Year: 2019

  • Bangkok NewsFestival of lights will decorate 13 Bangkok bridges until October 25

    Festival of lights will decorate 13 Bangkok bridges until October 25

    PHOTO: TakeMeTour Thirteen bridges over Bangkok’s Chao Phraya River, as it snakes its way through the metropolitan areas, will be lit up in a festival that runs through to October 25. The Department of Rural Roads is decorating Rama III, Rama IV, Rama V, Rama VII, Maha Jesadabordinthanuson, Somdet Phra Pinklao, Phra Phuttha Yodfa, Phra Pok Klao, The King Taksin…

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  • Phuket NewsPoliceman falls asleep behind the wheel and crashes into roadside pole in Phang Nga

    Policeman falls asleep behind the wheel and crashes into roadside pole in Phang Nga

    SCREENSHOT: Newshawk Phuket On October 12, a pick-up truck was involved in a horrific road incident on Ban Dok Daeng – Ban Bangsai, Takuapa, in Phang Nga. Luckily the driver, a local policeman, survived but was trapped inside the vehicle while emergency responders figured out how to get him out. The vehicles was in such bad shape that the rescue…

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  • Tourism NewsProfessor: Military government too interested in tourism – not people’s welfare

    Professor: Military government too interested in tourism – not people’s welfare

    A professor of Rangsit University has criticised the previous military government for focusing too much on tourism and not enough on the welfare of the Thai people. The professor was speaking at Chulalongkorn University at a seminar discussing street stalls and urban development. She questioned the National Council for Peace and Order’s policy of clearing street vendors in all but a…

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  • Thailand NewsThais commemorate the passing of beloved King Bhumibol Adulyadej

    Thais commemorate the passing of beloved King Bhumibol Adulyadej

    Thousands across the Kingdom, many wearing yellow, attended religious ceremonies and activities yesterday to commemorate the passing of the beloved late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. His Majesty died on October 13, 2016 In Bangkok, a large crowd offered alms to hundreds of monks and novices as PM Prayut Chan-o-cha led ministers, military leaders and officials in paying homage to the late…

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  • Economy News“Eat, Shop, Spend” drive reaches registration target

    “Eat, Shop, Spend” drive reaches registration target

    Ten million people signed up for the first Eat, Shop, Spend stimulus campaign since its launch on September 23. The organisers have expressed thanks to all who have participated. The first phase of the campaign aimed to boost domestic spending by offering 10 million people a 1,000 baht voucher via the G-Wallet mobile application to spend in specific shops, outside…

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  • Tourism NewsMeasures outlined to reach 39.8 million tourists’ target by end of 2019

    Measures outlined to reach 39.8 million tourists’ target by end of 2019

    PHOTO: TAT News – Hua Hin Beach The cabinet of economic ministers has approved 18 measures with the aim of attracting 39.8 million tourists in the coming year. A government spokesperson says the measures “comprise short, medium and long-term initiatives”. They include financial and legal steps to stimulate tourism markets, such as the Amazing Thailand Grand Sale “Passport Privileges” which…

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  • Politics NewsPiyabutr warns Army Chief’s remarks will deepen national divide

    Piyabutr warns Army Chief’s remarks will deepen national divide

    The Future Forward Party secretary-general says that Army chief General Apirat Kongsompong’s remarks on politicians, academics and national security could deepen the political divide in the country and spark a “clash of generations”. Piyabutr Saengkanokkul made the remarks at a seminar where he spoke on “homeland from the democratic perspective and the role of the people in building the nation”.…

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  • World NewsNigerian astronaut needs million to get home

    Nigerian astronaut needs $3 million to get home

    PHOTO: Lost In Space? Or lost in reality? Maybe someone will fall for it – Lost in Space’s Jupiter 2 The Nigerians have somewhat of a reputation for scams and scammers. Who hasn’t received an email offering loads of cash in return for your bank account and a moderate deposit? But this letter takes the famous Nigerian Scam to another…

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  • World NewsThousands of Japanese rescuers looking for survivors of Typhoon Hagibis

    Thousands of Japanese rescuers looking for survivors of Typhoon Hagibis

    by Shingo Ito and Sara Hussein Thousands of rescue workers are searching for survivors from the fury of Typhoon Hagibis, two days after the storm slammed into Japan. As of the time of this post, the storm had killed at least 35 people. (Video from Sky News below…) Hagibis crashed into the country Saturday evening, but brought hours of torrential…

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  • Phuket NewsRawai beachfront water shut-off tomorrow for mains works

    Rawai beachfront water shut-off tomorrow for mains works

    The Phuket Provincial Waterworks Authority says Rawai’s mains water supply will be shut off tomorrow (Tuesday, October 15) as new water pipes are fitted in front of The Title Beach Front condo resort complex on the town’s beachfront. The mains water supply will be shut off from 9am until 4:30pm along the beachfront strip. The PWA says the areas affected…

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  • Tourism NewsFinance Ministry approves stimulus package to spur tourism

    Finance Ministry approves stimulus package to spur tourism

    PHOTO: Among other things, the TAT are organising some big concerts over the last three months of 2019. Some of the 50,000 that attended the BTS ‘Love Yourself’ stadium concert in Bangkok in April 2019. The Finance Ministry has now approved a stimulus package for the last three months of the year to boost Thailand’s tourism sector. The aim is…

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  • Northern Thailand NewsJourney back to Tham Luang in ‘The Cave’ – VIDEO

    Journey back to Tham Luang in ‘The Cave’ – VIDEO

    PHOTO: Tom Waller on site during the filming of The Cave – AFP Determined divers racing against time. Rising waters threatening lives. 12 teenagers and their soccer coach trapped inside for two weeks. A remote cave that most had never heard of. The stuff of a Hollywood drama, except that it’s all true and happened in Chiang Rai last year. Now…

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  • HealthHow Much Does a Hair Transplant in Turkey Cost?

    How Much Does a Hair Transplant in Turkey Cost?

    Turkey is one of the top five medical tourism destinations on the planet right now, with one of its most important components being the Hair Transplant procedure. Hundreds of hair transplants are performed in the country every day. Thanks to its highly-skilled doctors, top-notch equipment, and ultra-hygienic clinics, the country has become the premier destination for those who want to…

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  • Hua Hin NewsTale of two cities – Hua Hin vs Pattaya

    Tale of two cities – Hua Hin vs Pattaya

    by Kornrawee Panyasuppakun Property buyers looking to buy a seaside villa or condo in a coastal town in Thailand, relatively close to Bangkok, confront one question – should I buy a property in Hua Hin or Pattaya? And rightly so, because these two choices have similar aspects. Both have kilometres of coastline, good beaches, and are just a couple of…

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  • Things To DoTop 10 spas and massages in Phuket

    Top 10 spas and massages in Phuket

    One of the best things about living in Asia, and in particular Thailand, is the abundance of fabulous places to have spa treatments. From the true local experience on the beach, to the ultra chic five star luxury treatments here is, in no particular order, our Top Ten Phuket Spa Experiences. 1. Let’s Relax (Boat Lagoon) Let’s Relax’s latest addition…

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  • Tourism NewsPhuket Town – In CNN Travel’s “Asia’s most picturesque towns”

    Phuket Town – In CNN Travel’s “Asia’s most picturesque towns”

    “Though most famous for its beaches, the Thai island of Phuket offers ample opportunities for cultural immersion as well.” Phuket’s Old Town was listed as one of Asia’s 13 most picturesque towns by CNN Travel. The article mentioned, that whilst the island is renowned for its world-class beaches and leisure, offshore and adventure tourism activities, Phuket Town delivers on romance, history…

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  • Economy NewsThailand’s growth forecasts for the rest of 2019 slashed again

    Thailand’s growth forecasts for the rest of 2019 slashed again

    Following their most recent meeting, the Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking has announced Thailand’s economic growth this year has been revised downward to between 2.7 – 3.0% from the previous projection of 2.9 – 3.3%. It has also revised down its prediction of this year’s exports to between minus 2 – 0%. The committee says the revised…

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  • Thailand Weather UpdatesTyphoon Hagibis kills 11 in Japan, rescue underway with up to 100 missing

    Typhoon Hagibis kills 11 in Japan, rescue underway with up to 100 missing

    “Hagibis smashed into the main Japanese island of Honshu around 7pm Saturday as one of the most violent typhoons in recent years, with wind gusts of up to 216 kilometres per hour (134 miles per hour).” by Hiroshi Hiyama and Natsuko Fukue Japan’s military is racing to help people trapped by flooding after powerful Typhoon Hagibis as it ripped across…

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  • Thai LifeKing Bhumibol Adulyadej – an enduring legacy

    King Bhumibol Adulyadej – an enduring legacy

    His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej (December 5, 1927 – October 13, 2016) was Thailand’s monarch for just over 70 years. At the time of his passing in 2016, King Bhumibol was world’s longest-serving head of state and the longest-reigning monarch in Thai history. Amongst his many other gifts, he was was revered as a calming and compassionate influence overseeing Thailand’s stormy political history in the…

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  • Environment NewsBhumjaithai ministers will quit if herbicides are not banned

    Bhumjaithai ministers will quit if herbicides are not banned

    Lobbying is intensifying over a final decision to ban three controversial herbicides – paraquat, glyphosate and chlorpyrifos. With farmers, agri-business interests, environmental activists and social media all putting pressure on decision-makers to sway their decision, the biggest pressure is from within the ruling Palang Pracharat government. Increasing pressure is now being applied to the National Hazardous Substances Committee after the…

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  • Thailand Weather Updates‘Unprecedented’ Typhoon Hagibis slams into Japan

    ‘Unprecedented’ Typhoon Hagibis slams into Japan

    Powerful typhoon Hagibis has made landfall in Japan as torrential rain and winds have already lashed the country causing floods and mudslides. “The eye of Typhoon Hagibis made landfall shortly before 19:00 (1000 GMT) in Izu Peninsula”, southwest of Tokyo, said the Japan Meteorological Agency. Powerful Typhoon Hagibis roared towards Japan’s coast on Saturday, killing one person and bringing “unprecedented”…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket authorities confirm alcohol ban Sunday (starts midnight) for 24 hours

    Phuket authorities confirm alcohol ban Sunday (starts midnight) for 24 hours

    The Phuket Vice Governor and acting Phuket Governor, Supot Rodruang, declared that he has sent an urgent letter from the Department of Provincial Administration to the authorities of the three districts of Phuket to strictly prohibit alcohol sales for 24 hours across Phuket tomorrow (starting midnight tonight) as it is the end of Buddhist Lent tomorrow (Sunday). The regulation will…

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  • Pattaya NewsAngry driver terrifies employees at Chonburi gas station

    Angry driver terrifies employees at Chonburi gas station

    PHOTO: Sanook.com An employee at a Chonburi gas station has told a Sanook news team how the behaviour of an angry truck driver left her and her colleagues terrified. Niracha, aged 23, used her phone to record a video of the angry customer driving at speed around the gas station and throwing alcohol bottles at another customer. Her colleague Atirut…

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  • Thailand NewsFears for 11 year old boy missing in Ayutthaya

    Fears for 11 year old boy missing in Ayutthaya

    MONTAGE: Sanook.com Fears are growing for an 11 year old boy, Ter, who has been missing from his home in Ayutthaya province, north of Bangkok, for over two weeks. Ter’s grandmother, Noi, reported him missing to local officials when he failed to return home from school on September 27. Thai Residents reports that Noi, who is 83 years old, has been…

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  • EventsAlcohol sales ban in Thailand Sunday, October 13

    Alcohol sales ban in Thailand Sunday, October 13

    A 24 hour alcohol sales ban is on for this Sunday, October 13. The day marks the end of Buddhist Lent and also coincides with the third anniversary of the death of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Thailand’s revered and long-serving monarch. The ban will last from Midnight Saturday night until Midnight Sunday Night, a total of 24 hours. The ban is…

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  • World NewsFuture Future leader Thanathorn denies interfering in Hong Kong issues

    Future Future leader Thanathorn denies interfering in Hong Kong issues

    PHOTO: Thai PBS World The leader of Thailand’s Future Forward party, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, says the reaction to him being photographed with Joshua Wong, leader of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, is totally overblown and taken out of context. The picture, taken at a Hong Kong event organised by The Economist magazine where Thanathorn had been invited to speak, went viral on…

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  • Tourism NewsEuropean tourism drops 1.5% year on year due to strong baht

    European tourism drops 1.5% year on year due to strong baht

    PHOTO: AFP European tourist arrivals in Thailand are projected to decline by 1.5% (for the first eight months of this year) compared to 2018, to around 6.66 million. The malaise in the traditionally strong European tourist numbers is not as bad as anecdotally reported and has been partially made up with improvements from other regional demographics. The figures were compiled…

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  • Thai LifePhuket’s Surf House team head to South Korea for Flowboarding Worlds

    Phuket’s Surf House team head to South Korea for Flowboarding Worlds

    PHOTO: Making waves in flow boarding around the region – SurfHouse Phuket The Surf House brand in Thailand is synonymous with being exceptional in the world of competitive Flowboarding. And 2019 has been a stellar year for competitors who have been broadly supported by SurfHouse over many years. Bringing home the gold from Flow Tour Asia 2019 held in Chong Qing, China is…

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  • Tourism NewsThai government introduces new measures to improve tourism

    Thai government introduces new measures to improve tourism

    Proposed measures to improve tourism in Thailand have been approved in principle by the council of the economic ministers. The steps, proposed by the Tourism and Sports Ministry, are expected to be put in place before the end of 2019 and will mean an increase in the number of places and agents offering a VAT refund service to visitors to…

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  • Thailand Weather UpdatesWet weekend for most of Thailand

    Wet weekend for most of Thailand

    Thunder, showers and poor weather are likely in the regions north of Bangkok over the weekend, with isolated heavy rain possible in the North, parts of the Northwest, the lower Northeast, the Central plains, the East and even the South including Bangkok and its vicinity (forecasts below). The Thailand Meteorological Department issued the warnings yesterday… Another moderate high-pressure area from…

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  • Politics NewsThailand is facing “hybrid warfare” by “ill-intentioned politicians” – Army chief Gen Apirat

    Thailand is facing “hybrid warfare” by “ill-intentioned politicians” – Army chief Gen Apirat

    PHOTO: Screenshot – Matichon TV Thailand’s Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Apirat Kongsompong is warning that Thailand is facing what he described as a “hybrid warfare”. The ultra-loyalist Army chief says the ‘war’ is being waged by a collection of “ill-intentioned politicians”, remnants of communist ideologues and “foreign forces” against the country’s major establishments. His speech was aimed fairly and squarely at…

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  • PropertyStricter controls and paperwork putting brakes on residential property market

    Stricter controls and paperwork putting brakes on residential property market

    The honorary president of the Thai Housing Business Association, Atip Bijanonda, is tipping the local residential market may fall by up to 10% this year starved of economic confidence, the global economic slowdown and the loan-to-value limits. But he also believes the situation is far from the situation leading up to the 1997 economic collapse. The Greater Bangkok residential market…

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  • Northern Thailand NewsLess monitoring, more enforcement – Prawit warns northern officials

    Less monitoring, more enforcement – Prawit warns northern officials

    PHOTO: The Thaiger Thai Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan and Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa were in Chiang Mai yesterday to give provincial governors and state agency officials a ‘heads up’ in preparation for another looming season of forest fires and haze. The North suffers perennial choking smog from approximately February to April, and Prawit passed on a message…

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  • Pattaya News8 injured after pickup overturns on Highway 7, Pattaya

    8 injured after pickup overturns on Highway 7, Pattaya

    PHOTO: Pattaya Mail 8 people have been were injured after a pickup loaded with construction workers overturned on Highway 7 in Pattaya. The 54 year old driver, Sombat Li, has told police that at 9am, on October 6, on his way to delivering the workers to a construction site in Pattaya, another car cut him off. He told police he…

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  • Northern Thailand NewsWorld Ganja Festival comes to NE Thailand early 2020

    World Ganja Festival comes to NE Thailand early 2020

    Following the liberalising of cannabis laws, related to medical use of the drug, marijuana is now being seen as a potential cash crop which which could benefit Thailand’s economy. The Association of Researchers of Thailand is now joining members of the public and the private sector to organise the World Ganja Festival 2020. The event will be held in Mukdahan,…

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  • Technology NewsThai immigration’s biometrics nabs 3 more fake passport holders

    Thai immigration’s biometrics nabs 3 more fake passport holders

    Thailand’s Immigration Bureau commander says the biometric system at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport caught three foreigners carrying fake passports during the month of September. “In the first case, immigration police arrested an Iranian man, aged about 47 years, holding a French passport and travelling from Germany to Thailand. The biometric scanning showed only a 19% match between his face and passport…

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  • World NewsTwo more Thai marine parks declared ASEAN heritage parks

    Two more Thai marine parks declared ASEAN heritage parks

    PHOTO: bluestars.info “The two marine parks are Thailand’s fifth and sixth to be given the status of ASEAN heritage parks.” Two southern Thailand national parks have been recognised as ASEAN heritage parks at this week’s 15th ASEAN environment ministers’ meeting in Siem Reap, Cambodia, the home of Angkor Wat. Warawut Silpa-archa, Thailand’s Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, told reporters the…

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