Year: 2019
- 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…
Read More » - Thailand News
Six deaths, many injured as train slams into minivan in Lop Buri
PHOTOS: อาสาสมัครมูลนิธิร่วมกตัญญู เขตพัฒนานิคม จังหวัดลพบุรี Six people have died while many others are injured after a train collided with a minivan in Lop Buri, north of Bangkok, early this morning. At 4am this morning the train collided with the minivan on the Lop Buri – Bang Muang Road in Pattananikom, Lop Buri. Six deaths have been reported and another 10 injured…
Read More » - Thailand News
Getting ready for 5G. NCPO extends digital band payments.
Thailand’s mobile phone operators using the 900Mhz band and digital TV licensees have been given an extension for their concession fee payments. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha, as head of the NCPO, has invoked Article 44 of the interim Constitution, to extend the concession fee payment schedule for mobile phone operators from 4 months to 10 months. The relaxation in the timing of payments to be made to the NBTC will greatly ease the financial…
Read More » - Krabi News
The case of the 255,000 baht Krabi curry
A British tourist has been repaid 255,000 baht following an accidental overpayment at an Indian restaurant in Krabi this week. 48 year old British man Simon and his ten friends went to a restaurant near Noppara Thara Beach in Krabi on Tuesday night for dinner. After they have finished the meal Mr Simon put the 2,857 baht bill on his…
Read More » - Songkran News
Princess celebrates Songkran at Laos mission in Bangkok
Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn graciously attended a Songkran ceremony at the Lao Embassy in Bangkok yesterday. The Princess, who visits the Lao mission on Songkran every year, participated in the ceremonial tying of white thread on people’s wrists for good luck, and watched a performance of traditional Thai dance. Thailand and Laos mark the traditional New Year…
Read More » - Phuket News
No deaths in the first day of Songkran ‘seven days of danger’ in Phuket
PHOTO: Newshawk Phuket As reports are tallied for the first full day (April 11) of the ‘Seven Days of Danger’ Songkran road and marine safety campaign, no deaths were reported but five people were injured on the island. According to statistics issued by the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, Phuket the island saw 4 road accidents on Day One…
Read More » - Phuket News
‘Seastead’ set up off coast of Phuket
PHOTOS: Nation TV A Thai couple has successfully set up a ‘Seastead’ near Phuket. Seasteading is aiming to build floating societies with “significant political autonomy”. Nearly half the world’s surface is unclaimed by any nation-state, and many coastal nations can legislate “seasteads” in their territorial waters (like a “homestead” but wetter). The nation TV reports that website ‘Bitcoin.com’ and ‘Ocean.builders’…
Read More » - Songkran News
Thailand swelters under the Songkran sun
Temperatures are soaring around the country, right on time, as the Songkran holiday kicks in. People are heading home for the annual Thai New Year break whilst the tourists are flooding into the main hot spots for the water fights. The annual celebration is meant to provide a ritual washing of Buddha images, ‘gentle’ splashing of family and friends and…
Read More » - World News
Julian Assange arrested in London after Ecuador pulls asylum
“I can confirm that Julian Assange is now in police custody and rightly facing justice in the UK.” British Home Secretary – Twitter. The WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s nearly seven year stay as guest at Ecuador’s embassy in London has come to a sudden end after police entered the building and arrested him. Ecuador had withdrawn his asylum. Assange has been…
Read More » - South Thailand News
Police officer and wanted insurgent shot in Songkhla clash
One policeman has been injured along with an alleged insurgent when troops and southern insurgents clashed in Songkhla’s Sabayoi district today. The exchange of gunfire happened at 10:30am this morning when troops and police reportedly searched for suspects in Ban Long Khuan village in Tambon Khuha. The team received a tipoff that December 26’s Khuan Niang district bombing suspects might…
Read More » - Songkran News
Dutch tourist becomes first fatality of ‘Seven Dangerous Days’
A Dutch tourist is the first official Songkran fatality when his car hit the rear of a trailer truck in Kanchanaburi, in Thailand’s far west, early today. Officials say Roi Fanh Veeland (not official spelling) was the first casualty of Kanchanaburi’s “Seven Dangerous Days” Songkran road reporting period. Police say the accident happened at an intersection on the Tha Muang-Kanchanaburi…
Read More » - Entertainment
Will music history repeat itself this Saturday? The Beatles vs BTS
Beatles, BTS, Boy with Luv, Persona, Saturday Night Live February 19, 1964 was a big day in music history. The most popular show in the US at the time, and musically extremely influential, was the Ed Sullivan Show. What now seems to be a rather stiff, old-fashioned variety show was, at the time, a maker and breaker for new music…
Read More » - Bangkok News
Mexican restaurant complains about sex toy stall outside his front door
PHOTO: Manager Online Ay, caramba! A Mexican restaurant owner in Silom Soi 4, Bangkok, has had enough of a stall selling sex toys and sex aids in front of his store. He’s complaining that his customers have to push their way past the vibrators and fake Viagra to get to his nachos and tacos. He says he’s convinced that ‘persons of…
Read More » - Northern Thailand News
Passengers injured as bus overturns in Si Saket
PHOTOS: ร่วมด้วยช่วยกัน / ธนบุรี 12 No deaths have been reported following a bus overturning in Si Saket in eastern Thailand today. The bus, travelling from Bangkok to Ubon Ratchathani, overturned on Rattana Buri – Sisaket Road in Si Saket, east of Bangkok on the Cambodian border. No deaths were reported but there were some injuries in the incident.
Read More » - Songkran News
Thai authorities target 10% fewer Songkran accidents
PHOTO: Daily News The chief of the communications ministry says that the Thai authorities are aiming for a 10% reduction in accidents on selected and particularly dangerous roads. They also want to see a 5% reduction in the country’s total number of road accidents. They have identified 111 roads around the country deemed as high risk for road fatalities that will…
Read More » - Bangkok News
UPDATE: 2 confirmed dead, 20 injured in Central World Bangkok fire
The Erawan Medical Centre has confirmed that two people were killed and another 20 injured in last evening’s fire at Centara Grand Hotel and CentralWorld Shopping Centre at Bangkok’s Ratchaprasong Intersection. One person was found dead at the scene (a staff member who jumped out of a fourth storey window), whilst the other fatality, identified as 50 year old Arthit…
Read More » - Northern Thailand News
Rescued baby elephant transferred to specialist elephant hospital in Surin
PHOTOS: The Nation A baby elephant, rescued from an unused drain in Bueng Kan, on the Laos border near Vientienne, has been transferred to a specialist elephant hospital in Surin for treatment. Wildlife officials moved the baby elephant, now named ‘Chabakaew’, from Bueng Kan’s Bungkla district yesterday. It reached the elephant hospital in Surin this morning. A team of veterinarians…
Read More » - Phuket News
Three people injured, two chickens die in Chalong crash
A motorbike sidecar (saleng) has collided with a motorbike in Chalong where two people sustained serious injuries and two chickens died yesterday in Chalong. The Chalong Police were notified of the incident on Chao Fa West Road at at the entrance of Soi Baan Klang in Chalong at 7pm last night. Police and emergency responders arrived to find a damaged…
Read More » - Phuket News
PWA urges Phuketians to save water
The Phuket Water Work Authority (PWA) is urging people to save water during dry season under the slogan ‘Save Water, you make it’. Despite the slogan making absolutely no sense we understand the PWA is asking us to conserve the remaining water supplies. The campaign comes as residents around the island complain about very low pressure or no water supply…
Read More » - Thailand Election News
US Embassy responds to Don’s rebuke over Thanathorn case
PHOTO: The Nation The Thai Foreign Minister yesterday formerly summoned foreign diplomats yesterday afternoon, one by one, in a diplomatic dressing down about their appearance at a police station last Saturday morning. The official ministry memo objected to the presence of envoys at the Pathumwan Police Station on Saturday when the Future Forward Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit reported in to…
Read More » - Bangkok News
UPDATE: 2 dead and 15 injured in Central World shopping complex fire, Bangkok
At least two people have died with 15 others reported injured and hospitalised after a blaze broke out at the Central World shopping complex last night around 5.40pm in Bangkok. Many were hospitalised with smoke inhalation. The popular Central World shopping mall is close to the corner of Sukhumvit and Ratchadamri Roads, aka. Ratchprasong intersection. Some people were seen jumping…
Read More » - Hot News
Three people reported dead, others injured, 100s flee blaze at Central World Hotel Bangkok
PHOTO: Orchidmo A big fire has broken out on Ratchadamri Road, Pathumwan in the busy Sukhumvit shopping zone in Bangkok. Videos and photos posted online show the blaze and thick smoke spreading from the Centara Grand Hotel, located next to the CentralWorld shopping mall. The Bangkok governor has reported that the death toll of the blaze is three people. One…
Read More » - Thailand Election News
Deputy police chief denies foreign diplomats present at Thanathorn interrogation
The deputy national police commissioner is denying that a group of foreign diplomats were present at a questioning session when the Future Forward party leader reported to Bangkok police on Saturday morning over sedition charges. Pol General Srivara Rangsibhramanakul said the diplomats were invited to a briefing after the interrogation of Thanathorn Jungrungruengkit at Pathum Wan police station. The Future…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket’s water supply scraping the bottom of the three dams
The temperature hit 34 degrees today, light winds and 10% chance of rain for the rest of today (code for a slight chance of a tropical storm cell dropping its load on some small part of the island). And there’s little rain in sight until maybe Sunday. Meanwhile the remaining supply in Phuket’s three main catchments continues to evaporate today.…
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