Thailand

Rising Chinese pollution levels measured from space are showing a gradual but uneven industrial pickup after the economic slowdown caused by the nation’s fight to contain the deadly novel coronavirus. Although the level of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in China’s atmosphere has risen nearly 50% from Feb 17, it was still roughly 20% below the equivalent period last year, according an …

The Finance Ministry has launched a huge relief package including cash giveaways to many more individuals beyond the 14 million people with annual base incomes not exceeding 100,000 baht and who are registered as poor to help cushion fallout from the spread of the new coronavirus. The whole package is worth 100 billion baht, said Finance Minister Uttama Savanayana. The …

Vibrant Chelsea made it a torrid few days for Liverpool as goals by Willian and Ross Barkley sealed a 2-0 victory to send them through to the FA Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday. Liverpool’s 44-match unbeaten streak in the Premier League ended in stunning fashion with a 3-0 defeat at Watford on Saturday and they were rocked again at Stamford Bridge. …

Relatives of a Chinese man whose body was found in a suitcase pulled from the Ping River have demanded the death penalty for his killers, after two of the four hunted suspects were caught in Myanmar. The body of Wang Jun, 30, a Chinese national, was cremated at Wat Bo Samsen in tambon Nong Pling of Muang district of Kamphaeng …

India has suspended the granting of regular visas to nationals of Japan and three other countries to guard against the spread of the new coronavirus. The government, in an official advisory, also said all nationals of Japan, Italy, Iran and South Korea already possessing visas will not be allowed to enter India, excepting in compelling circumstances. The suspension applies to …

Aviation agencies are planning to step up the screening of passengers from countries affected by Covid-19 and are assigning a small airport to specifically handle these flights. Wg Cdr Suthirawat Suwanawat, general manager of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport, said he has raised the issue with Chula Sukmanop, director-general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT). According to him, aircraft from …

Shoppers in Greater Bangkok are quickly emptying supermarket shelves of long-lasting items like instant noodles, packed rice, tissue paper, tinned fish and drinking water as fears mount over the coronavirus epidemic. Large retail operators including Tops Supermarket, Tesco Lotus, The Mall Group and Big C Supercenter acknowledged that these items have been snapped up quickly since the weekend. They are …

A coronavirus outbreak has weighed on the transport and tourism sectors in Japan, including bullet trains, with fears about infection making people reluctant to venture outdoors or share confined spaces with others for long hours. The number of passengers between Feb 1 and 19 of the Shinkansen Line connecting Tokyo and Osaka fell 8% from a year earlier, its operator …

Twitter staff across the world were asked to work from home starting Monday in an effort to stop the spread of the deadly new coronavirus epidemic. The outbreak has spread across the world since emerging in central China late last year, killing more than 3,100 people, infecting over 90,000, and prompting a wave of travel restrictions. The social media platform’s …

Illegal workers returning home from South Korea to escape the Covid-19 epidemic are being put into voluntary self-quarantine because there is no law requiring they be quarantined, Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon said on Tuesday. On Monday, Suwanchai Wattanayingcharoenchai, director-general of the Disease Control Department, said the Public Health Ministry was considering whether to apply the same measures as applied …