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Phuket International Airport getting ready for reopening
Phuket International Airport is readying for the island’s reopening by beginning the vaccination process of all employees. The mandatory inoculations is hoped to increase confidence among foreign visitors, as many who have received a Covid vaccine, can now enter the island with relaxed quarantine measures. Just yesterday, officials confirmed that 2 flights from Germany will kick off the airport’s reopening,…
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Court sentences Thailand’s “Jack the Ripper” to death
The convicted serial killer known as “Jack the Ripper in Thailand” has been sentenced to death. The Khon Kaen court in the Isaan province announced its decision today, sentencing convicted murderer Somkid Poompuang to death. In 2005, Somkid was convicted of murdering 5 women, including a singer and 4 masseuses. He had sex with the women before killing them, either by…
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Thailand’s monsoon season expected to be heaviest in 30 years
Thailand’s upcoming monsoon season is expected to start early and see the heaviest amount of rainfall in 30 years. The Royal Irrigation Department has instructed agencies to prepare for the situation by inspecting reservoirs’ and irrigation buildings’ conditions. As of now, the reservoirs are 50% full. The country overall has used a total of 73% of the water in the…
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Vaccinated foreign tourists may be offered free flights to boost inter-provincial travel
The Tourism and Sports Minister, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, says vaccinated foreign tourists may be offered free domestic flights during their holiday in order to boost inter-provincial travel. The proposal comes after the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand called for 40,000 vaccine doses to protect airline employees. “From July 1, inoculated tourists exempt from quarantine might be tempted to extend their stay…
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Vaccinated against Covid-19? Quarantine is cut down to 7 days
Travellers who are vaccinated against Covid-19 can now undergo a reduced quarantine period of 7 days upon entering Thailand. The new, shorter quarantine period goes in effect today in Phuket, Krabi, Phang-nga, Chiang Mai, and Pattaya. Those who are not vaccinated must quarantine for 10 days, which ends up being 11 nights, while those from countries with mutated strains of…
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Young men shot and killed in Khon Kaen, gunman still at large
A gunman shot and killed 2 young men last night in the Isaan province Khon Kaen. Both 18 year old Korkiat Chanasri and 23 year old Theerayuth Faithee were shot in the head. Witnesses say they saw a man talking with the 2 victims. They heard a gunshot and Korkiat collapsed. Theerayuth tried to flee, but he was also shot.…
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Man finds live hand grenade in Pattaya area forest – VIDEO
A man found a live hand grenade under a tree in Pattaya area forest yesterday while he was searching in the woods for termites to later feed to his pet fish. Officers from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal team say the M26 hand grenade is very dangerous and can still explode. 51 year old Su Supayut told Pattaya News reporters that…
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Thailand’s aviation authority requests 40,000 vaccine doses to cover airline workers
Airline operators in Thailand are calling for 40,000 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine to cover staff and crew members before July, in time for the reopening plans in Phuket and Koh Samui. The 40,000 doses would cover 20,000 people in the airline industry who will come in close contact with foreign tourists when they start arriving in July, or whenever…
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April Fool’s jokes posted online could land you in Thai jail, police warn
April Fool’s jokes, pranks and hoaxes are not allowed to be shared on social media in Thailand. No, it’s not a joke. April Fool’s jokes posted on social media could land you in Thai jail, or slapped with a hefty fine for violating the country’s Computer Crime Act. Some April Fool’s jokes posted online are considered “fake news” that mislead…
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Government investigating loan-shark apps following complaints of online threats
The Thai government is looking into a number of loan-shark apps, following complaints of data theft and threats being made on social media. Customers accuse the apps of stealing their data and sending them threatening messages via Line, Facebook, and SMS. According to a Nation Thailand report, when a customer downloads one of the loan-shark apps, it embeds malware in…
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Red Shirts leader vows to hold April 4 protest aimed at toppling government
The chairman of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship, whose supporters are commonly known as the Red Shirts, says he will lead a protest on April 4 with the aim of toppling the government. Jatuporn Promphan vows to take charge of what he’s calling a prolonged protest, to oust the administration of PM Prayut Chan-o-cha. According to a Thai…
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Tourism operators pinning hopes on Songkran holiday
Thai hotels and airlines are pinning their hopes on Songkran to revive a domestic tourism sector that has been dormant since the resurgence of Covid-19 late last year. According to a Bangkok Post report, Centara Hotels and Resorts are reporting an uptick in advance bookings for the holiday period. Chief exec Thirayuth Chirathivat says while forward bookings don’t come close…
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Why was this female reporter banned from Thai Government House? Posture or disinformation?
Controversy surrounds the banning of a female Thai reporter from Government House, with confusion whether she was banned for “inappropriate posture” or alleged disinformation in her reporting. The reporter for a Japanese news agency received the temporary ban after a press conference by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha on Tuesday. a spokesman from PM’s Office acknowledged the reporter’s “unbefitting body position” but…
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5 pro-democracy activists indicted for alleged violence against Queen’s liberty
Prosecutors indicted 5 pro-democracy activists today for attempting to “harm HM the Queen’s liberty” during a rally in Bangkok last year that happened to be along the same route as a royal motorcade. The charge for an “act of violence against the HM the Queen’s liberty” carries a minimum sentence of 16 years in prison. For serious attempts to harm…
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Quarantine period reduced to 10 days starting tomorrow
Starting tomorrow, quarantine will be reduced 10 days. Reports in Thai media say the quarantine will be reduced to 7 days for vaccinated tourists starting tomorrow as well, but Thai embassies in the US, UK and Australia only mention the 10 day quarantine. Those travelling from countries were the coronavirus has mutated will still need to quarantine for 14 days.…
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US State Department tells non-essential diplomats from Myanmar to leave
The US State Department is telling non-essential diplomats from Myanmar to leave, after hundreds of anti-coup protesters have been killed. Since the February 1 coup by Myanmar’s military, which removed leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy from elected power, more than 510 people have been killed. “The Burmese military has detained and deposed elected government officials.…
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PM says Thailand won’t turn away Burmese refugees, but reports say already 2,000 have been refused
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says Burmese refugees won’t be turned away, but reports say Thailand has already refused around 2,000 asylum seekers from entering. PM Prayut says the refugees would be let in on humanitarian grounds after more than 500 civilians have been killed since Myanmar’s junta took over in a coup on February 1. “Thailand will not turn them away.…
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Thai PM will consider waiving quarantine for vaccinated visitors to Phuket
The Thai PM says he’s willing to consider a call from the Phuket business community to allow vaccinated foreigners to bypass quarantine. Prayut Chan-o-cha says in order to compete with other countries popular with tourists, Phuket plans to re-open fully to vaccinated foreigners from July, meaning the government must make sure the country’s vaccine rollout is on track. “The point…
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Northern Thailand sees dangerous levels of pollution
Northern Thailand is seeing dangerous levels of pollution with PM2.5 dust particle levels exceeding the safety standard. Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai are the worst as they are both seeing over 50-micron PM2.5 dust particle levels. Wiang Pang Kham, a sub-district in Chiang Rai has recorded 247 microns, signaling extremely poor air quality. The Pollution Control Department said on its…
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Thanathorn acknowledges, responds to lèse majesté charge
The former leader of the now disbanded Future Forward Party has appeared at a Bangkok police station to face a charge of lèse majesté. Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, now leader of the Progressive Movement, appeared at Nang Loeng Police Station to acknowledge the charge, also known as section 112 of the Criminal Code. Section 112 makes it an offence to insult, defame,…
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Some Pattaya businesses oppose quick reopening to foreign tourists
While Pattaya tourist businesses are desperate for borders to reopen to foreign tourists, many local business owners oppose the rush to reopen Thailand. Boonanan Phattanasin, The president of the Pattaya Business and Tourism Association, which serves many businesses throughout Pattaya, points out that while international tourism benefits the local economy, domestic tourism is booming and businesses that cater to Thai…
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Phuket expects tourist from China in July, Europe end of year
Phuket is reopening to foreign tourists starting July 1 with the quarantine period waived for vaccinated travellers, but it’s likely that most of the tourists will be from China. Chartered flights are scheduled to begin in July from China, while European visitors are expected to start returning in winter. Phuket expects about 2 million visitors, mostly from China and Europe,…
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21 year old accused of defrauding more 100 people in surfskate board scam
A 21 year old Thai man is accused of cashing in on the new surfskate trend by allegedly scamming more than 100 people with damages valued at more than 2.7 million baht. Apparently, he advertised preorders for surfskate boards on Facebook and victims of the scam say they paid in full for the boards, but never received their orders. Surfskating,…
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Thailand jobs listings rise in February, labour force recovering from pandemic
After a pandemic-fueled unemployment freefall over the last year, costing 3 million people their jobs, February saw a big jump in employment demand for Thailand. Most job listings on the search platform JobsDV are for positions in the sales and customer service fields, followed by positions in the information technology field. Employment demand rose nearly 25% from the lowest periods…
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Woman warns of paying cash on delivery after being scammed
A woman is warning internet users to beware of accepting parcels by paying cash on delivery after being allegedly scammed. According to Thai Residents, the woman says she accepted a package without knowing she didn’t order it, paying 590 baht in cash. Once she opened the package, she saw a pink t-shirt with a note that said, “I am sorry,…
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Phuket wants Chinese tourists to jump-start sandbox scheme
Phuket wants Chinese tourists to jump – start its sandbox scheme which will let vaccinated international visitors enter the Andaman island without undergoing quarantine as of July 1. The targetting of Chinese visitors comes after data revealed that they contributed to 1/5 of the pre-Covid economy. The move to allow tourists to enter without undergoing quarantine is important as officials…
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Thai government denies backing Myanmar’s junta
Thailand’s government leaders are now denying backing Myanmar’s junta government 2 days after its military shot and killed over 100 Burmese citizens. PM Prayut made the announcement to the media yesterday at the Government House. “In what ways do we support Myanmar troops? Nobody supports use of violence against the people.” But recently, PM Prayut was accused of supplying rice…
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Thai Chamber of Commerce calls for vaccine delivery to be speeded up
The chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce says officials hope to reinvigorate the economy within 99 days, through a “Connect the Dots” policy. Sanan Angubolkul adds that the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines must be speeded up if the economy is to recover in that timeframe. “Thailand is slow in distributing vaccines. This will result in a slow economic recovery.”…
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Phuket unemployment rates rise, average monthly income drops
With the lack of foreign tourists visiting Phuket, many tourism-dependent businesses have suffered. Officials have reported a spike in unemployment in Phuket and say average monthly income has dropped down to 1,900 baht. Government officials are now discussing potential measures for economic rehabilitation on the island province as well as the so-called “sandbox” travel scheme, which is expected to help…
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1,000 foreign tourists expected to travel to Koh Samui in July
Koh Samui may have 1,000 foreign visitors arrive on the island in July. As part of the “sandbox” tourism scheme, also set to launch in Phuket on July 1, allows tourists who are vaccinated against Covid-19 to travel to specific destinations in Thailand that have reached herd immunity. Thailand just launched its vaccination campaign a month ago. Now, both Koh…
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