- Northern Thailand News
An inspiration for the world – Mu Pa mission chief in New York
“The recent multinational rescue operation to free the Mu Pa football team members from Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai province should be an inspiration for people around the globe to help one another.” – Mission’s chief, Narongsak Ostanakorn “I hope this experience inspires people to start living for others,” Narongsak said. “That would be a game changer for the…
- Northern Thailand News
First Thai MotoGP earns profits and widespread praise
by Lerpong Amsa-ngiam “The attendance is the highest for any of the 15 MotoGP races so far this year.” The Minister of Tourism and Sports Weerasak Kowsurat has claimed the inaugural Thailand MotoGP “successful beyond expectations” after it was attended by an estimated 220,000 fans and generated revenue of 3 billion baht. The three day event, another victory for four-time…
- Bangkok News
Three-quarters of Bangkokians in debt
An estimated 77.5 per cent of Bangkokians are in debt and 53 per cent admit to have fallen behind in repayments. This, from a survey by Bansomdej Poll in collaboration with the Foundation for Consumers (FFC)’s Chaladsue (Smart Buyer) magazine. The poll of 1,171 people conducted between August 24-28 this year found that out of the indebted respondents (most of…
- Bangkok News
Actor’s family assets confiscated over suspected bitcoin fraud
PHOTO: Thai actor Jirachpisit ‘Boom’ Jarawichit – The Nation The AMLO (Anti Money Laundering Office) has confiscated assets worth 210 million baht belonging to an actor and his family suspected of involvement in fraud and money laundering. The case stems from a complaint by a Finnish investor, Aarni Otava Saarimaa, that he was defrauded of bitcoins valued at 797 million…
- Koh Samui News
French trio admit to trying to scam their insurance company
PHOTOS: New TV Police on Koh Samui report that three French tourists claimed that they were robbed at knife point by five Thai men on three motorcycles after they become lost. New TV reports that they claimed that everything was stolen from them and the thieves disappeared without a trace. But they’ve since been shown to have been lying for…
- Chiang Mai News
Two Chiang Mai resorts demolished for encroachment
PHOTO: Ban Leesor View Suay, one two illegal resorts slated for demolition – The Nation As land occupants cooperated rather than resisted, officials on Monday demolished two resorts encroaching on Doi Luang Chiang Dao forest in Chiang Mai province as per a court ruling, said Chiang Dao District Office deputy chief for national security Phermkiat Thephassadin Na Ayutthaya. Phermkiat led the…
- Bangkok News
THAI jumbo skids off Suvarnabhumi runway while landing
A Thai Airways International plane, inbound from Guangzhou, China skidded off a runway while landing at Suvarnabhumi Airport in heavy rain last night. Flight Lieutenant Pratthana Pattanasirim, THAI’s director of security and flight standard division, said no one was injured when THAI Flight TG 679 skidded off the runway. The Boeing 747-400 was carrying 97 passengers and 18 crew. The…
- Thailand News
Illegal foreigners on notice – 30 day crackdown
The Immigration bureau has been given a month to go after thousands of suspected overstayers and others believed involved in criminal activities. Thai Deputy PM and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan yesterday instructed the Immigration Bureau to crack down on foreigners overstaying their visas or using Thailand as safe haven for criminal activities. The bureau has been given one month to…
- South Thailand News
Suspected insurgent killed during Songkhla shootout
A suspected insurgent was shot dead in Songkhla’s Thepha district early today (Monday) after Army troops, rangers and police joined forces to try to arrest the man. The operation at 1am in Moo 3 village in Tambon Sakom also resulted in the arrest of two other suspected insurgents. Police identified the slain suspect as 40 year old Hamadaho Semsun who…
- Krabi News
Maya Bay compromise: “We’ll meet halfway”
The scientists say Maya Bay must remain closed until it has recovered from the rampant tourist ‘love’ and protective walkways and new landing piers can be constructed on the other side of Koh Phi Phi Ley. Tour operators say they’re going to suffer with the loss of the region’s most popular tourist attraction from their daily schedules. Krabi tourism stakeholders,…
- Thailand News
Senior official arrested over alleged poaching in Kanchanaburi
A new group has been arrested following alleged poaching in a Kanchanaburi national park, again involving high profile officers. A group, including a deputy district chief, who allegedly camped out overnight and shot a ‘binturong‘ at the Sai Yok National Park in Kanchaburi province over the weekend, has been arrested. An informed source said park officials checked the group after…
- Northern Thailand News
Mu Pa 13 get a warm welcome at Youth Games in Argentina
PHOTO: Mu Pa, who were rescued from Tham Luang cave in Thailand, stand during the Opening Ceremony of The Youth Olympic Games, in Buenos Aires, Argentina – EPA “When they arrived at the Buenos Aires international airport, liaisons of international athletes waiting for their teams at the airport also greeted them warmly.” The 13 members of the Mu Pa football…
- South Thailand News
Innocent health volunteer shot dead in Pattani
A village health volunteer has been shot dead after a shooting last night in Pattani’s Thung Yang Daeng district. 52 year old Abdulloh Bahoh was on his way to pick up his wife at a market when he was shot three times in the head. Witnesses told police he pulled over where several unidentified men were gathered and words were…
- Bangkok News
Vegetarian Festival price gouging arrives ahead of tomorrow’s festival
Vegetable prices have climbed up by a few baht per kilo ahead of the Chinese Vegetarian Festival, which will officially kick off tomorrow, principally in Phuket and Bangkok. Vendors at a fresh market in Bangkok believed vegetable prices would soar even higher during the festival, which runs up to October 17.The price of a kilo of celery, which cost around…
- Thailand News
Marquez beats Dovizioso in Buri Ram MotoGP thriller
PHOTOS: Naratip Golf Srisupab/SEALs Sports Images by Lerpong Amsa-ngiam Marc Marquez of Honda narrowly beat arch-rival Andrea Dovizioso of Ducati to win the inaugural MotoGP Thailand at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram this afternoon (Sunday). Over 100,000 fans were treated with neck-and-neck battle between the two current leaders on the Championship standing but in the end it was the talented…
- Thailand News
Floods sweep away bridge in Mae Hong Son
by Tossapon Boonpat A bridge in Mae Hong Son crucial to tourism and trade was swept away in a flash flood on Sunday. “We urgently need a Bailey bridge [to replace it temporarily], or else the flow of tourists and goods into Myanmar will be disrupted,” said Trairat Wanasirisuk, chief executive of the Tambon Mae Sam Lab Administrative Organisation. The…
- Bangkok News
Two Vietnamese return to the scene of the crime and get arrested
Two Vietnamese men have been arrested at a Bangkok shopping mall for allegedly pickpocketing a German tourist and stealing 2,300 Euro (87,000 baht) back in July. Police said the two men, aged 38 and 36, were arrested while apparently looking for more easy targets at the Terminal 21 shopping mall in Bangkok’s Vadhana district. The two have been accused of…
- Thai Life
Mong Thongdee gets Thai citizenship. Good news for Thailand’s Paper aeroplane champ.
PHOTO: Facebook/MongThongdee Mong Thongdee is to become a Thai citizen, almost a decade after earning fame by winning a national paper-aeroplane championship at the age of 12. Mong posted on his Facebook that he has been informed that the Chiang Mai governor has approved his request for Thai citizenship. He’s been told he will now get a 12-digit citizenship ID…
- Phuket News
Ranong Ranger killed in suspected grenade blast
A Ranong ranger has been killed by a grenade blast at his official residence in the Muang district last night. Ranong is a five hour drive, north of Phuket, and borders Myanmar. 35 year old Sgt Supatthanachai Makprasit from the Narathiwat-based 48th Ranger Regiment, died from his injuries after being taken to Ranong Hospital. He had been involved in maintaining…
- Northern Thailand News
Thailand MotoGP starts today in Buri Ram
PHOTO: Jorge Lorenzo (99) of Spain and Ducati Team in Turn 7 during FP2 at the MotoGP PTT Thailand Grand Prix 2018, Chang International Circuit, Thailand on October 05, 2018. Naratip Golf, Srisupab/SEALs Sports Images The ‘PTT Thailand Grand Prix 2018’ MotoGP is being held from today until Sunday, October 7, at the Chang International Circuit in Buri Ram, north-east Thailand.…
- Phuket News
Faulty warning systems worries locals – Phuket
Since the deadly tsunami struck Phuket in 2004, local people have trained their ears to listen to any alerts from the local warning towers only to learn that the system does not work properly. “I don’t have much confidence in the warning towers system,” Kantima Datthuyawat, a masseuse on the Kamala Beach in Phuket province, lamented. She said she always…
- Krabi News
Tsunami risk is statistically very low
by Pratch Rujivanarom The chances of an imminent repeat tsunami in the Andaman Sea is remote, while the tsunami risk in the Gulf of Thailand is even smaller to nearly impossible chance, say leading seismologists in the wake of public tsunami fears triggered by the recent devastation in Palu, Indonesia. Nevertheless, say experts, the authorities, business sector and citizens in…
- Bangkok News
Everything is OK – KCon 2018 comes to Bangkok
In case you’ve been living under a rock, K-Pop, the garish, highly-produced pop/RnB/hip-hop fusion coming out of South Korea, is the biggest ‘thing’ in international pop music sales at the moment. And KCon – a celebration of everything K-Pop – has just swept through Bangkok. No fewer than 40,000 devoted fans of the Korean Wave massed at Impact Arena and…
- Thailand News
No more ‘tips’ at Immigration
The new Thai immigration chief, Maj-General Surachate Hakparn, has implemented his first promise at immigration stations. The signage going up nationwide is clear and unequivocal. No Tips. That means no more payments to corrupt immigration officials or the agents who collect the tea money from tourists and either pass it on or keep it for themselves. It’s also a tacit…
- Bangkok News
You’re in the drivers seat, in your BKK hotel
The MeStyle Garage Hotel Bangkok, a new themed boutique hotel, is taking guests on an offbeat journey to experience a new dimension in design – ‘garage funky’ – inspired by its founder’s passion for cars. The hotel is the latest project from MeStyle Property Co, based in the Huay Kwang district of Bangkok. About 800 metres from Huay Kwang MRT…
- Thailand News
Thai public hospital system under stress
Public Health Ministry permanent secretary Dr Sukhum Kanchanapimai yesterday admitted that the country’s hospitals were overwhelmed, following an outspoken doctor’s comments that the system was “close to collapse”. Sukhum told a press conference in Nonthaburi province yesterday that crowded conditions were a reality and the bed occupation rate in many big hospitals was beyond full capacity. To tackle this long-standing…
- Krabi News
Tourism operators appeal indefinite closure of Maya Bay
by Sitthichai Sikhawat The indefinite closure of Koh Phi Phi Ley’s Maya Bay is causing ripples of concern through the island’s tourism associations, operators and beyond. The Krabi Tourism Association president Wattana Rerngsamut is appealing the indefinite closure in an order listed in the Royal Gazette on Monday and made public on Tuesday. The move will severely affect the tourism…
- Pattaya News
Interpol red-list Russian nabbed in Pattaya
PHOTO: Manager Online A Russian man, wanted on an Interpol red warrant, is now in custody after police caught up with him in Pattaya yesterday. The arrest was made after the Chon Buri police head office received a request from the Russian embassy to locate Vitalil Trofimov, who is wanted in Russia on drug trafficking charges. Police checked records and…
- World News
Najib’s wife arrested, to be charged with money laundering – Malaysia
Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, the wife of the former Malaysian PM, Najib Tun Razak, has been arrested by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). According to her lawyers, she was arrested at 3.20pm while giving a statement at the headquarters of the MACC. It has been learnt that the wife of the former prime minister will be charged with money laundering…
- World News
An earthquake, a tsunami, now a bubbling volcano – Sulawesi
PHOTO: North Sulawesi’s Mt Soputan erupts, status raised to Level 3’Alert’ – The Jakarta Post Mount Soputan in North Sulawesi’s Minahasa regency is emitting a 4 kilometre high plume of ash this . It started at 8:47 am local time, or 7:47 am. Jakarta time, prompting authorities to raise the volcano’s status to a Level 3 of the national four-level volcano alert system. Mount…
