News
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Sponsored 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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AoT press charges against laptop-smashing former policeman – VIDEO
The Airports of Thailand have now lodged an official complaint about a former policeman with anger issues who, along with his foul-mouthed female partner, berated airline ground staff and smashed the company laptop after missing a flight last Saturday (video below). AoT are filing a lawsuit with Don Mueang police even after the man apologised and admitted he had been…
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Pro-Beijing activists fined for mass gathering while celebrating arrest of Hong Kong media tycoon
A group of pro-Beijing activists have been fined for violating social distancing rules after they gathered to celebrate the arrest of Hong Kong media boss, Jimmy Lai. Coconuts reports that around a dozen people came together outside the offices of Lai’s Apple Daily newspaper, toasting his arrest with champagne and party poppers. One woman accused Lai of colluding with foreign…
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Philippine Embassy fires back at xenophobic Thai Rath headline
Leading Thai daily Thai Rath has incurred the wrath of the Philippines Embassy in Thailand with their tabloid headline reporting about Filipino teaches coming to Thailand. The first 165 arrived a few days ago. Up to 3,000, mostly Filipino, are expected in the next month or so Filipino teachers are a common sight in schools around Thailand teaching English. The…
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Air Asia and VietJet add some extra domestic routes
Whilst much of the world waits to get back into Thailand, the local airlines are starting to flex their domestic muscles and add new routes. Thai AirAsia is launching 2 new routes from Chiang Mai, starting yesterday, offering a one-way fare for as low as 790 baht on flights to Hua Hin, and Udon Thani in the northeast. The cheapie…
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Thailand’s international borders not re-opening for tourists until 2021 – TAT
Thailand is unlikely to reopen its borders to international tourists before the end of the year – the prediction from a deputy governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand. Speaking at yet another webinar, this time hosted by Mekong Tourism and TravelMole, the deputy governor for international marketing at TAT, Chattan Kunjara Na Ayudhya, noted that there has been “no…
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Repatriation flights suspended after Thai staff contract Covid-19 at foreign embassies
Thai embassies in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have been hit with outbreaks of Covid-19, affecting a number of Thai staff, according to the Foreign Ministry. The Thai embassy in Manama, the capital of Bahrain, said that a foreign employee was suffering “mild symptoms” and tested positive for Covid-19. The official was reportedly receiving medical treatment. The embassy has also suspended arrangements…
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Jailed Thai activist Anon Nampa speaks in Chiang Mai whilst on bail – VIDEO
by guest writer Will Langston By 4pm late yesterday afternoon, the historical Tha Pae Gate in Chiang Mai was packed with uniformed and armed police officers as they prepared for a speech from Anon Nampa, who was released on bail just a day before after his arrest in Bangkok over “sedition” charges in dramatic circumstances last Friday. Anon Nampa was arrested…
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Hong Kong officials arrest high-profile media boss under new national security law
The arrest of the Hong Kong media tycoon, Jimmy Lai, is the latest in a number of arrests carried out under the controversial national security law introduced by Beijing at the end of June. Thai PBS World reports that 71 year old Lai stands accused of colluding with foreign forces. He has been a longtime critic of the Beijing administration…
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Repatriation of Thai citizens from Bahrain suspended as embassy worker tests positive for virus
All consular services at the Thai Embassy in Bahrain, including the repatriation of Thai citizens, have been suspended, as an official in the consular office has tested positive for Covid-19. Thailand’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Cherdkiat Atthakor, says it’s hoped services can resume at the embassy in the Bahraini capital, Manama, from August 22. The temporary measure is being implemented after…
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3 motorbike riders die in road traffic accident in central Thailand
3 young motorbike riders have died in a road traffic accident in central Thailand. The accident took place in Suphanburi province and the deceased men have been named as 20 year old Ronnachai Wongsudin, 22 year old Warakorn Intharajorn, and 29 year old Apirak Phoreun. The first two victims died at the scene, while Apirak was rushed to Sriprajan Hospital,…
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Elderly drivers may need to take test in order to keep licence
A damning World Health Organisation says Thailand’s roads continue to be some of the most dangerous in the world, with an average of 22,491 road deaths a year. Now the Department of Land Transport is considering the introduction of a test for elderly drivers in possession of a lifetime licence. Lifetime drivers’ licences were issued up until 2003, when the…
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Welcome to 7-Eleven – Ford injures 5 people as it crashes though Bangkok shop
A car has collided with a taxi before losing control and smashing through the front of a local 7Eleven convenience store in Bangkok. 5 people were injured as the car burst through the front of the store. The 7Eleven store is opposite the Phaholyothin Police Station in front of Ratchadapisek 44. When rescue teams responded they found a white Ford Everest…
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Deputy AG fails to show up at an independent hearing into the dropping of ‘Boss’ charges
At yesterday’s hearing into the dropping of the Boss Yoovidhya ‘reckless driving causing death’ charge, the man who approved the dropping of the charges didn’t even bother turning up. A panel, headed by a former chairman of a constitution drafting body, Borwornsak Uwanno, summonsed Deputy Attorney-General Nate Naksuk to give statements at the independent committee looking into what lead to the…
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Proposal would lift emergency decree in 4 southern districts
Thailand’s 4th Army plans to seek approval for the Executive Decree for Administration in Emergency Situations to be lifted in 4 southern districts, according to an army spokesman. The districts have been free of insurgency activities for a considerable time, and Pattani’s Mai Kaen district is likely to be the first to see the relaxation, the spokesman said today. The…
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Covid-19 update: 3 new imported cases, no deaths (August 9)
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration reported 3 new cases of the coronavirus today, while the Public Health Ministry confirmed none of the concertgoers in Nakhon Si Thammarat were infected. Today marks the 76th day without a locally transmitted case in Thailand. The CCSA said 1 of the new cases is a 31 year old Bangladeshi man who tested positive…
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Thailand makes US “low-risk” list for Covid-19
The latest US travel advisory names just 7 countries as being at low-risk for Covid-19 infection – and Thailand is among them. Although Thailand remains closed to most foreign visitors, and a leading epidemiologist is urging it to remain so for another 6-18 months, the secretary-general of the National Research Committee said today that the inclusion on the low-risk list…
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Poll: majority doubt constitutional reform will improve Thai politics
The government of PM Prayut Chan-o-cha, in an apparent nod to widespread student protests, has agreed inprinciple to amend Thaland’s Constitution. But according to a survey by the National Institute of Development Administration, or Nida Poll, a slim majority of Thais are not confident that constitutional amendments will improve Thai politics. The poll was conducted August 3-4 on 1,255 people…
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Leading Thai epidemiologist warns against opening borders
A leading epidemiologist on the faculty of medicine at Chulalongkorn University is calling for the government to suspend any plan to allow foreign tourists for 6-18 months. Dr Thira Woratanarat, who makes daily updates on his Facebook in the Thai language and is well followed in the Thai media, has been delivering regular warnings about the risk of Covid-19 to…
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Authorities say religious conflict not behind beheading of Pattani Buddha image
The beheading of a revered Buddha image in the Muslim-dominated southern border province of Pattani was the work of a temple boy and not a religious conflict, according to a statement issued yesterday by the Region 4 Internal Security Operation Command. The head of “Phra Chao Ong Dam”, showing Buddha sitting under the Bodhi Tree or “tree of awakening”, inside…
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3 injured in Chon Buri motorcycle incident
A motorbike crash in the Nongprue area of Chon Buri’s Banglamung district has left 3 people injured, according to police. Nongprue police were notified of the incident, at an intersection near Soi Khao Talo, at 3am. Police, emergency responders and reporters went to the scene and found 2 damaged motorbikes. 3 people had sustained injuries; 29 year old Anatita Pimsri,…
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Bailed activist lawyer promises more protests
2 protest leaders arrested on Friday were granted bail following a court sitting in Bangkok yesterday. The court granted activist lawyer Arnon Nampa and a student named Panupong Jaadnok, alias “Mike Rayong” bail. The court pointedly warned them not to engage in similar behaviour while on bail. Immediately afterward, Arnon defiantly told reporters he was headed to Chiang Mai to…
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1 soldier wounded in Narathiwat ambush
A soldier in the southern Narathiwat province was injured in an ambush in Bacho district last night, according to police. The attack happened at about 10:30pm while 56 year old Serm Seedaeng, leader of a civic action team of the 2nd Rifle Battalion at Chulabhorn military camp in the province’s central district, was driving his pickup along Bacho-Ban Thon road…
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Trump orders enhanced unemployment benefits, eviction moratorium
US President Donald Trump yesterday signed executive actions, 1 of which provides US$400 a week in enhanced unemployment benefits (25% of which is to be covered by the individual states) after the White House and Democrats were unable to reach an agreement on a coronavirus stimulus relief bill last week. Speaking from his his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey,…
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UPDATE: Covid-19. The world about to surpass 20 million infections
Coronavirus cases around the world will pass through the 20 million milestone in the next 24 hours. Whilst the early ‘hotspots’ for Covid-19 were China, Spain, UK and Italy, over the past month the largest growth in cases, per capita, has been the US, most South American countries, South Africa, India, and locally, Philippines and Indonesia. As of today there…
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UPDATE: 18 dead, dozens injured in Air India crash
4 children have now been identified among the 18 people who died when an Air India Express flight crashed in the southern Indian state of Kerala. 16 passengers and the 2 pilots died after the passenger jet broke in half early Friday evening, Indian time, as it overshot and skidded off the runway when it tried to land in southern India.…
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Covid-19 update: 3 new imported cases, no new deaths (August 8)
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration reported 3 new Covid-19 cases today. All are Thai nationals, 2 recently repatriated from Saudi Arabia and 1 from Indonesia, bringing the total to 3,348. The death toll remained unchanged at 58. Today marks 75 days without a locally transmitted case being identified in Thailand. 2 of the new cases are students, both 24,…
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Police in Chon Buri announce crackdown on loan sharks
Police in the eastern Chon Buri province held a large rally to announce a crackdown on loan sharks, in which they’ve already seized luxury cars, motorbikes, illegal weapons and ammunition. On Thursday, 709 police, led by the Chon Buri provincial police commander, attended a rally at the Bali Hai Pier in Pattaya to report on the ongoing crackdown. Earlier in…
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Bangkok casino shooter insists he acted alone: police
A man who confessed to killing a gunman, who had already shot dead 3 people at an illegal Bangkok gambling den on Monday night, insists he acted alone, police announced today. Authorities took 61 year old Phiphit Srisuwan, alias “Boy Baan Khrua” to the Bangkok South Criminal Court to seek his detention in connection with the fatal shooting in a…
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Drug suspect shot dead after slashing officers in Nong Khai
An alleged drug dealer was killed and 2 police officers wounded in a police raid in Isaan’s Nong Khai province yesterday afternoon. Nong Khai police say 3 of their officers were engaged in the shooting incident with the suspect, 25 year old Parinya Yeunnan, in Meechai subdistrict. According to a police spokesman: “Officials tracked down the suspect, a Nong Khai…
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Chon Buri, Pattaya battle growing homelessness
The normally bustling resort town of Pattaya, battered by the Covid-19 crisis, is battling a growing homelessness problem that’s driving concerns and complaints from many locals. Already this weekend, about 50 officers from the Chon Buri Homeless Protection Centre, along with staff from the Pattaya Social Development Office, and Pattaya City police have inspected multiple locations where there have been…
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