Thailand
- Thailand News
Trang villagers set up nets to catch snakes after 20 king cobras were spotted
After 20 king cobras were spotted and reports of a person dying from a snakebite, locals at a village in Trang’s Banpho area set up nets along the roads to catch the snakes. The net idea hasn’t worked so far. The head of the provincial emergency response team, Chokechai Phraethanareung, says they look into other methods to catch the snakes,…
- Thailand News
Billionaire couple in Koh Tao drowned, preliminary autopsy results show
A preliminary autopsy results suggest the billionaire couple died from drowning at the Koh Tao resort pool. Water was found in both their lungs and medical examiners at the Police General Hospital say the couple died from lack of oxygen. More tests are being done and police are still investigating. Last Friday, the Thai-Indian couple Anshoo and Rakeshwar Sachatamakul, 55…
- Visa Information
Finance Ministry challenges tax cut proposal for holders of new long-stay visa
A proposal to introduce a long-stay visa for 4 target groups of foreigners has already hit a hitch, with the Finance Ministry pushing back against a suggested tax rate of 17% on local earnings. The ministry argues that the reduced rate will affect government revenue. Under the proposal, wealthy foreign nationals could apply for a special visa that would permit…
- Chiang Mai News
Chiang Mai applies to implement sandbox re-opening from August 1
Officials in the northern province of Chiang Mai will be watching Phuket’s July 1 re-opening carefully, as they seek to follow suit a month later. The southern island will re-open to fully vaccinated tourists from qualifying countries in just over 3 weeks’ time and Chiang Mai hopes to do the same from August 1. The sandbox program is the Thai…
- Crime News
Justice Ministry working with foreign agencies to crackdown on drug trafficking
Following busts in Australia and South Korea involving large shipments of methamphetamine from Thailand, the Justice Ministry is working with foreign agencies to investigate transnational drug trafficking with routes in Thailand, Minister Somsak Thepsuthin announced. Last month, more than 300 kilograms of methamphetamine valued at 2.29 billion baht was seized from a Thai cargo ship at a port in Sydney. Australian…
- Thailand News
235 people in 10 Thai provinces infected with Covid variant first found in India
235 people in 10 of Thailand’s 77 provinces have tested positive for the Covid-19 variant first found in India. Most of the cases are linked to an outbreak at a construction camp in Bangkok’s Laksi district. Thailand’s Department of Medical Sciences tested samples from 3,964 Covid-19 patients to detect mutated variants of the virus. 235 of the samples were positive…
- Expats
Mass vaccination campaign starts today, first phase includes foreigners in “at risk” groups
“All foreign nationals on Thai soil are included in the national vaccination programme.” Thailand’s nationwide mass Covid-19 vaccination campaign officially started today. For foreigners living in Thailand, those who are 60 years old and above as well as those with certain underlying health conditions, will be given priority during this phase of vaccinations. In Phuket and Koh Samui, tourist destinations…
- Covid-19 News
Monday Covid Update: 2,419 cases and 33 deaths, provincial totals
2,419 new Covid-19 cases and 33 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, raising Thailand’s cumulative case count since the start of the pandemic last year to 179,516 and the death toll to 1,269. Since April 1, the latest wave of infections, the CCSA has reported a total of 151,023 Covid-19 infections. Thailand now has 49,101 active…
- Thailand News
Bodies of couple who died at a Koh Tao pool sent to police hospital for autopsies
Medical examiners at the Police General Hospital will do an autopsy on the bodies of the billionaire couple who were both found dead in a resort pool on Koh Tao, an island in the Gulf of Thailand off the Surat Thani coast. The results on the cause of death will be released in around 2 weeks, Koh Tao police chief…
- Bangkok News
Taxi driver arrested for allegedly stealing from Australian man in Bangkok
Police arrested a taxi driver who allegedly stole thousands of baht and Australian dollars from an Australian man back in May 2018. The Australian had hired a taxi to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport. When he got out, he realised that not only his passport was missing, but 40,000 baht and AUD$4,000 were also gone. Surveillance camera footage shows the man getting…
- Covid-19 News
Private hospitals in Thailand to confirm price of Moderna Covid-19 vaccine today
The Private Hospital Association is expected to confirm the price of the Covid-19 Moderna vaccine, which will be provided as a paid alternative outside of the government rollout. The Moderna vaccine has been approved by Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration and will be made available for purchase at private hospitals. According to a Pattaya News report, Paiboon Eksaengsri from the…
- Pattaya News
Foreign driver detained following alleged road rage incident in Pattaya
A foreign national has been detained in Pattaya, accused of reckless driving and road rage that caused significant damage to other vehicles. According to the Pattaya News, the incident occurred on Saturday night, when a black vehicle was seen bumping into and dragging 2 other vehicles along a road in the Banglamung district. Witnesses alerted the police, who arrived on…
- Tourism News
Tourism operators pinning hopes on vaccine rollout
Thailand’s tourism operators are pinning all their hopes on the national vaccine rollout, which kicks off today. However, the government’s reputation for vaccine procurement and management has come in for sharp criticism and confidence is not high. Already, a number of provinces have had to postpone their vaccine rollouts after receiving an insufficient number of doses from the Public Health…
- Covid-19 News
Covid UPDATE Sunday: 2,671 new infections and 23 deaths, provincial totals
There has been another 2,671 new infections of Covid-19 detected across Thailand in the past 24 hours. There’s also been 23 deaths. 604 cases were detected in Thai prisons. Most of the current outbreaks continue to be around Bangkok and its immediate provinces. Bangkok registered 675 cases yesterday. Provincial totals below… GRAPH: worldometers.info • A recent survey, conducted by the Centre…
- Covid-19 News
Covid UPDATE Sunday: 2,671 new infections and 23 deaths
There has been another 2,671 new infections of Covid-19 detected across Thailand in the past 24 hours. There’s also been 23 deaths. 604 cases were detected in Thai prisons. Thailand has now registered a total of 148,604 cases, the vast majority since the start of April in what’s being called the third wave, which emerged from the bars, nightclubs and…
- Covid-19 News
Which Thai provinces have been the hardest hit by Covid?
As Thailand starts to ramp up its vaccination, especially in the hardest hit provinces, we ask which ARE the hardest hit provinces? The third wave of Covid-19 around Thailand has had the most pronounced affect on the Kingdom and is now threatening the re-opening of the country to general travel – starting with the Phuket Sandbox on July 1. Here’s…
- Covid-19 News
Covid UPDATE Friday: 2,631 new cases and 31 deaths, provincial totals
2,631 new Covid-19 cases and 31 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Since April 1, the latest wave of infections in Thailand, the CCSA has recorded 143,116 Covid-19 infections and 1,083 deaths. In total, there have been 171,979 Covid infections and 1,177 Covid-related deaths reported in Thailand since the pandemic started last year. Of the…
- Bangkok News
Chulabhorn Royal Academy receives no vaccines from government, postpones first doses
Bangkok’s Chulabhorn Royal Academy says it has to postpone its planned administration of first doses as the Thai government has not allocated it any supplies of the AstraZeneca or Sinovac vaccines. The academy, which is sponsored by Princess Chulabhorn, sister of His Majesty, King Maha Vajiralongkorn, says the administration of first doses will be stopped from June 14. However, those…
- Covid-19 News
Covid-19 vaccination to be delayed in provinces with low infection rates
Several Thai provinces with low infection rates have had to delay their Covid-19 vaccine rollout after receiving fewer doses than expected. The Bangkok Post reports that the Public Health Ministry has cut the vaccine allocation of provinces that have reported substantially lower infection rates. However, Kiattiphum Wongrajit from the Health Ministry says 2 million doses of both Sinovac and the…
- Thailand News
Former army adviser convicted of human trafficking dies in prison
A former army adviser, convicted of trafficking Rohingya migrants to camps in Southern Thailand, died in a prison hospital this week. 65 year old Manas Kongpan had a heart attack while he was exercising at the Medical Correctional Hospital where he had been admitted to treat hypertension, high cholesterol and bradycardia. The former army adviser was one of more than 100…
- Tourism News
PM to chair meeting on Thailand’s re-opening as Phuket officials demand clarity
The Centre for Economic Situation Administration will today discuss plans for the revival of Thailand’s tourism sector at a virtual meeting chaired by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha. Attendees will discuss a future quarantine-free re-opening of 10 provinces considered popular tourist destinations: Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Phetchaburi, Chon Buri, Phuket, Surat Thani, Krabi, Phang Nga, and Buriram. While Phuket is…
- Covid-19 News
Covid UPDATE Thursday: 3,886 new infections and 39 deaths, provincial totals
3,886 new Covid-19 cases and 39 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA. Since April 1, the latest wave of infections in Thailand, the CCSA has recorded 140,485 Covid-19 infections with more than 40,000 of those infections in Bangkok. The capital is still recoding nearly 1,000 new cases each day. Phuket, racing towards its July 1 ‘reopening’ reported another 6…
- Thailand News
Police seize clouded leopard rug after it was posted for sale on Facebook
Police seized a rug made from wildcat fur last week after it was posted for sale on Facebook for 7,500 baht. The rug appears to be from a clouded leopard and investigators now suspect it may have come from one of the two clouded leopards recorded on hidden camera in a rare sighting last December at the Erawan National Park in…
- Bangkok News
Man arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman during a live stream
Police arrested a 31 year old man for allegedly sexually assaulting a Canadian woman while she was recording a live stream video near Bangkok’s Lumpini Park. In the video, a man runs up from behind the woman and appears to reach his hand below her waist. The woman made a post on Twitter after the incident saying she was going…
- Pattaya News
Over 80% of massage shops in Pattaya closed “permanently”
The Eastern Spa and Wellness Associations says 80% of massage shops in Pattaya have closed forever, with fewer than 100 still able to operate. Speaking to the Pattaya News, the association’s president, Chairat Ratananophas, says the remaining businesses need financial support and clarity on when they can re-open. Currently, Covid-19 restrictions in the eastern province of Chon Buri mean massage…
- Thailand News
American suspect in Bangkok kidnap for ransom case arrested at airport
Police arrested an American man, another suspect in the kidnap for ransom case in Bangkok, at the Suvarnabhumi Airport just as he was preparing to leave the country. 38 year old Matthew Wilson is the tenth suspect to be arrested for alleged involvement in the abduction of a Taiwanese businessman after a failed business deal. Other suspects include 2 other American…
- Tourism News
Thailand’s quarantine hotels consider move to hybrid model
Hotels currently operating as alternative state quarantine facilities are considering moving to a hybrid model, as bookings drop ahead of Phuket’s re-opening. ASQ hotels say reduced demand means they may adopt a model whereby they accept both quarantining guests and regular guests from the second half of the year. Prin Pathanatham from the ASQ-ALQ Club Thailand says bookings have started…
- Covid-19 News
Vaccination of foreigners kicks off next week
It’s the moment you’ve all – okay, many of you – have been waiting for. The Thai government says that from Monday, foreigners living in the Kingdom who have registered for Covid-19 inoculation, will start to receive the vaccine. It’s been a long road of anxiety, confusion, and chaos to get to this point and there are probably many who…
- Business News
Another 700 7-Eleven stores to open across Thailand
The operator of the 7-Eleven chain of convenience stores has confirmed it will open another 700 shops in the Kingdom this year. According to a Bangkok Post report this morning, CP All plans to spend between 11.5 and 12 billion baht on expansion in 2021. The company has opened 155 new 7-Eleven stores so far this year, meaning there were…
- Covid-19 News
WHO assigns alternative names for Covid variants based on Greek alphabet
After criticism over naming new variants of Covid-19 based on the country it was first detected, the World Health Orginisation has announced alternative names for the “variants of concern” based off the Greek alphabet… Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, etc. Last week, media outlets in the UK released reports last week saying more than 100 people had tested positive for the…
