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20 Indonesian volcanoes showing activity
• 20 volcanoes with above normal levels of activity • The PVMBG is coordinating with tourist area managers The Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Centre (PVMBG) notes that there are 20 volcanoes with above normal levels of activity across the country. “One of them has the status of ‘awas’ [danger], two are on ‘siaga’ [watch] and the remaining 17 mountains are on ‘waspada’…
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TSUNAMI: “There were two waves” – Norwegian volcano photographer
PHOTO: The Jakarta Post The toll remains at 20 dead and 165 injured as the morning provides light for searches after last night’s tsunami that hit the coastline around the Sunda Strait in Indonesia. The Strait separates the islands of Java and Sumatra. Authorities say the tsunami was caused by an undersea landslide after the remnants of the Krakatoa volcano…
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More than 300 involved in search for missing two year old
• 300 officers and volunteers involved in search for missing two year old • Police haven’t ruled our kidnapping as a motive in the disappearance PHOTO: vaaju.com More than 300 people have been involved in a search for a missing two year old as they scoured a 200 rai plantation in Suphan Buri, north west of Bangkok. The boy has…
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Tsunami in Indonesia kills 20, many more injured
• 20 people died in Indonesia • another 165 people had been injured in the incident At least 20 people have been reported to have died in Indonesia on Java and Sumatra islands after a tsunami struck areas around the Sunda Strait late late yesterday (Saturday). The tsunami was triggered by a sub-sea landslide caused by a volcano, according to the…
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Orient Express luxury brand announces first hotel in Mahankhon
The King Power Mahanakhon Building in Bangkok, Thailand’s tallest, will have the world’s first Orient Express Hotel. At 78 storeys high, the Mahanakhon Building is currently the tallest building in Bangkok, pushing the slightly shorter Baiyoke Tower into second place. Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, CEO of King Power Group, said they spent over 100 million baht on the new hotel. The new…
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UPDATE: The Hangover – Pattaya
A 64 year old Thai woman has been arrested for allegedly stealing cash and valuables from a British man after he bought sex from her and another woman. Pattaya police say that Penchan Hale was arrested in Bangkok on Tuesday for allegedly drugging and stealing from 56 year old George Andrew Lerce last Saturday night. (Original story below) The tourist…
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Authorities struggle to find solutions for the BKK smog
PHOTO: The Nation “Normal cheap face masks are useless to protect people from air pollution.” Bangkok is suffering some severe air pollution as authorities struggle to find a way to reduce the dangerous levels of particulate matter floating around the city. A lack of wind is allowing the pollution, mostly from vehicle emissions and local industry, to hang around the…
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Thai artist uses sex workers’ hair to make social critique in BKK installation
PHOTOS: Vivianne Chow Thai artist, Imahathai Suwatthanasilp new work at the Bangkok Biennale has brought attention to the prostitution industry in Thailand. Through her work the artist critiques preconceptions on sex workers while highlight their prevalence. Imahathai’s new work involved hair, specifically hair collected from a number of sex workers in Thailand. Her passion for hair started when her father was…
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The Chao Phraya lights up for new years eve
Heading to the capital for new years eve? Looking for some spectacular fireworks? The Tourism Authority of Thailand will host the longest fireworks display ever staged along the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok as part of New Year celebrations at midnight on December 31. Called the “Amazing Thailand Countdown 2019”, the spectacular display will last five minutes and is expected to…
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Patient dies after jumping from balcony at Chumphon hospital
PHOTO: Khet Udomsak Hospital A distressed patient diagnosed with colon cancer has died after jumping from the 4th floor of a hospital in Chumphon’s main city district last night. Police say 53 year old Boonchuay Disapong died of his injuries after being rushed to the ICU unit following the fall. He had been admitted to the Khet Udomsak Hospital and…
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100 illegal road racers invade Pattaya roads
More than 100 motorcyclists have taken part in road racing on two roads in Pattaya early this morning. Witnesses say there was no police presence to stop the illegal activities. Tipped off by local residents, reporters from The Nation went to the area at 2am and found motorcyclists gathered on Sukhumvit Road and Jomtien 2 Road in Tambon Nong Plue…
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Wealth inequality becomes a focus of the election campaign
GRAPHICS: Karnjana Lao – The Nation Thailand is among the countries with the largest gap between the rich and the poor, with a disproportionate slice of the national wealth and income going to the wealthiest 1 per cent of the population. Inequality has been on the rise across the globe. Economic gaps have continued to grow as the richest few…
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Tourism Authority denies spending 9 million at political fundraiser
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is rejecting a report that it spent 9 million baht on banquet tables at a pro-Junta fundraising dinner on Wednesday night. TAT director Yuthasak Supakorn claims the agency had nothing to do with the dinner and TAT might take legal action against those reporting the false news for defaming the agency. “It was TAT’s…
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537 more non-existent illegal foreigners found
The round-ups continue and, despite the claim that there are no more illegal foreigners in Thailand, Immigration officials have found another 537 to arrest, process and deport. Immigration police announced the latest toll after raids on 225 locations around the country targeting people living illegally in Thailand. Another early morning media conference was held in central Bangkok at 1.45am to…
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Pulp Fiction – Phuket tourism by numbers
by Bill Barnett This week netizens have been captivated over a photo in the blogosphere proclaiming that “Phuket high-season was dead as a dodo.” Excuse me as I digress for just a minute on the subject of dodo’s, which is clearly something I know nothing about, hence putting myself on par with the individual proclaiming the ‘end of days’ for…
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Famous 52 year old hippo gets a new home
Mae Mali, the celebrated 52 year old hippo, has settled into a new home in the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chon Buri. Atthaporn Sriheran, director of the Khao Kheow zoo, said the longest living hippo in Thailand was moved from the closed Dusit Zoo in Bangkok to Khao Kheow on December 18. He said Mae Mali has fully rehabilitated…
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Phuket woman calls for fairness after receiving a 16K Baht water bill
A Phuket woman has filed a report with the Damrongdhamma Centre (consumer complaints) after being landed with a 16,000 baht water bill while no one was in the house. Nattapat Sermchotdamrong, who has filed a report to the Damrongdhama Centre, says, “My water bill in September is 16,570.29 baht. My family and I live in another province. So no one…
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Thailand’s next football star may come from West Africa – VIDEO
Photo: Facebook/Look e san Al Jazeera has just released their new episode of ‘101 East’, their award winning TV program which gives an in-depth look at weekly current affairs and telling bold untold stories from Asia and the Pacific’. This week’s episode takes a look at Thailand’s football industry and how many West African players are travelling to our capital,…
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195K meth pills seized inside wheels on a truck at Phuket Checkpoint
Officers have arrested a Thai man trying to smuggle 195,810 methamphetamine pills hidden inside a pickup truck’s wheels on vehicle transport truck at the Phuket Checkpoint. Officers arrested 32 year old Yuttapon ‘Jack’ Suktong from Trang. Officers seized a total of 195,810 methamphetamine pills. The Region 8 Police Deputy Commander Maj Gen Nantadet Yoinuan says, “Police received a tip-off that…
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Natural birth son fathered by Thailand’s first test tube baby
PHOTO: The Nation Pavornit Srisahaburi a 31 year old engineer stands in the maternity ward at Chulalongkorn University waiting to visit ‘Delta’ his first baby. Unlike many fathers who have share the same magic moment, Pavornvit is special as he was born and created by artificial insemination, or intro-vitro fertilisation (IVF) in the very same ward. “In Vitro Fertilisation is…
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Another Thai interest rate hike predicted for next year
by Phuwit Limviphuwat and Wichit Chaitrong We’ve just had one .25 basis point interest rise to the base rate. Now there’s already talk of another in 2019 which will start to affect consumer spending, especially mortgage holders. Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) and Phatra Securities are predicting that the Bank of Thailand (BOT) is likely to implement a modest interest rate…
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Leading policeman makes extraordinary claim
“It’s always foreigners who are responsible,” says a leading chief of provincial police . Region One chief Pol Gen Amphon Buarapporn made the outrageous statement claiming he had never seen a case Thais ripping off fellow Thais. Sanook quoted the commander as he was commenting about a case against a 53 year old Chonburi man who met wealthy Thai widows on…
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Baby elephant saved after being snared in a hunter’s trap
A female baby elephant, less than a month old, has been found alone, with a rotten, worm-filled leg caused by a metal trap. The Nation reports that she was found by villagers in Khao Hoi Hua, Moo 8, Amphoe Khao Chamao, Rayong Province who alerted forest rangers from the Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary and took her on the…
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Pickup truck crashes into canal in Phatthalung killing two
The driver of a pickup, along with his passenger friend, were killed and two women injured early today. The pickup careered off the road, hit a bridge, and dropped into a canal in Phatthalung’s Kong Ra district. Police say the accident happened in front of a mosque in Moo 6 village in Tambon Klong Chalerm. The pickup was stuck in…
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19 Year old Thai girl dies from assault in Tokyo hotel
Photo: MX News Following several news reports by Japanese media outlets The Foreign Affairs Ministry has now confirmed the death of a 19 year old Thai woman in Tokyo, Japan. Initial reports say police were called by hotel staff when they heard loud screams from a woman after she had been heard arguing with a man in their room. Police…
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First satellite made-in-Thailand enters orbit
PHOTO: ABC Action news, Bangkok Post A Thai university has announced that the first domestically produced satellite has now entered orbit. Weighing in at 1 kilogram and measuring only 10 centimetres on each side, the tiny educational satellite was one of 64 on board the recent SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from California on Tuesday. Pongsatorn Saisutjarit heads the research…
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UPDATE: Second victim emerges in horrific Saraburi gang-rape
State agencies have become embroiled in a case in which an 11 year old schoolgirl (reported as 12 year old in yesterday’s news) is alleged to have been gang-raped by five teenagers last Sunday. The incident, that happened in Saraburi, has flared up after the girl’s father expressed concern that justice was not being served and that the accused had…
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UPDATE: The sea-going stray dog has disappeared from Ao Chalong
Saranyoo Hassanai, who works at Chalong Bay, has spoken to Newshawk Phuket about the stray dog that had been hanging around Ao Chalong Pier for the past month, seemingly intent in finding its owner. It jumps onto boats that are tied up to the pier, waiting to take tourists out to the islands. Last Monday, it jumped into the water trying…
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Motorcyclist dies after collision with power pole in Koh Kaew
A motorbike driver has died at the scene after colliding with a power pole in Koh Kaew. Phuket City Police were notified of the incident on Thepkrasattri Road, northbound, before the entrance of the Bang Khu Underpass at 5am this morning. Police and emergency responders arrived to find the body of 20 year old Eakkarat Saelim from Nakhon Si Thammarat.…
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Chiang Mai hosts pageant to promote OTOP
PHOTOS: Daily News Thais often claim the most beautiful women in the country are from the northern provinces, especially Chiang Mai. Which leads us into this swimsuit photo shoot for the forthcoming Miss Chiang Mai pageant in January. Daily News reports that some 30 northern ladies, in a variety of swimsuits, paraded to promote the event at the Chala Number 6…
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