Month: March 2019

  • North East

    Buriram villager killed by rampaging wild elephant

    by Surachai Piraksa A 37 year old man from a village in Buriram province has been stomped to death by a wild elephant early today in Tambon Lam Nang Rong. Following the discovery of his dead body at 6am in a rubber plantation, police and rescue workers, along with a medical examiner, went to inspect the scene. They found the…

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  • Thai Life

    “Easier, faster and more watertight” – Surachate’s vision for Immigration

    Lt Gen Surachate Hakparn, Thailand’s Immigration chief, has outlined a few new directions for visitor and expat visas in Thailand. Speaking to TNA MCOT, the chief acknowledged the 1979 Act was “out of date” and “not in line with modern countries” and travel procedures. Surachate said that Thailand was the third most visited country in the world and was a place…

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  • Bangkok

    Canadian woman rescued from air-conditioning shaft at luxury Silom hotel

    PHOTO: Daily News A 76 year old Canadian woman, missing since last Thursday in Bangkok, ended up spending 12 hours trapped in an air conditioning shaft at a luxury Silom hotel before she was finally found and rescued. Daily News reports that 76 year old Siona Aloni, who suffers from Alzheimers, went missing from her room at the hotel on…

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  • Bangkok

    Bangkok Motor Show opens as Thai car sales move online

    PHOTO: New Nissan all-electric LEAF, on display at the Bangkok Motor Show by Kingsley Wijayasinha “Despite the increase in sales online, including new automobiles, we’re not worried that fewer people will show up at the event to purchase vehicles.” More than 1.6 million visitors are expected at this year’s Bangkok International Motor Show, which kicks off today at IMPACT Muangthong…

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  • Travel

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  • Thai Life

    Child drowning cases – dramatic drop over two decades

    The leading cause of death in Thai children, below the age of 15, is drowning. “Even though the cases have recently fallen to an all time low, it’s still not low enough.” “In nearly two decades there have been 22,700 drowning cases, that’s between the years 2000 and 2018. That averages nearly 1,300 child drownings every year.” These numbers from…

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  • Travel

    New airport duty free bid split into two

    The Government has insisted that the AoT rejig its awarding for the concession of duty-free shops at its airports. Up to now King Power Duty Free has had a monopoly on the lucrative duty free concessions. So the Board of the Airports of Thailand Company has now decided to split the concession to operate airport duty-free shops into two contracts – one for Suvarnabhumi…

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  • Election

    King revokes royal decorations from former PM Thaksin

    PHOTO: Former Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra welcomes Princess Ubolratana of Thailand as they arrive for the wedding of Thaksin’s daughter last weekend in Hong Kong. HM King Maha Vajiralongkorn has stripped the royal decorations of former PM and fugitive billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra, alluding to his convictions and “extremely inappropriate” flight from the country. The statement in yesterday’s Royal Gazette from…

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  • Hot News

    Academics urging a State of Emergency for the North

    by Pratch Rujivanarom An academic is calling on the government to declare a state of emergency as Chiang Mai and most Northern Provinces face ‘disastrous’ levels of PM2.5 smog and smoke haze. Citizen in the North are being advised to stay inside air conditioned buildings and avoid all outdoor activities, as some areas of Chiang Mai recorded PM2.5 levels reaching…

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  • Hot News

    Two killed in Songkhla after their pick-up is sprayed with bullets

    by Santiparb Ramasuta A man and a woman riding in a pickup have been killed this morning after a group of assailants opened fire on them in Songkhla’s Sabaiyoi district. The victims were identified as 34 year old Preecha Phetkaewthng and 33 year old Sathiya Saisuwan. Both were residents of the Sabayoi district. They were rescued from the scene of…

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  • Phuket

    Will Young sells Brit Awards to raise money for Soi Dog Foundation

    British singer Will Young sold two of his Brit Awards, highly-respected popular music awards for the British music industry, for a Phuket charity. But he says he only raised £800 (33,000 baht) for them. The singer told Chris Evans, a Virgin Radio Breakfast show presenter, he went through with his pledge to auction off the gongs after announcing he was…

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  • Plastics

    Polystyrene containers ditched by Southern province

    by Somchai Samart You would expect the Capital to lead the way. But this time it’s one of Thailand’s southern provinces showing the way forward with one of Thailand’s biggest disposable waste problems. Songkhla in Thailand’s south, is now well on the way to establishing itself as a foam container-free city as green trends continue to grow. During the past…

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  • Business

    Thai rice exports facing strong regional competition

    Rice exports are down in February’s sales figures, in both total volume and value. High prices and competition from Vietnam are being blamed, along with the ongoing strong baht. Rice farmers also say they are concerned how long the hot season will last which will also affect their planting schedules for this year. The Thai Rice Exporters Association says that…

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  • Weather

    Weather warning for summer storms in upper Thailand

    The Thai Meteorological Department has announced weather warnings for potential summer storms in upper Thailand. They say a high-pressure system from China will extend to, and meet, the hot weather over upper Thailand. “From March 31 – April 3, outbreaks of summer thunderstorms will be likely in the upper country.” Thunderstorms, gusty winds and hail are possible, first in the…

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  • Business

    Thai businesses feeling pinch from china-US trade wars

    Since the US China trade war kicked off in the middle of 2018, Thai businesses have begun to feel the pinch as indicated by a small downward trend in Thai export numbers. In the short run, some Thai export items may benefit from trade diversion as US and Chinese importers shifted to certain Thai products to avoid punitive tariffs. However, indirect…

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  • Election

    Future Forward’s 80 new parliamentary faces

    The Future Forward Party, making an impressive debut in last Sunday’s election – finishing as the third-most popular choice with more than 6.2 million votes and more than 80 Lower House seats – is composed entirely of completely new faces. These fresh new political voices, partly fueled by the seven million new, young, eligible voters in this year’s poll, provides…

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  • Songkran

    Head to Chiang Mai for Songkran – getting wet with a northern touch

    Thailand’s best-known regional Songkran celebrations take place in the northern city of Chiang Mai This year the Chiang Mai Songkran Festival runs from April 1-16 and with the theme “telling the story of the Lanna culture while celebrating the auspicious new year with safety and without alcohol.” In Chiang Mai, Songkran is often called Paweni Pi Mai Muang. Chiang Mai…

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  • Weather

    Roll out the water trucks – Phuket’s water runs low

    by Salinee Prap Many areas of Phuket have suffered a shortage of tap water, with inconsistent or no flow, prompting business operators and residents to buy water from the private sector. Phuket as an island, is usually self-sufficient with its water supply, with three large catchments on the island serving locals, expats and the 12 million annual tourists. Phuket governor…

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  • Hot News

    Anti-stall system activated in Ethiopian Boeing crash – Wall Street Journal

    The Wall Street Journal is reporting that officials probing the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max crash have made preliminarily conclusions that a flight-control feature automatically activated before the plane plummeted to the ground. The US newspaper, which declined to name its sources, says the findings have been passed on at a briefing to the US Federal Aviation Administration. The flight-control software feature…

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  • Phuket

    70 year old Austrian man dies after jumping from 14th floor of Patong hotel

    A 70 year old Austrian man has died after jumping from the 14th floor at a hotel in Patong today. At 11am today Patong Police were notified that a foreign man had fallen from a hotel in Patong. Police and emergency responders arrived to find the body of a man who was later identified as 70 year old Austrian man…

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  • Phuket

    Darasamuth Underpass closing this Saturday and Sunday night

    The Darasamut Underpass (adjacent to Central Festival) will temporarily close tomorrow and Sunday from 9pm until 5am (overnight). The Phuket Highways Chief Somwang Lohanut says, “Both the northbound and southbound lanes through the underpass will be temporary closed at those times.” “Workers will be carrying out repairs and replacing light bulbs and fans as part of the normal scheduled maintenance.”…

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  • Phuket

    Patong taxi driver suspects arrested after ganging up and beating a tourist

    PHOTOS: Patong Police Six suspects have been arrested today following an assault by a group of taxi, tuk tuk and motorcycle taxi drivers. The incident was captured on video, as the drivers ganged together to beat up a tourist in Patong last night. The argument started over a taxi fee to take the family back to their hotel. Patong Police…

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