News
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Laos closes checkpoint at Thai border
Laos has closed its four immigration checkpoints near Thailand’s Nakhon Phanom province, saying it doesn’t have enough medical personnel to screen for the Covid-19 coronavirus at the four places. Immigration Police Office in Nakhon Panom province were informed that Laos would close its immigration checkpoint at Thakhek port from 2pm, until the Covid-19 situation is resolved. Also yesterday, provincial governor…
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Narathiwat/Malaysia border checkpoints closed March 18-31
After Malaysia announced its nationwide lock down, the Thai Fourth Army commander Lieutenant General Pornsak Poonsawat, who is also director of the Region 4 Internal Security Operation Command, has announced the temporary closure of the customs checkpoints in Narathiwat, along the Thai/Malaysia border. He went to inspect the Sungai Kolok customs checkpoint in Narathiwat. After seeing that only Malaysian nationals…
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Airlines offered drop in landing fees and fuel excise at Thai airports
Airlines, international and domestic, have been hit hard with the impact on travel following the Coronavirus outbreak. Over the past month there’s been daily announcements of cancellations of flights and rescheduling to cope with border closures and daily changes in the coronavirus evolution. The Thai Cabinet yesterday approved a relief package which had been proposed by the Transport Ministry for…
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Police seize drug lord’s assets valued at 130 million baht
Assets valued at 130 million baht have been seized from a narcotics ring believed to be run by the drug baron known as “Chan Xue.” Suriya Singhakamol, deputy secretary-general of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), told Thai media yesterday that the assets and property were confiscated from nine sites: one in Bangkok and the rest in Chiang Rai province. Suriya…
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China expels American journalists in tit-for-tat response
The Chinese government is revoking the press credentials of US journalists working for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. It’s the biggest crackdown on American journalists in the past two decades. The move comes as the two superpowers feud over the narrative on the Covid-19 virus and both try to politicise the issue. US…
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3 insurgents killed in shootout
More violence in Thailand’s restive South yesterday as three insurgents were killed in a shootout with government forces near a Pattani dam. A spokesman for Region 4 Internal Security Operations Command made the announcement today. Pattani and its neighboring provinces are home to a bloody separatist insurgency which has rocked the region for decades. The spokesman said the clash occurred…
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Cabinet approval to reduce water, power bills by 3%
The Cabinet has approved 17 billion baht in measures to tackle the Covid-19 crisis and drought. They plan on doing this by reducing water and electricity bills by 3% and returning deposits for installation of electricity meters. The Thai cabinet meets every Tuesday at Government house in Bangkok. During a ‘grace period’ of not more than six months, the cabinet…
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The nation’s schools close today
Thailand’s education minister today ordered all schools nationwide to close from today as a measure to to tackle the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. The ministry’s permanent secretary Prasert Boonrueng made the announcement yesterday. “Taking into consideration the well being of students, we urge all educational institutions under the ministry, both government and private, to close [temporarily] from March 18…
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196 kilos of ganja found at north eastern Thai boarder
Local officials have seized 196 kilograms of compressed marijuana from the Mekong riverbank in Wan Yai district, Mukdahan, north east Thailand. Residents in tambon Pong Kham reported to the local authorities and Wan Yai district chief Pitinat Nithisthani, after seeing seven mysterious black plastic bags on the bank of the Mekong River near Ban Song Khon. The district chief, accompanied…
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Thailand News Today – Tuesday, March 17
30 new cases announced for Thailand – Tuesday Sunday, 32 cases. Monday 33 cases. Now another 30 confirmed Covid-19 cases have been confirmed. Thailand now has a confirmed total of 177 cases according to the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Public Health at a media conference today. A boxing stadium, north east of the Bangkok city centre, has been…
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Two bombs explode in front of the Yala provincial offices today
More violence in Thailand’s south today as two small bombs explode at the front of the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre in Yala’s city centre this morning. Many people are reported as injured from the blasts. It’s believed that five provincial police (or soldiers) and three media were wounded in the two explosions. Thai PBS is reporting that 18 people…
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Thailand News Today – Monday, March 16
Hundreds linked to boxing stadium positive Covid-19 test TV celebrity and boxing camp manager Matthew Deane, who tested positive for Covid-19 on March 6, was together with many others who were at the Lumpini boxing stadium. The stadium is in Ramintra Bangkok, north east of the city centre. Then over the weekend, the mayor of the Chachoengsao provincial administration organisation…
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Thundershowers, more hot weather for the North
Thailand’s Meteorological Department predicted today that a thermal low covering the North will bring “hot to very hot weather” to the region. Thundershowers are forecast in the North, the Northeast, the Central and the East. Meanwhile, a high pressure system from China is covering the Northeast, the East, the Central and the South China Sea. Southerly and southeasterly winds are…
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Home alone. Phuket hotels hit a speed bump.
by Bill Barnett of c9hotelworks.com In the latest news, Singapore’s move to impose a stay-home policy or self-isolation for travellers within ASEAN, has hit the industry hard. Here in Phuket, hotels are winding down their traditional snowbird European business which for the most part was booked well in advance. Rates have somewhat held during this time. One key barometer of…
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Stormy skies for Boeing as Coronavirus compounds dire situation
As the world’s Covid-19 cases continue to rise, aircraft manufacture Boeing is watching its stocks slide. From around US$384 a share back in September last year to as low as US$154.84 last week. It’s since bounced back to US$170.20, but a long, long way from its peak. Most of the losses kicked in from mid-February when the extent of the…
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Summer storms batter Korat, Buri Ram
Sudden summer storms caused extensive damage in two provinces in Thailand’s northeast yesterday: many villages in tambon Nong Ma Nao in Khong district of Nakhon Ratchasima, also known as Korat, were struck by a summer storm late last night. Numerous houses were severely damaged by the storm, which started at about 11pm. Some structures were entirely demolished. The roofing sheets…
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Khon Kaen University students in anti-government demonstration
“We are afraid of the virus. But, we are also duty-bound to study and seek the government’s ouster.” Adding to a growing trend, students at Khon Khaen University in northeastern Thailand held a second demonstration last night, despite fears of the Covid-19 coronavirus spread, saying they’ve “had enough” of the government. Students from all departments gathered at the multi-purpose ground…
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Manila goes on lockdown
“It’s a lockdown It’s just a matter of protecting and defending you from Covid-19. That’s about it.” Some 12 million people in the Philippine capital of Manila are now in near total lockdown after a Thursday order from the nation’s president Rodrigo Duterte banning domestic travel and an announcement earlier today of a nighttime curfew in the capital. The president…
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Wife and sister stabbed to death in Chon Buri, second domestic murder in a day
Police in Chon Buri province are hunting a suspect who allegedly stabbed his wife and her sister to death in the central province’s Panthong District yesterday. Panthong police were notified of the incident, at a shrimp fishing pond on Panthong-Baankhao Road, at 6:30pm. Police arriving at the pond and adjacent home found it locked. They broke the bedroom door to…
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PM urges unity in the face of adversity
In a nation battered by drought, a slowing economy and the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak, Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha has appealed to the public to unite and join the government in its efforts to overcome. In a public statement yesterday, the PM said some of the measures adopted by his administration to cope with the threat of coronavirus contagion are…
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Amazon cafe suspends ‘bring your own cup’ campaign
Thai coffee shop chain ‘Amazon’ announced today the suspension of their promotional campaign called “Café Amazon for Earth” which was aiming to reduce plastic waste by allowing customers to bring their personal cup when buying a beverage and receive a discount of 5 baht. The company says the decision to end the promotion was made to increase customers’ awareness to…
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Russian overstayer busted for drugs in Pattaya
Chon Buri Provincial Police arrested a Russian man today in relation to a visa overstay and reports that he was selling narcotics to tourists, predominantly visiting East Europeans at bars and nightclubs in Pattaya’s Walking Street. Russian national Maxim Kurbatov, aged 33, barefoot, shirtless and visibly intoxicated, was swooped on by several officers outside his rented house, along with two…
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Thai stock exchange pulls 30 minute circuit breaker
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) had pulled a 30 minute “circuit breaker” to suspend trade between 9:59 and 10:29am leading to a fall at 11am, when the SET fell by 78.95 points, or 7.08%, to 1,035.96. Foreign investors made net sales of 1.929 billion baht in the stock market and 13.646 billion in the bond market. Most global stock…
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Serial thief who robbed Russian couple at knifepoint in Pattaya re-arrested
Police in Pattaya have re-arrested a thief who was involved in a robbery and knife attack on a Russian couple five years ago. A team of Pattaya City Police arrested 29 year old Thai national “Manat” yesterday afternoon. Another Thai man, 60 year old Niphon Meechaiyo, was also arrested for buying stolen items and allegedly fencing them. Police seized six…
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Soldiers sent to fight forest fires in the North
With Chiang Mai again declared the world’s most polluted city today, and with air quality worsening across northern Thailand, soldiers from Royal Thai Army 3rd Army Region have been deployed to detect and fight forest fires. Forest fires and agricultural burning, both in Thailand and neighbouring Cambodia, have created extremely poor air quality levels. Rangers from the 35th Scout Regiment…
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Thai Airways president and Suvarnabhumi chief resign
Two of Thailand’s most prominent aviation bosses have thrown in the towel, citing the Thai government’s bungling of the Covid-19 coronavirus situation. Both resignations happened yesterday. The president of Thai Airways, Sumeth Damrongchaitham, resigned yesterday afternoon. That corporate bombshell was closely followed by the resignation of the director of Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Sutheerawat Suwannawat. At this stage the Thai government…
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Old “falangs” are Pattaya beach vendors’ lifeline in coronavirus downturn
Old expats and Thais are the only thing keeping Pattaya beach vendor in business, through the coronavirus tourism downturn. One vendor, Pha Aree, who has been renting beach chairs and umbrellas for 30 years, says she’s survived more than her share of crises, the tourism downturns during the 2004 tsunami, SARS, political strife and numerous military coups. She’ll get through…
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Thailand News Today, Thursday, March 12. Daily TV News.
Tourism officials ponder moving Songkran to July, boosting domestic tourism The Tourism Authority of Thailand and Tourism and Sports ministry are examining the postponing of Songkran celebrations to July 4-7 this year. The idea already has the nod from Tourism and Sports Minister but still needs approval from the Culture Ministry and cabinet. Meanwhile, the Tourism Council of Thailand has…
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30 year old woman jumps from 14th floor in Nonthaburi
Police are still investigating an incident in Nonthaburi, just west of Bangkok. Yesterday at 7:30pm, 30 year old Thanaporn jumped from the 14th floor “from fear of getting arrested by police officers” in a Muang Thong Thani housing estate in Nonthaburi. Thanaporn was wanted for attempted murder of her sister and two other relatives earlier this month. Earlier in March…
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Gold mining company found guilty for avoiding environmental report
Former director-general of the Department of Primary Industries and Mines Somkiat Phuthongchaiyarit, has been found guilty of colluding with five other parties for trying to avoid the mandatory environmental impact assessment (EIA). Secretary-general Worawit Sukboon of The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) says… “All 6 members had a hand in the unlawful approval of a request by Akara Mining Company (or…
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