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Phase 6 of re-opening to see thousands of foreigners granted entry to Thailand
A number of additional categories of foreigners will be able to apply to re-enter the Kingdom. These include migrant workers from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, Elite Visa holders, medical tourists, film crew, convention exhibitors and select business visitors. Anyone that doesn’t fall into one of those groups will remain excluded from the country as the borders remain shut to almost…
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10 returning soldiers found with high fever
151 Thai soldiers, who went to Hawaii to participate in the Lightning Forge 2020 joint training program with the US, returned home yesterday on a Thai Airways flight that landed at Suvarnabhumi airport at 5:40 pm. 10 soldiers were found to have high fevers and were rushed to a hospital in Bangkok to be tested for Covid-19. Another soldier was…
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Female doctor resigns after hospital attack; director suggests “gold shop security”
The director of Vibharam-Chai Prakan Hospital in Samut Prakan, just south of Bangkok, says he may need to upgrade security to that used by gold shops to protect hospital staff. His remarks come just days after violence erupted at 2 hospitals in the area. 2 gangs were fighting after 1 of their members died. A female doctor resigned after the…
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Thailand’s tourist magnets deserted and desperate
The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, bird flu, SARS, political upheavals, passenger boats sinking. None of these have had anywhere near the effect of this year’s Covid-19 pandemic in Thailand. Visitor numbers, even from the usually enthusiastic Tourism Authority of Thailand, are expected to plummet up to 80% for the year. The other 20% mostly visited the Kingdom in the first…
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Bangkok “sadist” arrested for man’s death, woman’s abduction
Bangkok police have arrested a man for the abduction of a woman and the death of her boyfriend in the city’s Lumpini Park Tuesday night. Authorities say he is a sexual sadist who preyed on sex workers in the downtown area. Police say a woman, identified as 35 year old Natchada Kiengkaiwaykin, was lured into his Volkswagen van. Her boyfriend,…
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Global aviation recovery could take 3 years – Survey
“Widespread recovery of the global airline industry could be up to three years away.” That’s the consensus out of n industry poll conducted as part of FlightPlan: Charting a Course into the Future. 500 professionals around the world were asked questions about the likely recovery of the global aviation industry. Apart from the dire predictions of a slow recovery over the next…
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American busted for fraud in Bangkok
An American man in Bangkok has been arrested and faces charges of defrauding a Thai investor out of 300,000 baht. Immigration police arrested the 37 year old for allegedly conning the victim into investing in an application to search for condominiums, jobs, cleaning and other services. The man, identified only as “Matthew”, was arrested under a warrant obtained by immigration…
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Phuket to get 3 billion baht medical tourism hub
Plans are underway for a 3 billion baht medical hub on the island of Phuket, set over 140 rai near Mai Khao beach, just north of the airport. A report in Nation Thailand says the plan has been confirmed by the Director of Vachira Hospital, Dr. Chalermpong Sukontapol. He says that as a result of the downturn in tourism due…
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Last Qantas 747 flight draws kangaroo logo in the sky to mark final voyage – VIDEO
The Qantas Boeing 747 has taken to the skies for the last time, marking its final journey by drawing the airline’s famous kangaroo logo in the sky. The design could be seen on flight radar maps as the aircraft, affectionately known as the Queen of the Skies, ascended out of Sydney for the last time. It flew over the Harbour…
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Sudden downpour floods Pattaya’s main roads
More rain in Pattaya today brining flooding to some of the ‘usual’ spots and affecting traffic. The mid-afternoon downpour flooded Pattaya’s major arteries, causing water up to 50 centimetres deep on some of the roads, including (of course) Beach Road. The rain battered the seaside city for around 2 hours. The Bangkok-Pattaya motorway was also hit by the sudden downpour…
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“Priceless” ancient manuscripts vanish from university, feared stolen and sold
“Hundreds” of priceless historical manuscripts have been stolen from the Arts and Cultural Centre of the Nakhon Si Thammarat Rabhabhat University. A senior monk said the ancient folding-book paper manuscripts, known as “samut khoi”, contained stories and drawings featuring local history, traditions and culture, and might have been stolen and sold to people unaware that they belonged to the university.…
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6 escaped buffalo rescued by Buddhist nun
6 buffalo who broke loose from a Bangkok slaughterhouse and onto city streets this morning will be saved by a nun who owns a farm for rescued farm animals. Phakjira Hatthakitchamroen, who owns Punissarapab Farm in the western province of Ratchaburi, is collecting funds to buy the animals from the slaughterhouse in the Srinagarindra area. They were spotted wandering On…
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Isaan students say they’ll defy protest ban
Students at Isaan’s Mahasarakham University say they’re going ahead with a planned anti-government rally despite a ban from the institution. Organisers of the protest made the announcement earlier today. The university initially said yesterday that any rallies held on campus grounds must abide by the laws and refrain from anti-monarchy rhetoric. The university later revised its policy and banned all…
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Government says Emergency Decree extension won’t ban protests
Although the Emergency Decree was officially extended again today, through the end of August, the government says political gatherings and rallies won’t be banned. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha approved the extension earlier today but officials insist the emergency measures are strictly for guarding against the resurgence of Covid-19 and unrelated to the ongoing protests. According to the secretary-general of the National…
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310 out of 50,000 repatriates tested positive for Covid-19: minister
Thailand’s foreign affairs minister has reported to the Senate that full assistance is being provided to Thai nationals stranded overseas due to the Covid-19 world pandemic. This is despite the recent controversy surrounding an Egyptian airman visiting Thailand who tested positive after visiting shopping spots in the eastern Rayong province. The minister responded to questions from Senators, pointing out that…
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Tourism sector facing massive closures
Thailand’s tourism sector, long seen as a lifeline for the nation’s battered economy, is in a meltdown; more than 30% of tourism-related businesses have left the market with many more expected to follow, according to the Tourism Council of Thailand. The president of the TCT says the tourism industry predicts further deterioration after 6 months of the Covid-19 crisis, as…
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Woman says emergency operator joked and hung up on her as father lay dying
A young woman in Ratchaburi province, western Thailand, says an emergency operator joked that he couldn’t hear her, then said, “beep, beep” before hanging up on her. The woman, 18 year old Pronrawin Ongpisut, was trying to reach emergency services to help her dying father. The man has since passed away. A report in Coconuts says Pronrawin first called the…
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PM approves Emergency Decree extension
PM Prayut Chan O’Cha has signed off on a proposal by the National Security Council and the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration to extend the Emergency Decree until the end of August. The Emergency Decree gives the government sweeping powers to manage the Covid-19 crisis at the national level from a “top down” perspective. It also provides draconian penalties for…
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Video catches Thai immigration officials asking for a bribe
Officers from an immigration office near Bangkok have been “suspended” after a Facebook video showed an immigration official asking for money to help “speed up his visa process”. The caption read… “This is real, such a shame, when will the cheating stop”. “Thailand is good, foreigners get Visas to work in the country. They go to the Nonthaburi Immigration for…
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Bangkok slum fire injures 3, damages 5 homes
A fire in central Bangkok’s Khlong Toei slum area last night injured 3 and damaged at least 5 houses with many more reportedly losing their possessions. It took firefighters around 30 minutes to bring the blaze under control. An initial police inspection indicated that the the blaze may have been started in a house whose residents made a small fire…
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Bangkok university professor says no “travel bubbles” for at least 6 months
A professor at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University says Thailand’s “travel bubble” plan, which would allow small groups of foreign tourists to visit Thailand, should be put on hold for at least another 6 months. In a Facebook post yesterday, he said that the global Covid-19 situation remains “of serious concern”, as new infections are still surging, with more than 200,000 new…
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5 killed during heavy flooding in northern Vietnam
Heavy rains and flooding in the far north of Vietnam are causing havoc. So far at least 5 people, including 3 children have died in the Ha Giang Province. The region has experienced heavy flooding over the past 3 days due to torrential rains causing traffic jams, landslides and cutting off some remote areas. Streets in the region’s main towns…
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Welfare officials visit homeless people living in Pattaya’s abandoned bars
Social welfare officials have paid a visit to a group of homeless people in Pattaya, who have taken refuge in some of the city’s abandoned beer bar complexes. Following a report in The Pattaya News, officials pledged to allow those living there to continue to do so and to provide them with further help. Most of them have lost their…
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Phuket plans a drought-proof future
In the high season of 2018/2019 a water shortage emerged on Phuket and reached a critical phase just as the wet season of 2019 began. For a few months there seemed to be more water trucks delivering expensive water to residents than tourist passenger vans on the road (usually ubiquitous). Phuket’s three water sources were critically low, one of them…
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Extension of visa amnesty, extension of emergency decree
In a big day of important announcements, the Cabinet has approved an extension to the emergency decree as well as an extension to the visa amnesty for foreigners. The extension of the visa amnesty will now run until September 26. It now allows foreigners to stay in Thailand without renewing their visa as long as their visa did not expire before…
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Protesters start a hunger strike out the front of Government House
A group calling themselves the New Life Network is staging a hunger strike at the front of Government House, again calling for PM Prayut Chan-o-Cha to stand down and dissolve parliament. They are complaining that the economy is getting worse and that the gap between Thailand’s rich and poor is widening. They say the situation has deteriorated since the military…
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Thai Cabinet extends the visa amnesty for foreigners
The Thai Cabinet has extended the visa amnesty for foreigners so they can remain in Thailand during the Covid-19 global pandemic. This is the second extension to the visa amnesty and will be a huge relief for tens of thousands of people who have been in a visa limbo, some without many other options other than staying in Thailand whilst…
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Tourism minister says he’ll punish hotels price-gouging during “We Travel Together”
Hotel operators around Thailand will face being “delisted” and fined if they are found to be raising hotel room rates under the new stimulus campaign being rolled out by the Thai government, called “We Travel Together”. The campaign is designed to boost domestic tourism and covers 40% of a hotel’s room rate, as long as it doesn’t exceed 3,000 baht per…
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Nearly 80% of Thai prisoners able to find jobs following training during detention
The Thai Corrections Department is considering using foreign prisoners to teach English to other prisoners as part of their occupational training. Thailand’s Justice Minister Somsak Thepsutin has suggested the idea during a meeting between his ministry and the Thai Labour Minister. They both signed an agreement to step up further cooperation between the Thai Justice and Labour ministries to come up…
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Navy officer jumps in to save driver after car plunges into Chon Buri canal
An officer from the Royal Thai Navy has been thanked by the driver he rescued after the man’s car plunged into a canal in Sattahip, in the eastern province of Chon Buri. Lieutenant Commander Boonlert Kunmkrong says he checked his rear-view mirror while driving and saw the car behind him enter the canal. He stopped his vehicle and jumped into…
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