Mekong River
- Thailand Weather Updates
ONWR notifies Mekong neighbours of potential flash flooding
As Thailand braces for severe weather and potential flash floods, the Office of National Water Resources (ONWR) has issued an urgent communication to the Mekong River Commission Secretariat (MRCS) and neighbouring nations in the Lower Mekong River Basin, including China. The ONWR urges careful management of water level discharges in the region to prevent damaging floods. Yesterday, Surasri Kidtimonton, the…
- Thailand News
Villages and academic collaboration gathers crucial data on Mekong River dam projects’ impact
In a collective stance against two prospective dam projects along the Mekong River, villagers from five communities, researchers, as well as a Thai university, have teamed up. The collaboration aims to gather comprehensive data regarding their local economy, natural resources, and potential downstream impacts. The participation from within the communities stretches to Ubon Ratchathani province, located in northeast Thailand. The…
- Thailand News
4 suspects arrested for smuggling 7 million meth pills near Mekong River
Officers from the Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB) arrested two Thai men and two Thai women near the Mekong River in the Isaan province of Nakhon Panom after the gang smuggled seven million meth pills into Thailand and prepared to deliver them into a third country. The NSB released the details of the drug bust on Tuesday, May 16 during a…
- Northern Thailand News
YouTuber finds human skull on banks of Mekong River in Thailand
A YouTuber found a human skull while filming content on the banks of the Mekong River in Nakhon Phanom province in northeast Thailand yesterday. At 6pm, Chanathip Chapuban – aka Mukdahan Moss – was riding a motorbike and filming content for his YouTube channel when he noticed something by the water on Sai Thong Kot Boon Beach (Si Khotrabun Golden…
- Thailand News
Ancient Buddhist stupa emerges from Mekong river in Thailand
A Buddhist stupa believed to be over 700 years old has emerged from the Mekong River between Laos and northeast Thailand. Buddhists are flocking to Nong Khai province in Isaan to catch a glimpse of the sacred structure, which has emerged as the river’s water level has drastically fallen as Thailand enters the summer season. Phra That Lah Nong –…
- World News
School ferry sinks on Cambodian Mekong, 14 children dead
An overloaded ferry capsized on the Mekong River in Cambodia, killing at least 14 children. The incident took place southeast of the capital city of Phnom Penh on a ferry that was transporting children home from school. The victims were between the ages of 11 and 14 years old. The wide and long Mekong snakes through Cambodia – as well…
- Thailand News
Woman’s body in suitcase identified as Lao millionaire
UPDATE The dead woman’s body in a suitcase, which was found in the Mekong River in the Isaan province of Nakhon Phanom last week, has been identified as a Laos business owner and millionaire. Her five year old daughter and husband are also missing. Thai police tried to identify the woman from her designer clothing while her body was sent…
- Thailand News
Woman’s body in luggage found floating in Mekong River
Royal Thai Marine Corps police yesterday found a suitcase stuffed with the body of a dead woman floating in the Mekong River in the Isaan province of Nakhon Phanom. Officers from Nakhon Phanom Provincial Marine Police Station fished the luggage out of the Mekong about 20 metres away from the station’s dock. Officers from That Phanom Police Station, That Phanom Crown…
- Thailand News
Two oarsmen drown in race practise on the Mekong River
Two oarsmen tragically drowned on Friday while practising for the Thailand-Laos-Vietnam Long Boat Race last weekend. Their bodies were found yesterday washed ashore on a Mekong River bank in the Isaan province of Bueng Kan. More than ten boat racers were practising on the Mekong River on Friday morning in preparation for the race from Friday, September 9 to Sunday,…
- Thailand News
Thai actor’s plan to swim from Thailand to Laos for charity
Famous Thai actor and singer Phakin “Tono” Khamwilaisak hopes to make a splash with his charity swim across the Mekong River from Thailand to Laos and at the same time raise awareness about environmental issues and raise funds for hospitals in the two countries. Tono announced his plan via his Instagram account last Thursday, August 25. He revealed that he…
- Environment News
Cambodian fishermen release a monster stingray back into the Mekong River
HOW big was the stingray?! An enormous freshwater stingray was rescued and released in a Cambodian section of the Mekong River on May 5 after being ensnared earlier by local fishermen. The monster fish was 4 metres long and weighed around 180 kilograms. Brown on the top and a shade of white on the bottom, the fish usually along the…
- Thailand News
Rock formation in Mekong said to be where Buddha met Naga serpents
Now that the water level in the Mekong has dropped to just one metre deep, a rock formation can now be seen above water, and locals believe the rock has Buddha’s footprints. A Thai legend says Naga serpents invited Buddha to preach in their underwater palaces. The serpents then asked Buddha to leave his footprints at the mouth of the…
- Bangkok News
Second Thai-Laos friendship bridge will house both railway and motorway- Transport Minister
Thailand is planning to build a bridge to Laos across the Mekong River for both railway and motorway. Last month, the Thai cabinet approved the project to build a second Thailand-Laos friendship bridge, connecting Nong Khai in northeast Thailand and the Laos capital Vientiane, as part of the third phase of the Thai-Chinese high-speed rail project. The construction is estimated…
- Northern Thailand News
19 year old arrested for allegedly smuggling 2 million methamphetamine pills
A 19 year old was arrested for alleged smuggling of more than 2 million methamphetamine pills to northeast Thailand’s Nong Khai province from the Mekong River on Saturday night. The suspect is identified as Phayu Phikhawong and was recruited for 300,000 baht to deliver 2,164,000 methamphetamine pills, known as “ya ba” meaning “crazy drug,” from Phon Phisai district in Nong…
- World News
“Chat girls” in Laos forced into prostitution at a Golden Triangle casino
Inside China-run Golden Triangle Economic Zone next to the Mekong River in far northern Laos, many young women from neighbouring countries come to look for jobs to make a decent income to support their families back home. Many of the vacancies would advertise as “chat girls” to sell shares in the new company to casino patrons, but many struggled to…
- Northern Thailand News
Methamphetamine, cannabis seized near Mekong River
Narcotics rangers seized smuggling convey of 104,000 methamphetamine tablets and 50 kilograms of what the Bangkok Post says was “premium-grade” dried cannabis (street name “brick weed”) from Laos across the Mekong River into Thailand’s Ban Phaeng area in Nakhon Phanom last Saturday night. The Ranger Company 2108 patrolling squads were on duty when the drugs were seized on Highway 212…
- Thailand News
500 kilograms of marijuana discovered on Mekong riverbank in Nakhon Phanom
500 kilograms of dried and compressed marijuana were found along the Mekong River in the Isaan province Nakhon Phanom. A drug suppression team from the Mekong Riverine Unit seized 10 sacks containing 1-kilogram packages of compressed marijuana. Altogether, there were 500 slabs weighing a total of 500 kilograms, according to commander of the unit, Jaraskiat Chaiyaphan. Police believe the slabs of…
- Thailand News
Thailand News Today | Policeman confessions, UK puts Thailand on red list | August 27
Thitisan Utthanaphon, aka… Joe Ferrari, the policeman who allegedly tortured and killed a drug suspect in Nakhon Sawan, surrendered late yesterday afternoon in Chon Buri late. Bad news for British sandboxers on Phuket, or elsewhere in Thailand, as well as anyone else planning to travel from Thailand to the UK. Packages containing around 1.2 million methamphetamine pills were found floating…
- Thailand News
Father and daughter drown in Mekong River in Nakhon Phanom, police suspect murder-suicide
A father and his 7 year old daughter jumped into the Mekong River and drowned yesterday afternoon. The incident happened in the northeastern Thai province of Nakhon Phanom. The working theory is that it was a murder-suicide, says Thai media. Jamras Srihata, from the Muang Police, says the incident happened around 6:30 pm yesterday in front of the governor’s riverside…
- Crime News
Marijuana valued at 10 million baht seized in Nakhon Phanom, 2 arrested
Last night in Nakhon Phanom, a northeastern province close to the Laos border, a navy patrol arrested 2 men and seized 520 kilogrammes of compressed and dried marijuana. The men were travelling by pickup truck. The deputy commander of Nakhon Phanom Mekon Riverine Unit, Nathapat Suemongkol, says the truck was stopped by a patrol on the Phanom-Mukdahan road. He did…
- Crime News
350kg of compressed marijuana seized off Mekong River
Navy officers in the Laos-bordering province of Nakhon Phanom seized a compressed marijuana shipment of about 350 kilogrammes as it was being offloaded from the Mekong River. 2 men were arrested while 3 more fled and have not been apprehended yet in the bust that took place late Friday night. The northern province, separated from Laos by the Mekong River,…
- Environment News
Mekong unseasonal water levels endanger nesting birds in Thailand
The following story was written by Tyler Roney for Third Pole, a “multilingual platform dedicated to promoting information and discussion about the Himalayan watershed and the rivers that originate there.” Just 50 metres from the Mekong, in the shadow of a discarded plastic cup, a lone chick sits camouflaged on the sand. It is a newly hatched small pratincole in…
- Crime News
Police arrest 2 Lao men, seize 550 kilograms of methamphetamine at Mekong River bank
In another drug bust by the Mekong River, police seized 550 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine valued at around 275 million baht. Methamphetamine trafficking across the river from Laos to Thailand has spiked since the Myanmar coup. Many militant groups in Myanmar border towns rely on synthetic drug production as a main source of income. With tightened patrol along the Thai-Myanmar…
- World News
Drug trafficking in Thailand spikes following Myanmar coup, volunteers keep close eye on border
Thailand has faced a spike in methamphetamine trafficking across the Mekong River following the military coup in neighbouring Myanmar. Local volunteers along the river are now helping out to identify potential drug smugglers disguised as fishermen. The volunteers tip off police when they see suspicious activity since they can’t make arrests and confronting a drug trafficker could be dangerous. One…
- Crime News
Mekong drug bust: methamphetamine seizure valued at 20 million baht
A sack of methamphetamine tablets, valued around 20 million baht, smuggled in tea packets, was seized along the bank of the Mekong River in north-east Thailand, a notorious drug trafficking route. A longtail boat pulled up to the shore of the Isaan province Mukdahan around 3am yesterday and the driver threw the sack onto the riverbank. Rangers and police, who…
- World News
Homes and highways in Vietnam are being lost as Mekong delta washes away
The following story was written by Michael Tatarski for China Dialogue, a non-profit focused on environmental challenges related to China. One night two years ago, Lam Thi Le and Nguyen Van Thuong heard loud cracks coming from their neighbours’ riverfront home. The neighbours left, and a day later half of their house collapsed into the broad Tien River as the…
- Crime News
Another drug bust near the Mekong River, 500 kilograms of cannabis seized
In another drug bust in Northeastern province Nakhon Phanom, police arrested a man and seized 500 kilograms of compressed cannabis. Just yesterday, border patrol police in the province seized 920 kilograms of compressed cannabis from a boat on the Mekong River. In both cases, police suspect the cannabis came from Laos, just across the river. Police say they searched a…
- Bangkok News
Thailand News Today | Bangkok protest fallout, northern fire bans | March 1
Coming up today… the fallout from yesterday’s latest protest violence in Bangkok, the first vaccine in Thailand who got it, and a major drug haul along the Mekong. But first we’ll start up north where Lampang Province is joining other northern provinces todday by putting a total fire ban in place from today, March 1, until the end of April.…
- Crime News
Police seize 920 kilograms of cannabis smuggled across the Mekong River
In a major bust on the Mekong River, notorious for drug smuggling, border patrol police seized 920 kilograms of dried, compacted cannabis from a boat along the Nakhon Phanom riverbank, bordering Laos. Police were tipped off about a large shipment of drugs being trafficked across the Thai-Laos border. Police spotted a boat around 4am yesterday. When police moved in, men…
- Thailand News
16 Thai Navy officials investigated for alleged involvement in drug trafficking
The Royal Thai Navy is investigating 16 of its officials for alleged involvement in a drug trafficking operation earlier this month in the Isaan province Nong Khai which borders Laos. If the officials are found guilty, the Navy will immediately take both disciplinary and legal action, according to a spokesperson. Local officials reportedly seized 2 million amphetamine tablets and 116…
- Thailand News
Thailand News Today | Bangkok air pollution, 28 Covid cases, Lao dam protest | December 14
Bangkok starts the new week with ‘unhealthy’ air quality Waking up in Bangkok today you would have been surprised that the sun had disappeared to be replaced by a grey sky and views across the city limited to less than a kilometre. Across the city the air quality readings for most of the day have been aver the 150 mark…
- Environment News
Laos – the ‘battery’ of Asia and a ticking environmental time bomb
LAOS POWER FACTS: Number of power plants soon to be completed by the end of 2020: 53 hydropower plants under construction or in the planning stage, including those set to be completed this year; there will be more than 90 hydropower plants in Laos with a combined installed capacity of almost 14,000MW. Transmission lines that connect with neighbouring countries: 14 carry power to…
- Environment News
Thai government threaten to boycott new Lao hydro electric dam project
Loas officials have announced the announcement of yet another Laos hydro electric dam and Thai authorities aren’t happy. The long list of Laos and Chinese dams along the Mekong River have hugely affected the life of communities downstream of the Mekong in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. And Laos. The Lao PDR has been described as South East Asia’s ‘battery’ and…
- Thailand News
New forum to tackle Mekong challenges
For nearly 20 years, activists have called against the development of hydro-dams and water projects along the Mekong River. But now, the campaign is taking the next step with plans to focus on taking action at the policy level. It took 2 decades, but activists have now launched the “Mekong People’s Forum.” 200 people attended the forum including local villagers, conservationists,…
- Video
Thailand News Today | State of Emergency lifted, Quarantine latest, Phuket Light Rail | October 22
Today’s latest news and information about Thailand. Like and subscribe to our YouTube channel too. Go on, right now 🙂 You can also LIKE our Facebook page https://facebook.com/thethaigernews to get even more information about Thailand. Government lifts Bangkok’s State of Emergency Bangkok’s State of Emergency has been lifted, according to a statement published in the Royal Gazette, making it official.…
- Covid-19 News
How has Thailand avoided the worst of Covid-19? – VIDEO
We examine some of the reasons Thailand has been able to avoid the surges and 2nd waves of Covid-19. Whilst many countries are now suffering a 2nd and 3rd wave of the coronavirus, Thailand has locked itself in a bubble of its own making. Almost zero cases and any new cases coming from repatriates. Now the country has to figure…
- Northern Thailand News
Border police find 160 kilograms of marijuana hidden in fertiliser sacks
Border police found 160 kilograms of compressed marijuana near an Isaan roadside. Police say they believe the marijuana was trafficked across the Mekong River. No suspects were found and no arrests were made, at this stage. Police suspect the marijuana was smuggled in on long tail boats from Laos to the Isaan province of Nakhon Phanom during the tropical storm…
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