News
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Mono airlift remains key barrier to Koh Samui’s tourism success
PHOTO: Koh Samui Sunset Bill Barnett and c9hotelworks.com analyse the current hotel and tourism challenges on Koh Samui. Bill says that in the past year the Gulf island has been shaken by declining demand and reduced airlift to the island. (graphics below) “The China slowdown is widely cited as a key factor, together with high airfares. According to Bangkok Airways, half of…
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Careers and business heading for the scrap-heap. And the ones that will thrive.
Is your career headed for the scrap-heap? Rangsit University’s Economic and Business Research Centre for Reform has been studying the careers and businesses that are at high risk of disruption, layoffs or downright extinction. They’ve also identified 10 other careers that have a promising future. In discussing the detailed survey, the centre’s director, Anusorn Tamajai, said 12 careers faced high risk of…
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Villages fed up with living with dirty water in Phattalung
PHOTOS: INN News Imagine living with dirty tap water for four years. In a country like Thailand, in 2019, that’s not intolerable. But if you live in an unfortunate village in Phattalung, that’s the current situation. Villagers in Tamot District, Phatthalung, southern Thailand, have expressed their complaints after living with dirty tap water for years. The villagers have approached the…
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Baht to remain strong into 2020: Kasikorn Research Centre
The Kasikorn Research Centre believes that the Thai Baht is going to remain strong into 2020. KBank’s research arm forecasts the baht to move in a range of 30.10-30.50 Thai baht to the US$ for the next few quarters. But they warn a key domestic factor to be monitored closely will be November’s export data, which will be released soon. External…
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Senate calls for urgent expansion Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport
PHOTO: Oriental Express Just days after Thailand set yet another annual record for incoming visitors, a Senate committee is urging the government to speed up the expansion of Suvarnabhumi Airport. The Senate Committee on Transportation, met with Airports of Thailand officials on December 19 and both sides acknowledged the urgent need for the expansion. After learning of the progress being made…
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4 dead, 47 injured in Loei bus crash
PHOTOS: มะเขือขื่นข่าวเชียงคาน Just two days after 14 Singaporean tourists were injured in a tour van crash, 4 people have been killed and at least 47 people injured, some seriously, after a tour bus from Buriram lost control last night. “Brake failure” has been given as the reason for the crash. The bus, which was carrying mainly elderly Buriram residents, ended…
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Army compensates families of civilians slain by mistake in deep south
The Thai Army has decided to pay compensation of half a million baht, each, to the families of three men who were killed “in error” by army soldiers in the southern province of Narathiwat. Officials say the compensation is “only the beginning.” Read the story of the attack HERE. Secretary-general of the Southern Border Provinces Administration Centre, Somkiat Pholprayoon said…
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Fakes valued at 50 million baht found in raids in Saraburi
PHOTO: INN News That’s another 50 million baht worth of counterfeits off the streets. The Department of Special Investigation has seized counterfeit goods in a series of raids, with a street value of around 50 million baht and including some 158,000 items. In this case, the fakes were mostly brand name eyeglasses and clothing accessories. The DSI, Department of Intellectual Property…
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Man arrested for using Twitter and Thai postal service to sell “ice”
… and not the frozen water stuff. The Narcotics Control Board has arrested a man for selling “ice,” crystal methamphetamine, using Twitter and shipping the drug by the Thai postal service. Kriangsak Hadda was arrested with a total 191.6 grams of crystal meth, according to authorities. Niyom Termsrisuk, the ONCB secretary-general says that this kind of clandestine trade has led…
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Rescuers claim former transport minister tried to flee accident scene
PHOTO: Saichon Srinuanchan Thawee Kraikupt, a former transport minister and the father of government MP Pareena Kraikupt, was involved a car crash in Ratchaburi province, just west of Bangkok, that injured a 16 year old boy. His daughter Pareena was recently found guilty of illegally occupying some 700 rai of government land and forced to return most of it to…
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Whale spotted near Similan Islands – VIDEO
A scuba diving instructor has posted a video of a whale spotted near the Similan islands off the coast of Phang Nga. The whale is thought to be a blue whale species. The post was on his Facebook page called ‘Num Sasita Thippayawat’. In the post there is also a video of a pod of dolphins swimming alongside the boat…
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British diver found dead at cave site in Nakhon Si Thammarat
A British diver has been found dead at a popular diving site in Nakhon Si Thammarat, southern Thailand. The 60 year old British man was identified as Roger Matthew Smith, a resident of Thailand. Authorities confirm he was still wearing his diving gear when his body was found at Talay Songhong in the westernmost section of the province. Police say there…
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“Green heart passports” to promote eco-tourism around Thailand
Visitors to Thailand’s 155 national parks over the New Year holidays have a special surprise in store: the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation will distribute one million “green heart passports” to promote environmentally friendly tourism. The passports will be valid until December 31, 2020. Visitors to national parks can show their “passport” at the entrance, along with their…
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On Boxing Day the skies will go dark across Thailand – solar eclipse
The skies will go dark in Thailand around midday on Boxing Day. The sun will partly vanish and a ghostly pall will shadow the Kingdom. But it’s all good. It’s a solar eclipse, a completely natural phenomenon. The Nation reports that viewing spots have been prepared in Chachoengsao province, east of Bangkok, in Chiang Mai province in the north, Nakhon Ratchasima…
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Sixteen Singaporeans end up in hospital following van crash in central Thailand
Sixteen Singaporean tourists were rushed to hospital following a tour bus crash in Sing Buri, central Thailand. Their tour van careered off a road in the main city district on Friday night and ended up on its side in the roadside. The Ruam Katanyu Foundation rescue workers attended the scene and attended to the injured. 16 passengers were injured, 5…
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Body of missing 18 year old boat boy found off Phuket
SCREENSHOT: Phuket People’s Voice Searchers have found the body of 18 year old Kittipong “Boy” Samunboot off the east coast of Phuket, near to where he fell off a tour speedboat on Wednesday. He fell overboard from the tour speedboat “Choksuphasan” on Wednesday about 4pm and had not been seen since, despite ongoing searches involving the Royal Thai Navy and…
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Angry aunty hurls rock at Bangkok truck
PHOTO: sanook.com It will probably turn out to be “a misunderstanding”, but Thai social media is buzzing with speculation as to what might have caused an elderly woman to throw a rock at a parked truck in Bangkok. It’s the curious case of the mystery angry aunty. Thai Residents reports that CCTV footage posted on the “Social Hunter” Facebook page…
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Keep your phone’s operating system up to date or lose mobile banking, warns Bank of Thailand
The Bank of Thailand says a constant threat from malware and bogus apps requires a robust security response and as a result, phones with outdated operating systems will likely lose full access to online banking. The Nation reports that assistant BOT governor Siritida Panomwon Na Ayudhya says there has been significant growth in the popularity of mobile banking, with approximately…
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English?! Why should we have to learn that? Thai university students grumble over language requirement
Students at Rajamangala University of Technology in Chiang Mai province are whinging about having to demonstrate basic English abilities in order to enrol in courses at the institution. The Daily News reports that the students, with the support of their parents, have made an official complaint about the requirement, which they say should not apply to Thai courses. Students are currently…
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Tsunami survivor opens school in Bangkok in recognition of Thai generosity
PHOTO: Howard Liang looks on as his daughter speaks at yesterday’s launch of the new international school – The Nation A Hong Kong businessman who was in Phuket with nineteen members of his family when the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami struck, is back in Thailand to build an international school near Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport. Howard Liang says the international school is…
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Thailand’s Army chief warns of a ‘proxy crisis’
PHOTO: Matichon The Army chief, General Apirat Kongsompong, is warning Thais about what he sees as a “proxy crisis” facing the country. The comments, without directly referring to the event by name, were a veiled criticism of the “Run Against Dictatorship” event coming up next month. The commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Army took the “everything’s OK, but…” approach to…
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Thailand ramps up drink-driving campaign for new year break
Government, police and local agencies are launching their annual no-drink-driving campaign to raise driver awareness and, hopefully, reduce fatalities during the New Year holiday, designated for December 27 to January 2. Speaking in support of the campaign, Deputy national police chief Wirachai Songmetta announced 10 points of advice to drivers and bike riders in an effort to reduce road accidents…
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Thailand’s Maya Bay to remain closed for another two years
So that’s going to be almost the end of 2021. The Department of National Parks Wildlife and Plant Conservation has announced that Maya Bay is going to be closed for another two years to provide a better opportunity for the ecological system to recover, whilst also completing and implementing plans for management of tourists at the famous tourist attraction. Maya…
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15 years on, over 300 tsunami victims from Thailand’s coast still unidentified
PHOTO: Phuket just moments after the Indian Ocean Tsunami hit the holiday island on December 26, 2004 – Associated Press/Stephen Trupp Fifteen years after the Indian Ocean tsunami killed upwards of 230,000 people on December 26, 2004, a container at the Takua Pa police station in Phang Nga, southern Thailand, still contains personal items from the hundreds of victims whose remains are unlikely…
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Popular UK website canes Mövenpick Resort in Bangtao, Phuket for its use of a baby elephant to entertain guests
A big international social media and entertainment website based in the UK, LADbible.com, which attracts around 18-20 million clicks a month, has caned a Phuket hotel over some photos of guests interacting with a baby elephant. The photos and story was circulated locally last week but has now been picked up by the popular website, spreading the poor publicity for…
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Missing – Three people remain lost in boat incidents off Phuket
PHOTO: Newsflare The Polish and Thai couple that headed off Phuket’s southern beaches for an afternoon expedition nearly two weeks ago, are still missing. More searchers have been added as the search remains active, and widens. And an 18 year old crew from a speedboat, who fell overboard on Wednesday during a collision, hasn’t been seen since. Polish 26 year…
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Tourism Authority of Thailand says three websites now provide electronic visa-on-arrival
Visitors from some countries can now apply online for a visa-on-arrival, with the Tourism Authority of Thailand saying they’ve added a third website to the previous two offering the service. Thai Residents reports that citizens of Bhutan, China, Taiwan, Ethiopia, Fiji, Georgia, India, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Nauru, New Guinea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, and Vanuatu can now also apply through www.eVisaThailand.com,…
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Following months of gridlock, Pattaya roadworks suspended, roads re-opened for ‘silly season’
PHOTO: Pattaya Mail Following concerns raised by the Pattaya Tourism Association, all roadworks in Pattaya, which have ground the city to a halt in recent months, will be paused for the holiday period, with roads re-opened to allow traffic to flow more freely. The Pattaya News reports that at a meeting held with city officials yesterday, the Pattaya Tourism Association…
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School building, where 13 year old shot a fellow student, has been closed down
An entire school building has been closed following a fatal shooting of a 13 year old student by another student on Wednesday in Nonthaburi, Bangkok. The class, which both were students, has been suspended until next week. The 13 year old shooter told police he shot the victim “out of desperation after being repeatedly bullied”. After the daily flag raising…
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Deceased captain from Wednesday’s Phuket boat crash had been the captain in another fatal boat crash
… meanwhile an 18 year old boat boy remains missing. Whilst the search continued for a missing boat crew, 18 year old Kittipong ‘Boy’ Samunboot, following a speedboat crash on Wednesday late afternoon off Phuket’s east coast, it’s been revealed that the captain of the boat, Surat Mat-osod, was involved in an earlier fatal crash at sea in 2014 off…
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