Hot News
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Government to extend the “Chim Shop Chai” stimulus program this month
The government is set to roll out a new phase of last year’s successful Chim Shop Chai (Eat Shop Spend) stimulus program to promote domestic spending. The measure is also intended to encourage investment by businesses in an economy hampered by a slowdown in tourist arrivals as a result of the ongoing Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak. The package, to be implemented…
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Three people dead in road incidents south of Bangkok
Three people are dead following two separate accidents in the Bang Phli district of Samut Prakan, south and east of Bangkok’s centre. The first incident occurred around 7.30pm on Saturday night on the Bang Na-Trat highway. A married couple were killed after their motorcycle was run over by a six wheeled truck. The couple were identified as 58 year old Somchai…
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Thai Airways considers leasing planes and outsourcing cabin staff
In its attempts to restructure the legacy national airline, senior staff of Thai Airways may lease aircraft and cabin staff. The plans are part of fleet and service improvement options as demanded by the Thai Government who had to find 11.1 billion baht over the first 9 months of 2019 to keep the national airline in the skies. According to…
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Hazy days and Sundays – Bangkok has fifth highest air pollution in the world
“Unhealthy”. That about sums up the air Bangkokians are breathing this morning, a situation almost completely avoidable but allowed to continue by the Thai Government. Bangkok is in bad company today with other polluted cities in Asia – Lahore, Hanoi, Delhi and Dhaka – as the fifth most polluted city in the world, a headline the Thai Government would prefer…
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Phuket’s Laguna launches Singha “Obstacle Trail Run”
Singha has announced that its “Obstacle Trail Run,” presented by Laguna Phuket, will launch on Saturday, May 2. Called “Keng,” meaning “to excel” in Thai, the race will be Singha’s first beach obstacle trail event and mark the beginning of the brewery’s “Obstacle Trail Series 2020.” The announcement comes as sports events across the region and around the world face…
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Police catch serial bag and gold snatcher in Pattaya
Pattayans and tourists can breathe a little easier with the arrest of a serial gold and bag snatcher who preyed on both Thais and foreign tourists. Pattaya police report that 25 year old “Beer” was arrested Thursday. CCTV helped nab the suspect, who was responsible for many snatch-and-grab thefts in Pattaya. He snatched a gold necklace from a Thai woman on…
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Baht loses nearly half its 2019 gains
The Thai baht, whose meteoric rise seemed unstoppable only weeks ago, has become Asia’s worst performing currency so far this year. It’s lost nearly half of its 2019 gains in just a month as fears over the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak threaten Thai tourism. The Year of the Rat has not been kind to Thailand. As late as December, there were…
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Brexit – a personal diary
Opinion by David Skelcey Friday, June 24, 2016 I woke up in my caravan at Glastonbury Music Festival, headed to the toilet and while doing my business read the news I was dreading. The Leave campaign had won the Brexit referendum by 51% to 49%. After getting dressed and kissing my sleeping partner and kids goodbye I headed off to…
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Pattaya tour group businesses shutting up shop for a month
Tourism businesses in Pattaya, that cater specifically to the Chinese market and tour groups, are preparing to shut down for a full month. Despite technically being the high season for tourism, and the middle of the Chinese New Year annual holidays, the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak has already had a profound impact. The Chinese tourists who managed to get…
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2nd annual Thailand Game Expo opens at BITEC in Bangkok
AIS and M Vision have kicked off the 2nd Thailand Game Expo at the BITEC centre (Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre) in Bangna. 700,000+ visitors are expected to attend the Expo this year, which runs through to this Sunday (February 2) and product sales tipped to top 2 billion baht. The event is organised by AIS eSports. Alistair Johnston, the…
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South Korean cycling prospect killed in Chiang Mai crash
A cyclist from the Korea Cycling Federation has died after being struck by a pickup truck during a training exercise in Chiang Mai. 18 year old Eom Se-beom was pronounced dead in an ambulance on his way to a hospital. It’s believed the truck crossed the centre line and crashed into Eom as he headed down a slope. Eom was…
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Two Thais arrested for spreading fake coronavirus news
The Thai government says that two people have been arrested for posting fake news about the outbreak of the Wuhan Novel Coronavirus. Buddhipongse Punnakanta, the minister of the digital economy, says his ministry’s “Anti-Fake News Centre” collaborated with the police to arrest Thitima Kongthon at her Bangkok house after she posted on Facebook that a patient infected with the virus died…
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‘Blind’ beggar found driving SUV, fined
Further to a story already reported by The Thaiger, a gambler, pretending to be a blind beggar to pay his debts, is blaming his daughter’s refusal to send him money. Somporn Kueyen’s ruse was exposed after a video on social media went viral, showing him parking a Toyota Fortuner outside a temple in Nonthaburi, near Bangkok. He was wearing ragged…
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Airlines temporarily suspend flights to China
British Airways is suspending all direct flights to and from mainland China due to the Wuhan Coronavirus, making it one of the biggest international carriers to do so so far. The suspension comes after Britain warned against all but essential travel to the China on Tuesday. BA.com, the airline’s website, shows no direct flights to China are available through February.…
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2015 plan dusted off as North suffers severe pollution levels
All 77 of Thailand’s provinces have been told to adopt the 2015 disaster prevention and mitigation master plan to address the current PM2.5 air pollution crisis. The decision was approved by the cabinet this week after it was proposed by Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda. He says the 133 page plan contains guidelines for action on risk reduction, emergency response, international cooperation…
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U-Tapao, AIS collaborate on smart terminal
U-Tapao Rayong Pattaya International Airport and AIS, Thailand’s largest GSM mobile phone operator, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to turn the airport’s Passenger Terminal 2 into a “smart terminal.” U-Tapao, a joint civil/military public airport serving Rayong and Pattaya City, has been working on developing digital solutions with AIS in its second passenger terminal since 2018. Now it is…
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The rise of the e-bicycle in Thailand, a bit of motorised assistance
by Nicole Kash Cycling tours offer a unique way to explore Thailand. Faster than walking but slower than driving, cycling tours cover plenty of ground while allowing cyclists to immerse themselves in the sights, smells, and culture of Thailand without the boundary of a car window. Cycling tours can cover up to a heart-pumping 150 kilometre a day. Though exciting…
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Deputy transport minister says Thai Airways must increase revenue, cut costs
Thai Airways International is in the process of slashing costs and restructuring. Deputy Transport Minister Thaworn Senneam discussed Thailand’s open sky policy and stressed the importance of increasing revenue and reducing expenditure to turn the airline around and make it sustainable. Thaworn, along with the assistant secretary at the Ministry of Transport and other officials visited Thai Airways’ HQ to…
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7.7 magnitude earthquake hits Caribbean, sparked tsunami fears
An earthquake, followed by a series of strong aftershocks, struck yesterday in the Caribbean Sea, shaking the area from Florida to Mexico. The tremor had a magnitude of 7.7 but apparently caused no casualties or major damage. The initial tremor struck at 2:10 pm Eastern Time and was centered 86 miles northwest of Montego Bay, Jamaica and 87 miles west-southwest…
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Haze and coronavirus killing tourism in northern Thailand
It’s the smoke and Wuhan effect. Haze and the Novel Coronavirus are having a brutal effect on northern Thailand tourism. With numbers already low, China’s recent outward travel ban on tour groups coupled with dangerous haze levels are likely to hit tourism hard. Northern Thailand has a high proportion of Chinese tourists. Residents of Nan province are concerned over the…
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Thailand to screen all airline passengers from China for coronavirus
Beginning yesterday, all airline passenger arrivals from China, regardless of their point of origin, are being screened for the Wuhan Coronavirus when entering Thailand. Health officials announced the measure after six more Chinese visitors were diagnosed with the virus, bringing the total in Thailand to 14 cases. The death toll from the outbreak now stands at 131 (as of Wednesday morning),…
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School of weed: Ministries preparing course on medical marijuana
The government wants people to have the facts as the medicinal effects, and possible risks, of ‘ganja’ emerge. UPDATE: The Cabinet today gave the greenlight for kanchong (cannabis) cultivation to make this type of hemp a cash crop, according to Thai News Agency’s English news. As earlier reported by The Thaiger, two Thai government agencies have agreed to cooperate to…
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Immigration checkpoints enhance hygiene measures nationwide
Health screening measures are being boosted today at immigration checkpoints nationwide to prevent the spread of the Wuhan Coronavirus into Thailand. Since cases were confirmed in Malaysia and Singapore, officials at the Betong border crossing in the southernmost province Yala are using handheld thermometers to screen suspected contaminanees. Meanwhile enhanced hygiene measures are being implemented at immigration checkpoints at all…
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Tiger and piglet shows discontinued at Sriracha zoo
“The show is cruel, affecting those who witness it and it is not appropriate for a zoo to be showing such lack of care for a piglet.” Netizens were horrified when a tourist posted a short video of a screaming piglet being clawed by a tiger at the Sriracha Tiger Zoo in Chonburi province. Many criticised the zoo, complaining that…
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Pollution closes Lampang schools
Schools in the northern province of Lampang were closed yesterday as the level of air pollution went up, according to KhaoSod. Authorities have instructed families to keep their children indoors during this period of poor air quality. The problem is partly caused by the the burning of crop fields, which despite prohibitions, has been going on for weeks, with the…
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Pattaya leaders meet to discuss effects of Coronavirus on tourism
Pattaya luminaries, community leaders and business owners met yesterday at Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden to discuss the effect of the Wuhan Coronavirus on local tourism and ways to minimise the damage. The deputy Governor of Chonburi province, where Pattaya is located, travelled to Nong Nooch Gardens to meet with the director of U-Tapao Airport, the director of the Pattaya…
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Pattaya welcomes 4000 US soldiers for Cobra Gold in February
The 39th annual Cobra Gold military exercise will be held from February 24 to March 6 with 4,000 US personnel, three navy ships and one commercial vessel. Cobra Gold is an event held between the Thai and US armed forces every year. It’s the largest Asia-Pacific military exercise held each year, and is among the largest multinational military exercises in which…
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Police announce nationwide crackdown on air pollution
The Royal Thai Police are preparing measures to counter the PM2.5 problem by tackling the sources of air pollution in areas reported with poor air quality, a spokesman said on Sunday. (PM2.5 is particulate matter having a diameter of less than 2.5 microns) “National Police chief Pol General Chakthip Chaijinda has ordered deputy chief Pol General Suwat Jaengyodsuk to be…
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Thai tourism to take hit over Coronavirus
by Bill Barnett of c9hotelworks.com A travel ban is now in effect in Mainland China for tour groups who were booked for holidays overseas. Over the past few days hoteliers in Phuket, Bangkok and throughout the country are reporting significant cancellations, not only of groups but also independent travellers (FITs). Last year Mainland Chinese travellers to Thailand nearly eclipsed 11 million,…
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Everything you need to know about 5G
by Live Tiles 5G literally refers to the fifth-generation of wireless technology, following on from 3G and 4G. The biggest changes will bring users higher speeds, lower latency, and the chance to connect more devices at once. Speed, for example, will provide almost instantaneous transfers across the internet, faster than the human reaction time. So something like a livestream of…
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