- World News
Climate change activist smears cream on Mona Lisa painting at Louvre
A visitor to the Louvre Museum in Paris has attacked the world-famous Mona Lisa painting, having disguised himself as an elderly lady in a wheelchair. The man, believed to be a climate change activist, jumped out of the wheelchair and tried to smash the glass protecting the painting, according to a Reuters report. The painting was reportedly undamaged, but the…
- Chiang Mai News
Chiang Mai bars, clubs prepare to re-open for business tomorrow
Chiang Mai’s bars and clubs have been waiting a long time, but finally, from tomorrow, they can once again welcome back customers. As the Covid-19 situation in Thailand continues to improve, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration has given nightlife venues in the green and blue provinces the go-ahead to re-open for business. Those that have survived, that is. According…
- World News
US says it will not send rocket systems to Ukraine to strike at territory inside Russia
The US has ruled out arming Ukraine with rocket systems that could strike targets inside Russian territory, according to an AFP report. President Joe Biden has confirmed his administration’s stance at a press briefing in Washington. “We are not going to send to Ukraine rocket systems that can strike into Russia.” Since Russia’s invasion in February, Ukraine has received significant…
- Thailand News
Thai medical council refutes claim that private hospitals have foreign doctors on staff
Thai healthcare bosses have dismissed claims by some private hospitals that they have foreign doctors on staff to help with patient care and surgery. According to a Bangkok Post report, the Medical Council of Thailand says there is a limit on the number of foreign doctors allowed to practice in the kingdom. Addressing claims made by some private hospitals, the…
- Thailand News
Buddhism Office says Thai Buddhists shouldn’t judge monks’ behaviour
The director of the National Buddhism Office says it’s not for Thai Buddhists to judge the behaviour of monks, which should be left to Buddhist councils. Instead, Thai Buddhists should continue to respect monks and refrain from judging them for their misdeeds. According to a Pattaya News report, Sippaworn Kaewngam says respect for Buddhist monks is a key component of…
- China News
Covid-19 restrictions to ease in Shanghai as authorities seek to revive economy
Officials in Shanghai are continuing to ease Covid restrictions following a harsh lockdown that confined residents to their homes for 2 months. According to a Reuters report, the authorities in the global financial hub have removed restrictions that prevented many businesses from operating, with measures being brought in to revive the decimated economy. Last month, in the midst of the…
- Tourism News
Thai government expects 1 million tourists per month by the end of the year
The Thai government has refuted the opposition’s claim that it is ignoring the plight of the country’s tourism sector. According to a Nation Thailand report, spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana says the government’s decision to cancel Test & Go has revived the tourism industry, with around 20,000 foreign arrivals now entering the kingdom each day. Thanakorn adds that if this trend continues,…
- Thailand News
Health ministry advises at-risk groups to self-monitor for monkeypox infection
Health officials in Thailand say that while no cases of the monkeypox virus have been detected in the kingdom, at-risk groups should remain vigilant. The Department of Disease Control reports that a patient, with a suspected case of monkeypox, recently tested negative. DDC chief Dr Opas Karnkawinpong says the patient was found to be infected with the herpes simplex virus…
- Tourism News
Japan lifts travel advisory for Thailand, 35 other countries
Japan has lifted a travel advisory for Thailand, which had requested that citizens avoid non-essential travel to the kingdom. A similar advisory was lifted for 35 other countries, including the UK, Canada, Hong Kong and the US. According to a Kyodo News report, Japan’s foreign ministry has downgraded Thailand and the other 35 nations from Level 2 to Level 1…
- Covid-19 News
Health officials call for more elderly Thais to get their Covid-19 boosters
According to the Department of Disease Control, around 6 million elderly Thais have yet to receive a booster dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. Dr. Taweesap Siraprapasiri says the reason for this is that people are either worried about potential side-effects or they feel they don’t need a booster. However, he adds that 43% of elderly people have received 3 doses,…
- Thailand News
Thailand prepares for monkeypox outbreak, asks WHO for smallpox vaccine supply
Thailand’s health minister has asked the World Health Organisation for help securing supplies of the smallpox vaccine, according to a Bangkok Post report. It’s understood the country wants to be prepared in the event of an outbreak of monkeypox. Health minister Anutin Charnvirakul made the request while in talks with WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus at the recent 75th World…
- Covid-19 News
Government urges bars, nightlife venues to remain safe on re-opening
The Thai government is warning nightlife operators to remain safe and to continue to adhere to Covid-19 prevention measures once they re-open next month. The warning comes following a meeting of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration last Friday, when it was agreed that nightlife in designated parts of the country could re-open. The businesses in question include bars, nightclubs,…
- Phuket News
Thai officials say out-of-order tsunami buoys will be fixed soon
Thailand’s Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department has admitted that 2 tsunami detection buoys are out of order, but insists they will be repaired soon. The department was forced to issue a statement following widely-shared news on social media that the buoys were out of order. According to the reports, both buoys had stopped submitting information to the National Data Buoy…
- Phuket News
Things looking up in Phuket following return of international tourism
Provincial officials on the southern island of Phuket say the return of tourists has raised income levels and created more jobs. According to a Bangkok Post report, the return of international tourists has started to revive the island’s economy and reduced unemployment across Phuket. Data shared by Phuket governor, Narong Wunciew, reveals that since the launch of the Phuket sandbox…
- Covid-19 News
Government says the WHO will use Thailand as a role model for Covid-19 management
The Thai government is patting itself on the back again, with a spokesperson saying officials have been praised by the World Health Organisation. Traisuree Taisaranakul says the administration has been cited as a “role model” for its management of the Covid-19 pandemic. She was speaking after a meeting between the health minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghrebreyesus, and…
- Covid-19 News
Health ministry clarifies lifting of mask mandate in “designated areas only”
Not so fast, says the Public Health Ministry, responding to news that Thailand’s mask mandate could be lifted next month. Dr Kiattiphum Wongrajit has issued a clarification that this could apply in certain areas only. According to Kiattiphum, Thailand’s Covid-19 situation has improved quicker than expected and officials believe the virus can be downgraded to endemic as planned. At that…
- Crime News
Thai nurse arrested for conning the public out of millions of baht in flu vaccine scam
A Thai nurse has been arrested, accused of defrauding the public in a flu vaccine scam that netted millions of baht. According to media reports, 38-year-old Thonglim Jitpeng was arrested in the Bang Na district of Bangkok. She has denied the charges against her. According to reports, Thonglim ran a business selling hand sanitiser during the pandemic, which enabled her…
- Politics News
Government says PM listening to concerns over draft law on public gatherings, NGO funding
The Thai PM is paying attention to, and welcomes, the opinions of those opposed to a draft law on NGO funding and public gatherings. So says deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam, according to a report in the Bangkok Post today. Wissanu says Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered the Social Development and Human Security Ministry to compile a list of objections to the…
- Central Thailand News
Policeman suspended after kicking, stomping on 2 handcuffed teenagers
A police officer at Sam Phran station in the central province of Nakhon Pathom has been suspended after video footage emerged of him and another officer assaulting 2 teenagers. According to a Bangkok Post report, both victims were handcuffed at the time and the video footage shows they were on the ground. Chaiyapoj Khotsamrarn, deputy crime suppression chief at Sam…
- World News
19 children, 2 teachers killed as gunman opens fire at primary school in Texas
The death toll in this tragic mass shooting may rise. We will update the story through the day. 19 young children and 2 teachers have been shot dead at another school shooting in the US, this time at a primary school in the state of Texas. According to an AFP report, an 18 year old gunman entered the school, in…
- Phuket News
Cruise ships set to return to Phuket for first time since pandemic
All aboard! The southern Thai island of Phuket is set to welcome back the cruise ships, for the first time since the start of the Covid pandemic. According to a Bangkok Post report, the Spectrum of the Seas will dock in Phuket next month. Pichet Songtan from the Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre Region 3 says officials have given the…
- World News
Fire on Philippines ferry kills 7 passengers, 120 rescued, 7 still missing
A fire on a passenger ferry in the Philippines has left 7 people dead, with another 7 still missing. According to an AFP report, 120 have been rescued so far. The fire broke out on the Mercraft 2 at around 6.30am local time yesterday (5.30am Thai time). The ferry, which has a 186-passenger capacity, was transporting 134 passengers and crew…
- Tourism News
Thai tourism officials aiming for 50% hotel occupancy rate this year
Tourism officials in Thailand have set a target of 50% hotel occupancy this year, in order to revive the tourism sector, following a further easing of restrictions from June 1. According to Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, hotel occupancy dropped to 29% during 2020 and then plunged to 14% in 2021. It needs to climb back…
- Thailand News
NGO representatives gather at UN in Bangkok to protest draft control law
Representatives of various non-profit organisations have gathered at the United Nations’ headquarters in Bangkok to oppose a draft law being considered by the government. Under the law, the government would have more control over public gatherings and be able to monitor the financial transactions of NGOs. A group of non-profit organisations are calling for the draft law to be ditched,…
- Covid-19 News
Changes to Thailand’s Covid-19 restrictions to take effect June 1
From next month, a number of Covid-19 restrictions will be eased in Thailand, although in the case of some rules, it will vary by province. Nation Thailand reports that at the latest meeting of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, it was agreed to categorise all provinces as either yellow (highest surveillance), blue (tourist zones) and green (low surveillance). There…
- Thailand Weather Updates
Flooding situation worsening in Chiang Rai, waters recede in Chiang Mai
The flooding situation in easing in the northern province of Chiang Mai, but getting worse in neighbouring Chiang Rai. That’s according to a Thai PBS World report, which says the levels in several Chiang Rai waterways have been rising steadily since yesterday, as a result of heavy rain on Saturday. The Chan River has burst its banks in Chiang Rai’s…
- Thailand News
Thai education minister says teachers have no right to cut students’ hair
Thailand’s education minister has confirmed that teachers are not entitled to cut students’ hair as some form of punishment for violating the rules on hair styles. Trinuch Thienthong says her ministry has no such regulation and that teachers have no right to cut students’ hair in a manner that leaves them humiliated. She goes on to say there are ministerial…
- Business News
Uncertainty hangs over Bangkok-Betong route as Nok Air considers its options
Nok Air’s flights between Bangkok and Betong, in the southernmost province of Yala, could be in jeopardy, as the carrier considers its options. The struggling low-cost airline is incurring financial losses on the Don Mueang to Betong route, according to Nok Air CEO, Wutthiphum Jurangkool. According to a Bangkok Post report, the airline expects losses to reach 40 million baht…
- Covid-19 News
Thai deputy health minister expects Covid-19 to be over by the end of the year
Thailand’s deputy health minister says he hopes to see an end to Covid-19 by the end of this year, despite the risk of new variants. Satit Pitutecha made his prediction yesterday, saying Thailand is proceeding with its plan to declare the virus endemic. The World Health Organisation has yet to make any recommendation on according the virus endemic status. According…
- World News
Former US president George W Bush accidentally refers to “unjustified” war in Iraq
Doh! Is this the Freudian slip to beat all Freudian slips? Former US President George W Bush has accidentally referred to the invasion of Iraq as “brutal” and “unjustified”. The former US president was discussing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but instead of saying Ukraine, the wrong country’s name slipped out. He swiftly corrected himself, shaking his head while the audience…
