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Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.
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George W. Bush on Angela Merkel: ‘A woman who is not afraid to lead’
The Bush estate is located directly on the Atlantic Ocean near Kennebunkport, a car trip of just less than two hours from Boston, Massachusetts. While our camera team prepares the brightly lit living room with screens of blackout fabric, George W. Bush suddenly appears, an hour ahead of our scheduled interview time. He is wearing shorts and a bright green…
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Wednesday Covid Update: 9,317 new cases; provincial totals
9,317 new Covid-19 cases and 87 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by Thailand’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Out of the total of 363,029 Covid-19 cases reported by the CCSA since the start of the pandemic last year, the latest and most severe wave, first recorded on April 1, has accounted for 334,166 of the infections. The 87 new coronavirus-related fatalities…
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For Covid-19, officials want you to stop talking… on trains anyway
British trains are known for being silent, with nobody disturbing others with chatting. Now British expats can get a taste of home as Thailand’s train authorities add to their Covid-19 safety precautions the request of no talking on trains to avoid the spread of the virus. The Department of Rail Transport has already implemented health and safety regulations to attempt…
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Russia: Summer means cold showers
“Modernization has reached new heights in Russia: You can now access the schedule for your building’s hot-water shutdown online!” joke Muscovites. Meanwhile, they’re busy putting pots on the stove and preparing to heat their water. It’s a stroke of luck that, with the Russian capital currently sweltering in a heat wave, people are happy to take cold showers. It makes…
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Thailand tries to catch up in the space race, draft Space Affairs Act gets Cabinet approval
Thailand is far behind in the space race, but they’re still in and trying to catch up. A draft Space Affairs Act intended to help Thailand get up to speed with space-related technology was approved yesterday by the Thai Cabinet. The Space Affairs Act will be sent to the Council of State and then passed to Parliament. Thailand’s first satellite…
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Thailand international boat show coming to Phuket in 2022
Press Release Hit hard by the pandemic, Phuket is set to receive a boost in the new year when the Thailand International Boat Show will be held 6 – 9 of January 2022 at the award-winning Royal Phuket Marina. Targeting those with an interest in boating and luxury lifestyle, organisers also expect to welcome wealthy jet-setters from overseas on the…
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Vietnam considers strict regulations for social media live streaming
Regulations on social media live streaming could soon be tightening in Vietnam and affect so-called “influencers” who make money off of marketing. In an effort to crack down on “fake news” and offensive content, the country’s Ministry of Information and Communications is proposing regulations on the live videos streamed through Facebook, TikTok and YouTube. Under the proposed measures, reported by…
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Hotel collapses in China, 17 dead
A hotel in the eastern Chinese city of Suzhou collapsed on Monday. However, it took 36 hours of searching to locate 23 people who were buried in the rubble. However, only 6 were still alive leaving 17 dead. 5 of the 6 people found alive are reportedly injured but in stable condition. 1 survivor was uninjured. The Siji Kaiyuan Hotel…
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Slow start for “Samui Plus” reopening, only 33 seats booked for this month
While the “Samui Plus” reopening plan is set to start tomorrow, it might be more of a “soft” reopening. Only 33 airline seats are booked for this month and tourism officials say it will be a few months before the islands see an influx of international arrivals. Similar to the “Phuket Sandbox,” the scheme allows the trio of islands in…
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Government extends emergency decree for the 13th time
The Thai Cabinet has approved an extension to the emergency decree until at least the end of September, meaning it has now been extended 13 times. According to a Pattaya News report, the extension comes into effect on August 1 and means the government will retain extraordinary powers, including the ability of the courts to hand down heavy penalties to…
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Thammasat University Hospital needs shipping containers to help overwhelmed morgue
Thammasat University Hospital, located in central Thailand’s Pathum Thani Province, is running out of room in its morgue and is now looking for shipping containers to store the remains of Covid victims. The hospital posted on Facebook to say it anticipates Covid cases to surpass 10,000 soon, as health officials increase their testing efforts in high risk areas. The Thammasat…
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Government dismisses rumours of Phuket sandbox collapse as “fake news”
The government says the Phuket sandbox scheme is going “very well”, describing rumours of its imminent demise as, “fake news”. According to a Bangkok Post report, Thanakorn Wangboonkongchan from the Centre for Economic Situation Administration says the only thing threatening the sandbox scheme is false reporting on social media that claims the island has been ordered to close due to…
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Wednesday Covid Update: 9,317 new infections and 87 deaths
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration logged another 9,317 confirmed Covid-19 infections and 87 coronavirus-related deaths. In the latest and most severe wave of the virus, the CCSA has recorded 334,166 Covid-19 cases since April 1. The virus is still spreading in Thailand’s overcrowded prisons and health officials have been rolling out active testing to identify infections, even asymptomatic, and…
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Concerns raised as Health Ministry appears to ignore WHO warning on mixing vaccines
The public is questioning the Thai government’s proposal to combine Covid-19 vaccines from different manufacturers despite a warning from the World Health Organisation. The WHO’s chief scientist, Soumya Swaminathan, has warned against the practice, saying there is not enough information on the potential risks. However, the Pattaya News reports that Thailand’s National Communicable Disease Committee has just approved the proposal…
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42-billion-baht aid package to cushion the financial impact of Covid restrictions
The government will provide a 42-billion-baht aid package for businesses and individuals affected by the latest Covid-19 restrictions in the 10 “dark red” provinces. The Bangkok Post reports that 30 billion baht of the relief package will come from the government’s loan decree, while the other 12 billion will come from the national budget. The provinces of Bangkok, Nakhon Pathom,…
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Africalink On Air 13.07.2021
News+++Ramaphosa addresses nation amid rampant looting+++Guinea and Senegal border dispute+++Kenya’s maternal health care under strain+++Benin’s warrior women+++Focus on Europe: Poland plans to limit Holocaust victims’ restitution claims+++ SOURCE: DW News
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Bali to deport 4 tourists for not wearing masks, breaking disease control orders
Four tourists in Bali are being deported after they apparently did not follow local disease control measures during their stay on the resort island in Indonesia. Some didn’t wear face masks while the other, who was infected with Covid-19, apparently left a quarantine hotel during her mandatory isolation period. Covid-19 has been on the rise in the Southeast Asian country,…
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Afghanistan: Can Pakistan ‘manage’ the Taliban?
The security situation in Afghanistan is rapidly deteriorating amid the withdrawal of NATO troops from the country. The Afghan Taliban have intensified their attacks on government forces and have captured vast swathes of territories in the past few months. A political settlement in Afghanistan seems unlikely at this point, with both the Taliban and President Ashraf Ghani’s government blaming each…
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DSI asked to step in and investigate multimillion baht street lamp project
Following the ongoing controversy of hundreds of millions of baht spent by local officials on expensive street lamps, the Department of Special Investigation has been asked to step in and investigate the projects in the Racha Thewa subdistrict of Samut Prakan, just outside Bangkok. The National Anti-Corruption Commission is also establishing 5 panels to investigate the lamp project, a probe…
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Karon criminal arrested for allegedly stealing 18,000 baht
Yesterday, a man was arrested in Karon, Phuket for allegedly stealing 18,000 baht from an American. The 42 year old unnamed Thai man allegedly stole 18,000 baht out of 39 year old James Anthony Melwesti’s villa. James had contacted Karon police to report he was 18,000 baht lighter. Thai media says that police checked CCTV and saw a man had…
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Thailand monitoring Myanmar situation, will work to end conflict
Since the February 1 military coup in Myanmar, the Thai government has been relatively quiet on the situation in the neighbouring country, with a few statements urging for peace and an end to the violence after more than 700 people were killed by Burmese security forces. Some clashes between the military and ethnic troops have been along the Thai border,…
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First night of curfew: 299 arrested
From last night to this morning, police arrested 299 people across 10 provinces. The suspects were allegedly not adhering to the new curfew, says police spokesperson Yingyot Thepjamnong. The breakdown of arrested is as follows: 57 arrested in Bangkok 187 arrested throughout: Samut Prakan, Nonthaburi, and Pathum Thani 7 arrested in Nakhon Pathom and Samut Sakhon 48 arrested in Songkhla,…
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Tour van drivers suffer from lack of passengers, Covid restrictions
Tour van drivers are currently suffering under the weight of vehicle payments against the lightness of tourists to drive around. In northeastern Thailand’s Nakhon Ratchasima, 41 year old tour van driver Punnawit Jaenlue, says he used to do 20 trips a month, raking in about 50,000 baht. However, due to Covid restriction pertaining to interprovincial travel, he says making even…
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Public warned about immigration police impersonators asking for bribes
The Thai Immigration Bureau is warning foreign residents and the general public to be careful of people who are impersonating as immigration police officers and asking for bribes or other payments. Apparently, the people posing as immigration officers are approaching individual foreigners and are inspecting establishments like factories, which tend to employ migrant workers. If approached by someone claiming to…
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Bangkok Government Complex provides free Covid testing, registering online first imperative
For people who wish to get a free Covid test at the Government Complex, they must register online first, says the National Health Security Office, today. The test will be the rapid antigen test. The testing location is on Chaeng Wattana Road and will be open until July 30. The hours are 8 am and 4 pm, but not on…
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Thai authorities crackdown on Covid-19 “fake news,” posters could face jail time
Thai authorities are cracking down on fake news, particularly false claims about the Covid-19 situation in Thailand. The Digital Economy and Society Ministry’s Anti-Fake News Centre reported more than 50 cases of fake news posted since last month, most involving Covid-19 or vaccines. Police are now investigating the cases. Those who posted or shared misleading information found to threaten national…
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Tuesday Covid Update: 8,685 new cases; provincial totals
Continuing on a sharp upward trend in the latest wave of Covid-19 infections, Thailand now has 95,410 active coronavirus cases. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration recorded 8,685 new Covid-19 cases today, raising the total case count since the start of the pandemic last year to 353,712. The latest and most severe wave of the virus, first recorded on April…
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Si Racha snake stuck in road goes viral
Yesterday, a 3 metre python went viral in Si Racha, a district on the Gulf of Thailand, for being stuck in a drain cover and requiring rescue. About 3 pm Monday, rescue workers and animal control were alerted to the snake’s plight. They got to the scene and found the snake popping out of different pipes on a drain cover…
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Rapid antigen tests should be available next week for testing at home
Yesterday, the Public Health Ministry announced that rapid antigen tests will now be sold for home use. The tests will be sold at hospitals, health clinics, pharmacies, and other locations that have been approved by the FDA. The announcement states that government institutions that get the kits must send them to hospitals. Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul also said yesterday…
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Infections in the sandbox not surprising, says Phuket health office Chief
“The infected cases among Phuket Sandbox tourists were expected under the plan made before opening the island.” Phuket Provincial Public Health Office Chief Dr Kusak Kukiattikoon announced at a press conference yesterday that Covid infected tourists popping up in the sandbox were “expected”. Dr Kusak assured the public, and tourists mulling where to go on vacation, that zero of the…
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