- Politics News
Military relinquish power as the new Thai cabinet prepares to be sworn in today
“Thailand is now fully a democratic country with a constitutional monarchy, with a parliament whose members are elected.” Thai PM Prayuth Chan-o-cha has formally stepped down as the head of the NCPO military junta saying Thailand will now function as a normal democracy after five years of army rule. Prayut’s “normal democracy” includes a loaded upper house of Senators all appointed…
- Northern Thailand News
‘Irishman’ nabbed after 11 year overstay in north-east Thailand
PHOTO: Naew Na Nakhon Ratchasima Immigration, along with local tourist police, have arrested an Irishman,Samuel Caleb Birch, who has been on an overstay of 4,192 days. That’s nearly 11 years and six months! According to Naew Na, the man was arrested at a restaurant in Soi Moo Ban Yamo 5, Ban Mai, Nakhon Ratchasima, north-east Thailand. According to his visa, he arrived…
- World News
Vietnam pushing to be leading digital economy in ASEAN by 2030
Excerpts from Viet Nam News – Asia News Network Vietnam wants to be the leading digital economy in ASEAN by 2030. A draft project on national digital transformation by Vietnam’s Authority of Information Technology Application (AITA) is being submitted for approval in November. The project aims to develop the Vietnamese economy based on digital technologies. Speaking at a conference this week to review MIC’s…
- Transport News
Thai farmers and residents from four provinces unhappy about proposed motorway
About 100 affected residents and farmers, from the Phetchaburi, Samut Songkhram, Ratchaburi and Nakhon Pathom provinces, are demanding the Thai Department of Highways scrap their environmental impact statements and start again. The protests are over the 109 kilometre Nakhon Pathom to Cha-am Motorway. A seminar was held over the weekend called “The Future of Petchaburi and the Motorway to the…
- Politics News
New Thai cabinet to be sworn in Tuesday in Bangkok
PHOTO: Amphorn Satharn Throne Hall The new Thai cabinet will be sworn in tomorrow (Tuesday) at the Amphorn Satharn Throne Hall in Bangkok near the Dusit Palace, 3 kilometres north of the Grand Palace. The announcement was made by the the Secretariat of the Cabinet over the weekend. All 36 Cabinet appointees will travel by shuttle leaving the Phakdee Bordin…
- Phuket News
Human bones found in Srisoonthorn, Phuket
Thalang Police were called to a site yesterday (Sunday), 150 metres from the Baan Ua Arthorn housing estate in Srisoonthorn, central Phuket, just before 3pm. There they found remains of a human skeleton. According to police reports, a local fruit vendor headed to the area to collecting papayas when he discovered the human skeletal remains under a tree. He then ran out…
- World News
Heading south at speed: The China–Laos railway
by Selina Ho, NUS Laos is dependent on China to bankroll the US$7 billion project, raising concerns of being caught in a debt trap The Kunming-Vientiane link will eventually connect with a railway line to Bangkok, and southward down the Malay peninsula to Singapore The Laos section of the project is now half complete Construction on the China–Laos railway began in…
- Politics News
Opposition’s early assault on the new Thai government
PHOTO: Nikkei Asian Review Seven-parties in the new parliamentary opposition are targeting July 25 in the next sitting to censure the new Thai government as well as some individual ministers. Pheu Thai deputy leader and an opposition whip, Chavalit Vichayasuth, says that the Opposition’s debate on the government’s policy statement will be a rehearsal for the real no-confidence debate to…
- Phuket News
Thai TV star faces legal battle to regain custody of her daughter after daylight abduction in Phuket
PHOTO: says.com A baby has been abducted in Phuket as Thai police investigate a complaint filed by her mother. Last Friday, police were seeking to interview the father and husband of the UK Thai former ‘supermodel’. It follows a dramatic midday abduction on the outskirts of Phuket where the 25 year old woman was ‘imprisoned in her car’ as a…
- Tourism News
Thailand’s tourism – stormy weather ahead
Thailands tourism industry finds itself in stormy weather as a falloff in visitors spook trade, even forcing candid admissions from some of Thailand’s tourism chiefs. Thailand has suffered a slump in tourism figures since the beginning of the year as hoteliers and tourism trade leaders have confirmed a huge 20 to 30% drop for June in tourist numbers and trade…
- Health
Could flexible work hours ease the loads and stress of Bangkok’s peaks?
Original article by Daniel Lorenzzo | Magazine Hong Kong A study by navigation company TomTom conducted tests on metropolitan congestion. It’s used data from Bangkok, Mexico City, Jakarta and three Chinese cities – Chongqing, Beijing and Chengdu. The study points out that wherever there is an economic hub, congestion follows and frustration among commuters along with it. 40% of people…
- Crime News
American and Thai wife arrested for selling ‘ice’ in Bang Lamung, Pattaya
An American and his Thai wife have been arrested in Pattaya for possessing nearly a kilogram of crystal methamphetamine, plus a hand gun along with ammunition. The arrest follows a longer investigation as police became aware of the couple’s activities. Police have confirmed that the man is an American citizen. 39 year old Bart Helmus and 30 year old Sirinapha Wisetrit…
- Environment News
Fishermen find dead leatherback turtle on Saun Son beach, Rayong
PHOTO: Department of Marine and Coastal Resources A group of fishermen in Rayong, eastern Thailand, found a dead leatherback turtle on Saun Son beach in Rayong province on Friday. Department of Marine and Coastal Resources officials estimate the dead turtle was about 10 years old and 79 x123 centimetres in size. The remains were already in a bad condition with…
- Tourism News
Bangkok’s Anantara adds second luxury charter boat
Anantara Riverside Bangkok Resort is launching its second luxury riverboat by the end of 2019. Manohra River Song is currently under construction in a shipyard, just north of Bangkok. The 50 million baht boat will join Manohra Dream offering luxury river cruises on Chao Phraya River. In addition to sailing to Ayutthaya, 70 kilometres north of Bangkok, the second vessel will…
- Tourism News
European and Chinese tourists avoiding Pattaya, Indians on the rise
The strong baht is being accused as a major deterrent for Euro-tourists to Pattaya. “Over the past few months, European travellers have hardly come to Pattaya at all because of the baht’s appreciation,” said Damrongkiat Phinitkarn, secretary of the Entertainment & Tourism Association of Pattaya City. He told the Bangkok Post that tourists are opting to go to other countries…
- Northern Thailand News
An 80 million year old carnivorous dinosaur from Thailand identified
PHOTO: Thai PBS A Thai PhD student, studying overseas, has identified some bones of a dinosaur wandering around the mountains of Khon Kaen 80 million years ago. Fossilised bones, unearthed on a mountain in Khon Kaen nearly 30 years ago, have been identified as belonging to a previously unknown carnivorous dinosaur. Thai PBS says the the bones were unearthed on…
- Northern Thailand News
Return to Tham Luang Cave – a personal perspective
by guest writer Mikko Paasi Now that is has been a year since the successful rescue of the Thai football team and their coach from the Tham Luang cave, I think it would be appropriate to share some footage from inside the cave to show how it looks like after the operation and without the muddy water. As we know, the…
- Tourism News
Crackdown on Bangkok amusement parks without operating permits
The roller coaster ride is over. 15 amusement parks in Bangkok, out of a total of 48, don’t have construction or operating licenses. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and other agencies started field inspections of all permanent amusement parks in 26 of the city’s districts two months ago. In addition, eight amusement parks don’t meet the published standards for safety signs,…
- Pattaya News
Burmese worker gets his arm stuck in a shredding machine in Pattaya
PHOTOS: Ruk Siam News Ruk Siam News report that a 29 year old Burmese worker a plastics recycling factory in Pattaya has been rushed to hospital after getting his right arm stuck in a shredding machine. Sawang Boriboon Foundation medics headed to the factory in Nong Pla Lai sub-district of Bang Lamung where they found a Burmese worker, Kinsan, with his…
- Phuket News
Perth ‘pad thai’ couple “maybe it was the juice”
PHOTO: Facebook/Stacey Barnes Ryan Prigg, one of the Aussie couple from Perth, Australia, spoke exclusively to ThaiVisa over the much-hyped story that a pad thai they ate at an ‘upmarket Phuket food court’ gave them a disease that took them nearly two years to shake. Here’s part of they response to ThaiVisa… “We weren’t sick when we left Australia. On the…
- Events
Black crabs, tuk tuks and plates of Pad Thai – Miss Grand Thailand costume competition
From Wild Boars, black crabs, tuk tuks, plates of Pad Thai and black panthers, the costume designers have not held back in the year’s Miss Grand Thailand competition. The 77 Thai provinces have been represented by the contestants in the 2019 Miss Grand Thailand costume competition. The national costume part of the competition was held on July 13 in Bangkok.…
- Krabi News
Avani Hotels and Resorts re-brands two resorts in Krabi
PHOTO: Klong Dao Beach, Krabi, home for one of the new ‘Avani’ brand hotels Two new hotels are on the way for Krabi under the Avani Hotels & Resorts brand. Avani Hotels & Resorts have signed up two new resort hotels in Krabi, marking the brand’s continued growth in Thailand. The existing resorts will undergo renovations to bring the properties in…
- Bangkok News
VIDEO: Bangkok police under investigation for beating up restrained drunk in back of truck
Seven officers from the Laksong Police Station are currently under investigation following an incident of police brutality in Lat Laksong district of Bangkok. The incident happened at 2pm on July 7. The man was beaten in public view out the front of the Laksong police station. The incident was captured by a mobile camera and posted on Facebook. An initial…
- Northern Thailand News
Thailand’s Dengue Fever infections highest in five years
The Thai Bureau of Epidemiology, at the Department of Disease Control, reports that there have been 44,671 cases of dengue fever reported in the country, the highest number in five years, indicating that there have been 67.62 dengue patients in every 100,000 of the Thai population, which is 1.6 times higher than last year. The numbers take into account 2019 up…
- Phuket News
An anonymous ‘Farang’ body found off Karon Beach Yesterday
PHOTO: Newshawk Phuket An anonymous ‘Farang’ body found was found floating off Karon Beach yesterday (Wednesday). Karon police received a report about the dead body floating in the sea, about 500 metres from the Karon Beach just after 6pm. The body was a male, appeared to be a westerner but without any documentation or ID to indicate who he is…
- Environment News
Farmers resort to household waste water to save their crops in Suphan Buri
PHOTO: Thai PBS Some farmers in Don Jedi district of Suphan Buri, one of Thailand’s “rice bowl” provinces, are turning to using household waste water to irrigate their parched farmland. Suphan Buri is a province immediately north-west of Bangkok. Desperate to save his 3.2 hectares of rice paddy fields in Village 5, Tambon Don Jedi, rice farmer Narong Wongsuwan told…
- Business News
Talks resume in the ongoing China-US trade spat
By China Daily – Asia News Network There’s been a resumption of talks in the China-US trade.’war’ Analysts are hoping the restart in talks between top negotiators from both nations will deliver a win-win outcome. China’s Vice-Premier Liu He spoke by phone with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Tuesday. According to reports, officials exchanged views…
- Environment News
Phuket’s looming high season water crisis
PHOTOS: Siraphat Kanphonngam Water shortages are almost a certainty for Phuket in the next high season with the rainfall for this year’s wet season well below average. The island’s three main catchments – Bang Neow Dam off Srisoonthorn Road, Bang Wad dam in Kathu and Khlong Kratha dam in Chalong – have all increased in their water levels since the dams dropped to…
- Thailand News
Rayong man sells cut-price meth pills to local young teenagers
PHOTOS: Workpoint News A 54 year old drug dealer has been arrested for selling cut-price methamphetamine pills to young teenagers around the main city area of Rayong. The suspect was arrested on July 9 and already told police that he buys the methamphetamine (yaba) pills for 23 baht each and then sells them for 60 baht, about half the ‘market’ price.…
- World News
New airline Vinpearl Air to enter Vietnam’s aviation market
PHOTO: Hà Nội News The Hanoi Department of Planning and Investment in Vietnam granted a business licence to yet another new airline start-up – Vinpearl Air, a member of Vingroup. Vinpearl Air was established on April 22 with headquarters in Hanoi ’s Vinhomes Riverside Long Biên. The airline will have international routes and use 30 aircraft or more. Vingroup and Canada’s CAE Oxford Aviation…
