Hot News
Stay updated with the latest Hot News in Thailand, featuring in-depth reporting and analysis of local events and goings on! We bring you breaking news, in-depth reports, and exclusive interviews covering a wide range of Thailand-focused topics, from Crime and Politics to Tourism and Business.
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Flight traffic to Phuket expected to increase by 6% next month
The state agency Aeronautical Radio of Thailand says it expects a 6% uptick in traffic to Phuket International Airport, once the southern island re-opens in a week’s time. Spokesman Tinnakorn Chuwong says the airport is ready to welcome foreign tourists under the sandbox scheme, which has now been given the go-ahead by Cabinet. The Bangkok Post reports that, while overall…
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Hotel platform predicts increasing demand for holidays in Thailand
With just days to go before Phuket re-opens, and talks underway to re-open the country as a whole in October, one of the world’s largest hotel platforms says the data shows things are looking up for Thailand. Bradley Haines from SiteMinder says Thai hotel operators should feel some encouragement from current booking trends around the world. According to Haines, the…
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Meteor causes explosion, green glow above Northern Thailand
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a…. bolide?! Last night in Nothern Thailand, sounds like an explosion were heard while many witnessed a mysterious greenish turquoise glow in the skies above. Scientists suspect it may have been a bright type of meteor called a bolide. The National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand explained that the sights and sounds many…
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Phuket governer reviews rules, new details for July 1 arrivals
In announcing what is expected for the first arrivals in the Phuket Sandbox plan on July 1, Governor Narong Woonsew mostly reconfirmed the rules set out, though a few details and additions came to light. Thailand will welcome back international travellers with the first international flights arriving next Friday. The first arrivals to Phuket will be fully vaccinated Europeans from…
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US is “unable” to provide Covid-19 vaccines to Americans who live overseas
The United States Department of State is “unable” to provide Covid-19 vaccines to Americans who are currently overseas as the US government’s global vaccine effort focuses on distributing millions of vaccines to countries seriously impacted by the pandemic, the Embassy of the US in Thailand Charge d’Affaires Michael Heath wrote in a statement addressed to Americans in Thailand. The US…
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Sandbox could be revised, cancelled if Covid-19 outbreaks occur
With Phuket scheduled to reopen to international travellers next Friday, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration has put together a “Plan B” for closing the Sandbox in case of outbreaks. Deputy Director-General of the Department of Information Natapanu Nopakun, who also acts as the Deputy Spokesman of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, outlines possible scenarios in an English address during the…
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US Warns its citizens against traveling to Thailand
While Thailand is pushing full steam ahead to reopen to international tourism, the United States government issued a statement warning Americans not to travel to Thailand citing Covid-19 risks and civil unrest in the south. The US Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs regularly updates travel information for US citizens wishing to go abroad, issuing a Travel Advisory Level…
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Embassy of France in Thailand starts vaccine campaign for French nationals ages 55+
French nationals living in Thailand, who are 55 and older, can now register for a Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine. The Embassy of France in Thailand has organised a vaccination campaign for French nationals, providing the single-dose Covid-19 vaccine for free. The costs are subsidised by the French government. The campaign starts today and will end next month. Inoculations will…
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Narcotics Control Board announce recent drug busts, heroin and cocaine sent by mail
In Thailand’s ongoing crackdown on transnational drug trafficking, police seized heroin hidden in a photo frame in a package destined for Australia, and in a separate case, seized cocaine hidden in mascara tubes from a package sent to Thailand from Costa Rica. In the first drug seizure, 470 grams of heroin were hidden in a photo frame in a package…
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Angry ex allegedly sets motorcycle on fire in school parking garage
Yesterday afternoon, Thong Lor police and firefighters were called to a school’s parking garage after a woman allegedly set her ex-husband’s motorcycle on fire. Firefighters went to the 3rd floor of Srinakharinwirot University Prasarnmit Demonstration School’s parking lot to find a copious amount of smoke and a fire blazing. It took the firefighters an estimated 10 minutes to put the…
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Fruit buyer arrested for allegedly using counterfeit certificates to export durian
The proprietor of a fruit company in Chanthaburi, an eastern Thai province, has been arrested for allegedly using counterfeit Good Agricultural Practices and Good Manufacturing Practices certificates to export Vietnamese Durians to China, passing them off as Thai Durians. Alongkorn Polabutr adviser to the agriculture and cooperatives minister, says they investigated the fruit-buying company named ‘lung Tu Odd, which is…
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Airports of Thailand president says tourism won’t pick back up until October
While Phuket’s “Sandbox” travel scheme is poised to reopen the island to foreign tourists on July 1, Airports of Thailand doesn’t expect arrivals to really pick up until October, which is the start of Thailand’s “high season” for tourism. The Tourism Authority of Thailand expects 600,000 tourists to arrive between July and September, but AoT president Nitinai Sirismatthakarn says the…
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Crocodiles escape from farm in Trat
Yesterday, dozens of crocodiles managed to escape from their enclosures in a crocodile farm. Due to heavy rains, the crocodiles were able to swim through a flooded “ditch area” that was conveniently located near the farm. The flash flood and subsequent crocodile escape happened in the eastern province of Trat, which is next to the Cambodian border. The farm owner, Pirom Kannak…
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Bangkok police prepare for pro-democracy rallies on Thursday
The deputy commissioner of Bangkok’s Metropolitan Police Bureau says the force is ready to handle pro-democracy rallies planned for Thursday. Piya Tawichai says 4 groups are expected to stage rallies to commemorate a revolution carried out by Khana Ratsadon (The People’s Party) on June 24, 1932. The authorities are expecting rallies from 4 pro-democracy groups commemorating the 89th anniversary of…
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TAT thinking up ways quarantine might be relaxed for tourists returning from Thailand
The ever-inventive Tourism Authority of Thailand is looking at ways quarantine might be eased for tourists visiting Thailand, both on arrival here and on their return home. TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn says “city bubbles” and activity-based travel arrangements in sandbox destinations could be the way forward. The arrangement would be between low-risk cities and would mean tourists could visit destinations…
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Bangkok police warn that protests planned for Thursday break the Emergency Decree
Bangkok police are warning pro-democracy activists that they may face legal again if they hold a rally. Several Bangkok-based groups backing the movement pushing for monarchy and government reform are planning to hold a rally on Thursday to commemorate the anniversary of the 1932 Siam Revolution. On July 24, 1932, the Khana Ratsadon political party, which means “Peoples’ Party,” led…
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Proposed start date now July 15 for “Samui Plus” reopening
The proposed reopening date for the “Samui Plus” travel scheme is now July 15. Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao, islands in the Gulf of Thailand off the Surat Thani coast, are planned to reopen to travellers from overseas who are vaccinated against Covid-19. Initially called the “Samui Sealed Route,” the proposed travel scheme will allow those who are…
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Hotel association survey shows average occupancy at around 6%
A survey carried out by the Thai Hotels Association shows that average occupancy for June is not expected to increase from the 6% seen in May. In a further blow to the hotel industry, TTR Weekly reports that occupancy in alternative state quarantine facilities is predicted to fall to 10%, down from 13% last month. THA president, Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi,…
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KLM to increase flights to Middle-East, Asia as border restrictions ease
The Dutch carrier KLM plans to increase its flights to Asian and Middle-Eastern destinations as countries plan for a re-opening of their borders. According to TTR Weekly, the airline’s summer network is almost the same as in 2019, but with a reduction in the number of flights on offer as a result of the pandemic. The airline plans to introduce…
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Tar balls spreading along Phuket’s west coast beaches
Just in time for Phuket’s grand reopening, an oil spill has been depositing tar balls on beaches running the entire length of the island’s west coast. Now Patong Beach, the 3 kilometre-long beach fronting the island’s most popular tourist town, has seen a slew of oil and marine debris washing up on its shores. The tar balls were first found…
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Pattaya pushes for August 1 Sealed Route reopening plan
Pattaya is steadfastedly pushing forward with plans for reopening the tourist city on August 1, with 8 tourism associations submitting a proposal to the governor of Chon Buri. The city is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Thailand, but has been later on the schedule due to difficulties in controlling its porous borders, as opposed to islands like…
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Reopening guidelines for Phuket and Samui
In a press release, the Tourism Authority of Thailand recently sought to lay out and clarify guidelines for how Thailand’s reopening will begin. The Phuket Sandbox plan rolls out first on July 1 (awaiting final approval), followed by a proposal for Surat Thani province reopening Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, and Koh Tao on a sealed route July 15. Here’s the…
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Poll shows schools, students, parents, “not ready” for online learning
A recent poll from Suan Dusit has indicated that schools, students and parents are “not ready” for online learning. The poll, conducted by Suan Dusit of Suan Dusit University from June 14 to June 17 provides several reasons why many are not ready for online learning. The poll, which queried 3,749 people such as: school administrators, teachers, students/students’ parents, on…
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Reopening details for Phuket, Samui and beyond laid out
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha made the bold announcement Wednesday that Thailand would be reopening in 120 days and now more details are being solidified for different regions around the country. The Phuket Sandbox leads the way July 1, and new plans look to launch Samui Plus on July 15, with Krabi, Pattaya, Chiang Mai, Buri Ram, and Phang Nga expected to…
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Amendment to reform Constitution rejected by Parliament
A draft amendment started by Pheu Thai Party, an opposition party, to establish a Constitution Drafting Assembly has just been rejected in the parliament. The legal advisory committee to parliament rejected the amendment, which was intended as a path towards creating a new, revised charter. The section in question, Section 256 in Thailand’s constitution, would be amended in order to…
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CCSA: 120 day reopening will proceed with conditions
If you believed that PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s declaration that Thailand will reopen in 120 days no matter what was set in stone, you don’t know much about Thailand. While the plan is still on, The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration held a meeting yesterday where they watered down the exuberant international tourism restart announcement with conditions and exceptions for the…
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Sandbox latest, CCSA says all regions reopening must reach 70% local vaccination
Discussions about re-opening Thailand have spread beyond Phuket with the latest decisions from the CCSA. Meanwhile, Phuket’s Sandbox re-opening date of July 1 looms. The main narrative out of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration is the need for regions or provinces, slated for re-opening to vaccinated overseas travellers, to have vaccinated 70% of their resident population before they can…
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Thamanat elected to role of head ‘fixer’ in Palang Pracharat party
Thamanat Prompow, still the Thai deputy agricultural minister, now has a firm grasp of the reigns of the ruling Palang Pracharat Party, the leading coalition party of the Thai government. Thamanat’s stay in an Australian prison for 4 years of a 6 year sentence on heroin trafficking charges back in the 90s, has not swayed his fellow MPs in electing…
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1.2 tonnes of methamphetamine and heroin seized near Malaysian border
Police in the southern province Satun seized 1.2 tonnes of heroin and methamphetamine valued at around 1 billion baht that had been left in a canal near the Malaysian border. Thai maritime authorities and Satun marine police were surveying a mangrove forest at the Tam Malang Canal when they found 39 large plastic bins in the wetland. Large quantities of…
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Department of Land Transport will reopen, issue licenses
After suspending services on April 16th due to the third wave outbreak of Covid-19, the Department of Land Transport has announced they will reopen next week. The agency will restart renewing driving licenses in issuing new licenses, as well as giving driving tests. Services are set to resume all across the country at all DLT offices on June 21, according…
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