Chiang Mai tops list of most polluted cities
Chiang Mai returned as the world’s most polluted city again around noon yesterday after the government’s ban on open burning came to an end on Tuesday.
— Bangkok Post
Royal Coronation – Schedule of events
The Coronation of HM King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun will run over three days from Saturday, May 4 to Monday, May 6. The actual coronation takes place on the first day.
— The Thaiger
12 Thai provinces face water shortages
The government has warned that a dozen provinces are at risk of running out of water.
— Coconuts (paywall)
Govt mulling NCPO order nullification
The government is considering exercising the special power of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) chief allowed under Section 44 of the constitution to nullify unnecessary orders.
— Bangkok Post
Consumer confidence index hit 16-month low in April
Consumer confidence fell to the lowest level in 16 months in April, as people were concerned about political instability and the slowing domestic economy.
— Bangkok Post
Future Forward party gets back at Srisuwan Janya
The Future Forward party is hitting back at maverick political activist Srisuwan Janya in retaliation for the latter’s campaign against the party, including the latest petition to the Election Commission…
— Thai PBS News
Songkhla man accused of human trafficking of Burmese
A Songkhla man has been arrested for allegedly being a member of a human trafficking ring that has been smuggling Burmese migrants into Malaysia across the southern border.
— The Thaiger
Royal barge ships out for ceremony rehearsal (Photos)
A ceremonial royal barge hit the Chao Phraya River on Tuesday for a dress rehearsal for ceremonies related to King Vajiralongkorn’s coronation.
— Coconuts (paywall)
Taxpayers can write off lodgings in Thailand through June
Travel now through the end of June and get a tax break on any accommodation and travel agency expenses.
— Coconuts (paywall)
Deal inked to build mass transit station at Siriraj
The first two storeys of Siriraj Hospital’s planned 15-storey building will serve as an interchange for two mass-transit lines.
— Bangkok Post
Thailand Urges SMEs To Sign Up For Single Account Business Scheme
Thailand introduced a business scheme in 2016 that has since gained the attention of over 20,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The single account initiative allows for business owners to avoid potential criminal liabilities and delayed payments.
— en.businesstimes.cn
Asia rice: Thailand rates gain; weak demand hurts Indian prices
Rice export prices in Thailand rose this week as demand ticked up, while weaker overseas buying weighed on rates in leading exporter India.
— finance.yahoo.com
Factbox – The 10 Ramas: the kings of Thailand’s Chakri dynasty
Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Thursday paid tribute to his ancestors in a ceremony ahead of his official coronation this weekend, when he will take the formal title King Rama X, the 10th king in the Chakri dynasty.
— Reuters
Commerce Ministry: Inflation up 1.23% in April
The rise in the prices of fresh food due to the drought situation which causes damage to the agricultural products and the energy prices that begin to rise make the inflation rate in April 2019 rise to 1.23 percent but the Commerce Ministry is maintaining its target inflation bracket for 2019 at between 0.7 and 1.7 percent.
— NNT
Their Majesties pay respects to former kings, queens and deities
Their Majesties the King and Queen had a busy schedule on Thursday afternoon, paying respects to the late kings and queens of Thailand and to all the deities believed to…
— Thai PBS News
Thailand’s King Rama X – from pilot prince to powerful monarch
Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun will be officially crowned as the 10th king of the Chakri dynasty on May 4, after taking the throne following the death of his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in late 2016.
— Reuters
Thais look forward to celebrating King’s coronation
The coronation of His Majesty the King will be held on Saturday, the first time the country will hold such a ceremony in 69 years.
— Bangkok Post
Data sharing stirs the pot
The telecom regulator has begun discussions to amend details of the Telecom Business Act to allow the state to access general data regarding mobile phone usage (not including personal information), but is facing pushback from the major three telecom operators.
— Bangkok Post
Tough conditions bring change to housing market
The Bangkok condominium market has slowed down due to the accumulation of unsold stock and the tightening of mortgage lending regulations.
— Bangkok Post
SRT to spend B54bn on new trains
The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) will spend 54 billion baht to buy more trains to serve along upgraded dual-tracks that will be gradually opened between 2021 and 2023, said SRT deputy governor Siripong…
— Bangkok Post
Condos lure new China wave
Condo demand from Chinese remains strong as units near educational institutions and medical services attract a new wave of buyers, according to property agents.
— Bangkok Post
CPI posts rise in April
Consumer prices rose for the fourth straight month in April, driven by fresh food and vegetables, rice and flour, and meat and poultry, as well as higher oil prices.
— Bangkok Post
THE GROWTH AND RISE OF THAILAND’S EXHIBITION INDUSTRY
Thailand’s trade show industry is a major mechanism to drive the country’s economy and industries and a record of 17 new shows, the most in the past ten years, will be launched in 2019, to help thousands of others grow their businesses.
— Bangkok Post
Allianz Completes Strategic Partnership Deal in Thailand
Allianz has acquired a 19.21-percent stake in Thailand’s Sri Ayudhya Capital (AUYD) to become its largest shareholder, the German insurer and asset manager announced in a press release.
— www.finews.asia
EC disqualifies another 11 ex-MP candidates
The Election Commission has disqualified 11 former MP candidates of eight parties, effectively excluding another 12,000 votes from party-list MP calculation.
— Bangkok Post
New job for ‘Big Joke’ away from Govt House
Surachate Hakparn has been given the first assignment for his civilian life — giving advice to the Prime Minister’s Office on how to improve public service.
— Bangkok Post
Police confident Phuket airport taxi driver who wiped out six vehicles, killed motorcyclist will face formal charges soon
More than six months after a Phuket airport taxi driver wiped out six vehicles and killed a motorbike rider whilst driving a tourist from the airport on Thepkrasattri Rd during morning rush hour traffic, the lead police investigator for the case is pretty confident that he will finally hand the case over to the Phuket Prosecutor to proceed with legal action next Tuesday (May 7).
— The Phuket News
Phuket braces for stormy weekend as weather warning issued
The Southern Meteorological Centre (West Coast) office of the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) has issued a weather warning for Phuket, forecasting heavy rain and strong winds starting Saturday (May 4) and continuing through Monday (May 6).
— The Phuket News
Water management meeting outcomes
Addressing the widespread drought disaster affecting many areas, the water resources monitoring and management subcommittee has ordered all agencies to continue drought mitigation operations, especially in provinces facing a risk of water shortages, instructing the Ministry of the Interior to inspect natural water resources already in crisis.
— NNT
EEF to reduce gap between urban, rural schools
To reduce educational disparity in terms of the quality of urban and rural schools that results in different levels of knowledge among students, three educational agencies are applying the findings of research resulting from a project on schools with continuous quality improvement, to 280 schools in the academic year 2019, after having successfully reformed 197 medium-sized schools in rural areas, making students happier and creating participation in the solving of teaching and learning problems.
— NNT
Constitutional Court will rule on calculation of list MPs
The Constitutional Court has accepted the Ombudsman’s request for a ruling on the constitutionality of the Election Commission’s formula to calculate party-list MPs for political parties and will rule next Wednesday.
— Bangkok Post
Prayut tentatively embraces China’s Belt and Road strategy for Thailand
Thai PM’s appearance at the second Belt and Road Initiative forum in Beijing last weekend suggests the luke-warm relations between China and Thailand persist.
— The Thaiger
Living with debt
Most workers with a monthly income under 15,000 baht are burdened with debt, but many remain confident about job security, according to a University of Thai Chamber of Commerce survey.
— Bangkok Post
Six Prachachat candidates disqualified by EC
Six election candidates representing the Prachachat party have been disqualified by the Election Commission (EC) after they were found to be members of other parties as well.
— Thai PBS News
EC reassures Thai voters the results will be announced by May 9
Thailand’s Election Commission is confident that it will be able to announce official results from the March 24 general election by May 9.
— The Thaiger
SET wins arson payout battle
The Supreme Court has overturned a lower-court ruling that earlier prevented six insurance firms paying out claims to the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) and two firms whose building was torched during the deadly dispersal of red-shirt protesters on May 19, 2010.
— Bangkok Post
Thailand to enforce strict law on beggars with substantial fines and jail time for offenders
Temples nationwide are being urged to discourage visitors from giving money to beggars as it is illegal, according to the Beggar Control Act’s latest edition that was published in the Royal Gazette on Monday to be in effect within 90 days.
— The Pattaya News
Brit finally removed from Phuket Town condo
Australian-born British national David Maclean, 50, originally from Brisbane, Australia, after nearly four months barricaded in a Phuket Town condo has been safely removed from the apartment today (May 2), Phuket Tourist Police have confirmed.
— The Phuket News
Power outage in Cherng Talay
The Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) Thalang office has announced that the electricity supply will be temporarily shut off in parts of Cherng Talay on Friday (May 3) as work is carried out on high voltage cables.
— The Phuket News
Hidden downtown park wins award for Chulalongkorn
A green space in more than name, Chulalongkorn University’s Centenary Park won international recognition for being an “invaluable addition to the ecological landscape,” the university announced yesterday.
— Coconuts (paywall)
Charter Court to rule on constitutionality of party-list seat sharing rules
Thailand’s Constitutional Court has agreed to accept for consideration a petition, sent through the ombudsmen by former Thai Raksa Chart candidate Ruangkrai Leekitwattana, to determine whether the rule on party-list…
— Thai PBS News
Another large seizure of kratom leaves in far South
Police seized 450 kilogrammes of kratom leaves found on a pickup truck abandoned by the driver after a 10 kilometre chase in Saba Yoi district on Thursday morning.
— Bangkok Post
Thai property startup FazWaz heads overseas
FazWaz, the Phuket startup that has built a tech-first platform to take on Thailand’s real estate giants, is announcing its overseas expansion today.
— The Thaiger
NOB to organize events to mark Vesak Day
The events to mark Visakha Puja Day will be organized nationwide and in foreign countries on May 14 – 19, 2019.
— NNT
Python swallows a goat in Satun – VIDEO
A python has swallowed a baby goat in Satun in southern Thailand.
— The Thaiger
Leaning Tower of Sathorn: not cracked or leaning says Sathorn district chief
The district chief in Bangkok’s swish Sathorn district has been forced to come out publicly declaring a luxury 72 story condominium development under construction in her area was neither cracked nor leaning.
— The Thaiger
Feature photo A stamp a dayÂ
This week’s Thailand morning news feature photo acknowledges International Jazz Day, April 30.
Find our previous morning news feature photos in the AEC News Today Morning News Feature Photos gallery where you will find a pictorial display of daily life throughout the Asean Economic Community (AEC).
Thailand morning news by AEC News Today is your one stop source for Thailand news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities. It is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics. Due to The Nation‘s habit of hijacking urls and diverting them to promotion pages we no longer include it in our clippings.
Thailand morning news for May 3 added by John Le Fevre on
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John Le Fevre
He has spent extensive periods of time working in Africa and throughout Southeast Asia, with stints in the Middle East, the USA, and England.
He has covered major world events including Operation Desert Shield/ Storm, the 1991 pillage in Zaire, the 1994 Rwanda genocide, the 1999 East Timor independence unrest, the 2004 Asian tsunami, and the 2009, 2010, and 2014 Bangkok political protests.
In 1995 he was a Walkley Award finalist, the highest awards in Australian journalism, for his coverage of the 1995 Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) Ebola outbreak.
Prior to AEC News Today he was the deputy editor and Thailand and Greater Mekong Sub-region editor for The Establishment Post, predecessor of Asean Today.
In the mid-80s and early 90s he owned JLF Promotions, the largest above and below the line marketing and PR firm servicing the high-technology industry in Australia. It was sold in 1995.
Latest posts by John Le Fevre (see all)
- COVID-19 in Asean: update for July 26 — 16 mln case barrier breached, Vietnam records community transmission – July 26, 2020
- COVID-19 in Asean: update for July 25 — new high for daily infections, 16 mln infection barrier to break today – July 25, 2020
- COVID-19 in Asean: update for July 24 — Asean tops 230,000 cases, nudges 90,000 active – July 24, 2020
- Thailand morning news for July 24 – July 24, 2020