- News
Now, THAT’S a mushroom!
Doi Tao, south of Chiang Mai, is where a five year old has found a giant mushroom, known locally as ‘hed jan’. Local villagers from the Ban Ko Luang, Pong Thung in Doi Tao were astonished when a five year old local, called Bell, turned up at home with an enormous mushroom on his shoulder that he says he collected…
- World News
“I was just aiding the Thai Government”. Cambodian arrested over alleged cybercrime.
A Cambodia man, escorted to Thailand for questioning last week, denies he had been arrested saying he went voluntarily to assist in the cybercrime investigation relating to the Thai PM. Thai Tourist Police say that Heng Ratanak, thought to be the owner of the Thai-language click-bait website ratstas.com, had uploaded allegedly false information that “is likely to damage the country’s security…
- Thai Life
Four more Andaman islands close for R&R this year
PHOTO: Koh Kradan Four Trang islands have been closed to tourists for four months to allow time for their ecosystems to rehabilitate. The Haad Chao Mai National Park says Koh Mook, Koh Kradan, Koh Waen and Koh Chuak were shut on June 1 and would remain closed until September 30. The park officials say June to September was the period…
- News
Indian journalist stripped, blackmailed and robbed by compatriots – Pattaya
An Indian journalist says he’s been assaulted, stripped, photographed and blackmailed in Pattaya by other Indians. He made an official complaint filed with Pattaya police. The 40 year old victim, Anirban Ghosh – writer for the Times of India – lodged the complaint at 1am on Sunday morning. Anirban claims that some Indians had contacted him saying they wanted to hire…
- News
Thai teen pregnancy education gets real
The Education Ministry will include a test on sex education and life skills in the Ordinary National Educational Test (Onet) from this year forward as a part of efforts to prevent teen pregnancy. “We will soon inform all students about this decision via their schools,” Deputy Prime Minister General Chatchai Sarikulya said on the weekend. The decision was reached at…
- News
“Don’t arrest us. We just work here.” Activists call for ban on sting operations targeting sex trade
By Pratch Rujivanarom Stings and raids staged to crack down on human trafficking in the sex industry violate human rights, and lead to stigmatisation and discrimination against women who are working as sex workers of their own volition, an activist organisation said yesterday. Empower Foundation yesterday exposed the problems of discrimination and rights violations faced by women working in the…
- News
Temple ‘accommodation’ building works spark concerns – Chiang Mai
“When asked about the cease order, the temple responded that it had appealed to the court and was waiting for a trial, but the court had allowed them to continue construction in the meantime.” Local people are complaining to the Ou Sai Kham temple after construction of a four-story building next to a sacred historical 100-year-old house has began again.…
- News
Seven die in motorway smash
PHOTOS: @js100radio Seven people have been killed and four others wounded in a multiple-vehicle crash at Chonburi on the Bangkok inbound lane of Motor Way last night (Friday). The accident involving an 18 wheel truck, a 10 wheel truck, an SUV and a pick-up truck at the 57+800 kilometre marker happened around 7pm, resulting in a severe traffic jam.
- News
Dengue claims first victim in Bangkok for 2018
Dengue fever has claimed its first victim of the year in Bangkok, among nearly 2,400 cases reported in the capital. Methipoj Chatamethikul, director of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration Health Department, says the victim was a resident of Nong Chok district, Khok Faed subdistrict, but gave no further personal details. Methipoj says dengue had also been detected in two other Nong…
- News
15,000 smuggled cigarette packs seized in Hat Yai
FILE PHOTO: The Nation (from January this year) Excise officials have seized 15,000 packages of smuggled cigarettes in Songkhla’s Hat Yai district last night (Thursday). The goods were found at a house in a rubber plantation in Tambon Klong U-tapao following a tip-off, says Thammasak La-or-iam, an official of the Excise Area 9 Office. The 25 cartons of cigarettes were…
- News
Phuket Airport holds annual tsunami evacuation drill
Phuket Airport has held its annual tsunami drill. The drill yesterday (May 31) at the Phuket International Airport was led by Phuket Vice Governor Snith Sriwihok and the Phuket International Airport General Manager Petch Chancharoen. Mr Petch says, “safety is the most important thing we’re concerned with. The drill simulated an earthquake with its epicentre located at the Nicobar Islands –…
- News
Pattaya’s Walking Street gets a ‘family’ make-over.
Walking Street in South Pattaya is facing its biggest makeover in decades early next year for a more family orientated feel. The unsightly hanging wires are set to be buried underground in an effort to beautify the infamous red light street to appeal to families. But not everyone is thrilled about it – the operators are worried about the effect on…
- News
Draft plan to allow foreigners to work in 11 ‘reserved’ occupations
A plan by the Labour Ministry would allow foreigners to enter 11 of the 39 occupations that are currently reserved for Thais. If the plan goes ahead, foreigners will be able to work as civil engineers, accountants and architects in Thailand under certain conditions. “For example, we won’t allow them to work independently or become business owners,” Labour Minister Police…
- News
Four arrested with 414,000 methamphetamine pills, ‘ice’, ecstasy tablets and ketamine
Bangkok police arrested three men and a woman on charges of alleged drug trafficking and seized 414,000 methamphetamine pills, 28 kilograms of crystal meth or “ice”, 18,000 ecstasy pills and 1.8 kg of ketamine in two related operations. The arrests were announced at a press conference at the Metropolitan Police Bureau at noon on Thursday. The suspects were all between…
- News
Phra Phromsitti surrenders over alleged embezzlement of temple funds
The former abbot of Wat Sa Ket has become the latest senior monk to become a guest of the Bangkok Remand Prison after surrendering to police yesterday. Previously known as Phra Phromsitti (Thongchai Sukhayano), the former abbot had absconded for nearly one week before he contacted police. “He claims he did not report himself to police earlier because he wanted…
- News
76 year old ambushed and killed in Chumpon
A 76 year old man has been snared by a cable while riding his motorcycle on a Chumphon road and then stabbed to death. His gold necklace and amulet worth 300,000 baht were stolen. This happened yesterday morning (Wednesday). Ban Nai Hood police say Somporn Chubanna was found dead on the Ban Khuan Hin Mui-Huay Sai Khao road in…
- News
Search resumes for missing Russian on Samui
Samui officials have resumed a search for a female Russian tourist who went missing on Koh Samui more than a month ago. She is said to be suffering dementia. 39 year old Inna Obukhova was last seen at Centra Coconut Resort Samui on April 20. The operation is being assisted by a sniffer dog from the Nakhon Si Thammarat Border…
- News
Five injured in Phayao bang fai rocket explosion
A bang fai bamboo rocket exploded inside a temple compound in Phayao’s Chiang Kham district last night (Tuesday), injuring five villagers. Police report that the explosion occurred at 10.30pm at the Wat Phra That Sobwaen in Tambon Yuan after villagers performed a candle procession around the chapel to mark Visakha Bucha Day after the procession. Witnesses told police that the…
- News
Flooding in Thailand’s north and northeast
Heavy rains last night (Wednesday) in mountains in a national park swelled canals to bursting levels in a village in Lampang’s Thoen district. About 30 houses in Ban Mae Pa Doi were flooded when the Mae Pa Canal overflowed with runoff from Wiang Kosai National Park, a common occurrence according to local officials. The waters subsided after about three hours.…
- News
Nipah Virus. What is it?
What is the Nipah virus and why do we need to know more about it? Whilst there are no recorded cases of the virus in Thailand but an outbreak in India has experts concerned. Thailand is not safe from a Nipah virus outbreak, as fruit bats in Thailand are a natural host for the deadly infection that can cause encephalitis…
- News
UPDATE: Coral bleaching around Thailand waters
By Pratch Rujivanarom PHOTO: Save Coral Reefs More coral reefs in Thailand’s seas are suffering from mass bleaching as the result of continuous warm seawater. A special task force to tackle coral bleaching has been set up by the Marine Science Association of Thailand to monitor the bleaching problem and suggest mitigating measures. Many reports of coral bleaching have been shared…
- News
Yingluck granted 10 year UK visa – BBC Thai website
The UK is reported to have granted a ten-year visa to former Thailand prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who has been ruled in absentia to a five-year prison term back home for her role in her government’s rice-pledging scandal. The BBC Thai website has quoted a close aide as saying that Yingluck is now free to travel in and out of…
- News
Property report tips Phuket property boom
According to Knight Frank Thailand’s research, the Phuket condo market is expected to perform better in line with the brighter economic situation and the growing population of the island. Increasing supply and higher selling prices will be the key drivers, while demand is forecast to improve slightly. The number of launches in Phuket is predicted to increase and Thai developers…
- News
Landlords petition PM to kill off the new tenant protection laws
Business operators are urging PM Prayut Chan-o-cha to cancel a Consumer Protection Board measure implemented at the start of May1 to protect customers from being overcharged on utility fees by hostels, apartments or rented rooms in residential buildings. Another measure in the new Consumer Protection Board legislation prohibits landlords from removing the belongings of a tenant alleged to have breached…
- News
British tourist falls from condo balcony in Chiang Mai
A British tourist has fallen to his death from a Chiang Mai condo last night (Sunday). 57 year old Phil Edward Miller Hardwicke died after landing on a bench next to the third-floor swimming pool at the Lanna 3 Condo on Huay Kaew road in Tambon Chang Phuak, Muang district. Horrified witnesses say he fell from the 15th floor…
- News
Future Forward’s Thanathorn vows to dump 2017 charter
Thanathorn Juangroongru-angkit was predictably chosen yesterday to be the leader of the Future Forward Party, which he co-founded with the agenda of not only becoming the prime minister but also dumping the current, junta-written 2017 Constitution. The scion of the Thai Summit Group won 473 votes with one abstention during the party’s first official meeting, attended by more than 700…
- News
Coral bleaching report, “widespread but minor”.
By Pratch Rujivanarom Coral reefs in Thailand are currently facing the onset of widespread but mild coral bleaching, as some reefs in both the Andaman Sea and Gulf of Thailand show symptoms of heat stress. Tourists are meanwhile being encouraged to observe signs of coral bleaching and report them to authorities. Despite around 5 to 10 per cent of corals…
- News
Chonburi sting nets suspects and drugs
A police sting operation led to the arrest of three young male suspects and the seizure of 218,000 methamphetamine pills, 4,150 grams of crystal methamphetamine or “ice” and 700 Ecstasy pills in Chon Buri province’s Sri Racha district. Police Region 2 chief Pol Lt-General Jitti Rodbangyang told a press conference on Sunday that the suspect, 22 year old Saran Silarak,…
- News
Mass protest planned after toxic agro-chemicals not banned
PHOTO: cnchemicals.com A mass protest at Government House is being organised to protest a decision by the government’s Hazardous Substance Committee on Wednesday not to ban reportedly dangerous agricultural chemicals paraquat, glyphosate and chlorpyrifos in Thailand. Agro-chemical opposition networks, led by BioThai Foundation and Thailand Pesticide Alert Network (Thai-PAN), yesterday called on citizens to mark the upcoming World Environment Day.…
- News
Pro-election activists released on bail
Fifteen political activists have been granted bail shortly after the Criminal Court ordered their 12 day detention following charges resulting from participation in last Tuesday’s pro-election assembly in the capital. The activists were released yesterday on 100,000 baht bail each with the condition that they must not take part in political gatherings that will “break laws and put society at…
