Thailand week in review: Proposal to extend alcohol selling hours facing opposition, Domestic Thai travellers have increased, and more

MGR Online

Here is a look at the top NATIONAL stories, chosen by our Pattaya News/TPN National team, from last week, Monday November 21st to Sunday November 27th. They are not in any particular level of importance but are listed in the order of date of publication.

Let’s get started and see what the top stories were!

  1. Thai Public Health Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said today to the Thai media that in his opinion cannabis cannot be reverted back into an illegal narcotic drug and he is not overly concerned with a proposal by cannabis opponents to try to ban the plant entirely again.                                                                         More than 5,000 Thai researchers have filed an official document to show full support of the draft cannabis bill to be used for medical purposes.
  2. An alleged Chinese mafia boss dubbed “Tuhao” turned himself in to Bangkok police on Wednesday, November 23rd, after being accused of colluding in the illicit drug trade and operating an illegal nightclub.
  3. The Thai Alcohol Control Committee oppose a proposal to extend the legal hours for selling alcoholic beverages to 4 AM, citing a potential rise in traffic accidents.

Dr. Opas Karnkawinongpop, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Public Health, stated the chance of drunk-driving-related accidents could also rise by more than 27% or 10-20 casualties per day if alcohol was allowed to be sold from 5 PM to 4 AM despite all-night police checkpoints.

4. The number of Thai travellers this year has reached 200 million since last month, said a Thai government spokesman.

Government spokesman Mr. Anucha Burapachaisri said “Income from Thai travellers is 800 billion baht which is also higher than the TAT had expected at 656 billion baht this year. More Thai people have travelled in the country especially for family trips and seminars.”

5. Russian tourists are now visiting Pattaya daily as direct flights have now arrived at the U-Tapao Airport for the first time since before the Covid-19 pandemic.

There were 236 passengers on the first direct flight from the Azur Airline from Tolmachevo.

And, that is all for this week. Thank you as always for reading the Pattaya News/TPN News!

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Goongnang Suksawat
Goong Nang is a News Translator who has worked professionally for multiple news organizations in Thailand for many years and has worked with The Pattaya News for five years. Specializes primarily in local news for Phuket, Pattaya, and also some national news, with emphasis on translation between Thai to English and working as an intermediary between reporters and English-speaking writers. Originally from Nakhon Si Thammarat, but lives in Phuket and Krabi except when commuting between the three.