- Thailand Election News
Poll shows Thais are wary about the new government’s potential to end conflict
A new Suan Dusit Poll shows 31.8% of the respondents believe that the political situation will worsen due to the lack of stability of the new government while 28.1% are more optimistic. Most Thais believe the new government, be it led by Palang Pracharat or Pheu Thai, will not be able to end political division that have lasted almost two decades. The opinion poll sampled 1,752 people across the country. Nearly half said that…
- Thai Life
“Easier, faster and more watertight” – Surachate’s vision for Immigration
Lt Gen Surachate Hakparn, Thailand’s Immigration chief, has outlined a few new directions for visitor and expat visas in Thailand. Speaking to TNA MCOT, the chief acknowledged the 1979 Act was “out of date” and “not in line with modern countries” and travel procedures. Surachate said that Thailand was the third most visited country in the world and was a place…
- Bangkok News
Canadian woman rescued from air-conditioning shaft at luxury Silom hotel
PHOTO: Daily News A 76 year old Canadian woman, missing since last Thursday in Bangkok, ended up spending 12 hours trapped in an air conditioning shaft at a luxury Silom hotel before she was finally found and rescued. Daily News reports that 76 year old Siona Aloni, who suffers from Alzheimers, went missing from her room at the hotel on…
- Travel
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- Travel
New airport duty free bid split into two
The Government has insisted that the AoT rejig its awarding for the concession of duty-free shops at its airports. Up to now King Power Duty Free has had a monopoly on the lucrative duty free concessions. So the Board of the Airports of Thailand Company has now decided to split the concession to operate airport duty-free shops into two contracts – one for Suvarnabhumi…
- Phuket News
Will Young sells Brit Awards to raise money for Soi Dog Foundation
British singer Will Young sold two of his Brit Awards, highly-respected popular music awards for the British music industry, for a Phuket charity. But he says he only raised £800 (33,000 baht) for them. The singer told Chris Evans, a Virgin Radio Breakfast show presenter, he went through with his pledge to auction off the gongs after announcing he was…
- World News
Thai rice exports facing strong regional competition
Rice exports are down in February’s sales figures, in both total volume and value. High prices and competition from Vietnam are being blamed, along with the ongoing strong baht. Rice farmers also say they are concerned how long the hot season will last which will also affect their planting schedules for this year. The Thai Rice Exporters Association says that…
- Thailand News
Weather warning for summer storms in upper Thailand
The Thai Meteorological Department has announced weather warnings for potential summer storms in upper Thailand. They say a high-pressure system from China will extend to, and meet, the hot weather over upper Thailand. “From March 31 – April 3, outbreaks of summer thunderstorms will be likely in the upper country.” Thunderstorms, gusty winds and hail are possible, first in the…
- Hot News
Anti-stall system activated in Ethiopian Boeing crash – Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that officials probing the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max crash have made preliminarily conclusions that a flight-control feature automatically activated before the plane plummeted to the ground. The US newspaper, which declined to name its sources, says the findings have been passed on at a briefing to the US Federal Aviation Administration. The flight-control software feature…
- Phuket News
Darasamuth Underpass closing this Saturday and Sunday night
The Darasamut Underpass (adjacent to Central Festival) will temporarily close tomorrow and Sunday from 9pm until 5am (overnight). The Phuket Highways Chief Somwang Lohanut says, “Both the northbound and southbound lanes through the underpass will be temporary closed at those times.” “Workers will be carrying out repairs and replacing light bulbs and fans as part of the normal scheduled maintenance.”…
- Bangkok News
Wife of ‘lovely motorcycle taxi driver’ has her say
There’s always two sides of a story. This time the wife of the ‘lovely’ motorcycle taxi driver who had his ‘heart-breaking’ story posted all over social media on Tuesday, is having her say. The man, at the time, claimed that he had paid the mortgage for eight years but the house was in her name and she now had another man. So…
- Pattaya News
Seven Chinese tourists injured in Pattaya tour bus crash
PHOTO: Pattaya Mail Seven Chinese tourists have been injured after their tour bus overturned on Sukhumvit Road in Jomtien Beach, south of Pattaya. The victims were rushed to Pattaya Memorial Hospital after the Bangkok-registered tour bus careered into a traffic-island drainage canal in front of the Ambassador City Hotel. The Pattaya Mail reports that sixteen other passengers on the bus…
- Songkran News
Event Round-Up – April 2019
by The Sponsorship Experts – Paul Poole (South East Asia) The first ever ASEAN Gastronomy Tourism Fair will kick off on April 9-10 at CW Tower Ratchadapisek Bangkok. Hosted by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, it is the first time all 10 member states of ASEAN will come together to build a strong foundation for gastronomy tourism in the…
- Thailand Election News
Nine arrested for sharing ‘fake election news’
PHOTO: Thai News Agency A Thai official has announced that nine people have been arrested for allegedly sharing fake news on Facebook. In the posts they claimed two EC commissioners had been fired and that 600,000 illegitimate ballots were mixed into the vote count. If convicted, the accused could face up to five years in jail and a 30,000 baht…
- Phuket News
Bus driver fined after dropping oil on Patong Hill – VIDEO
PHOTOS/VIDEO: Kathu Police / Law Enforcement 201 / Newshawk Phuket A bus driver has been fined after his bus dropped oil onto the road as it was coming down from Patong Hill. Motorbike drivers had been been injured after slipping on the oil slick. The CCTV footage shows the incident when the bus was going down from Patong Hill, dropping…
- Thailand Election News
Election results: Phalang Pracharat wins popular vote, Pheu Thai wins most seats
The Election Commission, acting on increased pressure from a number of political and NGO complaints, has released the general election popular vote count, saying the pro-junta Phalang Pracharat won the most popular votes at over 8.4 million, while Pheu Thai came second with 7.9 million votes. This afternoon’s media conference came as a surprise as the EC had been dodging…
- Thailand News
Two die, many injured in three separate bus incidents
PHOTOS: โนนสูง “อาสา” ฐานหน้าโรงพยาบาลโนนสูง Two people have died while many others have been injured in three separate bus accidents early this morning around Thailand – two in Nakhon Ratchasima and another in Nakhon Sawan Just after midnight a truck collided into the back of a bus at an intersection in Krok Phra, Nakhon Sawan, central of Thailand. Two people sustained…
- Thailand Election News
“Palang Pracharat will not rush to form government”
PHOTO: Palang Pracharat party leader Dr. Uttama Savanayana “He also called on the Pheu Thai-led alliance to stop calling themselves the “pro-democracy camp” and their rival parties “pro-dictatorship”, pointing out that both camps had been elected by the people.” The Palang Pracharat party leader Uttama Savanayana says there is no need for the party to rush to form a government because the official election results have yet to be…
- Pattaya News
British man, serving a 50 year sentence, waits to be transferred to the UK
PHOTO: Facebook/Help get Lance Whitmore home Lance Whitmore, sentenced to 50 years in prison in Thailand for the possession of ecstasy, will be transferred to the UK to serve the remainder of his sentence. The British citizen, originally from Bromsgrove, England, was 27 when he was caught with 200 ecstasy tablets in Pattaya in 2014. The former soldier had been…
- Northern Thailand News
Study: Psychosis in teens linked to air pollution
“One of the most consistent findings over the past few decades has been a link between cities and psychosis.” Whilst the high levels of air-pollution, smog and smoke remain high in the north and north-eastern provinces of Thailand, a new study has been released that links high levels of smog and psychoses in young adults. Joanne Newbury, lead author of…
- Bangkok News
Police hunting for murder killed and buried man in cement in Bangkok
PHOTOS: Siam Ruamjai Pu-in Foundation Police are hunting for a suspect who killed a man and buried him in cement in a drum in Bangkok. They say they’re seeking a 47 year old caretaker of a construction business in Bangkok’s Bang Khen district following the Tuesday night discovery of the body of his 38 year old distant relative and colleague…
- Songkran News
Patong announces ‘Songkran Festival on the Beach’ schedule
Patong Municipality has announced details for this year’s ‘Songkran Festival on the Beach’ in Patong which will be held at Bangla Park on April 11-13, at the end of Bangla Road. April 11 Sand pagoda forming contest Miss Songkran Beauty Contest Thai dancing shows April 12 Shows from entertainment operators EDM music show April 13 Food offering to monks on…
- Pattaya News
Sea turtle saved after eating fishing net and plastic off Pattaya coast
PHOTOS: Sea Turtles Conservation Centre of the Royal Thai Navy A Green Sea Turtle has been saved after eating bits of a fishing net and plastic in Pattaya last week. The Sea Turtles Conservation Centre of the Royal Thai Navy reports that they were notified by hotel staff in Pattaya that a sea turtle was found on the beach. The…
- World News
Boeing 737 Max 8 has engine problems during take off in the US
Another bad week for Boeing. This time an incident as an American airline moves its fleet to a common airfield to supervise testing and software upgrades following the 737 Max fleet grounding. A Southwest Airline Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft had to do an emergency landing after having engine problems after take-off in Florida on Tuesday. No passengers were aboard the Southwest…
- Pattaya News
Two year old child injured after being struck by volunteer police at checkpoint in Pattaya
PHOTOS: Mint Mint A mother of a two year old child claims her son was knocked unconscious after a volunteer police hit him with a baton last night in Pattaya. The Siam Ruamjai (Pu-in) Foundation reports that just after midnight this morning a two year old boy Silan ‘Nong Sam’ Ninkham was being treated at the Bang Lamung Hospital in…
- Thailand Election News
Six parties poised to announce coalition government at 10am
Six pro-democracy parties, led by Pheu Thai, are announcing their intention to form a coalition government this morning. The number-crunchers say, even without the support of BumJaiThai and the Democrats, they have 252 house seats to form a majority government (they need at least 251 seats in the 500 seat parliament). The parties siding with Pheu Thai to form the…
- Thailand Election News
Pheu Thai now claims to have the numbers to form a coalition. So does Palang Pracharat.
Pheu Thai Party, which at this stage has emerged as the winner of the most lower house seats after the general election, says they’ve gathered enough support from political allies to form a coalition government. The party’s secretary general Phumtham Vechayachai made the claim at a meeting this morning. He said Pheu Thai and other parties now command enough MPs…
- Bangkok News
Motorcycle taxi driver takes daughter along for the ride after wife kicked them out
PHOTO: Daily News The story of a motorcycle taxi driver who says his wife kicked him and their daughter out of the house has gone viral in local social media. He says he had paid the mortgage for eight years but the house was in her name and she now had another man. So he left with his eight year…
- Travel
Air Asia apologises for its “Get off in Thailand” promotion
AirAsia has now apologised following an advertising campaign using the phrase “Get off in Thailand” was posted around the city of Brisbane to promote the airline’s direct route to Bangkok. Collective Shout, a campaign movement against the objectification of women says the marketing gaff promoted sex tourism in Thailand. Melinda Liszewski, a campaigner at Collective Shout accused the airline of…
- Thailand Election News
Petition aims to impeach Election Commissioners
PHOTO: Election Commission chief Ittiporn Boonpracong – The Nation More than 670,000 people have signed a petition at the change.org website calling for the Election Commission’s five commissioners to be ‘stood aside’ pending an investigation in the aftermath of the March 24 Thai election. Petitioners contend that the election was marred by mistakes, blunders and tampering. The campaign could actually become…