Month: April 2019
- Hot News
K-Pop dominating YouTube records – BTS and Blackpink
BTS, Blackpink, YouTube, Boy With Luv Last week’s Blackpink single-day YouTube viewing record has been beaten by fellow K-Pop supremos BTS notching up 78 million views for their “Boy With Luv” music video within its first 24 hours of hitting the video site. (Three days later it’s on 129 million with 7.8 million ‘likes’ and still going…) K-pop rival Blackpink…
Read More » - Thailand Election News
Pro-democracy coalition remains positive following weekend glitch
by Kai Chanwanpen The see-saw continues as the anti and pro-junta groups continue to tussle to form a coalition government. Meanwhile the Election Commission (EC) is no closer to announcing the allocation of Lower House seats… three weeks after the vote! They maintain that May 9 is the day they will announce the results although this deadline has been muddied…
Read More » - Bangkok News
Princess Chulabhorn recovers after cataract surgery and back pain treatment
The Palace is reporting that HRH Princess Chulabhorn is recovering satisfactorily at Ramathibodi Hospital after cataract surgery and treatment for back pain. The medical team at the hospital report that the Princess’s back pain had eased satisfactorily so that medication will now be taken orally, instead of intravenously, until April 30. The Princess underwent cataract surgery on March 22 and…
Read More » - Hot News
American Alex Dion in custody over murder of Thai national – Sydney
PHOTO: Wachiro “Mario” Phetmang – Facebook An American father, charged with the murder of a Thai man in western Sydney last year, is set to remain in custody until his next court appearance in June. Australian police have charged 38 year old Alex Dion with murder of a Thai national – the body found bound and gagged on a Sydney roadside. He…
Read More » - Environment News
New fires in the North likely to be arson – Army
by Nathawat Laping Some 1,000 combined professional and volunteer firefighters are battling a major forest fire in the mountainous area overlapping Chiang Mai’s Muang and Mae Chan districts.The fire started on Sunday night in the Doi Jorakhe area of Tambon Tha Sud in Muang before spreading to Tambon Pa Teung in Mae Chan, a densely populated area and home to…
Read More » - Phuket News
Report filed against Italian expat following Phuket boat collision
Relatives of a seriously injured fisherman have filed a report with the Chalong Police relating to an Italian expat who was allegedly helming a boat that collided with a long-tail fishing boat yesterday off Rawai, Phuket. Emergency responders were notified of the accident near Koh Bon off Rawai at 10am yesterday. The injured fisherman is 45 year old San Malee,…
Read More » - Opinion
“Racial profiling and xenophobic” – a rant against Dual Pricing
“Yet another example of Thailand’s racial profiling and xenophobia towards foreigners.” A post by ‘Despondant Foreigner’ on ThaiVisa has again brought up the ongoing saga of dual-pricing. Dual-pricing is the difference in entry fees, or even some restaurant prices, between ‘locals’ and expats, foreigners and ‘farang’. The rules are applied in a lumpy fashion at various tourist hot spots around…
Read More » - Phuket News
Navy files report against ‘seasteading’ structure off Phuket
The Royal Thai Navy has filed a report against an American/Thai couple for their ‘seasteading’ structure off the coast of Phuket. Read more about the concept and structure HERE. The ‘seasteading’ couple, that have set up a structure some 15 nautical miles south east of Phuket’s southern coast, are the subject of an official complaint by the Thai Third Naval Area…
Read More » - Northern Thailand News
PM backs Khao Kwan Foundation in cannabis research
PHOTO: Thai PBS Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is instructing the Public Health Ministry and leading tertiary educators to support the Khao Kwan Foundation in the research and development of cannabis oil for medical purposes. His support is a rebuke of over zealous Narcotics Control Board officials who raided the Foundation last week, seizing the cannabis and extract oils on the…
Read More » - Bangkok News
Taxi bike driver asks for death penalty after murder of pregnant stepdaughter
by Supachai Phetchthewee A 57 year old motorcycle taxi driver has admitted to beating his seven-month pregnant stepdaughter to death out of jealousy. He told police he killed her at her home in Bangkok on April 11 and is asking the court to give him the death penalty for his crime. Phumjai Leungthong, who then allegedly tried to commit suicide on…
Read More » - Hot News
The Great Worldwide Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp outage
OMG! Will we survive the great outage of April 14? Been turning your phone on and off? Resetting your wi-fi? Sweating that you can’t post your photo of the pad thai? It’s a worldwide Facebook outage and it’s affecting everywhere in the world. It’s also affecting the rest of the Facebook family of Apps. Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp are all…
Read More » - Health
Thailand still in the world’s Top 14 for TB cases
Thailand is struggling with tuberculosis, and remains in the list of the world’s 14 worst hit countries. Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease caused by bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The bacteria usually attack the lungs, but they can also damage other parts of the body. TB spreads through the air when a person with TB of the lungs or throat coughs,…
Read More » - Songkran News
Day Three: Songkran road deaths show a dramatic drop
There has been 1,665 traffic accidents, with 174 deaths and 1,728 people injured in the first three days of the Songkran ‘seven days of danger’ (Thursday, Friday, Saturday). This equates to a significant drop from the 2018 road toll and lower even than Thailand’s average daily road deaths throughout the year. According to the WHO an average 66 people die…
Read More » - World News
Three killed in Himalayan plane crash – Nepal
by Deepak Adhikari – PHOTO: AAP Three people have been killed and three injured after a Simrik Air place crashed into a helicopter while taking off from the Lukla airstrip near Mount Everest in north-eastern Nepal, near the border of China. The small plane was taking off this morning (Nepali time) from Tenzing-Hillary Airport, the gateway to Everest, when it hit a…
Read More » - World News
Sea turtle returns to its nesting place – it’s now an airport!
by Philippine Daily Inquirer – Asia News Network Green sea turtles are among just a select few animals that take a long journey back to their birth place to lay the next generation of eggs. But what happens when their birth beach is no longer a nesting place but something else instead? In the Maldives, a female sea turtle’s homecoming was now…
Read More » - Business News
Phuket hotel watch – trends in 2019
by Bill Barnett of C9Hotelworks.com At the beginning of the year Phuket’s tourism and hotel sector was cautiously optimistic after a strong first half of 2018 and humbling second half. Key terms that kept popping up were Mainland Chinese, Thai Baht Appreciation, Elections and Supply Concerns. So today, with five months of performance under the belt in 2019 what are…
Read More » - Phuket News
Day Three: Songkran ‘seven days of danger’ in Phuket
PHOTOS: Newshawk Phuket As reports are tallied for the third full day (April 13 – official Songkran Day) of the ‘Seven Days of Danger’ road and marine safety campaign, there were a total of 12 road accidents which included 16 injuries. No deaths were reported. There have been no marine incidents to report over the three days so far. The six…
Read More » - Bangkok News
Bangkok traffic police sidelined because they don’t know the road rules
PHOTO: Thai Rath The deputy commissioner of the metropolitan police Maj-Gen Jirasan Kaewsaeng-ek says some traffic police have been transferred to office duties because they didn’t know the traffic rules. Thai Rath reports that they had been on duty directing the traffic and issuing traffic violation fines but had passed no courses on what the actual traffic rules were. The…
Read More » - Hot News
Phuket ‘Seasteaders’ told to pack up and go home
PHOTO: An artist’s impression from the seasteading website The ‘seasteading’ couple, that have set up a ‘floating’ home some 15 nautical miles off Phuket’s coast, are now the subject of an official complaint by the Thai Third Naval Area Command (that oversee Phuket’s security). Chad Andrew Elwartowski and his Thai wife, Supranee Thepdet are said to be in violation of…
Read More » - Northern Thailand News
Severe localised storms predicted for central, north and north-east until April 16
FILE PHOTO The meteorological office (TMD) says there could be localised severe thunder storms for the entire upper area of the country until Tuesday. The north, north-east, eastern seaboard and central regions, including Bangkok and surrounding areas could all be randomly hit by tropical thunderstorms. The TMD office director Phuwiang Prakhammin has warned of rain storms, thunder and lightning, high…
Read More » - Bangkok News
The coronation of King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun
PHOTO: A younger King Maha Vachiralongkorn with his father, the Late King Bhumibol Adulyadej May 5, 1950. King Bhumibol Adulyadej was coronated in a grand ceremony at the Grand Palace and around the streets of Bangkok. That’s nearly seven decades ago when the last coronation took place in Thailand. The 1950 coronation ceremony began the reign of King Rama IX,…
Read More » - Pattaya News
Foreigner hit and dragged under Chinese tour bus in Pattaya
PHOTO: Sanook A foreign man remains in a serious condition after being knocked down and dragged under a Chinese tour bus in South Pattaya on Friday. Tourists on the bus were horrified as the tourist was pulled out from under the bus. The man’s left arm was detached and he was unconscious, according to Sanook. Sawang Boriboon foundation medics performed…
Read More » - Chiang Mai News
UPDATE: 25 year old Canadian dies after falling from Chiang Mai zipline ride
PHOTO: chiangmainews.co.th A 25 year old Canadian tourist fell to his death yesterday after a zipline ride failed in Chiang Mai. Police say the tourist fell to his death while riding a zipline in the forests at the Flight of the Gibbon in Mae Kam Pong. Police believe that his safety locks broke, causing him to drop 50 metres into a…
Read More » - Songkran News
Day Two: Songkran Seven Days of Danger
PHOTO: Thai PBS The Songkran road toll has now jumped to 105, with more than 1,000 injured on Thailand’s roads. The latest stats reported by the Centre for the Prevention and Reduction of Road Accidents. This includes incidents from days one and two in the seven day annual accident reporting campaign. Thai PBS reports that the centre reports 57 people were killed…
Read More » - Bangkok News
Businessman could face death penalty for DUI murder of policeman
PHOTO: Daily News A leading Bangkok businessman faces the death penalty after being charged with murder for the death of a top Crime Suppression Division policeman and his wife last Thursday night. Pol Col Jatuporn Ngamsuwitchakun died at the scene in his Suzuki Swift. His 44 year old wife Nutchanat died later in hospital. Their 16 year old daughter Piyapha…
Read More » - Bangkok News
Sacred water drawing ceremony led by Bangkok Governor
PHOTO: The grand parade was just part of the lead up ceremonies for the forthcoming Coronation of His Majesty – Thai PBS Bangkok Governor Aswin Kwanmuang has led city officials in a ceremony to draw water from a pond at the Haw Sastrakhom, a small building inside the Grand Palace. The ceremony is part of the lead up to the forthcoming royal…
Read More » - Songkran News
Bangkok hit by zombie apocalypse? Songkran 2019.
Is it the apocalypse? Have zombies invaded Bangkok and taken everyone away? No, it’s the one time of the year when one of Asia’s biggest and busiest cities is calm and peaceful, for just one day. Well, actually just the morning because this afternoon they come out to play, Songkran style. Welcome to Songkran 2019, Bangkok. Whilst the residents have…
Read More » - World News
East Sulawesi rocked by 6.8 magnitude tremor – tsunami warning
A strong 6.8 magnitude earthquake rattled eastern Indonesia yesterday triggering a tsunami warning, soon retracted, sending panicked residents fleeing to higher ground. The quake struck off the east coast of Sulawesi island near where a 7.5 magnitude earthquake and tsunami around the city of Palu killed more than 4,300 people in September last year. Indonesia’s disaster agency issued a tsunami…
Read More » - Phuket News
Day Two: First death in Songkran ‘seven days of danger’ in Phuket
PHOTOS: Newshawk Phuket As reports are tallied for the second full day (April 12) of the ‘Seven Days of Danger’ Songkran road and marine safety campaign, one death was reported yesterday plus four injuries in four road accidents. There have been no marine incidents reported. The person who died was a 26 year old Burmese man, Ye Min Aung, who…
Read More » - Phuket News
60 million baht in damages as investigations continue into Patong fire – VIDEO
Songkran in Patong awakes to reveal extensive damage and destruction from last night’s beach road blaze. A fire started from a faulty electrical transformer in a loud and spectacular short-circuit, quickly escalating to engulf nearby roadside shops, causing damages estimated at 60 million baht. Firefighters and emergency responders arrived at the scene of the growing fire at 7:40pm around Banana…
Read More » - Entertainment
BTS smashes YouTube records with ‘Boy With Luv’ music video
BTS, Halsey, Boy With Luv, YouTube, record A YouTube record has been surpassed. No… SMASHED. Korean pop kings BTS’ video for their 2018 “Fake Love” received 35.9 million views in its first 24 hours, making it the biggest 24 hour debut of 2018 and the third biggest 24 hour debut of all time. But that’s nothing compared to the impact…
Read More » - Songkran News
The four days of Songkran. Do it like a local.
Over four days of festivities, Songkran officially begins on April 13 with each day focusing on different activities and traditions. April 13 – Wan Sangkhan Lohng On this day residents clean their houses in preparation of the New Year’s festivities and the Chiang Mai Songkran parade. This procession involves the passing of revered Buddha images and parade floats through the…
Read More » - Northern Thailand News
Forest fires destroy 2.7 million rai of land whilst Chiang Mai is back on top
by Tossapol Boonpat Bush fires have devastated nearly 2.7 million rai (there are 2.5 Rai in an Acre) of forests in nine northern provinces. The Mae Hong Son forest fire and haze control centre says that satellite imaging from the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency shows that from January 1 to March 16, 2,680,634 rai was destroyed by wildfires.…
Read More » - Songkran News
The ‘Fun Police’ crackdown on posting ‘lewd’ Songkran pics and video
The Thai police have become Thailand’s fun police today as they warn Songkran revellers against posting photos of scantily clad people, or ‘invitations’ to consume alcohol’… pretty much everything you see during the madness of Songkran festivities in the main tourist hot spots. “No photos, video clips of live broadcasts of nudity, lewd acts or inviting consumption of alcohol should…
Read More » - Phuket News
Patong transformer short-out escalates into massive shop fire – VIDEO
PHOTOS & VIDEO: Phuket Traffic Office People were hastily cleared from around Banana Walk and Patong’s Beach Road was closed off as emergency crews battled to bring a growing fire under control. What started as a simple electrical short in a roadside transformer, quickly escalated into an inferno engulfing nearby roadside shops and nearby buildings. https://www.facebook.com/tim.long.9235199/videos/10156093448431516/ Firefighters and emergency responders…
Read More » - Songkran News
46 die on the roads in Day One of Songkran ‘Seven Days of Danger’
Forty-six people died and 482 were injured in road accidents on the first day of the Songkran holiday. The figures were disclosed by Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisit. The first day of the annual road safety campaign was Wednesday, April 11. Arkhom says 34.6% of the accidents were caused by drunk driving and 26.9% by speeding, with motorcycles accounting for 78.5% of the accidents (numbers rounded…
Read More » - Bangkok News
Suspect on the run after killing pregnant Bangkok woman
Bangkok police are searching for a man who has murdered his pregnant step-daughter with a domestic hammer. Police speculate that he was driven by jealousy to commit kill his step-daughter. Police were called to Ram Inthra Soi 109 in the northern suburbs of Bangkok. When they arrived they found 29 year old Nanthachaya “Noon” Janmokha dead on the second floor in…
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