- South Thailand News
Outpouring of public support for Thai judge who shot himself in Yala court
“Return verdict to the judge, return justice to the people.” People have been placing fresh flowers in front of the Yala Provincial Court to show their support for Khanakorn Pianchana, the local judge who tried to kill himself last Friday in the court room after reading a verdict. Among the flowers message, a message reading “Return verdict to the judge,…
- Environment News
Thai PM says Cabinet is adding new pollution controls, while academic finds solutions ineffective
In his weekly televised show yesterday, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha said his government has always been concerned about air pollution, especially PM2.5 or microscopic dust particles, which he put down to smog from other countries, traffic jams, burning of farming waste, factory emission and dust from construction sites. “PM2.5 is dangerous, especially for children, babies, pregnant women and elders, whose immunity…
- World News
Six more countries now get visa-on-arrival into Myanmar
Around Thailand the possibilities for foreigners travelling is growing with visa-free arrivals, waived fees, no paperwork and quick processing at Immigration ports. Now, the Myanmar government is introducing new regulations to facilitate easier access as another step towards opening up the country to the world, and tourism. Starting this week, tourists from six countries – Australia, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain…
- Business News
“No liquidity crunch” – Thai Airways’ President
PHOTO: Sumeth Damrongchaitham, Thai Airways’ President “Deputy PM says the rehabilitation plan had been implemented for a while now, but there was still no sign of the losses easing.” The President of national flagship carrier Thai Airways International is denying reports that it is experiencing a liquidity crunch. Sumeth Damrongchaitham claims that Thai Airways has sufficient cash flow “for present…
- Property
Property Perfect launch promotion to boost flagging condo sales
Thailand’s property market will grow only 3 – 5% this year and the condo market is likely to end up 25% down – the executive director of Property Perfect claims it’s the the most severe situation in 10 years. The Nation reports that Wongsakorn Prasitwipat is primarily blaming the loan-to-value measures imposed by the government on Thai banks last April, along…
- World News
‘Impeachment nonsense’ is to blame for Wall Street rout – US President Trump
“Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index signaled that September was the worst month for US manufacturing in more than a decade.” October’s history as an irritating month for world stocks reared its head again after only two days as markets plunged on fears, both real and imagined. The Dow Jones industrial average gave up all its September gains and then…
- Tourism News
Round two of the “Eat, Shop, Spend” tourism stimulus
Round one of “Eat, Shop, Spend” (Chim, Shop, Chai) was a resounding success with the allotment for registrations completely subscribed on the days of registration. It was a 1,000 baht ‘gift’ to encourage Thais to travel and spend outside their home provinces. Now the government are rolling out the second round of the stimulus packages to keep the local tourism…
- Business News
Draft bill to inspect e-bank transfers over 50,000 baht
The Deputy Government Spokesman Rachada Dhnadirek says the Cabinet has now approved a draft bill proposed by the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) to inspect electronic transactions exceeding 50,000 baht, in a move to combat money laundering and financing of terrorists. According to international standards, Thailand has been found lacking on 17 issues in relation to preventing money laundering and the…
- Business News
18 foreign companies receive licences to operate in Thailand – September
“Since January this year, 155 foreign companies have been granted licences to conduct business in Thailand.” The Thai Department of Business Development has granted licences, during September, to 18 foreign companies to conduct business in Thailand. The director-general Vuttikrai Leewiraphan says most of these companies are from Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong, employing 428 Thais and have an investment capital of…
- Transport News
Thai state railway board members resign, effective immediately
Two days ago the story about the transport Minister pressuring board members of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT). Two days later, not some but ALL, board members of the SRT, including the board’s chairman Kulit Sombatsiri, tendered their resignations to Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob. Effective immediately. The Nation reports that Kulit denied reports that the mass resignation was due…
- Tourism News
Economic ministers to meet next Monday for economic and tourism ‘Council of War’
The council of economic ministers will meet next Monday, on October 7 in Bangkok, to discuss the current economic and tourism situation. Kobsak Pootrakool, the deputy secretary-general to the PM for political affairs, says the meeting will confront obstacles facing the country’s tourism industry. “The ministers will also discuss the country’s export situation”. The Nation reports that the Commerce Ministry…
- Transport News
Transport Minister pressures State Railway board to resign
PHOTO: The Nation Board members of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) are expected to tender their resignations to Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob ‘soon’, according to sources to The Nation. There has been speculation for some time that the members have been under pressure to resign, as the minister reportedly wants to reconstitute the board. Among many other issues, the…
- Business News
Cafe Amazon brewing up a cup of coffee in China
PTT Oil and Retail Business, the owners of the Cafe Amazon brand, has opened its first branch in China. Their goal is to make the coffee chain a global brand, a sort of ‘Thai Starbucks’. The first Cafe Amazon outlet in China is located at a Sinopec petrol station in Nanning of Guangxi, in southern China on the Vietnamese border,…
- Thailand News
Not 12 billion baht, only 4.2 billion! Price tag for Army helicopters.
The Royal Thai Army has clarified spending on eight AH-6i light attack reconnaissance helicopters, weapons and associated equipment from the US, after it was claimed yesterday to have a price tag of 12 billion baht. The Army spokesman Colonel Winthai Suvaree called the media together to explain that it paid 4.2 billion baht for the eight helicopters and equipment from the…
- Environment News
Blue skies, nothing but blue skies, in southern Thailand
PHOTOS: Matichon Online Breath easy southerners. Residents and tourists in at least seven southern Thai provinces have been greeted with clear blue sky and fresh air, well, certainly a vast improvement anyway although there is still some slight lingering smog. For the first time in two weeks Matichon Online reports that much of the Indonesian smoke from plantation burn-offs has cleared,…
- Economy News
Asian Development Bank drops growth forecast for Thailand
“The bank forecasts a slightly higher growth rate at 3.2% next year, due largely to infrastructure investment in the Eastern Economic Corridor.” The Asian Development Bank is lowering its growth forecast for Thailand’s economy from 3.9% to 3% but is optimistic that conditions will improve next year. “The bank forecasts a slightly higher growth rate at 3.2% next year, due…
- World News
China opens mega airport in Beijing ahead of country’s 70th anniversary
“China is expected to surpass the US to become the world’s biggest aviation market in the next couple of years.” by Poornima Weerasekara China’s President Xi Jinping has opened a futuristic new airport in Beijing, expected to become one of the busiest in the world. Xi declared the starfish-shaped airport open in brief remarks at a ceremony inside the huge terminal,…
- Politics News
Thai pro-democracy body calls on UN to investigate ‘military government in disguise’
PHOTOS: Facebook: Jaran Ditapichai/Kritsada Akkhapracha Jaran Ditapichai, the president of the Association of Thai Democrats without Borders’ has written to the UN yesterday asking the international body to investigate the government of Thai PM General Prayut Chan-o-cha. The Nation reports that Jaran personally dropped the submission at a letterbox near the UN headquarters in New York and recorded the action with…
- Transport News
Shake-up at the top in Thai state enterprises – Transport Minister
PHOTO: BTS station – YouTube In a major management shakeup in Thai state enterprises, the transport minister has now appointed a new chairmen to the boards of the Port Authority of Thailand, the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) and the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMA). The list of new chairmen has been…
- Politics News
Prayut meets up with Thai expats in New York ahead of UN meetings today
PHOTOS: ศ.ดร.นฤมล ภิญโญสินวัฒน์ Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has been meeting Thai expats in New York before his attending the UN Climate Summit and other meetings this week. Prayut and his entourage, including Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai, arrived at the Plaza Athenee Hotel on the 64th street yesterday around midday on a sunny New York day. Prayut was welcomed by Nipon…
- Business News
Phuket social enterprise shop takes the first steps
PHOTOS: stepswiththeera.com A Bangkok-based social enterprise has made its debut in Phuket as it opened a new zero-waste shop, cafe and vocational training centre in Cherng Talay. The shop is run by Steps With Theera and provides a range of plastic substitutes including bamboo straw sets, bamboo toothbrushes and SuperBee wax wraps, alongside a refill station with beauty products from…
- Economy News
Finance Ministry launches 100 billion stimulus package to kickstart sagging economy
PHOTO: thailandshoppingdining.com The Government is kicking off a new stimulus package valued at 100 billion baht to “stimulate the grassroots economy”. Prasong Poontaneat, permanent secretary of the Finance Ministry reported that the government is preparing a brand-new stimulus package. “The Finance Ministry and related agencies will spend more than 100 billion baht on approximately 30 million low-income households nationwide.” The…
- Politics News
Thai MP rich list
PHOTO: The Nation The National Anti-Corruption Commission has published a who’s who list of Thailand’s richest politicians. The NACC has reported the personal finances of 80 MPs. The personal finances report is an addition to the NACC’s previous report of 415 MPs who had earlier submitted their asset lists in July. Notable MPs whose assets and debts have been revealed…
- Crime News
More arrest warrants issued over Bangkok’s August bomb attacks
PHOTO: Voice of America The Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for five more suspects yesterday over their alleged involvement in the simultaneous bomb and arson attacks in Bangkok back on August 2. Police presented evidence against them to the court yesterday to obtain warrants for their arrest. They are accused of being members of an unlawful syndicate and collaborating to carry…
- World News
Southern Thailand smog well above safe levels
PHOTOS: Charoon Thongnual – The Nation Hat Yai, the main city in Songkhla, has been among the worst hit by the smog engulfing parts of southern Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Borneo. The business district of Hat Yai has been hard hit with PM2.5 particles exceeding the safety standards of 50 (set by the World…
- Bangkok News
Bangkok shophouse partially collapses in the rain
An abandoned shophouse in Bangkok’s Bang Plat district partially collapsed last night. No one was injured as the three-unit shop house, spread over four floors on Soi Charansanitwong 96/2 in Bang Or subdistrict, had been empty for a while. Officials said the fourth and third floors collapsed onto the lower floors, causing glasses and pieces of wood, and concrete, to fall…
- Tourism News
New branding for the old town – tweaking Phuket’s Old Town
PHOTO: Many renovated buildings and putting the crappy overhead cabling underground is bringing the old town alive Though Phuket remains among the world’s most popular tourist destinations, injecting some 477 billion baht to the Thai economy, with its “Pearl of the Andaman Sea” branding, its future status is being questioned due to competition from Indonesia and Vietnam. In response, Phuket…
- Crime News
2.5 million methamphetamine pills seized near Myanmar border
PHOTO: The Nation Another big delivery of methamphetamine pills has been intercepted in Chiang Mai. This time the couriers were both female. Rangers from the Pha Muang Task Force intercepted 2.5 million methamphetamine pills and arrested two females in a pick-up truck that broke through a checkpoint in the Mae Ai district early yesterday. The arrest followed a tip-off that…
- Business News
No impact on PTT’s imports from Saudi oil refinery attack: Thai minister
Thai energy minister Sontirat Sontijirawong claims that last Saturday’s attacks on two major oil-processing facilities run by the Saudi-owned company Aramco will not affect oil imports of the Thai petro-chemical giant PTT group. He added that he had learnt from Aramco and related parties that the situation there was under control and the damage was being assessed. The incident would…
- World News
Hong Kong train derails during morning peak
“The cause of the derailment was still under investigation but there was no immediate suggestion of foul play…” A passenger train has derailed during the morning peak hour in Hong Kong. Three people were injured in the incident. Images from the scene showed three carriages had left the tracks and were zigzagged across the rails near Hung Hom station in…
