News
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Tourism officials fear local Covid cases may dampen enthusiasm of domestic travellers
The Tourism Authority of Thailand has expressed concern that the emergence of local Covid-19 infections may negatively affect travel during the November 19-22 holiday period. TAT governor, Yuthasak Supasorn, says there’s a risk that local infections, such as the Krabi resident who tested positive recently, may be dampening enthusiasm among domestic tourists. Local tourism officials are desperate to reboot Thailand’s…
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Women’s rights activists gather at pro-democracy rallies to raise awareness about sexual harassment
While hundreds and thousands gather at pro-democracy protests to call on government, constitutional and monarchy reform, Thai women’s rights activists attending the Bangkok rallies are raising awareness about sexual harassment and rape. The activists say they want to end the “victim blaming” culture where women are said to bring harassment and even rape upon themselves by dressing a certain way.…
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Bangkok police urge drivers, pedestrians, to avoid Parliament area ahead of today’s protest
Police in Bangkok say motorists and pedestrians should steer clear of routes around the Parliament today or risk heavy congestion and road closures. The advice comes ahead of a planned rally in the capital, as Parliament begins a 2 day session to vote on draft charter amendments. Already this morning there has been a protest from Royalist groups, clad in…
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More positive news in Covid fight as second vaccine found to be nearly 95% effective
Health officials around the world are sounding more cautious notes of optimism, with news that US company Moderna has found its Covid-19 candidate vaccine to be 94.5% effective in clinical trials. Following results last week that a vaccine developed by US firm Pfizer, in conjunction with its German partner BioNTech, had an effectiveness rate of 90%, both developments would appear…
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Tsunami warning buoys to be installed, replacing Thailand’s out-of-action buoys
Tsunami warning buoys will be re-installed after one buoy got loose and floated off and the other appeared to have been scavenged for parts. The buoys transmit real-time data, allowing officials to detect underwater earthquakes. 30 experts from Thailand’s Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation departed from the Phuket Deep Sea Port to install the buoys. First, they will replace…
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Thai Supreme Court upholds 50 year prison sentence for ex-tourism chief
The Supreme Court upheld the decades long prison sentences for the former Tourism Authority of Thailand governor and her daughter who took bribes from Hollywood producers for a contract to manage Bangkok International Film Festival from 2002 to 2007. The ruling puts an end to the high profile case. The Supreme Court upheld the Appeal Court ruling from May 2019,…
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Thailand News Today | The RCEP reset, Hotel Talkfest, Protesters to be arrested | November 16
First day of the week with another Thailand News Today, all the latest news from around Thailand and the region. Hoteliers to discuss how to revive Thailand’s crippled hospitality industry The Tourism and Sports Ministry is holding a talkfest with15 hotel operators expected to join to discuss recovery solutions for the battered industry. Some top executives are planned to pitch…
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Thai travel agents propose opening borders to tourists from “low risk” Chinese provinces
Foreign tourists are entering Thailand slowly… very slowly. Only around a couple hundred tourists have entered the country since travel restrictions were put in place 7 months ago. Thailand needs to step up, according to the Association of Thai Travel Agents. Travel agents warn that around 2 million people could lose their jobs if foreign tourists aren’t allowed to enter…
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Roadside bomb explodes as rangers drive to a wedding in Southern Thailand
In the southern province of Narathawit, an area troubled by insurgency-related violence right on the Thai-Malaysia border, a bomb exploded as rangers were driving to a wedding. None of the soldiers were injured, but the bomb caused major damage to the pickup truck. Here’s is a longer explanation of the 2 decade-long southern insurgency. The bomb was an improvised explosive…
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In the middle of the Covid pandemic “now is the winter of our discontent”
In the northern hemisphere anyway, winter is on the way, a dangerous time for authorities trying to mitigate the sudden surge of new cases and deaths from Covid-19 in parts of Europe, the UK and the US. With a vaccine timeline still ‘flexible’, the only cushioning to a further spread of the pandemic is more social distancing, face-masks, attention to…
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Lottery ticket distributors arrested for allegedly scamming sellers for millions of baht
Police arrested 2 lottery ticket distributors in Lop Buri, Central Thailand, for allegedly collecting money from lottery ticket sellers and failing to deliver the tickets for the October 16 and November 1 draws which were worth more than 400 million baht. More than 100 lottery ticket sellers filed a complaint at the Surin province’s Rattanaburi Police Station, saying they purchased…
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Hoteliers to discuss how to revive Thailand’s crippled hospitality industry
The hospitality industry has taken a beating from the pandemic and a 2 year revival plan is now in the works to at least address the urgent problems faced by Thai hotels and hospitality outlets. The Tourism and Sports Ministry is holding a brainstorming session and around 15 hotel operators are expected to join to discuss recovery solutions for the…
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15 Asia-Pacific countries form the world’s largest trade bloc, the great RCEP reset
After 8 gruelling years of negotiation, 15 countries have signed onto the largest free trade bloc in history. In a joint statement, the leaders of the countries, signatories of the trade deal, say RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) will form a crucial part of economic recovery once the pandemic is over. The deal excludes the US, which withdrew from a…
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Flooded underpass finally drained after locals get officials’ attention with viral photos
A flooded underpass in the Non Sung district of Nakhon Ratchasima has finally been drained after locals posted photos of them pretending to turn the area into a tourist attraction and swimming pool. The State Railway of Thailand waited for almost a month before draining the water after the area was flooded by heavy rain. Jitiwat Nakchamsilp came up with…
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Good samaritans help motorbike stuck in Pattaya construction pit
A 30 year old man has good samaritans to thank after they helped pull his motorbike out of a construction pit in Pattaya. The motorbike became stuck in the pit on South Pattaya Road at about 3:30am yesterday morning. The man claims he didn’t see the pit, despite multiple signs, lights, and barriers. The area under construction was blocked with…
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Qatar Airways set to return to Phuket
Qatar Airways is set to return to Phuket by offering limited flights after the coronavirus pandemic halted services to the resort island. in March this year The middle eastern airline says it is planning a weekly flight between Doha and Phuket from December 4 and is seeking permission from Thai authorities to increase the number of flights between the 2…
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Asian trade deal to be signed today
Today, 15 countries are set to sign a wide-reaching Asian trade deal to help them recover from the Covid pandemic. Such countries as China, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, and Japan are part of the pact which also includes 10 south east Asian economies – the 10 countries of ASEAN. The deal is seen as a Chinese-led alternative to the…
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Trump supporters march in Washington, repeating claims of election fraud
Supporters of US President Donald Trump staged a march through Washington yesterday, protesting unsubstantiated claims of election fraud. A week since Democrat candidate Joe Biden clinched the electoral college numbers required to claim the presidency. Meanwhile Donald Trump, a Republican, continues to refuse acknowledgment or accept the outcome, launching a barrage of legal challenges to overturn the results. Most of these…
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Officials criticised over Covid border screening measures
Thailand’s Public Health Ministry is being criticised over its border screening measures after an Indian man, who stayed in Thailand for 3 months, tested positive for Covid-19 in Krabi province while remaining asymptomatic. Walairat Chaifoo, director of the Epidemiology Bureau, has defended the screening measures by saying the Department of Disease Control has initiated mass tests for those “at-risk” at…
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‘Mob Fest’ wraps up the Democracy Monument and turns backs on Thai King and Queen
In a peaceful but controversial gesture, protesters yesterday turned their backs on the royal motorcade as it carried the Thai King and Queen to the opening of a new railway line. As their backs were facing the passing cars, the mostly young Thai protesters raised their hands with the 3 finger salute and sang the Thai national anthem. The symbolic…
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Krabi’s Ao Nang businesses shut up or sell up
Ao Nang, Krabi’s tourist strip, is struggling under the strain of no customers or tourists. Thai Residents reports that there are now at least 10 hotels up for sale valued at billions of baht. Businesses and hotels along the popular Ao Nang tourist strip have been shutting down because of the prolonged closure of Thailand’s borders to general tourism. Even…
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Bank robber arrested after CCTV captures him counting money metres from the scene
A man accused of robbing a branch of the Thai Military Bank in Bangkok has been arrested after CCTV showed him counting the money just 300 metres from the scene of the crime. The Pattaya News reports that 35 year old Kanchanok Srisawat is accused of robbing 416,000 baht from the bank in the Vacharaphon area of the capital on…
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Army orders investigation into soldier’s death
The Royal Thai Army is to carry out an internal investigation into the death of a soldier at a military base in the north-eastern province of Khon Kaen. 21 year old Rachata Senasanit was found hanged on November 1, with an initial probe ruling his death as suicide. However, the victim’s father, Surachai Senasanit, claims an employee at Srinagarind Hospital’s…
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Fair weather for Thailand’s north east this weekend despite incorrect warnings
The Thai Meteorological Department has incorrectly forecast the tracking of the tropical storm ‘Vamco’, instead warning Thais to “brace for the impact of Typhoon Vamco over the weekend”, according to Bangkok Post. But the track of the storm is not even forecast to reach the far north of Thailand until late Monday or Tuesday, although there could be some rain…
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Former PM Abhisit warns of more unrest if Parliament votes against charter re-write
Former Thai PM Abhisit Vejjajiva (2008 to 2011) says if Parliament votes against the proposed re-write of the constitution during its 2 day session next week, it will only serve to worsen the ongoing political crisis. He says the resignation of PM Prayut Chan-o-cha and a dissolution of Parliament won’t be enough to solve the problem, without a re-write of…
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US President-elect Biden eyes 306 electoral college votes, to Trump’s 232
US President-elect Joe Biden has likely bagged 306 votes in the Electoral College vote that decides who wins the keys to the White House. At this stage Donald Trump has won 232 votes in the tally. First to 270 Electoral College votes wins the US Presidency. Even if the state of Georgia somehow flips in a recount – historically unlikely –…
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Protesters advise police of plan for today’s Bangkok rally, several routes affected
The pro-democracy group, “Bad Students”, has formally submitted details of today’s rally to officers at Chanasongkram Police Station in Bangkok. Posting on its Facebook page, the group says it has advised police of its plans to assemble in front of the Education Ministry on Ratchadamnoen Road at 1pm today, before marching to the Democracy Monument. There, the group will join…
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South East Asian leaders foreshadow a pivot to the US in the new administration
So what will the presidency of US President-elect Joe Biden mean for south east Asia? And how will it differ from the administration of President Trump? South east Asia already knows Joe Biden from his term as US vice president from 2008 – 2016, and his “Asia pivot” that provided high-level diplomacy and resources with strategic trade relationships. The Obama-era…
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Thailand News Today | Coconut Business, Weekend protests, Pork dressed as Beef | November 13
Thailand News Today for the last day of a busy week. Protests and the opening of the Blue Line will hold up traffic over the weekend. See you on Monday. US grocers cut ties with Thai coconut milk company after PETA reveals monkey labour Thailand’s coconut milk industry is under the spotlight again after PETA lobbies US grocers to boycott…
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Pattaya beer bar catches on fire, landlord accuses evicted tenant of arson
A Pattaya landlord is accusing an evicted tenant of arson after a beer bar housed in his building caught on fire late yesterday morning. Police and firefighters are continuing their investigation and did not comment on what they suspect caused the fire. The building owner, 68 year old Chanathida Rasamussen, says the fire was out when he arrived at the…
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