Year: 2020
- Northern Thailand News
2 Burmese nationals arrested while crossing river into Thailand
Border forces have arrested 2 Burmese nationals as they were crossing a river in the northern province of Chiang Rai in an attempt to enter Thailand. There has been an increase in security patrols along the border with Myanmar in recent weeks, as the country experiences a spike in Covid-19 cases. There have been reports of Burmese nationals attempting to…
Read More » - Crime News
Anti-corruption officials call on PM to reveal details of “Boss” inquiry
The Anti-Corruption Organisation of Thailand is calling on the Thai PM to disclose the findings of a recent inquiry into the handling of the “Boss” case. The hit-and-run case against Red Bull heir, Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya, has been mired in controversy for years, and a decision in July to drop all charges was greeted with uproar around the country. The…
Read More » - Eastern Thailand News
Family hospitalised after elephant attack in eastern Thailand
A Cambodian family was hospitalised after a wild elephant attacked them at a rubber tree plantation in eastern Thailand. The parents and their 1 month old baby were camped at a Rayong plantation when the elephant passed by. The baby started to cry, startling the elephant. It apparently went into a panic and started to trample, according to the family’s…
Read More » - Covid-19 News
Trials and tribulations of returning to Thailand in the Covid era – a personal view
A series of articles by David Jackson Sunday morning and I am sitting inside my viewless window in a Bangkok Hotel waiting in anticipation for a trip down to reception where, after five lonely days, I get to experience my first brief contact with a human – a nurse who will presumably force a swab up my nose. Welcome to…
Read More » - Politics News
Activist vows university rally will take place, with or without permission
The political activist Parit Chiwarak, aka. “Penguin”, says a rally planned for September 19 at Thammasat University will go ahead, even if permission is refused from the University’s management. The gathering is set to take place at the university’s Tha Phra Chan campus in Bangkok, with Parit saying he expects around 50,000 people to attend. Khaosod English reports that the…
Read More » - South Thailand News
Monkeys take over Songkhla home while family away for holiday
Monkeys took over a Songkhla home in Southern Thailand while a family was away during the 4 day long weekend holiday. Monkeys were on the roof, in the trees and on the fence while trash was scattered across the yard and driveway. Luckily, the monkeys couldn’t get inside the home (although we bet they tried). Monkeys frequent the area near the…
Read More » - Politics News
Protest leaders Anon and Panupong freed from jail on court order
Two prominent anti-government protest leaders have now been released from Bangkok Special Prison, where they were being held on charges of violating their bail conditions. The human rights lawyer, Anon Nampa, and political protester Panupong Jaadnok, have been in and out of prison in recent weeks and, while out on bail, addressed the crowd at an anti-government rally, thereby breaching…
Read More » - Politics News
Foreign Ministry refutes Amnesty allegation that Thai government is gagging protesters
Thailand’s Foreign Ministry has hit back at an Amnesty International statement that accuses the Thai government of violating citizens’ rights to free speech and freedom of assembly. The statement, sent to Amnesty’s 8 million members worldwide, calls on followers to petition Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha to drop all charges against 31 leaders of anti-government protests. Amnesty is also calling on…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket hotels fighting for their lives as domestic tourism fails to support the island
In the wake of last weekend’s ministerial talkfest and discussions with local industry players on the island, Bill Barnett paints a bleak picture of a tourist island in freefall. All the shops, restaurants and hotels can’t remain empty, or merely keep their doors open with a handful of domestic customers, forever. Phuket’s hotel industry is reaching breaking point and drastic economic support…
Read More » - Covid-19 News
970 now tested as part of the investigation into the infected Bangkok DJ
3 of the bars where the 37 year old DJ, Thailand’s first locally transmitted Covid-19 case in 101 days, are said not to have observed basic preventions required in a workplace – temperature screening, wearing a face mask and social distancing. It’s also been revealed that the bars offered a “glass sharing” special menu as part of their promotions. The…
Read More » - South Thailand News
2 insurgents killed, 4 ranger injured in Songkhla clash
Rangers have shot and killed 2 suspected insurgents in the latest clashes in Thailand’s Deep South, this time in Songkhla’s Chana and Thepha district last night. Police and soldiers headed to the area after receiving reports that 4 insurgents were in the ares and travelling on 2 motorcycles. The suspects dispersed as the police and soldiers arrived. 3 separate clashes followed.…
Read More » - Pattaya News
Car bursts into flames as the new owner drives home after buying it
A 28 year old man who bought a second-hand car in the central province of Angthong got the shock of his life when the vehicle burst into flames as he was driving it home. The Pattaya News reports that Charaswit Bank was driving his just-purchased second hand Honda Civic home to Sattahip, in the eastern district of Chon Buri, when…
Read More » - World News
Tak hospital doctor pleads for medical supplies to treat Burmese Covid patients
A hospital doctor in the northern province of Tak has taken to Facebook to plead for donations of medical supplies and personal protective equipment. Nattagarn Chuenchom works in a state-run hospital currently treating Covid-19 patients from neighbouring Myanmar, which is experiencing a small surge in virus numbers. The current total of cases in Myanmar is 1,419. Yesterday another 166 cases…
Read More » - Pattaya News
Thai Hi-So hits Thai celebrity in the face with a bottle at Pattaya club
Celebrities at 10 paces. Police are investigating reports of a half-Thai ‘celebrity’ who has reported being hit in the face with a bottle at a nightclub in Pattaya. Thai media reports say that Jirat “Hiso Champ” Petnunthawong attacked openly gay 33 year old Rusameekae Fagerlund in a fit of jealousy. Jirat told police that he saw Rusameekae talking to his celeb girlfriend,…
Read More » - Phuket News
Minister eases local concerns over Phuket tourism plan
The Minister of Tourism and Sports has rushed to reassure Phuket locals who have voiced concern over a tentative plan (now postponed) to re-open the province to foreign visitors. Minister Pipat Ratchakitprakarn says there may have been some miscommunication, as he reassured Phuket residents that they would not be forced to accept any tourism plan. The minister, along with a…
Read More » - South Thailand News
Foreign tourist dies after falling from cliff at Ranong waterfall
A tourist from Uzbekistan has died after slipping from a cliff edge while taking a photograph in the southern province of Ranong. The man, named in a Nation Thailand report as Soipov Abdullokh, was visiting Ngao Waterfall National Park with 5 Russian tourists. Ngao Waterfall National Park is between Ranong and Chumpon in Southern Thailand. The incident happened around 1.00pm…
Read More » - Opinion
Splitting atoms in the Big Bang – a day in the Big Mango
OPINION by Bill Barnett of c9hotelworks.com Despite the global pandemic, Bangkok’s rapid-fire megacity growth trajectory has remained largely in place. While life in Covid-19 times is a bit like sparring with wild gangs of chaos monkeys in a dead-end ally, thankfully one of the singular guilty pleasures of these strange times is the ability to at least travel domestically. Last…
Read More » - Business News
Rise of food delivery apps in Thailand exposes rights disparity
The owners of the highly popular food-delivery apps are facing growing calls to improve welfare rights for their workers, as more people opt to take on a full or part-time job as a “rider”. Speaking at the online seminar, “When Riders Strike Back”, Akkanut Wantanasombut from Chulalongkorn University says employment law needs to be expanded to cover new roles such…
Read More » - Tourism News
Chinese official rules out return of China-Thailand tourism anytime soon
China is not yet ready to welcome international tourists, says a senior embassy official in Bangkok. Speaking to Nation Thailand, Yang Xin from the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China to Thailand, says that, while domestic tourism has resumed in China, the country is not yet ready to open its borders to foreign tourists, nor is it encouraging its…
Read More » - Travel
London to New York in under 4 hours – Will there ever be another Concorde?
We’d flown in propeller-powered planes, then jets. Supersonic was the next evolutionary step in flying people around the world as the 1960s came to a close. Now, 50 years after Concorde’s early flights, supersonic flight is again just another aviation pipe dream as we pack into our cheap ‘flying buses’ which are not much different from the first successful commercial jets…
Read More » - Pattaya News
Car damaged by construction debris falling from high-rise building in Pattaya
Construction debris has fallen from a 23 storey building in Pattaya, badly damaging the parked car it landed on. Police in the city were notified of the incident, which the Pattaya News reports happened around 7.30pm last night. Khok Kriat, the 51 year old owner of the white Honda Jazz, filed the police report as a result of his hatchback…
Read More » - Tourism News
Will the Flying-V be the shape of passenger travel in the future?
Since the first Boeing 707 (Dash 80) had its test flight in 1955, and earlier the UK’s De Havilland Comet in 1949, not much has changed in the way of passenger jet configuration – long, thin fuselage, wings, jet engines hanging underneath, with a big tail and rudder. Since then it’s been a gradual evolution of the same theme (we’ve…
Read More » - Covid-19 News
Bringing Thai nationals home is a team effort
As the world ground to a crawl thanks to Covid-19, things began ramping up at the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with staff working tirelessly to help Thai citizens abroad get back home. MFA staff are based both in Thailand and overseas and are tasked with assisting Thai nationals during emergencies such as natural disasters or indeed, a pandemic, wherever they…
Read More » - Phuket News
Thai tourism cavalcade rolls into town to get feedback on Phuket Model
The who’s who of Thai tourism toured Phuket over Saturday and Sunday speaking to local tourism players and local officials about the situation on the island and gather some feedback about the so-called “Phuket model” which had been proposed to open the island to limited tourism from October 1. Ironically, the delegation rolled into town when the island was probably…
Read More » - World News
3 returnees to Thailand reported as “re-infected” with Covid-19
There has been 6 new cases of Covid-19 announced in Thailand today. But 3 of the men, all Thais, were previously infected but had been certified “virus-free” before their flights from Singapore on Friday. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration today announced that the men, aged 43, 53 and 56, tested positive for Covid-19 after arriving in Thailand just 2 days…
Read More » - Environment News
PM denies government split over toxic chemical ban
As officials continue to debate a recently-introduced ban on paraquat and chlorpyrifos, the PM, Prayut Chan-o-cha denies the government is split on the matter. He points out that coalition governments will always have differing viewpoints and that such differences will not affect the administration’s overall unity. Currently Glyphosate hasn’t been included in the ban. “Our core priorities are public health…
Read More » - Tourism News
Phuket launches app, passengers rate taxi drivers
How was your taxi ride? Passengers will soon be able to rate their Phuket taxi drivers using a new smartphone application. The province’s project “Hello Taxi Happy Phuket” involves 300 drivers aimed at maintaining standards like fair pricing. Customers will be able to rate their ride experience on the app and driver’s will be scored on their service. So, if…
Read More » - Opinion
Returning happiness back to the Thai people. So how’s that going?
OPINION “The flames are rising. Let us be the ones who step in, before it is too late.” Lyrics from the Prayut-penned ditty which was written to help “heal” Thais after the May 2014 coup. The event, some 6 and a half years ago now, brought then-General Prayut Chan-o-cha to the helm of the good-ship Thailand. Following the writing of a…
Read More » - Northern Thailand News
12 workers injured as tunnel collapses in north-eastern Thailand
A tunnel under construction in the north-eastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima has collapsed, injuring 12 workers. The tunnel is an underpass running below the Map Kabao-Jira Junction dual railway track. The underpass was bring constructed by the Italian-Thai company. According to the Bangkok Post, the scaffolding being used gave way due to concrete being poured unevenly, creating too heavy a…
Read More » - Covid-19 News
100s of protesters defy orders, arrests at Melbourne demonstrations
UPDATE: The city’s lockdown provisions have been extended another 2 weeks. Australian police have arrested protesters in Melbourne as 100s of people joined protests against the various state Covid-19 restrictions. The protests have been particularly large and vocal in the souther city of Melbourne which has been under draconian lockdown provisions for 5 weeks. Some anti-Covid-19 restriction groups also shifted…
Read More » - Pattaya News
Domestic tourists give Pattaya a boost over holiday weekend
There has been some respite for Pattaya’s battered tourism sector over the 4 day long weekend, as domestic tourists visit the city for the extended break. The public holidays on Friday, September 4, and Monday, September 7, are replacements for the Songkran festival that was cancelled in April as a result of Covid-19. But the water fights were put on…
Read More » - Politics News
Opposition party does U-turn on senate powers
The Pheu Thai Party says it will now back a proposal submitted by the Kao Klai party to strip the Senate of powers to elect the PM. Abolishing such authority would involve an amendment to the country’s Constitution, which Somkid Chuakong from Pheu Thai says his party is not opposed to. Both the vocal anti-government protest groups, Free People and…
Read More » - Visa Information
The end of the visa amnesty – get your house in order
Up to 500,000 foreigners are now thought to have been part of the Thai government’s visa amnesty which was introduced in April for foreigners, both on tourist and other visas, who were stuck in Thailand and unable to leave. Around the world, planes had been grounded and Thailand closed its borders at the time. Six months later, and following 2…
Read More » - Politics News
Students gather at Education Ministry, issue ultimatum
“Thai education has made us puppets. We are not robots of the system; we are the youth and have the right to express ourselves.” The Education Ministry in Bangkok has been chosen as the stage for another student rally, with around 300 young people, from 50 schools, gathering there yesterday afternoon. The students have been repeating their 3 key demands,…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket re-opening could be postponed
The Tourism Authority of Thailand says plans to re-open Phuket to foreign tourists could be delayed as a result of the country’s first local case of Covid-19 in over 3 months in Bangkok. TAT governor, Yuthasak Supasorn, was speaking as officials visited the island to meet with local businesses and discuss disease prevention measures and preparations for a scheduled October…
Read More » - Covid-19 News
Mobile Covid-19 testing unit at condo after resident tests positive
A mobile coronavirus testing unit was parked in front of a Bangkok condominium today after a former resident tested positive for Covid-19 earlier this week. The Urban Institute for Disease Prevention and Control says they stocked the biosafety trailer with enough equipment to test 300 people. A 37 year old DJ tested positive for Covid-19 during a routine check at…
Read More » - Northern Thailand News
Man arrested for allegedly trafficking 112 million baht worth of drugs
Police arrested a 50 year old man for allegedly carrying 112 million baht worth of illegal drugs. Police searched his pickup truck at a Sakon Nakhon checkpoint in Northeast Thailand and found 75 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, methamphetamine pills and marijuana. The methamphetamine was separated into 1-kilogram packs. They also found 2,000 methamphetamine pill, known as speed, police say. The…
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