- Thailand News
Phnom Penh Post sold to Malaysian media investor
The Phnom Penh Post has been sold to Sivakumar Ganapathy, a Malaysian investor and executive at a public relations firm that has previously done work for Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government. Sivakumar, who is the executive director of Malaysia-based Asia PR, said in a press release distributed to staff on Saturday that he intends to maintain the newspaper’s editorial independence.…
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Activists challenge the Thai PM with three demands
Pro-election activists threatened to march to Government House on the fourth anniversary of the 2014 coup if the ruling junta fails to respond to their call for an election in November. The NCPO seized power on May 22, 2014 in a bloodless coup on the premise that it needed to stop Thai’s protesting violently in the streets of Bangkok. The…
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Wipawee wins in Krabi – fifth win of the year
Wipawee Pratumsuwan after winning in Krabi Race favourite Wipawee Pratumsuwan racked up yet another title, clocking 1:36.34 hours to win the women’s 21km race at the Bangkok Airways Krabi Half Marathon yesterday (Sunday). The 27 year old assistant teacher, who spends most of her weekends competing, clocked eight minutes faster than runner-up Siriphat Bootjen, who crossed the finish line in…
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Thailand’s drowning in a sea of plastic
By Piyaporn Wongruang In February last year, a patch of plastic trash almost 10 kilometres long was seen floating off the coast of the Gulf of Thailand in Chumpon province, prompting a wake-up call about the plastic pollution problem which has become increasingly serious in recent years. Tara Buakamsri, Thailand country director for Greenpeace Southeast Asia, which campaigns against pollution,…
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National parks drawing up plans for clean, cheaper energy
An action plan to develop cheaper and environmentally friendly power supply for national parks nationwide is being drafted in a joint venture involving the Department of National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation and King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi. Officers from all national parks in the southern region attended a three-day workshop in Krabi arranged by the KMUTT and the…
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One night in Bangkok – 45 arrested for drugs and 91 for street racing
It’s been a busy night in Bangkok with nearly 140 people detained or arrested over street racing and others testing positive for illicit drugs at just one late night venue. Ninety-one motorcyclists and pillion riders were arrested las night (Friday) in an ongoing crackdown on street racing in the capital. Pol Maj-General Surachet Hakpal, the deputy commissioner of the Tourist…
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Co-ordinated attacks across the South today
Suspected ethnic Malay insurgents bombed power poles and burned tyres on the roads of five districts of Narathiwat early on Friday, police said. This follows a similar attack this morning in Yala where mobile phone towers were torched along with the same burning of tyres on main roads. The perpetrators also hung cloth banners criticising the Thai government. Police say…
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10th ‘X-Ray Outlaw Foreigner’ sting – another 63 foreigners arrested
In what’s becoming a regular weekly announcement, Pol Maj-General Surachet Hakpa from the national tourist police says another 63 foreigners have been arrested last night in the latest ’10th X-Ray Outlaw Foreigner’ sting. As before, the searches have focussed on international schools and language schools. General Surachet says five were arrested for overstaying their visa – one Lao, one Indian, one…
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Journalists urge NCPO to revoke orders that curb press freedom
The Thai Journalists Association (TJA) is calling on the ruling NCPO to revoke at least three of their absolute orders which have hindered freedom of the press and people’s liberties for almost four years since it came to power. The TJA demand came as it commemorated World Press Freedom Day, which is celebrated worldwide on May 3, to reiterate the…
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Homesick Chaiyaphum worker (and his dog) bikes 500 kilometres
A homesick Chaiyaphum man was spotted cycling home from Sattahip in Chon Buri with his pet dog. In a viral video clip and Facebook post by a reporter in Prachin Buri, 39 year old Kaen Homsanthia, is seen riding his bicycle on the Kabin Buri-Pak Thong Chai road in Prachin Buri, just to the north-east of Bangkok, yesterday (Wednesday) with…
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Huge narcotics haul seized from four major drug operations
Police said four successful recent drug busts had led to the confiscation of a huge haul of narcotics, including more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana, three kilograms of highly concentrated hashish oil, over 100,000 methamphetamine pills, some 5,300 grams of crystal methamphetamine and 850 grams of ketamine. Deputy police chief Pol General Chalermkiat Srivorakhan and Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB) head…
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Six Kalasin state officials sacked over alleged drugs involvement
The governor of Kalasin province, north-east Thailand, Kraisorn Kongchalard, has terminated the employment of six state officials and employees while proceeding with serious disciplinary charges against them involving drugs. A monthly meeting of Kalasin kamnans and village headmen on Wednesday also saw participants undergo urine tests for substance abuse as a proactive measure. Kraisorn instructed all 18 district chiefs and…
- Thailand News
Bryde’s whales thrill tourists off Chumpon coast
People along the shore of Pathiu district in southern Chumphon province have been treated to the sight of a pair of Bryde’s whales today (Tuesday). The whales – commonly referred to as Bruda whales because of the pronunciation of the Norwegian name Bryde – surfaced repeatedly for about an hour near Koh Ran Ped and Koh Ran Kai, about…
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Not this year – PM rejects activists calls for a 2018 election
The Thai PM is playing down rallies by pro-democracy groups planned for this month to press the NCPO to hold the long-delayed election this year. Prayut Chan-o-cha is insisting that the election would have to be held next year following a conclusion by the junta-appointed legislative assembly to delay the implementation of the MP election laws. “I have told the…
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Pattaya tour boat operators continue to use beachfront
Many boats have continued to use the beachfront area to pick up and drop off tourists despite being ordered to resume using Chon Buri’s Southern Pattaya Pier (Laem Balihai) from today (Tuesday). Boat owners had been using the beach temporarily during the restoration of the pier. They claimed they could not switch back to using the pier as they were…
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Peeling back the red tape – Thailand 4.0
A committee tasked with propelling needed reforms under the Thailand 4.0 policy on Monday heard progress updates from state bodies in a meeting chaired by PM General Prayut Chan-o-cha. A series of measures must be implemented to aid in the nation’s digital transformation including, this August, cancelling state agency requirements for photocopies of the Thai national ID card and household…
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Police look into deaths linked to Lyn-brand weight-loss products
Fresh on the heels of an investigation into Magic Skin beauty products, police are now looking at another well-known brand, Lyn, after its weight-loss products were allegedly found to contain two dangerous substances. Deputy national police chief Pol General Weerachai Songmetta says the products might contain the appetite suppressant Sibutramine and the laxative Bisacodyl. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)…
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Dutch tourist falls from ladyboy’s condo balcony
PHOTO: Ivy Residence Pinklau, Hipflat.co.th A Dutch tourist has fallen to his death from a condo room of a ladyboy he had just met at a drinking party on Khao San Road, Bangkok early this morning. The tourist has been identified by his driving licence as 21 year old Salmans Rik W F. Police say he fell from the room of 37…
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Huge rally in Chiang Mai protesting judges’ homes on Doi Suthep mountain
PHOTO: Chiang Rai Times Around 1,000 people have rallied in Chiang Mai yesterday to protest the homes being built for Thai judges on forested land on Doi Suthep mountain. The protest is one of the largest protests against the government ever staged. Public frustration has been mounting over the project since aerial images started circulating on social media earlier this…
- Thailand News
Half a ton of marijuana seized in Mekong sting
A total of 490 kilograms of dried marijuana worth 15 million baht in street value has been seized by Thai authorities in Bung Kan province in the far north-east of Thailand on the Mekong River, Saturday, but the suspected Laotian smugglers managed to flee. Bung Kan Customs checkpoint head Prasongsak Boonma said the four Laotian smugglers, who were bringing sacks…
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Storms hit Bangkok and Central regions
The Big Mango got a battering last night whilst rains are expected sometime on Phuket during Saturday and Sunday, but not the torrential rains that hit Bangkok. Heavy rains and strong winds hit several areas of the capital last night. A bus stop on Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road, outside the head office of petroleum giant PTT, collapsed as a result of strong…
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Police interview Magic Skin ‘spokespersons’ and ‘influencers’
Four Thai actresses have testified “as witnesses” to police about their role in product review advertisements for the Magic Skin cosmetic and food-supplement brand at the centre of allegations of fraudulent and misleading product labelling and marketing, according to national police deputy chief Pol General Weerachai Songmetta. Pitchanart “May” Sakhakorn, Napapa “Patt” Tantrakul, Orapan “Aoffy Maxim” Dansiriwattanakun, and Nonthaporn “Ying…
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Boat propeller strike suspected death of baby dolphin – Samut Prakan
A rotting carcass of a baby dolphin was found on the seashore near a temple in Samut Prakan’s Muang district, south east of Bangkok, this morning (Friday). Monks living at the Asokaram Temple in Tambon Taiban noticed a stench coming from the direction of the erosion prevention dam at the seaside behind the temple. Laymen sent by the monks to…
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Heavy penalties on the way for drivers blocking ambulances
Motorists failing to get out of the way for ambulances may face harsher punishments for “endangerment to others” as netizens join with the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) and the police to get tough on offenders. The fine for blocking an ambulance could be raised from the current 500 to 10,000 baht or as high as 20,000 baht if the NLA…
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93 more rounded up in nationwide immigration stings
PHOTO: All smiles as Pol Maj-General Surachet Hakpal poses with some of the foreigners rounded up in the latest sting. Tourist police searched 118 locations around the country yesterday (Wednesday) and arrested another 93 foreigners for entering and living in Thailand illegally. Pol Maj-General Surachet Hakpal, deputy commissioner of the Tourist Police Bureau, held a press conference at the Monthian…
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Two villagers shot dead in Yala
In the most recent violence in Thailand’s deep south, a former village head and his friend have been gunned down in Yala province last evening (Wednesday), according to Police. The two were shot by an unknown number of suspected insurgents using M16 rifles on the main road in Ban Kuber Kuaroh village, Tambon Jakwa, in Raman district at around…
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37 billion baht motorway planned – Had Yai to Malaysian border
PHOTO: Had Yai commercial district The Thai government plans to build a 62km motorway in the southern province of Songkhla, from Had Yai to the Malaysian border in a bid to boost bilateral trade and cross-border tourism Estimates put the trade value in the region at around 500 billion baht per year according to the Transport Minister Arkham Termpitayapaisit. The…
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Gambling crackdown ahead of World Cup
With the 2018 World Cup in Russia fast approaching, the Royal Thai Police are launching a special centre tasked with cracking down on online football gambling. It will operate from May 1 according to the deputy national police chief Chalermkiat Srivorakhan during a video-conference linking the RTP head office in Bangkok to regional police offices. The multi-unit centre’s proactive approach…
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Same sex marriage laws likely to be passed in the lifetime of current government
After years of calls by sexual-diversity groups, a new law that would allow registered life partnership for same-sex couples is in the making. Supporters expect it to be promulgated within the lifetime of the present government. For proponents, the long-awaited legislation is viewed as the first i-mportant step towards legal same-sex marriage in Thailand in the future. Sexual diversity groups…
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Nine tourists injured in Nakhon Pathom van accident
Seven South Korean and two Indonesian tourists were injured this morning (Tuesday) when their chartered van ran into the drainage ditch in the middle of a Muang Nakhon Pathom road and struck a tree. Police say the driver Thinnakorn Meekhao lost control in the southbound lane of Phetkasem Road in Tambon Bang Khaem near the Uni Land Golf Course intersection.…
