CCSA spokesman clarifies threat of jail for not using MorChana app

By The Nation

 

CCSA spokesman Taweesin Visanuyothin

 

Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) spokesman Taweesin Visanuyothin apologised on Thursday for sparking public uproar with his threat of prison for people who conceal their travel information.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1200553-ccsa-spokesman-clarifies-threat-of-jail-for-not-using-morchana-app/

Lunacy or great leap forward? Thailand’s first moon mission ignites fierce debate

 

Picture of the waxing gibbous moon as seen from Montevideo on Christmas Eve on December 24, 2020. (Photo by Mariana SUAREZ / AFP)

 

Thailand’s first lunar exploration programme is scheduled to launch on January 13, though public debate on the moon mission has been raging since mid-December when it was unveiled by a minister.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1200537-lunacy-or-great-leap-forward-thailand’s-first-moon-mission-ignites-fierce-debate/

DPM Prawit ridiculed on social media as gambling dens/Covid spread fallout spirals

 

Image: Reuters  file photo

 

Social media has launched scathing and mocking attacks against deputy prime minister Prawit Wongsuwon who has been forced to backtrack on claims there were no gambling dens in Bangkok.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1200532-dpm-prawit-ridiculed-on-social-media-as-gambling-denscovid-spread-fallout-spirals/

Download the Thaivisa Calendar 2021 - all Thai holidays and no alcohol days included!

 

 

Download it here: https://forum.thaivisa.com/files/file/782-thaivisa-calendar-2021/

Commerce ministry announces core missions this year

By The Nation

 

Minister Jurin Laksanawisit

 

The Commerce Ministry’s core missions this year are to boost farmers' income and to ease people's living costs, said minister Jurin Laksanawisit on Thursday.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1200587-commerce-ministry-announces-core-missions-this-year/

 

UPDATE:

 

Economy expected to grow 2.5-3% but not recover fully: NIDA prof

By The Nation

 

 

The economy is expected to expand between 2.5 and 3 per cent this year, said Assoc Prof Dr Montree Socatiyanurak. He is director of the National Institute of Development Administration's Advanced Master of Management Programme.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1200529-thai-economy-may-lose-10-billion-in-q1-from-new-virus-outbreak/?do=findComment&comment=16148292

 

Thai PM “baffled” by allegation of involvement in illegal gambling activities

 

 

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said today he is surprised that he is being implicated in benefiting from illegal gambling activities, as he declared his determination to crack down decisively on the illegal activity.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1200589-thai-pm-“baffled”-by-allegation-of-involvement-in-illegal-gambling-activities/

 

Teenager arrested for stealing Patong temple donation boxes

By The Phuket News

 

Photo: Patong Police

 

PHUKET: Police have arrested a 17-year-old for stealing donation boxes from Wat Suwan Khereewong (Wat Patong) in the early hours of yesterday and Christmas Day.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1200590-teenager-arrested-for-stealing-patong-temple-donation-boxes/

 

Phuket under face mask order, B20k fine

 

Image: PR Phuket

 

PHUKET: Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew has issued a provincial order making it illegal to not wear a face mask in a public area. The penalty for breach of the order is a fine of up to B20,000 or may even include a jail term, the order warned.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1200592-phuket-under-face-mask-order-b20k-fine/

 

Space for quarantining inter-provincial travelers being set aside

 

   

Following the call from the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) for all provinces to prepare space for field hospitals, many areas have also set aside locations for the quarantining of travelers from high risk provinces and for monitoring at-risk individuals.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1200593-space-for-quarantining-inter-provincial-travelers-being-set-aside/

 

Chiang Mai sprays pubs related to infected nightlife traveler

 

   

BANGKOK (NNT) - Workers from Chiang Mai municipality have sprayed disinfectant throughout a number of entertainment venues, recently visited by a 25-year-old traveler, now known to have contracted the COVID-19 infection .

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1200594-chiang-mai-sprays-pubs-related-to-infected-nightlife-traveler/

 

Ten weeks in Thailand: 1st SFG (A) Green Beret is first U.S. Soldier to complete Royal Thai Army’s Ranger School

Story by Sgt. Anthony Bryant 

1st Special Forces Group (Airborne)  

 

Photo By Sgt. Anthony Bryant | A Green Beret assigned to 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) rappels down a mountainside October 2020, in the Kingdom of Thailand. He attended the Royal Thai Army’s Ranger School Oct. 17 to Dec. 29 and earned his Ranger Badge, becoming the first U.S. service member to attend and graduate the course in more than 40 years.

 

Wearing Royal Thai Army (RTA) fatigues and black leather boots, a U.S. Army Green Beret wades waist deep through a swamp carrying a heavy rucksack and an old-fashioned Mannlicher M1888 bolt-action rifle. With soaked feet and pain spreading through tired muscles, there are still miles left to trudge.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1200595-ten-weeks-in-thailand-1st-sfg-a-green-beret-is-first-us-soldier-to-complete-royal-thai-army’s-ranger-school/

 

Tech platforms block Trump, with Facebook's Zuckerberg saying risk 'too great'

By Elizabeth Culliford and Katie Paul

 

FILE PHOTO: Facebook Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies at a House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington, U.S., October 23, 2019. REUTERS/Erin Scott/File Photo

 

(Reuters) -Facebook Inc said it would block U.S. President Donald Trump's accounts for at least the next two weeks and perhaps indefinitely with CEO Mark Zuckerberg saying the risks of allowing him to use the platform were "simply too great."

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1200596-tech-platforms-block-trump-with-facebooks-zuckerberg-saying-risk-too-great/

 

EU citizens will be banned from using ID cards to enter UK from October - The Telegraph

 

FILE PHOTO: Britain's Home Secretary Priti Patel arrives for a cabinet meeting at the FCO in London, Britain September 22, 2020. Leon Neal/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

 

(Reuters) - European Union citizens will be banned from using ID cards to enter Britain from October amidst growing concern about the proliferation of fake European IDs, the Telegraph reported https://bit.ly/3q5gdod on Thursday.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1200597-eu-citizens-will-be-banned-from-using-id-cards-to-enter-uk-from-october-the-telegraph/

 

Bitcoin hits $40,000 for first time, but pullback likely imminent

By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss and Chuck Mikolajczak

 

FILE PHOTO: A representation of virtual currency Bitcoin is seen in front of a stock graph in this illustration taken November 19, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

 

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bitcoin topped $40,000 for the first time on Thursday, as it continues a rally that has seen the digital currency climb more than 700% from a March 12 closing low.

 

Full story:  https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1200598-bitcoin-hits-40000-for-first-time-but-pullback-likely-imminent/

 

Surrounded by a shrinking circle of aides, a brooding Trump lays into Pence

By Steve Holland, Andrea Shalal and Jeff Mason

 

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence stand while making remarks about early results from the 2020 U.S. presidential election in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., November 4, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump has increasingly isolated himself in the White House, relying on a small group of diehard loyalists and lashing out at those who dare to cross him, including Vice President Mike Pence, said four sources familiar with the matter.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1200599-surrounded-by-a-shrinking-circle-of-aides-a-brooding-trump-lays-into-pence/

 

Boeing agrees to $2.5 billion settlement to resolve U.S. criminal probe into 737 MAX crashes

By David Shepardson and Eric M. Johnson

 

FILE PHOTO: The Boeing logo is displayed on a screen, at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., August 7, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

 

WASHINGTON/SEATTLE (Reuters) -Boeing Co will pay over $2.5 billion to resolve the U.S. Justice Department's investigation into two deadly 737 MAX crashes that killed 346 people, the Justice Department said, but will not be forced to plead guilty to criminal charges.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1200602-boeing-agrees-to-25-billion-settlement-to-resolve-us-criminal-probe-into-737-max-crashes/

 

Error puts millions of U.S. stimulus payments in wrong accounts -TurboTax

By Michelle Price and Anirban Sen

 

FILE PHOTO: Charles P. Rettig, Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, and Erin M. Collins, National Taxpayer Advocate for the Taxpayer Advocate Service, appears before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform to discuss the role of the Internal Revenue Service during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Washington, D.C., U.S., October 7, 2020. Toni L. Sandys/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Millions of pandemic stimulus payments have been deposited in incorrect customer accounts due to an Internal Revenue Service error, according to Intuit TurboTax, which is helping to distribute the payments.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1200604-error-puts-millions-of-us-stimulus-payments-in-wrong-accounts-turbotax/

 

Trump supporters who stormed U.S. Capitol could face sedition charges -prosecutor

By Sarah N. Lynch

 

A heavy police force is evident at the Senate door after supporters of President Donald Trump breeched security at the U.S. Capitol, rioting through the Senate and House and disrupting the certification of President-elect Joe Biden, in Washington, U.S. January 6, 2021. REUTERS/Mike Theiler

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Supporters of President Donald Trump who stormed the U.S. Capitol, breaking windows and stealing things, could face charges including sedition, insurrection and rioting, Washington, D.C.'s top federal prosecutor said on Thursday.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1200605-trump-supporters-who-stormed-us-capitol-could-face-sedition-charges-prosecutor/

 

Man shot dead over argument about face mask in Nakhon Sri Thammarat

 

 

A forty nine year old man attending a funeral in Nakhon Sri Thammarat in southern Thailand was shot dead in the early hours of Thursday morning after an argument over not wearing a face mask. 

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1200612-man-shot-dead-over-argument-about-face-mask-in-nakhon-sri-thammarat/

 

Thailand to start COVID-19 vaccinations next month

 

Picture: Daily News

 

Thailand will start issuing COVID-19 vaccinations from next month, according to the Director-General of the Disease Control Department.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1200613-thailand-to-start-covid-19-vaccinations-next-month/

 

Four new cases found in Chiang Mai, all linked to one venue

By THE NATION

 

 

Four new Covid-19 cases were found on Thursday in Chiang Mai, raising the accumulated active cases in the province to 11, deputy governor Weerapan Dee-on told the press.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1200618-four-new-cases-found-in-chiang-mai-all-linked-to-one-venue/

 

BTS unveils timeline of staffer who tested positive for Covid-19

By THE NATION

 

 

Skytrain operator Bangkok Mass Transit System announced on Thursday that one of its staff who worked at its headquarters in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district has tested positive for Covid-19.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1200619-bts-unveils-timeline-of-staffer-who-tested-positive-for-covid-19/

 

How new wave of COVID-19 infections has affected mental health among Thais 

 

 

The chief of Thailand's mental health department has said that the stress levels of Thai people are back up to the same level as they were during the first worrying days of the pandemic back in March last year.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1200620-how-new-wave-of-covid-19-infections-has-affected-mental-health-among-thais/

 

Covid resurgence: Thailand ramps up checks and restrictions on inter-provincial travel

 

 

Daily News reported that Thailand was ramping up restrictions and checks on inter-provincial travel as the second wave of the pandemic continues to threaten the country. 

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1200624-covid-resurgence-thailand-ramps-up-checks-and-restrictions-on-inter-provincial-travel/

 

Scores of people continue to visit popular northern tourist attraction

 

Picture: 77kaoded

 

Thai media 77kaoded posed the question as to whether the resort area of Khao Khor should also enter lockdown after Phu Thap Boek resorts decided to lock down their businesses for the remainder of January. 

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1200631-scores-of-people-continue-to-visit-popular-northern-tourist-attraction/

 

Loei closes schools and lottery market after finding more COVID-19 cases

 

 

Loei province has ordered all schools and a lottery market to close for 14 days after a family tested positive for COVID-19.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1200633-loei-closes-schools-and-lottery-market-after-finding-more-covid-19-cases/

 

Trump faces calls for removal, possible impeachment after Capitol chaos

By Steve Holland and Andrea Shalal

 

An explosion caused by a police munition is seen while supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump gather in front of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, U.S., January 6, 2021. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump faced the threat on Thursday of a second impeachment, a day after his supporters breached the U.S. Capitol in a stunning assault on American democracy as Congress was certifying President-elect Joe Biden's victory.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1200635-trump-faces-calls-for-removal-possible-impeachment-after-capitol-chaos/

 

Phuket officials clarify rules on wearing face mask while eating, exercising in public

By The Phuket News

 

Any businesses and service providers found not enforcing COVID-19 protection measures will be caught and prosecuted, Phuket officials have warned.

 

PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Government has issued a clarification on the conditions of wearing a face mask while eating or exercising in public areas.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1200636-phuket-officials-clarify-rules-on-wearing-face-mask-while-eating-exercising-in-public/

 

They're back! BMW "smart cars" return to bust Vietnamese migrant operation

 

Picture: Naew Na

 

The cavalry was called to bust a gang transporting illegal and overstaying migrants across Thailand's porous borders. 

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1200637-theyre-back-bmw-smart-cars-return-to-bust-vietnamese-migrant-operation/