34,636. Nation Thailand reports that once the returning citizens arrive in Bangkok, they will be required to enter a 14 day mandatory quarantine…

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  • Northern Thailand NewsDengue fever on the rise in Isaan

    Dengue fever on the rise in Isaan

    While the country is slowly getting a handle on containing the coronavirus pandemic, the Isaan region is tackling a bout of dengue fever. There’s been a rise of the mosquito-borne illness in Nakhon Ratchasima with 737 cases. Local health volunteers have ramped up initiatives to prevent the further spread of the disease. Abate sand granules are being used to kill mosquito…

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  • Covid-19 NewsSurvey shows Thai citizens facing crippling hardship due to Covid-19

    Survey shows Thai citizens facing crippling hardship due to Covid-19

    A new poll carried out by a team from Bangkok’s Suan Dusit Rajabhat University proves what most already know: Thai people are facing unprecedented financial hardship as a result of the lockdowns associated with the Covid-19 virus. A quarter of respondents say they have fallen into debt. The Bangkok Post reports that people are struggling due to a combination of…

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  • Thailand Weather UpdatesHot in the north, wet in the south, cyclone in the Bay of Bengal

    Hot in the north, wet in the south, cyclone in the Bay of Bengal

    Hot conditions, along with thunderstorms and gusty winds, are the feature of weather in the north east and eastern regions over the next few days. There will also be some additional wet weather for southern provinces on the west coast, due to the extensive storm system, which has now been named Cyclone Amphan, in the north part of the Bay…

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  • Central Thailand News4 people and 3 dogs rescued from Phitsanulok forest

    4 people and 3 dogs rescued from Phitsanulok forest

    Four members of the Phitsanulok’s Wang Thong district community, along with their 3 dogs, have been found after being lost since May 12. The group, who had been lost in the Phitsanulok forest for five days, were spotted by a police helicopter yesterday. Pol General Krisana Pattanacharoen, the deputy spokesman of the Royal Thai Police, said that the helicopter reported the…

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  • Northern Thailand NewsAfrican Horse Sickness spreads in the north east, death toll passes 500

    African Horse Sickness spreads in the north east, death toll passes 500

    The outbreak of African Horse Sickness, or African Plague, that emerged in Pak Chong district of Nakhon Ratchasima recently, has killed well over 500 horses and now spread to neighbouring Saraburi province. At least recent 28 horse deaths in Saraburi are attributed to AHS, a highly infectious and deadly disease, according to Saraburi Livestock Development officials. The department vaccinated horses…

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  • Environment NewsPhi Phi’s Maya Bay won’t reopen until fully rehabilitated

    Phi Phi’s Maya Bay won’t reopen until fully rehabilitated

    Maya Bay, Krabi’s main tourist attraction since it was featured in the 2000 Leonardo DiCaprio film ‘The Beach’, will remain closed as natural rehabilitation of the beach and bay continues, after vast areas of coral were destroyed by excess tourism and boat traffic. Indefinitely. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment says that in future boats will not be allowed…

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  • Crime NewsNakhon Si Thammarat gangster arrested over murder of wife’s lover

    Nakhon Si Thammarat gangster arrested over murder of wife’s lover

    Police in the southern Thai province of Nakhon Si Thammarat have arrested a 32 year old local gangster and drug dealer for the murder of a 41 year old criminal associate last Tuesday. The incident took place in the evening, on the side of the road in the Klai sub-district of Tha Sala district. They identified the suspect as Sunathorn…

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  • Thailand Weather UpdatesSouthern provinces face heavy rains from Cyclone Amphan

    Southern provinces face heavy rains from Cyclone Amphan

    The Thai Meteorological Department said in its bulletin today that Thailand’s 6 southern provinces on the west coast, are expected to experience heavy rains, from tomorrow until Wednesday, due to the influence of developing Cyclone Amphan. While the storm won’t make landfall in Thailand, it is currently battering India as it barrels northward through the Bay of Bengal. “The cyclone…

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  • Central Thailand NewsSamut Prakhan student severely injured in suicide bid

    Samut Prakhan student severely injured in suicide bid

    A 23 year old student at a prominent private university in the province of Samut Prakhan, just south of Bangkok, is in critical but stable condition after jumping from the fifth floor of her dormitory in an apparent failed suicide attempt. The student is now in recovering from her serious injuries in hospital. Police were informed of the incident at…

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  • Crime NewsPattaya motorbike taxi breaks through curfew checkpoint – VIDEO

    Pattaya motorbike taxi breaks through curfew checkpoint – VIDEO

    A motorbike taxi in Pattaya broke through a police curfew checkpoint at around 10:30pm Friday. Though the curfew has now been adjusted to 11pm, at the time both the driver and his foreign passenger were in violation. The incident led to a police chase that was caught on video: Officers pursued the pair before arresting them on Sukhumwit Road. They…

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  • Transport NewsThai Airways ponders bankruptcy as it enters rehab

    Thai Airways ponders bankruptcy as it enters rehab

    Thai Airways, which turns 60 years old this month, recorded a net loss of US$66 million in 2017, US$361 million in 2018 and US$374 million last year. As the airline contemplates getting its grounded planes back in the air, it’s now confronted with a PR disaster at home as the government ponders a bailout valued around 60 billion baht, around US$1.8…

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  • Covid-19 NewsCovid-19 update: 3 imported cases found in quarantine (May 17)

    Covid-19 update: 3 imported cases found in quarantine (May 17)

    Dr Taweesilp Visanuyothin, spokesman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, reported 3 new Covid-19 cases at this morning’s press briefing. All 3 are returnees, male students – 1 from Pakistan and 2 from Egypt. The new cases bring the national total of infections to 3,028 as the nation begins relaxing emergency restrictions and reopening shopping cetnres and other businesses.…

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  • Crime NewsUnidentified foreigner arrested in Nonthaburi drug sting

    Unidentified foreigner arrested in Nonthaburi drug sting

    77kaoded reports that police in Nonthaburi conducted a drug sting at a petrol station on Tiwanon Road late last week. They arranged to buy 20 grams of cocaine for 100,000 baht from a foreigner identified only as “Mike”, who arrived on a Yamaha motorbike. But as officers revealed themselves outside the petrol station toilets Mike realised his situation and ran off.…

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  • Northern Thailand NewsMukdahan border police seize 480 kilograms of marijuana

    Mukdahan border police seize 480 kilograms of marijuana

    In a third major seizure in a matter of days, border patrol police seized 480 kilograms of compressed marijuana on the banks of the Mekong River in the northeastern province of Mukdahan. Authorities estimate the street value of the marijuana to be at least 10 million baht. A village head and 2 other accomplices were arrested, police told a media…

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  • Crime NewsBangkok sting results in seizure of 221 kilograms of marijuana

    Bangkok sting results in seizure of 221 kilograms of marijuana

    Talk about being left holding the bag… police in Bangkok’s Nongjok district confiscated bricks of dried marijuana weighing 221 kilograms on Friday. According to officers at the Lam Phak She Police Station, officers, the raid was a followup to a sting operation that resulted in in the arrest of 46 year old Manop Buakareem, who had delivered a kilogram of…

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  • World NewsCambodia discharges last Covid-19 patient, no new cases in a month

    Cambodia discharges last Covid-19 patient, no new cases in a month

    Thailand’s neighbour Cambodia has had no new Covid-19 cases for a month and its last patient has recovered and left hospital, leaving the country with 0 cases. But no easing of restrictions related to the virus, including school closures and border entry checks and quarantines, was mentioned in the statement from the Cambodian Ministry of Health. Cambodia’s last reported new…

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  • Covid-19 NewsBangkok City Hall allows 10 more types of business to reopen

    Bangkok City Hall allows 10 more types of business to reopen

    The Bangkok Municipal Administration, aka. City Hall confirms that more businesses in the city will be allowed to reopen today, including most shops at malls, in keeping with the second phase of the nationwide relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions. A BMA spokesman says its communicable disease control committee had eased restrictions on 10 business types. The businesses allowed to reopen are……

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  • Covid-19 NewsPM looks for an exit from the Emergency Decree

    PM looks for an exit from the Emergency Decree

    Deputy PM Wissanu Kreangam says that PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha is ordering an in-depth comparison of the legal measures that can be used to control Covid-19 if the government revokes the state of emergency. The Emergency Decree, issued back on March 24, gave the PM and the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration extraordinary powers – implementing curfews, travel restrictions, restricting provincial governors…

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  • Covid-19 NewsFortress Phuket remains sealed off from the mainland

    Fortress Phuket remains sealed off from the mainland

    A request by Phuket officials to reopen the Sarasin Bridge has been refused. The Governor has confirmed that the island will remain ‘closed’ until further notice. That includes the Phuket International Airport which was going to re-open yesterday (May 16), but 24 hours after the notice to reopen the airport on Thursday, the Civil Aviation Authority did a U-turn on…

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  • Politics NewsThai PM thanks the 20 billionaires for their support during crisis

    Thai PM thanks the 20 billionaires for their support during crisis

    The Thai PM has offered his “heartfelt thanks” to a list of Thai billionaires he wrote to a month ago seeking their guidance and ideas at the height of the Thai outbreak of the Covid-19 virus. He thanked them in a Facebook post and commented on their willingness to “offer a helping hand”. “All of them had responded energetically to my…

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  • Việt NamCập nhật tình hình COVID-19 tại Việt Nam (Chiều T7 16/5): Thêm 4 ca dương tính nCoV ngoại nhập. Tổng số ca toàn quốc là 318 người

    Cập nhật tình hình COVID-19 tại Việt Nam (Chiều T7 16/5): Thêm 4 ca dương tính nCoV ngoại nhập. Tổng số ca toàn quốc là 318 người

    18h ngày 16/5, Bộ Y tế ghi nhận thêm 4 ca nhiễm nCoV mới, đều là người từ nước ngoài về. Tổng số ca nhiễm COVID-19 toàn quốc là 318 người, trong số đó, 260 người đã khỏi bệnh, 58 người đang tiếp tục điều trị. Như vậy, tính đến hết ngày 16/5, Việt Nam ghi nhận: Tổng số ca…

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  • Covid-19 NewsBan on international travel into Thailand extended until June 30

    Ban on international travel into Thailand extended until June 30

    The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand has today announced an extension of their current ban on international travel another month, until at least the end of June, 2020. The current ban on scheduled international flights was extended last month to cover May, up to May 31. But now the CAAT have announced the extension for at least another month. There…

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  • Crime NewsWoman arrested in Chon Buri for false police report

    Woman arrested in Chon Buri for false police report

    Police in the Si Racha area of Chon Buri province have arrested a 31 year old woman who they say has confessed to filing a false police report about her gold necklace being stolen. Wanida Srinuan alleged that, earlier in the week, she was walking by the Noen Krabk Temple when an unidentified Thai man drove by and snatched the…

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  • Covid-19 NewsOfficial list of businesses permitted to reopen tomorrow (Sunday)

    Official list of businesses permitted to reopen tomorrow (Sunday)

    Further to a story in The Thaiger yesterday, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha, in his capacity as head of the CCSA, has listed the business and leisure activities which can resume from tomorrow, in the second phase of Covid-19 lockdown relaxations. The list, published in the Royal Gazette yesterday so becoming law, includes… Food and drink shops or stalls in restaurants, canteens,…

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  • South Thailand NewsTruck overturns in Songkhla, injuring 12

    Truck overturns in Songkhla, injuring 12

    12 seafood processing factory workers were injured after the pickup truck they were travelling in burst a tyre, rammed into a roadside lamppost, and overturned. The incident occurred in the southern province of Songkhla this morning. Authorities say the crash happened on Ramot-Songkhla Road in tambon Muang Ngam. Police and rescue workers rushed to the scene to find an Isuzu…

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  • Pattaya NewsPattaya pickup is pursued by two men after it causes pregnant woman to fall off motorbike – VIDEO

    Pattaya pickup is pursued by two men after it causes pregnant woman to fall off motorbike – VIDEO

    A video has gone viral showing foreigners driving a pickup truck that was stopped by 2 Thai guys pursuing them after reports that the pickup allegedly sped through a heavily flooded area in Pattaya, near Soi Khao Noi, causing a motorbike with a pregnant woman to get clipped, making her fall off and the motorbike crash. 26 years old Satuek Phu…

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  • Northern Thailand NewsAirports open, quarantine rules and Samui – the latest

    Airports open, quarantine rules and Samui – the latest

    Airports of Thailand warns domestic airline passengers to check provincial travel restrictions before they book flights. Currently, there are 5 airports fully operational – Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang), Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, and Hat Yai, but only 4 airlines, namely Nok Air, Thai AirAsia, Thai Lion Air and Thai Vietjet are serving them. Phuket airport was set to reopen…

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  • Transport NewsThai public balks at Thai Airways’ 60 billion bail out

    Thai public balks at Thai Airways’ 60 billion bail out

    A big decision is on the horizon for Thai Airways, the beleaguered national carrier. Crucial decisions are now being discussed which will define the airlines’ future. The airline was still haemorrhaging cash well before the coronavirus crisis started grounding planes from the start of February this year. Thai Airways’ fortunes have been in a death spiral for the past decade,…

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  • Covid-19 NewsCovid-19 update: 0 new cases, 0 new deaths (May 16)

    Covid-19 update: 0 new cases, 0 new deaths (May 16)

    The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration announced that there no new reported cases of Covid-19 this morning at its daily press briefing, the second time in a week. The national total remains at 3,025 cases reported since the beginning of the outbreak. No new deaths were reported either, leaving the toll at 56. The southern island province of Phuket, which…

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  • Transport NewsThai Airways should file for bankruptcy: former finance minister

    Thai Airways should file for bankruptcy: former finance minister

    A former Finance Minister is proposing that Thai Airways formally file for bankruptcy, so the troubled national flag carrier can use the protection of the country’s bankruptcy law to begin rehabilitation. Kla party leader Korn Chatikavanich maintains that this is a “golden opportunity” for the financially battered airline to enter administration, under the bankruptcy process, and clear the way for real,…

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  • Economy NewsPhuket’s economy is more than just tourism

    Phuket’s economy is more than just tourism

    by Bill Barnett While Phuket’s brand and economic reality is that nearly half of its contribution to GPP (gross provincial product) comes from tourism is true, it’s important to understand that there are other generators that will aid in the island’s post-crisis recovery. The island’s real estate sector, that currently has a market value of over 100 billion baht (according…

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  • Việt NamCập nhật tình hình COVID-19 tại Việt Nam (Sáng T7 16/5): Thêm 1 ca dương tính nCoV. Tổng số ca toàn quốc là 314 người

    Cập nhật tình hình COVID-19 tại Việt Nam (Sáng T7 16/5): Thêm 1 ca dương tính nCoV. Tổng số ca toàn quốc là 314 người

    Đến 6h ngày hôm nay 16/5, Bộ Y tế ghi nhận thêm 1 ca dương tính nCoV mới. Tổng số ca nhiễm COVID-19 toàn quốc là 314 người, trong số đó, 260 người đã khỏi bệnh, 54 người đang tiếp tục điều trị. Như vậy, tính đến 6h ngày 16/5, Việt Nam ghi nhận: Tổng số ca nhiễm: 314 Số…

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  • Covid-19 NewsGovernment urged to investigate forced unemployment claims

    Government urged to investigate forced unemployment claims

    A Thai labour rights group is urging the government to investigate whether some employers are abusing labour laws to avoid paying their workers during the Covid-19 crisis. The call was made during an online seminar on unemployment related to the outbreak. Some businesses are allegedly requiring their employees to seek unemployment compensation from the Social Security Fund, when they should…

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  • World NewsSynthetic drugs growing in east, Southeast Asia: UN report

    Synthetic drugs growing in east, Southeast Asia: UN report

    The synthetic drugs market in East and Southeast Asia continues to expand and diversify, and the price of methamphetamine “yaba” tablets has dropped to the lowest level in a decade as the supply has surged. A report released yesterday by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime titled “Synthetic Drugs in East and Southeast Asia: Latest Developments and Challenges”, warns…

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  • Covid-19 NewsShopping centres, department stores prepare to reopen tomorrow

    Shopping centres, department stores prepare to reopen tomorrow

    Department stores, shopping centres and larger restaurants, as well as other businesses across the nation, will begin gradually reopening tomorrow after nearly 2 months of closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the national state of emergency declared to fight it. The decision to go ahead with Phase 2 of the easing of restrictions was announced yesterday, but has yet…

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  • Crime NewsNearly 100 million baht of methamphetamine seized in Nong Khai

    Nearly 100 million baht of methamphetamine seized in Nong Khai

    General Suchart Theerasawat, Deputy Director of the Nong Khai Police station (northeastern Thailand), has put the results of a massive drug haul on display for the media. Police had confiscated 28 sacks containing illicit drugs – 5,600,000 methamphetamine tablets (yaba) and 2 sacks of crystal methamphetamine (ice) weighing 33 kilograms. The drugs had an estimated street value of 93,900,000 baht.…

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