- Bangkok News
Bangkok smog: Diesel buses and vehicles key problem
by Wichit Chaitrong “The problem is the estimated 2.5 million diesel-powered trucks and buses still on city roads.” Experts are saying this morning that, given the problems in recent weeks with Bangkok’s smog, the national government’s pursuit of a “low-carbon economy” has fallen short of needs. They are recommending higher taxes on “dirty fuel” and a reduction in the number of…
- Pattaya News
Chinese tourist drowns off Koh Samet
by Achara Wisetsri A 58 year old Chinese tourist, who got into difficulty whilst swimming off Koh Samet on Saturday, has died while being transported to a district hospital. Koh Samet is off the coast of Rayong province, east of Bangkok. Witnesses say he was “battered by waves” in the sea off Sai Kaew Beach. The victim was swimming with a…
- Bangkok News
Bangkok smog: Police get out their hoses
by Kornkamon Aksorndech Traffic police and volunteers sprayed water at four locations in Bangkok this morning in a bid to curb the dust and smog pollution. Pol Maj General Nithithorn Jintakanon, commander of the Traffic Police Division of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, presided at the dispatch of 150 police officers and volunteers from his headquarters on Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road. They chose…
- Bangkok News
Club raid in Bangkok. Everyone detained tested positive to drug use.
PHOTOS: The Nation Another Bangkok night spot is is being threatened with closure after an early morning raid found it open too late, unlicensed and with patrons stocked up and pumped up with illicit drugs. A team from the Provincial Administration Department and other officials raided the 56 Arena Music Hall on Charoenrat Road in Bang Kho Laem district, south…
- South Thailand News
UPDATE: Narathiwat temple murders – Security increased while PM condemns shooting
PHOTO: Slain Abbot Phra Khru Prachote Rattanarak The national police chief is ordering police regional units in Narathiwat to ramp up security in the province to hunt down the culprits behind last night’s deadly attack at a temple. Police spokesman Pol Lt General Piya Uthayoh says the motive behind the attack on monks at Rattananuparb Temple in Sungai Padi district…
- South Thailand News
Human Rights Watch condemn Narathiwat temple murders as a war crime
PHOTOS: The Nation The cold-blooded attack on a Narathiwat temple, where two monks were gunned down last night, was “inhumane and barbaric”. Spokesman for the Defence Ministry, Lt General Kongcheep Tantrawanich, says that those behind the attack at Wat Rattananuparb in Sungai Padi district “showed no mercy”. “They prefer to use violence to make people fear for their own benefits…
- South Thailand News
Students huddle under desks in Narathiwat as insurgents fight with soldiers
by Narong Nuansakul, Nakarin Chinworakamon Students huddled under desks and screamed in fear as they could hear guns being fired near their school in Narathiwat province, bordering the Malaysian border, yesterday. The gunfight erupted after rangers and police confronted a group of suspected insurgents in a rubber plantation nearby. One suspect was killed in the clash, and authorities believe other…
- Northern Thailand News
Swiss man accused of overstaying visa and theft charges
by Kamthon Kongsombat PHOTO: Security footage from the Phuket jewelry store in December 2018 – Facebook The Immigration Bureau says they’re going to blacklist and deport a Swiss man who overstayed his visa and is also accused of series of thefts in Nongkhai and Phuket. The Nongkhai deputy immigration police chief Colonel Prasit Somjaiprasong says that Julien Andre Junior Cotting,…
- South Thailand News
More dead whales along the southern Gulf coast
Two young Omura whales have been separately found on Songkhla’s beaches. They were probably from the same herd. The bodies had already started decomposing when they were found. Pak Tae Ra villagers in Ranote district alerted a regional maritime research centre that a big whale was found on the beach. The centre’s chief Suthep Juela-ong found the remains of an Omura…
- Northern Thailand News
19 year old caught transporting drugs to Korat in a hired taxi
PHOTOS: The Nation A young man has been arrested after being allegedly found with methamphetamine pills, marijuana and a gun in a taxi at a checkpoint in Nakhon Ratchasima. Police say he had hired a Bangkok taxi to take him, along with the drugs, to a client in Buri Ram. Pol Lt Col Ronnarong Surathot, deputy commander of Chokchai police…
- Thailand News
Burmese man shot after allegedly attacking policeman with knife
A Burmese man has been shot and injured after allegedly attacking a policeman with a knife yesterday afternoon. Police claim 45 year old Saw Luimia attacked a policeman at a road checkpoint in Tambon Mae Ngow of Mae Hong Son’s Khun Yuam district at about 2.20pm. Mae Hong Son is in the far north west of Thailand on the Myanmar border.…
- Pattaya News
Two Chinese arrested after fellow Chinese assaulted in Pattaya
Two Chinese men have been arrested early this morning for allegedly assaulting a compatriot in Pattaya. Police said 28 year old Zhang Hongxing and 33 year old Cao Lei were arrested at 1.30am while fleeing in two vehicles. Cao and Zhang, in separate cars, were stopped at the North Pattaya Road before they turned onto Sukhumvit Road. Police blocked the…
- Thailand News
PM Prayut kicks the election can down the road
PHOTO: The Nation February 24? No. March? April? Maybe May? PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has reaffirmed today that election will definitely be held by May 9 but gave no indication when exactly it will take place. It’s the first time he’s ever uttered an actual date. He says that under the new Thai Constitution, May 9 is the final date election…
- Bangkok News
Bangkok smog: Police on the lookout for dirty exhaust from vehicles
by Khanathit Srihirundaj It’s either a knee-jerk reaction, media stunt or something we hope to see a lot more of. Checking vehicles with plumes of dirty smoke coming out of their exhaust. To help curb fine-particle dust pollution in Bangkok, traffic police have increased the number of checkpoints where they will check vehicles spewing black exhaust smoke. The number of…
- Bangkok News
Bangkok smog: Chatuchak school closes for the rest of the week
A kindergarten in Chatuchak, to the north of central Bangkok, has suspended classes because of air pollution that has landed Bangkok in the top 10 list of worst-polluted cities. Bangkok still lags far behind some of the world’s most polluted cities, including the Afghani capital Kabul (at 576), Delhi in India (306) and Mongolia’s Ulaanbaatar (300). But the Top 10…
- Bangkok News
Crisis meetings in Bangkok today over smog solutions
PHOTOS: The Nation Urgent meetings are being held in Bangkok today to address the acute smog problems in the capital. The Pollution Control Department and Bangkok Metropolitan Administration are gathering today in their latest efforts to battle with the persistent smog while dust particles continue to blanket the capital with smog levels alarming locals and causing tourists to cancel their…
- Bangkok News
Smog settles in as a chronic Bangkok problem
Air pollution? What air pollution!? Bangkok residents will have to put up with smog until early March, as high levels of PM2.5 particles settle over the capital for many more weeks, or months. Though pollution has become a cause of grave concern to citizens, relevant authorities are yet to introduce significant measures – let alone declare the capital a pollution-control…
- Thailand News
Police not accepting the new smartphone driving licence yet
Great. Don’t have to carry my physical Driver’s Licence anymore! But hang on, news today from the Royal Thai Police that they won’t recognise your snazzy new App which displays your digital driver’s licence on your smart phone. Net yet anyway. Police are now saying they won’t recognise the new digital driver’s licenses until a legal amendment is in place.…
- World News
FOUND: Cockpit Voice Recorder from crashed Lion Air flight
PHOTO: A Boeing 737 MAX, identical to the crashed jet “It’s broken into two pieces so hopefully it’s still useful.” Just as hopes of finding the second black box of the crashed Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX began to fade, investigators say they finally found the voice cockpit recorder (CVR) of the doomed flight. Data retrieved from the device could…
- Bangkok News
World Health Organisation: More people killed by air pollution than by AIDS, malaria
by Pratch Rujivanarom Authorities are launching all-out efforts to battle persistent smog in Bangkok, as dust particles continued to blanket the capital. Meanwhile a WHO (World Health Organisation) report says air pollution kills more people than AIDS and malaria combined. Authorities have been including cleaning roads more often, spraying water into the sky, trying to produce artificial rain and enforcing…
- Thailand News
Weather for January 14
Bangkok Partly cloudy. High 34C. Winds light and variable. Chiang Mai Partly cloudy. High 32C. Winds light and variable. Phuket Partly cloudy early followed by scattered thunderstorms this afternoon. High 31C. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 km/h. Chance of rain 50%. Udon Thani Partly cloudy. High 33C. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 km/h. Songkhla Mostly sunny. High near…
- Phuket News
Explore the best of Patong from Patong Bay Hill Resort, Phuket
Patong Beach is the most popular beach destination in Phuket. Known the world over, the neighbourhood is the beating heart of the island’s vibrant nightlife scene and also offers up a variety of dining options and unique places for shopping. This bustling neighbourhood is also home to the classy Patong Bay Hill Resort. Perched high above the beach in the…
- South Thailand News
Policeman murdered in brazen Pattani ‘drive by’
A policeman is dead after being shot outside his precinct station in Pattani’s Khok Pho district yesterday. Security officials believe it might be in possible retaliation for the deaths of two suspected insurgents the day before. The incident caps off a violent week in the deep south provinces. 32 year old Pol Corporal Chalermpol Khomkham was manning the sentry box…
- Thailand News
Thai Tourism chases the pink dollar as one of its “new shades”
by Phatarawadee Phataranawik and The ThaigerWhile Thailand is waiting for a Life Partnership Bill to become law, and maybe a move towards full same-sex marriage down the track, advocates say they are encouraged by the country’s efforts in attracting LGBT tourists. The recent approval of the Life Partnership Bill by the Thai cabinet was a significant step – the first such move…
- Pattaya News
Chinese, Taiwanese, Lao involved in making fake credit cards – Pattaya
FILE PHOTO “Police found 17 fake credit cards, three computers and a card writer and reader.” Pattaya police and immigration officials have arrested a Chinese and Taiwanese man over allegations of making fake credit cards with stolen information for an accomplice in Laos. Pattaya police held a press conference yesterday to announce the arrest of 27 year old Taiwanese citizen,…
- Thailand News
Social media the key in the run up to the 2019 election
“Newspapers, once the beneficiary of political advertising, will now be side-lined in favor of targeted social media in the lead up to this year’s election.” by Asina Pownwasin Your social media platforms are about to be filled with banter, arguments and lots of advertising. The topic? The forthcoming Thai election (when a date is eventually announced). For the first time…
- Cannabis News
Medical cannabis crops to be tightly controlled
The Thai narcotic control board head says that only Thai citizens who join hands with the government will be allowed to cultivate medical cannabis. The board yesterday stressed that growers of the potentially lucrative crop must be cooperatives, community enterprises or social enterprises made up of citizens – and not private companies. Their business will be under the scrutiny of…
- Chiang Mai News
Missing 14 year old girl now under government care
by Kornkamol Aksorndej – The Nation Weekend A 14 year old girl, reported missing for more than two weeks and later found with an older man in a Chiang Mai apartment, is now under government care. Pol Maj General Jirabhop Bhuridej of the Crime Suppression Division, says, “We won’t give details about the case. The minor must be protected.” The…
- Pattaya News
Parents say their daughter’s been kidnapped. Police have other ideas.
The parents of a 14 year old schoolgirl missing for the past two weeks have now filed a complaint with the Crime Suppression Division (CSD), saying they are convinced she’s been kidnapped. They say their daughter last used social media in Rayong province (east of Pattaya) on December 28, the day after she vanished. A police source has revealed they…
- South Thailand News
Southern insurgents gun down four Pattani defence volunteers
In a worrying upsurge in southern violence, insurgents disguised as army troops have gunned down and killed four tambon defence volunteers in Pattani’s Yarang district. The incident happened around noon and insurgents stole their rifles following the attack. Police say the four defence volunteers from Tambon Prachan were guarding Ban Bukoh School in the tambon when the insurgents arrived in…
