Bangkok

Thai police arrest 'kingpin' in Asian wildlife trafficking

Bangkok - Muslimchronicle

Thai police have arrested a Vietnamese national who they say ran an international network that trafficked massive quantities of elephant ivory, rhino horn and wildlife, threatening the existence of already endangered species in Asia and Africa for years. Boonchai Bach, 40, was arrested Friday in Nakhon Phanom, a northeastern Thailand province that borders Laos, in connection to the illegal trafficking of 14Read more

Not cut out for the job: Thai PM's stunt bemuses public

Bangkok - Muslimchronicle

Thais were left bemused by the latest antics of Thai junta leader Prayut Chan-O-Cha after he told reporters to direct any serious questions to a cardboard cut-out of himself. Talking to reporters outside Government House on Monday, Prayut turned the media's attention to the life-size likeness after an aide dutifully placed the cut-out in front of a microphone. "Whoever wants toRead more

Zimbabwe family stuck in airport

Bangkok - Muslimchronicle

A Zimbabwean family has been marooned at Bangkok's main airport for two months, Thai immigration police said Thursday, an ordeal over the holiday season that has drawn widespread sympathy among Thais. The family, four adults and four children -- who are aged between two and 11-years-old -- have tried to leave Thailand since late October. But they lack visas for onward travel, refuse toRead more

Lizard, turtle among more than 100 new species found

Bangkok - Muslimchronicle

A Vietnamese 'crocodile lizard' and a Thai turtle found on sale in a local market are among more than 100 new species discovered in the ecologically diverse but threatened Mekong region last year, researchers said Tuesday. The Southeast Asian countries flanking the Mekong river, which snakes down from the Tibetan plateau to the South China Sea, are among the most biodiverse inRead more

Thai FM says Yingluck visitor in Britain, not immigrant

Bangkok - Muslimchronicle

Thailand's former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra was reportedly staying in Britain as a visitor not an asylum-seeking immigrant, Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai said on Tuesday. He quoted an unnamed intelligence unit as saying that Yingluck, who failed to show up in court and fled the country two months ago, was reported to be staying somewhere in England. He also quotedRead more

Asia faces air travel infrastructure 'crisis': IATA

Paris - Muslimchronicle

The Asia-Pacific region must urgently step up investment in infrastructure to meet rapidly increasing demand for air travel, the global airline industry's trade body said Wednesday. "We are headed for a major infrastructure crisis," said Alexandre de Juniac, head of the International Air Transport Association. He said the 34 million jobs and $700 billion of economic activity supported by aviationRead more

Funeral rituals begin for Thai king Bhumibol

Bangkok - Muslimchronicle

Funeral rituals began early Thursday for Thailand's late king Bhumibol Adulyadej, as more than 200,000 people massed near the cremation site in Bangkok for a revered monarch who died last year aged 88. His son and heir King Maha Vajiralongkorn, dressed in full military regalia, joined monks for Buddhist rituals at the Grand Place before the start of a dayRead more

Exploring Bangkok’s ‘Muslim Quarter’

Bangkok - Muslimchronicle

“Only a few years ago there was no such thing as Thai-Islamic art and now a piece of it sits inside the royal palace,” beams Ismail Ywaiyavata, the 39-year-old vice chairman of the Institute of Islamic Art Thailand. I am sat in a modest-sized room inside the Tuan Suwanasana Chularjmontri Foundation in the Bang Rak district of Bangkok. All fourRead more

Tears in rain as Thais gather for late king’s funeral

Bangkok - Muslimchronicle

Sombre crowds began gathering to pay final respects to Thailand’s late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, braving a tropical downpour to camp out along the funeral procession route for a monarch who died last year and was revered by some as a demi-god. The five-day Buddhist ceremony, which begins on Wednesday, has taken nearly a year to prepare and 3 billion bahtRead more

'Magic' penalty leaves Thai goalie in despair

Bangkok - Muslimchronicle

A Thai goalkeeper was left red-faced after sprinting from his goaline to celebrate a penalty hitting the crossbar in a shoot-out — only to watch the ball spectacularly spin back into the empty net. The U-18s cup match (October 21) between Bangkok Sports Club and Satri Angthong had finished 2-2 in normal time, prompting an epic shootout that ended 20-19.Read more