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Thailand’s extreme air pollution: ‘I feel sorry for my daughter’/
Chiang Mai’s Air Ranks Worst Globally Several Days This Week/
Mountain blaze nears residential area, threatens Khao Yai/
ASEAN to tackle haze crisis/
Thai Spirits Businesses Set to Produce One Billion Baht Monthly/
From vision to reality: Making the Port Authority of Thailand world-class/
4,500 trips arranged from Bangkok to transport 60,000 people every day during Songkran/
World Bank maintains Thailand’s 2023 growth outlook at 3.6%/
Thai exports expected to recover in second half of year/
Food and beverage industries turning to recycled plastic for packaging/
Elderly British man overstays visa in Thailand by 11 years/
Thai cop gets 256 years+ for stealing and selling guns from police station/
Tourism: Elephant rides are cruel, advocates say. So why are people still doing them?/Tourists flee gang warfare on Chon Buri’s Bang Saen beach/Hong Kong Airlines to launch direct flights to Phuket/
International: Former US president Trump indicted/UK claims post-Brexit win with trans-Pacific trade pact membership/
Links: Airport schedule/Bangkok airport bus schedule/Hua Hin-Pattaya bus schedule/90-day online report/driver’s license/Market Village and Bluport cinemas/Emergency numbers

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Thailand’s extreme air pollution: ‘I feel sorry for my daughter’

For the past few weeks, Thommamoon Khowasat has painstakingly explained to his four-year-old daughter that the yellow cloud they see outside their window – which has tickled her imagination – is actually a danger to her health.

It’s a scare that has gripped northern Thailand, where millions of people are currently finding it harder to breathe. Continued …

Chiang Mai’s Air Ranks Worst Globally Several Days This Week

The levels of carcinogenic particulate matter 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5) in Thailand’s Chiang Mai province has been deemed the worst in the world as of Wednesday morning.

The Command Center for preventing and resolving forest fire problems, smog and PM2.5 fine dust of Chiang Mai reported that 334 hot spots have been discovered in 25 districts across the province. The most effected areas are Chiang Dao district with 65 hot spots, Chai Prakan with 35, Mae Ai with 32, Samoeng with 30, and Fang with 27. Continued …

Mountain blaze nears residential area, threatens Khao Yai

A wildfire that was reportedly caused by a lightning strike on Khao Chaphlu in Nakhon Nayok’s Muang district on Tuesday evening was inching closer to residential areas yesterday after having burned 700 rai of forest across three mountains.

Authorities fear strong winds in the area may cause the fire to spread toward Khao Yai National Park, which is now just three kilometers away from the blaze, said an informed source. The park is a part of the 6,152-square-kilometers of reserved areas that form Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex, which became UNESCO’s 184th Natural World Heritage site in 2005. Continued …

ASEAN to tackle haze crisis

The secretary-general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has pledged to support efforts to combat transboundary haze pollution in the region.

Kao Kim Hourn yesterday paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha at Government House during an official visit to Thailand. Continued …

Thai Spirits Businesses Set to Produce One Billion Baht Monthly

The overall spirits business in Thailand has expanded by 20% since the start of 2023 and is set to pump in one billion baht into the economy every month in the second quarter, said Thanakorn Kuptachit, adviser to the Thai Alcohol Business Assn.

All types of alcoholic beverages have witnessed an uptick in sales volume, such as beer and spirits, which are driven by many factors, including the lifting of all COVID-related restrictions, the reopening of the country for travel and tourism, the upcoming Songkran Festival, or even the general elections. Continued …

From vision to reality: Making the Port Authority of Thailand world-class

Kriengkrai Chaisiriwongsuk, director general of the Port Authority of Thailand (PAT), explains how PAT and partnerships, “work like a charm” to drive PAT to the global stage.

Kriengkrai has completed his first year as the PAT director general. He says he strongly believes in his next step to transform the organization into a world-class port with excellent logistics services. Continued …

4,500 trips arranged from Bangkok to transport 60,000 people every day during Songkran

State-owned and private buses and vans have been arranged to make 4,500 trips every day to carry an estimated 60,000 people back home to the provinces from Bangkok for the long Songkran holidays, the Transport Company announced on Thursday.

Sanyalak Panwattanalikhit, managing director of the state-run Transport Company, said some 60,000 people would leave Bangkok by buses or vans each day from April 10-12. Continued …

World Bank maintains Thailand’s 2023 growth outlook at 3.6%

The Thai economy is expected to grow by 3.6% this year, up from 2.6% last year, supported by stronger private consumption, a recovery in the tourism sector and strong pent-up demand following China’s reopening, the World Bank said on Friday.

The 2023 outlook was unchanged from a forecast in December, and compared with 4.1% growth predicted in September. Continued …

Thai exports expected to recover in second half of year

The Commerce Ministry projects the country’s export sector to gradually recover in the latter part of the year, as inflationary pressures and global supply chain issues align with energy price trends.

The rebound of the service and tourism sectors should also boost demand from trading partners, the ministry said. Continued …

Food and beverage industries turning to recycled plastic for packaging

The world is becoming more aware of the importance of using recycled packaging to protect the environment, in line with the principles of a circular economy where post-consumer recycled PET (PCR PET) plastic resins are used in packaging in the food and beverage industry.

Today, PTT Global Chemical (GC) and ALPLA Group have joined hands with customers and partners to innovate better for consumers, and better for the world, by creating packaging for food and beverages using 100% post consumer recycled PET (PCR PET) plastic resins under the InnoEco brand, in Thailand. This initiative aims to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions to zero, or “Net Zero”. Continued …

Elderly British man overstays visa in Thailand by 11 years

Immigration Police arrested a 76-year-old British man in Bangkok who overstayed his visa in Thailand by a total of 4,142 days (11.3 years).

Thailand’s immigration authorities are taking their latest crackdown on foreign overstayers in the kingdom seriously – catching a British national who managed to slip through their net for more than a decade. He might be the longest overstayer to hit the headlines yet. Continued …

Thai cop gets 256 years+ for stealing and selling guns from police station

The Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct cases, Region 1, has sentenced a policeman from the Pak Kret, Nonthaburi police station northwest of the Thai capital Bangkok to more than 200 years for stealing and selling guns from the station’s armory.

The case came to light last October in a report featuring the arrest of Police Senior Sgt. Maj. Chaowalit Pumkajorn. He admitted to stealing a few at a time over five years. Continued …

Elephant rides are cruel, advocates say. So why are people still doing them?

Earlier this month, a photo of Pai Lin made the viral rounds. The image of the septuagenarian female illustrated the dark and painful underbelly of elephant tourism in Thailand. The Asian elephant’s back sloped down like a ramp, the weight of countless visitors crushing her spine.

Pai Lin spent a quarter of a century entertaining tourists. She is now retired, living her remaining years at the Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand in Tha Mai Ruak, the sanctuary that released the photo. However, around the world, many elephants and beasts of burden are not so fortunate. New generations of animals have joined their elders in a trade that is still prevalent but has been gaining more vocal opponents over the years. Continued …

Tourists flee gang warfare on Chon Buri’s Bang Saen beach

Gangs of around 20 young motorcyclists fought pitched battles at Bang Saen beach in Saensuk subdistrict of Chonburi on Thailand’s eastern seaboard last night.

Tourists – and they would have been mostly Thai at the resort famous for local tourism – scattered, fearing they might get caught up in the violence. Continued …

Hong Kong Airlines to launch direct flights to Phuket

Low-cost carrier Hong Kong Airlines will launch a direct flight to Phuket in southern Thailand starting June 16.

An Airbus A320 will service the direct Hong Kong–Phuket route four times per week to meet rising demand as tourists return to Thailand in full force. Continued …

Former US president Trump indicted

Former U.S. president Donald Trump was indicted by a Manhattan (New York) grand jury Thursday for his role in a $130,000 hush money payment to Stormy Daniels in the days before the 2016 election. Continued …

UK claims post-Brexit win with trans-Pacific trade pact membership

The UK will join 11 other countries in a major Asia-Pacific trade partnership, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced Friday, in the country’s biggest post-Brexit trade deal following nearly two years of talks. Continued …

Hua Hin-Suvarnabhumi bus schedule

The VIP bus service from Hua Hin to Suvarnabhumi Airport has a new Cha Am boarding location in front of Government Savings Bank. The one-way fare is 325 baht.

Leaving Hua Hin: 6am, 8am, 10am, 12:00, 2pm, 4pm, 6pm
Leaving Suvarnabhumi: 7:30am, 9:30am, 10:30am, 12:00, 2:30pm, 4pm, 6pm

Hua Hin-Pattaya bus service twice a day

Hua Hin now has twice-daily bus service to Pattaya, starting Feb. 19. The bus leaves Hua Hin at 9am and 3pm, and departs from Pattaya at 8am and 4pm. Tickets are 473 THB.

Tickets can be bought in person at the Hua Hin bus station or online. Buses depart from the Hua Hin bus station and in front of Government Savings Bank, Cha Am.. Tickets