Tanutam Thawan
- World News
Last surviving Khmer Rouge leader denies role in Cambodia genocide
The last former leader of the radical communist Khmer Rouge regime is denying charges of genocide. The Khmer Rouge brutally ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979 and led to the death of around 2 million people. Some were killed in mass executions by the Khmer Rouge and some were tortured to death. Others died while they were forced to work…
- World News
Biden stands by decision to withdraw troops, says no leaving without ‘chaos ensuing’
Following Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan’s capital Kabul with thousands now trying to evacuate the country, US President Joe Biden sat down with an ABC News reporter for a one-on-one interview, standing by the decision to withdraw US troops after occupying the area for two decades. While acknowledging that he was stunned by the swift takeover of the US-backed Afghan government,…
- Bangkok News
Protester in a coma, police say riot officers used rubber bullets
Police deny claims that live ammunition was shot at protesters last night outside Bangkok’s Din Daeng police station. A young protester was reportedly shot in the neck and critically injured outside the station, but officers held a press conference outside the Metropolitan Police Bureau today and said only rubber bullets were used to control the crowd. The protester, who has yet…
- Thailand Protest News
Protester shot outside Bangkok police station, in critical condition
A young protester was shot in the neck by police and said to be in critical condition, according to reports in Thai media. The protester was not identified. Reports say the young man appears to be around 20 years old. Monday’s protest started at Victory Monument in Bangkok and then moved to the Government House where police used tear gas…
- Northern Thailand News
560 kilograms of cannabis packaged for delivery seized by officers in Northeast
Officers in the Mekong Riverine Unit seized 560 kilograms of dried cannabis and arrested four people in the Isaan province Nakhon Phanom, bordering Laos. Some of the marijuana had been packaged and was ready to be sent out by a delivery service while other 404 kilograms of marijuana was found along the Mekong riverbank. A team from the unit searched…
- Thailand News
Police ‘ready’ to investigate Thailand arms dealer in plot to kill Myanmar UN envoy
Following the arrest of two Burmese men in the US who were allegedly working with an arms dealer in Thailand to attack, and potentially kill, Myanmar’s ambassador to the United Nations, the Royal Thai Police are preparing to assist in the investigation. The deputy spokesperson for the Thai police told reporters that the US has not contacted them, but they…
- South Thailand News
Rubber plantation workers severely injured, man’s leg blown off after stepping on bomb
A man’s leg was blown off in a bomb explosion while he was working in a rubber plantation in Narathiwat, a province in Thailand’s Deep South near the Malaysia border where small bombings and attacks happen occasionally due to the religious separatist insurgency. A woman’s face was also injured in the explosion. The two were working in the rubber plantation…
- Phuket News
PM calls for expedited probe into “Sandbox” traveller’s death; victim’s timeline released
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha ordered authorities to expedite the investigation into the case of the Swiss government official who was found dead, possibly raped and murdered, in a creek in Phuket after entering Thailand under the island’s new “Sandbox” reopening scheme. Thailand’s national police chief Suwat Jangyodsuk has flown down to Phuket and is now investigating the case along with detectives…
- Pattaya News
Former local school official in Chon Buri found dead, neck slashed
A former deputy school director was found nearly decapitated outside her home in Chon Buri’s Panat Nikhom district. Officers say the 61 year old Jantanee Santitammakorn was dead when emergency responders arrived. Her neck had been slashed several times and there was heavy bleeding. Her husband told police that he had been out running errands and had tried to call…
- Phuket News
Body of Swiss national in Phuket identified as foreign government official
Officers have announced the identity of the Swiss national who was found dead in a Phuket creek as 57 year old Nicole Sauvain Weisskopf, a woman who entered Thailand last month under the new “Sandbox” reopening scheme. According to the Bangkok Post, Nicole is the assistant protocol chief of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland. Another report in Thai media says…
- Thailand News
Bangkok closure order extended until August 31
Numerous businesses and venues in Bangkok will be closed at least until the end of the month. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration extended its closure order on non-essential businesses, places and venues until August 31. The closure order is in addition to the disease control measures set by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Under the Emergency Decree, provincial governments can…
- Crime News
Expat arrested on drug charges allegedly claims to be a local “Robin Hood”
A British national arrested in Chiang Mai for allegedly selling drugs apparently claims to be a local “Robin Hood,” using money he obtained from the rich through illegal acts to give to those in need. Reports in Thai media say the man claims to have spent 1 million baht to buy things for children and villagers who have been affected…
- Crime News
Phuket police arrest 2 men and seize more than 160,000 methamphetamine pills
Police in Phuket arrested two men on drug charges and seized more than 160,000 methamphetamine pills. Officers from the Tha Chatchai station searched a two-storey home in Mai Khao and found thousands of methamphetamine tablets, known by the Thai street name “ya ba,” which translates to “crazy drug.” Officers say they found 60 orange pills which were branded with the…
- Transport News
Transport Company announces bus services are suspended until August 31
The state-run Transport Company announced that all interprovincial bus services will be suspended until the end of the month. Under the recent order imposed by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, interprovincial public transportation out of the 29 “dark red” zones, including Bangkok, is not allowed. The CCSA’s order is in effect until August 16, but a spokesperson says the…
- South Thailand News
Volunteer ranger killed in grenade attack by suspected insurgents
A volunteer ranger was killed in a grenade attack by suspected insurgents at a Thai army camp in Narathiwat, a province in Thailand’s Deep South near the Malaysian border with ongoing violence related to the religious separatist insurgency. Four soldiers at the makeshift base were injured in the attack. The army set up a small camp along the Sungai Kolok…
- Pattaya News
Chon Buri sets local order, restaurants in malls to only offer food for delivery
In response to the uptick in Covid-19 cases in Chon Buri, with many clusters found in shopping centres, the provincial government imposed local orders focused on stores and restaurants in malls. Restaurants, cafes and eateries in shopping centres and department stores can open for delivery service, according to both the order by the provincial government and the Centre for Covid-19…
- Phuket News
Phuket bans alcohol sales at restaurants, issues order amid rise of Covid cases
The ban on alcohol sales and consumption at restaurants has been reimposed in Phuket and will be in place until at least August 16. Certain “social activities,” like parties at public places, are also now prohibited for the next two weeks. The order, Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew yesterday, could be extended longer if the Covid-19 situation does not improve. Phuket…
- South Thailand News
Suspected insurgent wanted for murder killed by forces in Pattani
A suspected insurgent wanted on murder and numerous other charges was killed in a clash by security forces in the Deep South province Pattani near the Malaysian border, an area prone to violence due to the ongoing religious separatist insurgency. A Thai government unit had surrounded a home on a rubber plantation in Nong Chik district suspected of being used by…
- Thailand News
Phang Nga reopening and “Phuket Sandbox” island hop extensions postponed
The Phang Nga’s reopening to travellers from overseas has been postponed until August 15, and the “7+7 Island Hopping” extension to the “Phuket Sandbox,” which includes a sealed route to Phang Nga, has been postponed indefinitely. The province’s reopening to foreign tourists under the “Phang Nga Prompt” campaign was initially set for August 1, but the scheme has not yet…
- Crime News
Teenagers arrested for allegedly running underage prostitution racket
Two teenagers were arrested for allegedly running a prostitution racket where underage girls would provide sexual services. The 16 year old and the 19 year old were arrested at a hotel in Kanchanaburi’s Muang district by a task force investigating human trafficking. Officers also say they rescued two 15 year olds who were at the hotel and were hired to…
- Covid-19 News
CCSA considers extending restrictions in “dark red” zones for another 14 days
With Covid-19 cases hitting record highs, despite the strict disease control measures in place, the Thai government is considering extending the current order in the 13 “dark red” provinces, including Bangkok, for another two weeks. Yesterday, Thailand had hit record highs of both daily Covid cases and fatalities with 17,669 new cases and 165 coronavirus-related deaths. The order imposing nightly…
- Bangkok News
Sleeper trains in Bangkok to become isolation facilities for Covid-19 patients
Sleeper trains in Bangkok are being converted into isolation facilities for Covid-19 patients who are waiting for a hospital bed to become available. With the surge of Covid-19 cases, today hitting a record high of 17,669 new cases, hospitals in Bangkok, the epicentre of infections, have run low on beds to treat patients infected with the coronavirus. At Bang Sue…
- Pattaya News
Planning for “Pattaya Move On” reopening scheme continues
Despite the high Covid-19 infection rate in Chon Buri, planning for the “Pattaya Move On” reopening programme will continue. With the ongoing spread of the virus and the emergence of the highly transmissible Delta variant, infecting more than 500,000 people in Thailand over the past several months, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has been considering whether to postpone the reopening…
- Crime News
Marine police seize 30 kilograms of methamphetmine from squid fishing boat
Marine police seized 30 kilograms of methamphetamine from a squid fishing boat drifting between Koh Tarutao off Thailand’s Satun coast and Malaysia’s Langkawi Island. One person was on the boat. The man, who is a Satun resident, was detained and taken to the mainland for interrogation. Reports do not say what charges the man faces. Officers were dispatched to Koh…
- Thailand News
Thousands of inmates granted royal pardon on HM the King’s birthday
On his 69th birthday, HM the King granted a royal pardon to more than 200,000 prison inmates and convicts on house arrest. 35,000 of them from 143 prisons will be released on parole while prison sentences for the others will be reduced. Under the 2021 Royal Pardon Royal Decree imposed today, pardons will be granted within the next 120 days,…
- Covid-19 News
Girls infected with Covid after mother dies at home; public criticises healthcare system
The story of the two Thai girls who woke up to find their 44 year old mother dead in their bedroom, possibly due to Covid-19, grabbed public attention and shed light on the death toll of the current wave of cases where more than 4,000 people infected with the virus have died. Medical examiners have not declared the Apaporn Suntarachon’s…
- Phuket News
“Phuket Sandbox” still on, provincial restrictions set after uptick in Covid-19
The “Phuket Sandbox” is still on, but the uptick in coronavirus infections pose a threat to the tourism experiment. Before the July 1 reopening, the government said it would reconsider the travel scheme if cases exceeded 90 Covid-19 infections. Over the past week, the island reported 125 new infections. With the weekly case count exceeding the government’s threshold, new restrictions…
- Crime News
Hong Kong officials seize 61 kilograms of heroin shipped from Bangkok
Hong Kong customs officials seized 61 kilograms of heroin found hidden in instant rice vermicelli seasoning packets in a shipment from Bangkok. Following up on orders to work with foreign agencies on drug trafficking, the Office of the Narcotics Control Board is requesting more information from Hong Kong authorities on the case. Customs officials in Hong Kong seized the drugs…
- World News
Myanmar’s economy to shrink by 18% due to military coup and Covid-19
The civil unrest following the February military coup, paired with the a spike in Covid-19 infections, is expected to cause Myanmar’s economy to contract by 18% this year, according to the World Bank. Since the military takeover, ousting the country’s elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi of the National League for Democracy, it’s estimated that more than 900 people have been killed…
- World News
Singapore plans to vaccinate 80%, reopen with quarantine-free travel by September
Singapore plans to fully vaccinate 80% of the population and reopen with quarantine-free travel in September. As the Southeast Asian country accelerates its vaccination campaign to hit its target within the next month, officials are preparing to reopen the country and are working to establish travel corridors with countries that have low Covid-19 infection rates. Finance Minister Lawrence Wong told…
