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Today’s news: Mercury set to climb/Sneaky Reason Grocery Stores Rearrange/Thailand reconsiders legalizing casinos/Thailand beats leprosy/Economy: Love for four-legged friends/Thailand 3rd in top women executives/War on elephant pants/Perfume makers turn to Thailand/Tourism: Will anti-foreign sentiment impact Phuket’s tourism?/Foreigners behaving badly/Environment: Chiang Mai air quality/Corn import ban considered/To swap renewables for coal/Thailand Experience: Politics in Thailand/International news/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

Mercury set to climb to record levels

Thailand is facing the prospect of another scorching summer, with the highest recorded temperature in the last 73 years already reached this year.

Mae Hong Son, Uttaradit, Sukhothai, Tak and Udon Thani provinces are expected to be this year’s five hottest provinces, with the mercury due to hit 44C or higher, according to the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD). Continued …

The Sneaky Reason Grocery Stores Rearrange Their Layouts

Do you ever go looking for the chocolate animal crackers you buy every week to eat while you’re watching “Survivor,” but once you reach the grocery store shelf where you’ve always found them, they aren’t there? In fact, the entire aisle is no longer filled with cookies and crackers — it’s now pasta and tomato sauce and canned veggies?

OK — maybe you’ve never encountered that exact scenario, but odds are if you’ve shopped at the same grocery store for several years, you’ve probably faced a store layout reorganization at some point. Continued …

Thailand reconsiders legalizing casinos

The government is again considering legalizing casinos to draw investment and tourism, a study submitted to the House of Representative on Friday showed, but such proposals have been losing bets in the past because of public disapproval.

The only gambling allowed in Thailand is on state-controlled horse races and the lottery. But at least 10% of Thais are addicted to gambling, the study, by a 60-member committee of government and opposition lawmakers, said. Continued …

Thailand beats leprosy with royal backing and medical strides

Leprosy, an ailment that has afflicted humankind for millennia, encountered a formidable challenge in Thailand through the initiatives of the monarchy and concerted public health endeavours.

This article offers an in-depth analysis of Thailand’s transformation of its campaign against leprosy into a narrative of victory. It delineates the comprehensive strategy employed for the management of leprosy within the nation, highlighting significant achievements and the pivotal support rendered by royal patronage. Continued …

People’s love for four-legged friends turns into big money

A recent study shows that the “pet humanization” trend has helped generate some 75 billion baht in Thailand’s pet food and accessories sector this year.

The study conducted by TMBThanachart’s analysis arm, “ttb analytics”, showed that most pet owners in Thailand treated their four-legged friends like family and were willing to spend freely for them. According to the analysis, people are willing to spend more than 41,100 baht per year on their favourite pet compared to an average of 7,745 baht per year earlier. Continued …

Thailand ranks 3rd in the world for most number of top women executives

Thailand ranks third in the world among 28 countries surveyed with the most number of senior female business executives, a Grant Thornton survey showed. The Philippines had the highest number of women in senior management positions, according to the survey.

Grant Thornton, a UK-based global accounting firm, said the survey indicated that 43% of top executive positions in companies in the Philippines were held by women. Besides Thailand, two other countries from Southeast Asia – Malaysia, seventh, and Indonesia 10th – also figure in the rankings. Continued …

Thailand’s war on elephant pants: 30,000 ‘fake’ pants seized

Officers from the Economic Crime Suppression Division confiscated a hoard of some 30,000 “elephant pants” that are believed to have been smuggled in.

The pants were found in a raid on a warehouse in Bangkok’s Bang Khun Thien district after officers received a tip-off about contraband goods being stored there. The warehouse is in Tha Kham subdistrict. Initial evaluation shows the value of the pants to be about 6 million baht. Continued …

Foreign perfume makers turn to Thailand

More foreign investors are expected to invest in fragrance oil and aroma compound production in Thailand, which has the potential to develop the cosmetics industry, says the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI).

The prediction comes after a French company decided to make fragrance oil from Thai flowers, said Ketmanee Lertkitcha, chairman of the health and beauty sector at the FTI. Continued …

Will anti-foreign sentiment impact Phuket’s tourism?

Phuket, the “Monaco of the east”, shines with its beautiful beaches, hedonistic nightlife and a culture renowned for its welcoming smiles. However, a recent surge in anti-foreign sentiment fueled by incidents like the Urs Fehr controversy and tensions with Russian tourists, raises a critical question: could this lead to a rise in nationalism and populism, and have a deep impact on Phuket’s tourism industry, the lifeblood of the island’s economy? Continued …

Two New Zealand Men Arrested in Phuket for Alleged Brutal Assault on Traffic Cop – Continued …
Russian arrested on Samui for allegedly robbing compatriot of Bt1.8M in Bitcoins – Continued …
Chonburi Immigration Busts Illegal Foreign Workers in Pattaya Area Continued …

Chiang Mai air quality the third worst among major world cities

Chiang Mai was ranked the third worst city in the world for air quality on Sunday morning, the website of an international firm monitoring air quality reported.

IQAir, a Swiss air quality technology company, reported on its website at 9.16am on Sunday that Chiang Mai was third worst with a 179 AQI (air quality index) and 110.25 micrograms of PM2.5 fine pollutants per cubic meter of air (µg/m3). Continued …

Government considers corn import ban to combat PM2.5 dust pollution

A potential ban on corn imports from neighboring countries next year is being considered by the government to tackle the escalating issue of PM2.5 fine dust pollution in the northern regions. Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin recently visited Chiang Mai to assess the preventive actions and updates provided by government agencies regarding wildfire and haze prevention measures.

The prime minister has acknowledged discussions with the Cambodian and Laotian ministries, along with the commander-in-chief of the Myanmar army, regarding the issue. He expressed his concerns, questioning what measures could be implemented to prevent neighboring countries from burning, without infringing on their sovereignty. Continued …

Waste-to-energy firm to swap renewables for coal

TPI Polene Power (TPIPP), Thailand’s largest waste-to-energy (WTE) project developer and operator by capacity, aims to slash coal usage next year as it targets 100% renewable fuel use by 2026.

The company expects to use 872,000 tons of coal this year to fuel its power plants in Saraburi, reducing the amount by more than half to 320,000 tons next year, said Pakkapol Leopairut, executive vice president for accounting and finance. Continued …

Politics in Thailand: A dirty game and a dirty system

Politics, in Thailand and elsewhere, has often been perceived as a dirty game. As the Thai saying goes, politics is dirty (“การเมืองเป็นเรื่องสกปรก”) and filled with wicked people.

This is what Thais would lament, with a sigh, when they hear about the Electoral Commission (EC)’s petition to the Constitutional Court to dissolve the Move Forward Party (MFP), on the basis of the Constitutional Court’s ruling last January that the party’s campaign to amend Section 112 – Thailand’s royal anti-defamation law – was unconstitutional. Continued …

India to hold world’s largest elections

The Election Commission of India on Saturday announced the complete schedule of Lok Sabha elections 2024. The general elections for the 543 Lok Sabha constituencies across 28 states and eight Union Territories will be held in seven phases from April 19. Continued …

New undersea tunnel sets record in China

An undersea tunnel of a high-speed railway was completed in south China on Friday, setting a new record in the construction of high-speed railway tunnels in China. As the Yongxing tunnel boring machine reached the receiving well in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, the Zhanjiang Bay Undersea Tunnel, a pivotal project of the Guangzhou-Zhanjiang High-speed Railway, was completed after 33 months of construction. Continued …

Putin cements hold on Russian dictatorship

Vladimir Putin on Sunday extended his rule over Russia until 2030, using a heavily stage-managed presidential election with no real competition to portray overwhelming public support for his domestic dominance and his invasion of Ukraine. Continued …