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Over 3 million people in Thailand living below poverty line, census shows
Over 3 million people in Thailand were living below the poverty line as of January this year, according to a government census agency. The Thai People Map and Analytics Platform (TPMAP) surveyed 36.1 million people across Thailand and found that 3.44 million were living without their basic needs being met. This categorised them as poor. The survey found that 1.02…
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Suvarnabhumi Airport offers 7 days free parking for APEC Summit
Suvarnabhumi Airport is offering free parking for one week from November 15-21 during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit which will be held in Bangkok this month. Free parking will be available for passengers and service users for a total of seven days at Long Term Parking Zone C, which can accommodate 718 cars. The airport is expected to be…
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First LOT Polish Airlines flight arrives in Phuket
Phuket International airport welcomed its first LOT Polish Airlines flight yesterday. The flight carried 252 passengers from Warsaw to Phuket. Officials and staff greeted the passengers and handed them HKT We Care souvenirs upon arrival, The Phuket Express reported. This news comes after an inaugural flight from Uzbekistan arrived in Phuket on Sharq Airlines just last week. The flight carried…
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VIDEO: Bat-eating YouTuber sparks outrage in Thailand
Netizens in Thailand are outraged at a Thai YouTuber with 400,000 subscribers for eating bat soup – and encouraging others to eat bat meat – on her channel ‘Gin Zap Bep Nua Nua’ (“Eat spicy and delicious.”) The YouTuber confidently rips apart the bats, swimming in a mud-coloured soup with cherry tomatoes, and dips the meat in Nam Jim, a…
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British man sentenced for rape in UK flees to Thailand
A British man sentenced to eight years in jail for rape is believed to have fled to Thailand. A jury found Michael Foster unanimously found guilty of rape in absentia in September, reported Lancashire Police. Yesterday, he was found guilty once more at Preston Crown Court. The 35 year old man, formerly of Fishwick Parade, Preston, was given eight years…
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What are US midterm elections?
US midterm elections are elections held during the middle of a president’s four-year term in office (so two years into their term). These elections are held on the Tuesday after the first Monday of November, which means today. During midterms, all 435 seats in the US House of Representatives are up for election. This year, 35 out of the 100…
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Thailand pulls the plug on foreign land ownership regulation
The Thai government has already pulled the plug on the draft ministerial regulation that would open up new foreign land ownership options in Thailand. The regulation proposed allowing foreigners who hold a 10-year Long Term Resident visa to buy a property and/or land of up to one rai in Thailand, given they invest a minimum of 40 million baht into Thailand…
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Thai police accused of using power to get free food & drinks
Officers from Krathum Ban Police Station in Samut Sakhon province near Bangkok have been accused of using their power to get free food and drinks from a bar in the province. Celebrity Thai lawyer Sittha Biabangkird claimed yesterday that a number of police officers frequent a bar named Good Zone several times a month, order food and drinks and allegedly…
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Flying lanterns near airports in Thailand is punishable by death penalty, warns govt
Flying a lantern near an airport in Thailand is a very serious criminal offence carrying the harshest penalties, even the death penalty, according to government spokesperson Ratchada Thanadirek. The spokesperson gave the stern warning at a press conference yesterday while thousands of people prepare to float paper lanterns into the sky to celebrate both Loy Krathong and Yi Peng festivals…
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Unfolding Bangkok – video mapping in city’s hidden temples
Unfolding Bangkok is a new city project offering people the chance to see temples in a new light, via video and projection mapping, from November 12 to December 31. Unfolding Bangkok is a part of the Colourful Bangkok 2022 project. This sub-project is divided into three phases, which include Hidden Temples, Greeting Benjakitti, and Living Old Building. The programme kicks…
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Pattaya NGO to hold fundraiser for abused and trafficked women
An NGO in Pattaya is holding a fundraising event for abused and trafficked women this Friday, November 11. The event, titled “Fashion Rocks, will be hosted by the Rotary Club of Pattaya International at the Pattaya Hilton Hotel. The event’s Facebook page says it starts at 5pm. The fashion show aims to raise funds for children, young women, girls, and…
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Loy Krathong Festival: 17 places to celebrate in Bangkok
Are you in Bangkok but still haven’t decided where to celebrate the Loy Krathong festival this evening? Piers along the Chao Phraya riverfront are the natural choice to behold the picturesque Festival of Lights tonight. However, several Buddhist temples, public parks, and malls are also holding fairs and celebrations each offering unique experiences. Loy Krathong will be even more magical…
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German man in Pattaya freaks out as officers move in to arrest him for overstaying
A German couple in Pattaya was arrested yesterday for overstaying their visa. Arresting officers at the scene discovered that the man wasn’t going to go without a fight. Officers from Bang Lamung Police Station were answering a routine nuisance neighbour call at Soi Panya Nimit in Nongprue, but when they arrived on the scene they discovered the couple had overstayed their…
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Tourists flood to Chiang Mai for Yi Peng and Loy Krathong festivities
Chiang Mai in northern Thailand is teeming with foreign and domestic tourists looking to experience the magical Loy Krathong and Yi Peng festivities from November 7-9. The fusion of Loy Krathong traditions with a night sky glittering with Yi Peng lanterns creates an unmissable atmosphere that draws people to the city year in and year out. During October, Chiang Mai…
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Thai physician raises concerns over Omicron mutations as cases rise
One of Thailand’s top respiratory experts is urging the nation to be on guard for Omicron subvariants of the Covid-19 virus after the World Health Organization (WHO) raised concerns about mutations of the disease. The WHO last week raised concerns about the public health implications of the rise of some Omicron variants, specifically XBB and its sublineages (indicated as XBB*),…
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Pattaya Police taking safety precautions for Loy Krathong festival
Pattaya Police are taking safety precautions for the Loy Krathong festivals coming up tonight. Police held a meeting yesterday about safety measures. The safety measures include: banning all sky lanterns, fireworks, alcohol, and smoking (including cannabis), and ensuring nightlife and entertainment venues close at their legal times between midnight and 2am depending on what zone the venue falls into. Checkpoints…
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New Zealand expat arrested in Phuket over weapons, including explosives
A New Zealand expat has been arrested in Phuket for possessing several weapons, including 11 explosives. The man, 63 year old Gareth Alan Davies, was also found to have 19 guns and ammunition in his house in the Kathu district. Region 8 Police Commander Surapong Thanomjit said that Davies had claimed that the weapons were just collectables. But Commander Surapong…
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Drunk police doctor who crashed Porsche killing 2 in Thailand avoids prison for now
Today, Thon Buri Provincial Court sentenced a police doctor to three years imprisonment and a fine of 101,000 baht for speeding and drink-driving in his Porsche, causing a crash that killed two people and seriously injured one more person in Bangkok back in August 2021. However, although the defendant pleaded guilty on all counts, the court suspended his punishment for…
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Chadchart worries about the increase of drowning on Loy Kratong Festival day
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt urged people to avoid putting money in banana trunks, or Kratong in Thai, because it encourages coin collectors, especially children, to try and retrieve the money every year on Loy Kratong Day which inevitably leads to a drowning tragedy. The Loy Kratong Festival will be held across Thailand tomorrow. Almost every temple located near a river,…
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Egyptian men who allegedly stole mobile phones from Pattaya guest house arrested
UPDATE Three men who allegedly worked together to steal two mobile phones from a Pattaya guest house have been arrested. CCTV footage showed the second and third suspects walking down Pattaya Second Road the night before. The first and second suspects were also seen heading down Pattaya Second Road to Pattaya Central Road after they left the guest house. The…
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Watchdog Thailand finds 67 dead cats and dogs in Bangkok house, rescues 80 more
Watchdog Thailand found 63 dead cats, one dead dog, and 80 emaciated but still alive animals inside a house in Bangkok on Friday. Many of the animal carcasses had been stuffed into a freezer. The owner of the house – who tried to flee but crashed her car – had collected donations via Facebook for all the animals she had…
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Pattaya man runs away after plunging pickup truck into pond
A Pattaya man ran away after plunging his pickup truck into a pond yesterday evening. The driver, 39 year old Suphan Pangphimai, had been speeding when he attempted to make a curve and plunged through a fence and into a lotus pond in Chon Buri’s Nong Prue district. Suphan was uninjured, and he swam out of the pond, and fled…
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Motorcycle rider dies after crashing into stage on road
A motorcycle rider died in the early hours of this morning after he crashed his bike into a stage set up in the middle of the road for the Loy Kratong Festival in the Isaan province of Nakhon Ratchasima. Officers from Phimai Police Station were notified about the accident at 5.30am. Officers found the dead motorcycle rider, 24 year old…
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Doi Inthanon in Chaing Mai spots first frozen dew of the year
The first frozen dew of this year was spotted this morning at Thailand’s highest mountain, Doi Inthanon, in Chiang Mai. The lowest temperature there is four degrees Celsius. The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation reported that the very first frozen dew was witnessed at Doi Inthanon National Park appeared for visitors to check out. Snow is rarely…
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Thai woman arrested for smuggling drugs into Japan inside her body
Japanese border police arrested a Thai woman for smuggling drugs into Japan by concealing them inside her body, reported the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Thani Saengrat this morning. The ministry received a report from the Royal Thai Embassy in Tokyo about the body packing case yesterday, said Thani. The 41 year old Thai national – Wiwiew…
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Police urge Thailand’s singletons to be wary of online dating perils
Police are urging Thailand’s single women to be aware of the perils of online dating. Commander of Cyber Crime Investigation Division 4, Pol Maj Gen Thitawat Suriyachai, warned Thai singletons at a seminar yesterday to be careful when swiping right on a potential dating partner. He added a number of these online dating profiles are fake and linked to call…
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Hundreds of tourists climb Chiang Mai mountain for glorious sunrise view
The glorious view of one mountain in Thailand’s iconic northern province of Chiang Mai drew hundreds of tourists yesterday. The tourists crowded the summit of the 1,100-metre peak to watch the sunrise through the mountain’s misty fog. The mountain now expects to see more visitors in the coming months, since Thais like the cool new year temperatures and the Covid-19…
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VIDEO: 19 killed in Tanzania plane crash
Nineteen people were killed in a plane crash in Tanzania yesterday, major news outlets reported. The plane was headed to the town of Bukoba from Tanzania’s commercial capital Dar es Salaam when it crashed into Lake Victoria. Rescuers rushed to the scene and coordinated with nearby boat operators. Video footage shows the plane almost completely submerged in the water, with only…
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Thailand to surpass tourism target thanks to Malaysians and Indians
Thailand is set to surpass its target of 10 million tourists by the end of the year thanks to an influx of Malaysian and Indian visitors. Thailand has welcomed over 1 million tourists from Malaysia and almost 600,000 tourists from India so far in 2022. Before the pandemic, Chinese tourists topped the list of Thailand’s foreign arrivals year in and…
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Pickup driver faces 100,000 baht fine for angering elephant
An impatient pickup driver faces a fine of up to 100,000 baht after annoying a wild elephant while driving in the Khao Yai National Park in the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima or Korat. Last Friday, November 5, the Facebook page and YouTube channel, “Wild Animals at Khao Yai (สัตว์ป่าเขาใหญ่)” posted a video of a pickup car provoking a wild…
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