- Covid-19 News
Everyone tested for Covid-19 in Rayong, Bangkok negative
The Department of Disease Control has announced the results of Covid-19 testing among 1,603 high-risk people involved in the incidents of an Egyptian military crew member (in Rayong) and a 9 year old girl from Sudan (in Bangkok). The results in Rayong province show that all of 1,336 people tested are negative, while in Bangkok, all 267 tested in a…
- Covid-19 News
Thailand to allow medical tourism within 2 weeks
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration announced today that Thailand’s medical tourism and wellness programs will go ahead despite the controversy swirling around 2 Covid-19 cases this week – in Bangkok and in Rayong. CCSA spokesman Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin says the Ministry of Public Health will announce a list of hospitals that pass its criteria next week, and the first…
- Pattaya News
Pattaya mayor on the defensive over recent floods
Struggling with severe drought just months ago, Pattaya is now facing the opposite problem. The city’s mayor has addressed criticism on social media this week regarding widespread flooding last week during a significant rainfall, telling The Pattaya News and media yesterday that the heavy rain flooded several areas, including Soi Khao Noi, the town’s railway road as well as other…
- World News
Chiang Rai couple arrested for smuggling more than a tonne of crystal meth
Chiang Rai police have arrested 2 more people for arranging and overseeing the smuggling of more than a tonne of crystal methamphetamine, or “ice” to southern Thailand. The 48 year old man and his 31 year old wife were nabbed at their home yesterday in the province’s Mae Chan district, within 15 kilometres of the Burmese border. They’re charged with…
- World News
Thai Immigration police nab human trafficker
Immigration police have arrested a 55 year old “employment agent” who allegedly trafficked illegal migrant workers from neighbouring countries into Thailand. The Immigration Bureau’s commissioner identified the suspect as Petcharat Sathon at a press briefing. Officers arrested her at a hotel in the eastern province of Sa Kaeo, near the Cambodian border. She’s been charged with smuggling migrant workers into…
- Politics News
Deputy PM Somkid, top economic team resign
Deputy PM Somkid Jatusripitak, widely considered Thailand’s economic tzar, has resigned, along with 3 ministers working for him, paving the way for the long-rumoured cabinet reshuffle by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha of the government’s economic team. The 3 others are Finance Minister Uttama Savanayana, the energy minister and the minister of higher education, science, research, and innovation. The deputy secretary-general of…
- Covid-19 News
PM asks reporters to “ease off” on new Covid-19 stories
With the nation rattled by news of 2 new Covid-19 infections among “VIPs” who were exempted from testing when they arrived in the country – one an Egyptian soldier, the other the 9 year old daughter of a Sudanese diplomat – PM Prayut Chan-o-cha asked reporters today to make their reports on the new cases “less scary”. He said the…
- Crime News
Koh Samet park official allegedly attacked “for no reason” in Chon Buri
A national park officer has suffered head injuries after he was allegedly attacked last night by a group of teenagers in Chon Buri. He told Banglamung police there was no apparent reason for the assault. Police were notified of the incident,at a house in Baan Phuthai, at around 10:30pm. Police, emergency responders and reporters arrived to find Phonsuwan Arunsri, a…
- Covid-19 News
Security footage shows infected Egyptian soldier at Rayong mall was “low risk”
Security footage has emerged of a group of Egyptian air force personnel, including 1 reportedly infected with Covid-19, visiting a mall in the eastern Rayong province over the weekend. The images, which show the infected soldier wearing a red shirt, were released to the Associated Thai Press. The shopping centre followed proper procedure by requiring the man to go through…
- World News
A recovering China faces worst floods in decades
As China is still reeling from economic impacts of Covid-19, a new struggle has ensued as the nation is now seeing the worst flooding in decades which have destroyed the homes and livelihoods of millions. The devastating floods have impacted 38 million people. According to the Ministry of Emergency Management, some 2.24 million people have been displaced, with 141 people…
- Crime News
Teen stabbed, man attacked in Nonthaburi robbery
Police in Nonthaburi, just northwest of Bangkok, are hunting 2 men who attacked and robbed a 14 year old boy and a 52 year old trash collector who were waiting at a bus stop outside a housing estate in Bang Bua Thong. The unnamed teen was robbed of just 100 baht. He was stabbed in the left side of his…
- Expats
Foreign embassies stop issuing visa extension letters
A number of embassies in Bangkok are saying that they won’t issue any further visa extension letters for their citizens when Thailand’s visa amnesty expires on July 31. An announcement published last week by the US embassy said American citizens residing in Thailand will have to decide whether to stay or leave, as it will no longer provide extension of…
- Covid-19 News
Flight restrictions clarified amid new Covid-19 fears
Due to the recent imported cases of Covid-19 , which included a 9 year old girl from Sudan and an Egyptian soldier who breached quarantine to go shopping in Rayong province, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is clarifying the entry process for several groups of foreigners. Thailand is currently not accepting general tourists or travellers and is unlikely to in…
- Covid-19 News
Egyptian air crew were permitted to visit venues in Rayong
The Egyptian soldier, who has been found to have tested positive for Covid-19, was part of an air crew who had special dispensation from the Emergency Decree provisions regarding the coronavirus. The crew, spending one night in Rayong on their way back to Egypt from China, were permitted to leave their quarantine facility and wander around venues in Rayong. The…
- Crime News
Cambodian accused of compatriot’s murder on fishing boat
A Cambodian crewman is accused of murdering a fellow national on a fishing boat off the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat in the Gulf of Thailand. The deputy chief of Tha Sala police said the skipper of the fishing boat reported the death by calling in via radio. The alleged killer, 41 year old Long Nai, was handed over…
- Pattaya News
Electric company worker severely shocked, injured in 5 metre fall
An electrical company worker has suffered critical injuries after an electric shock caused him to fall 5 metres to the ground in Chon Buri’s Si Racha district this morning. 36 year old Adisak Bunsong, an employee of the Bueng Provincial Electricity Authority, was installing and changing electrical wires 5 metres above the ground on Road 331, near Village number 6,…
- Covid-19 News
Human trials of locally made Covid-19 vaccine to begin in October
Surpassing earlier predictions that human trials of a locally manufactured Covid-19 vaccine could begin as early as the end of the year, Thailand will conduct the first human trials of its vaccine candidate in October, after trials on monkeys produced satisfactory results, with high level of immunity being detected in the animals. The minister for higher education, science, research and…
- Covid-19 News
Poll shows most Thais still oppose foreign arrivals
A recent survey carried out by the National Institute of Development Administration, or Nida Poll, shows that a majority of Thais still oppose opening the country to foreigners, even if they’re not infected with Covid-19, saying the global coronavirus situation is still very serious. The poll was conducted on July 6-8 on 1,251 people aged 18 and over, of various…
- Environment News
1 dead, 6 injured by bee stings in Chantaburi – VIDEO
A woman is dead and 6 irrigation workers are in hospital after they accidentally disturbed a large nest of bees yesterday while clearing grass on the side of the road in the eastern border province of Chanthaburi. Police learned of the incident in the Laem Sing district yesterday afternoon. A 43 year old woman, identified as Nongnuch Tangman, was pronounced…
- Economy News
Koh Lan to get “neo” branding to attract tourists
The popular resort island of Koh Lan, about 8 kilometres off the Pattaya coast in the Gulf of Thailand, will become “Neo Koh Lan”, as Pattaya is being upgraded as a tourism and investment hub under the Thai government’s poster economic project, the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) scheme. Pattaya’s mayor says the island, along with Koh Sichang (north of Koh Lan)…
- Covid-19 News
Travel bubbles may be postponed “indefinitely”
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand now says the proposed “travel bubble” scheme, which could have allowed limited numbers of tourist arrivals from designated “low risk” countries, may have to be “postponed indefinitely”, after its 3 target partners – China, Japan and South Korea – experienced new outbreaks of Covid-19. On Tuesday, the CAAT’s director-general told reporters he expected Thailand…
- Politics News
Former PM Abhisit, Thanathorn promote welfare state in Thailand
A former PM of Thailand is criticising the administration of PM Prayut Chan-o-cha for what he called the “lack of improvement in people’s livelihoods” and the absence of a solid welfare system. Former PM Abhisit Vejjajiva made the comment during a seminar on socio-economic issues yesterday. The seminar was organised by We Fair, a group advocating turning Thailand into a…
- Crime News
Sexual assault, not theft, motive for spiked water bottles – Police
In an unexpected development to a story which has recently made headlines, police in Nonthaburi, just north of Bangkok, now claim sex, rather than theft, was the likely motivation behind the cases of spiked water bottles of joggers at a public park. On Friday police announced progress in the investigation into cases at the park in the government complex, following…
- Covid-19 News
One third of tourism businesses could go under due to Covid-19
The president of the Tourism Council of Thailand is warning that close to a third of tourism-related businesses are likely to be permanently shuttered in the second half of this year, due to the impact of the Covid-19 crisis. Chairat Trirattanajarasporn says many will simply run out of liquidity to keep their businesses afloat and be forced to close up…
- Crime News
Police in Chon Buri display huge cache of seized weapon
Officers of Thailand’s Police Region 2, covering the entire eastern region, displayed a huge cache of weapons seized so far in a crackdown this month. The news was released yesterday at a press briefing at the Region 2 headquarters in Chon Buri. From July 3-9, police of Region 2, comprising 8 provinces: Chanthaburi, Chachoengsao, Chon Buri, Trad, Nakhon Nayok, Prachin…
- Road deaths
Motorcyclist, gazing at phone, plummets from Bangkok bridge
A man is dead after plummeting 10 metres from Bangkok’s Rama 3 bridge yesterday. Police and rescue workers were called to an area below the bridge and found the body of a 43 year old motorcyclist, identified only as “Kiatpong.” Still on the bridge was his Honda Zoomer-X scooter, and there was evidence of scratches along the bridge wall. He appeared…
- Environment News
Rare big cats spotted in Thai national park
The Facebook page of Khlong Lan National Park in Thailand’s northwestern Kamphaeng Phet province, report that camera traps, set up to track the population of tigers, instead managed to capture a sighting of a black panther and leopard. “The appearance of the panther and leopard prove that the forest has become more abundant and attracted the return of these animals…
- Crime News
Bangkok online booze peddlers busted, 2 million baht in untaxed alcohol seized
Last week the country’s top alcohol regulator approved a draft law to ban online alcohol sales. Yesterday, synchronised raids on 2 Bangkok addresses resulted in 6 arrests and the seizure of of foreign liquor and wine valued at 2 million baht. The first raid was a house used as a distribution centre in Ram Intra Soi 61. 5 men and women…
- Northern Thailand News
Education ministry bans forced haircuts for students
Just days after a teacher who forced a pupil to submit to a haircut was reprimanded and made to apologise, Thailand’s Ministry of Education has issued a letter instructing all schools under its jurisdiction to repeal the 1975 regulations regarding students’ hairstyle and length, and forbidding the arbitrary cutting of students’ hair at school. The practice has long been used…
- Covid-19 News
Covid-19 UPDATE: 14 new cases found in quarantine; biggest increase in weeks
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration reported 14 new cases of Covid-19 this morning, the biggest jump in several weeks. All were found in state quarantine and were imported cases by repatriated Thais; Thailand has not reported a domestically transmitted case in 47 days. Among the 14 new cases is a 9 year old who travelled with her family. •…
