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Blazing opportunity: Four Twenty Thailand offers franchise programme
Did you know that Four Twenty, Thailand’s premier cannabis brand, has a franchise programme? That’s right, you can now join their efforts to bring high-quality cannabis products and a vibrant community experience to more locations across Thailand. Four Twenty has...
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Police ramp up investigation into shots fired into Surachat’s car in Bangkok
Investigators yesterday combed the scene of a shooting where seven shots (below) were fired into a vacant car belonging to former Immigration supremo Pol Lt-General Surachat Hakparn. Deputy Police Commissioner-General Pol General Virachai Songmetta visited the crime scene where the white Lexus was shot at by two suspects on Monday evening. According to The Nation, the location was a massage spa…
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Bangkok authorities roll out the water trucks for free drinking water
As water authorities around Bangkok start rolling out a long-term solution to the increasing salinity of the water further up the Chao Phraya river, locals are being treated to free drinking water. The Metropolitan Waterworks Authority has is transporting tap water from the Mahasawat water factory, in a small district west of the main city unaffected by the saltwater problem,…
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Pattaya Police warn people not to post videos of people having sex on the beach
OIP – Only In Pattaya. Police in Pattaya are warning the public not to post clips of people having sex on the beach. The request follows the latest incident of an amorous Russian couple being sprung on the beach which has gone viral. Police say these types of postings are damaging Pattaya’s image and is unhelpful in the investigation. They said…
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Gunshots fired at Surachat Hakparn’s car were no joke – VIDEO
“Surachat says he was certain the shots had been intended to kill him.” Seven shots have been fired into the side of a car of former immigration police chief Surachet Hakparn’s wife. The former high profile poster boy for the government’s immigration policy, and championed by the deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan, was in a restaurant in Bangkok’s Bang Rak district when the…
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Two out of three CEOs say the 2020 Thai economy will not improve – Survey
Many CEOs, based in Thailand, don’t expect Thailand’s economy to improve during 2020. Many surveyed cited global economic uncertainties, according to the “CEO Survey” of 100 individuals. The survey was conducted by Krungthep Thurakit newspaper a month ago. Around 68.4% of the respondents didn’t expect the economy to improve this year, while 31.6% were saying that the economy would fare…
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Thai PM Prayut’s father has died
It is with great sadness that The Thaiger announces the death of Colonel Prapat Chan-o-cha, the father of Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. Col. Prapat was being treated at Sriraj Hospital after a stroke. He was 97. A source close to the family said Prapat had shown symptoms of dementia for some time. He was pronounced dead shortly after 11:20. There…
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PM empowers embassy to evacuate Thais from Iran
The Thai PM, who also acts as the defence minister, has given Royal Thai Embassy officials in Iran the authority to evacuate Thai citizens if it becomes necessary due to rising tensions in the region. This follows the US airstrike that killed a revered Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani last week. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says the Ministry of Foreign Affairs…
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Prison sends 24 inmates for treatment after “mystery deaths”
PHOTO: Longdo Map Following the deaths of four prisoners over the New Year break, the Phitsanulok Provincial Prison has sent another 24 inmates for treatment. All 24 were found to have high levels of “thyroid hormones and rapid heart rates”. Officials originally reported that the four dead prisoners had shown “symptoms related to food poisoning, such as numbness in the…
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Doctors, teachers and WHAT?#! Thai kids career choices 2020
PHOTO: Bangkok Prep The results of the 11th Children’s Dream Career Survey for 2020 are out. The annual survey is conducted by Adecco Group Thailand. 4,050 Thai children, aged 7 to 14 years from all parts of the country, were surveyed about their dream career. The top dream career for Thai kids is to become a doctor, followed by teacher. The…
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Nearly 2 million Thai travellers head overseas for new year break
Nearly 2 million Thais travelled internationally for this year’s New Year celebrations. That’s a 3.9% increase over the previous year. Thai overseas travellers totalled 1,944,220 people. And although up 3.9% on outbound traffic the year before, it was 2.2% below estimates. Domestic travel between provinces totalled 4,298,626 people. That was down 6.4% from last year and 8% below estimates. Finally, travel within…
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Russian couple apologise for having sex on Pattaya beach, but…
A couple caught on camera having sex on a Pattaya beach have now issued an apology to police. Sort of. Even in their contrite ‘wai’ to the Thai people 26 year old Roman Grigorenko left a sting in the tale. Have a close look at the T-shirt he’s wearing. The logo on the T-shirt Mr Grigorenko was wearing was of…
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Viral pneumonia outbreak in China prompts airport checkpoints for Thai-bound passengers
A viral pneumonia outbreak in the central Chinese city of Wuhan is causing concern across the region. At least 59 patients there have been placed under observation so far. As a precaution, Airports of Thailand has set up checkpoints at four of Thailand’s airports to measure body temperature as passengers deplane and filter out suspected carriers before they reach immigration.…
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South East Asian stocks fall as Mideast tensions soar
Renewed tensions in the Middle East continued to roil stock markets worldwide today. Thai stocks had their biggest fall since December 16 this morning as with Kasikornbank and Airports of Thailand losing 3.6% and 1.7% respectively. At 11.40 this morning the Stock Exchange of Thailand’s index was down 0.87%. • Oil prices shot 2% higher and Brent Crude rose to…
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Opposition’s gains foreshadow more government conflict – Poll
A new survey by Super Poll shows support for the current administration (the Palang Pracharat-led coalition) at 34% and support for the opposition parties at 36.6%. Super Poll’s CEO Noppadon Kannika says that increasing popularity of the opposition could indicate a looming showdown. The poll indicates the number of “politically silent” government supporters has decreased significantly, from 56.1% in April to…
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Pattaya pussy rescued after impaling itself on metal fence
PHOTO: The unlucky, and slightly clumsy, cat is expected to make a full recovery – The Pattaya News In a heartwarming story, a cat has been rescued in Pattaya’s Threpprasit village after missing a jump and getting impaled on a fence. The young female black and white cat was saved after 66 year old Thawatchai Supasirikul heard it screaming for help…
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Over 100 evacuated from Pattaya condo fire
PHOTOS: The Pattaya News More than 100 tourists and residents were evacuated after a fire in a Pattaya condo yesterday morning. Firefighters, police and rescue workers arrived quickly at the Laguna Beach condo in Jomtien, south of Pattaya city. The Pattaya Public Disaster Relief Unit coordinated rescue efforts. The room on the seventh floor where the fire started was completely destroyed,…
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AOT sets up checkpoints to check passengers from Wuhan, China for virus
“Passengers with any suspicious symptoms detected during the initial screenings after landing will be quarantined for medical examinations.” Airports of Thailand says they are monitoring a the detection of some cases of viral pneumonia from Wuhan flights coming out of China. They say that six airports are now ready to cope with the situation by setting up international communicable diseases…
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US manufacturing activity falls to lowest level in a decade
PHOTO: teletrader.com “The data show American factories remain plagued by pullbacks in business investment at home, softer demand throughout the world and, until recently, an escalating trade war between the U.S. and China.” US manufacturing had a tumultuous year in 2019 with the weakest monthly performance for a decade, with orders shrinking and factories continuing to roll back production. The…
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Seawater v Freshwater in Bangkok’s Chao Phraya River. The seawater is winning.
The Office of National Water Resources is holding an urgent meeting today, with other Bangkok water agencies, including the Metropolitan Waterworks Authority to discuss the worsening salination problem in the Chao Phraya river. They note that that the back flow of seawater into the river is now threatening the city’s tap water supply. High tides, rising sea levels, a worsening…
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Mystery Phitsanulok prisoner deaths to be investigated
PHOTO: Mishvo in Motion An investigation has been launched into the deaths of four prisoners in the northern province of Phitsanulok over the New Year holiday break. A spokesman says that The Thai Corrections Department has created a panel to investigate the deaths, which happened in close succession. Officials say the four prisoners showed symptoms related to food poisoning, such as…
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Phuket 2020 – predictions by Bill Barnett
by Bill Barnett, c9hotelworks.com In a series of articles we are pondering what may happen around Thailand over the next twelve months. Bill Barnett is in the ears of the country’s many hotel operators and chains. His consultancy, c9hotelworks.com, shares some perspectives about Thailand’s largest island. All too often I am approached and asked what’s going to happen to Phuket in the…
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Turtle egg thieves raid a leatherback turtle nest in Phang-nga
PHOTOS: กรมทรัพยากรทางทะเลและชายฝั่ง Thieves have stolen almost all of the eggs from a fresh nest of a rare leatherback turtles along a Phang Nga beach in southern Thailand. The incident happened on late Friday or early on Saturday. The mother turtle had come ashore in Khao Lampi-Hat Thai Muang national park to lay her eggs. Dr Thon Thamrongnawasawat, marine biologist and…
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Record numbers flock to Khon Kaen flower festival
PHOTOS: 77kaoded.com A record high of over 300,000 visitors flocked to the annual flower festival in the north eastern province of Khon Kaen this year, averaging around 30,000 a day. The “Amazing International Flower Festival 2019” was held at Bueng Thung Sang Health Garden, from December 17 to January 3. Although the festival officially ended on Friday, the city will keep…
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Finnish man arrested over Suvarnabhumi bomb threat
PHOTO: Skytrax Police report that an investigation has been opened into a bomb threat made to Suvarnabhumi International Airport. A man remains in detention over the matter. The threat was made on the evening of January 1, with a call implying that a bomb had been placed inside the airport The airport regularly receives bomb threats, and has security protocols in…
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Three busted for human trafficking Lao minors
PHOTO: Rayong Police Police have busted a karaoke and brothel in the eastern province of Rayong, arresting two men and a woman for pimping five underaged Lao girls. They were arrested on December 25 at a karaoke bar in Pluak Daeng district, according to Bangkok Post. Police told media that the accused, 44 year old Surasek, 29 year old Sornsawan, and…
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Thailand charges towards an electric car future, with a few speed bumps
Thailand has the biggest automotive industry in Southeast Asia and the 12th largest in the world. Most of those coming out of Thai factories, well just about all really, are standard internal combustion engines with a few ‘hybrid’ models sprinkled in there as well. The hybrids include electric motors and charging systems which saves fuel and load on the petrol engines. But there…
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Thai water officials warn local authorities to get ready for shortages
The Office of the National Water Resources is warning that water stored in the country’s large and medium size dams is now dropping to the minimum useable level, urging measures from local agencies to ease the impact on the public. This warning goes out with another three months of dry season hanging over Thailand’s head. The annual ‘wet season’ kicks…
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Thailand Yacht Show returns to Phuket January 9 – 12
The Thailand Yacht Show takes place at Phuket’s Royal Phuket Marina from January 9 – 12 taking advantage of the island’s peak visitor season. It’s the fifth edition of the show that started at the Ao Po Grand Marina five years ago and then merged with the Phuket Yacht show three years ago. If you’re in and around the island…
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This year’s new year road toll in Thailand 20% lower than last year
This year’s Thai New Year holiday road toll has dropped 20%, compared to the same 7 days last year. In fact it’s the lowest level since 2015. But 373 people still lost their life over the “seven days of danger”, that encompassed the new year traffic and days before and after, as people returned to work. The “seven days of…
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Retiring in Thailand, most of the things you need to know
Please note: The information in this document is provided as a guide only. You should always check the latest information with a Thai Immigration official or professional visa agent. Thailand remains a popular world location for retirees – the beaches, climate, access to good medical care and great food. There may be a few more potholes in the roads and…
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.