- Phuket News
Police arrest 21 curfew violators in Phuket, and raid a party in Pattaya
Police in the southern island province of Phuket arrested 21 people last night for violating the national curfew imposed to fight the spread of Covid-19. Teams of officials and volunteers conducting night patrols across the province from 11pm to 4am and found 21 people out during the period without authorisation or justifiable reason. One of them was found possessing some…
- Northern Thailand News
Nakhon Phanom teacher arrested for sexually abusing niece
Police in Issan’s Nakhon Phanom province yesterday announced the arrest of a teacher for the alleged sexual abuse of his 13 year old niece, who lived with him and his wife. The 52 year old man was taken into custody at his house in the downtown district after a provincial court approved an arrest warrant on Thursday. His name and…
- Crime News
Panthongtae Shinawatra is a free man after AG decides not to appeal acquittal
Panthongtae “Oak” Shinawatra, son of former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, is a free man, after Thailand’s Attorney General decided to not appeal against his acquittal for alleged money laundering. He was charged by the Department of Special Investigations after 10 million baht was deposited into his bank account by an executive of the Krisdamahanakorn Group of real estate companies, which was…
- Northern Thailand News
Government launches vaccination program to fight African Horse Sickness
The first outbreak of African Horse Sickness, aka. African Plague in Asia in half a century, has killed nearly 550 horses in Thailand, but authorities announced yesterday they’re winning the battle. The Department of Livestock Development says it’s speeding up blood tests on zebras nationwide, after experts identified an imported group as the source of the outbreak. Some horse owners…
- Thailand News
Udon Thani temple blaze, abbot’s death likely caused by short circuit
Investigators in Udon Thani in Thailand’s north believe a short circuit was the cause of a fire at Wat Pa Ban Tad forest temple that killed a revered abbot. The assistant national police chief yesterday led senior officers and Udon Thani’s deputy governor to inspect the fire-ravaged living quarters of Phra Ajarn Sudjai Thanthamano, the abbot, who died in the…
- Transport News
Nakhonchaiair to resume interprovincial bus services from Monday
In a move bound to thrill many Thais stranded away from their home provinces by the Covid-19 crisis and the Emergency Decree, interprovincial buses operated by Nakhonchaiair will resume service from Monday. The company’s CEO made the announcement today. She added that social distancing measures will be strictly enforced in the seating of passengers, all of whom who will also…
- Covid-19 News
All Pattaya area beaches to reopen June 1, pending CCSA approval
Pattaya City’s mayor, after meeting with the Communicable Disease Committee of Chonburi told reporters that all Pattaya area beaches are scheduled and “likely” to open June 1, for all activities. The tourist town’s beaches have been closed for around months due to the Covid19 emergency decree. The reopening still requires approval from the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, who gave…
- Pattaya News
Pattaya pedestrian electrocuted by dangling power lines – VIDEO
A man in Pattaya was critically inured when he was struck by bolts of electricity from exposed power lines. Pattaya fire services were called after a transformer exploded into flames in the city’s famous Walking Street last night amid heavy storms. But rather than cordoning off and securing the area, they simply cordoned it and left it until morning for…
- Expats
Foreigners with work permits to be allowed back into Thailand on case by case basis
Foreigners with work permits or permission from the Labour Ministry (and other some other government agencies) will be allowed to enter the country after registration, under phase 3 of the lockdown relaxation, which begins Monday. The Foreign Ministry made the announcement today. The Foreign Ministry has told Thailand’s foreign chambers of commerce about the relaxation. Eligible foreign nationals are invited…
- Pattaya News
Pattaya curfew breaker drowns
A 41 year old Thai man in Pattaya has drowned, apparently attempting to avoid arrest for breaking Thailand’s national curfew. He was pronounced dead after being found by local fishermen floating off the shore of Pattaya Beach yesterday morning. Pattaya City Police were notified of the incident near the Bali Hai Pier around noon. Police, emergency responders and reporters arrived…
- Covid-19 News
No new Covid-19 cases in 65 provinces for a month
The Covid-19 situation in Thailand is improving: the Ministry of Public Health announced yesterday that 65 of Thailand’s 76 provinces have reported no new cases for a full month. But it says the situation is “still not stable enough”, and the government continues to screen people returning from abroad and is proactively testing suspected cases. The deputy director-general of the…
- Covid-19 News
South Korea reverses reopening amid new Covid-19 outbreaks
Less than a month after relaxing physical distancing requirements on May 6, South Korea is restoring the measures in the greater Seoul area, including Incheon and Gyeonggi provinces, until at least June 14, as new flare-ups of Covid-19 emerge across the metropolitan region. Its daily tally jumped to 79, the highest since early April. Making the announcement yesterday, South Korea’s…
- Thailand Weather Updates
Rains, thundershowers predicted to blanket all regions
The Thailand Meteorological Department said today that the high pressure system from China covering Laos and Vietnam is causing the monsoon trough to move across the upper North and Northeast, while a moderate southwest monsoon prevails over the Andaman Sea. More rains are forecast for upper Thailand, with gusty winds and hail in the North and isolated heavy rains in…
- Covid-19 News
Thai Airways can’t refund 24 billion baht in unused tickets
Thai Airways’ recent declaration of bankruptcy and debt rehabilitation has left many holders of unused tickets high and dry. The carrier grounded its fleet in early April due to the Covid-19 crisis, and is now unable to refund tickets purchased for the period since. The troubled national flag carrier’s PR department said yesterday it is unable to offer refunds at…
- Covid-19 News
Standard Chartered Bank forecasts 2 year economic recovery for Thailand
Standard Chartered Bank says that it remains conservative on Thailand’s economic outlook, even though signs are emerging with the possibility of a further policy rate cut to below 0.25%. Their latest report forecasts a return to pre-Covid levels could take more than 2 years depending on improving business sentiment as the economy reopens, noting that the government has been disbursing…
- Covid-19 News
Security chief says country to reopen July 1
The chief of Thailand’s National Security Council announced today that Thailand has set July 1 for the end of all “business and activity lockdowns” ordered to cope with the Covid-19 crisis, include provincial and international travel. The announcement also included the end of the Emergency Decree and curfews, Bangkok Post reports. NSC Secretary-General Somsak Rungsita says the lift of restrictions…
- Covid-19 News
Bangkok’s UK visa application centre to reopen
Below is the text of a press release from the British Embassy, lightly edited for brevity: “On June 1, UK Visas and Immigration will begin a phased resumption of services and our main Visa Application Centre in Bangkok (The Trendy Office Building, 28th Floor Sukhumvit Soi 13, Klongtoey-Nua, Wattana, Bangkok 10110) will be open. Customers who were unable to attend…
- Northern Thailand News
Chiang Rai quarantines 26 returnees from Phuket
26 returnees from Phuket back to Chiang Rai arrived home on 2 passenger coaches today and were immediately placed in 14 day quarantine. The 26 arrived at the Wiang Indra Riverside Resort in Chiang Rai province (by the way, it looks VERY nice!). The Deputy provincial governor of Chiang Rai welcomed them and asked them to adhere to the precautionary…
- Covid-19 News
Massage shops, boxing stadiums may be allowed to reopen next week
But we won’t know until tomorrow. Phase 3 of the easing of Covid-19 emergency measures could finally see boxing stadiums, massage parlours, spas, cinemas and tutorial schools allowed to reopen next month. Pubs, bars and nightlife venues are expected to remain closed, well that’s the rumours for now anyway. The deputy director-general of the Disease Control Department says activities and…
- World News
Low cost carrier Thai AirAsia ponders merger
The CEO of Thai AirAsia says it may merge with another low-cost carrier to avoid cutthroat pricing wars once flights resume after the Covid-19 crisis subsides, and has admitted to conversations with other airlines. He says if tourism doesn’t resume by July, TAA will be forced to begin laying off employees, downsizing the company and its fleet to keep its…
- Economy News
Central buys Family Mart Thailand
Shopping centre operator Central Retail Corporation has bought 100% of Family Mart, one of Thailand’s major convenience store chains, as it “moves forward to develop a new business model to cater to modern consumers”. CRC’s chief executive officer says the acquisition will strengthen Central’s hold on the food market and convenience store business in Thailand, which is burgeoning. Since 2012,…
- World News
High speed railway linking Thailand and China takes another step
A high speed rail link between Thailand and China is closer to becoming a reality, according to Thai Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob. The signing of “Contract 2.3″ for the Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima section is expected in October this year. China has become a major player in the railway industry and, as a result, many countries, including Thailand, are working with China…
- Phuket News
Bangkok mother, daughter swindled out of 1.8 million baht, suspect arrested
Authorities in the southern province of Phuket have arrested a man wanted in Bangkok for swindling a woman and her mother out of nearly 2 million baht. Police in the island’s party town of Patong report that officers received a request from police in Bangkok to arrest 23 year old Narathip Sukprasert, originally from Lop Buri province, about 150 kilometres…
- Covid-19 News
Emergency Decree extended through June amidst accusations of political motivation
As widely predicted, the Cabinet yesterday extended the Emergency Decree for a third month, to its limit at the end of June. Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin, spokesman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, quickly explained that the decree was enforced because it enabled more than 40 laws to be tied together to allow for quick enforcement at the national level.…
- World News
Thai Doctor faces charges in “wombs-for-hire” scandal
A Thai doctor faces charges of human trafficking and involvement in a Chinese-funded cross-border surrogacy service, using Thai women to carry babies for Chinese couples. Police say that the doctor, whose name is being withheld, previously worked at a state hospital in the Victory Monument area of Bangkok and allegedly provided “assisted-reproductive services” to surrogate Thai mothers, usually at clinics…
- Thailand News
Elephant injures 2 Burmese men in Kanchanburi
2 Burmese men were attacked and critically injured by an elephant in a forest in the western province of Kanchanaburi’s Thong Pha Phum district last night, according to Thong Pha Phum National Park officials. They had only patchy details of the incident. 35 year old “Tun” and 60 year old “Ngae” had gone into the forest to pick mushrooms in…
- Northern Thailand News
2 dead, over 1,000 ill in Korat dengue fever outbreak
2 people have died and more than a thousand have fallen ill since the beginning of the year in an outbreak of dengue fever in the northeastern Nakhon Ratchasima province. The head of the provincial public health office yesterday said that all people in the province infected with Covid-19 have fully recovered and been discharged, and there have been no…
- Covid-19 News
Covid-19 update: 9 new cases, all imported (May 27)
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration announced 9 new cases of Covid-19 at this morning’s daily press briefing. All 9 were ‘imported’ cases by Thai nationals returning from overseas, “bringing attention to the importance of the state quarantine process and border control”, according to CCSA spokesman Dr Taweesilp Visanuyothin. Of the 9 cases, two recently returned from the US. The two…
- Covid-19 News
Bank report predicts extended timeframe for Thai tourism recovery
As the severity of the current situation facing Thailand’s lucrative tourism industry starts to sink in, Kasikorn Bank Research Centre have released a report with some stark predictions. Thailand’s tourism and hospitality industry faces losses of 1.69 trillion baht in 2020 and recovery “may not be clearly evident” next year. The report also foreshadows strict ‘new normal’ procedures as government measures…
- Crime News
Evidence mounts against “bleach mum”
Officers of the Crime Suppression Division say text messages on the popular Line application show that a woman accused of forcing her two year old “son” to swallow bleach isn’t the boy’s biological mother. This evidence, together with DNA test results expected next week, may lead to human trafficking charges being pressed against the woman as well. A Line chat…
