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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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Large orange juice order leads to large “fine”
5 officials from the Excise Department are currently under investigation for allegedly asking for a 12,000 baht “fine” from a shop proprietor who had filled a substantial order for orange juice. The officials had been working in Bangkok at the time of their orange juice related fine giving. The 5 Excise officials have since been transferred to a different office…
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Survey: 90+% feel bar ban, restrictions hamper Phuket Sandbox
In an “is water wet?”-style survey conducted by Thai Examiner, about 92% of foreigners polled disagree with the bar and entertainment venue closures during the Phuket Sandbox reopening. This, coupled with the bumbling, haphazard implementation of the reopening is driving foreigners away from coming to Phuket according to the site’s informal survey of 240 people. The Mayor of Patong confirmed…
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Rain giving phallus cracks under the elements
The giant phallus that was erected on a road in accordance with an ancient rain making ceremony in Chachoengsao, a province in central Thailand, East of Bangkok is deteriorating due to sun and rain. The phallus is now showing deep, veiny cracks from the base of the structure, snaking up to the glans of the penis. The local villagers had…
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Students in Thailand’s Isaan region go back to school on an elephant
Schools across the country reopened this week after closures due to Covid-19. Some students in the Isaan province Surin decided to go to school in a much different and unconventional way… on an elephant. Three boys, dressed in their school uniforms and carrying their backpacks, rode on top of an elephant together to the Banyawuek School in the province’s Chumphon…
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China launches first astronaut led space mission in 5 years
Yesterday, China, launched its first crewed space mission in 5 years. 3 “science minded” military pilots shot to a new orbiting station that they were expected to reach about midafternoon. It was launched in Jiuquan, a northwestern area of China. Like a scene out of a movie, the astronauts were watched by various spectators from space officials and other military…
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New Zealand economy bounces back to pre-pandemic levels, exceeding forecasts
Analysts in New Zealand say the country’s economy has bounced back to pre-pandemic levels, outperforming forecasts. Growth was better than expected, at 1.6% in the first quarter of this year. The growth between January and March exceeded analysts’ expectations, surpassing the anticipated 0.5% increase. The economy has already reversed a 1% contraction seen in the last quarter of 2020. Under…
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US Embassy in Thailand issues security alert due to violence near Myanmar border
Mortar shells and rocket-propelled grenades from Myanmar have landed in Thai border towns in the Tak and Mae Hong Son provinces. With the ongoing violence between the Burmese military and ethnic armies following the February coup now with clashes near Thai border towns, the US Embassy in Thailand has issued a security alert and is now requiring all US government…
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Hong Kong police arrest 5 executives and raid offices of pro-democracy newspaper
Hong Kong newspaper, Apple Daily, has confirmed that police have raided its offices and arrested 5 executives accused of foreign collusion under the national security law. The controversial law was introduced by Beijing a year ago and prohibits, “collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security.” According to Apple Daily’s own report, CEO Cheung Kim-hung,…
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Medic says 10% of Covid-19 infections in Bangkok are Delta variant
The head of the Department of Medical Sciences says 10% of Covid-19 infections in Bangkok are the Delta variant, formerly known as the Indian variant. According to a Bangkok Post report, 496 cases of the variant have been detected in the Kingdom between April 7 and June 13. DMS chief Dr Supakit Sirilak says 404 of those are in Bangkok,…
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TAT asked to make changes to Phuket sandbox before submitting for final approval
The Tourism Authority of Thailand has been asked to make further changes to the Phuket “sandbox” scheme before submitting it to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Apisamai Srirangson from the CCSA says the government’s Covid-19 task force wants clarification on the safety measures aimed at controlling Covid-19 when the plan is implemented from July 1. “The sub-committee is concerned…
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“We’ll do better on vaccines, there’s loads more on the way” – Anutin
Thailand’s Public Health Minister has pledged to do better on vaccine rollout, saying many more doses are coming soon. Anutin Charnvirakul says 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine arrived yesterday, with another 1 million arriving tomorrow. The Bangkok Post reports that yesterday, Anutin visited the vaccination centre at Bang Sue Grand Station in the capital, where he met with some…
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Ethiopia’s Oromia region is volatile ahead of elections
Kidane Bekele is farmer and a community leader in his small village of 2,000 people. With elections approaching, he spends his evenings guarding polling stations and surrounding areas, a rifle slung over his shoulder. Every night after dinner, he puts on the khaki uniform of Oromia’s militia and makes his way to the small compound of the election station, where…
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PM Prayut announces Thailand will fully reopen within 120 days
In a speech this evening, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha announced that Thailand must reopen in 120 days, which would be October 14, despite slow vaccine rollout and risk of increased Covid-19 outbreaks. The speech seemed to mark a shift from trying to eradicated Covid-19 in Thailand through controlling the spread and vaccinating the population to an acceptance of the virus’s long-term…
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Thai Airways rehabilitation plan accepted by Bankruptcy Court
The debt rehabilitation plan of Thai Airways International has been accepted by Thailand’s Central Bankruptcy Court, paving the way for the survival of the company. The CBC’s acceptance of the plan is the first step in the debt restructuring process for the struggling airline. In this plan, the state would play an instrumental role in aiding Thai Airways to get…
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Restaurants request easing of Covid-19 rules and financial aid
In a letter to PM Prayut Chan-o-cha, the Thai Restaurant Association requested urgent relief for the nation’s ailing food and beverage industry. The association released a statement about the letter that they submitted outlining a proposal for easing Covid-19 restrictions on restaurants and dining, as well as offering up financial assistance ideas to keep businesses afloat to ride out the…
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Isaan farmer and son electrocuted and killed by wire fence in rice field
A 58 year old farmer and his 26 year old son were both electrocuted to death last night in the Isaan province Khon Kaen. The farmer had been placing an electric fence at his rice field to protect wandering cattle from damaging his seedlings. Local residents walking by heard dogs barking and looked over to see the farmer, Prasert Nonpoo,…
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Krabi men arrested after TikTok video of a shark shot and killed goes viral
Police arrested 2 men who allegedly killed a shark near Koh Phi Phi off the coast of Krabi in the Andaman Sea. A video posted on the social media app TikTok shows a man firing his gun at a shark that was hooked on a fishing rod. Men reeled in the line and pulled the injured shark onboard. It bled…
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Thailand’s FDA doesn’t approve Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine, cites missing data
Today, Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration says Russia’s Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine isn’t approved as crucial data is still missing. TFDA Secretary General Dr Paisal Dunkhum says the information, sent last week by KinGen Biotech, the pharmaceutical company representing the vaccine manufacturer, is the same unfinished date that was already sent to the TFDA. The missing data is: GMP PIC/S…
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Thai government apologises for data leak, blames “temporary glitch”
The Thai government has released a statement apologising for the data leak on Monday which saw people who registered for a Covid vaccine have their personal information revealed. The government says there was a “temporary glitch” on the thailandintervac.com vaccination booking website and the error was because of “urgent system maintenance”. Soon after the website launched, multiple expats complained that…
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6 school closed after infections are found
6 schools in the northern province of Phitsanulok have been ordered to close until further notice after parents and a cable technician were determined to be infected with Covid-19. Luechai Chunakha, the Phitsanulok provincial educational chief says he received a report from a subordinate that the parents of a student from the Huaychangthang School in Suan Miang subdistrict were infected…
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Thai police chief donates 100,000 baht to Phuket man shot by a drunk officer
Thailand’s national police chief has donated 100,000 baht to support the man in Phuket who was shot and critically wounded by a drunk, off-duty police officer on the island’s Bangla Road, a popular nightlife area in Patong. Aroon Thongplad, a noodle vendor at the Phuket walking street, was grabbing a bowl from a customer when he was shot in the…
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Covid-19, food delivery brings rise in plastic and infectious waste
Often, evolving lifestyles, and the technology it brings, are first regarded for their revolutionary game-changing effect before facing down the road the negative unintended consequences of the change. It was decades between when we celebrated the way air travel allowed you to see the world and when we started talking about “carbon footprints”. Many years went by between seeing the…
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Renowned Thai doctor cautions against letting tourists avoid 14 day quarantine
Yesterday, a renowned Thai doctor, told media that he and his colleagues strongly opposed any program designed to admit foreign tourists, even the vaccinated, if the tourists aren’t required to do a strict 14 day quarantine. Further, Dr Prasit thinks that the quarantine should be even longer, depending on the variant. The doctor, and Dean of Faculty of Medicine at…
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PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says sorry again for delays in the Covid-19 vaccine rollout
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has again apologised for holdups in the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines, saying there were a number of reasons for the delays. Earlier this week, 25 vaccination sites in Bangkok postponed inoculations. Several hospitals also delayed vaccinations over the weekend due to a limited supply. “As the prime minister and director of CCSA, I am the top executive…
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Blacktip reef sharks get protected status as Environment Minister blasts video cruelty
Thailand’s Minister for Natural Resources and the Environment has blasted a TikTok video that shows Krabi boatmen shooting at blacktip reef sharks. Varawut Silpa-archa has slammed what he describes as an act of gratuitous violence and says the sharks will be added to the list of protected marine species. According to the Bangkok Post, the video surfaced on Monday and…
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Dozens of python eggs found underneath home
A homeowner in Phitsanulok, a northern Thai province, had a surprise that many would see as far from lucky, yesterday. 45 python eggs were discovered underneath their home. A discovery the owners interpret as a sign of good luck. The Phitsanulok emergency rescue team had been brought to the area after a homeowner had found sizeable amounts of snakeskins behind…
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100 neglected cats rescued by Save Elephant Foundation
CORRECTION: An earlier report said another organisation rescued the cats. The correct organisation is the Save Elephant Foundation. 100 neglected cats were rescued from homes just north of Bangkok, many caged and kept in dark rooms piled with junk with poor ventilation. Dead cats were found under piles of trash and junk. 6 dogs were also kept in a small…
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Leading Thai doctor calls on government to accelerate vaccine rollout
A prominent Thai doctor has called on the government to ramp up the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines, amid concerns at the low number of doses administered to date. The Bangkok Post quotes Dr Prasit Watanapa from Siriraj Hospital, who used a Facebook Live broadcast to urge officials to do more. He says Thailand must accelerate efforts to achieve herd immunity…
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Wednesday Covid Update: 2,331 new infections and 40 deaths
2,331 new Covid-19 cases and an uptick of 40 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. In the latest and most severe wave of Covid-19 infections, 175,732 cases have been recorded since April 1. While the daily case count remains high, the wave of infections is on a downward slope with the number of recent…
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Global travel demand driven by vaccine rollouts: Tripadvisor survey
Research into the latest travel trends shows that the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines is a big determining factor in how long tourists plan to stay and how much they will spend. A TTR Weekly report focuses on research carried out by Tripadvisor, the world’s largest travel platform. Travellers across 6 large international markets were surveyed, to determine the impact of…
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