- Thailand Election News
Future Forward leader Thanathorn spared detention, for now
The leader of a pro-democracy party, Future Forward leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, and two of his colleagues were spared detention in a case involving criticism of the junta on TV last week. Dashing earlier speculation that the trio would be held in custody, the attorney-general ordered them freed for now, saying they had voluntarily turned themselves in. Bail bond was also…
- Thailand Election News
Constitutional court to rule Thai Raksa Chart’s fate next week
by Kas Chanwanpen Thai Raksa Chart Party will know its fate next week after the Constitutional Court yesterday scheduled March 7 to read its verdict on whether the party should be dissolved following a petition from the Election Commission (EC). The final judgement next week will be made based on the evidence submitted to the court earlier and there will…
- World News
Thai Airways cancels flights to Pakistan and Europe, temporary
Thai Airways International has cancelled all flights to and from Pakistan and Europe after Pakistan closed its airspace amid rising tensions with India. Latest in the tensions between India and Pakistan HERE. The flights cancelled on Wednesday night were TG341 and TG342 on the Bangkok-Karachi-Bangkok route, the TG345 and TG 346 Bangkok-Lahore-Bangkok flights and TG349 and TG350 Bangkok-Islamabad-Bangkok flights. Thai…
- Pattaya News
Car-polish warehouse destroyed in Pattaya blaze
One person has been injured after a fires wept through a Pattaya warehouse full of car polish last night (Tuesday). Police say the fire at Pim Pattaya Company in Chon Buri’s Bang Lamung district got started around 7pm. Fire-fighters spent two hours bringing the blaze under control, but not before the roof of the warehouse collapsed. The injured man, an…
- Northern Thailand News
Air quality in 9 northern provinces worse in March-April
Smog problems in nine of Thailand’s northern provinces is forecast to get worse during the next two months due to forest fires. This is despite a complete ban on the open burning of vegetation or trash. Chongklai Worapongsathorn, deputy director-general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plants Conservation spoke to local fire fighters before they are sent to…
- Thailand News
Phitsanulok man arrested for sex blackmail of 200 women
A man in Phitsanulok province has been arrested for allegedly luring some 200 women to videotape sex on their phones and later extorting them for money. Pol Lt-General Surachate Hakparn, in his role leading Thailand’s Action Taskforce for Information Technology Crime Suppression (TACCTICS), held a media conference yesterday to announce the arrest of 35 year old Kittisak Nimboonchuen. Surachate says…
- Hot News
PM disses debates “I just don’t see the necessity to take part”
by Kas Chanwanpen A prime ministerial candidate is refusing to take part in any of the televised political debates in the lead up to the election on March 24. Dismissing growing calls to join the up-coming round of debates, NCPO chief General Prayut Chan-o-cha has affirmed that he attached no importance to the calls for him to outline his vision,…
- Northern Thailand News
Lemon-sized hailstones hit 700 homes around Udon Thani
by Seksanti Kalayanawisut “Some of the hailstones were as big as a lemon.” Udon Thani provincial authorities have inspected around 700 homes in Mueang, Phen, Ban Phue, Si That and Kumphawapi districts that were damaged in a freak hailstorm last night. At Tambon Nikhom Songkhro in Mueang district, Udon Thani deputy governor Pramote Thanyapheud led officials to check out damage…
- Bangkok News
Exam students, interrupted by violent ordination revellers, can resit their test
“The monk, Phra Monthien, said he was so horrified when he heard about what had happened.” A dozen or so students, interrupted when a Bangkok school was attacked on Sunday by a group of 50 angry men running a rowdy ordination next door, will be given a chance to resit the important examination they were taking at the time. The…
- Chiang Mai News
Rolling his way to Narathiwat raising funds for southern hospitals
PHOTO: ‘Uncle Mee’ during one his fund-raisers last year – The Nation A wheelchair user is on his way in a mega southern journey from Chiang Mai to Narathiwat in the south to raise funds for three hospitals in the southern border provinces. 56 year old Sathit Jantharangsi, or Uncle Mee, reached Phitsanulok last night and was heading to Nakhon…
- South Thailand News
History of Thailand’s Southern Insurgency
Whenever there’s news about violence in southern Thailand, Thaiger readers may wonder who’s fighting who, and why. So we present a brief history of the insurgency which has gripped Thailand’s southernmost provinces for decades. The area has been coined the ‘deep south’ or the ‘restive south’ and has become, statistically, a more bloody conflict than the situation on the Gaza…
- Business News
Huawei continues investing in Thailand
PHOTO: Huawei president for SE Asia, James Wu during media conference at MWC 2019 in Barcelona, Spain. by Somluck Srimalee, The Nation Chinese tech giant Huawei Group has set aside an investment budget of US$81 million (2.5 billion baht) for Southeast Asia towards ICT enablement from 2019-21, focusing on OpenLabs, enabling cloud developers and cultivating ICT talent, James Wu, said.…
- Bangkok News
Teen fatally stabbed on Bangkok bus
PHOTOS: RuamkatanyuA year three vocation school student has now been charged after allegedly stabbing to death a 12th grade student on a BKK bus last night. 18 year old Kamolchat Saen-aroon died at the Theptharin Hospital after being stabbed about 10 times with a knife. The quick-thinking bus driver of the No 180 bus immediately turned into the Tha Rua…
- Krabi News
Krabi’s Naga Fest 2019 coming soon
The Krabi private and public sector, in conjunction with the Tourism Authority of Thailand, are holding the Krabi Naga Fest 2019 from March 1-3 on the Khlong Muang Beach in Krabi. Under the theme of ‘Breezing Beach & Music’, the event’s three day program offers festival goers a wide variety of activities to enjoy including performances by well-known pop-jazz musicians…
- Thailand News
A cannabis amnesty could be endorsed this week
New regulations that offers amnesty to those in possession of, or using, cannabis are expected this week. The update comes from the head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA secretary-general Dr Tares Krassanairawiwong also maintains that the recent legalising of medical marijuana doesn’t cover recreational use or allow cultivation by individual growers. He says the new laws…
- Phuket News
Shy baby turtles get a helping hand in Phang Nga
PHOTOS: The Nation Thirty-five new hatchling leatherback turtles, reluctant to leave their nests on Phang Nga’s Ta Sai Beach, have been given a helping hand to find their way to the sea. Marine and Coastal Resources Department officials yesterday noticed that there were signs in the sand that the baby turtles had hatched, but became concerned this morning after none…
- Krabi News
HM the King recognises Krabi ‘hero’ after 2015 mud rescue
His Majesty the King has sent a gift and necessities to a local fisherman whose rescue of two foreign birdwatchers stuck in mud in 2015 went viral on social media. Captain Khumsup Iamsri, an officer attached to the King’s royal villa, represented the King to visit 47 year old Chat Ubonjinda at his house on Khu Muang road in Tambon…
- Bangkok News
Rescuers slam local police for lack of response after body found in Chao Phraya
PHOTOS: @Disater_TH The Rama VII Bridge in Bangkok has long been a location where people have jumped to their death. But its location has also fallen between two jurisdictions and the nearby police argue over who is responsible for receiving and acting on reports on bodies in the river. Yesterday, the body of an unidentified man was pulled from the…
- Bangkok News
BKK road racing crackdown: 78 arrested with illegally modified motorcycles
“…those under 18 will be sent for an attitude adjustment in a military camp for seven days.” Samut Prakan police have arrested 78 motorcyclists and seized 85 motorcycles allegedly modified for road racing. Police staffed the checkpoints on major roads in Samut Prakan last night and into early this morning making the arrests. Samut Prakan police chief Pol Maj Gen…
- Thailand News
A mother and two young daughters killed when their car is hit by a train
A mother and two young daughters have been killed when their car was struck by a train at a railway crossing in Surat Thani’s Phun Pin district this morning. The Nation reports that police say the accident happened at a rail crossing in front of the Tambon Phun Phin Administrative Organisation that is located between Maluan and Thung Pho railway…
- Chiang Mai News
Disaster zone declared in Lampang after 31 mild tremors
It’s been a week of mild shocks and tremors in Lampang province in northern Thailand. Although there has been no lives lost, there has been a lot of minor damage to structures, mainly in the north of the province. The Wang Nua district, the northern-most district in Lampang province, north-east of Chiang Mai, has been now declared a disaster zone…
- Bangkok News
Fake Viagra, sex toys seized in raids on Bangkok street markets
Viagra is facing stiff competition from the markets in Bangkok. Police last night arrested eight foreigners and five Thais for allegedly selling fake viagra and sex toys during a search of 17 locations along Bangkok’s Sukhumvit strip. Immigration Bureau chief Lt Gen Surachate Hakparn says the operation took place late last night and into this morning. Crime suppression police and…
- Chiang Mai News
Experts warn of northern faultlines as aftershocks rock Lampang
PHOTO: Wat Phra Kerd’s abbot leads officials to inspect the damage to the pagoda’s visibly tilted tiered umbrella top after Lampang’s Wang Nua district on Wednesday suffered a 4.9magnitude quake. The recent tremors around Lampang slightly damaged a few dozen homes in six tambons, including the tiered umbrella of the Wat Phra Kerd pagoda in tambon Thung Hua. The 4.9…
- World News
Die! Die! Korean Air ‘nut rage’ heiress assaults husband in video
by The Korea Herald – Asia News Network A video clip showing a woman who appears to be Cho Hyun-ah, formerly Korean Air vice-president, shouting at her husband, and photos showing his injuries has been revealed. In the video, the woman shouts “Die! Die!” at her husband, surnamed Park, who filed for divorce last year citing physical and verbal abuse against…
- World News
Better analysis needed to track down the source of new chemicals in illicit drugs
The Office of Narcotics Control Board has been training personnel in drug analysis to handle new illicit substances coming onto the streets. A Chinese analysis lab has recently discovered 230 new psychotropic substances which are making their way into recreational drugs and other foods. China has subsequently banned several beverages and sweets that contain these new illegal substances. Thailand’s Justice…
- Thailand Election News
Army chief’s intervention in election campaign backfires
by Jitraporn Sennawong and Nattaphat Phromkaew The Thai Army chief’s attempt to scare politicians from discussing the Army’s budget and reform by indirectly calling them “enemies of the state” has backfired. Many Thais have emerged with additional proposals for reforms of the military, and others are protesting the chief’s invocation of the jingoistic military anthem. Political critics and social media…
- Bangkok News
Man arrested over 50 million baht scam
A man has been arrested for allegedly defrauding around 100 stock market investors of about 50 million baht. Pol Lt Gen Suchate Hakparn, the Immigration Bureau chief who also heads the economic crime centre, says 52 year old Jittaraphon Nisarat was arrested on Tuesday at his apartment in Bangkok’s Phra Khanong district. Surachate says Jittaraphon was arrested under a warrant…
- Thailand Election News
Thai Raksa Chart say Princess was ‘nominated with her consent’
PHOTO: Prasert Thepsri – The Nation The embattled Thai Raksa Chart Party is defending its nomination of Princess Ubolratana as a prime ministerial candidate saying it was done at the wish and consent of the Princess. The party is fighting for its existence as the Charter Court mulls a dissolution of the party after a recommendation from the Election Commission.…
- Phuket News
Italian tourists injured in goring attack by bull elephant in Phang Nga park
A 29 year old Italian tourist, and his travel companion, are in a Phang Nga hospital this morning following an elephant attack. The man was seriously injured yesterday when a 12 year old male elephant, that he and a friend were riding as part of a tourist activity in Phang Nga’s Mueang district, suddenly shook them to the ground and…
- Thailand News
Man dies instantly in temple fireworks explosion in Chaiyaphum
A 59 year old man, serving as a civil defence volunteer at a Chaiyaphum temple fair, has been killed instantly after picking up a seemingly half-lit giant fireworks pipe that then blew up in his face. Chaiyaphum is in central Thailand, north-east of Bangkok. The incident took place at Wat Ban Muang Kao in Kaset Sombun district last night. The annual…