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Pulp Fiction – Phuket tourism by numbers
by Bill Barnett This week netizens have been captivated over a photo in the blogosphere proclaiming that “Phuket high-season was dead as a dodo.” Excuse me as I digress for just a minute on the subject of dodo’s, which is clearly something I know nothing about, hence putting myself on par with the individual proclaiming the ‘end of days’ for…
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Famous 52 year old hippo gets a new home
Mae Mali, the celebrated 52 year old hippo, has settled into a new home in the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chon Buri. Atthaporn Sriheran, director of the Khao Kheow zoo, said the longest living hippo in Thailand was moved from the closed Dusit Zoo in Bangkok to Khao Kheow on December 18. He said Mae Mali has fully rehabilitated…
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Co-ordinated triple attack at Yala security bases
Insurgents have initiated a triple attack at police and army targets. The attacks took place last night. In a near-simultaneous attack, insurgents in Yala province fired guns at a police station, a civilian defence post and an Army post. Luckily no one was injured in the planned attacks. The Lam Mai police station in Moo 6 in Muang district came…
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Phuket woman calls for fairness after receiving a 16K Baht water bill
A Phuket woman has filed a report with the Damrongdhamma Centre (consumer complaints) after being landed with a 16,000 baht water bill while no one was in the house. Nattapat Sermchotdamrong, who has filed a report to the Damrongdhama Centre, says, “My water bill in September is 16,570.29 baht. My family and I live in another province. So no one…
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195K meth pills seized inside wheels on a truck at Phuket Checkpoint
Officers have arrested a Thai man trying to smuggle 195,810 methamphetamine pills hidden inside a pickup truck’s wheels on vehicle transport truck at the Phuket Checkpoint. Officers arrested 32 year old Yuttapon ‘Jack’ Suktong from Trang. Officers seized a total of 195,810 methamphetamine pills. The Region 8 Police Deputy Commander Maj Gen Nantadet Yoinuan says, “Police received a tip-off that…
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Natural birth son fathered by Thailand’s first test tube baby
PHOTO: The Nation Pavornit Srisahaburi a 31 year old engineer stands in the maternity ward at Chulalongkorn University waiting to visit ‘Delta’ his first baby. Unlike many fathers who have share the same magic moment, Pavornvit is special as he was born and created by artificial insemination, or intro-vitro fertilisation (IVF) in the very same ward. “In Vitro Fertilisation is…
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Cherng Talay Police narrowly escape injury after drunk driver plows through checkpoint – VIDEO
A drunk driver has been arrested and charged after breaking through checkpoint in Cherng Talay, narrowly avoiding knocking over an attending officer. Cherng Talay Police have arrested 27 year old Pittaya Timtong from Ratchaburui. Cherng Talay Police Chief Col Serm Khwannimit says, “At 1.30am yesterday early morning the police were at the checkpoint on Srisoonthorn Road in front of the…
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Another Thai interest rate hike predicted for next year
by Phuwit Limviphuwat and Wichit Chaitrong We’ve just had one .25 basis point interest rise to the base rate. Now there’s already talk of another in 2019 which will start to affect consumer spending, especially mortgage holders. Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) and Phatra Securities are predicting that the Bank of Thailand (BOT) is likely to implement a modest interest rate…
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Baby elephant saved after being snared in a hunter’s trap
A female baby elephant, less than a month old, has been found alone, with a rotten, worm-filled leg caused by a metal trap. The Nation reports that she was found by villagers in Khao Hoi Hua, Moo 8, Amphoe Khao Chamao, Rayong Province who alerted forest rangers from the Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary and took her on the…
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Pickup truck crashes into canal in Phatthalung killing two
The driver of a pickup, along with his passenger friend, were killed and two women injured early today. The pickup careered off the road, hit a bridge, and dropped into a canal in Phatthalung’s Kong Ra district. Police say the accident happened in front of a mosque in Moo 6 village in Tambon Klong Chalerm. The pickup was stuck in…
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Junta supporters, Palang Pracharat party, raises 650 million baht at banquet
The pro-military Palang Pracharat party had the first of their big fund-raisers last night and raised an estimated 650 million baht – 50 million baht more than their initial projection. The banquet was held last night at the Impact Muang Thong Thanee convention hall. Almost 2,000 guests, mostly business people and politicians from different parties, attended the event to fill…
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19 Year old Thai girl dies from assault in Tokyo hotel
Photo: MX News Following several news reports by Japanese media outlets The Foreign Affairs Ministry has now confirmed the death of a 19 year old Thai woman in Tokyo, Japan. Initial reports say police were called by hotel staff when they heard loud screams from a woman after she had been heard arguing with a man in their room. Police…
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UPDATE: Second victim emerges in horrific Saraburi gang-rape
State agencies have become embroiled in a case in which an 11 year old schoolgirl (reported as 12 year old in yesterday’s news) is alleged to have been gang-raped by five teenagers last Sunday. The incident, that happened in Saraburi, has flared up after the girl’s father expressed concern that justice was not being served and that the accused had…
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UPDATE: The sea-going stray dog has disappeared from Ao Chalong
Saranyoo Hassanai, who works at Chalong Bay, has spoken to Newshawk Phuket about the stray dog that had been hanging around Ao Chalong Pier for the past month, seemingly intent in finding its owner. It jumps onto boats that are tied up to the pier, waiting to take tourists out to the islands. Last Monday, it jumped into the water trying…
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Plain tobacco packaging by September 2019
The Thai government has made a new legislative announcement regarding plain packaging for cigarette packets, making it the first country in Asia, and first low and middle-income country to do so. This legislation adds to the 2017 Tobacco Control Act, which currently mandates an individual must be 20 or older to purchase tobacco, bans tobacco advertising in the media, sponsorship,…
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Motorcyclist dies after collision with power pole in Koh Kaew
A motorbike driver has died at the scene after colliding with a power pole in Koh Kaew. Phuket City Police were notified of the incident on Thepkrasattri Road, northbound, before the entrance of the Bang Khu Underpass at 5am this morning. Police and emergency responders arrived to find the body of 20 year old Eakkarat Saelim from Nakhon Si Thammarat.…
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Pedestrian killed in Thalang after being hit by taxi
PHOTOS: Newshawk Phuket A man who was crossing Thepkrasattri Road early this morning was hit by a taxi and died at the scene. Thalang Police were notified of the incident on Thepkrasattri Road, northbound, in front of the Phra Nang Sang Temple in Thalang. Police and rescue workers arrived to find a taxi, with its front panels damaged, parked on…
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Rare species back at Similan Islands after tourist numbers restricted – VIDEO
PHOTOS: The Department of National Park Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department PR Office VIDEO: Phuket Marine Natinal Parks Operation Centre 2 / Thanakorn Trakarntanasuk / Newshawk Phuket A pair of leopard sharks have been spotted at the Similan Islands following the restriction of the number of tourists visiting the archipelago. The Department of National Park Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department PR Office…
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Thailand should prepare for global economic slowdown
The global economy is in disarray with no clear direction. This is the stark warning from Supachai Panitchpakdi, former director-general of the World Trade Organisation. He also says that the US-China trade war is having an adverse impact on investor confidence, Investors don’t know where to safely invest, because the trade war could easily disrupt global supply chains, he said. Supachai,…
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Bangkok Airways starts flights to Cam Ranh, Vietnam
Bangkok Airways is the latest airline to signal its intention to fly to Nha Trang beach and the Cam Ranh International Airport, the gateway to one of Vietnam’s popular holiday destinations. Cam Ranh is also an emerging destination in is own right with unspoilt beaches closer to the airport than the popular Nha Trang. Starting on January 25, Bangkok Airways…
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Bank of Thailand ups policy rate to 1.75 percent, first rise in 7 years
The Bank of Thailand has increased its policy rate by 25 points, up from 1.50 percent to 1.75 percent. It’s the first rise in seven years. The Monetary Policy Committee voted 5:2 to raise the one-day repurchase rate to 1.75 percent with immediate effect after the rate was kept unchanged for seven years, noting that the need to depend on relaxed…
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A Sarburi father alleges gang rape of his 12 year old daughter. A policeman called her a ‘slut’.
PHOTO: The grocery shop in Saraburi province where the alleged rape took place. A government official in Saraburi province, just north-east of Bangkok, has resigned after footage appeared of the official trying to force a 12 year old girl into saying she wasn’t gang-raped. The official, identified as Sangwan Sitthipanya and described as “a leading local administrator”, was forced to…
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Parents call for police to investigate suspicious death of Muay Thai daughter
Parents of the World Muay Thai women’s champ, found hanged in her room on Monday, say that they believe her death is suspicious and not suicide. They say, for a start, the rope mark around her nick is too low, believing that this is evidence that she was more likely strangled than hanging herself from the top of the door…
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Thai arrested over refusing to return a tourist’s lost phone
A Thai man has been arrested for refusing to return a smartphone to a Russian tourist who dropped it on a South Pattaya road three days ago. Pattaya police chief Pol Colonel Apichai Krobphet said 64 year old Niyom Sukcharoen faces a theft charge for refusing to report finding the Xiaomi Mi8 smartphone which been dropped outside a restaurant. Apichai…
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Political parties throwing extravagant dinners to raise election funds
The pro-Junta Palang Pracharat political party is expecting to raise 600 million baht from a grand fund-raising dinner named “One Thailand”. The event will be held tonight at Muang Thong Thanee in Bangkok. The Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) appears to be winning over business leaders and the elite after selling most of the tables for tonight’s event. The event will…
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Reward offered to passenger who reported Phuket’s multi-tasking bus driver
PHOTO: The Phuket PR Office A 5,000 baht reward has been offered to the passenger who filmed and posted video of Phuket’s ‘multi-tasking’ bus driver. The Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) has fined the Phuket to Songkhla bus driver who, last Saturday, was captured on video, driving a bus full of passengers, with his young son sitting on his lap and…
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New red flags set up at Maya Bay to prevent tourist swimmers
The Mu-Koh Phi Phi National Park Officers have set new red flags around Maya Bay to prevent boats and tourists swimming into the area. Red flags and signs have also been placed at the Bay’s entrance that to prevent entry and swimming into the closed bay. National park officer say that there were some tour boat operators who have suggested…
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Former prisoner shoots man’s son as ‘revenge’
A man, who had recently been released from prison for attempted murder, has shot and killed a man’s son. Police believe the father had ‘dobbed’ him into authorities on a weapon’s charge and was acting as revenge. But the father claims that it was all a misunderstanding and his son was now dead for no reason. Banmuang reports that Petchaburi…
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Three Russians detained in Thailand at the request of the US
Three Russian citizens have been detained in Thailand at the request of the United States in the last three years, head of the Consulate Department of the Russian Embassy in Thailand, Vladimir Pronin told reporters yesterday. “Only in the last three years, three Russians have been detained in Thailand at the US’ request, two of them – in 2018,” he stressed.…
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British tourist found dead in Bangkok hotel room
PHOTO: Facebook/Luke Ramage Police in Thailand are investigating the death of a British tourist in Bangkok, according to the British Foreign Office. The man has been identified by grieving friends. According to Sky News, Luke Ramage had only just arrived at his hotel when he was found unresponsive on his bed by a receptionist. Mr Ramage, from the town of…
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