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Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.
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Poverty rising during pandemic, 15 million expected to be on welfare by 2022
Thailand’s poverty rate has been increasing during the pandemic. According to the deputy Finance Minister, the number of Thais receiving state welfare is expected to increase by over 1 million, totaling around 15 million people. Based on Worldometer statistics, this means that next year over 21% of the population will be on welfare, or around 1 in 5 people in the…
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Singapore looks to Esports to help reboot tourism
As Singapore slowly reopens to foreign travellers, the country is hoping that Esports might be a new way to attract more tourists back to the island. Singapore has invested heavily in both digital and physical infrastructure, and has become Southeast Asia’s primary hub for Esports viewing and revenue, according to Bloomberg. Dr. Tan See Leng, Minister of Manpower and Second…
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Bali governor pushes for reduction in mandatory quarantine
The governor of the resort island of Bali is urging the Indonesian government to reduce quarantine time for international arrivals. TTR Weekly reports that Bali currently has a 2-night quarantine in effect, but Governor I Wayan Koster says it’s putting tourists off coming. He wants to see it reduced to 1 night, until international visitors get the results of their…
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Protesters opposing PM visit detained by police in Krabi
A number of activists opposing the visit of PM Prayut Chan-o-cha to the southern province of Krabi were detained by police yesterday. Thai PBS World reports that the 5 activists rallied at the province’s Ao Nang beach to protest a visit by the Thai leader. The PM and members of his administration were in Krabi for a mobile Cabinet meeting…
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Biden-Xi summit begins, tensions high between China and the US
A highly anticipated virtual meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping has begun as tensions are high between the two countries, especially over the status of Taiwan, which is a self-ruling democracy claimed by Beijing. Speaking through a translator, Biden told Xi… “As I’ve said before, it seems to me our responsibility as leaders of China…
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Disgraced police chief Thitisan and 6 other officers indicted in murder case
A former police chief accused of murdering a suspect in custody has been indicted, along with 6 other former police officers. The Bangkok Post reports that public prosecutors have taken the case to the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases. Thitisan Utthanaphon is accused of torturing Chiraphong Thanapat to death by suffocating the 24 year old with plastic…
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Commerce minister welcomes re-opening of 2 southern border checkpoints
Thailand’s Commerce Minister, Jurin Laksanawisit, has welcomed the re-opening of 2 border checkpoints in the southern province of Narathiwat, saying it will boost trade with Malaysia. Both the Tak Bai and Buketa checkpoints re-opened yesterday, with Jurin predicting an increase of at least 600 million baht a year in bilateral trade between Thailand and Malaysia. The Bangkok Post reports that…
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Will fresh EU sanctions on Belarus make a difference?
As people camp out on the border between Belarus and Poland in freezing conditions, Brussels is squaring up to Minsk and brandishing a new tool it hopes will help turn the crisis around: fresh sanctions. EU foreign affairs ministers met in Brussels on Monday to give their backing to new criteria for sanctions, giving the bloc legal power to target…
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Will Ukraine take in migrants from Belarus-Poland border?
Heated discussions in Kyiv have been sparked after a German lawmaker suggested Ukraine could take in migrants and refugees stuck on the Poland-Belarus border, while the EU processes their asylum applications. As yet, however, neither Berlin nor Brussels have formally proposed the idea to Ukraine’s leadership. EU-Turkey deal as a blueprint? The suggestion, made by German parliamentarian Nils Schmid of…
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Pakistan: Citizens reel under high inflation as Khan’s popularity nosedives
Abid Hussain, 40, a factory worker in Faisalabad city, says he is planning to send his two children to an Islamic madrassa as he cannot afford to pay their fee for a private school. The madrassa offers free education, boarding and meals, he said. “My wife is not in favor of the children’s madrassa education,” he told DW. “But I…
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Pakistan: Rampant inflation piles on the pressure
Abid Hussain, 40, a factory worker in Faisalabad city, says he is planning to send his two children to an Islamic madrassa as he cannot afford to pay their fee for a private school. The madrassa offers free education, boarding and meals, he said. “My wife is not in favor of the children’s madrassa education,” he told DW. “But I…
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Police say no live ammunition was used against protesters in Bangkok yesterday
Bangkok police denied reports that live ammunition was used against pro-democracy protesters during a clash yesterday evening where at least two protesters were shot. Doctors have not made any detailed statements on the injuries, but police say only rubber bullets were fired at protesters. Officers say they are still investigating the incident. Yesterday evening, a large rally of Thai activists…
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Singaporeans can still travel to most European VTL countries without being quarantined
Residents of Singapore who have been vaccinated will still be able to travel quarantine-free to seven of the eight European nations that have vaccinated travel lanes, or VTL, with the Republic. Despite the European Union’s upgrade of the Republic’s Covid-19 risk assessment on November 9, seven EU countries have yet to reimpose mandatory quarantine on passengers from Singapore, as required…
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Malaysia’s Langkawi will reopen next week as part of a travel bubble plan
Malaysia’s first international tourism bubble begins today as the country plans to reopen its borders next year in a bid to revive its tourism industry. Travellers from overseas who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 are now able to travel to the island of Langkawi without undergoing quarantine. Langkawi, the tourist hotspot in northwestern Malaysia, was the first holiday spot to…
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Monday Covid Update: 6,343 new cases; provincial totals
45 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 20,081 with 19,987 of those fatalities during the latest wave, which was first recorded on April 1. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 6,343 new Covid-19 cases and 7,663 recoveries. There are now 94,163 people in Thailand being…
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Thailand’s Foreign Affairs Minister visits Myanmar capital to meet military junta
Thailand’s Foreign Affairs Minister Don Pramudwinai, who also serves as deputy prime minister, met with the military junta’s Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin and later with the coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing yesterday afternoon, according to a report by local media outlet Myanmar Now. It is unknown what topics the two parties discussed during this confidential day-trip made…
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Bars are closed in Bangkok… but not on Khao San Road
The Thai government says bars are closed, and will be until mid-January, but if you look hard enough you’ll find many are open… and packed. Over the weekend, the entrance to Bangkok’s notorious Khao San Road was blocked with a Covid-19 checkpoint. To get on the street to party, people needed to show proof of vaccination or test negative for…
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Heavy rain and landslide cause villas at Koh Samui resort to collapse
Heavy rain and landslides caused several villas at a resort on Koh Samui to collapse on Saturday. Torrential rain over the past several days flooded several areas on the island and, according to weather reports, rain is expected to continue for the next few days. The landslide hit the Merit Resort Samui early Saturday morning. The resort’s general manager described…
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Cambodia ends quarantine for vaccinated arrivals from today
Cambodian PM, Hun Sen, has announced that from today, vaccinated arrivals will no longer be required to carry out mandatory quarantine. According to a Bangkok Post report, the PM confirmed the decision in a voice recording on social media. Cambodia has been imposing mandatory quarantine on foreign arrivals for the last 18 months. The country’s leader says this will no…
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Thai PM “pleased” with increase in tourist numbers since November 1 re-opening
A government spokesman says the Thai PM is pleased with the rise in tourist numbers since the country re-opened with minimal quarantine on November 1. Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana says that since then, Thailand has welcomed 44,774 foreign visitors to the kingdom. According to a Bangkok Post report, 31,666 of those arrived under the new Test and Go scheme, open to vaccinated…
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2 anti-government protesters shot in Bangkok as German embassy accepts letter from activists
At least 2 anti-government protesters were shot during yesterday’s rally in Bangkok, which culminated with activists delivering a letter to the German Embassy. (Some reports in Thai media say 3 protesters were shot.) Protest leader Thatchapong Kaedam said the letter informed the embassy of a recent Constitutional Court verdict that ruled that 3 activists were guilty of plotting to overthrow…
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Supalai Oriental Sukhumvit 39 offers modern and luxurious living
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Indonesia: Exchanging plastic for books
A librarian on the Indonesian island of Java has started a mobile library, lending children books in exchange for trash. It develops their awareness of the environment — and they get to read more at the same time. SOURCE: DW News
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Chiang Mai tourism almost exclusively domestic for now
With Chiang Mai currently experiencing the fourth-highest daily infections in the country – 357 people in today’s figures – it’s not surprising that international tourism has hardly bounced back since the reopening of Thailand 2 weeks ago. The effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on the province has been estimated to have lost tourism revenue as high as 70 billion baht…
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Pattaya sees big tourism growth, but mostly domestic
Pattaya has been frustrated for being passed over for an exemption from the national alcohol ban that other tourist areas like Phuket have received as a tourism “Blue Zone”, but nevertheless, one of Thailand’s most popular resort cities is seeing tourism slowly emerge from its Covid-19 pandemic induced slumber. With a menu of events through the end of the year,…
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Phuket post-Sandbox arrivals double, surge in domestic tourism
Thailand has only been reopened for 2 weeks, but the Phuket Sandbox was the tourism experiment that started it all. And though Phuket has been welcoming international travellers since way back in July, the November 1 reopening saw a noticeable boost in arriving visitors, both foreign and domestic. The Sandbox scheme that required a soft quarantine where travellers could roam…
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COVID-19 SUNDAY UPDATE: Vaccinations, provincial totals
Today, the CCSA reported 7,079 new Covid-19 infections, up 22 since yesterday, and 47 Coronavirus-related deaths, down 8 from yesterday. Since April 1, in the latest wave of the virus in Thailand, a total of 1,989,547 confirmed Covid-19 infections have been reported. In the 24 hour period since the last count, the CCSA has reported 6,917 recoveries, down 476 from…
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Thai flights up 25%, experts suggest travel bubbles, cheaper Covid tests
Thailand’s reopening isn’t just a boost for Thai tourism businesses; it also provided a ray of hope in Asia for the battered airline industry as the first reopening in the region. The Executive Chairman of Thai AirAsia’s largest shareholder, Asia Aviation, says this sets the tone for flights, the tourism economy, and businesses in the country. Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok,…
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Tourism in Thailand is slowly returning, still a long road ahead
Though the government’s expected flood of tourists entering Thailand since the reopening 2 weeks ago has been closer to a trickle, businesses are seeing a bit of an uptick in tourism. Still, they are calling on the government to loosen Covid-19 restrictions and asking for federal financial programs to be extended and expanded to help speed recovery. The president of…
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