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Sponsored Top 5 social media marketing companies in Thailand
As a business owner, you probably already know that social media has become an essential tool to reach new customers. According to the 2023 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, the majority of marketers reported positive outcomes from their social media...
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“We have sufficient evidence against Thanathorn” – Police
Deputy national police chief says that police likely have sufficient evidence to support the sedition charge filed against Future Forward’s Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit. Future Forward eclipsed even their own projections with a surprising performance on the Mach 24 election, coming in a close third behind the heavyweights Pheu Thai and Palang Pracharat, at the expense of the Democrats. Thai PBS reports…
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Recounts and new elections ordered in eight polling stations
PHOTOS: The Nation The Election Commission has decided that two polling stations should recount their ballots while six others should re-hold the election due to discrepancies in the number of ballots in those booths. The two polling stations that have been ordered to re-count the ballots were in Nam Pong District in Khon Kaen province. The poll results they provided…
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Four kilograms of marijuana found in delivery pickup in Nakhon Si Thammarat
PHOTOS: Infantry Division 5 A parcel delivery driver has been found with four kilograms of marijuana in his Kerry Express pickup truck in Nakhon Si Thammarat. The Infantry Division 5 reports that while soldiers from the Infantry Division 5 were on their duty at a normal checkpoint in Chulabhon District, they stopped a pickup truck doing parcel deliveries. They found…
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Former EC Commissioner says ‘Give seats to smaller parties’
A former Constitution Drafting Commission member, Praphan Naikovit, once a member of the Election Commission, met with election commissioners yesterday to discuss the formula that should be used to determine the number of MPs following an extensive debate on the interpretation of laws and formula. He says there is just one formula to calculate the number of party-list MPs in…
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Army chief steps into the political fray again
PHOTO: Army chief General Apirat Kongsompong against a snappy hot pink backdrop by Supalak Ganjanakhundee Army chief General Apirat Kongsompong’s provocative comments against foreign-educated politicians with ‘leftist leanings’ and activists is a threat to democracy, and could lead to social unrest, violence and even collapse of the regime… warnings from prominent Thai scholars and rights defenders yesterday. The comments follow…
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Is Thanathorn the new Thaksin? Will the ‘establishment’ tolerate his new political vision?
Is Future Forward Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit a popular fad or does he, and his party, have the staying power to make him a sustainable threat to the entrenched Thai political elite? Many analysts are comparing Thanathorn to Thaksin in his early days. They say there are clear similarities. First off, Thanathorn is facing the kind of legal trouble that…
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Election Commission admits they haven’t decided on the formula to determine lower house
by Kas Chanwanpen In a stunning admission yesterday, the Election Commission admitted they didn’t know the exact formula to work out the final make up of the lower house seats. The Election Commission secretary-general Jarungvith Phumma says that he expected the agency to make a decision this week on their interpretation of the new Charter that sets out, broadly, how…
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Pattaya hit by sudden topical deluge
PHOTOS: Pattaya One Pattaya was inundated with two hours of unseasonal and sudden rain yesterday late morning-early afternoon, the result of a random ‘summer storm’ system that dumped heavy, localised rain on the seaside resort. The rains started at about 11am and continued for two hours, leaving many roads under water and impassable. The roadside drains struggled to get rid…
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Alarmingly high PM2.5 levels found in Chiang Mai, INSIDE a safety zone building
A Chiang Mai air-pollution safe zone proved to be not that ‘safe’ according to a medical lecturer. The level of PM2.5 very fine particles was found to be very high INSIDE the designated area. But the problem was soon resolved later in the day. Dr Rungsrit Kanjanavanit, a lecturer in medicine at Chiang Mai University, posted a picture of him…
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Activist’s car torched – Election Commission impeachment petition damaged
PHOTO: Thai PBS A car belonging to one of the activists campaigning for impeachment of the Election Commissioners at a rally in Rajaprasong intersection, Bangkok on Sunday, has had his car torched this morning, the second time in a week. Aekkachai Hongkangwan claims in a Facebook post today that his car was burnt beyond repair and some of his documents,…
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The EC’s magic formulae. Thais want to know how it all works.
by Kas Chanwanpen More confusion today, nine days after after the national ballot, as multiple formulae have been cited to come up with a tally on the number of MPs each party would have. Meanwhile, authorities appear reluctant to clear the air. Political scientist Stithorn Thananithichot warns that this confusion could lead to lawsuits which will further complicate post-poll politics.…
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Kudo Beach Club in Patong charged after allowing under-age entry
A lawyer of a night club in Patong and a representative of an event organiser yesterday presented themselves to police to face charges after allowing customers younger than 20 years of age to enter the venue. The incident was highlighted by the Spotlight Thailand’ Facebook page. At Patong Police Station last night, the lawyer for the ‘Kudo Beach Club’ and…
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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…
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King revokes royal decorations from former PM Thaksin
PHOTO: Former Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra welcomes Princess Ubolratana of Thailand as they arrive for the wedding of Thaksin’s daughter last weekend in Hong Kong. HM King Maha Vajiralongkorn has stripped the royal decorations of former PM and fugitive billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra, alluding to his convictions and “extremely inappropriate” flight from the country. The statement in yesterday’s Royal Gazette from…
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Academics urging a State of Emergency for the North
by Pratch Rujivanarom An academic is calling on the government to declare a state of emergency as Chiang Mai and most Northern Provinces face ‘disastrous’ levels of PM2.5 smog and smoke haze.Citizen in the North are being advised to stay inside air conditioned buildings and avoid all outdoor activities, as some areas of Chiang Mai recorded PM2.5 levels reaching higher…
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Two killed in Songkhla after their pick-up is sprayed with bullets
by Santiparb Ramasuta A man and a woman riding in a pickup have been killed this morning after a group of assailants opened fire on them in Songkhla’s Sabaiyoi district. The victims were identified as 34 year old Preecha Phetkaewthng and 33 year old Sathiya Saisuwan. Both were residents of the Sabayoi district. They were rescued from the scene of…
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Future Forward’s 80 new parliamentary faces
The Future Forward Party, making an impressive debut in last Sunday’s election – finishing as the third-most popular choice with more than 6.2 million votes and more than 80 Lower House seats – is composed entirely of completely new faces. These fresh new political voices, partly fueled by the seven million new, young, eligible voters in this year’s poll, provides…
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Head to Chiang Mai for Songkran – getting wet with a northern touch
Thailand’s best-known regional Songkran celebrations take place in the northern city of Chiang Mai This year the Chiang Mai Songkran Festival runs from April 1-16 and with the theme “telling the story of the Lanna culture while celebrating the auspicious new year with safety and without alcohol.” In Chiang Mai, Songkran is often called Paweni Pi Mai Muang. Chiang Mai…
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Roll out the water trucks – Phuket’s water runs low
by Salinee Prap Many areas of Phuket have suffered a shortage of tap water, with inconsistent or no flow, prompting business operators and residents to buy water from the private sector. Phuket as an island, is usually self-sufficient with its water supply, with three large catchments on the island serving locals, expats and the 12 million annual tourists. Phuket governor…
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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…
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Patong Police investigate taxi drivers beating up a tourist – VIDEO
Patong Police are investigating an assault on tourists from a group of Patong taxi drivers. Two video clips of taxi drivers attacking tourist in Patong have gone viral in social media today. The incident happened at Malin Plaza Market at the south end of Patong last night at 11pm. A male middle eastern tourist was attacked by taxi drivers in…
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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…
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Democrat’s 50 parliamentary seats up for grabs
The Democrat Party is hedging their bets at the moment with differing views among the remnant of the political party as to where they should throw their support in the new parliament. Yesterday they were juggling their options, as both Pheu Thai and Phalang Pracharat claimed legitimacy to form the next government. Senior Democrat politician Thaworn Senneam, who won the…
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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…
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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…
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Bomb making equipment discovered in Krabi cave
Krabi officers have discovered bomb-making equipment inside a cave in Krabi. Yesterday officers raided the cave on Koh Talu in Ao Lueak, Krabi after they found that the cave is part of an area of a company who received a concession to produce and farm bird nets. To men died from their injuries after stepping on mines along the shores…
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“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…
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Count continues amid surging complaints
Four days after the national election and we are still no closer to knowing the ‘winner’ as the county’s Election Commission continues the counting of the remainder of the votes amid accusations of delays and mishandling of ballots in some locations. 95% of the voting has now been completed. The EC says that the results after counting the remaining 5%…
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Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam disses Pheu Thai ‘coalition’
“The final seat tally is subject to change since the commission has only announced 95 per cent of the voting results.” Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam has called Wednesday’s announcement of a Pheu Thai-led coalition preparing to form a government merely psychological strategy that will not bear fruit. “The truth will be known after May 9 when the Election Commission endorses…
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Anti-Junta bloc announces coalition with at least 255 seats
by Kas Chanwanpen The Pheu Thai Party’s de facto leader Sudarat Keyuraphan has announced this morning that an ‘anti-junta’ bloc had mustered at least 255 MPs from seven parties to form a coalition government. She said their shared aim was to stop the military junta from retaining power. She also said that negotiations are still underway for more parties to…
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