News
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Cash-strapped BMTA gets green light for 7.5 billion baht loan
The Thai Cabinet approved a more than 7.5 billion baht loan to the debt-ridden Bangkok Mass Transit Authority. Deputy Government Spokesperson, Trisuree Trisaranakul, yesterday reported that the cash-strapped BMTA would borrow 7.516 billion baht from the next year’s budget because it lacked financial liquidity. Trisuree added that BMTA has been facing cash-flow problems due to operational losses and lack of…
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5-day holiday weekend brings predictable surge in Covid-19 infections
While it was entirely predictable, Thailand rejoiced at the chance to get away for a five-day weekend, ignoring warnings from medical professionals, and now the country is seeing a spike in new and serious Covid-19 infections. The Department of Disease Control released figures showing that the number of people infected with severe Covid cases that require ventilators is rising again.…
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British hero hails US film director’s depiction of Thai cave rescue
Cave hero Richard Stanton believes movie director Ron Howard was the perfect choice to capture the raw emotion of the dramatic rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach from a flooded grotto in Thailand. The Oscar-winning filmmaker has retold the climactic tale from four years ago of the cave rescue in a new movie, “Thirteen Lives,” which premiered last…
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American man who fell through roof at Full Moon Party in critical condition
Friends and family of an American man who was seriously injured at a Full Moon Party have launched several GoFundMe campaigns to raise money for his treatment and repatriation. The man remains in critical condition at Bangkok Hospital in Bangkok after falling through a roof in the wee hours of the famous party on Haad Rin Beach in Koh Pha…
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UK airport has to suspend flights because of ‘melting runway’
An airport in the UK has been forced to suspend flights. Not because of the supply chain issues, Covid-19 positive staff calling in sick, or increased fuel prices, but because the runway was suffering under the unseasonably high temperatures. Train speed restrictions were also introduced in sections of the country to protect railway tracks against extreme heat. Luton Airport, one…
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Four-legged chicken turns heads at Big Bum Farm in northeast Thailand
A farmer in northeast Thailand discovered a four-legged hen in his coup and locals won’t leave it alone. The genetically unusual chicken is believed to bring good luck and might even reveal next month’s winning lottery numbers, according to locals, some of whom visit the chicken every day at – and this is no joke – “Big Bum Farm” in…
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Phuket to hold tsunami evacuation drill tomorrow
The tourist resort of Phuket will be holding a tsunami evacuation drill tomorrow from 2pm. Warning alerts in five languages, including English, Japanese, Chinese, and Russian will be available, and 200 assembly points in three districts are prepared. The Director of Phuket’s Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, Udomporn Karn, informed the media that Phuket’s yearly tsunami evacuation drill would focus…
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Human Rights Watch calls on Thai protesters on hunger strike to be released
From Human Rights Watch… (Published as provided) Thai authorities should immediately drop the charges and release pro-democracy activists detained for insulting the monarchy (lese majeste), Human Rights Watch said today. Two of the activists, Netiporn “Bung” Sanesangkhom and Nutthanit “Bai Por” Duangmusit, have been on a hunger strike since June 2, 2022, to protest their pretrial detention at Bangkok’s Central…
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Thailand could generate up to US$65 billion in tourism revenue next year, says TAT
Yesterday, the Tourism Authority of Thailand said the country’s tourism industry could generate up to US$65 billion, or 2.38 trillion baht, next year. The revenue could equate to around 80% of pre-pandemic tourism revenue, said Governor of the TAT Yuthasak Supasorn. Comparatively, the TAT expects Thailand to actualise 1.5 trillion baht in tourism revenue this year. Yuthasak expects Thailand to…
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Doubts over Thailand’s 2028 completion date for high speed rail link
Despite last week’s announcement that the high-speed railway from Bangkok to the Laos border would be completed by 2028, there remain lingering doubts about whether the Thai government is fully committed to the project, valued at about US$12 billion. Questions are being raised about perceived benefits to Thailand or how the government can recover any of the costs. The new…
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China may take over the moon, warns head of NASA
NASA warns that, while the sky may not be falling, the moon may be falling… into China’s hands. The head of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration said in an interview that China has plans in place and a partnership with Russia for a lunar base by 2035 and he fears it may be a bid to assert ownership…
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Jealous husband slits wife’s throat after row over 500 baht
A jealous husband slit his wife’s throat in a row over money in her restaurant in the middle of a market in the central province of Ang Thong before attempting to commit suicide. Ekkachai Lomrai used a chef knife to murder his wife, Patcha Poonthongkam, in Sawaeng Ha Market on Sawaeng Ha – Pho Thong Road in Ang Thong, after…
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Thai anti-corruption body names names over Thai Airways Rolls Royce engine scandal
Part of the debacle Thai Airways finds itself in now harks back to poor decisions made 30 years ago with some “expensive” aircraft engine purchases. Since then there have been numerous investigations and serious charges levelled against Rolls Royce over payments made to Thai Airways personnel. Rolls Royce has since settled over the case following an investigation by the British…
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Thai PM faces uncertain outcome as censure debate kicks off today
The four day censure debate kicks off today, with the Thai PM and his cabinet ministers, targeted for censure, confident they will emerge unscathed. The actual no confidence motion will be put to the vote on Saturday after four days of drilling from opposition MPs. The weekly Cabinet meeting was moved back to yesterday to accommodate the week of parliamentary…
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Freshmen forced to dance naked at university hazing ritual in Thailand
Electrical engineering students from a private university in Bangkok’s Nong Khaem district were allegedly forced to dance naked in front of women during an off-campus “hazing” ritual. Twitter user @RedSkullxxx posted a video of the incident online on Saturday with the caption… “This is an off campus hazing ceremony for fourth-year electrical engineering students from Southeast Asia University. In which…
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Thai military commanders asked to explain secret budget used by senior officers
Senior officers from the Defence Ministry, and the Royal Thai Armed Forces, say its nearly 2,000,000,000 baht budget would be used reasonably to protect the country. But members of the Extraordinary Committee asked about the secret budget and urged senior officers to reveal more detail about the plan to the public. The Extraordinary Committee met this morning to consider the…
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Kanchana Buri Skywalk to open in old town next year
Kanchana Buri is hoping to boost their tourism numbers higher by lifting their tourists higher with a 15-metre tall skywalk. The project has been in the works for a long time, with construction woes delaying the opening again and again, but the bridge with its scenic views is now set to be opened at the beginning of 2023. The skywalk…
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Pegasus spyware found on phones of activists in Thailand
A new report has revealed that dozens of Thai democracy activists were targeted by an Israeli spyware programme called Pegasus during the height of intense anti-government protests over the past two years. The joint report, by the Thai NGO iLaw, Digital Reach, and The Citizen Lab, claims that the phones of 30 activists, academics, lawyers, and NGO workers, mostly connected to civil…
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Thailand aims to complete high-speed rail link with China by 2028
Thailand aims to finish constructing the high-speed rail link which will connect China with the Land of Smiles by 2028, according to the Transport and Foreign Affairs ministries. As it stands, the project is only 5% complete – casting doubts on Thailand’s ability to fulfil their recent pledge to get the job done in the next six years. Beijing plans…
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Motorcycle taxi rider treats customer to farewell steak dinner
A Thai motorcycle taxi rider treated one of his regular passengers to a farewell steak dinner in the central province of Sara Buri as a thank you for years of loyalty before she jetted off to university. The 20 year old female passenger, Thanyarate “Stamp” Rungklang, posted a video of the dinner she shared with 61 year old motorcycle taxi…
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Alcohol ban tightening in homeless centre after in-house murder
The Chon Buri Homeless Protection Centre is vowing to crack down on their alcohol ban after a drunk homeless man used a broken booze bottle to kill another homeless man. The bizarre and grisly murder carried out by the intoxicated tenant has prompted the centre to tighten up enforcement of the alcohol ban already in place in the shelter. The…
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Thieves steal VIP chairs from Liverpool – Man U match in Bangkok
Police have arrested a man under suspicion of stealing VIP chairs reserved for Liverpool and Manchester United players from Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok on Saturday morning. CCTV footage reveals two nonchalant men wheeling four dugout chairs, valued at 400,000 baht, out of the stadium at 6am. Two of the chairs were used by Manchester United reserve players and two by…
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Filipinos go on book-buying spree to “preserve history” of Marcos family atrocities
Some Filipinos are in a rush to buy books documenting the divisive and savage 21 year reign of the former dictator Ferdinand Marcos as his son, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jnr, assumes office as the latest president of the Philippines after a landslide election victory in May. They say they fear that the new Filipino president may try and whitewash the…
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12 Thai women fear being sued by the wife of a love rat who seduced them
Twelve Thai women fear they are going to be sued by the wife of a charming love rat who conned them into a sexual relationship. The 12 women, aged between 40 – 60 years old, have approached a lawyer for advice after discovering a man they met on social media is married. The 60 year old man, named Pu, told…
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Striped dolphin dies in Patong after washing ashore injured
A striped dolphin has died after beaching itself in Patong despite local rescuers’ best efforts. The dolphin was found after having washed up on shore with a serious injury and was reported first to the Patong Police just before 5:30pm yesterday. Kathu district lifeguards were the first to spot the striped dolphin as it came ashore and when they saw…
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‘Oh, bother!’ Thai govt patrol team stumble upon 20 million baht Winnie the Pooh ecstasy haul
Drug smugglers would be right in thinking “Oh, bother!” after a narcotics enforcement team stumbled upon a 20 million baht drug haul of ecstasy tablets shaped as the fictional teddy bear Winnie the Pooh. It appears nothing is sacred anymore if drug dealers are disguising their narcotics as fictional cartoon characters. The drug haul prompts a dozen of Pooh memes,…
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Thai protesters run their own, informal no-confidence poll
Thailand’s anti-government protesters are gathering support again as the country’s restrictions allow them to gather in groups and protest against the Prayut government. Now they’re running their own mock no-confidence poll as a real no-confidence debate is about to start in the Thai parliament tomorrow. Yesterday, the Ratsadon (The People) group started collecting ‘votes’ for its own, informal no-confidence motion…
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UPDATE: Bangkok taxi driver pulls out knife on Singaporean tourists
UPDATE: Police punish Bangkok taxi driver who intimidated Singaporean tourists The Bangkok taxi driver who intimidated two Singaporean tourists has been ordered to pay 3,000 baht in fines, had his driving license suspended for three months, and must attend a three-hour training course about taxi rules and regulations in Thailand. Thailand’s Department of Land Transport and officers from Suvarnabhumi Airport…
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UPDATE: Crashed army helicopter gets into another accident in southern Thailand
UPDATE: Crashed army helicopter gets into another accident in southern Thailand The Royal Thai army’s Blackhawk which crashed into a rubber plantation in Songkhla on Friday got into a second accident on the roads in Phatthalung province yesterday. The helicopter wreckage was loaded onto an army trailer which collided with another trailer on the Hat Yai – Phattalung road at…
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More lockdowns in China add to economic woes
China has now reported the highest number of coronavirus cases since May. Millions are now in lockdown, despite a relatively low number of actually reported infections. China reported 450 cases on Saturday, up from 432 a day earlier. Today there have only been 154 new infections reported. Epidemiologists outside of China predict that there is a broad under-reporting of infections…
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