- Events
Bangkok resplendent in yellow for this weekend’s Royal Coronation
Decorations are adorn houses and buildings around Rattanakosin Island, lining the route of the Liap Phranakhon Royal procession, as people prepare to celebrate this once-in-a-lifetime spectacle. The last time Bangkokians welcomed a newly-coronated King was on May 7, 1950. With help and funds from City Hall for renovation and decoration, properties along the route look new and lively. Portraits of…
- Bangkok News
Leaning Tower of Sathorn: not cracked or leaning says Sathorn district chief
PHOTO: Daily News The district chief in Bangkok’s swish Sathorn district has been forced to come out publicly declaring a luxury 72 story condominium development under construction in her area was neither cracked nor leaning. The false claims were made in social media after a minor fire in the building’s basement. Daily News reports that Chuleeporn Wongphiphat responded to online…
- Property
Kra Canal – the 28 Billion Baht shortcut
By Jintana Panyaarvudh Despite a history going back three centuries, the highly controversial and politically sensitive proposed Kra Canal mega-project in southern Thailand is once again up for debate. At a forum held yesterday by Rangsit University entitled the “Stakeholders in Kra Canal@Klong Thai”, national security and the canal’s impact on tourism were among the main issues of concern as…
- South Thailand News
Songkhla man accused of human trafficking of Burmese
FILE PHOTO A Songkhla man has been arrested for allegedly being a member of a human trafficking ring that has been smuggling Burmese migrants into Malaysia across the southern border. 60 year old Thammasak Boonyarit was arrested at a house in Songkhla’s Hat Yai district under an arrest warrant issued by the Chumphon Court. The arrest was made a day…
- Events
His Majesty marries Suthida and names her Queen, days before coronation
FILE PHOTO: Queen Suthida with His Majesty the King and Prince Dipangkorn Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn announced earlier this evening that he has married his bodyguard, Gen. Suthida Vajiralongkorn na Ayudhya, and named her Queen Suthida, just days before the Royal Coronation this weekend. The announcement was made tonight in the Royal Gazette. In 2014 HM appointed Suthida Tidjai, a…
- Phuket News
Fishing crew release Manta rays after getting snared in their nets
A fishing boat has released two giant Manta rays, tangled in its nets, back to the Andaman Sea off Phang Nga’s Kura Buri. The crew have won wide praise for releasing the snared rays. Thana Ketsa-ard, owner of the Thanakorn 99 fishing boat, posted a video on Facebook at 12.30am on Tuesday night showing his workers rescuing the two Manta…
- Bangkok News
Seven tonnes of durian handed out for Labour Day in Samut Sakhon
by Natthanan Sirisantiworakul Thousands attended Wat Thamai in Samut Sakhon, west of Bangkok, to eat seven tonnes of free durian that the temple had prepared as treats for workers on Labour Day. A 3km traffic jam formed outside the temple, while a ceremony was organised at 9am to make merit for His Majesty the late King Rama IX and for…
- South Thailand News
Ranger killed in Pattani roadside bomb ambush
One ranger has been killed after southern insurgents detonated a roadside homemade bomb to ambush his patrol unit in Pattani’s Panare district this morning. Police say the attack happened at 10.20am on the main road in Ban Rawor village in Tambon Krawa. 34 year old Ranger Damrong Thong-u was killed by the blast. Police say the explosion occurred when Damrong…
- Events
Royal Coronation ceremonies in the inner sanctum of the Grand Palace
The historic Coronation of King Maha Vajiralongkorn this weekend will be based on long held traditions that were included in coronations of the preceding nine Kings of the Chakri Dynasty since 1782. Three halls in the Phra Maha Monthira section of the Grand Palace will be used for the royal coronation. Off limits to the public, the Phra Maha Monthira…
- Thailand Election News
Thanathorn says other MPs now in the firing line, including from Phalang Pracharat
PHOTO: Future Forward’s Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit emerges defiant after spending six hours with the EC yesterday – The Nation by Kas Chanwanpen The political tactics of going after Future Forward leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit and other party members for alleged shareholdings in media companies, could come back to haunt the pro-junta camp after a similar allegation was made against one of its…
- Northern Thailand News
Netflix and ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ production team announce cave rescue project
PHOTO: Yahoo.com Netflix, the most popular TV streaming service in Thailand, are teaming up with the producers of the hit film “Crazy Rich Asians” for a production about the rescue of the MuPa (Wild Boar) football team from Chiang Rai’s Tham Luang caves last July. The 12 young men and their coach were trapped in a flooded cave after going…
- Pattaya News
25 year old arrested over theft of gold jewellery valued over 2 million baht in Pattaya
PHOTOS: The Nation An employee of a hotel in Pattaya has been arrested over the alleged robbery of a gold shop in Pattaya. He netted 1.65 kilograms of gold jewellery with a value of 2.18 million baht at the weekend. 35 year old Sornchai Nilsonthi is accused of robbing the Suppatra Yaowaraj gold shop at the Big C shopping mall…
- South Thailand News
12 women rescued from human trafficking ring at Malaysia border
Officials have raided a karaoke bar in Narathiwat’s Sungai Kolok district, on the Malaysian border, rescuing 12 Lao women from prostitution. The raid against the Relax Pub in the border town was carried out at 8.30pm last night by officials from the Provincial Administration Department and DSI (Department of Special Investigation), as well as staff of an international non-governmental organisation.…
- Events
This weekend’s Royal Coronation
The tradition to formally complete the accession to the throne of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn will take place this weekend and into Monday, a public holiday, in a series of intricate and complicated ceremonies and mini-ceremonies, full of symbolic meaning and steeped in Hindu and Buddhist tradition. The elaborate and historic events will be televised – The Thaiger will…
- Thailand Election News
EC dogged by new controversy after poll re-run in Nakhon Pathom
Five times they counted and five times they got different results. The re-run of the election and the counting of votes in Nakhon Pathom, west of Bangkok, couldn’t have gone worse for the Election Commission, coming under fire from all directions over irregularities, forced recounts and hundreds of small errors in the counting process. The credibility has come under renewed…
- Thailand News
Thai Cabinet extends waiver of Visa On Arrival fees
Thailand’s Cabinet has extended the waiver of the fees for ‘visa on arrival’ for some foreign tourists to Thailand. The waiver of the 2,000 baht VOA fee will be extended to at least October 31. The fee had previously been waived until January 14 this year in a bid to boost tourism. It was then extended until April 30 and has…
- Business News
How the bike-share start-ups fell over
They were awful to ride and were the result of an even more toxic start-up culture in China. A few years ago the bike-sharing craze hit the tourist island of Phuket. It arrived amongst much flourish and ceremony. A year later the bike-sharing company bailed out. It was the same in many targeted tourist zones around the world. At the…
- Bangkok News
Cardboard box factory burns down in Ayutthaya
PHOTO: Matichon Online A cardboard box factory in the Wang Noi district of Ayutthaya has burned to the ground in a massive fire this morning. The Wang Noi police station was alerted at 2am that a blaze had broken out at the factory of Top Gold Products and Packaging on Phaholyothin Road in Tambon Sanab Theub.More than 20 fire units…
- Northern Thailand News
US Court gives go ahead for Musk to face defamation charges over cave spat
PHOTO: Vernon Unsworth v Elon Musk. by ThaiVisa American tech entrepreneur, investor, and engineer, Elon Musk, is likely to face a lawsuit in the US over defamation after he described a British cave diver as a “pedo guy” on Twitter last year. Musk also described Vernon Unsworth, who was one of the divers who first discovered the Mu Pa football team…
- Northern Thailand News
Surin man first to die of Rabies in 2019
A 32 year old man in Surin province has become the first person to die of Rabies this year. The Disease Control Department director-general Dr Suwannachai Wattanayingcharoenchai says the man who was bitten by a stray dog last November but never sought an anti-Rabies vaccination. The man developed fever and had difficulty swallowing before lab tests confirmed he had Rabies,…
- Thailand News
New iMac models – same, same but 2.4 times faster
by Paisal Chuenprasaeng “The all-in-one design looks elegant and sleek. Everything – display, processor, graphics, storage and memory – is contained inside one simple enclosure.” More powerful yet just as slim and sleek as earlier models, Apple’s new iMac is now powered by 8-core Intel 9th-generation processors and its graphic horse power is unleashed by superfast Radeon Pro Vega graphics.…
- South Thailand News
Family alleging sex abuse of four of their children may be forced to move
PHOTOS: The Nation A family who who have made official reports alleging that four of their children were sexually abused by an ‘influential’ local man in Chumphon’s Lang Suan district, claim they are being harassed and may have to move. They claim that three female family members, aged 6, 10 and 14, and their 9 year old boy, were sexually assaulted…
- South Thailand News
One killed, two injured in Pattani shootings
One person has been killed and two others injured during two separate shootings in Pattani province on Thursday night. In Sai Buri district, a 24 year old Narathiwat-based paramilitary ranger volunteer Pathompong Kaewthong and his 22 year old wife Nureehan Dengla, were shot and wounded in Tambon Kadunong while riding home on their motorcycle after shopping at a local market.…
- Thailand Weather Updates
Freak storm batters Don Mueang Airport, Bangkok
A random summer storm has struck Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport this afternoon. The freak storm affected more than 18 flights and stranded 3,000 passengers whilst the storm battered the area north of the main city. At least one flight was re-directed to the nearby Suvarnabhumi Airport and another to U-Tapao Airport. Strong winds caused a Lion Air mobile airstair to…
- Thailand News
3.6 million coronation souvenir coins ordered
The Treasury has reported that orders have been placed for more than 3.6 million souvenir coins of different models that are being especially minted to mark the May 4 coronation of His Majesty the King. The orders include 200 for the highest value platinum coins worth 1 million baht apiece, and 10,000 for gold coins, department chief Amnuay Preemonwong said.…
- South Thailand News
Chumpon plantation owner faces accusations of child sex abuse
“Jan said ‘Surin’ often took her daughter to his home. When the girl was seven years old, however, it was revealed that ‘Surin’ had allegedly molested or raped her over the previous five years.” In the latest in a string of serious child abuse cases, relatives of the alleged victims, in this case three girls aged 6, 10 and 14…
- Thailand News
Driver killed and 10 Burmese workers injured in Tak crash
by Pipat Jongmeekwamsook A van driver has been killed and 10 migrant workers injured after the passenger van careered into a roadside ditch and hit a tree in Khamphaeng Phet in Thailand’s central west today. The 27 year old van driver was killed and 10 Burmese workers were injured when their vehicle crashed in Khamphaeng Phet’s Kosamphee Nakhon district early…
- Bangkok News
Armed Mercedes owner releases snakes onto road outside Central World
PHOTOS: JS100 Radio An incident has caused bedlam and stopped traffic outside Central World in Bangkok. A man armed with a knife stopped his new black Mercedes in the middle of the road. He then started releasing snakes out of a blue bag onto the road in front of the bewildered passersby. Footage from the incident shared on Twitter shows the…
- Koh Samui News
Raid on 18 foreign-owned Koh Samui hotels, owners arrested
FILE PHOTO Army, police and municipal officials have raided 18 hotels on Koh Samui claiming that they are illegally owned by foreigners. The hotels in questions are on a mountainside on the Gulf island, the second largest island in Thailand. Officials carried out the search and raids on Chaweng Noi Mountain in Moo 6 village in Tambon Bophut and found…