Neill Fronde

Neill is a journalist from the United States with 10+ years broadcasting experience and national news and magazine publications. He graduated with a degree in journalism and communications from the University of California and has been living in Thailand since 2014.
  • Tourism NewsFlights returning to Asia with airlines launching routes and sales

    Flights returning to Asia with airlines launching routes and sales

    With Covid-19 restrictions and international border closures finally starting to ease around Asia, airlines in the region are prepping for their resurgence, relaunching their flights and promoting with sale fares. Domestic flights have been increasing in Thailand and travel agencies are reporting growing interest now that countries such as Vietnam and Malaysia are allowing domestic flying to resume as well.…

  • Covid-19 NewsDDC reports 500,000 vaccines for students without incident

    DDC reports 500,000 vaccines for students without incident

    After nearly 500,000 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines have been administered in the drive to inoculate students aged 12 to 18 years old, the Department of Disease Control reports that there have been no reports of severe side effects. The reassurance comes as fake news has been spreading through a viral LINE post claiming, among other things, that the vaccination drive is an…

  • Covid-19 NewsPattani Covid-19 spike fills nearly all field hospital beds

    Pattani Covid-19 spike fills nearly all field hospital beds

    In the Deep South province of Pattani, health officials are reporting that field hospital beds are about full with 4,000 patients in care as Covid-19 numbers surge in the region. The Pattani Provincial Public Health Office is racing to create community isolation treatment centres to house up to 10,000 patients as Covid-19 infections continue to mount. The region is imposing…

  • South Thailand NewsCovid-19 in Southern provinces prompts Songkhla checkpoints

    Covid-19 in Southern provinces prompts Songkhla checkpoints

    As Thailand’s Deep South faces surges in Covid-19 infections, people crossing from the three southern border provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, and Yala will face checkpoints when crossing into Songkhla. The checkpoints will stop travellers crossing the southern provincial border to do random Covid-19 screening. Pattani recorded 566 new Covid-19 infections yesterday, the most cases out of the southern provinces, and…

  • Thailand NewsRemembrances of King Rama IX held at Siriraj Hospital, Rajabopit Temple

    Remembrances of King Rama IX held at Siriraj Hospital, Rajabopit Temple

    Today marks the fifth anniversary of the death of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej (also known as King Rama IX), Thailand’s leader and the second-longest ruler of any country of all time. Across the nation, people are paying their respects to the much-loved previous King and commemorating the anniversary of his death. The dean of the Faculty of Medicine at…

  • Thailand News2 Thai women arrested transporting 7 Burmese migrants

    2 Thai women arrested transporting 7 Burmese migrants

    At a checkpoint in Sangkhla Buri district in Kanchanaburi, 2 Thai women were arrested smuggling 7 Burmese migrants and a child, apparently attempting to transport them back to Myanmar. The stop took place at around 7 am this morning and the women were arrested in violation of provincial communicable disease committee orders to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Officials at…

  • World NewsKorea to donate 470,000 AstraZeneca vaccines to Thailand

    Korea to donate 470,000 AstraZeneca vaccines to Thailand

    The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency announced that it will donate nearly 1.6 million AstraZeneca vaccines combined to Thailand and Vietnam. The agency announced yesterday that South Korea will donate 470,000 vaccines to Thailand and 1.1 million vaccines to Vietnam. Korea is now managed to vaccinate nearly 80% of its population, about 41.6 million of its 52 million citizens.…

  • HealthCriteria for blood donation won’t relax to allow LGBTQ donations

    Criteria for blood donation won’t relax to allow LGBTQ donations

    Despite calls from equality activists, the National Blood Centre said that they will not relax blood donation criteria to allow donations from the LGBTQ community, particularly gay men. The statement made yesterday said that the centre was not ready to relax criteria for high-risk groups though they empathise with the LGBTQ community’s desire to help. It should be noted that…

  • Crime NewsMan blames 50 million baht of withdrawals on adopted daughter

    Man blames 50 million baht of withdrawals on adopted daughter

    A 77 year old businessman in Phitsanulok discovered that 50 million baht was missing from his bank account and has accused his adopted daughter of stealing it. The money is claimed to have disappeared from 6 bank accounts without the man’s knowledge and he has now asked the bank for detailed statements to identify when and how the money was…

  • EntertainmentThailand planning countdown event with Lalisa, Andrea Bocelli

    Thailand planning countdown event with Lalisa, Andrea Bocelli

    The Tourism Authority of Thailand is aiming to nab celebrity opera singer Andrea Bocelli and Thai-born K-Pop superstar Lalisa for a New Year’s Eve celebration after Thailand’s reopening. The plan is still pending but after PM Prayut Chan-o-cha announced a November 1 reopening, the TAT aims to put Thailand front and centre in global tourism interest again in part with…

  • Tourism NewsAnutin warns Nov 1 reopening could close again if Covid-19 surges

    Anutin warns Nov 1 reopening could close again if Covid-19 surges

    Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul may have dampened the excitement over Thailand’s November 1 reopening when he announced that it is possible that the country could close up its borders in the event of a serious Covid-19 outbreak. The announcement on Monday by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha that he had told the Ministry of Public Health and Centre for Covid-19…

  • Thailand Weather UpdatesCommunities around the Chao Phraya River see more flooding

    Communities around the Chao Phraya River see more flooding

    Around Thailand, riverside communities have been plagued with flooding as the high tides have raised water levels on the Chao Phraya River. In Nonthaburi and Pathum Thani, there are no floodwalls and residents are being warned against possible flooding again today. The Chao Phraya River will likely reach its highest level of the year with today’s high tide, bringing flooding…

  • Politics NewsNIDA poll calls for PM Prayut to quit, House dissolve, Cabinet reshuffle

    NIDA poll calls for PM Prayut to quit, House dissolve, Cabinet reshuffle

    With the upcoming election, a new poll from the National Institute of Development Administration found that 40% of people feel PM Prayut Chan-o-cha should announce he is quitting as prime minister by next August. The NIDA poll asked political opinions from 1,311 people of various occupations and educations levels nationwide by phone on October 5 to 8. The poll addressed…

  • Thailand Election NewsPolitical parties begin to name their nominees for prime minister

    Political parties begin to name their nominees for prime minister

    Names are beginning to be thrown around as each political party plans their nomination for the next prime minister of Thailand. The Palang Pracharath Party currently ruling have chosen to nominate current prime minister PM Prayut Chan-o-cha, who does not belong to a political party, instead of their own party leader, though rumours say they are preparing one or two…

  • Covid-19 NewsSunday Afternoon Covid-19 Update: news and provincial totals

    Sunday Afternoon Covid-19 Update: news and provincial totals

    Today, the CCSA reported 10,817 new Covid-19 infections, a change of +187 since yesterday, and 84 Coronavirus-related deaths, a change of +11 from yesterday. Since April 1, in the latest wave of the virus in Thailand, a total of 1,682,021 confirmed Covid-19 infections have been reported. Provincial Covid-19 totals can be found below. In the 24 hour period since the…

  • Tourism NewsNovember reopening to international tourists predicts 1.5 trillion baht

    November reopening to international tourists predicts 1.5 trillion baht

    Bangkok and areas in 4 key provinces are set to reopen on November 1 and the government is predicting that will lead to 1.5 trillion baht in tourism revenue for 2022. The goal is to open without quarantine restrictions for international tourists, barring any unforeseen surge in Covid-19 infections too dire to contain. A government spokesperson said that a total…

  • Thailand NewsThailand nabs many spots in Conde Nast Traveler’s annual list

    Thailand nabs many spots in Conde Nast Traveler’s annual list

    Despite the decimated tourism economy due to Covid-19, Conde Nast Traveler still ranks locations in Thailand amongst the top in the world in their annual Readers’ Choice Awards. Bangkok was ranked 9th in the world’s “Best Big Cities” while 3 of the top 10 islands of Asia were located in Thailand, and Hua Hin earned a nod for having the…

  • Covid-19 NewsHigh Covid-19 infections in the Deep South fuel lockdown fears

    High Covid-19 infections in the Deep South fuel lockdown fears

    The Deep South of Thailand, particularly Songkhla and Pattani, has seen a surge in Covid-19 infections, prompting calls for action and fears of lockdowns to come. Covid-19 clusters have been mainly centred in factories and businesses, with outbreaks traced to a wedding banquet and a barbecue restaurant, but some cases are still crossing provincial lines into the southern provinces. Chana,…

  • Covid-19 NewsSunday Covid-19 Update: 84 deaths, 10,817 new infections

    Sunday Covid-19 Update: 84 deaths, 10,817 new infections

    Today, the CCSA reported 10,817 new Covid-19 infections, a change of +187 since yesterday, and 84 Coronavirus-related deaths, a change of +11 from yesterday. Since April 1, in the latest wave of the virus in Thailand, a total of 1,682,021 confirmed Covid-19 infections have been reported. In the 24 hour period since the last count, the CCSA has reported 9,981…

  • Crime News2 foreign men arrested for stealing card data for ATM fraud

    2 foreign men arrested for stealing card data for ATM fraud

    A Romanian man and a Malaysian man have been arrested in Hua Hin for allegedly skimming data from hundreds of credit cards and using the card information to withdraw cash from ATMs in the Bangkok and Hua Hin area. The two men, aged 39 and 33 respectively, were arrested by investigators from the Immigration Bureau at a hotel in the…

  • Tourism NewsFTI warns Thailand must reopen to international tourists

    FTI warns Thailand must reopen to international tourists

    With such a long time since tourists were welcomed into Thailand, the Federation of Thai Industries fears that potential tourists may be wandering away from Thailand. The FTI chairman warned that the window may be closing to still attract these travellers. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, but as Thailand’s closure to most international travellers stretches to more…

  • Northern Thailand NewsFamily of man killed by Swiss man claims 300,000 baht missing

    Family of man killed by Swiss man claims 300,000 baht missing

    After a Swiss man beat an intruding Thai man to death claiming self-defence, the family of the deceased claimed it was not a robbery but rather a confrontation involving an affair with the Swiss man’s wife. Now the mother of the man who was beaten to death claims that nearly 300,000 baht went missing during the incident at the Swiss…

  • World NewsFacebook suffers second massive outage in one week

    Facebook suffers second massive outage in one week

    Facebook has had a rough week, with a massive outage just days ago, and a whistleblower claiming that Facebook knowingly put financial profits over the well-being of their users. And yesterday, the global social media giant faced another hours-long major outage on its platform. A spokesperson for Facebook confirmed that the site went through a system tweak that caused an…

  • Covid-19 NewsSaturday Afternoon Covid-19 Update: Provincial totals and news

    Saturday Afternoon Covid-19 Update: Provincial totals and news

    Today, the CCSA reported 10,630 new Covid-19 infections, a change of -510 since yesterday, and 73 Coronavirus-related deaths, a change of -43 from yesterday. Since April 1, in the latest wave of the virus in Thailand, a total of 1,671,204 confirmed Covid-19 infections have been reported. In the 24 hour period since the last count, the CCSA has reported 10,542…

  • Covid-19 NewsViral LINE post among students claims Pfizer vaccine is a killer

    Viral LINE post among students claims Pfizer vaccine is a killer

    A viral message by teenage groups being spread on the LINE application claiming that the Pfizer vaccination program for young people is a tool for committing genocide has been strongly condemned by the government. A campaign to vaccinate students between the ages of 12 and 17 with the Pfizer vaccine was put in place to safely reopen schools in November.…

  • Transport NewsCovid-19 restrictions eased: domestic flights can fly full

    Covid-19 restrictions eased: domestic flights can fly full

    The Ministry of Public Health says domestic airlines will have their capacity limits lifted and be allowed to fly full planes after the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration agreed to remove the limit. Until this new Covid-19 decree, flights were limited to 75% maximum capacity. The director for emergency health hazards and diseases warned that the easing of capacities does…

  • Covid-19 NewsSaturday Covid-19 Update: Death back under 100, cases down

    Saturday Covid-19 Update: Death back under 100, cases down

    Today, the CCSA reported 10,630 new Covid-19 infections, a change of -510 since yesterday, and 73 Coronavirus-related deaths, a change of -43 from yesterday. Since April 1, in the latest wave of the virus in Thailand, a total of 1,671,204 confirmed Covid-19 infections have been reported. In the 24 hour period since the last count, the CCSA has reported 10,542…

  • Thailand Weather UpdatesRestaurant goes viral as diners enjoy braving the floodwaters

    Restaurant goes viral as diners enjoy braving the floodwaters

    When life gives you lemons… A restaurant in Nonthaburi that had fallen victim to rising floodwaters along the Chao Phraya River turned a negative into a positive as videos went viral showing diners at the restaurant sitting at tables knee-deep in floodwaters. The Chao Phraya International Cafe in the Bangkok suburb Nonthaburi province had already been struggling with the effects…

  • Crime News16 million baht worth of knockoff clothing in Bangkok warehouse

    16 million baht worth of knockoff clothing in Bangkok warehouse

    A search of a business in southwestern Bangkok yesterday after a tip-off about low-quality knockoff goods being sold online led to the arrest of a Chinese man with 16 million baht of merchandise stored in his warehouse. The Economic Crime Division Police obtained a search warrant for a warehouse on Soi Sakaengam 39/2 in Bang Khun Thian and then raided…

  • Northern Thailand NewsPolice volunteer arrested for assault, abduction of estranged wife

    Police volunteer arrested for assault, abduction of estranged wife

    Last night police in Muang district of Buri Ram arrested a police volunteer accused of assault and abduction of his estranged wife after threatening her, handcuffing her and dragging her away from her relatives. While the woman was later set free, she suffered serious bruising on her body. The police volunteer is nicknamed Elephant and police picked him up at…