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Army chief claims election delay critics are “bent on creating trouble”
In a country where the Army has played such a prominent part in the politics of Thailand for so long, we shouldn’t be surprised by commentary today from the Thai Army Commander-in-Chief. General Apirat Kongsompong says that those campaigning against the election delay have a “one-track mind and bent on creating troubles”. “They are being told to think this way,…
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Bangkok’s air-pollution alarming, rain-making being considered
PHOTO: An eerie start to Sunday in Bangkok – The Nation Bangkok’s air pollution has reached dangerous levels for multiple days in the past few weeks. Today, air pollution in the greater Bangkok area was again threatening residents’ health. The amount of PM2.5 – airborne dust particles 2.5 microns in diameter or less – exceeded the safe level of 50…
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BOI approves new rail services, new port investment
PHOTO: Duangjai Asawachintachit, BOI secretary general The Board of Investment of Thailand (BOI) has laid out strategies to boost the development of rail services and the country’s cruise tourism. Duangjai Asawachintachit, BOI secretary general, says the latest BOI meeting chaired by the Prime Minister had resolved to instigate measures to attract investment in rail development and related infrastructure for continued…
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Chinese foreign policy – On track
by Nikkei Asia Review “When Japanese trading house Itochu and train maker Hitachi withdrew from a soon-to-be-decided $7 billion tender for a high-speed rail project near Bangkok, it appeared to be another victory for China and its grand plans to connect Southeast Asia with railways. Thailand has for decades been the centerpiece of Tokyo’s strategy for Southeast Asia, and long-discussed plans…
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Chinese, Taiwanese, Lao involved in making fake credit cards – Pattaya
FILE PHOTO “Police found 17 fake credit cards, three computers and a card writer and reader.” Pattaya police and immigration officials have arrested a Chinese and Taiwanese man over allegations of making fake credit cards with stolen information for an accomplice in Laos. Pattaya police held a press conference yesterday to announce the arrest of 27 year old Taiwanese citizen,…
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Eight days in southern Thailand
mtv.co.uk have visited Thailand recently and come up with their own short, cool, stays in the southern region. If you have a spare eight days, here is their guide for a quick southern beach holiday. Phuket: 2 nights How to get there It’s time to switch it up and head to the Southern region of Thailand. The easiest way is…
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Seven arrested over illegal pre-wedding photo shoots in Phuket
Seven foreigners have been charged over illegally working as pre-wedding photographers and assistants in Phuket yesterday. The Phuket Immigration Office Chief Col Kathatorn Kumthieg ordered officers to inspect Kathu Temple and Kata Noi Beach, popular locations for foreigner pre-wedding photo shoots. The Phuket Immigration Office reports that all staff in the pre-wedding photo shooting team were foreigners who only held tourist visas. They…
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Rahaf al-Qunun arrives in Canada – no mention in Saudi media
The 18 year old Saudi runaway who says she feared her family and possible death if she was deported back to Saudi Arabia, has arrived in Canada. Canadian officials offered her asylum in a case that became global news after the plucky woman mounted a Twitter storm, barricaded in her airport hotel room last weekend. The Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia…
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Hua Hin officials roll up their sleeves to clean the beaches after recent storms
PHOTO: Talk News Online Hu Hin’s local Talk News Online is reporting that a team of local government officials and soldiers were out in force to clean up the Gulf coast beaches yesterday. The action focussed on Hua Don beach at Khao Takiap causing a lot of selfies to be taken among the large numbers of appreciative tourists using the…
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VIDEO: Woman has meltdown in Thai airport
A video posted on social media has been doing the rounds. In the video a woman is seen yelling at an Air Asia airport staff for being told her carry on must be checked in because it was 7.2 kilos over the 7 kilogram weight limit. The woman is calmly told that she will have check-in the extra luggage and…
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Event Round-Up – January 2019
Into a new year and a month packed with activities around the country. The highly anticipated Thailand Yacht Show & RendezVous 2019 kicks off at Phuket Royal Marina on January 10-13. A collaboration between some of the most respected and experienced figures in the Southeast Asian yachting industry, Thailand Yacht Show & RendezVous is the country’s new and improved yacht…
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Thai cabinet extends visa-fee-waiver until after Songkran
Tourists from over 21 countries will continue to benefit from an extension to the visa fee waiver introduced in November last year. In a move to boost tourism, the cabinet has extended the 2,000 baht visa-on-arrival fee waiver, according to Tourism and Sport Minister, Veerasak Kowsurat this morning (Tuesday). The waiver was set to end on Sunday, January 6, 2019,…
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Family of British Phuket property developer say “he was murdered”
PHOTO: Lawyer Vincent McOwen holding up a photo of Steven James Granville – Khaosod English A lawyer representing the family of Steven James Granville has filed a complaint with the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) in Bangkok over police reports about injuries sustained in a 2013 ‘cycling incident’. The TCSD is now overseen by Immigration Chief Pol Lt Gen Surachate Hakparn.…
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Myanmar Court rejects appeal of imprisoned Reuters journalists
A court in Myanmar yesterday decided to uphold the convictions of two Reuters journalists who were sentenced to seven-year prison sentences. The case that has drawn international criticism. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were found guilty last year of violating the Myanmar’s Official Secrets Act. They were investigating the massacre of Rohingya men amid a military crackdown on the country’s…
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Social media the key in the run up to the 2019 election
“Newspapers, once the beneficiary of political advertising, will now be side-lined in favor of targeted social media in the lead up to this year’s election.” by Asina Pownwasin Your social media platforms are about to be filled with banter, arguments and lots of advertising. The topic? The forthcoming Thai election (when a date is eventually announced). For the first time…
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Medical cannabis crops to be tightly controlled
The Thai narcotic control board head says that only Thai citizens who join hands with the government will be allowed to cultivate medical cannabis. The board yesterday stressed that growers of the potentially lucrative crop must be cooperatives, community enterprises or social enterprises made up of citizens – and not private companies. Their business will be under the scrutiny of…
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UPDATE: Phuket’s injured Leopard Cat dies
The leopard cat, which was found severely injured in front of a Mai Khao Graveyard on December 31, has unfortunately passed away. Read more about the locals finding the cat HERE, Read more about the injuries and care for the leopard cat HERE The can was transported to Soi Dog Foundation on January 1 for treatment and was under constant care from the…
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Missing 14 year old girl now under government care
by Kornkamol Aksorndej – The Nation Weekend A 14 year old girl, reported missing for more than two weeks and later found with an older man in a Chiang Mai apartment, is now under government care. Pol Maj General Jirabhop Bhuridej of the Crime Suppression Division, says, “We won’t give details about the case. The minor must be protected.” The…
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Saudi refugee: Friday milestones and developments
Confusion reigned today over where the 18 year old Saudi woman, who fled from Kuwait to Thailand to escape her allegedly abusive family, would be resettled. Here are some of the key developments in the story today… • Surachate Hakparn, Thailand’s Immigration Police Chief, initially spoke to CNN saying that Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun had been offered asylum by Australia as…
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Company reports 80K beer cans disappeared after truck accident in Phuket
A logistic company representative has filed a report to police after more than 80,000 beer cans, valued at more than two million baht, mysteriously vanished after a beer truck overturned in Rassada this morning. The truck overturned and beer cans were scattered all over the road outside a 7-11. Read more about the incident HERE. Locals nearby helped clear up…
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No sign of elections, but election officials want 22 million baht of new cars
Voters were disappointed to see yesterday’s deadline for publication of the royal decree slip away, which means the intended February 24 election date is unlikely. To add salt to the wound, the election commission has now announced that its directors will be needing new cars, and the lucky tax payers will be providing them. The budget for the new fleet…
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Man takes a naked stroll in Sabah, Malaysia
by The Star – Asia News Network A naked man, wearing only a wide-brimmed hat (sun smart!) has been caught on camera walking along a road near Pavilion Bundusan in Penampang, Sabah, Malaysia. This comes after a couple were photographed skinny-dipping in a water fountain at the start of this week in the famous Gaya Street in Kota Kinabalu. The photo…
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Pabuk: Tax refunds for home and car repairs
The Thai Cabinet has approved a tax refund for people who need to repair damage to their home or car following tropical storm Pabuk hitting the southern Gulf coastline a week ago. Pinsai Surasawadi, principal adviser on strategic tax administration for Finance and Banking, who is also a spokesman for the Revenue Department, said that home repairs costing less than…
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Thai preparedness limits Pabuk damage
Just a week ago the tropical storm Pabuk was poised to make landfall on the southern Thailand Gulf coast after days of predictions, warnings and anticipation. Now the entire event can be assessed in hindsight and lessons learned for next time. Reliefweb.int has issued a compiled report on Pabuk. “Early warning and early action helped ensure that tropical storm Pabuk,…
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Beer truck overturns in Rassada, Phuket – VIDEO
PHOTOS / VIDEO: Mana Sombat / Kanlaya Singkangrang A beer truck overturned in Rassada this morning where beer cans were scattered on the road outside a 7-11. Police were notified about the incident early today at Soi King Kaew in front of a 7-eleven in Rassada. At the scene they found thousands of beer cans scattered all over the road.…
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Waiting game for Saudi refugee in Thailand
The ordeal of Saudi Arabian refugee Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun continues, with Australia’s foreign minister Marise Payne telling reporters no asylum deal had been reached. VOA News is reporting that Al-Qunun, who barricaded herself in a hotel at Bangkok airport to prevent officials from deporting her after fleeing her family in Kuwait, has been granted refugee status by the UN refugee…
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BMA introduces proper pavement stops for motorcycle taxis in Bangkok
As Bangkok becomes busier, limited space for motorcycle taxi stands is becoming a critical problem with many of the crews taking up road space or spreading themselves randomly out around public pavement areas. The boys in the orange vests provide an important part of the Bangkok public transport mix but the BMA were getting many complaints. Now the BMA (Bangkok…
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Chiang Rai Tourist Police hunting another foreign graffiti sprayer – VIDEO
PHOTOS/VIDEO: Chiang Rai Tourist Police The Chiang Rai Tourist Police are hunting for a foreign man who was caught on CCTV footage spraying on a wall near the old bus terminal in Chiang Rai. The northern Tourist Police office yesterday were trying to find the man who is clearly identified on CCTV footage spraying the wall of a restaurant. Anyone who…
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UPDATE: Missing 14 year old teenager found
The missing 14 year old school girl Tipayarat “Yoyo” Laosuwanpong, reported by her family as a missing person yesterday, has been found safe. She was found late last night (Thursday) in Chiang Mai. The family are awaiting further details and hoping to reunite with their daughter today. Police say they’ve detained a 52 year old Chiang Mai man in relation…
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Burmese man arrested with 300 kilogram of ‘ice’ in Chiang Rai
A Burmese man from the Shan State has been arrested after troops intercepted his pickup and found a large shipment of 300 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine last night. The Pha Muang Taskforce had officers set up a checkpoint on the bypass near Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district between the Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge and Ban Nam Jam village in Tambon Pong…
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