News
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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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CCSA recommend an extension to the emergency decree in Thailand
It has been decided to extend the emergency decree beyond the end of July 31. The National Security Council and the CCSA (Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration) have jointly agreed to extend the situation and will present the proposal to the Thai PM tomorrow. Opponents of the decree say the emergency decree is unnecessary now that Thailand has had 55 days…
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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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Buri Ram school cleaner claims he was sacked for exposing a predatory teacher
A 50 year old former cleaner at a school in Buri Ram, north east Thailand, has come forward and told police he was sacked 4 months ago because “he knew too much about a teacher”, who was an alleged sexual predator. A number of stories appeared during May and June about predatory school teachers in the north east. Nation Thailand…
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Dozens of Cambodians arrested for attempting to enter Thailand illegally
Thailand’s border patrol forces are upping their game in the fight to prevent the Covid-19 virus being imported by illegal migrants. A report in The Pattaya News says officials have arrested dozens of Cambodian workers for entering the country illegally. The arrests took place in Sa Kaeo, in the east of the country, less than 50 kilometres from the Cambodian…
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Hong Kong facing prospect of curfew amid rise in Covid-19 cases
Medical experts are warning that a curfew may have to be imposed after Hong Kong has seen nearly 500 new cases of Covid-19 in the last week. Yesterday alone saw 73 new cases with 66 being community transmitted. However, officials say they have only identified the sources of transmission for around 30 of those reported cases. A restaurant at the…
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Thai Army wants to purchase 1.35 billion baht replacement VIP plane
With most of the country’s fleets of commercial jets grounded due to the bans on international travel and limited domestic flights, the Thai Army says they’re planning to buy a new aircraft for “general use”. The plane is reported to be a Gulfstream 500 private jet valued at 1.35 billion baht. The plane would be bought under the 2021 fiscal…
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Staff injured, property damaged as gang rampages through 2 Bangkok hospitals
Gang members have gone on a rampage through 2 Bangkok hospitals, injuring medical personnel and causing significant damage to property. Violence first erupted at Vibharam-Chaiprakan Hospital in Samut Prakan, just south of the city, when doctors were unable to save the life of one gang member who’d been injured in a fight a few hours before. His death led to…
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Smaller protest group outside Army HQ in Bangkok last night
A much smaller group of activists gathered outside the Royal Thai Army headquarters on Ratchadamnoen Avenue, Bangkok last night in protest against an opinion expressed by the now-former deputy spokesperson. The protesters, part of the ‘Free Youth’ group who protested in Bangkok at the Democracy Monument on Saturday afternoon, rallied outside the main gate of the Thai army HQ early in…
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Thailand pries open its borders for Phase 6 of re-openings
Phase 6 is on the way which will allow more groups of foreigners back into Thailand and pry open the borders another incremental step. The next phase will allow the entry of foreign migrant workers from neighbouring countries to ease a current labour shortage. The two industries for migrant worker re-entry are the construction industry and food export businesses. CCSA spokesman…
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Thai economy won’t need a bailout from the IMF
The Thai economy won’t need a bailout from the International Monetary Fund, although the GDP growth for 2020 may end up being the lowest in the region. The Governor of the Bank of Thailand, Veerathai Santipraphob says the Thai economy is “strong enough”. Speaking at a seminar entitled “Post-Covid Economic Direction”, Veerathai noted that, although Thailand has managed to control…
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Visa amnesty extension “very likely”. Decision this week.
Only 11 days to go until we reach the end of the current visa amnesty, which has allowed people with expired visas to remain in the Kingdom during the midst of Thailand’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak. But even today Immigration officials say that a proposal to extend the visa amnesty, or some similar alternative, is before the government for…
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Police say they are gathering evidence to arrest ringleaders of Saturday protest – VIDEO
Whilst the police attending the mostly-peaceful protest, on Saturday afternoon and evening around Bangkok’s Democracy Monument, they didn’t intervene and break up the crowd. But they were taking plenty of photos. Now Bangkok Police have announced that they were gathering evidence to press formal charges against the leaders of the pro-democracy protest. Chief of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, Lt. Gen. Pakkapong…
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“It will take several years for tourism numbers to recover” – BoT
The Bank of Thailand chief says that “it would take several years for foreign tourist numbers to return to the 40 million levels”. The BoT says, that the coronavirus pandemic has heavily impacted a “lucrative industry” that provides a lot of jobs. The BoT expects only 8 million foreign visitors this year, down 80% from last year’s record 39.8 million.…
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Indian national drowns while swimming at Pattaya beach
The Sawang Boriboon Rescue Foundation says an Indian man has drowned at Pattaya beach after going for an early morning swim. It’s understood the man, whose identity is being withheld until his family has been notified, was at the beach with a group of Thai and foreign friends when he headed into the water alone. Friends say the man, believed…
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Medical expert says it may be weeks before Melbourne outbreak under control
As Australia’s second-largest city is in the middle of a second wave of the Covid-19 virus, a top medical expert says the outbreak will likely take weeks to control. Melbourne, in the southern state of Victoria, has been hit with a spike in new community-transmitted cases, recording 438 infections on Friday and even more over the weekend. Acting chief medical…
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Pattaya’s homeless population seeks refuge in abandoned bars
Despite the easing of nearly all restrictions imposed to suppress the Covid-19 virus, Thailand’s people are still very much feeling the lingering effect of the shutdown. An ongoing ban on nearly all international arrivals has crippled the tourism industry, meaning many nightlife venues in places like Bangkok, Pattaya, and Phuket remain shut. A report in The Pattaya News shows the…
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Thai government pleased with ongoing suppression of Covid-19 despite nightlife re-opening
The spokesman for Thailand’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, Dr. Taweesin Visanuyothin, says that despite his initial concerns, there has been no new spike in virus cases following the re-opening of the country’s nightlife. While discussing phase 5 of the easing of Covid restrictions, Dr. Taweesin admits that many medical experts, including himself, had been uneasy about the move. However,…
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Cambodian officials deny knowledge of Wanchalearms disappearance
“We know nothing.” Cambodian authorities continue to deny any knowledge of the disappearance of Thai activist in exile Wanchalearm Satsaksit. They claim that Wanchalearm failed tot make any further visa renewal request after his current visa expired at the end of 2017. They say that no Cambodian agencies have any additional information about his whereabouts or disappearance other than what…
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Floods ravage north-eastern India and southern Nepal
Heavy rain lashing India’s northeast is triggering severe flooding and landslides. So far the death toll is up to 221 but is expected to rise. Over 4 million people have been displaced by the floods in the northeastern state of Assam. Parts of southern Nepal and Bangladesh are also being deluged. More than a million people have already moved to relief…
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A new generation of political voices are demanding to be heard
Saturday’s pro-democracy rally is the largest street demonstration against the ruling Thai government since the May, 2014 military coup which brought General Prayut to power. The momentum for political change is coming from a new, younger generation, most who would have been just kids during the tumultuous Thaksin years and not even in high school when the military ousted the elected…
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Pattaya students get toilet training
Students in Pattaya’s’s Nongprue district attended a unique training course this weekend – on how to properly use public toilets in the Covid-19 era. The course took place yesterday at the Wat Suthawas school. Nong Prue municipality teachers led the training, which several dozen students attended. The course focused on keeping proper hygiene as well as 7 steps for proper…
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Thailand tries 2-prong strategy to get perishables to China
Thailand is bypassing supply-chain roadblocks to deliver its perishables – mainly agricultural and food products – to China, its biggest market in Asia. Since Thailand shares no border with China, perishable goods like fruit and vegetables have traditionally been sent from Thai farms and warehouses by truck, going through either Vietnam or Laos. Ships and planes are also used, but…
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Covid-19 update: 3 new cases found in state quarantine, no new deaths (July 19)
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration announced today that it discovered 3 new cases of Covid-19 in the previous 24 hours, all in state quarantine. It was the 57th day without a domestically transmitted case since May. The new cases bring the total number of cases up to 3,249 since January, when the outbreak began. There were no new fatalities,…
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Sa Kaeo police nab 6 illegal migrants, Thai driver
6 illegal Cambodian migrants were caught at a checkpoint in the western border province of Sa Kaeo this weekend. Such checkpoints are proliferating, designed to stop illegal border crossings and the potential risk imported Covid-19 cases. Sa Kaeo Sa Kaeo has been a particular hotspot, with many illegal migrants attempting to cross the border to work in Thailand. ThaiBorder Control,…
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Poll: vast majority fear second virus wave, support foreign arrival ban
A recent opinion poll by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, or Suan Dusit Poll, showed well over 90% of respondents fear a second wave of Covid-19 and want a complete ban on foreign arrivals in Thailand. The poll, taken July 14-18, gauged the concerns of 1,459 Thai adults of various education levels and occupations, about the possibility of a second outbreak,…
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Huge monitor lizard pulled from Si Racha car
A woman in Chon Buri’s Si Racha district got a big surprise when she found a huge water monitor lizard in her home and called rescue workers in a panic. The lizard, over 2 metres long and coloured gold and silver, had wedged itself behind a refrigerator in the home of the woman, who was not named. Workers from a…
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US surpasses 140,000 Covid-19 deaths as outbreak escalates
US deaths from Covid-19 surpassed the 140,000 mark yesterday as cases have continued to rise in 43 of the 50 states over the past 2 weeks. As of today the tally stands at 142,877. Since late June the US has seen a resurgence in new cases and now, 6 weeks later, deaths are also on the rise, according to a…
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