Thailand

From April 24th or 25th, to May 23rd or 24th this year, Muslims will observe Ramadan. During this period, they will practice fasting and take part in religious activities at mosques, residences or other designated areas. The Sheikhul lslam of Thailand, Aziz Phitakkumpon, has issued an announcement urging Muslims to take the necessary precautionary measures to help prevent the spread …

Thai social media users mocked China for authoritarian rule and likened President Xi Jinping to Winnie the Pooh. A comparison that is also banned in China. “Thailand is poor, but China is Pooh,” read one viral tweet. Social media anger from Chinese communists over a Thai internet model’s comments on the virus from Wuhan has set off a storm. Uniting …

Nonthaburi Governor Sujin Chaichumsak announced on Monday (April 13) that the province would ease its shutdown order for some establishments that are necessary for daily life. From April 15, barber shops, beauty salons (for hair cutting only), courier services, lottery stalls, office equipment stores, construction material shops, furniture shops, mobile phone service shops and stores dealing with computers, electrical appliances …

The Agriculture Ministry is asking the government to hand farmers monthly payments of Bt5,000 for six months to maintain the agricultural supply amid forecasts of global food shortages within three months. Alongkorn Ponlaboot, adviser to the agriculture minister, said that the United Nations, the World Health Organisation and the World Trade Organisation all predict that food shortages will become another …

Thailand’s total number of Covid-19 patients rose to 2,613 with 34 new cases confirmed over a 24-hour period, and one more death, Taweesin Visanuyothin, spokesman of the government’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, as of April 14, 2020. This compares with 54 new cases on Thursday, 50 on Friday, 45 on Saturday, 33 on Sunday and 28 on Monday. He …

The US Consulate in Chiang Mai has reported the U.S. DEA assisted the Thai Government in a large-scale operation to take down 5 drug trafficking networks with money laundering operations worth over 3 billion baht. With support from U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Chiang Mai Sensitive Investigative Unit (SIU), the Royal Thai Government arrested 15 suspects who are involved in …

A 51 year-old Muslim man from southern Thailand who was due to be released from Covid-19 quarantine has jumped to his death. He jumped from the 5th floor of a state hospital in Samut Prakan on Monday morning, police said. Police found the body of a man in a pool of blood on the terrace of the second floor. He was wearing …

The bodies of two teenage girls who went missing on Friday in the Kwae Noy river in this western Thailand were recovered on Sunday, Kanchanaburi authorities said. The first body was found on Sunday morning stuck at a fish basket near Wat Chorakhae Phuak in tambon Chorakhe Phuak of Dan Makham Tia district by villagers. The second was found by …

Somchai Jitsuchon, research director at TDRI, an independent think-tank, is pondering the resumption of city life when the nationwide curfew and lockdown ends on April 30. He said many people are sceptical that cities will return to full functioning after the month of lockdown, as it may take longer to get the Covid-19 pandemic under control. Lockdown is a tool …

According to Labour Ministry criteria, employees affected by Covid-19 fall into two groups. The first covers those whose businesses were forced to shut by order of the government. “They will be compensated under Section 33 of Social Security Act with 62 per cent of daily wages based on a maximum monthly salary of Bt15,000 for a maximum period of 90 …