- Northern Thailand News
Weather warnings out for parts of the country
The annual monsoon is here. Bangkok, along with 55 other provinces in Thailand, have thunderstorms forecast over the next 24 hours. The Thai Meteorological Department have issued the warnings this morning. Storms are predicted in the central and northern regions and waves in the Andaman Sea forecast up to two metres, according to the TMD. Seree Supratid of Rangsit University’s…
- Hot News
Co-ordinated pipe bomb attacks in Yala injure five
FILE PHOTO Five Army troops and rangers have been injured after southern insurgents threw pipe bombs. Security officials say the incidents happened at three locations in Yala in what appears to be a co-ordinated incident. The commander of Muang Yala police station, Pol Col Narawee Binwaearong, says two insurgents on a motorcycle rode to a security checkpoint on the Siroros…
- Hot News
Boeing knew about problems with 737 Max 8 jets before second crash
PHOTO: American Airlines They knew because plenty of pilots told them, on tape. In the months between the two Boeing 737 Max airplane crashes, pilots from American Airlines confronted a Boeing official about the controversial MCAS computerised anti-stall system that preliminary reports have now implicated in both deadly wrecks. The audio of the meeting has been obtained by the US’…
- Thai Life
Mandatory health insurance for retirement visa holders starts July
Expats aged 50+ living in Thailand on a long-stay visa will have to buy health insurance from July onwards. Authorities are now preparing the new guidelines to enforce the rules approved by Cabinet last month. But the July start date isn’t yet ‘set in stone’. The new regulation requires expats on the long-stay non-immigrant O-A visa to have health insurance…
- Northern Thailand News
Head-on collision kills five, injures three in Khon Kaen
Five football fans, travelling to watch the Thai Port Football Club, have been killed when their rented van crashed head-on with a water tanker in Khon Kaen this morning. Police said the incident occurred on the Chumphae Si Chomphu road in Moo 6 village in Tambon Wang Hin Lad. Three others people were injured in the collision. Four men died…
- Pattaya News
Pattaya prison releases 243 inmates on royal pardons
PHOTO: Pattaya Mail 243 inmates have been released from the Pattaya Remind Prison on royal pardons granted by HM the King as part of his coronation celebrations. Warden of the prison, Watcharaw Wachiralerphan oversaw the release of 181 men and 62 women prisoners on Monday. Each convict wore yellow shirts with “Long Live the King” logos on the front. The…
- Thailand News
June 3 to be annual holiday for new Queen’s birthday
The Cabinet has announced that June 3, Her Majesty Queen Suthida’s birthday, will now be a national holiday, starting from this year onward. The announcement was made by Nattaporn Jatusripitak, spokesperson for the deputy PM in charge of economic affairs. The proposal from the Secretariat of the Cabinet was made in response to a royal command from HM the King. The…
- Bangkok News
Three die after car bursts into flames in Bangkok
PHOTOS: The Nation A driver and a front-seat passenger have been killed after their car collided into a roadside tree in Bangkok’s Klong Sam Wa district this morning. The car had flipped onto its side after hitting the tree. A 32 year old and six other witnesses managed to flip the car upright and pluck a man from the back…
- Koh Samui News
Former prisoner arrested over rape of Norwegian tourist on Koh Pha Ngan
33 year old Rewat Harnsuwan, a resident of Nakhon Si Thammarat, has been arrested over the alleged rape of a Norwegian woman on Koh Pha Ngan off the coast of Surat Thani last Sunday. He was arrested at a motorcycle repair shop in Tambon Koh Pha Ngan at 8pm last night. It has been revealed that he had been released from…
- Thai Life
Mandatory health insurance for long-stay foreigners
Health insurance will be mandatory for expats aged 50+ years look towards a long-term stay in Thailand. The insurance policy must offer up to 40,000 baht coverage for outpatient treatment and up to 400,000 baht for inpatient treatment. The Health Service Support Department director-general Nattawuth Prasert-siripong says, “The Cabinet has already approved the new rule. This is one of the measures…
- Thailand Election News
Bhumjaithai’s Anutin says he won’t support a PM dependent on the senate vote
Anutin Charnvirakul, the Bhumjaithai leader, has made it clear that his party will not support a PM candidate who does have the backing from a simple majority of MPs in Parliament. Bhumjaithai, coming fifth in sheer MP numbers following the March 24 election (behind Pheu Thai, Palang Pracharat, Future Forward and the Democrats), has become a king-maker in the jockeying…
- Tourism News
Konnichiwa – welcome to Thailand’s Top 10 cultural destinations
by Nisanath Kungwanwong Congratulations ‘Hinoki Land’ in Chiang Mai for being recognised by the Thai Culture Ministry as one of Thailand’s Top 10 Cultural Destinations. It looks…so… Thai?!? “Hinoki Land should not be included in the list, as it merely copies a Japanese tourist spot of the same name.” The ministry’s Cultural Promotion Office recently announced the top 10 cultural…
- Koh Samui News
Police looking for Thai man who raped Norwegian tourist after Full Moon Party
PHOTO: M-THAI Police on Koh Pha Ngan in the Gulf of Thailand off Koh Samui are launching a manhunt for a Thai man who has allegedly raped a Norwegian tourist. The incident is said to have happened during the monthly Half Moon party late Saturday night. The national police chief had instructed the Surat Thani police head office to speed…
- Health
Patient reveals he contracted HIV from donated blood
“We are continuously improving the screening process for donated blood.” A young Thai-Japanese man has contracted HIV via a blood transfusion given as part of his leukaemia treatment at a Bangkok private hospital 15 years ago. But Bumrungrad International Hospital, where the man received treatment for years, says the infected blood came from Thai Red Cross Society and it was…
- Thailand News
Digital dithering: TV operators exit stage right
Almost a quarter of the Thai digital TV industry want to return licences under a junta offer. Six commercial digital TV broadcasters are handing the seven licences they hold back to the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission. The move will leave about 1,000 people without a job. Returning the licences are Bright TV for its Bright TV Channel 20, Voice…
- Business News
Thailand slashes 2019 exports estimates as trade war escalates
by Phuwit Limviphuwat Thai exporters are expected to pay a heavy price as the ramping up of the US-China trade war continues. The US has now launched a new round of tariffs on Chinese imports. Last Friday US President Donald Trump tweeted: “Talks with China continue in a very congenial manner, there is absolutely no need to rush, as Tariffs…
- Environment News
Rising tide of concern over lifting ban on elephant exports
by Pratch Rujivanarom Animal rights activists, along with a strong voice of disapproval on social media, are complaining about the Commerce Ministry’s plan to legalise the export of live domesticated elephants. Somsak Soonthornnawaphat, head of Thai operations for the organisation World Animal Protection, strongly disapproves of the plan, citing the likelihood of the elephants suffering distress and even agony on…
- Northern Thailand News
Thai government desperately needs a ‘clean air act’
by Pratch Rujivanarom Environment campaigners are urging the government to approve a clean-air act to solve the country’s chronic smog problem and honour citizens’ right to breathe clean air. Dr Wirun Limsawart, a policy analyst at the Society and Health Institute and member of the Clean Air Network Thailand, said at a press conference there was no more time for…
- Northern Thailand News
Thai customs seize medical cannabis oil at Laos border
by Kamthon Kongsombat Nong Khai customs officers have charged a Lao citizen with trying to smuggle medical cannabis oil into Thailand via the First Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge. 45 year old Pornpirom Wichit was arrested in Mueang Nong Khai district after 65 bottles of cannabis oil, estimated to be worth around 195,000 baht, were found in his luggage. Nimit Saeng-ampai, head of…
- Koh Samui News
French man nabbed on suspicion of operating a taxi
PHOTO: Manager Online Koh Samui police interviewed a foreign man who had been accepting money after taking tourists to the port on Koh Samui. The man denied he had been running a taxi service saying he was just helping friends. Thai operators, particularly taxi services on Samui, are claiming that foreigners were increasingly taking jobs reserved for Thais. Locals say Europeans,…
- Health
Cannabis is not a cure-all, doctors warn
“Even paracetamol can be lethal if it is wrongly used, so we should not idolise cannabis as a panacea and entirely replace conventional medicines with cannabinoid medicines.” Consumers are being warned that cannabis is not a panacea and cure-all for many illnesses and must be used cautiously under the management of health professionals. The warning comes from medical experts at…
- Northern Thailand News
Summer storms take their toll on the north-east this year
It’s been a tough year for residents as a result of summer storms in Thailand’s north-east region. More than 5,000 homes were damaged and 16,000 residents affected by summer storms in Nakhon Ratchasima over the past three months – the assessment from the provincial disaster prevention and mitigation office head Pornchet Saengthong. “Summer storms in this northeastern province this year…
- Health
Syphilis on the rise again in Thailand
Syphilis is again on the rise in Thailand. Although curable, this sexually transmitted disease can turn fatal if patients fail to recognise their infection and thus lose a chance to get timely treatment. The Bangrak STD centre, which is under the Disease Control Department, recently warned on its Facebook page that the number of syphilis cases had been rising at a…
- Bangkok News
Ping-pong bombs used in Samut Prakan gang brawl
Samut Prakan police have had to intervene in a confrontation between rival gangs and ended up sending five injured youth to hospital, only for the whole matter to flare up again in the hospital parking area. One group of four young men, wielding knives and wooden clubs, hurled a ping-pong bomb at their rivals in the Koh Bang Chalong community…
- Thailand News
First batch of practitioners qualify to prescribe medical cannabis
Thailand is now certifying the first batch of 175 professionals who will be qualified to prescribe marijuana-based medication. Medical Services have released the names of the first 175 practitioners who successfully completed the two day course. According to The Nation, 192 attended the training, but only 175 had passed it. The successful professionals will become the first to qualify for handing…
- Thailand Election News
Forming the next Thai government – Bhumjaithai and Democrats will decide
The result of who becomes the next government won’t come down to Palang Pracharat, Pheu Thai or even Future Forward. The horse-trading, that has been ongoing since the first results emerged after the March 24 election, has come down to some very simple maths. The ‘swinging’ Bhumjaithai Party. Their votes will sweep either Pheu Thai or the Junta-in-civilian-clothing, Palang Pracharat,…
- Phuket News
Ultimate parties at The Bay and Beach Club, Patong
Newly built and super stylish, The Bay and Beach Club is the hottest addition to the island’s most favorite resort neighborhood of Patong. Elegant and luxurious with a modern design and spacious rooms, the resort sets the benchmark for beachfront accommodation in Phuket. With a convenient location right on the sands of Patong Beach, a holiday spent at The Bay…
- Thailand News
A Phitsanulok district has been declared a drought zone
The Phitsanulok provincial administration has declared the Wat Bote district a drought disaster zone. They’ve taken the action to speed up assistance for villagers as the volume of water in a local dam has dropped to less than 25% of its capacity. Phitsanulok province is in central Thailand. Chamnarn Chuthiang, director of the Phitsanulok Irrigation Office, said the Wat Bote…
- Environment News
Greening Bangkok: 100,000 new trees for the city costing 30 million baht
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration is planning to spend 30 million baht in planting 100,000 trees this year to increase Bangkok’s green space. The first batch of 50,000 trees requiring 5 million baht would be planted at public parks and state offices. The second batch of 50,000 trees requiring 25 million baht would be planted by 50 district offices on land…
- Thailand Election News
Election Commission’s ‘formula’ lands 27 parties in Lower House
The Election Commission has announced that a total of 26 parties have secured party-list MP seats in the new Lower House. 11 of the parties didn’t even win enough votes to be entitled to the seats under the guidelines announced before the election. The EC deputy secretary-general Sawang Boonmee refused to explain why the junta-appointed poll authority had chosen this controversial…
