- Tourism News
Phuket calls for immediate government help over coronavirus impact
Phuket’s Chamber of Commerce has asked the Thai govenment for swift action to help cope with the economic impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus, particularly on tourism. According to Chamber president Thanusak Phungdet: “I explained to Tourism Committee President Surasak Phanchalernworakul about the situation and how coronavirus is affecting tourism and business in Phuket. I requested them to share this information with…
- Northern Thailand News
Udon Thani thief arrested after “invisibility spell” fails to work
Police in the northeastern province of Udon Thani yesterday arrested a thief claiming to have magical powers, after his “invisibility spell” failed to work. Thirty-two year old Anurak Promwang claims to have used the spell successfully many times in the past, and blames the removal of his trousers for his arrest. Security footage captured the thief in action, including the…
- South Thailand News
Man comes face to face with 5-metre king cobra while in bed
A man in the southern province of Trang got a shock when he lay down for a nap and found he was being watched by a 5-metre king cobra staring at him from the ceiling. The man’s home is on a rubber farm, where cobras and other venomous snakes are often found. The local rescue team, who reportedly specialise in…
- Politics News
US embassy, Amnesty International oppose Future Forward dissolution decision
In a statement today, the US embassy in Bangkok said the Constitutional Court’s decision to dissolve the Future Forward party risks disenfranchising more than six million Thai voters who voted for the party in last March’s general election. “The United States strongly supports democratic governance around the world, and appreciates Thailand’s recent seating of a democratically elected government. While the…
- Northern Thailand News
Used-car dealer, entire family dead in mass suicide
A used car dealer and his entire family in the northern province of Phitsanulok have been found dead, in an apparent mass suicide. Even the family dogs were not spared. The family were found asphyxiated, with a lit charcoal stove in the room. Police were called yesterday after relatives found the bodies. There were five dead people and six dogs…
- Covid-19 News
China reports further reduction in new coronavirus cases, down to 397; Korea has a second death
China’s National Health Commission announced today that the country had 397 new confirmed cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus infections as of yesterday, down from 889 cases a day earlier. That brings the total number of confirmed cases in mainland China so far to 76,288. The death toll from the outbreak in mainland China had reached 2,345. Hubei province, the epicentre…
- World News
Busted! Cambodia cracks down on suggestive Facebook sellers
Cambodian women’s rights groups are slamming a crackdown on well endowed women who wear “provocative clothing” while selling goods live on Facebook, calling the crackdown dangerous and baseless. Seven groups point out that the women are breaching no law. “There is no evidence-based research that affirms that women’s clothing choice is the root cause of degradation of social morality.” Cambodian…
- Politics News
Disbanded Future Forward Party vows to fight on
Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, leader of the Future Forward Party (FFP), disbanded yesterday by the Constitutional Court, has vowed to continue fighting and announced the formation of “the Group of Future Forward,” which he says will continue the campaign to get Thailand back on the road to democracy. He said leaders of the Future Forward Party have no intention of giving up…
- Phuket News
Unemployment rises 34% in Phuket due to virus’s impact
Unemployment on the resort island of Phuket is up 34% year on year due the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, according to the Phuket Provincial Employment Office (PPEO). “After Chinese government banned their citizens from travel abroad because of COVID-19, the number of people coming to register as unemployed has been rising quickly. About 80 people come to register…
- World News
Consumer groups warn of risks in buying a new Chevrolet
General Motors’ decision to pull production of its Chevrolet line out of Thailand has prompted consumer advocacy groups to remind prospective buyers of risks. The Foundation for Consumers and the Office of the Independent Committee for Consumer Protection said yesterday that buyers “should be wary of uncertainty as General Motors will pull its operation out of the country” by the…
- Events
Thai MotoGP will go ahead after coronavirus check
Race organisers yesterday announced that The Thailand MotoGP race in March will go ahead as planned, saying the government has decided theere is “no major risk” from the COVID-19 coronavirus. A statement from organisers of the race in Buri Ram on March 22 said: “With the outbreak of coronavirus affecting a number of locations and events worldwide, the decision required…
- Politics News
Police end investigation into brutal attack on activist “Ja New”
Bangkok police have abruptly suspended their investigation into the brutal attack on a political activist and pro-democracy leader in June of last year. Four men beat Sirawith “Ja New” with baseball bats on a main road in Bangkok’s Min Buri area on June 28. Despite having security camera footage of the attack, Bangkok police say they are unable to identify…
- Thailand News
Thailand’s abortion laws to be amended
Thailand’s Constitutional Court has ruled that a section of the Criminal Code is unconstitutional as it fails to hold men responsible for illegal abortions. The ruling will take effect on Febuary 13, 2021, twelve months after it was made. The court handed down the ruling after pro-abortion activist Srisamai Chueachart petitioned the court to rule whether Sections 301 and 305…
- Thailand News
Pro-vaping group to request public hearing to legalise vaping in Thailand
The below is the contents of a press release sent to The Thaiger by the consumer group End Cigarette Smoke Thailand. The opinions expressed therein do not necessarily reflect those of The Thaiger or its subsidiaries. The Tobacco Control Research and Knowledge Management Center (TRC) revealed results from the meeting of the Ministry of Commerce’s review panel on e-cigarette import…
- Bangkok News
Schoolboy survives 3rd floor fall from escalator in Bangkok mall
A 12 year old student was seriously injured when he fell from a third floor escalator at CentralWorld shopping complex in Bangkok yesterday afternoon. Police say the student dropped his mobile phone while descending from the third floor, reached out to grab it, over-stretched and fell. The incident occurred about 2:40pm, according to police. The boy, from a school in…
- World News
Coronavirus cases more than double in South Korea to surpass 150
South Korea has reported its first death from the COVID-19 corona virus. The government reports that a 63 year old man, who died Wednesday, tested positive for the virus in a post mortem examination. The exact cause of his death has yet to be determined. He died in North Gyeongsang province, where he had been hospitalized for over 20 years,…
- Crime News
Death penalty sought for Lop Buri gold shop shooter
Thai Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for a school director who killed three people, including a two year old boy, in a gold shop robbery in Lop Buri last month. Prasittichai Khaokaew will face execution for his “horrific actions,” prosecutors say. The Thai Criminal Court was asked yesterday to try the 38 year old for premeditated murder over the…
- Business News
Chevy’s having a “garage sale” and prices are halved
General Motors’ recent announcement that it’s ending production and sales of Chevrolets in Thailand means prices for new Chevrolets have been cut by half. The starting price for the latest SUV, the Captiva, is now just under half a million baht. General Motors announced Sunday that it’s pulling out of “markets that don’t produce adequate returns on investments,” namely Thailand,…
- Covid-19 News
Israel travel ban rankles Thailand
Thailand wants Israel to reconsider its decision, announced Tuesday, to ban Thais from entering the country in a bid to control the spread of deadly coronavirus (Covid-19). Israel banned all non-Israelis who have been in Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong and Macau in the previous 14 days. Previously, Israel’s health ministry had imposed only a 14-day house quarantine on visitors from…
- Northern Thailand News
Principal beats 10 year old, threatens to kill him and “eat his liver with whisky”
A grandpa in the northeastern province of Surin couldn’t take it anymore and decided to file a police report after a school principal gave his 10 year old grandson a head injury. The statement alleges that the principal threatened to beat the boy to death and to “eat the child’s liver with whisky.” 83 year old “Supon” filed the report…
- 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…
- 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…
- 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.”…
- 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…
- 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…
- 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…
- 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…
- 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…
- 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…
- 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…
