News
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Thailand’s abortion laws to be amended
Thailand’s Constitutional Court has ruled that a section of the Criminal Code is unconstitutional as it fails to hold men responsible for illegal abortions. The ruling will take effect on Febuary 13, 2021, twelve months after it was made. The court handed down the ruling after pro-abortion activist Srisamai Chueachart petitioned the court to rule whether Sections 301 and 305…
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Pro-vaping group to request public hearing to legalise vaping in Thailand
The below is the contents of a press release sent to The Thaiger by the consumer group End Cigarette Smoke Thailand. The opinions expressed therein do not necessarily reflect those of The Thaiger or its subsidiaries. The Tobacco Control Research and Knowledge Management Center (TRC) revealed results from the meeting of the Ministry of Commerce’s review panel on e-cigarette import…
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Schoolboy survives 3rd floor fall from escalator in Bangkok mall
A 12 year old student was seriously injured when he fell from a third floor escalator at CentralWorld shopping complex in Bangkok yesterday afternoon. Police say the student dropped his mobile phone while descending from the third floor, reached out to grab it, over-stretched and fell. The incident occurred about 2:40pm, according to police. The boy, from a school in…
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Coronavirus cases more than double in South Korea to surpass 150
South Korea has reported its first death from the COVID-19 corona virus. The government reports that a 63 year old man, who died Wednesday, tested positive for the virus in a post mortem examination. The exact cause of his death has yet to be determined. He died in North Gyeongsang province, where he had been hospitalized for over 20 years,…
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UPDATE: Thai immigration scraps TM28 reporting requirements
Well, for most foreigners anyway (full list of exemptions below)… Thai immigration have scrapped the TM28 form’s change-of-address reporting requirements for all but a few foreigners. The changes came into effect, with little fanfare, on January 28. The TM28 is still listed on the Immigration website but there’s now a long list of exceptions added which means that almost no…
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Chevy’s having a “garage sale” and prices are halved
General Motors’ recent announcement that it’s ending production and sales of Chevrolets in Thailand means prices for new Chevrolets have been cut by half. The starting price for the latest SUV, the Captiva, is now just under half a million baht. General Motors announced Sunday that it’s pulling out of “markets that don’t produce adequate returns on investments,” namely Thailand,…
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Israel travel ban rankles Thailand
Thailand wants Israel to reconsider its decision, announced Tuesday, to ban Thais from entering the country in a bid to control the spread of deadly coronavirus (Covid-19). Israel banned all non-Israelis who have been in Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong and Macau in the previous 14 days. Previously, Israel’s health ministry had imposed only a 14-day house quarantine on visitors from…
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Major condo developers in Bangkok are looking for rental clients
As sales have taken a nosedive since last year, major condominium developers in Bangkok are looking for rental clients. As an example, L.P.N. Development, which developed condominiums and houses under the Lumpini brand, is offering newly-launched condos for rent. The company plans to attract tenants by offering lower or slightly lower rents than the market price for a 3 year…
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Three Thais on Yokohama virus ship have COVID-19 coronavirus
Officials today announced that three Thai nationals aboard the quarantined cruise ship Diamond Princess, moored off Yokohama, are infected with the Covid-19 coronavirus, the same day two elderly Japanese passengers are reported to have died from the disease. Foreign affairs spokesman Cherdkiat Atthakor said three Thais, one passenger and two crew members, are now being treated in hospital in Japan.…
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Two passengers of virus-hit cruise ship die in Japan
Two elderly passengers of the Diamond Princess, the coronavirus-stricken cruise ship which spent two weeks in quarantine in Japan’s Yokohama Harbour, have died. State broadcaster NHK made the announcement this morning, as a second group of passengers began disembarking after fourteen days quarantined onboard. The passengers were both Japanese, a man and woman in their 80s. More than 620 of…
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CORONAVIRUS update: Scientists debunk conspiracies, South Korea cases jump to 82
“We stand together to strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin.” China’s National Health Commission reports there has been 114 new deaths from the coronavirus outbreak bringing the death toll to at least 2,126. 16,433 people have now fully recovered around the world. Around the world, there are 31 new cases in South Korea…
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Hong Kong police on a roll as third suspect in toilet paper heist flushed out
Hong Kong has been gripped by panic buying since the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, as frightened residents hoard essentials like rice and toilet tissue. Now, a third man man has been arrested there for his role in a bizarre toilet paper heist, as a gang aimed to clean up during a run of frenzied buying in the city. The 26 year…
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Chinatowns around the world fall quiet over coronavirus fears
Chinatowns around the world, some centuries old, are quiet, as businesses to survive the effects of global concern over the COVID-19 outbreak. Businesses in Australia’s oldest Chinatown enclave, dating back to the influx of fortune-seekers during an 1850s gold rush, report their earnings have dropped by more than half and they have been forced to cut staff hours dramatically, a…
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Korean tourist allegedly attacked in Pattaya after refusing to give money to a Thai woman
UPDATE: The Pattaya News now reports that the suspects in the case have apologised and the matter has been settled amicably. Read the full story HERE. ORIGINAL STORY: A Korean man was allegedly attacked by a group of Thais after refusing to give money to a woman he met at a beer bar in Pattaya. 57 year old Sung Ho…
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Prayut visits Korat, offers compensation to shooting victims, families
Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha went to Korat, in the northeastern Nakhon Ratchasima province, scene of the shooting rampage earlier this month that left 30 dead and 58 wounded. He met with people and families affected by the massacre and offered compensation totalling tens of millions of baht. He and accompanying ministers met locals after praying for peace at the…
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Drug runners killed in Chiang Rai clashes
Police in Chiang Rai province report that three drug smugglers were killed and another arrested in two clashes with security forces near the Burmese border last night. A total of 400,000 methamphetamine pills and 7 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine were seized. The first clash occurred about 9:30pm after a number of pickup trucks and motorbikes were spotted crossing the border…
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Passengers leave Yokohama virus ship, China toll tops 2000
Passengers onboard the Diamond Princess, the coronavirus-wracked cruise ship which has been quarantined in Yokohama’s harbour for two weeks, began disembarking today after testing negative for the disease that has now claimed more than 2,000 lives in China. The ship proved a fertile breeding ground for the COVID-19 coronavirus, with at least 542 positive cases, the largest cluster of confirmed…
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3 solutions to Thailand’s English teacher shortage
by Eric Haeg Thailand needs 10,000 English teachers. News of a teacher shortage is no surprise, but news that the Ministry of Education has recently urged embassies to find English teachers has raised eyebrows. The US Embassy confirmed it participated in the meeting, and it has also been reported that over 20 other embassies participated in the discussions. According to Thailand’s…
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Bangkok gunman arrested this morning in Phetchaburi
A lone, jealous gunman, who killed his ex-wife in her place of employment in a shopping centre near Victory Monument yesterday afternoon, has been arrested. The 34 year old gunman was arrested in a home in Phetchaburi, south west of Bangkok, at 4.30am today. He has been charged with pre-meditated murder, illegal possession of a weapon and carrying a gun…
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Gunman allegedly shoots and kills ex-wife at mall in Bangkok, another injured
Bangkok police report that a woman was shot and killed and a bystander wounded after a man opened fire in a shopping centre this afternoon. The gunman fled the scene straight after the shooting. He’s still at large. The incident took place in front of a beauty clinic inside Century Movie Plaza, near the Victory Monument. The clinic is identified…
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Thailand’s General Motors plant sold to China’s Great Wall Motors
China’s Great Wall Motors has agreed to buy the General Motors’ Thailand manufacturing plant in Rayong. It’s expected than the transaction will be completed by the end of this year. GM announced this week that it is accelerating a retreat from “unprofitable markets”, becoming more dependent on the US, China, Latin America and South Korea for its manufacturing. Read more about…
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Chon Buri police say illegal beauty clinics dumped dozens of syringes in canal
Police in Chon Buri province are investigating after dozens of needles and blood capsules were found yesterday in a canal in the Samae San area near Sattahip. The Chonburi Public Health Department and Provincial Health Administration confirms that none of the needles or capsules came from local hospitals, clinics or government organizations. After investigating the needles and samples, officials say…
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Cambodia’s carelessness over coronavirus could bring disaster
When passengers from the MS Westerdam disembarked in Sihanoukville, Cambodia on Valentine’s Day last week, it was smiles and handshakes all around, as Prime minister Hun Sen greeted them with roses. Protective masks were nowhere to be seen. Not only did the PM not wear one, his bodyguards ordered people wearing masks to take them off. The next day, the…
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World travel suffers as coronavirus outbreak drags on
The Public Health Ministry is asking Thais planning trips to Japan and Singapore to reschedule their visits, saying that travellers need to be aware of the rising number of people infected by the coronavirus (Covid-19) in those two countries. Dr Sukhum Kanchanapima, the permanent secretary at the Thai Public Health Ministry, says the coronavirus outbreak had reached the third stage…
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Thai government ponders nine day Songkran holiday
With the impact of the coronavirus cutting deep into the Thai tourism industry, and tourism accounting for around 18% of the Thai GDP, the government are eyeing some additional public holidays to boost spending and activity. The Thai PM announced yesterday that the government is considering adding two public holidays to the annual Songkran festival. Songkran, the Thai new year…
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Four people arrested after posting fake news about coronavirus
Thai police have co-ordinated raids in four province and arrested four separate people over allegations of spreading fake news about the coronavirus outbreak. Officials from the Thai Ministry of Digital for Economy and Society, Technology Crime Suppression Division along with local authorities, raided houses in Bo Win district of Chon Buri, Ban Po district of Chachoengsao province and Muang districts…
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German man dead after jumping from Pattaya condo, refusing medical assistance
A 34 year old German man is dead after he argued with his girlfriend and jumped from his fourth floor condominium in Pattaya this morning. He initially survived the fall, but refused medical assistance. Pattaya City Police were notified of the incident at 5am. Police, emergency responders and reporters arrived at the scene to find the man sitting on the…
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Chon Buri sugarcane vendor dragged behind motorbike after thief steals his phone
An elderly sugarcane vendor in Chon Buri province’s Sattahip district sufferered multiple injuries when a potential customer stole his phone and tried to speed off on his motorbike, leading the vendor to grab onto the bike in a desperate attempt to to get it phone back. 63 year old Chaiyapat Warawan says a young Thai man about 20 years old…
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Cooler weather in north, cloud and possible rain in south
The TMD (Thailand Meteorological Department) says that another high-pressure system originating in China is covering Thailand’s north-east and affecting weather in the South China Sea, while weak easterly winds continue to prevail across the Gulf of Thailand. The forecast is that cool to cold conditions will prevails in the mornings across the North and the Northeast. Temperatures in the North…
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21 Vietnamese fishermen taken for coronavirus testing in Songkhla
21 Vietnamese crew from four Vietnamese fishing boats looking for sea cucumbers have been taken ashore to a Songkhla Navy hospital by Royal Thai Navy officials last night. They are being quarantined whilst being tested for coronavirus. Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class Holothuroidea. They are marine animals with a leathery skin and an elongated body containing a single, branched…
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