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Mark One Tailor: The best bespoke tailor in Khao Lak
When it comes to high-quality bespoke tailoring in Khao Lak, Mark One Tailor stands out as one of the most trusted names. With decades of experience, this tailor shop has built a solid reputation for exceptional craftsmanship, premium fabrics, and...
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US Secretary of State Blinken cancels Thai visit, meeting with PM due to Covid concerns
The US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken cancelled the Thai leg of his Southeast Asia tour and his meeting with PM Prayut chan-o-cha after a journalist with the travelling press corps tested positive for Covid-19. Blinken had arrived at his second destination in Southeast Asia, Malaysia, on Tuesday for a two-day visit after he left Indonesia. The US embassy issued…
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Political activist and hunger striker Chalard Worachat dies of heart attack
The prominent political activist Chalard Worachat has died of a heart attack at his home in Bangkok, according to a Thai PBS World report. The 78 year old rose to prominence as a serial hunger striker, frequently forgoing food to protest political developments. Once the Democrat MP for Trat province in 1979, and then for Bangkok in 1986, he left…
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Man arrested for allegedly stealing 50,000 baht in railway property
A 51 year old man in northern Thailand’s Phrae province was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly stealing rail track screws and plates valued at around 50,000 baht. The man was detained by the Railway Police Division in Den Chai district and was charged with theft of official property. Railway authorities had been curious if someone was constantly stealing the screws…
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11 dead, 25 still missing after boat capsized off Malaysian coast
11 people drowned and another 25 people are still missing after a boat capsized off the coast of Johor in southern Malaysia. Bodies of Indonesian migrants were found on a beach in Tanjung Balau early yesterday morning. Officers at Johor Fire and Rescue Department found the overturned boat on the shore near the bodies. So far, 14 people survived. The…
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Activists in Vietnam land dispute jailed for criticising government on social media
Two Vietnamese activists have been jailed for social media content about a violent clash with the authorities that resulted in the deaths of 4 people. According to an AFP report, violence broke out as activist villagers were protesting plans to build a military airport on their land. Officials were trying to erect a fence at Dong Tam commune on the…
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Tourism cities welcome easing of Covid measures ahead of New Year celebrations
Officials in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, and Pattaya have all welcomed the CCSA’s decision to ease some Covid-19 restrictions to allow for New Year’s Eve celebrations. Alcohol can now be sold until 1am on New Year’s Eve, with the exception of Phuket, where alcohol sales can continue from 11pm to 6am on December 31. According to a Bangkok Post report,…
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Thailand launches new tourism portal to make visiting the Land of Smiles easier
The Tourism Ministry has launched a new online portal it hopes will make visiting Thailand easier for the 8 – 15 million tourists currently expected next year. According to a Bangkok Post report, the website, called Entry Thailand, has been allocated a budget of 49.6 million baht for its first phase. The portal lists the information and documents travellers need…
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New rules for scuba diving boats in Thailand to increase safety
Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Warawut Silpa-archa has introduced new safety measures that ban large commercial scuba diving boats from getting too close to dive sites. The rule would apply to national parks only so far and would require big boats to stay 100 to 200 metres from dives sites. Scuba companies that offer diving by taking many customers…
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Peshawar school massacre parents: ‘We kept his pen’
For Shahana Ajoon, every December brings grief, anger and agony for her family which is still struggling to come to terms with the deadly terror attack on a school in the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar, seven years ago. Ajoon’s torture is mirrored among the parents of the 132 school children who were killed in the massacre on December 16,…
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Pattaya restaurant raided a fifth time for Covid-19 violations
Seemingly unfazed by an apparent complete lack of any punishment the first 4 times, a Pattaya restaurant has been raided a fifth time for violating Covid-19 restrictions. The restaurant, Sky Mountain, has been busted 4 times previously for operating as a bar, selling alcohol and opening without proper permitting, but has faced little repercussions for their disregard for the regulations…
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Artisanal bakeries in Niger fight for survival
Artisanal bakeries in Zinder, Niger, are threatened by industrial bakeries. This artisanal bakery has resisted the competition. Wheat flour and other products, such as oil, sugar and firewood, are becoming more and more expensive. Despite the difficult situation, the bakeries manage to retain their customers. Their street vendors sell the bread at crossroads, the bus station and markets. Modern bakeries…
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Decomposing headless body found along the beach in Songkhla
A man out for a morning stroll this morning along the beach in the Muang district of Songkhla happened upon a grizzly discovery: a decomposing dead body on the beach, minus its head. The 72 year old man who discovered the headless body, which had decomposed to the point of being mostly bones, promptly notified the police of the morbid…
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Omicron variant: 9 cases confirmed, 5 more suspected in Thailand
Omicron is slowly creeping into Thailand. Officials have announced that there have now been 9 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 diagnosed within the borders of Thailand. Those nine cases have been fully genome sequenced and confirmed that they are definitely the new and highly infections variant. Omicron is believed to be more contagious but less severe than…
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Business and government leaders meet to reopen Pattaya bars
A high-level meeting is the latest in the non-stop attempts by businesses in Pattaya to reopen bars and entertainment venues, with business leaders and government officials meeting at Pattaya City Hall yesterday to discuss the issue. The conference was run by the president of the Pattaya Business and Tourism Association, the Bang Lamung District Chief, the mayor of Pattaya, and…
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Cambodia, Phillippines report first cases of Omicron Covid-19 variant
Omicron appears to be quickly making its way into Southeast Asia, as the Philippines and Cambodia both reported the first cases of the new variant on the same day. The Philippine Department of Health said today that it has detected the country’s first two imported cases of the Omicron virus strain following the 48 samples sequenced yesterday. Those two patients…
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Cabinet approves 82.5 billion baht project plan to clean up Bangkok’s polluted canal
Bangkok’s Khlong Saen Saep is in for a major cleanup. Garbage litters the waterway and wastewater flows into the canal, which is a major water transit with an express boat service running through the capital. To tackle the problem, the Thai Cabinet approved an 82.5 billion baht, 11-year rehabilitation project. The waste from the canal, which connects with the Chao…
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Phuket taxi charged with death of Swiss tourist in motorbike crash
An accident in Phuket has left a Swiss tourist dead and a local taxi driver in custody being charged with his death. The crash took place Monday when taxi driver reportedly lost control of his vehicle and ploughed into the Swiss man who was driving by on his motorbike. The accident took place near Nai Harn in Rawai sub-district. Witnesses…
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Two women arrested for allegedly running unauthorized Covid-19 laboratory
Two women were arrested for allegedly issuing unauthorised Covid-19 certifications when police raided the D Lab Inter Group clinic in Muang district of Pathum Thani province on Monday. According to the head of the Consumer Protection Police Division, Pol Maj Gen Anant Nanasombat, two women who identified themselves as Wasita and Pornnapa were reportedly charging 500 baht for each Covid-19…
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Wednesday Covid Update: 3,370 new cases; provincial totals
29 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 21,260 with 21,166 of those fatalities during the latest wave, which was first recorded on April 1. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 3,370 new Covid-19 cases and 4,557 recoveries. There are now 46,315 people in Thailand being…
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Candidate for Bangkok governor under fire after claim he studied under Einstein’s grandson
A candidate for Bangkok governor is under fire after he claimed to have studied engineering under Albert Einstein’s grandson, and even went as far to say he’s the only one in Thailand that has studied under an Einstein. But a Thai reporter decided to fact check the claims and found that the American professor has no connection to one of…
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Ask the Girls (Part 2) – Questions you’ve always wanted answered
Should sex toys and porn be properly legalised in Thailand? Do Asian women like or prefer dating western men? Join Natty as she asks the girls questions you’ve always wanted answered. This is Part 2 of a new entertainment segment we like to call, Ask the Girls.
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Thais poke fun at TAT’s “fly the kite” event, the phrase has another meaning in Thailand
Thais are having a laugh over the headline for a kite festival promoted by the Tourism Authority of Thailand in the Isaan province Buriram. In Thai, the phrase “flying a kite” can mean two different things… One is literally flying a kite, while the other means male masturbation. TAT Buriram is promoting the event with the headline “ชักว่าว เคาน์ดาวน์ ปีใหม่…
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Pfizer booster shots on offer in Rayong, 1,000 per day for 3 days
3,000 Pfizer vaccines are set to be administered as booster shots in Rayong from Wednesday to Friday, 1,000 each day at Memorial Hospital Sirindhorn Rayong. The vaccines will be given for free for qualifying people who meet the criteria laid out by the hospitals. The vaccines will be available for those who are already fully vaccinated with Sinovac, Sinopharm, Astrazeneca,…
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Red Cross Fair being held online again this year due to Covid-19
For the second year in a row, the national Red Cross Fair is being held online only due to concerns over the Covid-19 pandemic. The fair takes place every year all over Thailand as a fundraiser to support the Red Cross and their programs, especially those to help the poor and people in need. The Red Cross often steps in…
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Thailand set to host five alcohol-free New Year’s celebration events
The government has given the okay for booze at New Year countdown events, but for those who want to start 2022 sober, or just want to go to a more family-friendly celebration, the Thai government is hosting the alcohol-free “Amazing Thailand Countdown 2022” in five locations across Thailand. Locations include Royal Park Rajapruek in Chiang Mai, City Hall in Nakhon…
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Singapore Airlines launches vaccinated travel lane service to Bangkok
Singapore Airlines is joining Jetstar Asia in offering a vaccinated travel lane service between Singapore and Thailand, with 25 flights a week between Bangkok and the city-state. TTR Weekly reports that out of the 25, 14 will be VTL flights, meaning quarantine-free travel for vaccinated passengers arriving in Singapore The VTL flight numbers are SQ705 and SQ707, with the addition…
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Maya Bay re-opening to go ahead with strict conditions attached
The tourist hotspot of Maya Bay, in the southern province of Krabi, will re-open as scheduled on New Year’s Day. However, the re-opening comes with some strict conditions attached. There had been some doubt about whether the re-opening of the beauty spot would go ahead, but Thailand’s prominent marine ecologist, Dr. Thon Thamrongnawasawat from Kasetsart University, says it’s happening. According…
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Fisherman’s body found by Saphan Hin Beach in Phuket
Rescue teams and the Royal Thai Navy found the body of a 60 year old fisherman by Saphan Hin Beach in Phuket who had drowned after a fishing boat capsized over the weekend. The boat sank at around 8pm on Saturday. The captain and another fisherman were able to swim to safety after hours in the water and got to…
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Health officials warn of potential Omicron surge after New Year holiday
The Department of Medical Services says Thailand could end up dealing with a surge of Omicron infections after the end-of-year celebrations. Department chief Somsak Akksilp says the public must continue to comply with disease prevention measures to keep the highly contagious variant at bay. He adds that mild symptoms can be treated while patients self-isolate at home. According to a…
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The controversy around Balkan hydroelectricity
Some 2,796 hydroelectric power plants are scheduled for construction in the Balkans over the next few years. According to the NGO RiverWatch, 740 are to be built in Albania, which boasts a total geographical area of just under 29,000 square kilometers. Fifteen years ago, former Albanian president, Sali Berisha, declared his ambition to transform the country into a Balkan “power”…
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