Year: 2019

  • Phuket News

    Warnings of heavy rain and flash floods for southern Thailand

    The Thailand Meteorological Department is warning about possible heavy rain and strong winds for the south of the country as a result of the strong northeast monsoon currently over the Gulf of Thailand. The northeast monsoon started in the south of Thailand this year from mid to late October, reducing the length of the annual wet season. Many parts of…

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  • Thailand News

    Recreational drug users warned over dangers of ‘Magic Paper’ hallucinogen

    PHOTO: reddit.com Thai medical officials are warning about a recreational drug known as “death stamp” or “magic paper”. The Nation reports that the deputy director-general of the Department of Medical Services, Dr Manus Photaporn, says the drug is popular with foreign tourists and involves the use of lysergic acid diethylamide (commonly known as LSD or acid). “Magic paper is basically…

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  • Pattaya News

    Mother and two year old escape Pattaya blaze

    A mother and her two year old son have survived a blazing apartment fire in Pattaya. Firefighters were called to the apartment building just off Third Road, near a popular coffee shop. They arrived to find an intense fire destroying the entire top floor of the building. It took around twenty minutes to control the fire which started near the roof.…

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  • Environment News

    From 2020, all Thai national park visitors must take their rubbish with them

    From January 1, visitors to any of Thailand’s national parks must carry their own garbage bags and take their trash with them when they leave. Thai PBS World reports that this latest measure is being put in place following the death of a wild deer in Kun Sathan national park in northern Thailand. The deer was found to have 7…

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  • Northern Thailand News

    Driver busted with 3 million methamphetamine pills from Chiang Rai

    SCREENCAPTURE: YouTube Police in Northern Thailand have arrested a lorry driver for trafficking almost 3 million methamphetamine pills from Chiang Rai province, destined for Bangkok. Police told the media they arrested the man after a tip at a checkpoint in Lampang province. The driver was identified as 25 year old Poramet Ruaysoongnern from Nakhon Ratchasima in north-eastern Thailand. Police said, after…

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  • World News

    Washington says Myanmar may be stocking chemical weapons

    PHOTO: Reuters Myanmar is ignoring a convention banning chemical weapons and may have a stockpile left over from the 1980s… this claim coming out of Washington. A senior US State Department official told the annual meeting of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons that Myanmar may still have weapons at a “historic” facility where mustard gas was once…

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  • World News

    New cruise to Lan Ha Bay, Vietnam

    PHOTO: sunlightcruise.com Thailand has Phang Nga Bay, Vietnam has the famous Ha Long Bay and the lesser-known Lan Ha Bay. Vietnamese cruise operator Indochina Sails has a new route starting this December, sailing from Hai Phong to the Lan Ha Bay region, northern Vietnam. They say that joining this new cruise will be more convenient for guests as the home-port…

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  • Crime News

    10 months later, no action to catch Bea’s murderer – Phuket

    PHOTO: Dimitrios ‘Dim’ Chairopoulo, wanted and believed to be living in Greece “We are all in desperate need of some answers so that justice can be served for the family.” It’s been over 10 months since the murder of a local Phuket beautician 43 year old Niramon ‘Bea’ Aewkaew. But her alleged Greek murderer Dimitrios ‘Dim’ Chairopoulos remains on the…

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  • Crime News

    MD on the run – arrest warrant out for owner of company constructing petrol station in Phuket

    PHOTOS: Phuket Hotnews The owner of a company responsible for the collapsed petrol station under construction in Thalang, Phuket, is on the run. Seven people died and two others injured when the concrete pillars gave way to a concrete slab, crushing those below. Chuchart Plasuwan is the 44 year old MD of the The Blue Phuket Co Ltd. The incident…

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  • Crime News

    Pattaya CCTVs weren’t working along busy soi to identify snatch and grab thieves

    PHOTO: Ruk Siam News Pattaya City Hall say that all their CCTV cameras along a busy Soi were working on the night a Russian family were robbed. Not a single camera in the area of Soi 14 to 16 Na Klua, Banglamung, was working when a Russian family were robbed last night. According to the police report, two men on a…

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  • Crime News

    Over 500 complaints lodged against fake Thai tour agent

    …who scammed victims out of 31 million baht. A fake package tour agency who used social media to scam customers out of a total of 31 million baht now has 514 complaints lodged against it, with 100 complaints lodged with the Vice Minister of Justice yesterday. The complaints were lodged at the ministry’s offices in Chaeng Watthana, Bangkok. The Nation…

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  • Economy News

    Thailand to export additional 1 million tonnes of rice to China

    PHOTO: asia.nikkei.com The Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister says he aims to increase exports of Thai rice to China by another 1 million tonnes. The Nation reports that Chalermchai Sri-on says a second list of approved Thai rice manufacturers has been provided to China, with officials there pledging to finalise the country’s import scheme registration as soon as possible. Minister Chalermchai…

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  • Economy News

    Thailand signs 3 MoUs with South Korea during PM’s visit

    PHOTO: Thai PBS World Thailand has signed three MoUs (Memorandum of Understanding) with South Korea during PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s official visit, taking place from November 24-27 for the 2019 ASEAN – Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit. Thai PBS World reports that the three agreements were signed yesterday, the first being between Thailand’s Ministry of Higher Education Science, Research and Innovation…

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  • Crime News

    Chinese man stabbed to death in Bangkok office

    PHOTO: khaosod.co.th Police are investigating the death of a Chinese man found murdered at his visa service office on the first floor of a Bangkok apartment in Huai Khwang. Police found 54 year old Fang Yang Zen dead, face down at a blood drenched table in the office. There were more than ten cuts on his face and neck, and a…

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  • Environment News

    Deer found dead in Thai national park – 7 kilos of garbage found in stomach

    PHOTO: Thai Residents Thailand’s love affair with plastic, coupled with a casual attitude to littering, appears to have claimed another wildlife victim. The body of a wild deer has been found with an astonishing 7 kilograms of garbage in its stomach. The deer was found at a national park in Nan province, northern Thailand. Thai Residents reports that the deer…

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  • Pattaya News

    Relatives claim magic amulet saved child’s life in horror crash that killed the rest of his family

    A couple and their child were killed in a horrific car accident at the weekend, but relatives claim that a second child in the car survived, thanks to a special religious amulet. The Pattaya News reports that the accident took place in Sattahip, just outside Pattaya, when the car carrying the family crashed into a light pole at high speed,…

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  • Crime News

    Criminal Court upholds bail for former park chief Chaiwat

    PHOTO: Former chief of Kaeng Krachan national park, Chaiwat Limlikhit-aksorn (left), and Karen activist Polajee “Billy” Rakchongcharoen (right) The Criminal Court has rejected a request to withdraw the bail of former Kaeng Krachan park chief Chaiwat Limlikhit-akson and three others. The four are suspected in the murder of Karen activist Porlajee “Billy” Rakchongcharoen about five years ago. In the request…

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  • Environment News

    Health minister: No delays on agri-chemical bans

    PHOTO: CNA The Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has reiterated there will be no delay to the ban on paraquat, glyphosate and chlorpyrifos, set to come into effect next week. Anutin, also deputy PM, reasserted the Health Ministry’s backing of the National Hazardous Substances Committee ban, even though the Department of Agriculture has proposed delaying it for six months to…

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  • Crime News

    Business friend finds body parts in Bangkok refrigerator

    Police have made a grisly discovery at a house in Bangkok where a woman’s dismembered body has been found in a refrigerator, and her son shot in the head. One of the woman’s business friends made the discovery and alerted police. Police attended the townhouse in the Thonburi area, on the west banks of the Chao Phraya. Inside the refrigerator…

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  • Thailand News

    Airlines snubbing Thai graduate pilots

    Thai pilots are having a hard time finding work after graduation despite high global demand. This from Thai Civil Aviation Training Centre’s president Piya Atmungkun. Between 600 to 700 newly graduated Thai airline pilots are now struggling to find work in the local airline industry. “International airlines are competing to offer jobs to pilots, but “our pilots find no jobs. Aviation…

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  • Bangkok News

    Panthongtae Shinawatra acquitted of money laundering charges

    The Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct has acquitted Thaksin Shinawatra’s son, Panthongtae Shinawatra, of money laundering. The court’s verdict said they were unable to identify the source of a 10 million baht cheque he received from a friend involved in the Krungthai Bank loan scandal. Read more about the story HERE. Public prosecutors arraigned the 41 year old…

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  • Bangkok News

    Buddhists protest at Chatuchak over commercialisation of Buddha images

    TheIndonesian island of Bali is one of the largest producers and exporters of Buddha images around the world and, according to the Knowing Buddha Organisation, should stop commercialising Buddha’s image. Yesterday at Chatuchak weekend market in Bangkok, was the site of a massive gathering by Buddhists organised by the Knowing Buddha Organisation, educating and pleading to the world to stop…

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  • Events

    Swiss score two firsts at the Laguna Phuket Triathlon

    PHOTO: Ruedi Wild crossing the finish line in yesterday’s men’s triathlon event Strong performances by Swiss’ athletes Ruedi Wild and Imogen Simmonds game them firsts at the 26th Laguna Phuket Triathlon yesterday (November 24). Finishing first to claim his third Phuket Triathlon championship, Wild crossed the finish line at 02:21:07, just two minutes before his toughest contender, Michael Raelert of…

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  • Phuket News

    All passengers rescued after cruise incident off Koh Phi Phi

    PHOTOS: Phuket Hotnews At about 10am this morning (November 25), the passengers and crew of La Belle Des Ocean, a cruise that crashed into a submerged reef near Bida Nok, 3 nautical miles off Koh Phi Phi Ley, have arrived back at the Phuket Deep Sea Port. There were 150 passengers on board and the cruise was on its way…

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  • Events

    Gin khao! Annual monkey buffet in Lopburi Province

    PHOTOS: Travel Wire Asia | INN News Monkeys in the Lopburi province in central Thailand have enjoyed an annual buffet nicknamed the Tarzan Monkey Party. The is held at the War Phra Pang Sam Yot and is a traditional celebration of the monkeys and they ability to attract tourists. There is also a local legend of an ancient monkey saving the…

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  • Environment News

    Thai air pollution crisis spiralling out of control

    Leading academics say the Thai government is simply not equipped to prevent the air pollution crisis “spinning out of control”. Despite ambitious proclamations, like the publicly announced goal to solve the problem by 2022, lawmakers continue to downplay threats to human health and allow conflicts of interest to prevent real advances toward solutions. During a smog crisis in Bangkok earlier…

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  • South Thailand News

    Man found dead after falling from train in Surat Thani

    PHOTO: Supapong Chaolan A man has been found dead under a railway bridge in the southern province of Surat Thani. Police say he is believed to have fallen to his death from a train. A train ticket was found with the man’s belongings when the body was discovered. The man’s body, wearing shorts and a green T-shirt, was found by…

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  • Northern Thailand News

    British man found dead in Thailand’s north east

    Authorities have reported the death of 33 year old British national, Timothy Hoffman, who was found dead in a bathroom at a house the northeastern province of Ubon Ratchathani on Saturday night. Police and a doctor from a local clinic were called to the man’s home shortly after midnight. They found Hoffman face down in the bathroom, wearing a short-sleeved…

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  • World News

    Malaysia’s last Sumatran rhino dies

    The last Sumatran rhino in Malaysia has died after a battle with cancer. The rhino, named Iman, died at the Borneo Rhino Sanctuary in Sabah on Saturday afternoon Malaysia’s cultural and tourism minister announced that it was “…with great sadness that the Sabah Wildlife Department announces the death of Iman, the last Sumatran rhinoceros in Malaysia.” “The death was natural and…

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  • Economy News

    Thais are tightening their belts and spending less – survey

    “Nearly 70% said they’ve reduced spending on things like travel, shopping, parties and luxury goods.” Thais are tightening their belts and reducing their spending to weather the country’s growing stumbling economy, according to a Dusit Poll survey. The poll was conducted November 19-23 and surveyed 1,174 people from across Thailand. When asked how they’ve cut back, nearly 70% said they’ve…

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  • Crime News

    Representative of the owner of collapsed building visits the victims in Phuket

    PHOTOS: Phuket Hotnews On November 23, the owner of the petrol station project, where the concrete structure collapsed on Thursday, killing 7 people and injuring two, sent a representative of the project to visit the injured and the families of the deceased. The incident occurred on November 21 at about 1pm. The victims were the contractors and workers of the…

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  • Phuket News

    Motorcycle thieves arrested in Patong

    PHOTOS: Newshawk Phuket Patong Police arrested three men in the seaside city with motorbikes that had been stolen. It appears the group has been stealing motorcycles around Patong since November 20. The group was spotted stealing a motorcycle on Phra Metta Road in Patong. After further investigation and inspection of CCTV it was discovered that the gang conducted their thefts…

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  • Crime News

    British fugitive extradited to the UK after being nabbed in Thailand last month

    A British fugitive, who caused 140,000 pounds (GBP) of damage in a ram-raid in Devon, UK , has been extradited back to Britain after 18 months on the run in Thailand, following an arrest late last month. 43 year old Dylan Taylor or Torquay was found guilty of burglary in June 2018. After he absconded to Thailand, he was sentenced…

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  • Crime News

    Arrest warrants issued over Phuket building collapse which killed seven

    PHOTO: Matichon Online Thalang District police yesterday issued an arrest warrant for the owner of a construction company responsible for the collapse of a building under construction in Thalang, Phuket, according to online news portal Matichon. Seven Thai and Burmese workers were killed and another two injured following the collapse of the single story concrete structure at a new petrol…

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  • World News

    “The greatest propaganda machine in history” – Sacha Baron Cohen slams Facebook

    “The Silicon Six – all billionaires, all Americans – who care more about boosting their share price than about protecting democracy.” Speaking at the Anti Defamation League’s International Leadership summit, actor and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen caned Facebook and other social media as “the greatest propaganda machine in history.” Sacha was accepting an award when he opened up on his thoughts…

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  • Crime News

    Child porn website based in Chiang Mai busted

    Chiang Mai police have arrested the operator of a child pornography website in a raid on his condominium in the northern city. Police and the Thailand Internet Crimes Against Children unit apprehended 24 year old Thai national Korakot Chulthong on Saturday. They also seized seized three mobile phones, a laptop computer, two portable disk drives, bank passbooks and ATM cards.…

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  • Environment News

    Thailand improves marine pollution ranking

    Thailand’s ranking among the 20 biggest marine plastic plastic polluters has improved by four places, from sixth to tenth, as ranked by Mass of Mismanaged Plastic Waste. The permanent secretary for natural resources and environment says the improvement is largely thanks to government initiatives and the efforts of the public and the private sector in reducing single-use plastic bags and…

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