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U-Tapao airport maintenance facility going ahead despite obstacles
U-Tapao Rayong-Pattaya International airport is going ahead with its proposed Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul project, despite Thai Airways entering bankruptcy, according to the secretary general of the Eastern Economic Corridor Office. The 11 billion baht project to has already been approved by the Cabinet and a contract is expected to be signed in June. “In early June, project owner the…
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Government prepares for safe reopening of schools on July 1
Officials from Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health are working closely with the Education Ministry to facilitate the safe reopening of schools on July 1. There has been recent debate if the schools system would be ready by that date. The rollout of online learning has only been since Monday this week, with early bugs being ironed out and teachers, and…
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Thailand’s property market set to experience brokerage megashift
by Bill Barnett It’s clear that Thailand’s real estate sector is expected to undergo a megashift as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and search for a ‘new normal’, if that’s even possible. That said, one of the country’s leading PropTech groups FazWaz says the crisis has only accelerated dynamic charges to the sector that have been bubbling to the…
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Survey finds Bangkok’s public transport lacking when it comes to safety measures
A survey carried out by the Thai Health Promotion Foundation shows that some users of public transport in the capital are not confident new health guidelines are being adhered to. The biggest concern appears to be a lack of social distancing, blamed on a shortage of vehicles during peak times. A report in Nation Thailand says those considered “high risk”…
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Upgrades to ‘luxury quarantine’ available for returnees
Mandatory 14 day state quarantine for Thai returnees may not be so bad – if you’re prepared to pay for it. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration revealed yesterday that there’s an upgrade option. CCSA spokesman Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin says state officials are providing the alternative quarantine arrangements for people “who need more options.” Returnees are currently sent either to…
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Thai Chamber of Commerce warns 10 million jobs in peril if lock-down persists
The Thai Chamber of Commerce is appealing for businesses to be allowed to reopen ASAP, warning that if the lock-down goes on much longer, an estimated 10 million people could lose their jobs. The Pattaya News reports that TCC Chairman, Kalin Sarasin, says businesses should be allowed to reopen provided they abide by new public health measures. He says the…
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Animal activists claim police officer killed beloved campus dog
A Thai animal rights group is accusing a Chiang Mai police officer of abusing and killing a beloved dog, Tia, a stray adopted by students at Chiang Mai University. Watchdog Thailand, based in Chiang Mai, investigated the incident after the dog’s body was found last week and recently reported their findings to police, according to Nation Thailand. The autopsy of…
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Thailand’s contact tracing app currently unable to alert users
The Thai government says its contact-tracing app is vital to reducing a new flare up of the Covid-19 virus, while admitting the app is currently unable to issue alerts. Covid-19 Task Force spokesman Dr. Taweeslip Wisanuyothin adds that as the technology has only been in use since Sunday, any new cases reported since then are likely to have contracted the…
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Second company in Thailand to be granted license to import natural gas
In a step to cut down energy costs, Thai Gulf Energy Development Company says that they have obtained a government license to import up to 1.7 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year. As Thailand moves to free up its natural gas market and position itself as a regional trading hub for LNG, Thai Gulf Energy has been reported…
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Thailand News Today – Thursday, May 21
Covid-19 update: 3 new cases including German man, no deaths 3 new Covid-19 cases have been found over the past 24 hour period, but no deaths, bringing the national total to 3,037 and leaving the death toll at 56. The new cases were found in Bangkok and Chon Buri – 2 community infections while the other was a repatriate student…
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President Trump claims China responsible for “mass worldwide killing”
In one of his notorious Twitter posts, US President Donald Trump once again raged against China over the Covid-19 pandemic sweeping the globe, blaming Beijing for a “mass worldwide killing.” The early morning tweet yesterday, which referred to an unidentified “wacko in China”, is the latest heated rhetoric from Washington, where Trump is making attacks on Beijing a central narrative…
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Thai Airways to lay off 30% of its staff
“THAI will stop repaying all debt and start from scratch.” The government announced today that Thai Airways will have to dismiss more than 6,000 employees after entering into receivership proceedings and a debt moratorium of 200 billion baht. The Cabinet decided to push Thai Airways into a bankruptcy procedure under the Bankruptcy Act and ordered the Ministry of Finance to…
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19 kilograms of crystal meth, valued around 10 million baht, seized on Thai train
2 people are in custody and 19 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine or “ya ice” has been seized after it was discovered in their bags on an express train from Bangkok to the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat last night. 22 year old Ekkapong Kaewsa, of Bangkok, and his female companion 23 year old Methanee Suparb from Si Sa Ket,…
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Thai government urges the public to comply with contact-tracing system
The spokesman for Thailand’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, Taweeslip Wisanuyothin, says it’s vital the public complies with the government’s tracking and tracing system if the virus is to be suppressed. The country is currently recording daily new cases in single digits, most of them returnees and already in state quarantine. One of the 3 new cases today was a 25 year…
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Officers demand 5 million baht bribe, hundreds riot – VIDEO
All claiming to be police officers, 3 men in Southern Thailand tried to extort a man for 5 million baht so he could avoid arrest. Somehow hundreds of villagers in Surat Thani got involved and surrounded the policeman’s Toyota Fortuner, according to Thai media. A video from Thai PBS shows villagers rocking the vehicle back and forth, and the rear…
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International postal services resume to some countries
Thailand’s postal service is resuming international deliveries to a variety of destinations as the Covid-19 situation in many countries has improved and many local and national governments have eased lockdown measures. Thailand Post announced the resumption of the service on its Facebook page yesterday. EMS World service will be available in 11 countries – Bhutan, China, Hong Kong, South Korea,…
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Global coronavirus infections top 5 million
“We still have a long way to go in this pandemic. In the last 24 hours, there have been 106,000 cases reported to WHO, the most in a single day since the outbreak began.” The Covid-19 coronavirus has infected more than 5 million people worldwide since the beginning of the outbreak, as the World Health Organisation yesterday reported highest number…
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Death sentence handed down via video call in Singapore
A prisoner in Singapore has been sentenced to death via a Zoom video call, the first time the city state has delivered capital punishment remotely. Thai PBS World reports that 37 year old Malaysian citizen Punithan Genasan was handed the death penalty as punishment for a 2011 heroin smuggling operation. Like Thailand, Singapore operates a zero-tolerance policy for drug trafficking…
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Thai Airways union says it won’t oppose bankruptcy proceedings
“We opposed this position before but after reexamination, we have to show creditors that Thai Airways will genuinely follow the restructuring plan. Including adjustments to the board and staff.” In an abrupt reversal, the president of Thai Airways’ labour union announced yesterday that the union won’t oppose the government’s plan to reduce holdings in the airline and restructure the carrier…
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State of emergency likely to remain through June
Despite the reopening of many businesses and a loosening of the national curfew, Thailand’s national state of emergency appears set to remain in effect for at least another month, as authorities are “still not confident” about the nation’s recovery from the Covid-19 crisis, according to a military source. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha met yesterday with military top brass to address the…
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Thai car production hits 30 year low
As late as last year, the automotive industry in Thailand was the largest in Southeast Asia and the twelfth largest in the world, with an annual output of around 2 million vehicles. But in April this year, Thailand’s car production hit its lowest level in 30 years – just 24,711 units – amid weak global demand, factory shutdowns and widespread…
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Bars, nightlife venues may reopen early to mid-June if virus remains in check
Thailand’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration is mulling the possibility of bars and other entertainment venues being allowed to reopen on or before the current proposed date of June 15. This is when the country is scheduled to enter Phase Four of the easing of Covid-19 restrictions. According to a report in The Pattaya News, the CCSA says any decision…
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Pattaya massage shops petition government to be allowed to reopen
Massage shops in Pattaya are appealing for permission to reopen as the city has not recorded a new case of the Covid-19 virus for 36 days now. Their plea comes as the government considers the possibility of allowing lower body massage only, to lessen the risk of virus transmission. However, the Thai Massage Association says it would be impossible for…
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Man steals one million baht to pay off gambling debts
What would you do if you were broke and owed 800,000 baht in gambling debts? Rob a bank? Seems like the start of a movie, but that’s basically what happened earlier this week in Northern Thailand. On Monday, 2 men robbed a car at gunpoint in front of Bangkok Bank Branch in Chiang Saen and sped off on their motorbike, Thai media…
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Cyclone Amphan: Crossed the coast and now saturating India and Bangladesh
Cyclone Amphan made reached the coastline late yesterday afternoon near the Indian town of Digha, on India’s eastern coast, near the border with Bangladesh. As the storm marched up the Bay of Bengal since the weekend, strengthening, thousands of people were evacuated as a precaution for the major storm system. Millions of other have taken shelter or made their way…
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Thailand News Today – Wednesday, May 20
Start off today with a sign of one of the new normals, at the Seacon Mall near Bang Na in Bangkok. Here you can see that they’ve installed foot switches for the elevator system. First to call the elevator and then, once you’re inside, to select the floor and close the doors. Luckily in the case of this elevator there…
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Last Covid-19 patient in Songklanagarind hospital sent home
A hospital on the front lines fighting Covid-19 in the Hat Yai district of the southern province of Songkhla has released its last remaining Covid-19 patient. The patient was sent home yesterday, after making a full recovery. According to the staff at Songklanagarind Hospital, the patient fell critically ill in his home province of Narathiwat and had to be transferred…
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More trouble for ailing Thai Airways as Airbus calls in its debts
Even as struggling national flag carrier Thai Airways strives to come up with blueprint for financial recovery, Airbus is calling in its debts on 30 aircraft rented by the airline. Thailand’s deputy transport minister says the company’s debts were checked on May 15, when documents showed that Airbus is trying to collect debts for rental of 30 airplanes as the…
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‘New normal’ seen in shopping malls across Bangkok
Part of the ‘new normal’, in times of Covid-19 in Thailand, involves redesigning traditional ways of doing things and changing daily life to stay safe and virus free. Today The Standard has revealed a few things that you might see in the near future. To minimise the risk of the spread of Covid-19 in elevators, engineers have created a new,…
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5 dead in high speed Surin crash
5 are dead after a pickup truck traveling at high speed crashed into a Mitsubishi Pajero in Issan’s Surin province yesterday. The incident happened on Surin-Prasat Road near the Sab-anan rice mill in the province’s Chaneang district. The pickup’s driver, who was one of those killed in the accident, is believed to have lost control of the vehicle on the…
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