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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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COVID-19 update: 2 new cases found in state quarantine, no new deaths (August 6)
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration this morning reported 2 new cases of Covid-19, both returnees from the US, bringing the national total of confirmed cases to 3,330 since the outbreak began in January. A CCSA spokeman said the new patients are a 42 year old man aged 42 and a woman, aged 62, both Thai nationals. They arrived on…
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No current plans to extend list of foreigners allowed back into Thailand
There is no immediate plan to extend the list of foreigners being allowed to come to Thailand at the moment. Specifically still excluded are retirees with valid visas, homes and families in Thailand. The directive comes from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since Thailand’s experience with Covid-19, it has closed its borders to tourists and visitors, stranding both Thais and…
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Cabinet approves 435 million baht to control hungry elephants, monkeys
The Covid-19 crisis hasn’t just affected humans and businesses; it’s had a profound impact on Thailand’s wildlife- much of which was dependent on tourism for survival. As a result, the Cabinet on Tuesday approved a budget of 435.3 million baht to reduce the impacts of wildlife on people. The budget was requested by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.…
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Latest travel advisories for SE Asia, UK, Canada
While Thailand’s borders are still closed to all but a very few foreign visitors, there are outbound flights to some destinations, but the Covid-19 crisis means that entry requirements are fluid and often unpredictable; Singapore will require some returning residents who self-quarantine to use an electronic monitoring device effective August 10, while Myanmar has extended the ban on international flights.…
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Tourism sector pin hopes on “Safe and Sealed” scheme to lure international visitors
In the latest plan to bolster Thailand’s withering tourism industry, business operators are proposing a new inbound tourism plan called “Safe and Sealed”, to replace the delayed “travel bubbles” scheme and prevent Thailand realising the worst-case revenue scenario of only 675 billion baht next year, down from 3 trillion in 2019. At a joint meeting yesterday of the Tourism and…
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Unidentified woman attacks foreign man in Pattaya
Police in Pattaya report that a foreign man was attacked by an unidentified woman in front of a restaurant on the city’s Beach Road. The incident occurred at 6:15pm yesterday at a McDonald’s located on Beach Road between Soi 5 and Soi 6. The man, whose name and nationality are being withheld by police, was attacked by a Thai woman…
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Mushroom clouds and nuclear explosions – the fallout from the Beirut explosion – VIDEO
The world of instant experts and budding journalists kicks in moments after any event these days and reaches out almost instantaneously. The majority of people in the world first read about the Beirut chemical explosion on social media feeds, rather than mainstream media sources. Whilst most of the videos appeared horrifyingly authentic, captured by residents from wherever they were at…
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Harry Potter-themed protest openly questions monarchy’s role
Thai protesters strayed into more sensitive territory Monday night as they added the prickly, and largely taboo, topic of the Thai monarchy to the list of issues to include in their demonstrations. At a Harry Potter-themed rally, dubbed “Harry Potter versus You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named”, anti-government demonstrators at Bangkok’s Democracy Monument demanded changes to Thailand’s revered monarchy and called for curbs…
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Police seize property valued at 200 million baht from suspected hill tribe drug gang – VIDEO
Anti-narcotics police in 4 provinces seized property valued at around 200 million baht from a suspected drug trafficking gang… mostly northern hill tribe people, in coordinated raids yesterday. 30 targets in Bangkok and Hua Hin, as well as in northern and southern provinces, were raided by armed officers. 24 houses, 5 shophouses, 12 land title deeds, 22 cars and 27…
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Immigration police nab American, Thai wife for visa forgery, cannabis
Immigration police yesterday announced the arrest of an American, and his Thai wife for allegedly forging visas and other government documents, as well as growing cannabis, at their home. 31 year old Chad Vincent Scira, and his 34 year old Thai wife Grace Scira, were apprehended at their Bangkok home. “The suspects established a company called Thai Visa Centre, offering…
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Vietnam battles new, more contagious Covid-19 strain
Vietnam’s acting health minister reported 28 new cases of Covid-19 infection yesterday, bringing its total confirmed cases to 670, as well as 2 more deaths from the disease, making the tally 8 deceased Vietnamese. 27 of the new cases were reported in the central city of Da Nang, central Quang Nam province and southern Dong Nai province, among whom 16…
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Fire ravages Samut Prakan warehouse
A fire in Samut Prakan province, just southeast of Bangkok, caused major damage to an ice factory warehouse and 3 vehicles in the early hours of this morning. No injuries were reported. A duty officer at Samrong Tai police station says the blaze at the ice factory on Soi Wat Mahawong in tambon Samrong was reported just after midnight. The…
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7 Nakhon Panom officers transferred after cell death
7 police officers in the upper northeastern province of Nakhon Panom have been “transferred to inactive duty” while an investigation takes place into the death of a man in their custody. The commander of Nakhon Phanom provincial police said yesterday that he’s ordered a probe into the case and moved the officers involved to prevent anyone tampering with the evidence.…
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Nok Air blames some of its losses on MPs who don’t show up for flights
Part of Nok Air’s current losses are being blamed on privileged MPs, who receive free flights on the budget carrier but don’t turn up for their flights. Somboon Uthaiwiankul, secretary for the government’s House Speaker, says the issue was brought up by executives of the airline during a meeting with the House Speaker, Chuan Leekpai. The executives told him last…
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Koh Samui bridge collapse leaves truck stuck under pier
In the second setback in a week for the beleagured Raja Ferry Co., a steel boarding bridge for vehicles at Raja 1 ferry pier on Koh Samui collapsed yesterday, leaving a truck wedged under the wharf. The incident follows Saturday’s ferry disaster in which 3 people are confirmed dead and 3 remain missing. The pier is one of the 3…
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Psychiatric patient stabs sister to death at family home in southern Thailand
A man undergoing psychiatric treatment after prolonged drug use has stabbed his sister to death in the southern province of Songkhla. The man’s family say he was being treated at Rajanagarindra Psychiatric Hospital, but on the day of the murder he’d been told by his doctor to rest at home. The man has been named as 39 year old Boonya…
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PM vows to “spare no one” in fatal casino shooting
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has says he will “spare no one” if Monday night’s fatal shooting shooting in a Bangkok gambling den involved illegal police activity. He was reacting to the shooting death of Watthanaset Samniangprasert, an interrogation inspector at Samae Dam police station in Bang Bon district, and 3 others, 1 of them a woman, at a gambling den in…
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Stormy weather wreaks havoc, destroys homes, in southern Thailand
The current stormy conditions have caused severe damage to a number of homes in the southern province of Surat Thani, with some villagers left homeless. At one property in the Phra Sang district, the roof and garage have collapsed, with the 45 year old homeowner, Rachan Churak, having to flea the property with his family. Rachan says the damage occurred…
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Legally grown marijuana to boost medical field, economy
In its weekly meeting yesterday, the Cabinet approved a Public Health Ministry proposal to amend the Narcotics Act to allow patients, medical practitioners and traditional healers to grow marijuana for medical and commercial use. The deputy government spokeswoman said the Cabinet approved the proposal submitted by Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to amend narcotics legislation enacted last year. Anutin, also…
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New electric ferries have a test run on Bangkok’s klongs
The Bangkok Marine Department has completed a test run of a new electric boat on Saen Saeb klong. The tests have been part of the development for a replacement of Bangkok’s deisel-powered, noisy and dirty canal and river ferries. Marine Department Director General, Wittaya Yamuang says the tests of the eco-friendly passenger boat on Saen Saeb canal was all over…
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Thai PM says he supports changes to Constitution
In an apparent nod to the student protests which have swept the nation for over 2 weeks, Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has promised to push for constitutional amendments, saying the government will present its version of a charter rewrite bill in the next parliamentary session. Speaking after yesterday’s weekly cabinet meeting, Prayut said his position has been to support the…
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Maid fakes burglary after stealing employer’s safe
A Burmese maid has been arrested after stealing a safe from her employer and then trying to convince her there had been a burglary. The worker, named only as 34 year old Ice, was employed by 62 year old Samniang at her home in the central province of Samut Songkhram, some 80 kilometres south-west of Bangkok. Samniang says she called…
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Huge explosion at Port of Beirut kills 78 – VIDEO
The death toll from a massive port explosion in the capital Beirut yesterday had reached 78. Nearly 4,000 people have been injured, according to Lebanon’s health minister Hamad Hasan bringing local media up to date. The death toll is expected to rise. “There are many people missing until now. People are asking the emergency department about their loved ones and…
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3 men saved after rescuers spotted a huge SOS in the sand on remote Pacific island
It reads like a Hollywood script (or the first episode of ‘I Dream of Jeannie’), but this time it was for real. And it worked. 3 men were rescued from a tiny western Pacific island after scrawling a giant SOS sign into the sand. It was able to be seen by rescue aircraft. The men had gone missing in the Micronesia…
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Independent panel reviews Boss case to see if it can be re-opened
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has asked the independent panel examining the dismissal of charges relating to the 2012 hit-and-run case against Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya if it can be re-opened. Prosecutors abruptly decided not to arraign Boss on a charge of “reckless driving causing death” after the other charges relating to the incident had lapsed due to the statute of limitations. “I’ve…
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Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand family ranked 21 on world’s rich list
Bloomberg has released its list of the world’s wealthiest, and the family behind Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand Group sits at number 21. The CP conglomerate is one of the world’s largest, operating across multiple sectors, including food manufacture, agriculture, retail, and telecommunications. It has stakes in CP Foods, the world’s largest producer of shrimp and among the top 3 producers of…
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Skeletal remains found in Chon Buri may be those of missing Burmese worker – VIDEO
A human skeleton found inside dense bushland is believed to be that of a Burmese national who worked at commercial fishponds nearby. The owner of the fishponds, 50 year old Somyot Lieamhan, says clothing found near the skeleton matched those worn by the man, named only as ‘Mint’, at the time he disappeared. Somyot says the worker disappeared shortly after…
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11 groups of people allowed to fly into Thailand, as of today
The Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand have issued the “Notification on Conditions for Aircraft Permitted to Enter Thailand Version 3. UPDATE: The CAAT has listed 11 groups of Thai and non-Thai nationals (foreigners) permitted to enter Thailand. The groups consist of the following… (1) Thai nationals. (2) Persons with an exemption or persons being…
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107 kilograms of cannabis seized, 3 arrested in Chon Buri drugs bust
Police in Chon Buri have carried out a large drug seizure, confiscating 107 kilograms of cannabis, as well as other items. 3 suspects are under arrest. Police confirmed the arrests and confiscation of illegal substances at a press conference held shortly after. The first 2 arrests took place at a restaurant in Soi Buakhao in Pattaya, with the suspects named…
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Price of gold rises but investment not without risks
A leading investment research firm says the price of gold is on the rise, with predictions bullion could reach US$2,000 an ounce. Chayanee Juengmanon from Morningstar Research Thailand says one exchange-traded fund favoured by most domestic gold mutual funds, recorded net inflows of over $20 billion within the last year, a 30% increase in the value of its assets. gold…
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