- World News
Better analysis needed to track down the source of new chemicals in illicit drugs
The Office of Narcotics Control Board has been training personnel in drug analysis to handle new illicit substances coming onto the streets. A Chinese analysis lab has recently discovered 230 new psychotropic substances which are making their way into recreational drugs and other foods. China has subsequently banned several beverages and sweets that contain these new illegal substances. Thailand’s Justice…
- Thailand Election News
Army chief’s intervention in election campaign backfires
by Jitraporn Sennawong and Nattaphat Phromkaew The Thai Army chief’s attempt to scare politicians from discussing the Army’s budget and reform by indirectly calling them “enemies of the state” has backfired. Many Thais have emerged with additional proposals for reforms of the military, and others are protesting the chief’s invocation of the jingoistic military anthem. Political critics and social media…
- Bangkok News
Man arrested over 50 million baht scam
A man has been arrested for allegedly defrauding around 100 stock market investors of about 50 million baht. Pol Lt Gen Suchate Hakparn, the Immigration Bureau chief who also heads the economic crime centre, says 52 year old Jittaraphon Nisarat was arrested on Tuesday at his apartment in Bangkok’s Phra Khanong district. Surachate says Jittaraphon was arrested under a warrant…
- Thailand Election News
Thai Raksa Chart say Princess was ‘nominated with her consent’
PHOTO: Prasert Thepsri – The Nation The embattled Thai Raksa Chart Party is defending its nomination of Princess Ubolratana as a prime ministerial candidate saying it was done at the wish and consent of the Princess. The party is fighting for its existence as the Charter Court mulls a dissolution of the party after a recommendation from the Election Commission.…
- Phuket News
Italian tourists injured in goring attack by bull elephant in Phang Nga park
A 29 year old Italian tourist, and his travel companion, are in a Phang Nga hospital this morning following an elephant attack. The man was seriously injured yesterday when a 12 year old male elephant, that he and a friend were riding as part of a tourist activity in Phang Nga’s Mueang district, suddenly shook them to the ground and…
- Thailand News
Man dies instantly in temple fireworks explosion in Chaiyaphum
A 59 year old man, serving as a civil defence volunteer at a Chaiyaphum temple fair, has been killed instantly after picking up a seemingly half-lit giant fireworks pipe that then blew up in his face. Chaiyaphum is in central Thailand, north-east of Bangkok. The incident took place at Wat Ban Muang Kao in Kaset Sombun district last night. The annual…
- Bangkok News
Dog patiently watches over deceased master on Pathum Thani roadside
A man, who had left home a month ago to live by the roadside with a stray dog in Pathum Thani, has been found dead. The dog was watching over the body when others discovered the deceased man. Pathum Thani is just north of Bangkok. The deceased has been identified as 45 year old Surachai Khamsue. He was found lying…
- Health
Private hospital patient? You are free to buy your medications outside.
Patients at private hospitals can buy their prescriptions and medication anywhere outside the hospital after getting a prescription from their doctors, according to the Health Service Support Department (HSSD). The clarification clears up an old myth that you had to buy your medications at the over-priced dispensary at your private hospital. But the department has no plans to force private…
- Northern Thailand News
Snakes! 2,000+ snakes seized in Thai-Laos border sting
182 baskets containing 2,730 rat snakes and cobras – worth 1 million baht in total – have been intercepted as they were about to be smuggled out of Thailand and into Laos. Mukdahan Wild Animals Checkpoint officials were joined by personnel from other agencies in confiscating the reptilian cache. Mukdahan is located on the far north-eastern Thai-Laos border Following a tip-off…
- South Thailand News
Southern insurgency: Ranger shot dead in Songkhla house
FILE PHOTO: The latest shooting in a spate of recent violence in the southern provinces – The Nation A ranger based in Yala has been shot dead at his home in Songkhla’s Muang district. Pol Capt Adirek Burintrapibal, the deputy inspector of Muang Songkhla police station, was alerted at 8.30pm last night of the shooting at a house in Moo 10…
- Thailand News
Summer scorcher heading our way – winter was ‘unusually’ warm
“Thailand’s summer starts this Thursday.” The Thai Meteorological Department is forecasting “an extraordinarily hot and arid summer” for Thailand from this Thursday, the official start of Thailand’s summer – the HOT season (Thailand leaps from a cool winter straight into its local summer season). Seven provinces in the North and western regions are expecting extreme heat between 40-44C. Phuwieng Prakhammintara,…
- Bangkok News
Suspect arrested over 12 year old’s rape last Wednesday
by Supachai Phetchthewee, Khanathit Srihirundaj “Samruay initially confessed to police that he had raped the girl because he became sexually aroused after taking drugs.” A 42 year old suspect, wanted for the alleged rape of a 12 year old girl in an abandoned building in Bangkok’s Bang Kapi district last Wednesday, has been arrested and taken into custody. ‘Samruay Jitcheun’ was arrested…
- Northern Thailand News
Uighur escapees captured and back in Mukdahan jail
Seven undocumented Uighurs, who escaped from an immigration facility in northeast Mukdahan, on the Laos border in far north-east Thailand last week, have been recaptured. Pol Colonel Sith Sirikangwalkul, the acting Immigration chief for the region, says that one was recaptured on Tuesday (February 12), the same night everyone escaped, and two more were found in a forest two kilometres away…
- Thailand News
Thai fishing industry says new laws are ‘unrealistic’
by Kanittha Thepajorn A draft bill for the improved protection of fishing boat crews has sailed through the National Legislative Assembly. NLA members voted unanimously to endorse the Bill on Labour Protection in the Fisheries Sector. The Nation reports that the writers of the Bill say the new laws will bring the conditions on fishing vessels up to par with the…
- Thailand News
Amnesty for possession of cannabis in Thailand?
The Government is looking at a plan to grant amnesty to those who have been using, or have, cannabis in their possession, But only if they report to authorities within a given time frame. The Drug Committee approved three draft legislations for amnesty yesterday. If the drafts become law even possessors of cannabis, who are not patients or research units,…
- Thailand News
New Camry Hybrid provides luxury in a larger model with electric advantages
by Kingsley Wijayasinha – The Nation Weekend The interest in electric cars is hotting up in Thailand but Thai manufacturers, so far, have been reluctant to take the FULL electric plunge. In the meantime Toyota is hoping their new Camry Hybrid will draw a good number of customers thanks to its packaging overhaul. The hybrid is battery operated with a…
- Bangkok News
Thai-Indian Funfair in Bangkok tomorrow
The fifth Thai-Indian Funfair returns to Srinakharinwirot University in Bangkok tomorrow (Saturday) to strengthen cultural relations between both countries. The fair arrives at a time when Indian tourist arrivals are on an upswing with new direct flights into Bangkok and Phuket providing new routes and cheaper fares. This annual popular event, held from 3pm to 9pm, is jointly organised by…
- Bangkok News
Bangkok bust seizes 180,000 fake cosmetics products
by Supachai Phetchthewee Police say they seized 180,000 fake cosmetic products with a street value approx. 300 million baht last night from five locations in Bangkok. They’ve also arrested two suspects for trying to sell the goods. Immigration Bureau chief Pol Lt-Gen Surachate Hakparn, along with secretary general of the Food and Drug Administration Dr Thares Krassanai-Rawiwong, conducted a search…
- Thailand News
Leaked document shows the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry planned to delay pesticide ban
The Hazardous Substance Committee may fail to reach a decision on whether to ban paraquat, glyphosate and chlorpyrifos, said Apichin Jotikashira, Industry Ministry Deputy Permanent Secretary. Apichin, who is a committee member, told environmental activists and those who claim they have been affected by agrochemicals today, that if new information about the impact of banning the herbicides and pesticides was…
- Northern Thailand News
Up up and away – getting married aloft in Chiang Rai
PHOTOS: The Nation Twenty couples, Thais and foreign, have taken their vows and married aloft hot-air balloons over Chiang Rai today. Among the lovebirds were actor Danai Jarujinda and his fiance Phraewwanich Kijthawornsawat, who decided to tie the knot after 11 years together. “Balloon Love” is held at Singha Park Chiang Rai Balloon Fiesta, which runs from February 13-17. The…
- Thailand News
One Malaysian dead and another injured after big-bike crash in Suphan Buri
A 50 year old Malaysian female tourist has died, and her friend injured, after their high-performance BMW motorcycle crashed in Suphan Buri’s Muang district yesterday afternoon. The two were part of a 20 motorbike convoy, riding from Malaysia with the goal of reaching Tak province in Thailand’s north-west. The fatal crash took place at 1.30pm on Malaiman Road in Tambon…
- Bangkok News
Valentine’s roses leap in price this year
Roses are red Violets are blue A red rose used to cost 15 baht Now it’s 52! The price of roses has spiked to almost double from that of the past two years. The popular Valentine’s gift was retailing for up to 70 baht each, a substantial increase from last year’s 50 baht average around Bangkok. In Bangkok, flower vendors…
- Environment News
“Close down the schools” – Chiang Mai University academic
PHOTO: Measuring the PM2.5 particles and pollution from public transport in Chiang Mai With Chiang Mai making the list for worst air pollution in the world (Number 3), calls are growing for schools and educational institutes in the northern province to close down temporarily. “The Chiang Mai University, in particular, should suspend its classes until the situation improves. Not only…
- Environment News
New electric ferries to ply the ‘Venice of the East’ in Bangkok
by Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn A 1 billion baht project is under consideration to transform Bangkok into the “Venice of the East” (again?) and help ease the city’s air pollution problems. The project for electric-powered ferries to ply the Chao Phraya is backed by Energy Absolute, a Thai alternative energy technology provider, which yesterday said it will work with the Marine Department…
- Bangkok News
Thai-Italian man dies after fall from apartment in Pathum Thani
A Thai-Italian man has fallen to his death from a room on the eighth floor of an apartment building in Pathum Thani province, just north of Bangkok. Police suspect it might have been a suicide. The Klong Luang police reported the death of 22 year old Akinare Prancesco Polize. When police arrived at the apartment, his 23 year old roommate…
- Chiang Mai News
72 year old jumps for her life from the second floor during home inferno
An elderly woman has suffered head injuries whilst escaping a blaze that burned down her home in Chiang Mai. The fire broke out at a two-storey teak house on Ban Pae road in Tambon Tha Sala of Chiang Mai’s Muang district. Five fire engines took an hour to get the blaze under control after it swept through the entire timber…
- Pattaya News
Foreigner arrested for kicking in the door to Pattaya police station
PHOTOS/VIDEO: Ruk Siam News A drunk foreign man, dressed only in shorts, has kicked in a window at a police station in Pattaya. His name or nationality have not been revealed by police. Ruk Siam News reports that he then made his way to the beer garden at the Central shopping centre where security tracked his movements and alerted police. The…
- Thailand News
Slow phase out of ‘Paraquat’ meets resistance
Activists are voicing their objections to the Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Grisada Boonrach’s proposal to ban the use of paraquat in three years instead of one. The Hazardous Substance Committee is scheduled to hold a meeting tomorrow to reconsider the banning of three controversial agricultural chemicals – paraquat, glyphosate, and chlorpyrifos. But the BioThai Foundation has disclosed the minister’s text…
- Bangkok News
Tourist falls from fourth floor of Suvarnabhumi
A Russian tourist was fatally injured after falling four floors at the country’s largest airport. Police say he climbed over a glass wall on the fourth floor in the passenger terminal at Suvarnabhumi and jumped. Royal Thai Police deputy spokesman Pol Col Kritsana Patanacharoen says 44 year old Mikhail Sinitsyn landed on the second floor after his fall early this…
- Environment News
Air quality for Thailand – February 11
Central Thailand Air quality is acceptable; however, for some pollutants there may be a moderate health concern for a very small number of people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution. Northern Thailand Members of sensitive groups may experience health effects. The general public is not likely to be affected. Southern Thailand Air quality is acceptable; however, for…
