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PM Prayut Chan-o-cha postpones AstraZeneca jab after some European countries suspended the vaccine
Thailand’s prime minister cancelled plans to get injected with the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine today after reports that some European countries suspended the jab due to the possibility that the vaccine could be linked to an increased risk of blood clots. Some people developed blood clots after receiving the vaccine. In a case in Denmark, a person died. After some European…
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32 Burmese migrants arrested for illegal entry, 4 test positive for Covid-19
4 out of 32 Burmese migrants arrested for illegally crossing into Thailand have tested positive for Covid-19. Officials in the western province of Prachuap Khiri Khan arrested the 32 after they were caught entering the Kingdom illegally. Border officials have stepped up patrols at various crossings between here and Myanmar as political tensions escalate in the neighbouring country. Provincial governor…
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Novavax says vaccine 100% effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalisation
The US firm Novavax says trials on its Covid-19 vaccine have shown it to be 100% effective at preventing serious illness, hospitalisation or death from the virus. However, the efficacy rate fell sharply against mild to moderate cases of the South African variant. The Bangkok Post reports that one phase 3 trial took place in the UK and included 15,000…
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Lumpini boxing stadium re-opens tomorrow for online and TV spectators only
Lumpini boxing stadium in Bangkok is set to re-open tomorrow for its first fight in 12 months, but fans will be unable to see it in person. The stadium, which is owned by the Thai Army, will broadcast the event online and to television audiences as restrictions on mass gatherings continue. Tickets will not go on sale to the public…
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The end is in sight: CCSA hints at October for lifting restrictions, re-opening Thailand
The Thai government’s Covid-19 task force says that, provided people continue to cooperate with efforts to keep the virus suppressed, the country will re-open fully by October and all restrictions will be lifted. The announcement brings a ray of hope to many, not least everyone in the tourism sector. Apisamai Srirangson from the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration acknowledges that…
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12 people face charges over illegal online gambling operation in Bangkok
12 people are facing charges over allegedly running an illegal online gambling operation out of a Bangkok home. Police say they found evidence that the group was running the gambling operation on several different websites under the name of NUTSGAME-TH. After investigating further, they say they found evidence of the group transferring money to Hong Kong, which is illegal under…
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Thailand News Today | Quarantine times reduced, foreign students CAN attend protests | March11
Hints of a possible return of the former Immigration Bureau poster boy Surachet Hakparn, a rise in the official speed limit for Thai highways, foreigners told they CAN take part in protests and some rumours about an impending opening of Maya Bay. But first to a survey we posted this morning about what we might be able to do in…
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Thailand calls on Myanmar military to release detainees and to de-escalate the situation
Thailand is urging Myanmar to release everyone who was detained by the military following last month’s coup. Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement today calling on a de-escalation of the country’s situation where many have been injured and even killed in protests. “As a neighbor, sharing a long common border, and with the Myanmar and Thai peoples having…
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Police step up Phuket gold shop inspections to increase security
Phuket police are stepping up gold shop inspections in the area to help increase security. They say they have already started inspecting the shops in Phuket Town to make sure security measures are up to par with officers now patrolling areas where gold shops are located more regularly. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pornsak Nuannu says his offices have already met…
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Samut Sakhon field hospitals plan to shut down as Covid cases drop to double-digits
The central province and epicentre of Thailand’s second wave of Covid-19, Samut Sakhon is set to shut down as many as 7 field hospitals after daily reported cases of the virus have dropped to double-digits. Kiattiphum Wongrajit, the permanent secretary for Public Health says the country is now only seeing between 30-50 new cases of Covid per day, thanks to successful…
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CCSA Update: 58 new Covid-19 cases
58 new Covid-19 cases were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. Thailand now has 513 active cases. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has reported a total of 26,598 coronavirus infections and 85 deaths. Out of the 58 in cases, 17 were exposed to the virus while visiting high risk areas…
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This year Thailand gets 6 days to celebrate Songkran holiday
The Thai new year of Songkran is being extended to 6 days of water fights according to the Cabinet after approving the holiday to run from April 10 to 15. Culture Minister Itthiphol Kunplome says details of the holiday will be sent to the Centre For Covid-19 Situation Administration for approval as he says Songkran participants will probably be allowed…
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Chon Buri resident finds large king cobra in home
A resident in the eastern Chon Buri province, is reeling after finding a 4 metre long king cobra inside his house in Bor Thong district. Rescue workers were called to scene, arriving to find the large snake hidden under storage boxes inside the home. They say what looked like a professional snake-handling team, helped them to catch the snake after…
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Owner of dog who allegedly bit young girl in Phuket says 100,000 baht compensation request is too much
The owner of a dog, who allegedly bit a young girl in Phuket town, is saying a 100,000 baht compensation request is too much. The 15 year old girl says she was bitten by the dog on her left leg after chasing her on her way to Satree Phuket School. 32 year old Chotika Kansuya, filed a complaint to the…
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Homes and highways in Vietnam are being lost as Mekong delta washes away
The following story was written by Michael Tatarski for China Dialogue, a non-profit focused on environmental challenges related to China. One night two years ago, Lam Thi Le and Nguyen Van Thuong heard loud cracks coming from their neighbours’ riverfront home. The neighbours left, and a day later half of their house collapsed into the broad Tien River as the…
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Thai man in Pattaya arrested for allegedly selling e-cig vaping products
A Thai man is under arrest in Pattaya for allegedly selling e-cigarettes and vaping products, after concerned citizens tipped off Banglamung police. The products were allegedly being sold in the Naklua market, according to the Banglamung Administrative Chief Officer, Phonchai Sangeiad who reportedly talked to Pattaya News. “We are cracking down on electronic cigarettes in the area overall as part…
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Young student pushed off school building by peer suffers skull fracture
A young schoolboy is recovering after allegedly being pushed off a school building by one of his peers. The 8 year old boy’s skull was fractured from the second storey fall and was sent to a hospital where he underwent emergency surgery, staying in the hospital for at least 9 days. The principal of the school, which is located in…
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Bangkok’s Wat Arun to go green as part of St Patrick’s Day celebration
A host of iconic landmarks around the world will celebrate St Patrick’s Day by going green on March 17 – and Bangkok’s Wat Arun will be among them. Thailand’s capital is participating in the “Global Greening Programme 2021” an initiative in which the spire of Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn) will be temporarily lit in green. Also turning green will…
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Indonesia designates 3 areas of Bali as Covid-19 ‘green zones’ to welcome foreign tourists
In a move that Thai officials may watch with some interest, the governor of Bali, Indonesia, has designated 3 areas of the province as Covid-19 “green zones” to welcome international tourists. The popular tourist destinations of Ubud, Sanur, and Nusa Dua, have all been labelled “green zones” as Indonesia takes tentative steps towards re-opening its borders. Bali governor, Wayan Koster,…
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Work on Maya Bay jetty nearly complete, but officials say, “not yet” to re-opening
The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation has responded to pleas for Maya Bay to re-open by telling local officials to wait. Krabi authorities are anxious for the famed beauty spot to re-open as they desperately try to revive tourism in the province. The bay has been closed since 2018 after conservationists determined that a break from visitors…
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Speed limit on Thailand’s highways increased to 120 kilometres an hour
It’s official – the maximum speed limit on 4-lane highways in Thailand has been increased to 120 kilometres per hour, with the new regulation published in the Royal Gazette yesterday. Previously 90 kilometres per hour, Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob says the increase in the maximum speed limit is aimed at improving the flow of traffic in line with conditions, while…
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Thailand News Today | Polishing the Area Quarantine, protesters moved to prison | March10
Ministers are meeting in Phuket today to discuss the details of the new area quarantine, the Thai PM anoints the media scrum by spraying hand sanitiser at them…. or something, and the north and north east of Thailand today are facing very poor air quality, Chiang Mai getting the award for having the worst air quality in the world today…
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Man arrested trying to smuggle 28 million baht in gold across Burmese border
A Thai man is under arrest after police say he allegedly was caught smuggling a whopping 28 million baht worth of gold bars across the Burmese border. The man, identified only as 37 year old “Chart” was arrested after being searched at a checkpoint in Sanghklaburi district in Kanchanaburi province last night. Police say they were tipped off and went…
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Burmese migrants arrested after wading across border river
13 illegal Burmese migrants are under arrest today after being caught allegedly trying to enter Thailand through a bordering river. The job-seekers, one with a child, were arrested in the Sangkhlaburi district of Thailand’s western Kanchanaburi province this morning. Villagers first spotted the migrants while they were in the river and notified the local officials, soldiers and police to investigate…
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Foreign students can take part in political gatherings as long as they follow the law
Thailand’s Immigration Bureau is clarifying that foreign students can, indeed, take part in political gatherings provided they follow the law. The news comes after The Asian Institute of Technology sent an email to its students saying it respected freedom of expression but was conveying a request from Thai immigration for foreign students not to join protests. The email also allegedly…
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Factories in Thailand required to have Green Industry certification by 2025
Factories in Thailand are ordered to “go green.” By 2025, all factories across the country need to have a Green Industry certification which means they are in line with standards set by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation to help developing countries move to more environmentally-friendly technologies and initiatives. All 71,130 industrial plants in Thailand will need to abide by…
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Thailand welcomes UN to inspect ethnic Karen village in Kaeng Krachan national park
Thailand’s government says it is welcoming the UN to inspect the ethnic Karen village in Kaeng Krachan national park, Phetchaburi, after ongoing allegations of human rights violations allegedly committed by Thai officials. The villagers were evacuated from their original village of Ban Bang Kloy or Jai Paendin in the national park after locals complained that the village’s location could potentially…
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Thai woman faces charges for involvement in “massive scheme” to defraud the US Navy
In what the United States Department of Justice calls a “massive scheme” to defraud the US Navy, a Thai woman who oversaw the foreign defense contractor Glenn Defense Marine Asia office in Thailand is facing charges for involvement in submitting false price quotes, claims and invoices to the US Navy which added up to more than $5 million USD. She…
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Jealous man stabs ex-girlfriend to death at dental office in Ratchaburi
A lover’s quarrel has ended with a man under arrest after allegedly using a 10 centimetre long knife to stab and kill his ex-girlfriend at a dental office in central Ratchaburi province. 38 year old Kaewmorakot Netniam was found dead on the 2nd floor of the Ban Sing Tantakam Dental Clinic, with multiple stab wounds, by police and a doctor…
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Officials meet in Phuket to discuss implementing “area quarantine” from April
A number of officials, including Tourism Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn will meet in Phuket today to discuss the implementation of area quarantine on the southern island, possibly as soon as next month. Thai PBS World reports that various hotel representatives and other tourism businesses are expected to attend the meeting. The idea of area quarantine has been proposed for a number…
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