- World News
Vietnam strikes deal to manufacture vaccines, but which brand?
Covid-19 vaccines will now be manufactured in Vietnam, according to their Health Ministry, though they have not revealed which brand of vaccine will be produced. The announcement was made on Vietnam’s Health Ministry website yesterday with very little concrete information. The website originally mentioned Vingroup JSC as the company that will be manufacturing the vaccine in Vietnam, but all reference…
- Crime News
Motorbike thieves arrested after a million baht of bikes stolen
This week Pattaya Police arrested a group of motorbike thieves that they say are responsible for about a million baht worth of stolen bikes. The gang were arrested at a condo in Jomtien on Thursday afternoon by the Pattaya City Police Department. The raid captured 3 suspects, all between the ages of 22 and 23. The trio were nabbed after…
- Tourism News
300 tourism businesses given SHA Plus certification in Phuket
Part of the much-debated Phuket Sandbox reopening is guests must stay in SHA Plus-certified hotels, and the Tourism Authority of Thailand just gave certification for more than 300 tourism-related businesses on the island. The Amazing Thailand Safety and Health Administration Plus Certificate was presented to the businesses yesterday, and those establishments will now display the SHA Plus logo, assuring international…
- Northern Thailand News
Tropical storm Koguma brings heavy rain to North, Northeast
Tropical storm Koguma is heading towards the Northern and Northeastern region of Thailand and is expected to dump rain on the area over the next few days as it weakens. The storm was centred over the Tonkin Bay off the northern coast of Vietnam yesterday morning and has been heading moving west at about a 15 kilometre per hour. The…
- Crime News
Illegal casino operator accused of 4 charges including murder
A man who is alleged to have been running illegal casino operations is now facing indictment on 4 charges, including murder. The Crime Suppression Division has called for the charges to be filed against Somchai Jutikitdecha, the 56 year old suspect that goes by Longjoo Somchai. The CSD first arrested Longjoo back in February of 2020, accusing him of being…
- Thailand Weather Updates
Penis statue works as village sees rain after erection
Laugh and make jokes if you must (we certainly did!) but yesterday’s report on the village that erected a giant penis to bring rain has a, erm, happy ending. We’ll give you one guess on what the weather is like in the Yothaka sub-district of Chachoengsao province this weekend. If you guessed that the penis statue and rain blessing ceremony…
- Covid-19 News
Bangkok parks, salons, tattoo, massage reopen Monday
Does your dream day in Bangkok start with a manicure before viewing some great art or history, followed by a stroll through the park, maybe a quick neck tattoo before ending the day with a nice massage for your tired feet? If so, the restrictions in place for Covid-19 has had you sitting at home bored, waiting for everything to…
- Tourism News
Pattaya October reopening hampered by obstacles
Pattaya has been working on its reopening plan, aiming to bring back international tourism in the fourth quarter of 2021. Officials have launched the “Pattaya, Move on” scheme which aims to open back up the popular tourist city in October, but the Public Health Ministry disagrees with their plan so far. The goal is to reopen Pattaya without the need…
- Covid-19 News
Pfizer vaccine application received, review process begun
The Food and Drug Administration in Thailand is now processing the application for the Pfizer vaccine for domestic use against Covid-19. The secretary-general of the FDA says they have received the application from Pfizer Thailand and have begun the review process, taking the vaccine one step closer to use in Thailand. The government had just submitted an order of 20…
- Northern Thailand News
Covid-19 prevention leads to 14 arrests of longterm overstays
While attempting to curb the spread of Covid-19 through migrant workers and illegal immigrants, Immigration Police have arrested 14 foreigners with “egregious overstays”. Today’s announcement of the bust of 14 foreign nationals took place mostly in northeastern provinces. The Immigration Chief explained that officials at immigration have been proactive in seeking out people who entered Thailand illegally to prevent an…
- Thailand News
Red tape and restrictions suggest a slow Phuket reopening
With the rollercoaster ride of the Phuket Sandbox reopening scheme, some government officials remain mostly optimistic, while many others are scaling back predictions and expectations. A slow return of tourist to Phuket is forecast as the plan, which won’t be officially approved until just days before the scheduled reopening on July 1, is meeting with a fair amount of blowback…
- Phuket News
UPDATE: Tourism Minister reportedly says July 1 ‘sandbox’ won’t happen
UPDATE By the conclusion of a meeting in Phuket this afternoon the only confirmation was that the July 1 date for a re-opening of Thailand, via the Phuket sandbox was “still on”, according to Bill Barnett from c9hotelworks.com who attended the meeting. More details when they emerge. Bottomline, nothing is confirmed until the Thai Cabinet discusses the issue, probably Tuesday,…
- Thailand Weather Updates
Village need rain? Have you considered a giant penis?
Yothaka Subdistrict of Chachoengsao province is a fertile low river plain along the Nakhon Nayok River with rich agriculture. Since the residents there are heavily dependant on farming and therefore rain for their crops, locals in one village have a tradition to call in the rainy season by really using their (other) heads. Bringing new meaning to the phrase “member…
- Covid-19 News
8.3% of Thailand’s 50 million vaccine target reached so far
Thailand has set a goal of 50 million people vaccinated against Covid-19, and as of today, they have given at least one vaccine to 8.3% of that target. The spokesperson for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration announced that since beginning vaccinations in Thailand on February 28, 5.66 million injections have been administered. On Thursday, 223,315 vaccines were given around…
- Covid-19 News
Site launched for June 14 vaccine signup for all foreigners
The latest update on Thailand’s Covid-19 vaccine registration plans indicates that all foreigners can sign up online from June 14. The Thailand Intervac website seems to be constantly evolving and was first opened for diplomats on a specific URL and then for general foreigner signups on the main site, though hiccups and problems are often reported. The main site was…
- Covid-19 News
Free quarantine accommodation for arriving Thais to be cancelled
By the end of June, the government plans to phase out the state-provided free quarantine accommodation facilities for Thai nationals repatriating from abroad. Previously, the government was providing accommodation and medical care for all Thai people returning from other countries back to their homeland. Under a new proposal by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, starting July 1, state quarantine…
- Covid-19 News
Alpha variant of Covid-19 makes up 9 in 10 infections
The Department of Medical Sciences confirmed today that nearly 90% of all Covid-19 infections in Thailand are from the newly-labelled Alpha variant. The strain, previously known as the UK variant as it was first identified in the United Kingdom, was found in 88.48% of 4,185 cases that university labs studied between April and June, with 3,703 infections of the Alpha…
- Economy News
China arrests 1,100 in cryptocurrency money laundering bust
In what will only fuel perception in China that cryptocurrency is nothing more than a money laundering tool, security officials have arrested 1,100 people accused of using criminal profits to buy crypto. Chinese officials have been cracking down on cryptocurrency trade, which is banned in the country. The Ministry of Public Security in China says that Chinese police reportedly caught…
- Education
CCSA announces schools can reopen June 14 in most of Thailand
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration has announced today that schools all across Thailand will reopen for the new school year on June 14. In-person classes will resume throughout most of the nation, though in Bangkok and 3 surrounding provinces, all learning will be remote. After a meeting today, the CCSA announced the decision that they have given the go-ahead…
- World News
UN report: Myanmar could face mass starvation and death
A new United Nations report predicts the imminent threat of mass starvation and death in Myanmar due to the civil unrest after the military coup that has upended the country since February. The UN’s special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar issued the grave warning as the countries infrastructure collapses in the ongoing chaos of protestors and insurgents clashing with…
- Covid-19 News
TAT officially announces vaccine website for foreigners
The Tourism Authority of Thailand officially announced today a website for foreigners in Thailand to register for their Covid-19 vaccine. The site – ThailandIntervac.com – was launched in an updated format on Monday by the Ministry of Public Health and serves as a national registration site to supplement the individual registration processes each province in Thailand was tasked with creating.…
- World News
Burmese junta tells Doctors Without Borders to stop aid in Dawei
Thousands of lives have been placed in peril after the Burmese military junta currently controlling Myanmar commanded Doctors Without Borders to cease operation. The well-known medical charity famous for providing emergency healthcare worldwide regardless of geopolitical borders warns of the urgent danger of stopping care on thousands of HIV and tuberculosis patients. Yesterday the junta order that all medical charity…
- World News
BTS meal closes Indonesian McDonald’s amid Covid-19 fears
McDonald’s in Indonesia was the site of a BTS-inspired frenzy that forced them to close at least 13 stores for fears of a Covid-19 outbreak. The world-famous Korean Pop band partnered with the world-famous American burger joint to make a BTS meal deal that had rabid K-Pop fans swarming the restaurants. After yesterday’s release of the BTS meal deal, 5…
- Covid-19 News
12 deaths after vaccination not linked to Covid-19 vaccine
Results are still pending on 16 cases, but investigations on 12 people who died after receiving a Covid-19 vaccine were concluded, finding their deaths to be coincidental. The Department of Disease Control said yesterday that the Covid-19 vaccine was not the cause of death in these 12 cases. The director for emergency health hazards and disease within the DDC reported…
- Covid-19 News
Hi-So accused of dressing as taxi drivers to get vaccine
After the Titanic sunk, rumours circulated that a man dressed as a woman to sneak about a lifeboat. While the rumour has never been proven as is mostly regarded as false, Bangkok Hi-So elites are being accused of a similar immoral disguise. Thai authorities say they will prosecute anyone, wealthy or otherwise, who is found dressing up as motorbike taxi…
- Tourism News
Tourism Authority of Thailand predicts 3 million tourists in 2021
In their ever-optimistic estimations, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has announced that they are aiming for 3 million foreign tourists visiting this year. The number seems ambitious as it’s only a 25% reduction from the TAT’s earlier projection in April of 4 million visitors, just before the onset of the massive and pervasive third wave of Covid-19 that brought Thailand…
- Economy News
2.25 billion baht approved for hiring 10,000 graduates
2.25 billion baht was approved yesterday by the Cabinet for the hiring of 10,000 new university graduates for a year in order to help economically struggling people during Covid-19. The money will come from an emergency fund from the central budget established to deal with the global pandemic. 28 state agencies will be responsible for hiring these 10,000 new employees…
- Covid-19 News
So expats can get vaccines in the rollout. But… how?
With mass vaccination finally underway, one demographic hangs in an uncertain balance for vaccines more than any other: Thailand’s 3 million expats. After months of back and forth with foreigners being told they will get vaccines, then they wouldn’t, then they’d have to pay, then they’d have to wait until after all Thais, and finally that all expats would be…
- Politics News
PM’s brother Preecha investigated by Anti-Corruption body
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s younger brother is in hot water with the National Anti-Corruption Commission charging Senator Preecha Chan-o-cha with concealing assets. The NACC voted unanimously on acknowledging the charge and serving notice to the PM’s sibling on these allegations. The younger Chan-o-cha was a member of the parliamentary body the National Legislative Assembly between 2014 and 2019, and is accused…
- Tourism News
Thai Airways to fly 5 Phuket routes to Europe
With several airlines in the Middle East announcing July 1 reopenings of flights to Phuket, Thai Airways has finally announced plans to fly in and out of the island from Europe. As the Phuket Sandbox plan climbs closer and closer to being officially approved, airlines are scheduling flights. Now Thai Airways has announced direct flights from 5 European cities beginning…
