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5 best wine bars in Bangkok offering rich and quality wine
It’s wine o’clock! Whether you’re all about fruity reds, sweet whites, or funky naturals, Bangkok has many great spots to sip your favourite varieties. But with an array of options to choose from, and the constant rise and fall of...
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Thailand News Today | US investigation into Covid origins, Pattaya opens to foreigners in Q4 | May 27
Thai Airways is launching a limited number of direct flights from Europe to Phuket, 2 of the 62 people who were arrested at the alleged drug and sex party in Bangkok have tested positive for Covid-19, Pattaya officials are saying they’re ready to reopen to foreign tourists this year under a model similar to Phuket if 70% of residents are…
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Phuket Gov issues English letter urging Covid-19 compliance
This afternoon Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew issued a direct letter, apparently aimed at foreigners. The letter urged that everyone comply with the island’s Covid-19 restrictions to try to eliminate the virus. The letter is a formal request marked urgent, written in English implying that it is directed at foreigners, issued by the Directing Division of the Phuket Governor’s office at…
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Rayong closing 5 tourism islands for 4 months
The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation announced today that they plan on closing 5 popular tourism islands in the Rayong province in the east of Thailand. The islands – Kham Island, Kruay Island, Ku Dee Island, Pla Teen Island, and Talu Island – are set to be closed for 4 months. The announcement stated that the islands…
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1000 year old stolen lintels will arrive in Thailand tomorrow night
Two ancient stolen lintels from Thailand’s Khmer past, dated around the 11th century, are returning to Thailand after being smuggled out of Thailand during the Vietnam War. A lintel (don’t worry, we had to Google it too) is the top beam or arch of a doorway structure, and this artefact from the Lopburi period was carved from sandstone about 1000…
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Man arrested in Sattahip Chon Buri with 700g of crystal meth
Acting on a local tip, Sattahip police took a suspect into custody in Rayong with over 700 grams of crystal meth in his possession. The man caught with the methamphetamine said that he had become unemployed due to Covid-19 and desperate to make some money, so he turned to dealing drugs to survive. The team of police from Sattahip, a district…
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Police arrest “key” labour trafficking suspect who allegedly earned millions of baht
Police say they’ve arrested a “key” suspect who allegedly earned millions of baht leading a human trafficking operation. Following the man’s arrest, police accessed his bank account and say he earned around 14 million baht over the past year with his earnings increasing during Covid-19 outbreaks. Over the past year, officers tightened border patrol along the Thai-Myanmar border and focused…
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Cannabis tourism may be a key to Thailand’s recovery
Thailand may have an opportunity to help recover its nearly dead tourism economy from an unusual source: cannabis tourism. Thailand is the first Southeast Asian country to legalise many aspects of cannabis – production and importing and exporting for medical use, and recently broader recreational use, with the first cannabis-infused drinks hitting convenience store shelves. This could open the door…
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Melbourne, Australia on week-long Covid-19 lockdown
Melbourne, Australia’s second largest city, has just gone into a sudden 7-day Covid-19 lockdown, after a recent outbreak. The city of 5 million people has new stay at home orders today for the next week, going into effect at midnight tonight and lasts until June 3. The lockdown will not just affect the city of Melbourne but the entire Victoria…
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More assault rifles missing from arms depots in Narathiwat
Police suspect insurgents stole at least 37 assault rifles from armories in 5 districts in the Deep South province Narathiwat, which borders Malaysia and is prone to violence due to the religious separatist insurgency. Police have been checking the stock of each arms depot in the province. On May 18, police reported that 28 AK102s were missing from the 2nd Narathiwat…
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At least 73 children killed by junta forces in Myanmar, death toll still rising
Out of the estimated 800 people killed by security forces after the February military coup in Myanmar, at least 73 were children. Some were playing outside when they were shot and killed by soldiers and police who fired their guns at random in Burmese neighbourhoods, according to the Ministry of Human Rights of the National Unity Government. Other children were…
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Man allegedly shoots and kills girlfriend in Bangkok taxi
A 53 year old man was arrested for allegedly shooting and killing his 19 year old girlfriend yesterday in Bangkok while they were riding in a taxi. Reports say the couple were in a taxi passing by the Big C Rama II complex on Rama II Road when the shooting took place. The woman apparently told her boyfriend that she…
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2 of the 62 people arrested at Bangkok sex party test positive for Covid-19
2 of the 62 people who were arrested at the alleged drug and sex party in Bangkok have tested positive for Covid-19. Large gatherings are prohibited in Bangkok, particularly those where people are in “close contact,” to prevent the spread of the virus. Reports say the large gathering at the Faros Sauna was a “chemsex” event involving drugs to enhance sex.…
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Phuket study confirms Sinovac vaccine offers 80% protection
A study on the southern island of Phuket indicates that inoculation with the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine reduces the chance of contracting the virus by more than 83%. Dr Kiattiphum Wongrajit from the Public Health Ministry says around 22% of the island’s population has now received both doses of the Sinovac vaccine, with 45% having received the first dose. According to…
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Biden orders US officials to review rival theories to confirm Covid-19 origin
US President Joe Biden has ordered staffers to investigate and confirm the origin of the Covid-19 pandemic, pointing out that rival scenarios, including a possible Chinese lab leak, continue to circulate. Biden says US intelligence agencies are exploring 2 likely theories but have yet to reach concrete conclusions, with debate raging around both. “I have now asked the Intelligence Community…
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Thai Airways introducing limited direct flights between Europe and Phuket
Thai Airways is testing the waters (so to speak) by introducing a limited number of direct flights from Europe to Phuket, ahead of the southern island’s July 1 re-opening. The national carrier, currently in the throes of restructuring after teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, has started selling direct flights from 4 European cities to Phuket. According to a Bangkok…
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93% of Covid samples from April test positive for variant found in the UK
The Covid-19 variant first detected in the United Kingdom is said to have been found in many of the cases detected in April. Out of 300 samples, 93% tested positive for the mutated strain, B.1.117, according to director general of the Public Health Ministry’s Department of Medical Sciences, Supakit Sirilak. The latest outbreak of Covid-19 started in clusters in Bangkok’s…
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Government “revamps” vaccination registration after scrapping Mor Prom
After scrapping its Mor Prom app, the government is now rejigging Covid-19 vaccine allocation, amid registration issues and new infection clusters. The much-lauded (by the government) technology was launched on May 1, initially so the elderly and those with 7 underlying conditions could register. However, the system quickly became overwhelmed with the numbers trying to register, which caused it to…
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Thursday Covid Update: 3,323 cases and 47 deaths
3,323 new Covid-19 cases and a record high of 47 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. There has been a total of 112,354 infections recorded since April 1, the latest wave of Covid-19. There are now 46,469 active cases. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has reported 141,217 Covid-19 cases…
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Mor Prom Covid-19 vaccine registration Line account scrapped
Less than a month after its not-so-triumphant launch, the Mor Prom Line account for vaccine registration, like so many Covid-19 plans before it, has been scratched. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration says the government decided to discontinue to online registration scheme in anticipation of the platform being overwhelmed by coming sign-ups. The plan is now to keep Mor Prom…
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Mahidol University: We did not state Fingerroot is effective medicine for treating Covid-19 symptoms
Mahidol University, located in Nakhon Pathom, a central Thai province, has denied they are associated with any claims made by product advertisers that extracts from Fingerroot, a root that has the appearance of long, jaundiced fingers, can be used to treat Covid-19 sufferers. A rector from the university, Professor Dr. Banchong Mahaisavariya, attempted to distance the university from the advertisers’…
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Thailand News Today | BKK clubs deny responsibility, Sinopharm for Thailand, 2,455 cases | May 26
2,455 new Covid-19 cases were reported today, and 41 coronavirus-related deaths, the highest fatality count in Thailand since the start of the pandemic. Samples taken from Covid-19 patients in southern Thailand are being tested to check for the highly-contagious, so-called South African variant. The managers of 2 nightclubs in the Thong Lor district of Bangkok are denying any responsibility for…
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DIT chews on regulations to lower food delivery service fees
After pressure from the Department of Internal Trade, food delivery services in Thailand will lower their rates to aid struggling food vendors during Covid-19. Restaurants have been complaining about the high commissions that food delivery services like Food Panda, Gojek, Grab, and Line Man charge restaurants, typically taking a 30% bite out of profits. The DIT has requested that food…
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Repairman hospitalised after plummeting off roof in Pattaya
An air conditioner repairman working in Pattaya is in the hospital after plummeting off a roof. He was reportedly refilling refrigerant liquid in an air conditioner at the time. Around 1pm, emergency responders from Sawang Boriboon were alerted of the incident. 47 year old Panuwat Chuapkrasong broke his arm in the fall and injured his mouth and legs. He was…
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Police in Koh Samui arrest 9 people for gathering and drinking alcohol
Police in Koh Samui arrested 9 people for allegedly gathering and drinking alcohol, a violation of the strict disease control rules put in place to prevent the spread of Covid-19. The island has been working to contain the virus and administer vaccines quickly to prepare for the reopening to vaccinated foreign tourists on July 1 under a travel model similar…
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Thailand gets onboard with ridesharing taxi app regulations
Never one to be late to a trend, Thailand is jumping on the bandwagon, after hailing the bandwagon first using a ridesharing app. Many countries have wrestled with how to regulate the taxi-hailing app concept and the grey area it occupies between not-quite-a-taxi and not-quite-a-private-car, and now Thailand is looking to implement regulations within a month. A deputy spokesperson for…
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Man dies after receiving Sinovac vaccine in Phuket
A man died the day after he received his first dose of the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine. Health officials say the cause of death was a heart attack and the man had “fatal medical conditions”. But the man’s wife claims the death was due to the vaccine. 43 year old Winai Hemin from Phang Nga, just a north of Phuket, was…
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6 people arrested for allegedly running 200 million baht “romance scam”
Police arrested 6 people allegedly involved in a 200 million baht so-called romance scam, setting up fake profiles online and, after some sweet-talking, persuading their “lovers to transfer money to their account. A victim who came forward to police says she transferred hundreds of thousands of baht to whom she thought was an American businessman in Malaysia who needed money…
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Police in Bangkok arrest 6 people on gambling and drug charges
Six recent graduates have been arrested on charges of illegal gambling and using class 5 drugs. The graduates, between the ages of 23 and 25, allegedly used SIM cards to sign up for gambling sites to obtain bonuses from new players. According to media reports, they were allegedly earning between 1,000 to 10,000 baht a day on their gambling operation. Yesterday,…
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Wednesday Covid Update: 2,455 new cases and 41 deaths, provincial totals
2,455 new Covid-19 cases and 41 coronavirus-related deaths, the highest fatality count since the start of the pandemic, were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. A total of 109,031 people have tested positive for Covid-19 since April 1. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has reported 137,894 Covid-19 cases in Thailand and 873…
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Cabinet approves Emergency Decree extension, prison funding
The Emergency Decree enacted to attempt to curb the spread of Covid-19 in Thailand has just been extended for 2 more months, until the end of July. Cabinet ministers met yesterday to determine the future of the decree and agreed to extend it from June 1 to July 31, while also approving funding for fighting Covid-19 in the Thai prison…
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