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Today’s news: Prime Minister visits Hua Hin/PM orders Chat Chai street food/Hot Songkran weekend ahead/Twenty-five people killed/Exodus to Thailand/Solution to Thailand’s aging crisis?/Sexually transmitted diseases surge/Foreigners behaving badly/Tourism: Songkhla buzzing/Phuket’s ‘Russian invasion’/Environment: Phi Phi Islands’ water shortage/More welfare domesticated elephants/Ending human/wild elephant conflict/Links: Calendar of events/Airport schedule/Bangkok airport bus schedule/Hua Hin-Pattaya bus schedule/Hua Hin train schedule/Market Village bus schedule/Air pollution index map/90-day online report/driver’s license/Market Village and Bluport cinemas/Emergency numbers

Prime Minister visits Hua Hin Railway Station

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, accompanied by key government officials, visited the new Hua Hin Railway Station yesterday, during the start of the Songkran festival holidays.

The prime minister, also serving as the minister of finance, was joined by Suriya Juengrungruangkit, minister of transport, and Puangpet Chunla-ied, a minister in the prime minister’s office. The delegation was received by the governor of Prachuap Khiri Khan, the Hua Hin district chief, the mayor of Hua Hin City, and other leaders from both public and private sectors. Continued …

PM orders Chat Chai street food for 100 people

During his visit to Hua Hin yesterday, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, after previously touring Hua Hin’s new railroad station, made his way to the Chat Chai market, where he ordered grilled pork skewers from Anan Thongbutdee, the 67-year-old owner.

He ordered a substantial amount including grilled pork skewers, grilled meatballs, and sticky rice sufficient to feed about a hundred people, all to be delivered to his condo the next evening. Anan, who the PM has ordered food from many times in the past, will personally prepare 500 pork skewers, 200 meatball skewers, and 100 packets of sticky rice for the occasion. – HHT

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Hot Songkran weekend ahead

Scorching heat is expected over the Songkran Thai New Year holiday that wraps up on Monday. Surajit Jit-areerat from the Meteorological Department on Friday said hot weather conditions would continue over the weekend after many parts of the country recently experienced summer storms.

The department is expecting temperatures in some locations — including the capital — could rise up to 41 degrees Celsius in the coming days and warned people to avoid staying outdoors for too long. Continued …

25 killed, 248 injured in road accidents on first day of Songkran travel

Twenty-five people were killed and 248 others injured in 234 road accidents across the country on Thursday, Chaiwat Chuntirapong, director-general of the Department of Public Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, told a press conference today.

Forty-four percent of the accidents were caused by speeding, 20.9% by cutting in and 16.7% by drunk driving; 86% of the accidents involved motorcycles and 85.9% took place on straight roads, 47% on main roads and 23.5% on secondary roads. Most of the accidents took place between 4pm and 5pm. Continued …

Exodus to Thailand continues after fall of Myawaddy

A stream of people, some fearing air strikes, queued at a border crossing to flee Myanmar on Friday, a day after the strategically vital town of Myawaddy near Thailand fell to anti-junta resistance that is gaining strength.

The loss of the town robs the junta, already grappling with an economy in free fall, of vital earnings from border trade, while strengthening rebel groups such as the Karen National Union (KNU) that led the assault on Myawaddy, analysts say. Continued …

Time banks: Are they the solution to Thailand’s aging crisis?

The millions of Thais heading back to their home provinces to visit elderly parents over Songkran underlines the harsh reality that many of these seniors spend most of the year all alone.

Research by Mahidol University’s Institute for Population and Social Research shows the percentage of elderly couples living alone rose from 16.9% in 2011 to 20.6% in 2017. And that figure is on course to climb to 23% by 2050. Continued …

Sexually transmitted diseases surge among young

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Fat farang strips naked and poops in Bangkok shrine

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Songkhla buzzing with tourists as Songkran kicks off

Hat Yai’s Sanaehanusorn Road was busy, as tourists, many from Singapore and Malaysia, flocked there to join the fun water-splashing activities on the first day of Songkran.

Before heading to the area, which was blocked to traffic, many tourists bought supplies like buckets filled with cold water in preparation for the water fight. Video …

Phuket’s ‘Russian invasion’ – they’re here to stay

The conflict in Ukraine has reached far beyond its borders, affecting not only the lives of those inside Ukraine but also on global markets and economies. Thailand, although remaining neutral on the matter has been an unexpected beneficiary of Russia’s invasion and the ongoing war.

Thailand even took advantage of the situation, extending the usual 30-day visa exemption for Russian passports to 90 days. More than 60 other countries only receive a 30-day visa exempt period (extendable for another 30 days). This favoring the Russian tourists has not gone unnoticed by just about every other country on 30-day visa exemptions. Continued …

Phi Phi Islands tackle critical water shortage

Krabi’s renowned Phi Phi Islands are currently wrestling with a critical freshwater shortage. The local governing body, Ao Nang’s tambon administration organization (TAO), is considering two primary solutions: establishing a pipeline for water provision from the mainland or resorting to seawater desalination.

Over the last few years, the absence of tap water during the tourist high season, coinciding with the dry spell, has presented a persistent problem. Phankham Kittitorakul, who presides over Ao Nang’s TAO, confirmed the receipt of a budget to explore the aforementioned options. Continued …

More welfare urged for domesticated elephants

The welfare of domesticated elephants is crucial if a negative impact on tourism is to be prevented, experts said in a recent interview. Unlike wild elephants, domesticated elephants have helped build Thailand’s economy by hauling logs since the Rattanakosin era.

The turning point in that role came when more than 50,000 logs swept by floods and landslides hit a community in Nakhon Si Thammarat’s Phipun district in 1988, killing 90 residents and injuring more than 200 others. Former Agriculture Minister Sanan Kachornprasart ordered the suspension of forest concessions in response to the incident. Continued …

Dynamic solutions needed to end human/wild elephant conflict

A solid database and dynamic solutions are necessary to sustainably tackle the conflict between wild elephants and people in Thailand, several experts said. The elephant is Thailand’s national animal and plays a major role in traditions, culture and beliefs. The country celebrates National Elephant Day on March 13 to promote the preservation of the great beast.

The kingdom is home to both wild and domesticated elephants. While wild elephants are protected under the Wildlife Preservation and Protection Act, domesticated elephants come under the Beasts of Burden Act. Continued …