News
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Sponsored 5 best wine bars in Bangkok offering rich and quality wine
It’s wine o’clock! Whether you’re all about fruity reds, sweet whites, or funky naturals, Bangkok has many great spots to sip your favourite varieties. But with an array of options to choose from, and the constant rise and fall of...
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2 arrested with 409 kilograms of marijuana in Nakhon Phanom
A combined government force arrested 2 men last night on a Mekong riverbank in the Tha Uthen district of the northeastern Nakhon Phanom province, with 409 kilograms of compressed marijuana. An army spokeman said today the action followed the seizure of about 70,000 methamphetamine pills (known as “yaba”) in Tha Uthen district last week. Documents obtained in the earlier operation…
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Warrants issued for key members of Free People movement
The Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for 15 prominent members of the Free People movement, which organised the protest held at the Democracy Monument on July 18. 3 of the 15, Thammasat University student Prit “Penguin” Chivarak, human rights lawyer Anon Nampa and Panupong Jaadnok, aka “Mike Rayong”, have already been arrested before and released on bail. The 12…
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Aussie hailed as hero after fighting off shark to save wife
An Australian man saved his wife from a shark attack yesterday by punching the shark until it released her. Police say the couple were surfing at a beach near Port Macquarie, 4 hours north of Sydney, yesterday morning when she was bitten twice on her right leg. Paramedics treated the 35 year old at the beach before she was later…
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Labour minister says unemployment less than half of predictions
Thailand’s labour minister told a Friday press briefing that the number of unemployed people in Thailand is around 2 to 3 million, less than half the 7 to 8 million previously predicted. He said that since The National Economic and Social Development Council did the calculation, “it cannot be wrong… as the latter is Thailand’s economic planner”. Given the gravities…
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4 suspected insurgents shot dead in Pattani
Further to a story published yesterday by The Thaiger, a total of 4 suspected insurgents are now reported to have been shot dead in separate firefights in the southern Pattani province on Friday evening and Saturday morning, as security forces close in on a fifth suspect. The first clash followed an earlier gunfight in which 3 soldiers were wounded while…
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Suspect arrested in Kanchanaburi sugar factory murder
Police in the western Kanchanaburi province have arrested a man for the August 6 murder of a sugar factory repairman in Bo Phloy district. 50 year old Boonthad Lawa, an employee in the factory’s repair and maintenance section, was found dead in a room of the workers’ dormitory last Monday. The body had 6 knife wounds, was bloated and “emitting…
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Tourism authority predicts September revenue jump
The Tourism Authority of Thailand is expecting tourism revenue in September to grow by 20% compared to the same month last year, after the government approved September 4 and 7 as compensation holidays for this year’s Songkran Festival, which was “postponed” due to the Covid-19 crisis. We’re assuming they mean domestic tourism because there sure aren’t many foreign tourists! The…
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Academics defend protests
Legal scholars at 2 Bangkok universities defended students’ right to protest today, and a prominent opposition politician reacted to yesterday’s arrest of student leader Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak by slamming PM Prayut Chan-o-cha for “breaking his promise” to listen to young protesters. Law experts at Thammasat University called on the government to stop using the law to deprive students of their…
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Forensic scientist says he was pressured to change estimate in Vorayuth hit-and-run case
A police forensic scientist is claiming that he was pressured to reduce the estimated speed of Red Bull heir Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya’s Ferrari when it hit and killed a policeman in 2012. Thanasit Taengchan of the Police Forensic Science Office says a high ranking commander brought an official from King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology North Bangkok to convince him to…
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Major police presence expected at rally
Authorities yesterday announced that 4 companies of Bangkok police will be deployed to maintain peace and order at the major pro-democracy rally planned for this afternoon at Democracy Monument. The Metropolitan Police Bureau has arranged for 4 companies, 600 officers in total, to be present at the venue. Traffic police will also be dispatched to facilitate movement in the area.…
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Struggling Samui seeks government help
Desperate for tourism revenue during the ongoing travel ban and with not more than a dribble of domestic visitors, the president of the Tourism Association of Koh Samui says he needs to meet with the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration to come up with guidelines to allow foreign tourists to visit Samui. And soon. Worasit Phong-amphan says Samui saw 2.3…
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Toddler, locked in hot van, dies after 4 day coma
A 2 year old boy is dead after 4 days in a coma, due to being left in a hot van outside a daycare centre in the southern Nakhon Si Thammarat province. Staff at Maharaj Nakhon Si Thammarat Hospital confirmed the death of Thanakit “Nong Kongbin” Yodmanee yesterday afternoon, saying his organs failed. The boy was taken to hospital on…
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COVID-19 update: 0 new cases, 82 days without a local transmission
After reporting its biggest single-day increase of confirmed Covid-19 cases in weeks – 17 – Thailand reported not a single new case today, its 82nd consecutive day without a locally transmitted case. Total infections in Thailand, to date, are 3,376, with 3,193 recoveries, a rate of 94.5%. 125 people are still in hospital. Of total infections, 2,444 were locally acquired…
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Joint operation nabs 29 illegal Cambodian migrants in a Kaeo
Officials in the eastern border province of Sa Kaeo, with help from other law enforcement agencies, arrested 29 illegal migrant workers from Cambodia last night in the Ta Prayha subdistrict. Led by the deputy commander of the Burapha Forces, an elite squadron also known as the Tigers of the East, a large team located the group, who were on foot…
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Amnesty International demands “Penguin’s” release
The Thailand chapter of Amnesty International is calling on police to immediately release student protest leader Prit “Penguin” Chivarak, after he was arrested yesterday on charges of sedition and inciting public unrest. AI Thailand Director Niyanut Kotesarn said in a statement issued last night that the arrest of the Thammasat University student amounts to suppression of free expression and contravenes…
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Chon Buri man dies after 25 metre fall
A 63 year old man is dead after he fall through a school gymnasium roof in front of his 3 sons yesterday in Chon Buri’s city district. Ban Bueang Police were notified of the incident, in a gymnasium area at Wat Khao Maipai School, yesterday afternoon. Emergency responders arrived to find the body of 63 year old Wichean Srinuan, on…
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Chon Buri suspect who stole officer’s gun arrested after 4 day manhunt
A man who caused a major public disturbance while allegedly high on methamphetamine in Koh Chan, in the eastern Chon Buri province, has been captured. The suspect, named to The Pattaya News as 45 year old Anont Sinsap, was wanted since August 7. He was captured after earlier this week hiding in a forest on a rubber farm in the…
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Phathum Thani man finds cobra in commode
A homeowner in Pathum Thani, just north of Bangkok, got quite a start when visiting the loo yesterday. 51 year old “Phayop,” a baker for an airline, told a rescue foundation that he went into his downstairs toilet to sit down and relieve himself. He felt something brush against his backside and immediately jumped up. He says he couldn’t see…
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2 year old in ICU after being left in scorching school van
A 2 year old boy remains on life support after he was left alone in a sweltering hot school van outside a childcare centre in southern Thailand. Thanakit “Nong Kongbin’’ Yodmanee is being treated in an ICU at a Hospital in Nakhon Si Thammarat. He was rushed to the hospital earlier in the week after he was found unconscious in…
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2 bombing suspects dead, 3 soldiers wounded in Pattani shootout
2 suspected insurgents allegedly involved in Thursday’s bombings in Pattani’s Nongjik district, which killed 2 security officers and injured 3 others, were killed in a shootout yesterday in the southern province’s Yaring district. 3 more soldiers were wounded. The clash erupted in Buenaejuerae village in tambon Kolam where a combined team of soldiers, police and local officials were patrolling, according…
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Police pinch “Penguin” ahead of student rally
Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak, the outspoken leader of recent student protests, was arrested yesterday as tensions mount ahead of a major pro-democracy rally planned for tomorrow afternoon in Bangkok. He faces multiple charges, including sedition. The arrest was made as the Thammasat University student prepared to join a pro-democracy event at the campus in Nonthaburi. After a policeman read out the…
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Royal pardon for 2 Burmese men in Koh Tao backpacker murder case
“They will also have a chance to get their sentences reduced further on good behaviour.” Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun, the 2 young Burmese men sentenced to death over the Koh Tao British backpacker double murder in 2014, have had their sentences commuted to life in prison by the Thai monarch. The pair were sentenced to death for the murder…
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Thailand is on top of the tourism shopping list for Asian travellers, when the borders open
“Fear & Possibilities in a Post Coronavirus World”. That’s the name of a new study jointly prepared by Blackbox Research, Dynata, and Language Connect. For ‘fear’ and ‘possibilities’, there are plenty of both as Thailand and Asia emerge from 6 months of battling and containing Covid-19, with more knowledge and better handling of outbreaks. The global study indicates that residents of…
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Cambodian transgender woman arrested for human trafficking in Sa Kaeo
Police in the eastern Sa Kaeo province, near the Cambodian border, have arrested a Cambodian transgender woman and charged her with procuring girls under 18 and arranging “swinging” parties for customers via Twitter. Officials from the Provincial Administration’s law enforcement operations centre made the arrest during a raid on a room at a resort in the province’s city district last…
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UPDATE: SET suspends trading of Thai Airways shares
UPDATE: Trading in Thai Airways shares was suspended by the Stock Exchange of Thailand this afternoon after auditors declined to sign off on its financial statements for the six months to June 30. Auditor Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Jaiyos said it couldn’t reach a conclusion on the statements due to issues including a lack of liquidity and debt defaults, which created…
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Richard Barrow is dusting off his luggage in case he can’t renew visa
Yesterday, Richard Barrow, a popular British blogger and school employee in Samut Prakan, who has been living and working in Thailand for decades, says he had a surprise visit from the immigration bureau in regards to the renewal of his visa. Kapook reported the incident on their page saying that many Thai people admire the work he does for Thailand…
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Chulalongkorn students vow to protest despite last-minute ban
Pro-establishment Chulalongkorn University today abruptly cancelled a planned student protest at its Phra Boron field, citing “security and safety issues”. Nevertheless, student protesters told reporters the protest will go ahead despite the ban. Today’s is the latest in a series of anti-government rallies planned by students for the coming weeks. Student-led protests have swept the country since July, with demonstrators…
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Thai Airways loses 28 billion baht in the first half of the year
Embattled, bankrupt Thai Airways suffered about 28 billion baht in losses for the first 6 months of this year, mainly attributable to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has seriously impacted its operations and crushed global travel, grounding fleets and shuttering many airlines altogether. The airline’s acting president said today that the pandemic has led to many countries, including Thailand, closing their…
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Thai minister encourages hotels to stop price-gouging expats
The thorny issue of dual pricing has raised its ugly head again, this time with the current offerings for hotels as Thailand slowly winds up its tourism industry again. Tourism and Sports Ministry, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, is asking hotels to offer “fair packages to expats and resident foreigners, and avoid price discrimination”. He said that there are 2 million foreign residents who…
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Covid-19 update: 17 new cases found in quarantine, deaths unchanged at 58 (August 14)
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration reported this morning that 17 new cases of the coronavirus were confirmed in state quarantine over the previous 24 hours. The new patients are all Thai returnees, 15 from India and 1 each from Australia and the United States. The new cases bring Thailand’s total number of cases to 3,376 since the beginning of…
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