Thailand
- Bangkok News
Taxi operators want new rates to apply to all taxis
Taxi companies are urging Thailand’s Department of Land Transport (DLT) to apply a new taxi fare to all taxis, not just members of the TAXI OK program. According to DLT Deputy Director General, Kamol Buranapong , a meeting was recently held between the DLT and taxi companies which are facing rising operating costs. The DLT proposed that either a 3 baht…
- Thailand News
Facebook adds income stream for Thai gamers
Geek alert. Facebook is going to allow gamers in Thailand to earn income off their ‘livestreams’. Facebook currently has 51 million users in Thailand, the Kingdom’s favourite social media platform At the Thailand Game Show this year, the social media giant said it will allow viewers to send “stars” to the gamers as the livestream progresses. Each star is worth 0.99 baht…
- Bangkok News
BKK Conference tackles rising road toll
by Pratch Rujivanrom Country can learn from Vietnam on promoting safety, say who experts Leading international road safety experts are urging Thai authorities to follow Vietnam’s example by setting up a central agency to directly mitigate the country’s severe accidents problem as well as create a digital traffic database to enhance traffic-law enforcement. Some of the world’s top experts and…
- World News
The ‘war on drugs’ is a complete failure
Authorities are losing the war against methamphetamines – pills and crystal meth. The demand for both crystal meth and ‘yaba’ is escalating as is the production to meet the increasing demand. The much-publicised ‘Wars on Drugs’ being waged from time to time in south east asian countries are doing little dent the rising popularity and production of the drugs, whilst…
- Bangkok News
Pattaya expat dies from injuries suffered during WBC Bangkok fight
SCREENSHOT: Christian Daghio fighting Don Parueang on October 26 – ทีเคโอ มวยโลก An Italian man, and former world champion in Muay Thai and boxing, has tragically died following a fight in Bangkok. Thai Visa reports that 49 year old Christian Daghio died on Friday in a Bangkok hospital after being put in a coma due to injuries suffered during a WBC Asia…
- Thailand News
Some Thais finding it difficult to save
A survey commissioned by the Government Savings Bank has revealed that grassroots incomes in Thailand are too low for most Thais to make savings for the future. The survey indicates that people earning under 15,000 baht have a real struggle to survive. Only 32.2% made any saving at all. About 56% of that number put a little away each month. This…
- Pattaya News
Pakistani terror suspect arrested in Pattaya
PHOTO: The Hindu A Pakistani terror suspect has been arrested in Pattaya following eleven years on the run after escaping prison in India. Pattaya One reports that Jagtar Singh alias Tara is now likely to be extradited to India for his alleged role as a ‘mastermind’ in the assassination of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh in 1995. Security sources say…
- Health
Thailand, third biggest medical tourism destination in the world
In the process of shrugging off its reputation for cheap back-alley plastic surgeries, Thailand is quickly catching up to South Korea as the world’s prime destination for cosmetic surgeries and treatments. Home to 64 JCI-accredited medical facilities – three times more than Singapore and 6 times more than Malaysia. JCI is the industry standard in global healthcare, where facilities are…
- Hua Hin News
Prachuap Khiri Khan’s 9.6 million baht blue car park
Bike lanes are being added in popular locations around the country, at great expense, for the pleasure and safety of the growing number of bicyclists in Thailand. But sometimes no one tells the car drivers who think the new bike lanes are just a colorful place to park their cars. A 9.6 million baht, 2.9 kilometre long bicycle lane along…
- South Thailand News
Storm forces Army helicopter into emergency landing
FILE PHOTO: Bell Helicopters 212 of the Royal Thai Army at Khon Kaen An Army helicopter flying senior military officers from Surat Thani to Ranong provinces has been forced to make an emergency landing in Chumphon this morning because of a thunderstorm cell that developed quickly along the route. The Bell 212 helicopter encountered sudden heavy rains, forcing it to…
- Northern Thailand News
A tonne of marijuana seized on the banks of the Mekong
Thai authorities have seized 1,000 kilograms (1 tonne) of marijuana from a spot along the Mekong River in Nakhon Phanom province around midday yesterday (Sunday). The Tha Uthen district chief Bhumisak Khampu conformed the discovery. He joined the officials in inspecting the drug stored in 25 black plastic parcels. Patrol police and Mekong naval patrol officers found the items along…
- Bangkok News
Huge gains in reduction of single-use plastics – 30 universities
A network of 30 universities across the country has succeeded in reducing the number of single-use plastic bags, utensils and cups by 41 million pieces so far this year, it was announced during the Sustainable University Network of Thailand Conference 2018 hosted by Thammasat University. And that’s just at 30 universities. The Nation reports that the 30 universities’ plastic-use reduction…
- Business News
Viral posts claim Tesco Lotus is laying off staff and closing stores
A rumor, stating that Tesco Lotus is laying off staff and closing 43 branches around Thailand has gone viral in social media. Matichon Online reported yesterday that social message is saying that… “Tesco Lotus lay off staff around the country. What will they do next and can other staffer handle the pressure.” (Translated) Some people have commented saying…. “…my branch…
- Thai Life
Last weekend’s horror road toll – nearly 11,000 died so far in 2018
At least 10,794 people have lost their lives on Thailand’s roads this year. This tally, with only two months remaining, is a timely reminder of the danger that lurks on Thai roads from Dr Taejing Siripanich, secretary-general of the Don’t Drive Drunk Foundation. Statistically, compared to last year, this is a drop in overall deaths on Thailand’s roads. But Taejing…
- Thailand News
Anti-military rap song tops iTunes Thailand downloads
An anti-military dictatorship rap song has topped Thailand’s download list on iTunes after police and the government threatened legal action against the Rap Against Dictatorship (RAD) group. The Prathet Goo Mee (My F…king Country’s Got…) went to the top of Thailand’s iTunes download list this morning to the cheers of RAD who posted a message to thank its fans. The…
- World News
Mahatir drops in on an old friend
During the 1980s both men were the Prime Ministers of their respective countries. Now, both in their 90s, the two re-united yesterday for a casual catch-up. The two met in Bangkok yesterday to recall their long-standing friendship. The visitor was 93 year old Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad and the host Privy Council President, 99 year old General Prem Tinsulanonda. Mahathir…
- Business News
Technicalbiomed helping to turn Thailand into beauty hub
PHOTO: Warut Suttinan, MD of Technicalbiomed – The Nation “Technicalbiomed” plans to expand its market share in cosmetic surgery as well as in obstetrics and gynaecology segments by turning Thailand into an Asian hub for aesthetics and beauty. Warut Suttinan, managing director of Technicalbiomed, an importer and distributor of aesthetic medical devices in Thailand, said: “Thailand is now recognised as…
- Bangkok News
Former PM Abhisit calls for election of provincial governors
PHOTO: Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva – The Nation The Democrat Party leader and former PM, Abhisit Vejjajiva, is promising to push for elections of provincial governors as part of administrative reforms. He says the decentralisation of power to residents in the provinces was necessary to help reduce inequality between regions. “It is time for provinces all over the country…
- Bangkok News
Illegal foreigner crackdown busts 1,000 in Pathum Thani
“Since 2015, there have been over 3,500 arranged marriages, allowing the men to stay and work in Thailand, the report said.” Acting Immigration Police chief Pol Maj-General Surachate Hakpal has led some 1,000 officers to 25 locations in Pathum Thani’s Klong Luang district. It’s part of his concerted push to round up 7,000 illegal foreigners before the end of the…
- World News
Thai, Malaysian PMs pledge push for southern peace
PHOTO: Benar News Malaysia and Thailand have agreed to expand the scope of bilateral cooperation to contain an insurgency along their shared border after changing peace negotiators. The two premiers have promised to help solve the conflict. Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has assured his visiting Malaysian counterpart Mahathir Mohamad that the peace dialogue in the deep South will continue and…
- Chiang Mai News
More rain until this Friday – parts of Krabi flooded
Flooding has hit several provinces yesterday morning in the wake of heavy downpours in parts of the country. In Krabi’s Khao Phanom province, several roads were also flooded. In front of the Ban Khok Klang School, floodwater was up to 40 centimetres deep. Emergency responders helped locals move their belongings to higher ground out of concern that the waters would…
- Business News
Panama’s VP backs the Thailand Kra Canal project
PHOTO: Panama’s Vice President Isabel de Saint Malo de Alvarado – The Nation The long-running discussions about a canal, linking the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, aka The Kra Canal, has come up again with a visit from Panama’s Vice President. The Panama Canal changed world shipping when it linked the Pacific and Atlantic oceans when it was…
- Health
Ninth measles victim in Yala, 3 remain critically ill
PHOTO: A mother holds her child as nurses at the Tambon Yala Health Promotion Hospital in Yala’s Muang district vaccinate him against measles yesterday. – Nakharin Chinnawornkomol Another child has died as a result of complications from measles in Yala province yesterday morning. This latest preventable fatality brings the number of deaths from the disease in the southernmost province to nine…
- Thai Life
King Chulalongkorn Day
October 23 is a national holiday in Thailand as it marks “King Chulalongkorn Day”, known in Thai as “Wan Piyamaharaj Day”. He remains highly revered in Thailand and his portrait can often be seen, alongside the current King Rama X, in homes, shops and halls around the Kingdom. The day commemorates the passing of King Chulalongkorn, otherwise known as King…
- Thailand News
TAT tap into Big Data to assist tourists
by Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is moving forward with the development of a Big Data system to cater to the growth in the number of tourist arrivals. (Yes, it’s another one of these buzz words when the word ‘digital management’ doesn’t sound sexy enough in the PR release. Read more about Big Data HERE.) The authority…
- Thailand News
Wet season, not so wet – some dams are less than 60% full
FILE PHOTO: Ubonrat Dam – The Nation Emerging from the back end of the annual wet season, Thailand should be well poised for adequate water supplies for the forthcoming dry season. There’s been major flooding of some dams in the central, far north-eastern and some southern areas. But the wet season rains have been ‘lumpy’ leaving many of the country’s…
- Thailand News
Somkid says he’ll fly to Beijing to discuss luring back Chinese visitors
The fallout from a number of tragedies and bad PR has mobilised the Thai government to take firm steps towards luring back the Chinese travellers who have been looking elsewhere, other than Thailand, for their chosen holiday breaks. The Nation is reporting that Deputy PM Somkid Jatusripitak has said today that he may have to hold talks with the Chinese…
- Thailand News
No more coups, unless we need one – Commander in Chief
With the country heading for elections in February, or sometime soon in 2019, the hope is for a new, democratically elected government following four and a half years of military rule. But would the army rule out another coup? Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Apirat Kongsompong has refused to rule out the possibility of another coup if the country is plunged into…
- Northern Thailand News
Chiang Rai’s Suwit Jaipom unveils charcoal portrait of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej
PHOTOS: localnews2010.com A Chiang Rai Artists, Suwit Jaipom, has unveiled a portrait of the late HM King Rama IX, that he has recently created to mark the second anniversary of King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s passing. At his studio in Ban Pang Lao in the capital district of Chiang Rai, Suwit Jaipom, the president of ArtBridge Chiang Rai and local artist, has created…
- Thailand News
Thailand – most visited destination among Chinese for Golden Week
The National News Bureau is reporting that the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) says Ctrip.com, China’s largest and most influential online travel agent, has ranked Thailand the number one global destination among Chinese tourists during this year’s National Day vacation – the Chinese Golden Week 2018. Thailand comes out on top of Japan, Hong Kong SAR, Vietnam, Singapore, Taiwan, and…
