- Thailand News
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…
- Thailand Weather Updates
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…
- Tourism News
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…
- Covid-19 News
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…
- Covid-19 News
Thai schools prepare for nationwide reopening July 1
Thailand’s distance-learning experiment has been declared a failure, after the Education Ministry’s surveys found 60-70% of students aren’t ready to use television as the main channel for their studies. Now the ministry and schools are gearing up for classrooms to reopen nationwide. Thailand’s education minister says the ministry had to adjust its plan of airing lessons via television for long…
- Events
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…
- Covid-19 News
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…
- Crime News
Internet scam offers dodgy amulets for lottery wins
Police are warning of new internet scam offering lucky amulets to guarantee lottery success, claiming, falsely, that they’ve had helped celebrities win the lottery multiple times. The announcement from the deputy spokesman for the Royal Thai police yesterday. “Investigation officers have looked into this matter and found a group of people who offered to buy lottery tickets after they had…
- Thailand Weather Updates
Heavy rains, thundershowers predicted nationwide
Thailand’s Meteorological Department says the southwest monsoon across the Andaman Sea and Thailand is getting stronger today, while the low pressure area covers upper Vietnam. Isolated heavy rains are likely in the North, the Northeast, the Central region including Bangkok and its vicinity, the East and the South. People should prepare for severe conditions. Here is the forecast for the…
- Covid-19 News
As Thailand’s beaches reopen, crowds flock back
Yesterday, the Queen’s birthday and a public holiday, saw many of Thailand’s popular beaches heaving with visitors as they reopened for the first time since their closure by the Emergency Decree in March. People across the country took advantage of the easing of inter-provincial travel restrictions that took effect Monday. Chon Buri’s Bang Saen beach in Chon Buri was almost…
- Bangkok News
Huge Nike flagship store opens in Bangkok’s Siam Center
A massive Nike flagship store is now open in Bangkok’s Siam Center, with a ‘footprint’ spanning more than 836 square metres of prime retail space in the capital. Intended to showcase Nike’s innovation across multiple product categories, the store offers the brand’s first “Nike By You” in-store customisation service in Thailand. Retailers are now pulling out all stops to lure…
- Covid-19 News
No date for resumption of international arrivals: PM
In an apparent effort to quell rumours and undue optimism, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is downplaying the notion that international tourists will be allowed to return to Thailand in July. The government had set a tentative deadline of 1 July for lifting all restrictions put in place under the Emergency Decree to combat the spread of Covid-19. Last week it was…
- Politics News
PM distancing himself from party room clashes
PM Prayut Chan-o-Cha appeared to distance himself from party politics, and internal strife within the ruling Palang Pracharat party, after 18 members resigned en masse to pave the way for the election of a new executive committee, party leader and secretary-general. He repeatedly deflected questions from reporters about speculation that the resignations were intended to replace party leader Finance Minister…
- Business News
Thai Airways may not need to file for bankruptcy in US
Contrary to earlier reports, Thai Airways may not need to seek bankruptcy protection in the United States to avoid seizure of its planes and other assets. A senior official made the announcement after a meeting led by Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam with the struggling carrier’s senior management and the airline’s board. The meeting was to discuss the airline’s rehabilitation plan…
- Transport News
Powering up tuk tuks for a new era in Bangkok
Electric tuk-tuks have been in use in cities around Thailand for some time, but now the Thai Electric Vehicle Association has launched a new post-Covid-19 electric tricycle as an alternative form of public transportation in the “new normal” era, and supports the vehicle to promote Thai tourism after the national lockdown is fully lifted. EVAT sees the three-wheeled transport as…
- Crime News
Chiang Rai policeman fired over torture death of university mascot dog
When the body of Tia, the mascot dog of Chiang Mai University was found in May, suspicions arose immediately. It was initially announced that Tia, or “Shorty” in English, had been run over by a car, and police later said a student had come forward to confess. But animal rights group Watchdog Thailand, based in Chiang Mai, investigated the incident…
- Northern Thailand News
Woman found hanged in Nakhon Ratchasima, son found drowned nearby
Police in the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima report that a woman was found hanged in a workers’ shelter and her 12 year old son drowned in a nearby pond at a sand depot yesterday. Workers arriving in the morning discovered the woman, hanged with electric wires from the beam of the shelter in tambon Chum Phuang, according to the…
- Covid-19 News
“No evidence of Covid-19 losing potency” – WHO experts dismiss claims of Italian scientist
There is no evidence that the Covid-19 virus has been losing potency. A high profile Italian doctor made the assertions on Sunday. But the World Health Organisation and a range of other noted scientists say there was no evidence to support the assertion. Professor Alberto Zangrillo, the head of intensive care at the San Raffaele Hospital in Lombardy, Italy, told…
- Covid-19 News
Thailand may hold a July Songkran event if Covid-19 situation remains stable
Thai citizens are being dangled a carrot – the chance to celebrate Songkran in July. Usually the annual water festival, traditionally the end of the dry season and the start of the wet season, is held on April 13. The event has become a big tourist magnet over the past decade as it’s morphed from traditional Buddhist festival into organised…
- Thailand News
Thailand News Today – Monday, June 1
Returnees from UK found with high fever, hospitalised Of the 251 Thais who repatriated from the UK yesterday 20 were found to have high fevers and rushed to hospital, according Suvarnabhumi Airport’s deputy director. The Thai Airways charter flight arrived at the airport at 2.20pm. Screening found that 20 passengers had high fever and they were rushed to hospital. 16…
- Crime News
Pattaya police arrest intoxicated Chinese man, Thai girlfriend in front of station – VIDEO
A Chinese man and his Thai girlfriend were arrested in front of the Pattaya City Police Station in the early hours of this morning, after causing a disturbance and allegedly damaging a police car. Officers say the man was highly intoxicated. Authorities were notified at around 1:30am that a couple was having a domestic dispute at an apartment. Police arrived…
- Covid-19 News
With all patients recovered, Phuket closes its Covid-19 field hospital
So long, farewell. Phuket, which has had the highest number of Covid-19 infections per capita in Thailand, is closing its first “field hospital” after discharging its final patients. The temporary hospital is closing down, hopefully for good, and will be “put on standby,” as the last patients have recovered, the island’s governor announced yesterday. The building was actually the unfinished new provincial…
- Thailand News
11 dead, 14,000 ill as rainy season worsens dengue fever outbreak in northeast
The onset of Thailand’s rainy season has worsened a nationwide outbreak of dengue fever, which has already killed 11 people and sickened some 14,000, the director-general of the Department of Disease Control announced today. “From January 1 to May 25 there have been 14,126 cases of dengue fever in Thailand, or 21.28 patients per 100,000 population, and 11 deaths. The…
- Covid-19 News
Returnees from UK found with high fever, hospitalised
Of the 251 Thais who repatriated from the United Kingdom yesterday 20 were found to have high fevers and rushed to hospital, according Suvarnabhumi Airport’s deputy director. “The 251 Thais departed from London on Thai Airways International Flight TG917 and arrived at the airport at 2.20pm. Preliminary screening found that 20 passengers had high fever and they were rushed to…
- Environment News
Netizens in uproar after man saves deer from python in Chon Buri – VIDEO
Social media are ablaze with debate over the appropriateness of the actions of a man who helped a deer escape near-certain death in the clutches of a python. The video, recorded yesterday in Khao Kheow Open Zoo, in Chon Buri province’s Sri Racha district, shows a python trying to crush a spotted deer before devouring it. Before the giant snake could…
- Crime News
Despite vindication, “Rolex General” is back in the hot seat
Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwon, dubbed “The Rolex General” after a scandal over luxury watches, is once again in the spotlight. Thailand’s National Anti-Corruption Commission has been criticised for subverting the system of checks and balances of politicians and high ranking officials. Its explanation about Prawit’ “borrowed” luxury watches has drawn scrutiny and criticism. The explanation came in a letter dated…
- Covid-19 News
13 return from South Korea with high fever, rushed to quarantine
A Korean Airlines flight arrived at 9:25pm yesterday at Suvarnabhumi Airport bringing 194 Thais from South Korea. Screening officers found 13 of the passengers with high fever and immediately sent them to hospital. Most of the rest took a bus to a 14 day state quarantine area according to state measures, while 18 went to “alternative state quarantine” at a designated…
- Environment News
Bangkok governor warns of canal pollution
Bangkok’s governor warns that the volume of garbage in Bangkok’s canals is increasing and is beginning to block the sewer system, causing potentially health-threatening floods in many areas. Governor Asawin Kwanmuang said the removal of garbage from canals in Lat Phrao district and under Pradit Manutham Road alone required 5 trucks. The area is just a kilometre away from a…
- Covid-19 News
Thailand’s Covid-19 cases (May 31)
Dr Panprapa Yongtrakul, weekend spokesperson of the government’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, told this morning’s press briefing there were 4 new Covid-19 cases but no deaths over the previous 24 hour period. The total number of Covid-19 cases rose to 3,081 since the outbreak began: 2444 domestic cases and 637 returnees from abroad. The 4 new cases were all…
- Northern Thailand News
14 million methamphetamine pills seized in massive Chiang Rai drug haul
Police in Chiang Mai have arrested 2 men and a woman in the province’s Fang district when they found 14 million methamphetamine pills, aka. “yaba”, in one of their 2 vehicles. Officers got a tip on Friday that drugs would be smuggled into the district and set up road checkpoints, according to the deputy national police spokesman. At around 12:30am,…
