Thailand to ban foreign plastic waste from 2021
Thailand plans to stop all imports of foreign plastic scrap by 2021 as it joins other south-east Asian countries looking to stem an influx of waste products that used to be recycled in China.
— Financial Times
Thais make merits to commemorate the second year of the passing of HM King Bhumibol
Wearing yellow, the colour of the late HM the King, thousands of people joined the medical staff of Siriraj hospital to hold a merit-making and alm-offering ceremony in front of the hospital on Saturday morning in remembrance of the second year of passing of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
— Thai PBS World
Measles Outbreak Kills 5 Children in Thai Deep South Province
A measles outbreak in Thailand’s southernmost province of Yala killed five children and infected more than 300 others a month after their parents declined government efforts to get them vaccinated, a health official said Wednesday.
— BenarNews
Khon Kaen takes lead in Thailand’s race to smarten up
Khon Kaen has been chosen to be the government’s model smart city for other provinces to learn from.
— Bangkok Post
Critics chafe under national strategy
Politicians said they are ready to follow the 20-year national strategy, published in the Royal Gazette on Saturday, with the aim of turning Thailand into a developed country by 2037, but worry it could end up outdated or may not come to pass.
— Bangkok Post (annoying popups)
Electric tuk-tuk dealer seeks drivers
Loxley and Government Savings Bank have joined hands to offer loans for tuk-tuk drivers to purchase new electric three-wheelers to create a new career opportunity.
— The Nation
PM leads officials, public in paying homage to late monarch
On the eve of October 13th, Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha led state officials and members of the public in a candle-lit ceremony at Sanam Luang, in remembrance of His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
— NNT
More restrictions to be lifted once organic MPs law comes into force
The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) is planning to unlock more political restrictions once the Organic Members of Parliament Act comes into force in December.
— News Today (video)
Thai export rivals benched by tariffs
Thai steel, aluminium, chemicals and frozen seafood products have promising export prospects after Thailand’s rivals were hit with penalty tariffs by foreign countries.
— Bangkok Post
Singha realty projects surge, adding to healthy bottom line
Singha Estate Plc, the properฌty company of beverage giant the Singha Group owned by the Birombhakdi family, is fast expanding its footprint in the local and overseas realty markets with a five-year investment budget of over Bt55 billion, from 2017 to 2020.
— The Nation
Government Savings Bank boss questions BoT curbs
The head of state-owned Government Savings Bank (GSB) has voiced concerns that the Bank of Thailand’s stringent measures to curb mortgage lending will deal a blow to property-related business.
— Bangkok Post
Tourism association calls for visa fee exemption for Chinese tourists
The Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA) plans to urge the tourism minister to exempt Chinese tourists from paying the single-entry visa fee.
— The Nation
Ministry mulls offshore loans to shore up domestic liquidity
THE Ministry of Finance is exploring the use of overseas loans as a source of financing to counter the prospect of reduced domestic liquidity amid an uptrend in local interest rates.
— The Nation
HM King endorses 20-year National Strategy
A Royal Command has been issued by His Majesty the King to endorse the government’s 20-year National Strategy effective as of its publication in the Royal Gazette.
— Thai PBS World
Vietnamese nationals apprehended for allegedly smuggling tiger carcass
Officials in Phitsanulok Province have apprehended two Vietnamese nationals who are suspected of attempting to smuggle a mangled tiger carcass out of the Kingdom. The two are now facing charges of possessing protected animal remains.
— Pattaya Mail
Sugar industry must swallow bitter pill
Hit by low prices, Mitr Phol Group chief says producers must focus on increasing productivity and cutting costs
— The Nation
Politicians warned not to underestimate the people
Politicians will be dead wrong if they still perceive the people as mere voters subservient to the patronage system, said Suriyasai Katasila, director of Thailand Reform Institute and vice dean of Social Innovations College of Rangsit Uiversity, on Sunday.
— Thai PBS World
Sharing economy exploits loopholes
Legal loopholes and lax regulation of the hotel business have led to a large number of unlicensed hotel operators and unregistered guests in major tourist destinations in Thailand, according to government and private sector officials.
— The Nation
GSB to develop SME entrepreneurs
The GSB is getting ready to hold a big event in the middle of November to exhibit the works of SME entrepreneurs and startups, and produce new businesspeople.
— News Today (video)
Leading Chinese e-commerce firm Global Scanner partners with Thai cosmetics purveyor Annabella
China, with its rapid growth, is leading the world in the growth of e-commerce, with goods from all countries in the world flooding into the huge market worth trillions of dollars, through the cross-border e-commerce model.
— AEC News Today/ PR Newswire (media release)
Kalasin woman a victim of corruption in fund for disabled people
A 66-year-old woman who has taken care of her 15-year-old granddaughter with cerebral palsy in the past two years was shocked to learn that she had been unknowingly registered as a caretaker under the Empowerment Of Persons With Disabilities Act 2007’s Article 35, which entitled her to a monthly pay of Bt9,125.
— The Nation
Similan-Surin islands to reopen for visitors from Monday
The Similan-Surin islands, popular tourist attractions in the Andaman sea, will be reopened to visitors as of Monday October 15, but the number of visitors will be capped at 3,325 a day to prevent overcrowding.
— Thai PBS World
500+ Foreigners Arrested in New Nationwide Raids
More than 500 foreigners were arrested in another nationwide raid, police said Friday.
— Khaosod English
Government directs problem-solving for agriculturists’ debts
The government is directing a problem-solving approach to agriculturists’ debts in keeping with the consensus of the cabinet.
— News Today (video)
Key suspect in alleged Bt800m bitcoin scam arrested
Parinya Jaravijit, a key suspect in an alleged Bt800-million bitcoin investment scam, was arrested on Thursday night at Suvarnabhumi Airport when he arrived back in Thailand.
— The Nation (annoying popups)
Prison inmates nationwide to be tested for tuberculosis
Inmates at 143 prisons nationwide are to be tested for tuberculosis in a joint project by the Department of Disease Control (DDC) and the Corrections Department.
— The Nation
Feature photo John Le Fevre
This week’s Thailand morning news feature photo acknowledges International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, October 17.
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 October 15 added by John Le Fevre on
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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