Bahraini footballer detained 60 days awaiting extradition to Bahrain
The Criminal Court today ordered a former Bahraini national footballer detained for 60 days pending an extradition process after the Bahraini government had requested his extradition to face charges of arson, illegal public gathering to incite public unrest and illegal possession of inflammatory materials.
— Thai PBS World
Vegetables and fruits in student lunches heavily contaminated with toxic chemicals
Vegetables and fruits found in lunches for students under the government-sponsored lunch programme are almost 100 percent contaminated with pesticides and 99 percent of the urine samples from students and teachers in four provinces were tested with organophosphate, a deadly toxic pesticide that attacks nervous system.
— Thai PBS World
Somkid opts out of trade treaty
Thailand will not join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) during this government’s term, Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong said.
— Bangkok Post
PM Prayut ends assets declaration row with executive order
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Tuesday issued an executive order exempting members of university council and board members of state funds as well as their spouses and children from having to declare their assets.
— Thai PBS World
Thai government joins hands with Alibaba to develop Thai SMEs
In May this year Jack Ma, the co-founder of Alibaba, a global leader in E-Commerce, signed four Memoranda of Understanding regarding Thai investment and E-commerce cooperation. Thai SMEs have successfully joined Alibaba’s platform and made sales of 150 million baht.
— NBT World (video)
Parties wary despite lift of political ban
Uncertainty still lingers over whether political parties can begin election campaigns, even though the regime has lifted its prohibition on political activities.
— Bangkok Post
PM: Section 44 will not be used in ballot paper tussle
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has confirmed that the government will not enforce Section 44 to settle an issue concerning new ballot papers, saying it is the duty of the Election Commission (EC) to solve the problem.
— NNT
Finance Min: state welfare card holders given 5% VAT refund
The Finance Minister has revealed that state welfare cardholders will receive a 5% VAT refund after spending the recently delivered 500-baht subsidy.
— NNT
Thailand’s cyber security proposal approved
The Thai Ministry of a Digital Economy and Society (MDES) has disclosed that the 18th ASEAN Telecommunication and Information Technology Ministers Meeting (TELMIN) recently approved Thailand’s proposal related to cyber security.
— Vietnam Plus
Fake paupers exploiting state welfare cards, says PM
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Tuesday ordered the Finance Ministry to look into reports about people pretending to be poor to benefit from the state’s welfare scheme intended for low-income earners.
— Bangkok Post
Office of SME Promotion launches global connectivity program for SMEs
The Office of Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion (OSMEP) is launching a global connectivity program for SMEs designed to push local products onto the world market.
— NNT
33 cats mauled to death at Hat Yai temple
Police in Hat Yai have been hunting for the driver of a pick-up truck seen dropping off 36 cats at a temple yesterday before 33 of them were mauled to death by stray dogs.
— The Thaiger
Thailand: Don’t Return Cambodian Dissident
The Thai government should not forcibly return the dissident Rath Rott Mony to Cambodia, Human Rights Watch said today.
— Human Rights Watch
Purple Line, Phuket light rail among projects up for PPP
The MRT’s Purple Line southern extension from Kanchanaphisek Outer Ring Road to Tao Poon and provincial mass transit projects in Phuket are expected to seek approval from the public-private partnership (PPP) committee early next year before proceeding under the fast-track PPP scheme.
— Bangkok Post
Transport Minister updates on high-speed rail project
Thailand’s Minister of Transport has inspected Nong Khai railway station as part of mobile cabinet meeting in upper northeastern provinces.
— NNT
ERC poised to reconfirm Glow ruling
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is likely to adhere to its recent resolution to derail a takeover effort made by PTT’s unit Global Power Synergy Plc (GPSC) for Glow Energy Plc.
— Bangkok Post
Mobile field kitchen used to provide meals in Yala
The Royal Thai Army has dispatched Mobile Field Kitchens in the south to help citizens in need.
— NBT World (video)
DOE warns job seekers against ‘Canadian’ farm worker scam
The Department of Employment (DOE) is warning Thai people who wish to work in the agricultural sector in Canada to beware of job recruitment scams that exploit social media.
— NNT
Pattani police seize rifles and pistol along with 50,000 meth pills from drug suspect
Police on Tuesday morning arrested a 35-year-old drug-dealer suspect and seized 50,024 methamphetamine pills, an M16 rifle, an AK-47 rifle and a 9mm pistol, along with ammunition and Bt695,920 cash, in Pattani’s Mayo district.
— The Nation
Year-end ‘bonus’ won’t be axed
The Comptroller-General’s Department on Monday assured social welfare recipients that the government will not cancel its 500-baht New Year’s giveaway, after scores of welfare cardholders in several regions…
— Bangkok Post
ASTW to install a chicken by-products rendering plant in Thailand
A & S Thai Works Co, Ltd (ASTW) has received an order from Thaifoods Group to supply and install a chicken by-products rendering plant in Kanchanaburi, in west Thailand
— Far Eastern Agriculture
TAT pivots to niche markets across Asia
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has a new scheme to micro-target niche tourist markets like Indonesian women and Japanese students.
— Bangkok Post
ADB buys B.Grimm green bond to back Thai solar capacity
Thailand’s B.Grimm Power PCL (SET:BGRIM) will receive THB 5 billion (USD 152.5m/EUR 133.8m) from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in support of almost 100 MW of Thai solar capacity.
— Renewables Now
Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau and Chiang Mai Province Partner to Encourage Eco-Friendly MICE and Sustainable Events City
Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (Public Organization) or TCEB joined hands with Chiang Mai Province, together with partners from an educational network and alliances to promote a sustainable event organisation.
— PR Newswire (media release)
Dream Bangkok Awarded as Southeast Asia’s Best Luxury Boutique Hotel at the 2018 World Luxury Hotel Awards
Dream Bangkok have been awarded the Best Luxury Boutique Hotel Regional Winner for South East Asia at the World Luxury Hotel Awards 2018 recently held in Bali, Indonesia.
— Hospitality Net
Miss Universe lovelies sashay into Thailand
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha welcomed the organisers and contestants of Miss Universe 2018 to Thailand on Tuesday, and gave them a tour of Government House.
— Bangkok Post
Fifth Border Management & Identity Conference Opens in Thailand
Following yesterday’s adoption of the UN Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) by 164 countries, border management specialists from around the world are today (11/12) gathering in Bangkok, Thailand, for the 5th Border Management & Identity Conference (BMIC) on Technical Cooperation and Capacity Building.
— ReliefWeb
Motor Expo bookings up 10%, orders worth B56bn
Exhibitors at the 35th Thailand International Motor Expo took 44,189 orders for cars and motorcycles, up 10.9% on last year and worth 56 billion baht.
— Bangkok Post
Egat faces competition in bids to operate large power plants
Thailand’s power-generating capacity will be deregulated in the near future, meaning the state-run Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) must compete with private firms at auctions for new large power plants, according to the tentative national power development plan (PDP).
— Bangkok Post
Udon Thani industrial estate to become N/E logistics hub
The Deputy Minister of Industry has followed up on the construction of an industrial estate in Udon Thani province, collecting information to be discussed during the Bueng Kan-Nong Khai Cabinet retreat.
— NNT
Finance Min: 500-baht subsidy does not expire
The Ministry of Finance has addressed the 500-baht cash handout to end public confusion, saying that the one-time subsidy does not expire.
— NNT
Phuket finding ways to absorb rubber supply
The southern province of Phuket has been coming up with measures to help rubber farmers and tappers cope with the low demand for their product.
— NNT
Higher palm prices reflect business sector’s confidence in govt measures: PM
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha admired the increased prices of fresh palm fruit which reflect the confidence among businesses in the government’s measures.
— NNT
PM gives policy briefing to ISOC
Thailand’s Prime Minister has given a policy briefing to the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC), stressing the importance of national security for the purpose of promoting public prosperity.
— NNT
Dept of National Parks releases theme song to promote conservation tourism
Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) has unveiled its theme song to promote conservation tourism for the 2019 tourist season.
— NNT
Feature photo John Le Fevre
This week’s Thailand morning news feature photo acknowledges Thailand Constitution Day, December 10.
Find our previous morning news feature photos in the AEC News Today Morning News Feature Photos gallery where you will find a pictorial display of daily life throughout the Asean Economic Community (AEC).
Thailand morning news by AEC News Today is your one stop source for Thailand news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities. It is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.
Thailand morning news for December 12 added by John Le Fevre on
View all posts by John Le Fevre →
John Le Fevre
He has spent extensive periods of time working in Africa and throughout Southeast Asia, with stints in the Middle East, the USA, and England.
He has covered major world events including Operation Desert Shield/ Storm, the 1991 pillage in Zaire, the 1994 Rwanda genocide, the 1999 East Timor independence unrest, the 2004 Asian tsunami, and the 2009, 2010, and 2014 Bangkok political protests.
In 1995 he was a Walkley Award finalist, the highest awards in Australian journalism, for his coverage of the 1995 Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) Ebola outbreak.
Prior to AEC News Today he was the deputy editor and Thailand and Greater Mekong Sub-region editor for The Establishment Post, predecessor of Asean Today.
In the mid-80s and early 90s he owned JLF Promotions, the largest above and below the line marketing and PR firm servicing the high-technology industry in Australia. It was sold in 1995.
Latest posts by John Le Fevre (see all)
- COVID-19 in Asean: update for July 26 — 16 mln case barrier breached, Vietnam records community transmission – July 26, 2020
- COVID-19 in Asean: update for July 25 — new high for daily infections, 16 mln infection barrier to break today – July 25, 2020
- COVID-19 in Asean: update for July 24 — Asean tops 230,000 cases, nudges 90,000 active – July 24, 2020
- Thailand morning news for July 24 – July 24, 2020