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Six marine officials killed as van slams into tree, Chumpon
PHOTO: A van is almost totally destroyed after slamming into a tree on Highway 41 in Sawi district of Chumphon yesterday (Sunday) – Facebook/Chumphon Rescue Volunteers at Khao Ka Rong Investigators are blaming a burst tyre on a passenger van that crashed, killing six Marine Department officials in Chumpon, heading back from Phuket towards Bangkok. The officials were killed and five others…
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Rain-making efforts will continue until end of month in Khon Kaen
The Northeastern Royal Rainmaking Operation Centre is extending the royal rainmaking operation period, as part of air pollution reduction efforts, until the end of February. The Director of the Northeastern Royal Rainmaking Operation Centre, Wassana Wongrat, says the Department of Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation set up a rapid deployment unit to conduct royal rainmaking operations to improve the air…
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Shy baby turtles get a helping hand in Phang Nga
PHOTOS: The Nation Thirty-five new hatchling leatherback turtles, reluctant to leave their nests on Phang Nga’s Ta Sai Beach, have been given a helping hand to find their way to the sea. Marine and Coastal Resources Department officials yesterday noticed that there were signs in the sand that the baby turtles had hatched, but became concerned this morning after none…
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Tourist finds old tunnel on Koh Samui
PHOTOS: Sanook Authorities are investigating a 100 meters long, 3.5 meters wide and 5 meters high tunnel that had been contstructed from one side of Ban Tai hill to the other. The tunnel was found in the Mae Nam area. After local Samui authorities dug into their paperwork they determined that the area was private land bought by a developer from a…
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“New drug laws don’t legalise unlicensed marijuana cultivation”
Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has rushed to clarify that the new narcotics law does not legalise the unrestricted planting of marijuana in an apparent response to the Bhumjai Thai political party’s manifesto pledge to legalise marijuana cultivation. The party trotted out the election platform last week during their campaigning. FDA secretary-general Dr. Tharet Kratnairaveewong has clarified that the…
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HM the King recognises Krabi ‘hero’ after 2015 mud rescue
His Majesty the King has sent a gift and necessities to a local fisherman whose rescue of two foreign birdwatchers stuck in mud in 2015 went viral on social media. Captain Khumsup Iamsri, an officer attached to the King’s royal villa, represented the King to visit 47 year old Chat Ubonjinda at his house on Khu Muang road in Tambon…
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Rescuers slam local police for lack of response after body found in Chao Phraya
PHOTOS: @Disater_TH The Rama VII Bridge in Bangkok has long been a location where people have jumped to their death. But its location has also fallen between two jurisdictions and the nearby police argue over who is responsible for receiving and acting on reports on bodies in the river. Yesterday, the body of an unidentified man was pulled from the…
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Strong baht a concern for Thai hotel sector
by Bill Barnett Thailand’s baht performance against Asian currencies in 2018, was unmatched, with the exception of the Japanese yen. Commenting on the trend financial news Bloomberg have highlighted that in 2019, a further 4% in growth this year have it sitting at the top of the table. Oddly, one of the underlying factors stimulating the baht’s appreciation is the…
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BKK road racing crackdown: 78 arrested with illegally modified motorcycles
“…those under 18 will be sent for an attitude adjustment in a military camp for seven days.” Samut Prakan police have arrested 78 motorcyclists and seized 85 motorcycles allegedly modified for road racing. Police staffed the checkpoints on major roads in Samut Prakan last night and into early this morning making the arrests. Samut Prakan police chief Pol Maj Gen…
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A mother and two young daughters killed when their car is hit by a train
A mother and two young daughters have been killed when their car was struck by a train at a railway crossing in Surat Thani’s Phun Pin district this morning. The Nation reports that police say the accident happened at a rail crossing in front of the Tambon Phun Phin Administrative Organisation that is located between Maluan and Thung Pho railway…
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Scrapped: Back to the drawing board for Suvarnabhumi Terminal 2 design
It’s back to the drawing board for the AoT and the new Terminal 2 project at Suvarnabhumi Airport. The contract to design the much needed second terminal has been the subject of a lot of bitter criticism in the Thai architectural community. The board of Airports of Thailand Public Company, the operator of Suvarnabhumi international and five other major airports…
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His Majesty sends flowers to five year old attacked by dogs in Krabi
His Majesty the King has sent a vase of flowers to a five year old Finnish boy who was attacked and bitten by a pack of dogs at Ao Nang in Krabi on Wednesday afternoon. The King instructed Captain Khumsup Iamsri, an officer attached to the King’s royal villa, to send the flowers to the boy at the Krabi Nakharin…
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Golden Triangle drug labs increase shipments 1000% – Speed and Ice pouring over the border
The number of seizures of high-purity crystal methamphetamine are surging into northern Thailand. The demand rises and the methods of detection and enforcement also improve. It’s a vicious circle. Authorities say the number of drug seizures have risen 1000% in just the past 2 years, a stark indication of the growth in industrial-scale production in neighboring Myanmar. Some 18.4 tonnes…
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Fake Viagra, sex toys seized in raids on Bangkok street markets
Viagra is facing stiff competition from the markets in Bangkok. Police last night arrested eight foreigners and five Thais for allegedly selling fake viagra and sex toys during a search of 17 locations along Bangkok’s Sukhumvit strip. Immigration Bureau chief Lt Gen Surachate Hakparn says the operation took place late last night and into this morning. Crime suppression police and…
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Phuket tourist decides hotel awning more comfortable than his room
PHOTOS: Rawai Rescue workers / Phuket Tourist Police The Phuket Tourist Police have been notified that a tourist had jumped from a building in Rawai and ended up on a steel awning covering the bottom floor today. But that wasn’t, in fact, what had happened. The local Tourist Police say the owner of the building told staff at the Tourist…
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Thai exports fall 5.7 percent in January, year-on-year
Thai export results have dipped for the third straight month, falling more than 5.65% compared to a year earlier. The fall was a lot bigger than expected, according to the Thai commerce ministry. Shipments contracted 1.72% in December, compared to a year earlier as well. January’s export drop was due to falling shipments of rice, gold, electronics and cars, according to the…
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19 year old mother slashes three year old son’s throat in Yasothon
WARNING: This story may be shocking to some readers PHOTO: Sanook A 19 year old mother has used a kitchen knife to slash the throat of her three year old son in Yasothon in Thailand’s north-east. Thairath reports that Yasothon Police were notified of the incident at the woman’s lodgings last night at 7 pm. Police and rescue workers arrived…
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Luxury hotel raided in Koh Samui over alleged money laundering
PHOTO: Oriental Lodge Koh Samui A luxury hotel in the south of Koh Samui was raided yesterday in an international money laundering probe. The raid was conduced by the Department of Special Investigation officers and Ministry of the Interior officials. The Komchadluek website reports that investigators allege that 100 million baht has been funneled through illegal activities at the Oriental Lodge…
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Humanitarian aid provided to Chinese man swindled by condo broker
PHOTOS: Tourist Police Bureau The Shirrine Clinic at Chamchuri Square shopping centre in Bangkok this week offered 10,000 baht cash and other necessary items to a Chinese man who was left penniless after a condominium broker in Bangkok had allegedly swindled him out of almost one million baht. A case against the suspect is being handled by Phra Khanong police.…
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16 year old praised for rendering first aid at an accident in Pattaya
Sanook reports that Jiraphon Madeua, an M4 student at the Photisamphan Pitthayakarn school in Pattaya, was on his way home and was first to respond to a to man who had come off his motorcycle. He was judiciously applying his first aid knowledge to assist the stricken man. The 16 year old says that he received first aid training at…
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Experts warn of northern faultlines as aftershocks rock Lampang
PHOTO: Wat Phra Kerd’s abbot leads officials to inspect the damage to the pagoda’s visibly tilted tiered umbrella top after Lampang’s Wang Nua district on Wednesday suffered a 4.9magnitude quake. The recent tremors around Lampang slightly damaged a few dozen homes in six tambons, including the tiered umbrella of the Wat Phra Kerd pagoda in tambon Thung Hua. The 4.9…
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Patong motorbike racer arrested and fined – VIDEO
PHOTO: Patong Police Patong Police yesterday arrested a motorbike racer after identifying him and his motorbike from video clips that were popular in social media this week. Patong Police are investigating alleged foreign motorbike racing gangs in Patong after video clips went viral in local social media. Read more about the racing around Patong’s streets HERE. Patong Police report that they…
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PM visits Finnish boy attacked by dogs in Krabi
Thailand PM Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday paid a visit to a five year old Finnish boy who was attacked by stray dogs at Ao Nong beach on Wednesday late afternoon. Read more about the attack HERE. The young Finnish boy, savaged by a pack of dogs living on the beach, continues to recover at the Krabi Nakarin International Hospital. Krabi’s Governor visited…
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Weather for February 22
Bangkok Generally clear. High 35ºC. Winds S at 15 to 25 km/h. Phuket Generally clear. High 32ºC. E winds shifting to S at 15 to 25 km/h. Chiang Mai Generally clear. High 36ºC. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 km/h. Pattaya Generally clear. High 31ºC. Winds SSW at 15 to 25 km/h. Hua Hin Partly cloudy. High 33ºC. Winds SSE…
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500 free helmets handed out to motorbike drivers in Patong
Patong Development Foundation together with Patong Police and Patong Municipality have given 500 helmets to motorbike drivers in Patong today under the campaign ‘Wear your helmet’. Handing out the 500 helmets to motorbike user in Patong was led by Patong Police Chief Col Anothai Jindamanee, Patong Municipality Chalermluck Kebsup and President of Patong Development Foundation Preechawut ‘Prap’ Keesin. Col Anothai…
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Thailand’s sponsorship market grew 19% – 2018
ASN (Asia Sponsorship News) has just released its Sponsorship Market Overview for Thailand 2018. Local agencies have had their say on the performance of the Southeast Asian sponsorship marketplace. 2018 was a robust year for Thailand’s Sponsorship market, growing 19% year-on-year to US$223.4 million (2017’s total investment was US$188.2 million) and making grounds on reaching its previous (outlier) market peak of…
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Chinese tourists spend big during Chinese New Year holiday
Spending by Chinese tourists during the Chinese New Year holiday around the world was the highest in Thailand. Alipay, a leading digital payment platform offered by Ant Financial, an affiliate of Alibaba Group has done the sums. The transactions were recorded between February 4-10, and data drawn from the 54 international markets where Alipay is accepted. The number of transactions in…
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Chronically ill man jumps to his death from Bangkok apartment
by The Nation A 66 year old man who lived alone and suffered from chronic ailments has been found dead outside a 15 floor apartment building in Bangkok’s Bang Sue district. It is believed he committed suicide by jumping from the rooftop this morning. Taopoon police were alerted at 11am that Charn Wanngern died after he fell to the ground…
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Students are dropping out along Cambodia’s border with Thailand
by VOA A Cambodian official has reported that about 23% of children in three provinces along the border with Thailand have stopped attending school. The Cambodian Education Minister Hangchuon Naron was speaking about the student dropout rate. He said that the rate in Battambang, Banteay Meanchey and Oddor Meanchey provinces was much higher than in other areas, where rates are…
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Dog rescued from 10 metre well in Phuket
A dog has been rescued after falling into a 10 metre deep well behind a temple in Thalang. Rescue workers were called about the incident at 4pm yesterday that happened behind Tharua Temple in Thalang. They found a 10 metre deep well and a dog who’s stuck at the bottom of the well. Rescue workers abseiled into the well and…
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