- Covid-19 News
13 foreigners among those arrested at Pattaya pool party
Police in Pattaya yesterday arrested a group, including 13 foreigners, having what they described as a pool party at the Momento Beach Resort in Pattaya. The announcement was made through the police department’s social media channels last night. The seaside resort town has been under near-total lockdown since April 9, a situation expected to continue until at least April 30.…
- Covid-19 News
Bangkok temple ordered to stop handouts due to huge queues
Local authorities in Bangkok have ordered local temple Wat Don Mueang to temporarily stop giving away food and water, as queues have grown to over a thousand and pictures have gone viral on social media, raising concerns over social distancing, according to the Bangkok Post and Bangkok radio station Jor Sor 100. Photos of people gathered along Song Prapha Road…
- Business News
PM asks public to cool down on selling their gold
Massive unemployment due to the national state of emergency and the Covid-19 outbreak has pushed gold prices to near a 7 year high, and gold shops throughout the country are running out of cash because so many people are cashing in. In a briefing this week in Bangkok, PM Prayut Chan-Ocha asked the public to show restraint and not to…
- Covid-19 News
CP Group delivers first 100,000 masks from its new factory
Thailand’s largest private company and one of the world’s largest conglomerates. the Charoen Pokphand Group, better known as CP, presented the first batch of 100,000 surgical facemasks from its own factory to Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn Hospital late this week. Group Chairman Dhanin Chearavanont says he is delighted that the factory was built in just five weeks, at a cost of some…
- Covid-19 News
33 new Covid-19 cases (Saturday), no deaths, as recovery rate passes 65%
Health officials today reported 33 new cases of Covid-19 but no deaths, raising total cases in Thailand to 2,733, while the death toll remains at 47 since the outbreak began in January. The first case of human-to-human transmission in Thailand was reported on January 31. 68 of Thailand’s 77 provinces have reported infections. The number of recovered patients is now…
- World News
AirAsia will resume some flights beginning April 29
With a dozen or more airlines, including national flag carrier Thai Airways suspending flights or completely grounding their fleets due to the Covid-19 crisis, there is a ray of sunshine. AirAsia is set to resume domestic flights, starting with the home base in Malaysia on April 29, followed by Thailand and the Philippines on May 1, India on May 4…
- Covid-19 News
Tourist numbers and revenue expected to plunge, exceeding worst predictions for 2020
It’s no secret that the Covid-19 outbreak has been disastrous for Thailand’s tourism sector, long considered a vital lifeline of the nation’s already battered economy. Now the Tourism Authority of Thailand is projecting that Thailand is likely to close the year with only 16 million international tourists and 60 million domestic trips, far below the pre-virus targets of 40 million…
- World News
Indonesia now leads SE Asia in Covid-19 cases
Indonesia is now leading the region with the highest number of Covid-19 cases. 407 new coronavirus cases were announced yesterday, taking the total of reported infections to 5,923, passing the Philippines as the country with the highest number of cases in Southeast Asia. At the start of April Indonesia had only reported 1,677 cases leaving epidemiologists to ponder how the…
- Crime News
Woman injured in domestic dispute with boyfriend and his wife over baby’s abduction
A local Bang Lamung woman has sustained multiple facial and arm injuries after allegedly trying to get her 10 month old baby back from her boyfriend and his wife in Rayong province, south east of Pattaya. 27 year old Pirawan (whose family name is being withheld), reported to the Bang Lamung police this afternoon. Pirawan told officers that the incident…
- Covid-19 News
Stranded, broke and hungry, German pensioner gets help from Bangkok philanthropist
A German pensioner, stranded by the Covid-19 crisis and a lack of outbound flights, broke and hungry in Bangkok’s Khao San Road area, has become the latest beneficiary of a well known Thai philanthropist. The 66 year old man told wealthy realtor and hotel developer Surat Wongcharnsin he was hungry and stranded with just 20 baht. Surat took pity and…
- Covid-19 News
PM offers apology for “confusion” over 5,000 baht handouts – VIDEO
Since PM Prayut Chan-o-cha announced a 5,000 baht monthly handout for “informal” workers affected by the Covid-19 crisis, there has been conflicting information, extensions, denials and general confusion. And rejected Thais fronting up to the Finance Ministry and waving their bottoms at surprised ministry officials in protest. Yesterday he offered a public apology for the government’s “miscommunication” and assured the…
- Covid-19 News
28 new Covid-19 cases (Friday), one more death, as recovery rate reaches 62%
Health officials confirmed 28 more Covid-19 cases at this morning’s daily press briefing, down from 29 yesterday, bringing the national total to 2,700. An additional death brings that tally to 47. 96 more patients have recovered and been sent home, bringing the total of recoveries to 1689, or 62.5% since the outbreak began in January. There were 30 new cases…
- World News
Extreme weather threatens already virus-stricken Asian and Pacific countries
Experts are warning that South and Southeast Asian nations, from India to Indonesia, already slammed by Covid-19, could now face a looming weather crisis in coming months, from heat waves to monsoons and cyclones. India, with a population of some 1.4 billion is currently under “lockdown,” with more than 12,000 confirmed cases (though due to low testing rates, the real…
- Covid-19 News
Discounts on 72 consumer goods to ease Covid-19 impact
Thailand’s commerce minister yesterday announced the reduction in price for 72 consumer goods by 5-58% to help people affected by the Covid-19 crisis. The new discounts, which went into effect yesterday, will run until June 30. The products include rice, palm oil, instant noodles, milk, frozen foods, condiments, toilet paper, talcum powder, toothpaste, toothbrushes, sanitary napkins, soap, shampoo, face cleansers,…
- Covid-19 News
Lifting of restrictions depends on compliance
“Decisions about any relaxation are difficult. There may first have to be a level of ongoing social distancing that people must observe.” The current national state of emergency is due to expire at the end of the month, and PM Prayut Chan-o-Cha has hinted some restrictions might be relaxed at that time, even if he extends the emergency decree. But…
- Chiang Mai News
Chiang Mai farmer trampled by elephant, dies
In the second such incident in a week, a farmer has been trampled to death by an elephant yesterday in Thailand’s northern Chiang Mai Province. Police say the body of 68 year old Sa-ard Khamsrijai was found in the garden of his vegetable farm in San Sai district. Officers say the body had wounds consistent with trampling, and a female…
- Politics News
Taiwan considers rebranding its flag carrier, China Airlines
Taipei is considering changing the name of its flag carrier: China Airlines. Perhaps an opportunistic excuse to distance itself from any anti-Chinese ‘Covid’ fallout or just a political ploy whilst China has, well, other things to worry about at the moment. It seems the Covid-19 pandemic has reignited calls to change the name after the airline sent a series of…
- Covid-19 News
Thailand’s Muslim leader issues special instructions for Ramadan 2020
The Muslim holy month of Ramadan will last from From April 24 or 25 to May 23 or 24 (depending on the lunar cycle) this year, during which time the faithful will practice fasting and take part in religious activities at mosques, residences and other designated areas. The spiritual leader of Thailand’s Muslims, the Sheikhul lslam, has issued an announcement…
- Covid-19 News
New national Covid-19 cases drop to 29 (Thursday), 3 more dead
Thai health officials today confirmed 29 new Covid-19 cases over the past 24 hour period, and 3 more deaths, bringing Thailand’s total number of patients to 2,672 since the beginning of the outbreak. This continues an encouraging downward trend, with 54 new cases a week ago, 50 on Friday, 45 on Saturday, 33 on Sunday, 28 on Monday and 34…
- Covid-19 News
When will Thailand’s booze bans end?
Though there has been no national ban on alcohol sales, all 77 of Thailand’s provincial governors have banned booze in their efforts to slow the spread of Covid-19. Many people have now long run down their pre-ban panic-buying stash. There have also been reports of alcohol dependent residents coming to the surface seeking medical help. Bangkok and Chiang Mai both began…
- Crime News
Pattaya man allegedly confesses to stabbing murder of ex-wife
…and has allegedly confessed to the murder. The original story can be found HERE: The suspect has now been identified as 52 year old Boonlert Khunmoon of Chon Buri’s Banglamung district. The victim was 50 year old Sudjai Rodmanee, the suspect’s ex-wife. The incident took place near the Chon Buri Land Office in Pattaya mid-morning yesterday. Boonlert followed Sudjai on…
- Covid-19 News
PM says restrictions could be eased by April 30
The current national state of emergency is due to expire on April 30. While PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has hinted he might extend it, which he has the constitutional right to do (up to 90 days), he says that he’ll evaluate the Covid-19 situation in the last week of April to see if some restrictions can be lifted. The PM has…
- Covid-19 News
Government only has enough to pay 5,000 baht aid package for 1 month – PM
Shortly after the national state of emergency was declared in Thailand, the government of PM Prayut Chan-o-cha announced an aid package of 5,000 baht per month to “informal workers” left behind by the Covid-19 crisis. The original announcement, part of a 117 billion baht stimulus package, was for 3 months, but this was later extended to 6 months, despite the…
- Crime News
Police nab another suspect in notorious Forex-3D Ponzi scheme
Police in Bangkok have arrested yet another suspect in the infamous Forex-3D Ponzi scheme which duped thousands with false promises of high returns and resulted in losses of tens of billions of baht. Department of Special Investigation officials have now arrested 30 year old Sitthanat Pho-ngern on a warrant issued by the Criminal Court. He’s charged with luring people to…
- Covid-19 News
30 new Covid-19 cases (Wednesday), 2 more deaths
Thai health officials today confirmed 30 new Covid-19 cases, taking the national total to 2,643. 2 new deaths raise the national tally to 43. The trend continues downward, with 54 new cases reported last Thursday, 50 on Friday, 45 on Saturday, 33 on Sunday, 28 on Monday and 34 yesterday. But a spokesman for the government’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation…
- Thai Life
Grocery trucks make a comeback during Covid-19 crisis
Once a familiar site in neighbourhoods throughout the country, Thai grocery trucks are making a comeback. The trucks, essentially makeshift mobile shops, are once again bringing everything from mangoes and dried chillies to fresh meat to people forced indoors by the national state of emergency declared to fight the spread of Covid-19. Such trucks were a staple of Thai life…
- Crime News
Bangkok man arrested for flogging dodgy medical certificates online
A young man in Bangkok has been arrested for peddling fake medical certificates on Facebook Marketplace. Police arrested 24 year old Phitchayaphat Somsri at a house in Lat Phrao district for selling the false certificates, including for Covid-19, for up to 1000 baht each, and say he used quite a number of tools in manufacturing them. A spokesman says the…
- Crime News
Bank robber comes in from the rain, makes off with 106,000 baht
Staff at the Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives in Prawet district of southeastern Bangkok got a surprise this week when a lone armed robber came in off the street, out of the torrential rain, and stole 106,000 baht. Brandishing a pistol, the man, caught on security cameras, wore a sky blue cap, a facemask, black shirt, jeans and trainers.…
- Covid-19 News
Thailand’s flight arrival ban extended to April 30
Thailand’s nationwide ban on inbound flights was yesterday extended to at leastApril 30 by the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand, to help control the spread of Covid-19. CAAT’s director-general announced the extension on the agency’s webpage this morning. It is the third extension of the ban, which was first imposed back on April 3. He cited the need to maintain…
- World News
US President halts funding for WHO – VIDEO
At over 600,000 cases, the US has more Covid-19 infections than any other country. Now, the US President Donald Trump has now announced a cut in US funding for the World Health Organisation, the UN agency tasked with fighting the outbreak worldwide. In a press briefing at the White House Rose Garden yesterday, he said he had instructed his administration to…
