Thailand News
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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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Criminal offences to avoid during Songkran.
Splashing water on people not wanting to get wet, or having asked you not to splash them, during the Songkran Festival can lead to imprisonment. This from a Thai lawyer, adding many common violations of laws during the festive period may carry severe penalties. Ratchapon Sirithaworn, a legal expert and owner of the Facebook fanpage “LawByRachaponsLawyer”, which provides knowledge on…
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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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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 – 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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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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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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39 die nationally on first day of Songkran Seven Days of Danger.
Whilst Phuket has had a clear Day One (Wednesday) for what’s called the ‘Seven Days of Danger’, the rest of the country has notched up 39 people killed as of last night. Police say that drunk driving remains the biggest problem and cause of death. Police report 477 road accidents on the first day of the Songkran holiday reporting period.…
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Samui jet ski operators scoop Russian tourist out of the surf
SCREENSHOT by Sanook.com A Russian tourist has been pulled out of the Samui surf by a Jet Ski. The female tourist was swimming at Chaweng Beach on Koh Samui when witnesses say she appeared to get caught in a rip and dragged out to sea. Jet Ski operators at the beach heard the woman’s screams but was was caught in…
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Songkran Day One: 2,700 charged for drunk driving
Songkran’s Seven Days of Danger is only into its second day (Thursday) and police have already nabbed nearly 3,000 motorists for drunk driving. A Government spokeswoman said this morning that 156 vehicles were seized Wednesday and 2,716 motorcyclists and other drivers were charged with drunk driving. Deputy spokeswoman Col Sirichan Ngathong said stepped-up spot checks on roads had identified 3,339…
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Net idol DJ Katoy nabbed in Pattaya drug raid
Internet idol Kannikar “DJ Katoy” Namwicha was among six patrons who tested positive for illegal drug use after a raid on a Pattaya nightclub yesterday (Wednesday). Bang Lamung district police and municipal officials descended on the Burn Club on Soi Bua Khao at 4am checking for underage patrons and evidence of drug use. The event was called “Drink, Don’t get arrested”.…
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Nearly one million meth tablets seized in police sting in Songkhla
Police have intercepted an enormous shipment of almost one million methamphetamine tablets with a street value of 48 million baht from a pick-up truck in Songkhla. Police say they were acting on a tipoff. They headed to Tambon Jataen to wait for a pickup truck they were told would be delivering the illicit cargo to southern provinces. A pickup up…
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Songkran storms on the way for the Northern and Central regions
Songkran is the time to farewell the hot season and welcome in the forthcoming wet season but the actual weather is wasting no time getting in on the celebrations. The Thai Meteorological Department is warning people in the Central and Northern parts of the country to brace for another round of summer storms from April 15-18. In an announcement yesterday…
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Rayong supercharged by China’s ‘Belt and Road’
FILE PHOTO: U-Tapao Airport Bill Barnett from c9hotelworks.com reports… China’s massive outward bound economic expansion is now experiencing a massive impact on Thailand’s enormous infrastructure initiative, the EEC (Eastern Economic Corridor). A clear example of this is in the country’s Rayong province, which last year hosted 7 million visitors. According to consulting group C9 Hotelworks newly released Rayong Hotel Market…
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PM Prayut, the prolific song-writer
When he’s not putting down members of the press with witty retorts or summoning detractors to the NCPO HQ for ‘attitude adjustment’, dear leader Prayut is putting pen to paper to write patriotic uplifting songs. His first song, “Khuen Kwam Suk Hai Pra Thed Thai” or “Returning Happiness to Thailand”, is considered the biggest hit so far and has been…
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Two fatal accidents in the same spot within 12 hours – Tak
Two fatal bus accidents have taken place at exactly the same spot in Tak province within a 12 hour period topping off a horror two weeks for buses and passenger vans on Thai roads. And Songkran starts tomorrow, the most dangerous time on Thailand’s roads each year. Victims of the second tragedy were actually officials inspecting the scene of the…
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Manhunt on for six suspects in the Sungai Golok attacks
Army offices and local police are now hunting down six men for suspected involvement in last night’s attacks in Narathiwat. The six men are suspected of being involved in bomb explosions at three residential areas in Sungai Golok district, injuring 13 people. (Sungai Golok is the last town in Thailand before you cross over the Malaysian border) Police also note…
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‘Death Island’ in the news again after alleged rape of British woman
Koh Tao, off Koh Samui in the Surat Thani province, is in the spotlight again after a British woman claimed a 26 year old French man had raped her in a hotel on the island. The woman, whose name has been withheld, first alerted her mother in the UK to the alleged attack. The British Embassy in Bangkok stepped in…
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EU set to change its tune on Thai fishing
Yesterday southern fishermen in Songkhla, Pattani and Trang were threatening to go on strike if the Thai government didn’t lift restrictions imposed on them to help satisfy demands by the EU over illegal fishing practices. Today a representative from the EU is pouring praise on the Thai government for its actions to clean up the industry. Smells fishy!? The Nation…
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Southern violence injures four – attacks in Sungai Golok and Pattani
Violence continues in two deep southern provinces last night (Monday), injuring at least four people. Initial reports said that at least four people were injured when bomb attacks hit Narathiwat’s Sungai Golok district and Pattani provinces. In Sungai Kolok, the bomb attacks took place in two areas, injuring at least three. In Pattani, the explosion seriously injured a volunteer, identified…
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Thailand’s zoo horrors captured by British photographer
PHOTO: Aaron Gekoski A British photographer has had a sickening series of photos published in thesun.co.uk after witnessing what he described as “a wildlife house of horrors”. 37 year old environmental photojournalist Aaron Gekoski says he witnessed the shows on a tour of Thailand’s zoos and will now campaign for more restrictions over the industry. In the article he claims……
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Burmese workers lucky to escape burning van after crash in Tak
PHOTO: Facebook Fourteen Myanmar migrant workers and a Thai van driver where lucky to escape after their van caught fire after a tyre burst. The burst caused the van to lose control. The van ran off the road into a ditch along side this morning. The van didn’t flip over but the inhabitants were shaken. Luckily they all got out quickly…
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Insurgents fire on police checkpoints in Narathiwat
Southern insurgents have fired at roadside checkpoints in two locations and a marine post in Narathiwat’s Bacho district last night (Sunday). No one was injured in the three attacks. Police and a unit of marines went to inspect the location of the attacks this morning (Monday). Police say that insurgents fired at the road checkpoint in Ban Batu village in…
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656 homes damaged by Spring storms
The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation are reporting that the summer storms in the north, north-east and central regions have created damage across 17 provinces during April 2-April 6. The Department’s Director-General reports that storms caused damages to a total of 656 homes in 34 districts. Bangkok was hit by summer storms on Saturday night with torrential rain in…
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Take an air-conditioned rest on Songkran roads this year
Police have prepared air-conditioned accommodation for motorists who might feel tired after a long drive during the Songkran holidays, a police chief said on Monday. Highway police commander Pol Maj Gen Chut Sukkaewnarong says toilet facilities would also be made available for motorists but added that since the number of temporary accommodation spots was limited, motorists were advised to check…
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Looming fishing strike over government IUU restrictions
PHOTO: The Nation Southern fisherman are threatening to strike to put pressure on the Government to ease restrictions on what’s called illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing practices. New technologies and other improvements have been introduced in the Thai fishing fleet in efforts to get the nation removed from the European Union’s “watch list” for illegal fishing. Fishermen claim the restrictions are…
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Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit – Risk-taking billionaire pursuing social justice
New blood politician Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit may have led his family auto-parts business to international success but he remains a socialist in his economic philosophy and a political liberal, with a passion for social justice. The 40 year old has been in the spotlight for less than two months since he announced the formation of the new Future Forward Party. But…
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