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5 best wine bars in Bangkok offering rich and quality wine
It’s wine o’clock! Whether you’re all about fruity reds, sweet whites, or funky naturals, Bangkok has many great spots to sip your favourite varieties. But with an array of options to choose from, and the constant rise and fall of...
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‘Seastead’ set up off coast of Phuket
PHOTOS: Nation TV A Thai couple has successfully set up a ‘Seastead’ near Phuket. Seasteading is aiming to build floating societies with “significant political autonomy”. Nearly half the world’s surface is unclaimed by any nation-state, and many coastal nations can legislate “seasteads” in their territorial waters (like a “homestead” but wetter). The nation TV reports that website ‘Bitcoin.com’ and ‘Ocean.builders’…
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Thailand swelters under the Songkran sun
Temperatures are soaring around the country, right on time, as the Songkran holiday kicks in. People are heading home for the annual Thai New Year break whilst the tourists are flooding into the main hot spots for the water fights. The annual celebration is meant to provide a ritual washing of Buddha images, ‘gentle’ splashing of family and friends and…
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Julian Assange arrested in London after Ecuador pulls asylum
“I can confirm that Julian Assange is now in police custody and rightly facing justice in the UK.” British Home Secretary – Twitter. The WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s nearly seven year stay as guest at Ecuador’s embassy in London has come to a sudden end after police entered the building and arrested him. Ecuador had withdrawn his asylum. Assange has been…
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Police officer and wanted insurgent shot in Songkhla clash
One policeman has been injured along with an alleged insurgent when troops and southern insurgents clashed in Songkhla’s Sabayoi district today. The exchange of gunfire happened at 10:30am this morning when troops and police reportedly searched for suspects in Ban Long Khuan village in Tambon Khuha. The team received a tipoff that December 26’s Khuan Niang district bombing suspects might…
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Passengers injured as bus overturns in Si Saket
PHOTOS: ร่วมด้วยช่วยกัน / ธนบุรี 12 No deaths have been reported following a bus overturning in Si Saket in eastern Thailand today. The bus, travelling from Bangkok to Ubon Ratchathani, overturned on Rattana Buri – Sisaket Road in Si Saket, east of Bangkok on the Cambodian border. No deaths were reported but there were some injuries in the incident.
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Thai authorities target 10% fewer Songkran accidents
PHOTO: Daily News The chief of the communications ministry says that the Thai authorities are aiming for a 10% reduction in accidents on selected and particularly dangerous roads. They also want to see a 5% reduction in the country’s total number of road accidents. They have identified 111 roads around the country deemed as high risk for road fatalities that will…
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UPDATE: 2 confirmed dead, 20 injured in Central World Bangkok fire
The Erawan Medical Centre has confirmed that two people were killed and another 20 injured in last evening’s fire at Centara Grand Hotel and CentralWorld Shopping Centre at Bangkok’s Ratchaprasong Intersection. One person was found dead at the scene (a staff member who jumped out of a fourth storey window), whilst the other fatality, identified as 50 year old Arthit…
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Rescued baby elephant transferred to specialist elephant hospital in Surin
PHOTOS: The Nation A baby elephant, rescued from an unused drain in Bueng Kan, on the Laos border near Vientienne, has been transferred to a specialist elephant hospital in Surin for treatment. Wildlife officials moved the baby elephant, now named ‘Chabakaew’, from Bueng Kan’s Bungkla district yesterday. It reached the elephant hospital in Surin this morning. A team of veterinarians…
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PWA urges Phuketians to save water
The Phuket Water Work Authority (PWA) is urging people to save water during dry season under the slogan ‘Save Water, you make it’. Despite the slogan making absolutely no sense we understand the PWA is asking us to conserve the remaining water supplies. The campaign comes as residents around the island complain about very low pressure or no water supply…
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US Embassy responds to Don’s rebuke over Thanathorn case
PHOTO: The Nation The Thai Foreign Minister yesterday formerly summoned foreign diplomats yesterday afternoon, one by one, in a diplomatic dressing down about their appearance at a police station last Saturday morning. The official ministry memo objected to the presence of envoys at the Pathumwan Police Station on Saturday when the Future Forward Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit reported in to…
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UPDATE: 2 dead and 15 injured in Central World shopping complex fire, Bangkok
At least two people have died with 15 others reported injured and hospitalised after a blaze broke out at the Central World shopping complex last night around 5.40pm in Bangkok. Many were hospitalised with smoke inhalation. The popular Central World shopping mall is close to the corner of Sukhumvit and Ratchadamri Roads, aka. Ratchprasong intersection. Some people were seen jumping…
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Three people reported dead, others injured, 100s flee blaze at Central World Hotel Bangkok
PHOTO: Orchidmo A big fire has broken out on Ratchadamri Road, Pathumwan in the busy Sukhumvit shopping zone in Bangkok. Videos and photos posted online show the blaze and thick smoke spreading from the Centara Grand Hotel, located next to the CentralWorld shopping mall. The Bangkok governor has reported that the death toll of the blaze is three people. One…
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Phuket’s water supply scraping the bottom of the three dams
The temperature hit 34 degrees today, light winds and 10% chance of rain for the rest of today (code for a slight chance of a tropical storm cell dropping its load on some small part of the island). And there’s little rain in sight until maybe Sunday. Meanwhile the remaining supply in Phuket’s three main catchments continues to evaporate today.…
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Death of Spanish man in Pattaya. Massuese wasn’t qualified.
PHOTO: Sanook The Department of Public Health say they will prosecute the Pattaya massage spa where a Spanish man died while having an oil massage. Yesterday a 67 year old Spanish man telephoned a massage shop on Central Pattaya Road to say that he wanted a massage before returning to his home country for medical treatment. The shop was not…
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Two young men killed in Krabi hit-and-run
Police in Krabi are hunting for the driver of a pickup truck whose vehicle hit and killed two young boys riding a motorcycle. He failed to stop and drove away.The boys, 14 and 12 years old, who have not been officially identified, were killed just after midnight on Sai Khao-Klong Thom Road in the village of Ban Klong Raed, Klong…
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Four dead in Narathiwat minivan accident – PHOTOS
PHOTOS: Mettatham Rescue Foundation Four people are dead after a minivan collision in Narathiwat early today. The Mettatham Rescue Foundation reports that they were notified of the accident early this morning in Bajoh, Narathiwat, in the far south of Thailand. The minivan was carrying 12 teachers from a school in Narathiwat, from Malaysia back to the border province. Four people died…
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Northern smoke haze easing slowly
Either by hard work, serendipity or pure luck, the smog and haze in the North has eased considerably within the seven-day timeframe set last Tuesday by the Thai PM General Prayut Chan-o-cha. The PM flew into the smoke-stricken Chiang Mai last Tuesday to meet with northern provincial governors to work out active solutions. During the visit, the premier made clear that…
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Re-enacment of Koh Si Chang rape and murder case
A 24 year old Thai, charged over the rape and murder of a 27 year old female German backpacker on Chon Buri’s Koh Si Chang on Sunday, has re-enacted the horrific crime that has shaken public morale on the popular island. Koh Si Chang injuste north-west of Pattaya in the Gulf of Thailand. Ronnakorn Romruen, a resident of the Moo…
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Situation critical for Phuket’s water supply
Phuket has an acute water shortage. But there has been no warnings or even suggestions of restrictions from the Phuket Water Authority. Instead residents are heading to the local media to vent their frustration. On February 6 the PWA foreshadowed odd/even day water restrictions for some residential areas of the island, only to rescind the action the next day saying…
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Driver says sacred amulet saved her in Krabi collision – VIDEO
PHOTOS: Krabi Pitak Pracha Rescue Foundation A female driver has sustained minor injuries after driving into the back of a trailer carrying a backhoe in Krabi. Emergency responders headed to the scene of the accident on Monday night in Krabi City. They arrived at the scene to find a wrecked sedan that had collided with the back of a truck which…
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Vachira Phuket Hospital sets new after hours fee, other public hospitals to follow
Vachira Phuket Hospital, Phuket’s largest public hospital, will charge non-emergency patients 100 baht for after-hours treatment. The new charge kicks in on May 1. The new 100 baht fee co-incides with a change in policy by the Thai Ministry of Health that has ordered all hospitals in the country to charge fees for non-emergency patients arriving for treatment outside normal…
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Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai coach bursts into flames – VIDEO
A tour bus has been erupted into flames in a dramatic roadside fire on a road just out of Chiang Mai. Channel 3 reports that the bus burst into flames 39 kilometres out of Chiang Mai on the Chiang Mai/Chiang Rai Road early this afternoon. The 55 year old driver noticed smoke coming from one of the rear wheels and…
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PM uses Article 44 powers to sack Surachate
PHOTO: Spring News Thai media is reporting that the PM Prayut Chan-ocha used his Article 44 powers to remove Lt-Gen Surachate Hakparn from his job as Immigration chief and side-line him to office duties, pending an enquiry. Following Friday night’s transfer of the Immigration chief it has now been announced that PM Prayut placed the Lt-Gen on a list of…
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One killed, another injured after train slams into upside-down van in Ayutthaya
PHOTO: Matichon Online One man is dead and another severely injured after their van hit a road barrier and flipped onto railway tracks before being hit by a train in Ayutthaya, just north of Bangkok, early today. The Ayutthaya police station was alerted of the accident at the u-turn under the Ban Ma flyover on the Asia highway’s frontage in…
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Accused took drugs before raping and killing German backpacker
23 year old Ronnakorn Romruen, a rubbish collector, arrested for raping and murdering a German tourist over the weekend, has told police that he consumed drugs before meeting the woman on her rented motorcycle on Koh Sichang. He allegedly killed German backpacker Miriam Beelte aged 27 (some news outlets reports she was 26). According to his confession, he took her…
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Motorcyclist survives being run over at traffic light in Nakhon Nayok – VIDEO
VIDEO: Baan Na Police A motorbike driver has survived after a truck trailer ran over him and his motorbike at traffic lights in Nakhon Nayok, just north-east of Bangkok, yesterday. Daily News reports that the motorbike driver had stopped at the traffic light, waling just in front of the truck. The truck driver apparently was unable to see the motorbike.…
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Royal approval for four light-rail train projects, including Phuket
A Royal Decree has given final approval for electric light-rail train projects in Phuket, Phang Nga, Chiang Mai and Nakhon Ratchasima. Komchadluek reports that His Majesty the King has given the royal go-ahead for the long-touted and much-discussed projects from Phuket to Phang Nga, Chiang Mai and Nakhonn Ratchasima. The royal approval was issued on April 4, 2019 for the…
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Fox News fake news, Phuket gets a bullet
by Bill Barnett, C9Hotelworks.com As Phuket moves slowly into low season, a story published in the international media by the US-based Fox News about how tourists could face the death penalty over taking photos at the island’s airport is a highly flaw piece of sensationalist fake news. Clearly there is no likelihood that the Thai authorities will apply a legal maximum…
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Body of missing boy found in canal in Phetchburi
The body of a one year old who has been missing for eight days has been found in a canal in Phetchburi today. The body was found floating face down in the klong in Phetchburi early this morning. The male toddler, just over a year old, was reported missing to police in Pakin Kidtalod eight days ago. The mother of ‘Nong…
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Fake news goes viral about ‘death sentence’ for Phuket airport selfies
International media are going crazy over a completely nonsense story. But, of course, one outlet posts the fake news and the others copy/paste. “Tourists who take selfies on notorious airport beach are threatened with the death penalty by Thai officials,” trumpets the headline in Daily Mail. (‘notorious’???) “Tourists taking beach selfies while planes take-off have angered airport chiefs in Thailand…
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