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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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Two dead, 892 homes damaged by storms in the Northeast
Two people have died and 892 homes damaged by high winds and storm cells that hit 19 provinces, mostly in Thailand’s Northeast, between April 13-16. The report from the Department of Public Disaster Prevention and Mitigation. The 19 wind-affected provinces include 12 northeastern provinces: Loei, Nakhon Ratchasima, Roi-et, Khon Kaen, Kalasin, Nong Khai, Ubon Ratchathani, Surin, Chaiyaphum, Buri Ram, Udon…
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Briton admits to beating wife to death in Ubon Ratchathani
A British man is in police custody after allegedly kicking his wife to death in a fit of rage. 51 year old Kevin Smitham reportedly beat his wife, 29 year old Kanda, after she refused to have sex with him and he accused her of having an affair, Banmuang reported. Locals say they heard the pair arguing at about 10pm…
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Governor follows up on bike accident that killed a Chinese tourist in Phuket
A Chinese man, Li Jing, was killed in a road accident after a crash between his rented motorcycle and a car on Saturday, April 14 on the Kamala – Patong road. Phuket’s Governor has asked all the relevant departments involved to help accommodate his relatives and help them coordinate with the Chinese Consul in Phuket as well as help with…
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Family Day for Krabi’s 111 year old granny
The house of the oldest citizen in Krabi, 111 year old Pliew Petchpuang, in Plaipraya District, was filled with her children, grand and great children who gathered for the Family Day and Thai New Year. All of them dressed in Thai traditional outfit and gathered at the house to get blessed by the oldest family member. They usually live in…
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183,348 people arrested for drink driving over Songkran so far
The NCPO is claiming that officials have seized 10,099 cars and motorcycles, and arrested 113,450 drivers of motorcycles, and 69,898 drivers of public transport vehicles and private cars for drink driving during the first four days of the seven day reporting period for Songkran, April 11-15. That’s an astonishing 183,348 people arrested for drink driving over just four days this…
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Cherngtalay’s Chutimon Coffee & Art donates to PHBGTU charity
Chutimon Coffee & Art, Cherngtalay-Laguna has donated 200,000 baht to Phuket’s largest children’s charity Phuket Has Been Good To Us. Give Khun Mam a big thank you next time you’re visiting in Cherngtalay. PHOTO: Right to left Chutimon (Mam) presenting to Tina Hall, Michael Chugg & Sue Ultmann from the charity.
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Shark bite or sharp rocks? Hua Hin swimmer dragged from water with injuries
Video footage posted to social media on Sunday claimed that a foreign man was been bitten by a shark at a beach in Hua Hin. The clip, which has now been removed, showed a man being carried out of the water having suffered multiple injuries to one of his feet. The incident was said to have taken place at Sai…
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“It wasn’t me.” Russian denies stealing money and beating up exchange booth attendant in Pattaya
PHOTO: Daily News The Russian man accused of attacking a Thai woman at a Jomtiem exchange booth and making off with nearly 700,000 baht is denying his involvement in the robbery. This is despite the incident being caught on CCTV. Earlier 30 year old Sunee Kaewyu was assaulted and robbed in a money exchange booth on Sukhumvit Road outside the…
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Day Four – Road toll much higher than last year
Thailand’s Songran road death toll has reached 248, with 2,557 injured in 2,449 accidents during the first four days of the so-called seven dangerous Songkran days (Wednesday to Saturday). The figures marked an across-the-board increase over the same period last year, which saw 226 deaths, 2,457 injured and 2,385 road accidents. On Saturday alone, there were 603 accidents, killing 57…
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MC quits teenage-targeted NCPO propaganda TV show
An MC of a junta-run TV program aimed at younger teenage viewers says her resignation from the show was due to “different working attitudes” while the junta government denied any involvement with the production. Pawaran Bannarak announced her decision to quit “Thailand Moves Forward Teenage Edition” on Saturday. “Because I love being an emcee so much, I can’t afford to…
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Day Four report – the road toll remains worse than last year
Four days into the 2018 Songkran reporting period and the country has witnessed a horrific 248 deaths with 2,557 injured. 57 people died and 626 were injured in 603 accidents on April 14 (Saturday) alone. The statistics are from the Centre for the Protection and Reduction of Road Accidents. Dr Opas Karnkawinpong, deputy permanent secretary of public health in his…
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Phuket reports its first fatality for the Songkran break
After three clear days, during the seven day reporting period over the Songkran break, Phuket has had its first fatality, a motorbike accident just after 2pm yesterday (Saturday). The fatality involved a 29 year old Chinese tourist Li Jing. He was riding a rented motorbike along the coast road from Kamala to Patong when his bike crashed into a pickup.…
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A French man found dead in Patong hotel room
A 73 year old French man, Claude Cadeau, was found dead in a Patong Hotel yesterday (Saturday). Police estimate that he’d died there at least 3 or 4 days before he was found. He was found at room number 49/91 on the 8th floor of a condominium in Patong. Police contacted his girlfriend, 43 year old Udom Suebchat, who had…
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More blacktip reef sharks spotted at Hong Island
The Chief of Koh Hong National Park of Than Bok Khorani National Park, Jampen Pompakdi, has revealed that more than 10 blacktip reef sharks have been spotted hunting for small shellfish by a number of tourists at Koh Hong. The sharks were about 2 metre long and the biggest is believed to weight about 100 kilograms. They were gray and…
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National TrueMove ID data leak
The NBTC (National Broadcasting and Telecom Commission) is seeking an urgent meeting with executives of TrueMove H, one of the country’s three major mobile phone operators, to inquire about a probable massive leak of customers’ personal data. The likely leak, including individuals’ ID cards and passport numbers, was first reported by Blognone, an online technology news service, when Niall Merrigan,…
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HIV positive Australian begged Thai woman for sex with two year old granddaughter
Howard Hawke outside Bendigo Magistrates’ Court, Victoria. PHOTO: Jason Walls A HIV positive Australian man repeatedly called a woman in Thailand begging to have sex with her two year old granddaughter, a court has heard. Pig farmer, 69 year old Howard John Hawke from Kangaroo Flat in Victoria, was arrested in 2017 after police intercepted phone calls of him talking…
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Phuket was fatality-free after first three days of Songkran reporting period
Day Three official numbers are in and Phuket remains, as of Friday night, fatality free. The “Seven Dangerous Days” reporting period runs from last Wednesday through to this Tuesday night. But there were 15 accidents reported in Phuket and 16 people injured as a result of traffic incidents – 8 accidents in Muang District with 9 people injured, 4 accidents…
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Songkran revenues flow whilst hot-season temperatures soar
Songkran Festival has attracted millions of Thai and foreign tourists to popular destinations nationwide, generating significant revenue for local economies. Last week Tourism Authority of Thailand economic forecasters were predicting a 10 percent rise in spending this year. Chuchat on-charern, the Tourism Authority of Thailand chief for the southern province of Phang-nga, said an estimated 155,000 tourists visited the province,…
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Road toll keeps rising as authorities claim tight enforcement
Whilst the road toll is mounting and drunk drivers’ cars impounded at record numbers, authorities must be scratching their head wondering what they need to do to stem the disgraceful annual carnage on Thailand’s roads during Songkran. Even as police claimed to push stricter law enforcement to lower crimes during the Songkran Festival, the increase in the number of accidents,…
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Day Three – the carnage continues
The accumulated road death toll for the first three days (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday) of the so-called ‘Seven Dangerous Days’ over the Songkran holiday, rose to 188 at the end of Friday, the Road Safety Centre announced today. Pol Maj-General Ekkarak Limsangkart, commander of the Special Branch Police Division 3, said the first three days of the road accidents monitoring period…
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Congratulations “Miss Elephant of Bang Nam Phueng”
So it’s not all about the splashing. Samut Prakarn’s Phra Pradaeng district has hosted a unique beauty pageant to celebrate this year’s Songkran festival in which contestants were required to be transgender and weigh at least 120 kilograms. This was the eleventh year that the authorities of Bang Nam Phueng district organised the contest for those ‘larger size’ entrants, but…
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Two women drown after trying to save swimmers – Ubon Ratchathani
Two women, one of them seven-month pregnant, drowned in the Chi river in Ubon Ratchathani yesterday morning (Friday) as they tried to help a 13 year old and older man as they got into difficulties. Upon Ratchathani is in the country’s far east near the Cambodian border. The tragedy occurred when 35 year old Sudjai Pansiri, who was seven months…
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PM Prayut says less compiling statistics, more action on the roads
The woeful road toll hasn’t gone unnoticed at Government House. The PM is instructing authorities to stringently monitor the safety of Songkran travellers and asking them to keep promoting safe driving. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha has voiced his concern for citizens traveling during the Songkran holiday, especially those traveling to the north and northeast. He has instructed soldiers, police and administrative…
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Longer Songkran holiday break = more accidents
Extended celebrations for the 2018 Songkran Festival are being blamed for an increase in road accidents involving drunk driving, but the Interior Ministry is assuring that the country’s roads will be safer this year due to more traffic checkpoints and strict law enforcement. The Road Safety Centre yesterday reported the outcome of the second day of operations for the Thai…
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Day Two – Phuket reports no fatalities
Day Two (April 12) of the “Seven Dangerous Days” in Phuket ended without any fatalities keeping the island without any fatalities for the Songkran reporting period. The Department of Disaster Prevention & Mitigation is making daily announcements declaring the statistics for the last 24 hours. But there were five accidents on the island’s roads including three in the Muang District…
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Day Two – Disgraceful road statistics from the first two days of Songkran
In just the first two days of the Songkran “seven days of danger” from April 11-17, a total of 99 people have already been killed in traffic accidents, with another 1,085 injured. The road accident count for the beginning days of the notorious Songkran accident period have increased compared to the same period last year, while nearly 60,000 drunk drivers…
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Underwear thief arrested in Cherngtalay
Today some are throwing water. Others have been stealing underwear. The underwear thief, 38 year old Weera Jampada, was arrested yesterday (April 12) after stealing many locals underwear’s in the Bang Tao area. He was arrested at an apartment in Soi Bangtao 12 following a report about at least 15 robberies in March. Police tracked him down after reviewing CCTV…
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National airports coping with the inbound and outbound crowds
PHOTO: National News Bureau The country’s second largest airport, Don Muang International, is reporting a smooth operation despite the high volume of passengers for the Songkran holiday, heading out and arriving, in Bangkok. Deputy Minister for Transport Pailin Chuchotetaworn has affirmed a full deck of immigration officials has been dispatched to the airport to facilitate outbound travelers. “Despite a large…
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Songkran launches around the country
Police continue to push public safety measures but traffic still poses challenge. As holidaymakers and locals heading home started to reach their destinations nationwide yesterday for the traditional Thai New Year celebrations this weekend, various sites confirmed their readiness to host impressive events and also implement public safety measures. At Bangkok’s Khao San Road Thai actors Chatchawal Phetchwisit, Wichan Meesom…
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Royal commemoration at Chulalongkorn University
Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn today (Thursday) presided over a merit-making ceremony at Maha Chulalongkorn building of the Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University. The ceremony was held to make merit for previous lecturers who taught the Pali and Sanskrit languages. The Princess got a Master’s degree in Pali and Sanskrit from the faculty back in 1981. The Princess…
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