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Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.
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Trial Covid-19 vaccine shows promising results – VIDEO
US biotech firm Moderna announced yesterday that its trial vaccine, the first to be tested on humans, appears to be safe and able to stimulate an immune response against Covid-19 infection, offering a glimmer of hope in the ongoing battle to contain the pandemic. (Interview with trial patient below) The initial findings, from the first 8 people to receive 2…
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Thailand’s new Covid-19 cases – May 19
Today Dr Taweesilp Visanuyothin, spokesman of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, reported 2 additional cases of Covid-19 bringing the total number of cases in Thailand to 3,033. No further deaths have been confirmed today, leaving the accumulated toll at 56. No additional patients were discharged from hospital in the past 24 hours, leaving the number of recovered patients at 2,857 cases. The…
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University lecturers suspended over sexual assault allegations
Two Isaan university lecturers have been suspended following sexual assault allegations The 47 year old male lecturer was accused of sexually abusing his own children – a 9 year old girl and a 7 year old boy, allegedly on several occasions. The man has been charged with statutory child rape, according to the Bangkok Post. The man was accused by his…
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Mother leaves newborn in north east forest after giving birth
A newborn baby was found in an Isaan forest recently. Thai news reports say that the baby was covered in blood with the umbilical cord still attached. Luckily, the baby survived and is now in the care of a local hospital. A villager found the newborn while walking through the forest in the Nakhon Ratchasima province, north east Thailand, and…
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Global recovery unlikely to happen next year – IMF
The head of the International Monetary Fund says the global economy is going to take longer than initially thought to recover fully from the shock caused by the Covid-19 coronavirus. She’s also warning against the danger of protectionism. Kristalina Georgieva says the Fund is likely to revise its forecast for a 3% contraction in GDP in 2020 downward, but gave…
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Hotels across Thailand angered by European tour group’s failure to pay up
Around 173 Thai hotels are appealing to the PM for help after a European tour group reneged on up to 2 billion baht in unpaid bills. Daily News reports that the TUI tour group has left hotels in Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi and Surat Thani struggling with significant cash flow problems after trying to renegotiate its contract so that it would…
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Push for chemical castration punishment for Thailand’s convicted sex offenders
What’s the proper punishment for those convicted of rape? Some Thai officials say prison time is not enough and are pushing for chemical castration of convicted offenders. The House committee tackling the country’s rape problem made more calls for a chemical castration law. Back in December, Justice Minister Somsak Thepsutin said he supported the proposed law. “The issue of sexual abuse…
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Thai GDP drops nearly 2% in first quarter
The Thai economy’s slumped by nearly 2% year-on-year during Q1, 2020. In it’s full-year forecast, the National Economic and Social Development Council forecasts that the Thai GDP would drop 5-6% for the year. As a comparison, the economy tanked 7.6% during the 1997 financial crisis. The Gross Domestic Product in Q1 dropped by 1.8%, compared to a rise of 1.5% in the…
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Effectiveness of government contact tracing app called into question
As shopping centres around Thailand re-open for business, questions are being asked about the effectiveness of the contact-tracing procedures rolled out by the government. Most shoppers are now required to register their presence by providing their phone number each time they enter or leave a mall or store. Sometimes manually by a shop assistant physically writing down your phone number…
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Thai company steps up to ease condom shortage
A shortage of condoms is one thing. A shortage of condoms while people around the world are stuck at home is another. Since a top condom manufacturer in Malaysia halted production due to the coronavirus pandemic, a Thai company is now stepping up to fill the gap. Thai Nippon Rubber Industry, the country’s biggest condom manufacturer, is increasing production by…
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Thai Airways files for bankruptcy protection
Despite Thai Airways issuing a press statement and taking to social media to deny rumours it intends to file for bankruptcy, various media reports appear to confirm the struggling carrier will file for Chapter 3/1 of the Corporate Reorganisation section of the Bankruptcy Act. This is the Thai equivalent of Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US. TTR Weekly reports that…
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“Off the charts” – biggest drug seizure in decades
“Truly off-the-charts.” That was the assessment of Jeremy Douglas from the UN Office of Drugs and Crime talking about a major drug seizure in Myanmar’s northern Shan state. How off the charts? Authorities seized 200 million methamphetamine tablets (yaba), more than 500 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine (ice), and 35.5 tonnes and 163,000 thousand litres of precursor chemicals used to manufacture…
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Thailand News Today – Monday, May 18
Click here to watch….. https://youtu.be/5NnXB4l03Cs Thailand’s Covid-19 numbers, 2 from Bangkok, one in Phuket 3 new cases of the coronavirus have been announced in Thailand today, bringing the total cases to 3,031. No additional deaths were recorded, leaving the accumulated toll at 56. Of the 3 new cases reported, two were a man and a woman in Nonthaburi province (north…
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Registration steps for travel to or from Phuket
Although Phuket is still trying to maintain strict measures to control the spread of the Coronavirus and the island is still under a modified lock down. According to local Thai media you can apply to enter or leave the island with 2 methods of registration, Thai or foreigner. OPTION ONE. Departures from other provinces, travelling to Phuket, or people living…
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Parents believe murdered Mukdahan girl was killed by a local
The body of 3 year old girl, missing since Monday, was found naked and apparently strangled in a forest in the northeastern province of Mukdahan on Thursday. Now her parents believe their daughter was killed by a local villager. “Nong Chompoo’’ Wongsricha went missing on May 10. After a massive search involving some 500 officers and volunteers, police in Dong…
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Robbers stole 1.05 million baht in cash from a Chiang Rai bank
Today at 10am Police in Chiang Saen district Chiang Rai (which borders Myanmar and Laos on the so-called Golden Triangle), were notified that a pair of robbers had stolen 1.05 million baht from the local Krungthai Bank. Police authorities are currently chasing down the 2 suspects who pulled off the daring daylight robbery on the bank. Both suspects were dressed in…
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Woman accidentally shot during father-son fight in Nakhon Si Thammarat
A man accidentally shot and killed his daughter-in-law during a fight with his son last night in southern Thailand. After a heated argument around 7:30 pm Sunday, a father got out a shotgun to shoot his son, but the trigger failed, Thai media reports. The son, 33 year old Niran Rakkaew, then tried to grab the in the gun from his…
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Phuket woman shot in her bed, ex-husband wanted
A young woman was shot at while she was asleep in her bed early yesterday morning in Thepkrasattri, central Thalang district. Her ex-husband is currently a prime suspect. 23 year old Duenphen Waree was targeted around 5:50am Sunday at her home in Thepkrasattri, Phuket, according to a report from Thalang Police. Waree’s mother woke up from the sound of 5 gun…
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Tesco addressing migrant worker abuse at Thailand distribution centres
Migrant workers at Tesco’s distribution centres in Thailand are being abused, according to an annual modern slavery statement from the UK-based company. Out of 187 migrant workers interviewed in Thailand, many had issues with unexplained and illegal wage reductions, excessive overtime hours, indebtedness through recruitment fees. Migrant workers at Tesco’s distribution centres in Malaysia had similar problems. Last year, Tesco reported migrant workers…
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Thailand’s Covid-19 numbers, 2 from Bangkok, one in Phuket
Today at his daily press conference, spokesperson Dr. Taweesilp Visanuyothin reported 3 new cases of the coronavirus in Thailand, bringing the total cases to 3,031. No additional deaths were recorded, leaving the accumulated toll at 56. Dr. Taweesilp reveals that of the new cases 3 cases reported, two were a man and a woman in Nonthaburi province (north west of capital)…
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250 Thai citizens repatriating from UK and Ireland today
The Royal Thai Embassy in London has confirmed that 250 Thai nationals are to be repatriated from the UK and Ireland today. The UK has recorded Europe’s highest number of deaths from the Covid-19 virus, currently standing at 34,636. Nation Thailand reports that once the returning citizens arrive in Bangkok, they will be required to enter a 14 day mandatory quarantine…
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Dengue fever on the rise in Isaan
While the country is slowly getting a handle on containing the coronavirus pandemic, the Isaan region is tackling a bout of dengue fever. There’s been a rise of the mosquito-borne illness in Nakhon Ratchasima with 737 cases. Local health volunteers have ramped up initiatives to prevent the further spread of the disease. Abate sand granules are being used to kill mosquito…
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Survey shows Thai citizens facing crippling hardship due to Covid-19
A new poll carried out by a team from Bangkok’s Suan Dusit Rajabhat University proves what most already know: Thai people are facing unprecedented financial hardship as a result of the lockdowns associated with the Covid-19 virus. A quarter of respondents say they have fallen into debt. The Bangkok Post reports that people are struggling due to a combination of…
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Hot in the north, wet in the south, cyclone in the Bay of Bengal
Hot conditions, along with thunderstorms and gusty winds, are the feature of weather in the north east and eastern regions over the next few days. There will also be some additional wet weather for southern provinces on the west coast, due to the extensive storm system, which has now been named Cyclone Amphan, in the north part of the Bay…
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African Horse Sickness spreads in the north east, death toll passes 500
The outbreak of African Horse Sickness, or African Plague, that emerged in Pak Chong district of Nakhon Ratchasima recently, has killed well over 500 horses and now spread to neighbouring Saraburi province. At least recent 28 horse deaths in Saraburi are attributed to AHS, a highly infectious and deadly disease, according to Saraburi Livestock Development officials. The department vaccinated horses…
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Phi Phi’s Maya Bay won’t reopen until fully rehabilitated
Maya Bay, Krabi’s main tourist attraction since it was featured in the 2000 Leonardo DiCaprio film ‘The Beach’, will remain closed as natural rehabilitation of the beach and bay continues, after vast areas of coral were destroyed by excess tourism and boat traffic. Indefinitely. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment says that in future boats will not be allowed…
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Nakhon Si Thammarat gangster arrested over murder of wife’s lover
Police in the southern Thai province of Nakhon Si Thammarat have arrested a 32 year old local gangster and drug dealer for the murder of a 41 year old criminal associate last Tuesday. The incident took place in the evening, on the side of the road in the Klai sub-district of Tha Sala district. They identified the suspect as Sunathorn…
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Southern provinces face heavy rains from Cyclone Amphan
The Thai Meteorological Department said in its bulletin today that Thailand’s 6 southern provinces on the west coast, are expected to experience heavy rains, from tomorrow until Wednesday, due to the influence of developing Cyclone Amphan. While the storm won’t make landfall in Thailand, it is currently battering India as it barrels northward through the Bay of Bengal. “The cyclone…
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Pattaya motorbike taxi breaks through curfew checkpoint – VIDEO
A motorbike taxi in Pattaya broke through a police curfew checkpoint at around 10:30pm Friday. Though the curfew has now been adjusted to 11pm, at the time both the driver and his foreign passenger were in violation. The incident led to a police chase that was caught on video: Officers pursued the pair before arresting them on Sukhumwit Road. They…
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Thai Airways ponders bankruptcy as it enters rehab
Thai Airways, which turns 60 years old this month, recorded a net loss of US$66 million in 2017, US$361 million in 2018 and US$374 million last year. As the airline contemplates getting its grounded planes back in the air, it’s now confronted with a PR disaster at home as the government ponders a bailout valued around 60 billion baht, around US$1.8…
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