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Chinese owners using condo investments as a ‘hotel’
PHOTO: Thai Rath Residents in condos around the country are getting sick of the parade of short-stay travellers using their condo rooms as defacto hotel rooms, travellers renting out their rooms from Chinese owners who run their investments as quasi hotel rooms. Thai Rath reports that “Condo C Ekkamai” (Sukhumvit Soi 63) tenants are at the end of their tether.…
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‘Game of Thrones’ finale rates high, fails the landing
WARNING: GOT Spoiler alerts!! “This final season has obviously been divisive, and a good deal of the criticism, especially of the penultimate episode, was justified.” by Brian Lowry After eight seasons, 73 episodes and a much-debated flurry of plot developments, that signature first-season line proved the key to unraveling the “Game of Thrones” finale, which, after a season that was…
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Google cut off Huawei’s access to some Android apps and services
In a surprise response to the ongoing Huawei vs Trump administration spat, Google has halted its business operations with Huawei. Huawei is one of the leading mobile phone manufacturers in the world. The Google ‘pull out’ is effective immediately, according to a report from Reuters. The halted business streams include anything in relation to the transfer of hardware and software…
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One dead, many injured in Phang Nga bus crash
PHOTOS: Newshawk Phuket One person has been found dead while many others have sustained injuries in a Phang Nga bus collision this morning. Newshawk Phuket reports that emergency responders were notified of the incident this morning on Phet Kasem Road, southbound, in Borsane, Thapput in Phang Nga. The collision was between the the tour bus and a silver pick-up. Both…
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Samui Regatta welcomes Synergy Samui Resort as new home
“Early entries are looking good with a strong line-up of boats and crew from Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and Thailand.” The “Tropical Island Regatta” is set to return to Koh Samui’s shores from May 25 to June 1 on Chaweng Beach and this year will be at a new venue, Synergy Samui Resort. Samui Regatta is popular with sailors from…
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New Zealander found hanged in Patong hotel
A New Zealand man has been found hanged in a room at a hotel in Patong. Patong Police were notified the incident at the Deevana Plaza Hotel on Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Road in Patong yesterday at 4pm. Police and emergency responders arrived at the hotel room to find the body of a foreign man who was later identified as 49 year…
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Pattaya officials react to the video of gushing sewage and wastewater – VIDEO
The video of the untreated sewage and wastewater gushing into the Gulf of Thailand has accumulated 1.2 million views already. It took local officials two days to react, mostly blaming other authorities and departments in the resort city. Pattaya’s municipal chief is now instructing Na Jom Thian OrBorJor officials to divert its wastewater to the Pattaya central wastewater treatment pond…
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5,000 Buriram citizens register for medical marijuana possession
by Tanakorn Sangiam The 90 day registration period for persons in possession of marijuana, without facing prosecution, end this Tuesday, May 21. 5,000+ persons in Buriram, north-east Thailand, have already registered their possession during this period. A community seminar on marijuana planting and management also took place yesterday to prepare Buriram province as a key manufacturer of medical marijuana. About…
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Registration and traffic fine databases linked after July 1
Car owners, and presumably motorbike owners, will be unable to renew their vehicle registration or licenses if they fail to pay traffic fines after July 1. Much discussed over the past year and now on the horizon, the Land Transport Department and Royal Thai Police intend to clamp down on people avoiding or disregarding their traffic fines. Starting from May…
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Thai Airways’ profits dive 83% year-on-year
Thai Airways has had an 83% dive in profits for the first quarter of 2019. The Q1 balance sheet came out yesterday. The airline’s management is blaming the high baht, the ongoing US-China trade wars and the closure of Pakastani airspace (forcing rerouting of its Eurpean flights), for the drop. • Net profit of 456 million baht, down from a…
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Remote Karen tribesman flown from western jungle to hospital for emergency surgery
A Karen tribesman, suffering a life-threatening acute illness, has been airlifted from his remote hut deep in the jungles of Kanchanaburi, to the Sangkhla Buri Hospital for emergency treatment. Dr. Krisda Wutthiyakorn, director of Sangkhla Buri Hospital, and his team rushed to the patient’s hut by car through the winding jungle roads, deep in the Thungyai Naresuan wildlife sanctuary. They…
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Thailand’s wet season officially starts tomorrow
The rainy season in Thailand officially starts tomorrow. The Thai Meteorological Department deputy director-general Kornravee Sitthichivaphak says Thailand will see continued rains in most parts of the country from Monday. “The wind over Thailand from 100-3,500 metres will be replaced by a southwest monsoon that would carry humidity from the Andaman Sea to cover most parts of Thailand. All of these…
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Four southern islands to be closed to tourists during monsoon
PHOTO: Koh Kradan Four islands in the Haad Chao Mai National Park in Trang, southern Thailand, will be closed to tourists for four months starting June 1. The chief of the Haad Chao Mai national park, Narong Kong-iad, says that access to the park will be denied to tourist from June 1 to September 30 for “the nature to rehabilitate…
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Central’s new Suvarnabhumi lifestyle centre set to open late August
PHOTO: Central Pattana Central Village, a new luxury retail outlet situated near Suvarnabhumi International Airport, is 70% finished. Wallaya Chirathivat, deputy chief executive of Central Pattana, says the new lifestyle shopping precinct is scheduled to open on August 31. Central says that retail space in Phase 2 have now opened after Phase 1 of the retail development was totally booked. They report…
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Two construction workers win big in the National Lottery
PHOTO: Daily News Two Thai construction workers have won big in this week’s national lottery. Two wins but two very different methods used to select the winning number, 926526. Wathida Trinet had been visiting Khon Kaen but works in Wang Noi to the north of Bangkok, according to Daily News. There she noticed a gecko clambering over the house number “526” and…
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German tourist dies after ghost-riding on his high power bike
A German tourist has been killed after ghost-riding (riding in the opposite direction to the traffic) on his high-power motorcycle. He crashed head-on with a pickup truck in Chiang Mai road early this morning. The tourist has been identified as Jan Single. Police also found a quantity of marijuana in a zip-lock plastic bag he was carrying at the time…
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Thai and farang friend catch king cobra with bare hands in Krabi – VIDEO
PHOTOS/VIDEO: Robrouw Krabi A foreign man has helped his Thai friend to catch a king cobra with their bare hands in Krabi today. The three metre king cobra was found near a refrigerator in a house in Mueang Krabi district. A foreign man and his Thai friend, who lives near the house, came to help where he helped to catch the…
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Old Phuket Town underground cable works to be completed by August
The project to hide the unsightly over-head cables around Old Phuket Town is due to be completed in August this year. The Phuket City Mayor says there will be inconvenience to traffic in Old Phuket Town while the works are underway installing underground cabling in the remaining streets. Read more about the progress of the works HERE. The Phuket Provincial Public…
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Tragic end for Phuket Zoo baby elephant ‘Dumbo’
PHOTOS: Moving Animals The baby elephant, who was forced to perform for tourists, was so weak that his back legs snapped, and died just a week later. Here is the original story from The Thaiger. Just last month, heartbreaking footage emerged of a “skeletal” baby elephant being forced to ‘rave’ to music, ‘play’ musical instruments, and perform tricks, at Thailand’s…
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Thailand cuts rubber exports in a four month moratorium
Thailand is cutting rubber exports by 126,000 tonnes next week for a four month moratorium. This is a delay in implementing the supply cut agreement with two other regional producers, according to the Rubber Authority of Thailand. Originally it was agreed that Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia would cut exports back on April 1, a date agreed by the International Tripartite…
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Rubbish on Chon Buri beaches cleared after social media complaints
PHOTO: DMCR First there was a beach on Koh Phi Phi, then a dirty canal in Bang Tao, Phuket. Now, the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) has cleared up rubbish on an island beach off Pattaya beaches in Chon Buri. Photos were posted in the ‘Pattaya Watchdog’ Facebook page on May 14 with a message reading, “Some business…
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Bangkok’s Klong Lord gets a make over
The new Klong Lord now boasts clear water, not the black grimy mess as in the past. The klong has now had a complete make-over and been rehabilitated and re-landscaped. The Bangkok Metropolitan and Administration (BMA) is upgrading the canal and says it will develop it into one of Bangkok’s important tourist attractions, recalling its identity during the reign of…
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Navy officer and two others killed in Chon Buri road smash
PHOTOS: พัชรพล – ณัฐภูมินทร์ ปานรักษ์ A navy officer and two other people have died after a pickup truck collided with a sedan in Chon Buri earlier today. Plu Taluang Police were notified of the incident on Sattahip Pier Road in Sattahip at 4.30am this morning. Police and emergency responders arrived to find a completely wrecked sedan on the road. 27…
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Three dead, two injured as truck collides with motorbike in Krabi
PHOTOS: อาสากู้ภัย 3482 กู้ชีพปลายพระยา / คนข่าว กระบี่ Three people have died while another two people have been injured after a pickup truck collided with a motorbike in Krabi yesterday. Krabi emergency responders headed to the scene of an accident on Southern Seaboard Road (No 44) southbound in Krabi yesterday afternoon. They found two injured males – 32 year old Nattanai…
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Chiang Mai songthaews and tuk-tuk drivers complain about Grab
Drivers of red public songthaews and tuk-tuks have submitted a petition to Chiang Mai’s provincial governor complaining about the Grab ride-hailing App. The Grab service is offered on a very intuitive smartphone app and provided by normal drivers. The petition said the Grab App had caused their income to drop by more than 50%. They say the service is illegal and…
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Black water flows into the sea at Koh Phi Phi
Wastewater was flowing into the sea at Koh Phi Phi in Krabi as business operators have been caught releasing untreated water and waste into the sea. The issue has gone viral in social media with local officials scrambling to respond. Black water was photographed lapping the shores of Loh Dalam beach on Koh Phi Phi five days ago. One of…
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As readers abandon print, The Nation announces closure of daily printed paper
Another big national newspaper bites the dust, following an inevitable worldwide trend. A sad day for The Nation as they announce the closure of the Bangkok-based English daily after 48 years. It leaves the Bangkok Post as the only English language national daily. The Nation will end its print edition with its last issue scheduled for June 28. In making the…
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15 year old girl arrested for trying to bury her baby alive
A 15 year old girl is now in protective custody in Nakhon Ratchasima, north-east of Bangkok, just one day after her newly-born baby boy survived being buried alive in a local field. A villager found the baby in a cassava plantation about one kilometre from Ban Nong Kham village in Tambon Thalad on Wednesday. The infant was taken to the…
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Police and passenger die in Phitsanulok collision
PHOTOS: Khaosod A policeman travelling in a highway police sedan, and a passenger in a pickup truck, have died at the scene after a crash in Phitsanulok this morning. The incident happened on Kokmaidang – Noean Maprang Road in Wangthong. Phitsanulok Provincial Police Deputy Commander, driving the highway police car, died at the scene after he sustained critical injuries. The…
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Compromise could save expressway authority from paying exorbitant compensation
PHOTO: YouTube Thailand’s Expressway Authority (EXAT) board has agreed to extend the concession period of NECL, a subsidiary of Bangkok Expressway and Metro Public Company (BEM), to operate two expressways for an additional thirty years. The hope is they can avert a legal battle which could eventually result in the government authority being ordered to pay as much as 130 billion…
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