- Bangkok News
Newborn baby dumped beside garbage bins
FILE PHOTO A newborn baby has been found abandoned near rubbish bins in Chon Buri province, south-east of Bangkok, earlier today. 18 year old city sanitation worker, Anucha Boonkhai, has told police that he had loaded garbage from all the bins on Soi 4 of Ban Kao village in Tambon Ban Kao, Muang district, when he spotted a pile of…
- Phuket News
Phuket seastead will be removed today
The Third Naval Area Command will remove the seastead stationed off Phuket south-east coast today, belonging to an American bitcoin investor and seasteading innovators Ocean Builders. Thai authorities plan to seize the structure as evidence in a criminal case. They fear the structure will continue to be a navigation hazard if left there. US national Chad Elwartowski and his Thai…
- South Thailand News
Boonrod gets his own Facebook page – VIDEO
Boonrod, the dog rescued this week from an oil rig the middle of the Gulf of Thailand, can now show off his own Facebook page with more than 6,000 followers. Launched just yesterday, Boonrod บุญรอดหมาอ่าวไทย (Boonrod Gulf of Thailand dog), has Facebook user Vitisak Payalaw serving as an administrator. The rescue of the tan-coloured dog, named Boonrod (“Survivor” in Thai) by oil…
- Phuket News
Immigration police interview Phuket’s ‘seasteader’
Immigration police says they’ve have questioned the American bitcoin investor who was involved in the setting up of the “seasteading” structure off the coast of Phuket and is facing criminal charges related to the waterborne homestead. Chad Andrew Elwartowski and his Thai girlfriend, Suprenee Thepdet (aka Nadia Summergirl), launched their seastead project on February 2 off the coast of Phuket…
- Thailand News
Ambulances must not exceed 80kph, except in emergencies
The Public Health Ministry’s directive to ensure ambulances keep below 80 kph only applies to non-emergency referral cases. The clarification issued today after a lot of criticism in social media. The ministry’s deputy permanent secretary, Dr Prapon Tangsrikertikul, says… “The policy has been introduced to ensure the safety of those inside the ambulances. But, of course, drivers can use appropriate…
- Songkran News
Pattaya’s LONG Songkran comes to an end today
Whilst most of us have hung up our water pistols last Saturday or Sunday following Songkran revellry, punters in Pattaya have been hard at it all week. But after 9 days of water wastage and Songkran celebrations, the annual festivities come to a close in parades and official festivities today and tomorrow. Officially, according to the Pattaya Mail, April 19…
- Thailand Election News
Junta warned to be careful targeting rivals with petty litigation
PHOTO: Piyabutr Sangkanokkul reports to police yesterday using the, now popular, anti-government three-finger salute – The Nation by Kai Chanwanpen While members of pro-democracy parties continue to be targeted with politically-motivated lawsuits, a political scientist is warning this tactic of eliminating political rivals through trivial matters of law could backfire and lead to a legitimacy crisis down the track. In…
- Krabi News
Maya Bay to be closed for up to five years
Maya Bay’s beach, closed last year to allow coral restoration and beach recovery, could remain closed to visitors for many years. Maya Bay is located in the Phi Phi islands between Krabi and Phuket. The famous Koh Phi Phi Ley beach needs time for its ecology to fully recover years of tourist abuse, this according to the Phi Phi national…
- Bangkok News
Rattanakosin Island roads closed for royal coronation rehearsals
PHOTO: Royal funeral procession for the Late King Bhumibol on Rattanakosin Island by Jessada Chantharak Forty roads around Bangkok’s Rattanakosin Island are being closed this afternoon (Wednesday) for rehearsals leading up to the May coronation of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn. The 4pm to 9.30pm closures will allow a test run for security and traffic-directing measures. To minimise congestion, Rajadamnoen Avenue,…
- South Thailand News
Village leader killed in Yala in an insurgent ambush
FILE PHOTO An assistant village headman has been ambushed and shot dead in Yala’s city district just after midnight today (Wednesday). 53 year old Sakariya Waemamah was killed on the main village road in Ban Taseh village at about 12.05am while riding home on his motorcycle. Police found 23 spent shells from an M16 assault rifle and two spent shells…
- Northern Thailand News
Burglar drowns Pomeranian puppy before stealing computer and cash
A 21 year old Udon Thani tertiary student has returned from Songkran to find her Pomeranian puppy drowned in a water bin and her boyfriend’s laptop computer and cash stolen. Muang Udon Thani police were contacted lunchtime yesterday (Tuesday). The dog’s owner was Monthira Anthapanya who told police she had locked the four month old puppy in her rented room while she…
- Thailand Weather Updates
Central Thailand hit by Songkran storms
Over 300 houses have been damaged after thunderstorms lashed seven districts of Kamphaeng Phet province, in central west Thailand, at about 8pm last night. Officials have visited the districts this morning and found 25 damaged houses in six tambon of Muang district. The storms also damaged 162 houses in seven tambon of Phran Kratai district and 92 more damaged in…
- Thailand News
Stateless Thais can now apply for birth certificates and Thai ID
PHOTOS: The Nation “Rootless” people, born in Thailand but abandoned at birth – so without any Thai identification number or household documents – are now permitted to file for a birth certificates and apply for Thai nationality. The new laws have been published in the Royal Gazette, effective this week. The new edition of Civil Registration Act also allows these…
- World News
French President Macron vows to rebuild Notre-Dame following fire
The Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris has suffered a colossal fire that even caused the Gothic spire of the historic church to crash to the ground as firefighters battled to get the blaze under control. 400 firefighters battled to control the blaze and at least save the building’s iconic front towers. They finally gained the upper hand as midnight approached in…
- Thailand Election News
Pro-democracy coalition remains positive following weekend glitch
by Kai Chanwanpen The see-saw continues as the anti and pro-junta groups continue to tussle to form a coalition government. Meanwhile the Election Commission (EC) is no closer to announcing the allocation of Lower House seats… three weeks after the vote! They maintain that May 9 is the day they will announce the results although this deadline has been muddied…
- Environment News
New fires in the North likely to be arson – Army
by Nathawat Laping Some 1,000 combined professional and volunteer firefighters are battling a major forest fire in the mountainous area overlapping Chiang Mai’s Muang and Mae Chan districts.The fire started on Sunday night in the Doi Jorakhe area of Tambon Tha Sud in Muang before spreading to Tambon Pa Teung in Mae Chan, a densely populated area and home to…
- Bangkok News
Bangkok traffic police sidelined because they don’t know the road rules
PHOTO: Thai Rath The deputy commissioner of the metropolitan police Maj-Gen Jirasan Kaewsaeng-ek says some traffic police have been transferred to office duties because they didn’t know the traffic rules. Thai Rath reports that they had been on duty directing the traffic and issuing traffic violation fines but had passed no courses on what the actual traffic rules were. The…
- 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…
- 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.…
- 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…
- 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…
- 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…
- 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…
- 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…
- 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…
- 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…
- Krabi News
Two young men killed in Krabi hit-and-run
Police in Krabi are hunting for the driver of a pickup truck whose vehicle hit and killed two young boys riding a motorcycle. He failed to stop and drove away.The boys, 14 and 12 years old, who have not been officially identified, were killed just after midnight on Sai Khao-Klong Thom Road in the village of Ban Klong Raed, Klong…
- Northern Thailand News
Northern smoke haze easing slowly
Either by hard work, serendipity or pure luck, the smog and haze in the North has eased considerably within the seven-day timeframe set last Tuesday by the Thai PM General Prayut Chan-o-cha. The PM flew into the smoke-stricken Chiang Mai last Tuesday to meet with northern provincial governors to work out active solutions. During the visit, the premier made clear that…
- Thailand Weather Updates
Situation critical for Phuket’s water supply
Phuket has an acute water shortage. But there has been no warnings or even suggestions of restrictions from the Phuket Water Authority. Instead residents are heading to the local media to vent their frustration. On February 6 the PWA foreshadowed odd/even day water restrictions for some residential areas of the island, only to rescind the action the next day saying…
- Pattaya News
Pattaya ladyboys nabbed for stealing credit cards from South Korean tourist
A pair of ladyboys have been nabbed for allegedly stealing a wallet with three credit cards from a South Korean tourist in Pattaya. The two suspects were identified as 33 year old Sawarin Silaket and 35 year old Onkaew Homdok . Pattaya police chief Pol Colonel Prawit Chorseng said the arrest was made after 44 year old Hojun Cho filed…
