Hot News
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Thailand reopening: 20,000 total entered, 50,000 Passes approved
Following reports that 16,595 foreigners total have entered Thailand during the first 5 days of the grand reopening that began on November 1, here are the latest arrival stats for people coming to the Kingdom or at least attempting to come to the country: THAILAND PASS Many people have struggled to obtain their Thailand Pass to enter the country, but…
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Successes and failures in the Thailand Pass programme
Now that the Thailand Pass has been open for about a week, some successes and failures of the revised system replacing the Certificate of Entry are noticeable. The government has issued a warning against a fake registration site, Hotmail accounts not working, and why you might not receive your confirmation, while at the same time applauding more than 50,000 Thailand…
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Smart city programme to use digital technology to improve lives
In an effort to increase the standard of living for people through digital technology, 15 areas have been earmarked for the government to implement the development of smart cities. A meeting was held of the National Smart City Steering subcommittee, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan. Meeting saw attendance from the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, Smart City…
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Banking on a Shinawatra revival – Pheu Thai kicks off their 2023 election campaign
No surprise, despite some conservative media painting it as a shock political move. The official announcement of Paethongtan Shinawatra’s role at in the Pheu Thai election machine as “chief adviser in participation and innovation” has been spoken about for the past month. The return of a ‘Shinawatra’ – the former fugitive PM’s youngest daughter no less – will re-focus additional…
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First flight from Russia lands in Phuket today with 275 travellers
Phuket just welcomed the first international flight arriving from Russia as an Aeroflot flight from Moscow landed at Phuket International Airport today. 275 passengers rode the inaugural flight since Russia was added to the list of 63 approved Test & Go countries that can travel to Thailand without quarantine (aside from an overnight wait for a negative RT-PCR test in…
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Phuket officials prepare for road accidents with 17 new banners
Phuket disaster officials are working on a public awareness campaign to try to reduce road accidents, especially with an expected influx of tourists after Thailand’s reopening on November 1. The plans were drawn up in Phuket Town at the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Center Region 18 headquarters during a meeting of the Phuket Road Safety Committee. The meeting…
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Chiang Mai airport welcomes first international flight, 83 tourists
Chiang Mai has officially joined Thailand’s big reopening launch as the first international flight brought tourists to the “Charming Chiang Mai” programme. After nearly 2 years of being closed to international flights, Chiang Mai Airport welcomed a flight of 83 travellers from South Korea last night. The first flight was operated by Korean carrier Jeju Air and departed from Seoul’s…
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New ABBA album, the 40 year wait and ABBA-tars on the way
The usual time between albums for a music outfit… maybe 1-2 years. Up there in amongst the top 30 artists of all time, ABBA, who couldn’t speak a word of English when they first started recording, have just released their latest album… 40 years after their previous album in 1981 and they split up in 1982. And coming soon they’re touring…
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Thailand now equipped to perform 120,000 RT-PCR tests daily
The Department of Medical Sciences has been ramping up their testing capabilities and have declared it can now perform 120,000 RT-PCR Covid-19 tests per day. They say it can complete the tests and offer results within 24 hours at any of their 443 active labs that are certified to conduct the tests. Anyone travelling to Thailand is already required to…
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Pattaya sees no tourism boost so far, looks ahead to events
The tourism sector in Pattaya is looking to the near future after they say no new international tourists have been seen in the first few days of Thailand’s reopening so far. Tourism businesses say that they’re seeing domestic travellers coming for weekend trips and long holidays, and the heads of the industry say they don’t foresee numbers to increase for…
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Thailand reopening sees 13,000 travellers, 10 Covid-19 infections
After the first 4 days of Thailand’s big reopening, over 13,000 people have arrived with just 10 of those travellers testing positive for Covid-19. According to the Director of Risk Communication and Health Behavior Development Bureau from the Ministry of Public Health Dr Sumanee Watcharasin, 13,229 people have entered Thailand in the last 4 days, and 10 international travellers –…
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Police say there’s enough evidence to convict “Joe Ferrari” on all 4 charges
The Royal Thai Police say they have gathered enough evidence to convict the former police superintendent “Joe Ferrari” on all four charges he faces, including killing by torture, which carries a maximum penalty of death. The officer, Thitisan Uthanapol, is accused of suffocating a suspect to death while demanding a 2 million baht bribe. The police handed over a 2,000+…
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American woman convicted of mother’s murder deported from Indonesia to USA to face charges
An American woman who was convicted of murdering her mother in Indonesia, has been deported to the US to face charges in her home country. Heather Mack, from Chicago, Illionois, was convicted back in 2015, for killing her mother in Bali. Her boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, was also charged. Police say the couple stuffed her mother, Sheila von Wiese Mack’s dead…
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Police to crack down on politically motivated crimes during local elections
Local elections are serious in Thailand… So serious that police plan to deploy tens of thousands of officers during the November 28 sub district polls to crack down on politically motivated crimes and violations of local election law as well as to prevent clashes between candidates. In the past, crimes and violations driven by local politics have ranged from destroying…
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Despite errors, over 65,000 have applied for Thailand Pass
Despite a rash of technical issues, in just 4 days since launching the Thailand Pass, over 65,000 people have applied for it in order to reenter Thailand. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported the figures yesterday and stated that 13,000 people have already been approved in the new scheme. From November 1 until yesterday morning, 65,338 applications for the Thailand…
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4 new holidays in Thailand hoped to stimulate domestic travel
Apparently in an effort to boost tourism revenue in Thailand, the Thai Cabinet has approved the creation of 4 new holidays in the middle of next year that allows for extra-long weekends. The government hopes that the creation of these long holiday weekends will encourage domestic travellers to take short getaway holidays around Thailand and stimulate the economy. The move…
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TAT revises goal to 700,000 international travellers to Thailand in 2021
Perhaps revising their previous goal of 1 million international tourists in the next 2 months, the Tourism Authority of Thailand is hoping to hit a total of 700,000 international travellers in 2021. Thailand has launched a number of schemes to bring in foreigners during the Covid-19 pandemic to various levels of success so far. The Phuket Sandbox has been the…
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Nonthaburi man arrested with stolen women’s underwear
In the Bangkok suburb of Nonthaburi, a local man has been apprehended by police for stealing women’s underwear, telling police that the 39 pairs that he had stolen he would wear himself. The 37-year old man was arrested on a warrant for burglary. The man admitted to a string of thefts at night in a housing estate in Nonthaburi called…
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AG’s Office to finish review of “Joe Ferrari” case within the next 2 weeks
A review of the death in custody case involving the now notorious former police station chief known as “Joe Ferrari” is expected to be finished within the next two weeks, according to the Attorney General’s Office. The ex-station chief in the rural province Nakhon Sawan and six of his subordinates are facing several charges, including killing by torture, which carries…
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Fake goods valued at 40 million baht seized in police busts
Pro-tip: If a shop is selling Louis Vuitton pillows next to Doraemon pillows, they are fake. In a series of raids, police impounded 40 million baht worth of counterfeit goods – mostly bedding products – from storage facilities in Pathum Thani and Rayong. The Department of Special Investigation announced the haul yesterday. The bust was made with the help of…
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Bangkok ranked 68th of 80 best global cities for remote workers
In a study that assesses liveability, living costs, infrastructure, and employment compliance, Bangkok was ranked 68th out of 80 cities around the world for remote working. The study was conducted by WorkMotion, an HR platform that helps match businesses with remote workers worldwide. Bangkok suffered low ratings in several key areas for remote work. They ranked 70th on housing access,…
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Bangkok Governor warns of stiff penalty for Loy Krathong fireworks
The celebration of the national holiday Loy Krathong is coming up on November 19, but Bangkok Governor Aswin Kwanmuang warns people to avoid the sale and use of fireworks, firecrackers and lanterns this year. The holiday is a modern take on a tradition dating to the 13th-century Sukhothai kingdom where people launch little boats called Krathong on waterways as a…
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PM Prayut urges a new Thailand focused on tourism, sustainability
As the reopening of Thailand cranks the doors open wide to international travellers after cracking it open with Sandbox schemes over the past 4 months, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is focusing on tourism in reimagining Thailand moving forward. PM Prayut has called for all sectors of the nation to come together to transform the country in the “new normal” with tourism…
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Airbnb reports surge in Thailand accommodation searches since re-opening
The accommodation website Airbnb has reported a spike in searches for properties in Thailand, following the country’s re-opening to vaccinated tourists from select countries. Searches for Thai accommodation over the next 6 months are double those of a year ago, with searches for villas being the most popular. The Bangkok Post reports that in terms of location, Phuket, Bangkok, Koh…
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Chinese travellers forced to stay home as rest of Asia re-opens to tourism
With Asian countries re-opening to foreign arrivals, there will be one significant tourism market missing for now – the Chinese. In China, according to a Reuters report, international air travel is currently at just 2% of pre-pandemic levels, as officials continue to pursue zero-Covid status. The absence of Chinese visitors will mean a US$255 billion annual spending hole in the…
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Bitkub company and crypto-coin value surges as SCB buys 51% of shares
Cryptocurrencies just got a big boost in Thailand as Siam Commercial Bank Group’s parent company SCBX struck a deal to take over 51% of shares of Bitkub from its parent company Bitkub Capital Group Holdings, a deal valued at 17.85 billion baht. SCB Securities will hold the shares and collaborate with Bitkub to create a national infrastructure with a digital…
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4.4 billion baht Supreme Court corruption case about futsal courts
The Supreme Court of Thailand has accepted a major corruption case to go to trial regarding low-quality futsal courts nearly 10 years ago worth 4.4 billion baht. The wide-reaching case regarding poorly built playing areas for futsal, a game similar to football that is popular in Thailand, will require Thailand’s chief whip, Wirat Rattanaseth, to cease his MP role while…
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Thailand ranks ninth on Global Climate Risk Index for “extreme weather events”
When it rains, it pours in Thailand… and torrential downpours during the country’s monsoon season is known to cause severe flooding, damaging property and leading to injuries, sometimes deaths. The weather in Thailand is considered so intense that the country is ranked ninth on the Global Climate Risk Index 2021 on nations most affected by “extreme weather events” between 2010…
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Thailand’s reopening expect to boost Phuket’s tourism industry
The reopening of Thailand on Monday is expected to boost Phuket’s hard-hit tourism industry. Yesterday, the President of the Phuket Tourism Association said that the island is expected to receive up to 10,000 visitors a day in December, and as many as 1 million arrivals in the first quarter of 2022. This comes after the recent Airports of Thailand announcement…
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Thai court hands 4-year prison sentence to man for selling used medical gloves
An employee of the company accused of exporting millions of used medical gloves to buyers in the US has been sentenced to four years in prison. A recent investigation by CNN reported that the Thai-based Paddy the Room Trading Company sold and exported millions of dirty, used medical gloves, some with bloodstains, to American companies looking to cash in on…
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