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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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UPDATE: Phuket Zoo animals left abandoned and starving – VIDEO
UPDATE: Edwin Wiek, Founder at People & Animals Thailand, has made this announcement relating to the tigers at the Phuket Zoo… There are some fundraisers ongoing on the net to help the tigers at PHUKET ZOO that are in need of help. Please be informed that these fundraising campaigns are set up by private people who are not owners of…
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Thailand News Today – Tuesday, April 16
Singapore’s new cases surge Singapore health officials have reported 447 new infections yesterday, a record daily increase, with the majority of new cases linked to dormitory housing for low-paid migrant workers. The city-state, which has registered 3,699 infections and 10 deaths, initially managed to keep its outbreak in check but is now battling a fast-rising second wave of cases. Singapore…
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Migrant workers in Thailand can now stay until November 30
Yesterday the Thai government officially announced a blanket extension for the country’s migrant labourers. They will now be permitted to stay until November 30 this year and will be exempted from any sort of overstay penalty. Government Spokeswoman Narumon Pinyosinwat says that the government has backed the Ministry of Labour’s review of the Cabinet resolution on March 24 on the…
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Thai-Malaysian border set to open this weekend
The Thai-Malaysian border is set to reopen this weekend to assist the struggling rubber trade, causing locals to express concern that a spike in new Covid 19 cases could result in Thailand because of the move. Security officials, however, are assuring the public that intensive screening measures are in place in anticipation of the re-opening. Commander of the Fourth Army…
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Taiwan considers rebranding its flag carrier, China Airlines
Taipei is considering changing the name of its flag carrier: China Airlines. Perhaps an opportunistic excuse to distance itself from any anti-Chinese ‘Covid’ fallout or just a political ploy whilst China has, well, other things to worry about at the moment. It seems the Covid-19 pandemic has reignited calls to change the name after the airline sent a series of…
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Loophole closed – more unemployed to receive payments from Thai government
The loophole for employees whose businesses were not ordered to close, but are still affected by Covid 19 pandemic, has finally been addressed. The Thai Ministry of Labor secretary Sutthi Sukosol says that compensation will be similar to what employees whose businesses were ordered to close are paid, which is 62% of daily wage based on a maximum monthly salary…
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2.7 billion in “cash gifts” for officials working to fight Covid-19
Government Spokesperson Traisulee Traisaranakul announced the Thai Cabinet has approved “cash gifts” for government officials working to fighting the Covid 19 outbreak. “The move to disburse cash gifts from the 2.7 billion baht budget was proposed by the Office of the Civil Service Commission.” Those who work in fields directly affected by the outbreak – doctors, nurses and other essential…
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‘Ranger’ the civet and friends saved from Chiang Mai forest fires
Twenty wild animals including ‘Ranger’ the palm civet, hawks, yellow throated martens, gibbons and leopards, have been rescued from forest fires in Thailand’s northern province of Chiang Mai. The wildlife conservation department says that although some of the animals have been injured in forest fires, they are all now safe and under the care of the animal clinic. They estimate…
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Thai Government pharmaceutical organisation boosts production of key medicines
Dr Mukdavan Prakobvaitayakit, the deputy managing director of The Government Pharmaceutical Organisation says “the GPO has been increasing the amount of production for chronic disease medication by 50%. ” This unexpected Covid-19 pandemic has hit the stockpile of 5 – 6 key medicines, which are being used in the treatment of Covid-19. In normal circumstances, GPO usually purchases raw materials…
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Police arrest 3 as they crack down on fake mask and gel network
Provincial Police Region 1 officers have arrested 3 people who have been charged with selling a large quantity of fake hand gel dispensers and face masks. The arrests were made in Samut Prakan (south of Bangkok), Pathum Thani (north of Bangkok) and Bangkok. The provincial police believe that all 3 suspects are part of a bigger network of distributors and…
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Pattaya man allegedly confesses to stabbing murder of ex-wife
…and has allegedly confessed to the murder. The original story can be found HERE: The suspect has now been identified as 52 year old Boonlert Khunmoon of Chon Buri’s Banglamung district. The victim was 50 year old Sudjai Rodmanee, the suspect’s ex-wife. The incident took place near the Chon Buri Land Office in Pattaya mid-morning yesterday. Boonlert followed Sudjai on…
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Medical team from Songkhla come to Phuket to help during Covid-19 outbreak
Phuket health workers have welcomed a special team of much-needed medics from southern Thailand’s Songkhla Nararin Hospital. The 50 medics arrived in Phuket yesterday to assist with Covid 19 cases and testing on the island. The team, led by the Nararin Hospital director, set up a field hospital to assist patients suffering from Covid 19. Phuket currently has the second…
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Police nab another suspect in notorious Forex-3D Ponzi scheme
Police in Bangkok have arrested yet another suspect in the infamous Forex-3D Ponzi scheme which duped thousands with false promises of high returns and resulted in losses of tens of billions of baht. Department of Special Investigation officials have now arrested 30 year old Sitthanat Pho-ngern on a warrant issued by the Criminal Court. He’s charged with luring people to…
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Mobile blood driver deployed in Khon Kaen
“Families that have 3 or more people who are willing to donate blood, authorities will be sending mobile units that will visit homes in the main city area of Khon Kaen province today.” This from Dr Sujira Kwasaen, director of The Khon Kaen Regional Health Promotion Centre 7. The Khon Kaen Regional Health Promotion Centre 7 is working with The…
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Thailand News Today – Wednesday, April 15
30 new Covid-19 cases (Wednesday), 2 more deaths Thai health officials today confirmed 30 new Covid-19 cases, taking the national total to 2,643. New cases – 30 Total cases – 2,643 Death toll – 43 2 new deaths raise the national tally to 43. Today’s result follows the general trend of fewer new cases each day. But a spokesman for…
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Australian man arrested over child sexual abuse charge
Thailand’s Crime Suppression Division police have arrested 63 year old William James Petrie, an Australian man living in Central Thailand on sexual abuse charges in his home country. He was arrested at his house in Chachoengsao, east of Bangkok, where he was living with his Thai wife and her family. The man’s wife, whose identity has been withheld, said she…
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New Phuket governor announced, old Governor shunted off to Petchaburi
The southern island province of Phuket is to have a new governor, it was announced today. Phuket’s governor, Pakkapong Tawipat started work on the island on October 1, 2018. He was a former Phang Nga governor and former vice governor of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya and Saraburi in central Thailand. ‘Former’ Governor Pakkapong will be taking up a new post in the…
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Canadian students create hotline to cheer up quarantined elderly
Quarantine might not be so terrible for Gen X, Y, or Millennials with subscription services such as Netflix, HBO Go, Amazon Prime and other streaming services, plus fads like TikToc, et al to keep them busy. But for the elderly, isolation can be quite lonely. Canadian High school students wanted to change that by creating a hotline that plays pre…
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Man drowns in waste treatment pond after fleeing police checkpoint
This morning at 4am a man on a motorbike, trying to evade a police checkpoint in Songkhla province (southern Thailand), drowned in a sludge treatment pool. At 4am on Phonpichai Road, when police officers were packing up the checkpoint and were about to head home, a man riding a motorcycle had turned around just before reaching the checkpoint, and continued…
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Covid-19 crisis delays Thailand’s biofuel future
Thailand’s Energy Ministry has postponed a nationwide plan to switch to biofuels until the Covid 19 crisis subsides. The ministry initially told oil refineries to stop producing gasohol 91 at the end of May and planned to increase consumption and manufacture of biofuels like gasohol E20, which will generate income for local farmers who grow biofuel energy crops like sugarcane…
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Bangkok man arrested for flogging dodgy medical certificates online
A young man in Bangkok has been arrested for peddling fake medical certificates on Facebook Marketplace. Police arrested 24 year old Phitchayaphat Somsri at a house in Lat Phrao district for selling the false certificates, including for Covid-19, for up to 1000 baht each, and say he used quite a number of tools in manufacturing them. A spokesman says the…
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Bank robber comes in from the rain, makes off with 106,000 baht
Staff at the Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives in Prawet district of southeastern Bangkok got a surprise this week when a lone armed robber came in off the street, out of the torrential rain, and stole 106,000 baht. Brandishing a pistol, the man, caught on security cameras, wore a sky blue cap, a facemask, black shirt, jeans and trainers.…
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China moves to second phase of successful vaccine trials
An adenovirus vector vaccine clinical trial in China has successfully concluded its first phase, and a more intensive second phase studying hundred of patients in now taking place. It is the first Covid 19 vaccine that has entered phase two of clinical trials, according to the WHO. A 84 year old man in Wuhan was vaccinated Monday, becoming the oldest…
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Singapore hit by a second wave of coronavirus cases
Singapore was a paragon of coronavirus containment. Covid-19 was under control in the island state. Case number were flattening out. But the virus has made a resurgent return with the previous ‘flattening’ of new cases now spiking. As Italy, Spain, the UK and US founder under a seemingly relentless pandemic, despite lockdowns and best intentions, several Asian nations stand out…
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US President halts funding for WHO – VIDEO
At over 600,000 cases, the US has more Covid-19 infections than any other country. Now, the US President Donald Trump has now announced a cut in US funding for the World Health Organisation, the UN agency tasked with fighting the outbreak worldwide. In a press briefing at the White House Rose Garden yesterday, he said he had instructed his administration to…
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Thai Covid 19 “Super Spreader” song goes… VIRAL
“Don’t just think of fun, or you’ll suffer from Covid If you can’t recover, you could die!” After witnessing the successful Vietnamese public service song and #EndCov campaigns educating the Vietnamese population to wash their hands and take action in the battle against the Coronavirus, the Thai government has doubled down and weaponised the power of Issan music to create…
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Thailand News Today – Tuesday, April 14
Thailand Covid-19 cases rise to 34 (Tuesday), 1 more death Health officials today confirmed 34 new Covid-19 cases from around the country, bringing the total to 2,613. There was one additional death, a Bangkok bus driver, raising the country’s death toll to 41. Today’s number is higher than the 28 recorded yesterday, and comes after five straight days of declines…
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Thailand facing double whammy – Covid-19 and worsening seasonal drought
The Office of the National Water Resources says up to 6,255 villages in 24 provinces have already been declared as drought-affected areas, while national dams and reservoirs are only at an average of 49% capacity (only 26% of that water is usable.) It has been predicted that the drought could last until at least July. Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwon says…
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AoT, already struggling, deny investing in faltering Thai Airways
“We’ve got enough problems of our own.” Airports of Thailand is denying claims that it is interested in acquiring a stake in the financially floundering flag carrier Thai Airways, saying that they too are struggling with the sharp drop in revenue after airlines and airport shutdowns related to the Covid-19 pandemic. Thai Airways, once considered one of Asia’s most luxurious…
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Singapore issues permanent ban for breaking curfew
Twenty four work pass holders had their work permits cancelled and are now permanently banned from working in Singapore for breaking Covid 19 “circuit breaker” rules. The foreign workers were caught eating, drinking and socialising in groups near Tuas View Square in Singapore’s western region. The Ministry of Manpower stepped up inspections of dormitories to ensure safe distancing measures are…
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