- Crime News
Police seize drug lord’s assets valued at 130 million baht
Assets valued at 130 million baht have been seized from a narcotics ring believed to be run by the drug baron known as “Chan Xue.” Suriya Singhakamol, deputy secretary-general of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), told Thai media yesterday that the assets and property were confiscated from nine sites: one in Bangkok and the rest in Chiang Rai province. Suriya…
- South Thailand News
3 insurgents killed in shootout
More violence in Thailand’s restive South yesterday as three insurgents were killed in a shootout with government forces near a Pattani dam. A spokesman for Region 4 Internal Security Operations Command made the announcement today. Pattani and its neighboring provinces are home to a bloody separatist insurgency which has rocked the region for decades. The spokesman said the clash occurred…
- Covid-19 News
BOT injects 35 billion baht into Thai financial market
35 billion baht is being injected into the local Thai financial markets in the wake of the impact from Covid-19 crisis. The Bank of Thailand say they are closely monitoring the local financial market and recognised “liquidity is tight in bond and US dollar exchange markets.” BoT assistant governor Vachira Arromdee announced yesterday… “The BoT last week injected both short…
- Thailand News
The nation’s schools close today
Thailand’s education minister today ordered all schools nationwide to close from today as a measure to to tackle the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. The ministry’s permanent secretary Prasert Boonrueng made the announcement yesterday. “Taking into consideration the well being of students, we urge all educational institutions under the ministry, both government and private, to close [temporarily] from March 18…
- Thailand News
Greater Bangkok must close bars, entertainment venues
Public Health Minister and Deputy PM Anutin Charnvirakul appears to have gotten his way, and bars and entertainment venues in Bangkok are rattled today, after the government announced a mandatory closure over the Covid-19 coronavirus. The move comes a day after the announcement that Songkran festivities nationwide are postponed to as-yet undecided dates. The planned steps come as new cases…
- Covid-19 News
Malaysia closes its borders
The government of Malaysia announced yesterday it is shutting its borders to travellers, restricting domestic movement, closing schools and universities and ordering most businesses closed after the number of Covid-19 coronavirus cases climbed yesterday to the highest in Southeast Asia. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin made a nationally televised speech announcing the measures, which will be in force beginning tomorrow until…
- Covid-19 News
33 new cases: Thailand’s biggest single day jump
Thirty-three new cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus cases were confirmed in Thailand today, the nation’s biggest single day increase, bringing the total number of infections to 147 since the virus struck in January. Of the total, 36 have recovered, 108 remain in hospital and one death has been reported from complications arising from the disease. Seventeen of the new cases…
- Covid-19 News
33 new cases announced for Thailand, total rises to 147
Yesterday’s announcement of 32 new cases of Covid-19 coronavirus, the most on any single day in Thailand, has been surpassed today with the announcement of 33 new cases for Monday. The total number of infections in Thailand is now 147 people. 36 patients have recovered, 108 are still in hospital and one person has died. Seventeen of the new cases…
- Covid-19 News
Songkran officially postponed
In a shock move, an urgent meeting of the Covid-19 Administration Centre, chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, today approved a motion to postpone the Songkran holidays from April 13-15 to later, undisclosed dates. Deputy government spokeswoman Rachada Thanadirek made the announcement on her Twitter account this afternoon. Songkran is the traditional Thai New Year festival. Ratchada says the meeting…
- Covid-19 News
Pattaya venues “willing to close” if ordered
“If the government ordered us to close entertainment venues, we are willing to cooperate.” Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-Cha said yesterday that, for the time being at least, he is not ordering a shutdown of the country’s massive nightlife industry. But one of Thailand’s main tourist hotspots is bracing for the worst: the Pattaya Entertainment Operators Association conceded yesterday they are…
- Thailand Weather Updates
Thundershowers, more hot weather for the North
Thailand’s Meteorological Department predicted today that a thermal low covering the North will bring “hot to very hot weather” to the region. Thundershowers are forecast in the North, the Northeast, the Central and the East. Meanwhile, a high pressure system from China is covering the Northeast, the East, the Central and the South China Sea. Southerly and southeasterly winds are…
- Covid-19 News
Top virologist urges cancellations, “proactive approach”
Thailand’s government should cancel all mass activities, social activities and events that draw crowds, and provide easy public access to Covid-19 coronavirus testing, according to the chief of the Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology at Chulalongkorn University. Well known virologist Dr. Yong Poovorawan made the proposal on his Facebook page today. Yong says Thailand has been “rehearsing for how…
- Covid-19 News
New Covid-19 specialist hospital to open as Thai government steps up response
The Thai government plans to use a freshly constructed hospital as a Covid-19-only patient hospital. Yesterday the number of infections in Thailand rose by 32 cases for a total of 114, the largest single rise in new daily cases. The Thai PM was speaking about the possibilities of moving to Stage 3 after chairing a meeting yesterday on new measures…
- Northern Thailand News
Summer storms batter Korat, Buri Ram
Sudden summer storms caused extensive damage in two provinces in Thailand’s northeast yesterday: many villages in tambon Nong Ma Nao in Khong district of Nakhon Ratchasima, also known as Korat, were struck by a summer storm late last night. Numerous houses were severely damaged by the storm, which started at about 11pm. Some structures were entirely demolished. The roofing sheets…
- Covid-19 News
PM: Nightlife stays open for business
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-cha announced he has rejected, for the time being, the suggestion from Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to temporarily close the country’s massive nightlife industry. Anutin Charnvirakul said yesterday the suggestion was one of several measures he and the Ministry of Public Health would bring up with the PM tomorrow. But as social media exploded, fiercely…
- Covid-19 News
Huge jump as Thailand confirms 32 new coronavirus cases
Thailand today confirmed 32 new cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus. The announcement was made at an afternoon press conference with the Department of Disease Control, and confirmed by The Ministry of Public Health. The list of new infections is varied, and includes nine from a boxing gym, three more who had contact with a cluster that had a party with…
- Covid-19 News
83 students returning from Italy quarantined
83 Thai students arriving on a Thai Airways flight from Italy were taken from U-Tapao International Airport to Sattahip naval base in Chon Buri this morning for Covid-19 coronavirus screening. Six students had fevers and were separated and taken to nearby hospitals for tests and a 14 day mandatory quarantine. The other 77 were taken to guesthouses within the naval…
- Covid-19 News
Thailand now lists UK, USA as “high risk” countries
Thailand has added the UK, USA and several other countries to the list of countries it regards as being “high risk” for Covid-19 coronavirus contagion. The list now includes: Japan, France, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the UK and USA. An update posted on the Tourism Authority of Thailand website yesterday advised travellers arriving in Thailand from these…
- Northern Thailand News
Khon Kaen University students in anti-government demonstration
“We are afraid of the virus. But, we are also duty-bound to study and seek the government’s ouster.” Adding to a growing trend, students at Khon Khaen University in northeastern Thailand held a second demonstration last night, despite fears of the Covid-19 coronavirus spread, saying they’ve “had enough” of the government. Students from all departments gathered at the multi-purpose ground…
- Covid-19 News
Government tries, fails to clarify visa-on-arrival confusion
After days of rumours, assertions and flip-flops, Thailand’s Foreign Ministry in a press briefing yesterday provided some much-needed clarity regarding visa-on-arrival (VOA) status for 18 countries and visa exemption for three countries with high infection rates of the Covid-19 coronavirus: they are cancelled. Cherdkiat Atthakor, director-general and spokesman of the Foreign Ministry’s Information Department says the cancellations are in place…
- Covid-19 News
Health minister to “suggest” closing bars, nightclubs
Thailand’s gaffe-prone public health minister and deputy PM Anutin Charnvirakul is back at it, telling a press conference this afternoon that the Public Health Ministry will “suggest additional precautions” to the government and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Monday, including the temporary closure of bars and entertainment venues, including nightclubs, concerts, live music venues and other venues where people congregate.…
- Crime News
Wife and sister stabbed to death in Chon Buri, second domestic murder in a day
Police in Chon Buri province are hunting a suspect who allegedly stabbed his wife and her sister to death in the central province’s Panthong District yesterday. Panthong police were notified of the incident, at a shrimp fishing pond on Panthong-Baankhao Road, at 6:30pm. Police arriving at the pond and adjacent home found it locked. They broke the bedroom door to…
- Politics News
PM urges unity in the face of adversity
In a nation battered by drought, a slowing economy and the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak, Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha has appealed to the public to unite and join the government in its efforts to overcome. In a public statement yesterday, the PM said some of the measures adopted by his administration to cope with the threat of coronavirus contagion are…
- Covid-19 News
Body of Chinese man lies untouched for hours over coronavirus fears
A Chinese man who fell to his death from a Bangok hotel room yesterday was left lying untouched for more than six hours, as responders feared contracting the Covid-19 coronavirus from the body. Police, who were notified at about 12;30pm, say the 39 year old Chinese national was staying in a room on the sixth floor of the hotel, which…
- Covid-19 News
Doctors warn Thailand unprepared for Stage 3 virus outbreak
The Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak is still only at the second stage in Thailand, permanent secretary for public health Sukhum Kanchanapimai said yesterday, meaning the spread is still limited and mostly confined to overseas returnees, foreigners from affected countries and those in close contact with either group. But an association of doctors is warning that the nation might not be equipped…
- Covid-19 News
Monkeys plunder town hall building in South, apparently searching for food
Days after a pitched battle between rival monkey gangs rocked Lop Buri in central Thailand, dozens, perhaps hundreds of monkeys have ransacked an old town hall building in the southern province of Prachuap Khiri Khan, forcing staff to flee. It’s believed in both instances that the drop in tourism caused by the Covid-19 coronavirus, combined with dry weather and drought,…
- Covid-19 News
Thailand’s virus testing goes to the next level
There are currently 35 labs in Thailand that can test up to 200 specimens daily, and 20 more are expected to open soon. But there’s now a “superlab” that can perform 4000 tests per day. The facility, unveiled today by the Public Health Ministry’s Department of Medical Sciences, will use the Rapid Polymerase Chain reaction method of testing. A department…
- Pattaya News
Russian overstayer busted for drugs in Pattaya
Chon Buri Provincial Police arrested a Russian man today in relation to a visa overstay and reports that he was selling narcotics to tourists, predominantly visiting East Europeans at bars and nightclubs in Pattaya’s Walking Street. Russian national Maxim Kurbatov, aged 33, barefoot, shirtless and visibly intoxicated, was swooped on by several officers outside his rented house, along with two…
- Crime News
Serial thief who robbed Russian couple at knifepoint in Pattaya re-arrested
Police in Pattaya have re-arrested a thief who was involved in a robbery and knife attack on a Russian couple five years ago. A team of Pattaya City Police arrested 29 year old Thai national “Manat” yesterday afternoon. Another Thai man, 60 year old Niphon Meechaiyo, was also arrested for buying stolen items and allegedly fencing them. Police seized six…
- Covid-19 News
Thousands laid off, millions of baht lost as Chiang Mai elephant camps close
Elephant businesses in Chiang Mai and elsewhere in Northern Thailand are being wiped out in their dozens by the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak. Most have closed their doors and laid off thousands of staff. Those that remain open are haemorrhaging money. According to Boonthachai Lert, chairman of Mae Taeng Elephant Camp and a spokesperson for the industry, 85 of Chiang Mai’s…
