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Sponsored New in July: Save 10% for life on family health plans in Thailand
Cigna has a special offer this July for families in Thailand. When you sign up three or more people on a family health plan, you will save 10% on your premiums for life. This deal helps you get affordable, high-quality...
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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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Top 6 fake coronavirus news stories
The deadly Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak, which has infected thousands and spread to 15 countries since it emerged in China, has also spawned many false claims on social media. Here’s a selection of false stories debunked by AFP’s Fact Check service… 1. Sydney food is not contaminated In Australia, multiple Facebook posts shared hundreds of times claim to show a list of…
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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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Coronavirus UPDATE – 6,057 confirmed cases, 132 dead, Wednesday 11.30am
The Coronavirus has now infected a confirmed 6,057 people who are undergoing treatment, and the death toll has reached 132. 125 of those deaths are isolated to Hubei Province in central China. The largest city of Hubei is Wuhan, the epicentre of the current outbreak which first came to light in mid-December last year at a fresh meat market. Germany…
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Nonthaburi beggar exposed, drives a big SUV
Beggars and the homeless remain a major issue in Thailand, especially in larger cities and tourist areas, and many choose to help, but their kindness is sometimes exploited. Facebook user “Chaluta Joy” posted photos on Monday of a beggar, who’s been seen asking for money in different villages and markets in the central province of Nonthaburi, stepping out of a…
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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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Coronavirus UPDATE – 5,578 confirmed cases, 131 dead
We awake to the latest news today on the spread of the Coronavirus where 5,578 people are now confirmed as infected and undergoing treatment, and the death toll reaching 131. 125 of those deaths are isolated to Hubei Province in central China (graph below). The largest city of Hubei is Wuhan, the epicentre of the current outbreak which first came…
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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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Coronavirus – WHO says it remains unclear when people become contagious
The World Health Organisation has announced that… “it remains unclear if the deadly coronavirus, which broke out in Wuhan, China five weeks ago, is contagious during its incubation period before symptoms appear. The virus, causing a pneumonia-like respiratory infection, has killed more than 100 people and infected over 4,500 in China, while cases are now identified in more than a dozen…
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No permission from Beijing to evacuate Thais from China
China has so far not granted Thailand permission to land a plane to evacuate Thais in light of the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says China is handling the situation, and the Thai government must prepare a list of Thai nationals currently in China, an assembly point and a departure table before permission is given. “China confirmed that it can…
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Coronavirus v SARS, a quick comparison
SARS, the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, was a viral respiratory disease caused by the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV). Between November 2002 and July 2003, the eight month outbreak in southern China infected a total of 8,098 people, resulting in 774 deaths in 17 countries. Two years ago Chinese scientists traced SARS’ origins through the intermediary of civets (cat-like small mammals) to…
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Coronavirus UPDATE: 81 dead, Beijing 50 year old dies, more cases in the US
The death toll in China from the respiratory illness called the Wuhan Coronavirus or the Novel Coronavirus, has now reached 81. There are no deaths reported outside China and the vast majority of deaths are in the province of Hubei (76) where Wuhan is the capital. The coronavirus has now infected nearly 3,000 people, and the numbers are expected to…
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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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Nonthaburi mansion fire burns away damages valued at 10 million baht
A fire at a mansion in the central province of Nonthaburi has created over ten million baht worth of damage. The home, on the Chao Phraya River in Nonthaburi City, lit up on Saturday, the morning of Chinese New Year. Firefighters rushed to the scene. Firefighters arrived at the two-storey house on 16 rai (6.3 acres) of land to find…
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Coronavirus UPDATE: More Chinese cities restrict travel, Thailand checking land borders
The death toll from the novel coronavirus has grown to 80 today. The entire Hubei Province is now in the largest health ‘lockdown’ ever mounted in modern medical history with tight controls of who or what is inbound or outbound from the central Chinese province, plus severe restrictions on movement in place in several other Chinese cities. The number of deaths…
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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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Hungarian overstayer dies in Suvarnabhumi detention cell
A 60 year old Hungarian man has died in detention at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport. Lazlo Balogh was awaiting deportation for overstaying his visa. Laszlo was handed over to the Suvarnabhumi airport police for repatriation on Saturday, January 25. He showed no unusual signs after being put in the detention cell and was sleeping normally on Saturday night, according to police. But…
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Coronavirus – Thai officials meet for evacuation contingency of citizens in Wuhan
Thailand’s Foreign Ministry is hosting a meeting today to review plans to repatriate Thais marooned in China as a result of the cessation of flights and lockdowns in many Chinese cities. The Thai Rapid Response Centre, along with the Public Health Ministry, will also be updated by local Thai Embassy staff and consular officials in China to find ways of…
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Coronavirus UPDATE: 2,700+ infected, 80 dead, 8 cases in Thailand
We bring you all this morning’s key updates in news about the spread of the Novel Coronavirus. Whilst there is plenty of speculation and rumours in social media, The Thaiger will only be publishing news that has been corroborated by authorised medical and scientific organisations or quoted with attribution in leading world media. As the story is developing quickly we…
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Hotels in Hua Hin ordered to check on Chinese tourists after confirmed coronavirus case
Thanon Panphipat, the Hua Hin district chief officer, says all hotels in the Gulf resort town, four hours south of Bangkok, must check the passports of all Chinese tourists and to immediately report if any of them appear sick or develop flu-like symptoms. He says that the instruction was a precautionary measure to prevent the possible spread of the virus,.…
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Online grocery shopping gains popularity in Thailand
Squeezing the avocados and smelling the mangoes, in person, may well become a thing of the past as online grocery buying quickly gathers pace. The intense competition in online grocery sales is expected to surge in 2020. Online Apps like Line, Grab and Lazada are making major inroads into the Thai grocery market valued around 30 billion baht. Pushing the growth…
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Additional thermal screening for Chinese arrivals at Thai airports
“The number of Chinese tourists is likely to drop by half this year – creating an enormous impact on Thailand’s tourism industry.” Thailand’s health authorities are taking more stringent precautions over Chinese arrivals in Thailand following the confirmation of coronavirus case #6 in Hua Hin, a resort town south west of Bangkok. Panlop Singhaseni, Prachuap Khiri Khan’s governor, says they are…
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Latest Khao Lak hotel report
by Bill Barnett, c9hotelworks.com Increasing hotel supply in Khao Lak with stable tourism growth reflects a destination market entering a new cycle. Khao Lak is a beachside destination an hour and a half drive north from Phuket Airport in Phang Nga province. The upcoming second Greater Phuket airport (in Phang Nga) is expected to push the destination to diversify offerings…
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Romeo robber arrested for drugging women in their homes
Lonely hearts beware: a serial robber has been arrested after meeting up with girls for a night of fun but instead robbing them in their own homes. Police arrested a 28 year old man, who they named only as “Suchin,” in the eastern province of Chonburi on Thursday. One victim told authorities she met Suchin on a dating site in…
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Coronavirus UPDATE: President Xi addresses “grave situation of the rapid spreading epidemic”
The Novel Coronavirus that infects the respiratory tract and gives patients flu-like symptoms, is now responsible for at least 42 deaths in central China (40 in Hubei), with 15 new fatalities reported yesterday, and more than 1,409 cases in total. At this stage the spread of the virus outside China has been extremely isolated with overseas authorities quarantining any confirmed…
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Man arrested after ‘fun nights’ ended up in robberies
A man has been arrested Chon Buri after organising to meet girls for a “night of fun” but robbing them instead in their own homes. Crime Suppression DivisionPolice arrested 28 year old Suchin in the Panas Nikom District this week. The warrant was issued by the Uthai Thani Provincial Court, but it wasn’t the only court after the man. Last…
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Iranian man falls to his death in Pattaya
An Iranian man is dead after falling from an eight-storey building at a housing state in Pattaya’s Bang Lamung district this morning. The body of the 55 year old man, whose name is being withheld until relatives are notified, was found face down on the ground behind the building at the Ekmongkhol housing estate in tambon Nong Prue. Pattaya police were…
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