- 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…
- Crime News
Korean tourist allegedly attacked in Pattaya after refusing to give money to a Thai woman
UPDATE: The Pattaya News now reports that the suspects in the case have apologised and the matter has been settled amicably. Read the full story HERE. ORIGINAL STORY: A Korean man was allegedly attacked by a group of Thais after refusing to give money to a woman he met at a beer bar in Pattaya. 57 year old Sung Ho…
- 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…
- Northern Thailand News
Drug runners killed in Chiang Rai clashes
Police in Chiang Rai province report that three drug smugglers were killed and another arrested in two clashes with security forces near the Burmese border last night. A total of 400,000 methamphetamine pills and 7 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine were seized. The first clash occurred about 9:30pm after a number of pickup trucks and motorbikes were spotted crossing the border…
- Covid-19 News
Passengers leave Yokohama virus ship, China toll tops 2000
Passengers onboard the Diamond Princess, the coronavirus-wracked cruise ship which has been quarantined in Yokohama’s harbour for two weeks, began disembarking today after testing negative for the disease that has now claimed more than 2,000 lives in China. The ship proved a fertile breeding ground for the COVID-19 coronavirus, with at least 542 positive cases, the largest cluster of confirmed…
- Road deaths
Rescue worker struck and killed at accident scene
A member of a rescue unit is dead after he was hit by a speeding pickup truck while helping victims at an accident scene in the western province of Prachuap Khiri Khan yesterday. Police identified the victim as Atthawut Nubanko of the Sawang Phae Paisan Thammasathan rescue unit. Another rescuer from the same team, Likit Inklam, told police that he…
- Crime News
Students turn themselves in after brutally beating teacher
Five men including two minors surrendered to police after allegedly attacking a 67 year old computer teacher, identified as Weerapong Masusai, in northeastern Thailand. The five surrendered to police in Nakhon Phanom yesterday morning. Police identified the suspected attackers as 20 year old Chokchai Mapan, 22 year old Natthawut Taiboontiam, 23 year old Laisue Yolai, and two minors aged between…
- Songkran News
PM says no to 9 day holiday
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has dismissed the idea of extending the Songkran Festival holiday to nine days. The PM says the idea was not brought up at a government cabinet meeting yesterday and will not be discussed any further. Prayut said he personally does not agree with a longer Songkran holiday and doesn’t believe it would have a great effect…
- Crime News
1 dead, 1 injured in Bangkok mall shooting, gunman escapes
One woman is dead and a bystander injured after a gunman opened fire at a shopping mall in downtown Bangkok on this afternoon. The incident occurred in front of a beauty clinic inside Century Movies Plaza, just steps away from a tourist shopping area. The victim killed was a 28 year old employee of the clinic, while the injured victim…
- Pattaya News
Chon Buri police say illegal beauty clinics dumped dozens of syringes in canal
Police in Chon Buri province are investigating after dozens of needles and blood capsules were found yesterday in a canal in the Samae San area near Sattahip. The Chonburi Public Health Department and Provincial Health Administration confirms that none of the needles or capsules came from local hospitals, clinics or government organizations. After investigating the needles and samples, officials say…
- Environment News
National park staff scramble to prevent more wildfires as dry season approaches
Phu Kradueng National Park officials told the press today that although they had contained the bushfire that started on Sunday and damaged over 3,400 rai of park forests, they still need to build additional firebreaks to prevent a reoccurrence, which is more likely during the dry season. “Currently we have only one tractor truck to build the firebreaks. It has…
- Covid-19 News
Public Health Ministry urges Thais to delay visits to Japan, Singapore
The Public Health Ministry is urging Thais to postpone any planned visits to Singapore and Japan, citing the rising number of COVID-19 coronavirus cases in the two countries. Thailand’s total confirmed cases of the virus has risen to 35. The permanent secretary at the Public Health Ministry Dr Sukhum Kanchanapima says that the virus outbreak in the two countries has…
- Thailand Weather Updates
Pollution Control Department issues “red alert” for the North
A “red alert” is in effect for northern Thailand today: The Pollution Control Department warns that unsafe levels of PM2.5 pollution have been recorded in several areas, including Mae Hong Son, Chiang Rai, Phayao and Chiang Mai. PM2.5 is particulate matter suspended in the air with a diameter of less than 2.5 microns, which is about 3% the diameter of…
- Covid-19 News
World travel suffers as coronavirus outbreak drags on
The Public Health Ministry is asking Thais planning trips to Japan and Singapore to reschedule their visits, saying that travellers need to be aware of the rising number of people infected by the coronavirus (Covid-19) in those two countries. Dr Sukhum Kanchanapima, the permanent secretary at the Thai Public Health Ministry, says the coronavirus outbreak had reached the third stage…
- Covid-19 News
US evacuates citizens from Japan virus ship as China death passes 1700
Some US citizens from the cruise ship Diamond Princess, currently quarantined off the coast of Japan, have been evacuated and flown home, where they face a further 14 day quarantine. Other nations are preparing to follow suit as global concern grows over the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, and the death toll at its epicentre in China topped 1,700. More…
- Crime News
Chon Buri sugarcane vendor dragged behind motorbike after thief steals his phone
An elderly sugarcane vendor in Chon Buri province’s Sattahip district sufferered multiple injuries when a potential customer stole his phone and tried to speed off on his motorbike, leading the vendor to grab onto the bike in a desperate attempt to to get it phone back. 63 year old Chaiyapat Warawan says a young Thai man about 20 years old…
- Environment News
Wildfire damages over 2000 rai in national park
A wildfire yesterday morning in the Phu Kradueng National Park in the northeastern province of Loei damaged more than 2000 rai, mostly pineforest and grassland. Adisorn Hemthanont, chief of the park’s wildfire extinguishment unit, made the announcement today. “A dozen staff tried to extinguish the fire but the strong winds blew fireballs across the fire barrier and [they] landed about…
- Economy News
General Motors pulling out of Thailand
General Motors announced yesterday that it’s pulling out of “markets that don’t produce adequate returns on investments,” namely Thailand, New Zealand and Australia. The carmaker said in a statement that it will wind down sales, engineering and design operations for its historic Holden brand in Australia and New Zealand in 2021. It also plans to sell its Rayong factory in…
- World News
21 Vietnamese fishermen taken for coronavirus testing in Songkhla
21 Vietnamese crew from four Vietnamese fishing boats looking for sea cucumbers have been taken ashore to a Songkhla Navy hospital by Royal Thai Navy officials last night. They are being quarantined whilst being tested for coronavirus. Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class Holothuroidea. They are marine animals with a leathery skin and an elongated body containing a single, branched…
- Phuket News
Thailand welcomes cruise ship shunned in Vietnam over virus fears
German cruise ship AIDAvita has been welcomed in Thailand, days after it was blocked from docking in Vietnam due to fears of the COVID-19 coronavirus spreading across the region. Authorities in Vietnam’s Quang Ninh province, home to UNESCO world heritage site Ha Long Bay, barred passengers on the AIDAvita from disembarking on Thursday, according to the Vietnam News Agency. Germany’s…
- Covid-19 News
UPDATE: China coronavirus deaths reach 1665, Taiwan reports first fatality
UPDATE: Taiwan has confirmed its first death from the coronavirus. Malaysia says it won’t allow any more passengers from the Westerdam cruise ship to enter the country from Cambodia, after an American woman who flew into Kuala Lumpur was diagnosed with the coronavirus. China said today the number of coronavirus cases nationwide had reached 68,500, with the death toll rising…
- Tourism News
Embattled tourism sector to get lifeline from the government
Thailand’s government is prepared to throw a lifeline to tourism operators ravaged by the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, in the form of soft loans, tax incentives and training in return for income. Relief measures are urgently needed to protect tourism operators, according to Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak. State agencies have been tasked with proposing measures to the cabinet, which he…
- Pattaya News
Disabled Belgian man busted by Chon Buri’s “smart car”
A 57 year old Belgian man, who is disabled and uses a walker for mobility, was arrested earlier this week in Chon Buri province for overstaying his visa. Immigration officers found the man behind the Burapha hospital in the Bang Saen area on Thursday. They were using Chonburi Immigration’s new “smart car,” which allegedly identified the man using facial recognition…
- Bangkok News
Bangkok shooter granted bail despite drugs
A Bangkok shop owner who set off a panic by firing dozens of gunshots on Friday morning was released on bail after his first court appearance yesterday. Forty-eight year old Ekachai Jaruksin faces charges of attempted murder, discharging a firearm in a public area, narcotics possession and using illicit drugs. Police took him to the Criminal Court yesterday morning to…
- Environment News
Fires continue devouring Thailand’s North
Despite prohibitions on agricultural burning, wildfires continued ravaging forests across Thailand yesterday, especially in the North. Satellite images charting the progress of large fires yesterday morning showed the number of hotspots in the north had risen from 823 on Friday to 1,334. A total of 3,238 forest fires were recorded nationwide. Mae Hong Son province had the highest number of…
- Crime News
Man claims he was attacked and robbed by “foreigners”
A student in Chiang Mai says he was mugged by “foreigners from Europe.” Twenty-four year old Theerapat Saen-in posted his alleged ordeal on Thai social media earlier this week. According to his post he was taking photographs at a view point on Doi Suthep when he was approached by “farangs.” He says they bashed him on the head with a…
- Northern Thailand News
Heroin smuggler busted in Chiang Rai
A man has been arrested in Chiang Rai’s airport attempting to smuggle heroin. 27 year old Jatuporn Saeuan was searched and detained before boarding a flight to Bangkok when security officers found his behaviour suspicious. Security officers say Jatuporn “kept wandering back and forth in front of the entrance” to Mae Fah Luang Airport, so they asked demanded to inspect…
- Phuket News
More than 200 couples exchange vows on Valentine’s Day 2020 in Phuket
Knots were tied, brooms were jumped, rings were donned and brides were kissed. All three of Phuket’s district offices, Muang Phuket, Kathu and Thalang, were packed yesterday as couples vied to get married on Valentine’s Day. 109 couples registered their marriage at the Muang District Office alone, with the island’s vice governor present as a witness. The 109 couples, of…
