MPs scramble for face masks when told a colleague just returned from Japan
Members of parliament scrambled for face masks in the middle of the censure debate this evening (Wednesday) when they learned that a fellow MP, from the government Palang Pracharat party and who was among them, had recently returned from a visit to Japan, one of the COVID-19 high-risk countries.
— Thai PBS News
Health minister criticizes man for lying about a recent trip to COVID-19 high-risk country
Thailand’s Public Health Minister has criticized a 65-year old man for not telling medics that he had recently returned from a high risk country and for exposing 30 medics and his family to COVID-19.
— Thai PBS News
January factory output down 4.6%
Thailand’s manufacturing production index (MPI) contracted for a ninth straight month in January, down 4.59% from a year earlier, hit by lower production of cars, sugar and palm oil, the industry ministry said on Wednesday.
— Bangkok Post
Thailand reports 3 new COVID-19 cases, total infections at 40
Thailand reported three new cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday (Feb 26), taking total infections nationwide to 40, a health ministry official said, criticising patients for not disclosing their travel history.
— CNA
Thai PM, army deny campaigns on social media to target political opponents
Thailand’s prime minister and the army denied on Wednesday opposition accusations in parliament that the military targets political opponents and rights activists with online propaganda campaigns run from fake accounts on Facebook and Twitter.
— CNA
[Gallery] Chula students gather in anti-government protests
On 24 February, students at Chulalongkorn University gathered in the plaza next to the university auditorium in a demonstration against the government following the dissolution of the Future Forward Party (FFP) last Friday (21 February).
— Prachatai English
Chinese man found deceased, stuffed in suitcase with arms and legs bound in Northern Thailand, had previously visited Pattaya
A 30 year old Chinese Man has been found stuffed in a suitcase washed up on a sandbank in the Ping River in Kamphaeng Phet in Northern Thailand. The body was bent over and the ankles were tied with plastic cable ties. Red rope encircled the arms and legs.
— The Pattaya News
School students join rally trend
High-school students have joined university students in staging pro-democracy protests, led by all-girls Satriwithaya School in Bangkok on Wednesday.
— Bangkok Post
Thrashed by pandemic fears, Thai, Philippine stocks plunge
Southeast Asian stock markets were a sea of red on Wednesday as the spread of the coronavirus beyond China accelerated dumping of Asian assets, with the Thai bourse recording its biggest drop in six years.
— Bangkok Post
Fourth phase of stimulus to seek cabinet nod soon
The Finance Ministry is poised to propose a fourth phase of the Taste-Shop-Spend scheme to the cabinet by March as a means to stimulate domestic travel during Songkran.
— Bangkok Post
Thai Airways to waive exchange fees for more routes
Thai Airways International announced today that it will waive charges for flight swaps for even more passengers going to countries and territories affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19).
— The Thaiger
Thailand’s January foreign tourist arrivals rise 2.5% year-on-year: ministry
Tourist arrivals in Thailand rose 2.46% in January from a year earlier after a 2.48% increase in the previous month, the tourism ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
— Reuters
Opposition ‘failed to go for throat’
The opposition failed to go for the government’s jugular on the first day of the no-confidence debate, an academic said on Tuesday.
— Bangkok Post
Unhealthy air quality in Greater Bangkok’s 62 areas
Director-General of the Pollution Control Department Pralong Dumrongthai has revealed the amount of PM2.5 airborne particulate matter measured in Bangkok and neighboring provinces today ranges from 54 to 88 micrograms per cubic meter, with 62 locations having an Orange alert indicating unhealthy air quality.
— Newsline (video)
Thai king signs delayed $100 billion budget into law
Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn has signed into law a delayed $100 billion budget for the current fiscal year that aims to revive Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, according to the Royal Gazette.
— Reuters
PM takes flak over military residence
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha faces the prospect of being taken to the Constitutional Court over his allegedly unlawful occupation of an army residence.
— Bangkok Post
Government dismisses claims of favoritism in community enterprises
The government explained that the participation of the private sector in the community enterprise aims to improve market potentials, with an emphasis on embracing e-commerce and digital services.
— Newsline (video)
DPM Prawit questions veracity of approach to Future Forward Party
The Palang Pracharat Party has dismissed the claim that it tried to bribe members of the now-defunct Future Forward Party into joining the party after former Future Forward Party members unveiled an audio clip of the alleged attempt from a supposed member of the ruling party.
— Newsline (video)
‘Govt too submissive to China’
The opposition zeroed in on the government’s economic “submissiveness” to China during the no-confidence debate yesterday.
— Bangkok Post
Property market growth forecast cut
Residential property market growth this year has been cut to 3-5% from 5-7% following lowered GDP growth forecasts of 1.5-2.5% amid the spread of the recent coronavirus outbreak, says the Real Estate Information Center (REIC).
— Bangkok Post
Chiang Mai Night Safari steps up COVID-19 prevention measures
Chiang Mai Night Safari is implementing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, by screening its own staffers and visitors and canceling any activities where visitors can directly touch the animals.
— Newsline (video)
Rail link deal above board, says Saksayam
Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob on Tuesday denied his ministry favoured the commercial interest of a major business in relation to a large-scale rail project linking three airports.
— Bangkok Post
Cops on alert for unrest at raft of rallies by students
Police are warning students organising political rallies at several universities in and outside of Bangkok to make sure they strictly comply with the public assembly law.
— Bangkok Post
PM orders army to join Loei firefight
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday ordered the army to deploy a helicopter to fight fires in Loei’s Phu Kradueng National Park, after hearing the province could not afford the 3.5-million-baht cost to airlift tractors.
— Bangkok Post
CAT cooperates with Huawei to build Southeast Asia’s first international OTN premium private line network
Thai national telecom operator CAT Telecom and Huawei announced that they will build Southeast Asia’s first OTN premium private line network.
— Telecompaper
Globe completes first successful technical 5G video call with AIS Thailand
The world’s most sought after Internet technology is finally in the Philippines as Globe successfully completed the first-ever 5G video call in the country with AIS Thailand through its 5G Mobile Network.
— PRNewswire (media release)
Thailand’s richest man building Bangkok’s tallest skyscraper
Thailand’s richest man wants to set another record.
— The Business Times
PM defends wife on graft claim
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has defended his wife, Naraporn, who the opposition accused of being linked to irregularities in the deal to install a biometric system for the Immigration Bureau.
— Bangkok Post
Thai army wages cyber warfare to sow social divisions: opposition lawmaker
Members of a now-defunct political party continued their assault on the government of Prayuth Chan-o-cha, accusing it of colluding with the military to wage a digital disinformation campaign against their critics and the public at large.
— Coconuts Bangkok
Appeal Court upholds 10-year jail terms for two ‘men in black’
The Appeal Court has upheld sentences of 10-years in prison for two of five defendants in the “men in black” case arising from the violent clashes between protesters and security forces during the political upheaval of 2010.
— Bangkok Post
Chevy Captiva owners demand payouts
Roughly 100 owners of Chevrolet’s Captiva model are calling on General Motors (GM) Thailand to pay them the 500,000 baht that was slashed from the model’s price tag last week.
— Bangkok Post
High Schools Join Wave of Anti-Govt Protests
Students at Thailand’s elite high schools on Wednesday announced they would stage rallies in solidarity with similar protests held in universities across the country.
— Khaosod English
Thais advised to postpone unnecessary trips to nine COVID-19 affected destinations
Thailand’s health ministry has advised the public to avoid unnecessary trips to nine countries and territories affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.
— CNA
Expansion of airport to make Hua Hin an international tourist destination
Hua Hin, long considered a bucolic backwater compared with other resort destinations in Thailand, may be about to morph into something quite different.
— The Thaiger
30 medics quarantined after infected patient lied after visiting high-risk country
About 30 medical personnel at the B Care Medical Centre have been suspended from work and placed under home quarantine after having close contact with a patient infected with COVID-19, who had lied about his recent return from a high-risk country.
— Thai PBS News
Anti-Prayut Protests Snowball to More Universities (Photos)
BANGKOK — Student-led protests against what they perceived as undemocratic government continued for the third day on Wednesday, spreading to at least five universities.
— Khaosod English
Four Uzbekistan Women rescued in Pattaya after falling victim to alleged human trafficking scam
Four Uzbekistan women have been rescued this afternoon by Uzbekistan Embassy officials and Chonburi Provincial Police after allegedly falling victim to a human trafficking scam that brought them to Pattaya, Thailand.
— The Pattaya News
Virus shutters 2,500-student school
Phraharuthai Donmuang School with 2,500 students in Don Muang district has been closed for 14 days after a pupil found to be among the three new Covid-19 cases attended classes there since Monday.
— Bangkok Post
Protests in parliament as Seripisut raises PM’s incomplete oath recital
The censure debate in the Thai parliament was disrupted by protests from all sides this morning during his speech, defiant Seri Ruam Thai party leader Pol Gen Seripisut Temiyavet touched on Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s incomplete recital of an oath during the swearing-in ceremony last March.
— Thai PBS News
Kamnan dismissed for using meth
The kamnan of tambon Muang Phon in Phon district has been dismissed after he was found to have used methamphetamine and had equipment for taking drugs.
— Bangkok Post
Cobra Gold 2020 officially opens with ceremonies and exercises
With a formation of 450 service members as a backdrop, leaders and dignitaries declared the 39th iteration of exercise Cobra Gold officially opened with a ceremony at Akathotsarot Camp, Feb. 25.
— The Pattaya News
Arrested former cop escapes cuffs, flees Chiang Mai hospital
A former Chiang Mai policeman, arrested for a burglary in his home district of Sanpatong, has escaped from custody. Police are now hunting for the the fugitive.
— The Thaiger
22 areas of Bangkok found with excessive PM2.5 dust in the atmosphere today
Bangkok was blanketed with excessive PM2.5 dust yesterday, measuring between 55 and 90 microns per cubic metre (µg/m3), above Thailands “safe” threshold of 50.
— The Thaiger
Condo developers allow transfer delays for Chinese buyers, due to slowing sales
Thai property developers are sharpening their pencils on sales and allowing variations to contracts on some deals to accommodate some of the challenges posed by the coronavirus outbreak.
— The Thaiger
Anutin hits back at claim that money lured former Future Forward MPs to his party
Bhumjaithai party leader Anutin Charnvirakul has cried foul over the leak on social media of a telephone conversation, apparently between two former members of the now defunct Future Forward party.
— Thai PBS News
Ministry Tells Students to Avoid Protest Due to Coronavirus
Citing fears of possible coronavirus infection, the Ministry of Higher Education on Tuesday urged students and teachers to stay away from the ongoing protests.
— Khaosod English
Bangkok taxi driver returns 100,000 baht to Japanese man
A Bangkok taxi driver returned 100,000 baht that was left in his cab to a Japanese man yesterday. 55 year old Pratuang Klongkaew returned a backpack to Masaomi Fukurono, aged 49, from Japan.
— The Thaiger
Feature photo Alex Samaras
This week’s Thailand morning news feature photo focuses on Zero Discrimination Day, March 1.
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).
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About Thailand morning news.
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#Independentmedia
Governance, not government; policies not politics.

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