- 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…
- Krabi News
Booking in advance, standardised tours, limited numbers – Maya Bay’s tourism future
“Both Thon and DNP executives emphasised that mass tourism would not be allowed again at Maya Bay.” by Pratch Rujivcanarom Maya Bay’s visitors will have to book in advance for limited day tours once the popular tourist magnet reopens to the public. After an official inspection of the rehabilitation efforts at Maya Bay on Koh Phi Phi Ley, local marine…
- 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 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,…
- Environment News
Maya Bay’s closure could be further extended – Dr Thon
Maya Bay, closed to the public since last June to allow its beach and coral to recover, will remain shut to visitors for at least another two years as its ecology needs more time to heal. “The director-general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Tanya Netithammakul will have the final say on whether to reopen the…
- 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…
- 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 Election News
Prawit defends the PM’s brother being appointed to the new Senate
PHOTO: Thai Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan When the media are sceptical, get your wing man to back you up. The deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan has defended the appointment of retired General Preecha Chan-o-cha, the younger brother of PM Prayut, as a senator in the new parliament’s upper house. He said Gen Preecha is qualified as he was a member of…
- 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…
- 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
27 deaths from Dengue fever already this year
27 people have died from dengue fever in Thailand so far this year. That’s the highest fatality rate, year on year, in the past five years. The Public Health Ministry deputy permanent secretary Dr Supakit Sirilak has reacted by sending an urgent letter to related agencies to prepare measures to prevent more dengue fever deaths. It’s estimated there will be…
- 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…
- South Thailand News
15 car convoy arrested in Songkhla for petrol smuggling
Soldiers and customs officials have stopped and searched 15 vehicles heading north from Malaysia into Thailand smuggling petrol and diesel. Officials seized 5,100 litres of petrol and diesel allegedly being smuggled into Songkhla’s Sadao district this morning at the Tha Khoi-Padang Bezar border crossing from Malaysia. The drivers of the five cars and 10 pickup trucks were arrested on charges…
- Thailand Election News
Second batch of official election results due today
Five weeks after the country’s general election, the Election Commission has endorsed 349 successful constituency candidates for the House of Representatives, of the 350 seats contested. One constituency in Chiang Mai province had its winning candidate disqualified – a bi-election will be held at the end of the month. Today, the EC will reveal the 150 successful party-list MP candidates who…
- Northern Thailand News
Study links Northern and Southern smog with rising cases of respiratory disease
A medical report has pointed to serious health threats from air pollution in Thailand’s smog-prone areas, and the country’s far north north and deep south have been found to be hotspots for asthma and other major respiratory diseases. Higher death rates from three main respiratory diseases – asthma, lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – in the northern region highlighted…
- Thailand Election News
Election Commission officially endorses 349 constituency seat winners
Five weeks after the country’s first general election since the 2014 military coup, the Election Commission has now officially endorsed 349 successful constituency candidates for the Lower House of Parliament, minus one. The EC’s deputy secretary-general, Sawang Boonmee says the vacant spot is for a Chiang Mai province constituency that will have a by-election later in May after the March…
- Thailand News
NCPO to consider lifting old ‘orders’ passed after the 2014 coup
PHOTO: The Thai PM says, following the coronation, it’s time to revoke some of the old orders Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-gnam says that the junta and the government are meeting today to discuss the revocation of orders and announcements originally issued by the NCPO, but were no longer considered necessary. He noted that some of these orders were issued as…
- Thailand Election News
NCPO and NLA members resign to take up positions as senators in next parliament
Members of the current Cabinet and the National Legislative Assembly, who are hoping to become senators in the new parliament, are expected to resign as the NCPO prepares senatorial appointments for royal endorsement by the end of this week. Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam says that the NCPO will submit its list of 250 appointed senators by this Friday. He said…
- Health
Businesses rush in to capitalise on medical marijuana mania
The recent legalisation of medical marijuana in Thailand is spurring active efforts to investigate and develop the plant’s medicinal properties. Earlier this year, the government legalised medical marijuana citing research suggesting that cannabis may be beneficial in treating some chronic conditions. Despite the fairly ambiguous and unspecific wording in the legislation, many companies are now actively pursuing a profitable future…
- Events
King greets the people in a massive public audience at the Grand Palace
Yesterday’s appearances on the balcony of the Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall of the Grand Palace in Bangkok of HM The King and royal family capped off three days of pomp and circumstance for the coronation of Thailand’s monarch. His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn granted a historic public audience from the main balcony yesterday afternoon. A sea of yellow-clad people of all ages…
- Events
HM The King confers new royal titles on his family – PHOTOS
“HM The King’s mother will now be addressed as Her Majesty Queen Sirikit the Queen Mother.” HM King Maha Vajiralongkorn yesterday granted new titles to members of his family in a grand, televised royal ceremony. The late King Bhumibol Adulyadej has a new name signifying he was also the father of a monarch, and that he was a “Maha Raja”…
- Phuket News
Upper Southern provinces being warned about dengue spread
“The number of patients is expected to rise as rain has begun falling in some southern provinces.” Residents of provinces in Thailand’s upper South are being warned that dengue could spread now that the annual monsoon rains have arrived. Doctor Sirilak Thaicharoen, director of Nakhon Si Thammarat’s 11th Disease Control Office, said 1,165 people in seven upper Southern provinces had…
- Events
Saturday’s Royal Coronation ceremonies – PHOTOS
The 66 year old monarch, dressed in a bejewelled golden robe, was handed the Crown of Victory that weighs 7.3 kilograms, which he placed on his head. HM the King then issued his First Royal Command: “I shall continue to protect, develop and reign with righteousness for the benefit and happiness of the people.” His Majesty the King then granted…
- Thailand Election News
Announcement of election results this Tuesday and Wednesday
The Election Commission is, as promised, poised to announce the final election results next Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday’s initial round of results are sure to spark off a new round of political dramas – no matter who is considered the ‘winner’ from the results. The announcements come at a time when tensions are running high over lawsuits and the uncertainty over…
- Events
Royal Coronation – Saturday morning’s ceremonies – PHOTOS
Today, May 4, is day one of the three-day Royal Coronation ceremony in Bangkok. Today, His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn has been anointed and officially enthroned as the 10th monarch of the Chakri Dynasty. 10.45am: The Royal Purification ceremony completes. The King proceeds to Baisal Daksin Throne Hall where the Anointment Ceremony takes place. 10.09am: His Majesty the King attends…
- World News
New Disneyland ‘Star Wars’ park opens May 31
May the forward sales be with you. Fans have raced to be the first to experience the new Disneyland Star Wars theme park, based on the iconic film series. The park is being opened at the original Disneyland site in Annaheim, California. The new theme park began accepting requests on Thursday to visit “Galaxy’s Edge” during the first three weeks…
