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  • Severe air pollution forces Nok Air flight back to Bangkok

    Severe air pollution forces Nok Air flight back to Bangkok

    The severe air pollution which has plagued much of Thailand’s central and northern regions for weeks is showing signs of subsiding, with many areas reporting “moderate” to “good” air quality levels yesterday. But in the north levels remain high, with the pollution in Phrae province preventing a Nok Air plane from landing and forcing it back to Bangkok. Meanwhile, Bangkok…

  • Pollution closes Lampang schools

    Pollution closes Lampang schools

    Schools in the northern province of Lampang were closed yesterday as the level of air pollution went up, according to KhaoSod. Authorities have instructed families to keep their children indoors during this period of poor air quality. The problem is partly caused by the the burning of crop fields, which despite prohibitions, has been going on for weeks, with the…

  • Pattaya leaders meet to discuss effects of Coronavirus on tourism

    Pattaya leaders meet to discuss effects of Coronavirus on tourism

    Pattaya luminaries, community leaders and business owners met yesterday at Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden to discuss the effect of the Wuhan Coronavirus on local tourism and ways to minimise the damage. The deputy Governor of Chonburi province, where Pattaya is located, travelled to Nong Nooch Gardens to meet with the director of U-Tapao Airport, the director of the Pattaya…

  • Pattaya welcomes 4000 US soldiers for Cobra Gold in February

    Pattaya welcomes 4000 US soldiers for Cobra Gold in February

    The 39th annual Cobra Gold military exercise will be held from February 24 to March 6 with 4,000 US personnel, three navy ships and one commercial vessel. Cobra Gold is an event held between the Thai and US armed forces every year. It’s the largest Asia-Pacific military exercise held each year, and is among the largest multinational military exercises in which…

  • Air quality improves in Bangkok, North still battling some haze

    Air quality improves in Bangkok, North still battling some haze

    The severe air pollution which has plagued Thailand in recent weeks is improving: air quality is dramatically better in most areas today except in the north, where the PM2.5 level remains above safe levels, especially Lampang and Phrae provinces. According to the Pollution Control Department, at 10 am the PM 2.5 levels in the northern provinces of Lampang, Lamphun, Nan, Phrae,…

  • Thai tourism to take hit over Coronavirus

    Thai tourism to take hit over Coronavirus

    by Bill Barnett of c9hotelworks.com A travel ban is now in effect in Mainland China for tour groups who were booked for holidays overseas. Over the past few days hoteliers in Phuket, Bangkok and throughout the country are reporting significant cancellations, not only of groups but also independent travellers (FITs). Last year Mainland Chinese travellers to Thailand nearly eclipsed 11 million,…

  • Everything you need to know about 5G

    Everything you need to know about 5G

    by Live Tiles 5G literally refers to the fifth-generation of wireless technology, following on from 3G and 4G. The biggest changes will bring users higher speeds, lower latency, and the chance to connect more devices at once. Speed, for example, will provide almost instantaneous transfers across the internet, faster than the human reaction time. So something like a livestream of…

  • Hungarian overstayer dies in Suvarnabhumi detention cell

    Hungarian overstayer dies in Suvarnabhumi detention cell

    A 60 year old Hungarian man has died in detention at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport. Lazlo Balogh was awaiting deportation for overstaying his visa. Laszlo was handed over to the Suvarnabhumi airport police for repatriation on Saturday, January 25. He showed no unusual signs after being put in the detention cell and was sleeping normally on Saturday night, according to police. But…

  • Romeo robber arrested for drugging women in their homes

    Romeo robber arrested for drugging women in their homes

    Lonely hearts beware: a serial robber has been arrested after meeting up with girls for a night of fun but instead robbing them in their own homes. Police arrested a 28 year old man, who they named only as “Suchin,” in the eastern province of Chonburi on Thursday. One victim told authorities she met Suchin on a dating site in…

  • “Greetings from Thailand”, escaped convict sends Belgian prison a postcard

    “Greetings from Thailand”, escaped convict sends Belgian prison a postcard

    “Greetings from Thailand”. That was the message on the postcard sent to the directors of a Belgian prison. The sender? The management of Turnhout prison believe the greeting letter was from Oualid Sekkaki, who escaped last month. Sekkaki is one of five inmates who escaped from the Flemish prison in mid-December. The letter was addressed to the three directors of the…

  • Electric vehicle registrations in Thailand rose 380% in 2019

    Electric vehicle registrations in Thailand rose 380% in 2019

    Electic cars (EVs) are on the rise in Thailand. The Electric Vehicle Association of Thailand (EVAT) reports a sharp increase in the number of electric vehicles registered in 2019. Department of Land Transport statistics show that, as of December 31, there were 2,854 electric vehicle registrations, including 1,572 new cars, up 380% from 2018 when only there were only 325 registered.…

  • A quick guide to the Year of the Rat

    A quick guide to the Year of the Rat

    It’s the biggest annual celebration of all and sparks off a yearly exodus from the cities of China as families head home, or in many case to travel to other provinces or overseas during the two week festival. 25% of the 7.7 billion world population will Chinese New Year from today. The holiday is also called Lunar New Year and…

  • Sugar industry asks the government to subsidise harvesting machinery

    Sugar industry asks the government to subsidise harvesting machinery

    Sugar factories are campaigning to cut and harvest raw sugarcane, instead of boring it first, for processing. The conglomerates are recommending that the government offer funding at low interest rates to farmers to buy harvesters as the prices of the equipment are quite high (6-12 million baht). They are also urging the government to purchase electricity from biomass power plants…

  • Shakedown rocks the top levels of the Royal Thai Police

    Shakedown rocks the top levels of the Royal Thai Police

    The upper echelons of the Royal Thai Police Force has been rattled by some high-profile shakedowns that have been ordered by executive order from the Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha. Starting with the former immigration chief, Pol Lt-Gen Surachat Hakparn, the PM has ordered him to “adhere strictly to the ethical code and discipline expected of all civil servants” Earlier this…

  • More human remains found submerged in metal casket in suspect’s pond

    More human remains found submerged in metal casket in suspect’s pond

    In a story that grows grislier with each new discovery… now an old metal casket with more than 30 human bones has been retrieved from a pond at the Bangkok home of Apichai Ongwisit, dubbed “Ice Heep Lek” (metal casket killer), who has already been charged with murdering his girlfriend and disposing of her corpse on his property. Nearly 300…

  • SCAM – Thailand’s PM2.5 micron smoke screen

    SCAM – Thailand’s PM2.5 micron smoke screen

    It’s cars, it’s the polluting buses, it’s people burning too many incense sticks. Every year it’s the same culprits in Bangkok, people driving their cars too much, polluting factories and old buses belching black smoke. All those things contribute to city pollution but are far from the main problem. So the government, reactive as usual, rolls out its PR machine…

  • Man survives drive-by shooting and crash, credits his Buddhist amulet

    Man survives drive-by shooting and crash, credits his Buddhist amulet

    A Pattaya man who was fired upon and crashed into a power pole early yesterday morning is thanking his lucky Buddha and crediting his Buddhist amulet with saving his life. 30 year old Waranyoo Kaewmala’s car was shot nine times, yet somehow miraculously escaped unharmed. Bang Lamung Police were notified of the incident at 2am rushed to the scene to…

  • 3 arrested for selling fake gold in Khon Kaen

    3 arrested for selling fake gold in Khon Kaen

    Three men are now in police custody in the north-eastern province of Khon Kaen for selling fake gold to gold shops. 42 year old Suparb from Udon Thani province, 41 year old Pakorn from Bangkok and 30 year old Thanakorn from Surin Province were arrested after police received complaints of fake gold chains being sold to several shops in the…

  • Top 10 islands to visit in Thailand (Part Two)

    Top 10 islands to visit in Thailand (Part Two)

    And now the Top 5… 5. Surin islands Those who are seeking a peaceful and relaxing holiday experience will be left amazed by what Surin islands have to offer. Famously known as a destination that promises peace and tranquility, Surin islands are relatively secluded and have little to no human interference, leaving it unspoiled. Most tourists who visit the Surin…

  • Lone gunman tells police he killed to “spice up his boring life”

    Lone gunman tells police he killed to “spice up his boring life”

    So how did Thai police track down and arrest the suspect, who has allegedly confessed, accused of a brutal and callous robbery and shooting which resulted in the death of three with four other injured? The suspect was arrested following an intensive 14 days of forensic investigation. 38 year old school principal, Prasitthichai Khaokaew, is now in custody, suspected of…

  • Arrested Lop Buri murder suspect was a provincial headmaster

    Arrested Lop Buri murder suspect was a provincial headmaster

    The director (headmaster) of a Sing Buri school is now in police custody as a suspect in the case of the lone of being the lone gunman in a gold shop robbery at the Robinson’s Shopping Centre in Lop Buri province on January 9. Three people, including a two year old boy, were shot and killed, another four were injured…

  • Thailand’s PM2.5 micron elephant in the room – OPINION

    Thailand’s PM2.5 micron elephant in the room – OPINION

    It’s cars, it’s the polluting buses, it’s people burning too many incense sticks. Every year it’s the same culprits in Bangkok, people driving their cars too much, polluting factories and old diesel buses belching black smoke. All those things contribute to city pollution but are far from the main problem. So the government, reactive as usual, rolls out its PR…

  • Nearly 300,000 Bangkok school students stay at home today as a measure to reduce air pollution

    Nearly 300,000 Bangkok school students stay at home today as a measure to reduce air pollution

    Nearly 300,000 students from 437 schools around Bangkok are having the day off after the Bangkok governor announced they could stay home and avoid the city’s smog. Ironically, today’s city air pollution has reduced to its lowest level in a week. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration suspended classes at 437 public schools for one day and introduced staggered working hours for…

  • School headmaster arrested and charged over the Lop Buri gold shop shootings

    School headmaster arrested and charged over the Lop Buri gold shop shootings

    Police have arrested a man in conjunction with the Lopburi gold shop shootings on January 9. The man is a 38 years old school headmaster from Sing Buri, the adjoining province to the west of Lop Buri in central Thailand. Police report that he has confessed to the shooting of the customers and staff, resulting in three deaths, including a two year old…

  • Two Israeli tourists pickpocketed by Pattaya ladyboys

    Two Israeli tourists pickpocketed by Pattaya ladyboys

    Two Israeli men told Pattaya police that they were robbed by a pair of ladyboys, relieving them of around 2500 baht each. The incident was reported to police on Monday morning. At around 2am the tourists, both 21 year old Israelis, identified as Ahmad Mohammad and 33 year old Mojahad Samir called police to report a pickpocketing theft on Soi 2…

  • Thai PM mulls private car ban in pollution-stricken areas

    Thai PM mulls private car ban in pollution-stricken areas

    “Bangkok’s governor has also signed an order yesterday to close 437 schools in in the city today due to a forecast of higher pollution levels.” The government is considering a ban on private car use in areas affected by hazardous levels of air pollution. The harsh proposal was unveiled Tuesday by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha after a cabinet meeting in Narathiwat. The…

  • Celebrities take to social media and point out Government incompetence over air pollution problem

    Celebrities take to social media and point out Government incompetence over air pollution problem

    “Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha said it’s hard to enforce laws to reduce PM2.5 pollution and blamed the public for the poor air quality.” Thai celebrities have taken to social media in a campaign to show the incompetence of public authorities and the Thai government in handling Bangkok’s pollution problem, indeed the entire central and northern Thailand which is currently suffering air…

  • Pattaya man in coma after being shot in argument with ex-girlfriend’s father

    Pattaya man in coma after being shot in argument with ex-girlfriend’s father

    A man remains in a coma in Pattaya after sustaining serious injuries from a gunshot during an argument with his ex-girlfriend’s father on Saturday night. Police and emergency responders arrived at the scene in Banglamung district to find 29 year old Anucha Jansrithong with a gunshot wound. 20 year old Phonthip Ployboot told police that Anucha is her ex-boyfriend and alleged…

  • Thailand’s Future Forward party cleared in surprise Court verdict

    Thailand’s Future Forward party cleared in surprise Court verdict

    The Constitutional Court have beaten their own schedule for a verdict by announcing late this morning a decision that cleared the Future Forward Party of charges that it was attempting to undermine “the democratic system under the monarchy”. The ruling is one of the few that have come out on the side of Government opposition parties in Thailand, and is considered…

  • Future Forward members gather to hear Constitutional Court’s verdict at 2pm

    Future Forward members gather to hear Constitutional Court’s verdict at 2pm

    Members and supporters of Thailand’s Future Forward Party are massing at the party’s headquarters in the on New Phetchaburi Road in Bangkok awaiting the Constitutional Court’s ruling on charges that it has engaged “in activities detrimental to the democratic system”. The case stems from a complain six months ago that Future Forward was involved in the imaginary “Illuminati” group, thought…