- World News
Singapore’s exports crash in June, the biggest drop in 6 years
Edited from The Straits Times – Asian News Network Singapore’s exports have crashed by double digits for the fourth straight month. June’s figures show shipments in the key electronics sector sinking by 32%. This is the biggest year-on-year drop since shipments sank 33.2 per cent in February 2013. It is also sharply below analysts’ expectations of a 9.6% plunge, according…
- South Thailand News
Roadside bomb in Narathiwat critically injures three rangers
PHOTO: Waedao Harai Three paramilitary rangers have been injured in Narathiwat following the explosion of a bomb in a roadside stall this morning just after 8am. Security officials say the bomb had been detonated remotely as the three rangers were patrolling past the stall. The stall was under construction at the time. The bomb was encased in a cooking gas…
- Bangkok News
One body recovered, search continues for another after collapse of pavilion in Samut Songkhram
PHOTOS: Thai PBS After more than 17 hours of searching, rescue workers have now recovered a female body from the collapsed pavilion that slid into the Mae Klong River in Thailand’s central province of Samut Songkram, west of Bangkok. The search continues for one other missing person believed to still be trapped under the submerged wreckage of the building. The…
- Opinion
“Thailand shouldn’t have water problems” – a personal view
OPINION Post from a concerned Phuket resident who is worried about the future of the island’s most precious resource, fresh water. Despite being surrounded by water, potable water supplies are in peril for the forthcoming high season with lower-than-usual rainfall and the dams still at historically-low levels at the time of publishing this story. The person has asked to be anonymous……
- Tourism News
Phuket’s Banyan Tree celebrates 25 year anniversary with new Serenity Villas
2019 is a year of celebration for Banyan Tree Phuket, with the resort offering two brand new villa categories, as part of its year-long 25th anniversary celebration. In September this year, the iconic Banyan Tree Phuket, the flagship property for Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts, will celebrate 25 years as Phuket’s premier holiday resort. The festivities will include the release…
- Hua Hin News
Gary Stevens takes up head coaching at Black Mountain Hua Hin football academy
(contact details below) A former England, Totttenham and Brighton football player, Gary Stevens, will start coaching at the Black Mountain Hua Hin Football Academy this September. Gary is a 1984 UEFA Cup winner and 1986 World Cup veteran. He made 204 appearances for Tottenham between 1983 and 1990 but is excited to pursue a challenge outside of the professional game. He managed…
- Pattaya News
Thai man electrocuted whilst laying on his bed in Pattaya
PHOTO: Thai Rath A man has died in Nong Prue, the suburbs behind Pattaya city, as a result of being electrocuted whilst his phone was charging next to his bed. Relatives believe the incident happened early sometime on Sunday. Police were called to an address in Soi 15, Thing Klom – Tan Man, Nong Prue on Sunday evening. 21 year old…
- Bangkok News
Old food pavilion collapses dumping over 20 people into Samut Songkram river
PHOTO: Public Relations Department – Samut Songkhram Rescue workers are scouring the Mae Klong River in Samut Songkram, west of Bangkok, for four missing people after an old ferryboat shelter on a river bank collapsed yesterday, plunging more than two dozen people into the water. One person has died and at least 19 others injured when the riverside food pavilion…
- Transport News
Document agent nabbed in Pattaya for helping foreigners get driving licences
PHOTO: Naew Na A Thai female has been arrested for helping foreigners obtain Thai driving licences illegally and register their vehicles with fake stamps and documentation. Naew Na report that 44 year old Wikanda “Vicki” Munghangern was arrested in a sting outside her office which is, conveniently, located near the Bang Lamung Department of Land Transport. Polcie allege the woman…
- Transport News
Thai couple walk away from dramatic road crash
PHOTOS: Sanook A blue sedan has split in two in a dramatic incident on a road leading to the Ngam Wong Wan Road in Bangkok’s northern suburbs. Sanook reports that a Thai couple have escaped totally unscathed after the man admitted to police that he lost control after hitting a rock and slammed into roadside barriers. The 29 year old…
- Business News
More currencies in Asia strengthen – Indonesian rupiah crosses major threshold
The Thai baht isn’t the only Asian currency performing well against some of the western currencies. The Indonesian rupiah has strengthened 0.54% to 13,932 to the US dollar yesterday (Monday) from 14,008 on Friday. It became the best performing currency in Asia, though other currencies in the region have also also strengthened: Yesterday there was improvement of 0.19% for the…
- Environment News
Koh Phi Phi dugong died from a gastrointestinal infection
PHOTO: Department of National Parks, Wildlife & Plant Conservation Another dead dugong was discovered over the weekend off Koh Phi Phi in Krabi province. Department of Marine and Coastal Resources veterinarians have determined the death was caused by stomach infection and chronic inflammation of the intestines. Another was found off the coast of Trang on the weekend as well. The…
- Events
Phantom V wins Multihull Solutions Regatta in Phuket
PHOTOS: Phuket Yacht Club The 2019 Multihull Solutions Regatta has been run and won after the final day of excellent racing conditions off southern Phuket. The Stealth catamaran Phantom V with its boat builders Alan Carwardine and Roger Diggleman on board, as well as owner Andrew Hurford, won the Racing Multihull Division of the 2019 Multihull Solutions Regatta. Its four…
- 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…
- Thailand News
Alcohol ban across Thailand Tuesday and Wednesday for Buddhist holidays
There will be a ban on alcohol sales for two days this week – Tuesday and Wednesday – around Thailand. The ban starts at midnight tonight (Monday). The holidays are Asarnha Bucha Day (Tuesday, July 16) and Khao Phansa Day (Wednesday, July 17). Asarnha Bucha commemorates the Buddha’s first sermon to his five disciples after attaining Enlightenment more than 2,500…
- 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…
- Events
White caps & tight racing – Day two of the Multihull Solutions Regatta in Phuket
PHOTOS: Phuket Yacht Club The racing multihull boats sailed two races on Sunday – the second day of racing in the annual Multihull Solutions Regatta off Chalong Bay in Phuket. The first race was a three-lap windward-leeward in Chalong Bay and the second a longer course out to the safe water mark just before Cape Panwa. Whitecaps and winds gusting 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…
- Business News
Amari Pattaya has a dramatic makeover
“Dramatic changes have taken place to the entire property, which has transformed the legendary hotel into a new paradise along the northern end of Pattaya Bay.” Today’s Amari Hotel in Pattaya has its roots back in the early 1070s when it was constructed as the Orchid Lodge. But now there’s been a major make-over under the Amari brand. Amari Pattaya’s…
- 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…
- Business News
A major lawsuit has been filed by owners of JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa
A letter filed with the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) yesterday. A major spat between the owners of the JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa in Mai Khao and the parent management company Marriott International, Inc… Minor International Public Company Limited (“MINT”) announces that it has, through its 100% subsidiary MI Squared Limited, initiated legal action in Thailand against Marriott…
- 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…
