Month: January 2020
- Transport News
New rules for Royal road motorcades around Thailand
His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn has expressed concern about the motorcades of Royal Family members inconveniencing public road users. Around Thailand, when a member of the Royal Family travels by road, the roads are routinely closed off and hundreds of police stationed along the well-planned route to hold off traffic until the motorcade has passed through. Now HM The King…
Read More » - Phuket News
75 year old tourist ‘attacked’ by small unidentified shark in Phang Nga
A Phang Nga swimmer was was bitten and attacked by a mystery beastie…. thought to be a shark, and probably a small bull shark. The A 75 year old German tourist says he was swimming in the sea off the southern Thailand beach with his wife on Sunday. The incident occurred only 6 – 7 metres from the shoreline. He…
Read More » - Krabi News
Community volunteer jumps out in front of two out-of-control motorbikes
A member of the Krabi Civil Defence organisation in Krabi has become a real-life hero after jumping in front of two motorbikes carrying 2 adults and 2 children. The motorbike was hurtling down a hill and was unable to slow down (you guessed it, brake failure), as it was getting to the bottom of the hill. One of drivers showed… “It…
Read More » - Environment News
Central Thailand farmers ignore orders to stop burning off their sugar cane
Stick your burning ban up your 2.5 micron particulate! Local sugarcane growers in Nakhon Sawan, central Thailand, are burning their fields at night despite authorities’ ban on the practice. It appears little to nothing is being done to curb the practice which is one of the main causes, if not the main cause, of the smoke and haze problems in…
Read More » - Thailand News
Court rejects Premchai’s request to remove electronic monitoring ankle bracelet
Premchai Karnasuta, the fallen business tycoon who was sentenced last year over a case of hunting and killing protected species in a Kanchanaburi national park, has been trying to get his electronic monitoring ankle bracelet removed by the court. But the Thong Phaphum provincial court today rejected Premchai’s application for the removal of his electronic ankle bracelet. The request was…
Read More » - Crime News
Killer in Lop Buri gold shop attack may be ex-military
Police now believe the attack at a Lop Buri gold shop in central Thailand last Thursday that killed three, including a two year old boy, may have been carried out by a former military officer. Four others were wounded in what appeared to be a botched robbery. A high ranking police source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters that…
Read More » - South Thailand News
One dead, two wounded in Narathiwat insurgent attack
An insurgent is dead and two defence volunteers wounded after a clash in the the southern border province of Narathiwat on Sunday. Police reports indicate a group of insurgents attacked a defence volunteer outpost in the Sukhirin district just before noon, injuring two. Reinforcements rushed to the scene and fired on the fleeing gunmen who headed for the nearby woods.…
Read More » - Central Thailand News
Restaurant owner returns 700,000 baht to tourist
Imagine discovering you’ve left close to three quarters of a million baht in cash at a Thai restaurant. That’s exactly what happened to a tourist from Ubon Ratchathani on Sunday. Fortunately for him, the money was in good hands. Pariwat Thangtham was horrified to discover he’d left a bag with 700,000 baht in cash at a restaurant in Petchabun province, central Thailand.…
Read More » - Central Thailand News
Central Thailand woman battles snake that appears from the toilet
You go to the toilet, you sit on the toilet, you don’t expect a snake in the toilet. But that’s what happened to a woman in central Thailand. “We all think that it’s something that won’t happen to us, I thought that was too until now when this happened in my own home. How can a snake this size be…
Read More » - Politics News
Thousands join the pro and anti government protests in Bangkok
Protesters, from both sides of the political camp turned up in two different parts of the capital yesterday for their respective political rallies. Organiser of the anti-regime “Wing Lai Lung” (Run to Oust the Uncle), Tanawat Wongchai, told the crowds at Suan Rot Fai in Chatuchak, a northern suburb of Bangkok, that the run marked the start of the campaign…
Read More » - World News
8,000 evacuated from menacing Taal volcano, south of Manila, Philippines
A volcano, not far south of Manila in The Philippines, has been spewing volcanic ash along with rumbling sounds and tremors most of yesterday. Philippine authorities have raised the alert level and ordered the evacuation of about 8,000 residents and suspended flights at Manila’s civil airports. The highest alert is level 5, when a volcano is actually erupting. At this…
Read More » - South Thailand News
Two young girls swept out to sea in Narathiwat, search continues
Search and rescue volunteers and officials in Thailand’s south spent all yesterday searching for two young girls who went missing. At this stage the two are believed to have drowned. The pair were swept into deeper waters by a series of large waves in the Gulf of Thailand seas off Naratat Beach in Narathiwat province on Saturday. Strong winds and…
Read More » - Crime News
Police doubt gold robbery was the motive for deadly Lopburi attack
Police and authorities now suspect that the motive for Thursday’s brutal and deadly attack, which killed three, including a toddler, may not have been robbery. The lone gunman stormed into a gold shop at a Robinson’s Shopping Centre in Lopburi, Central Thailand, and systematically shot and killed customers and shop staff. The Crime Suppression Division is running background checks on…
Read More » - Crime News
Murdered foreign woman’s body found in travel bag on a Sri Racha beach
Chon Buri police are seeking a suspect after the body of a foreign woman washed up in a travel bag at Bang Phra Beach in the province’s Sri Racha district, north of Pattaya. The victim was stuffed inside a black travel bag with red patterns. Her nationality remains unknown. The woman was dressed in a camouflage shirt, black shorts, and white running…
Read More » - Environment News
Drought prompts Tesco Lotus to increase bottled water production
Tesco Lotus, the Thai division of Britain’s biggest retailer, is boosting bottled water production to help customers cope with drought. The chain says it will increase production of its own branded bottled water and also increase orders of other brands to sell at its branches nationwide, in response to this year’s drought and water shortages, which is predicted to be the…
Read More » - Northern Thailand News
Mother and daughter busted for selling meth pills in Thailand’s north east
A mother and daughter are currently in custody after their arrest for selling ‘yaba’, or methamphetamine pills in Kalasin, north east Thailand. The 54 year old woman, named only as Sang, and her 25 year old daughter Tarnthip, were arrested at their home in the northeastern city of Kalasin with 13 yaba pills and the 280 baht cash used in…
Read More » - Bangkok News
Bangkok man charged with girlfriend’s brutal murder
Bangkok police say they finally have enough evidence to charge a man in a murder case dating back to last year. Police arrested a Mr. Apichai, also known as “Ice,” at his home in Bangkok’s Phetkasem district. He’s charged with killing his girlfriend, allegedly hitting her in the head and stuffing her body in a chest. Police found the body of…
Read More » - Crime News
Two motorbike thieves nabbed in Phuket
Two men have been arrested in Phuket last night. They’ve been charged with stealing motorcycles and then reselling them. One of the arrested men is an unemployed 36 year old tour bus driver. According to police, he was able to convince a 21 year old accomplice, who was his neighbour, to help him steal the motorcycles,. The stolen motorbikes were…
Read More » - Events
Thousands gather for this morning’s protest running event in Bangkok
This morning’s fun run/rally/political event/marathon/jog/protest at Suan Rot Fai park in Chatuchak, a northern Bangkok suburb, attracted thousands of runners. The run was organised as a protest against Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and his government. The “Run Against Dictatorship” was organised by opposition political parties and activists calling for greater political freedom. The event was held less than 10…
Read More » - Events
Guns, tanks and political speeches. Just another Children’s Day in Thailand.
Children’s Day has come and gone for another year. As usual, the media like to follow the Thai PM in the hope of a perfect photo of him and an unsuspecting Thai child. The prime minister certainly enjoys the annual interaction and appears more comfortable surrounded by children than performing in Parliament. It’s also a day that the Thai armed…
Read More » - South Thailand News
4 out of 19 missing Rohingya captured after Wednesday’s detention centre escape
4 Rohingya migrants who escaped with 15 others from a Songkhla detention centre earlier this week have now been captured. The superintendent of Songkhla Province’s Immigration Bureau reported yesterday that four more of the detained Rohingya had been captured. Rohingya migrants entering Thailand, often as boat passengers or smuggled on their way to Malaysia, are treated as illegal immigrants and…
Read More » - Road deaths
5 dead, 8 injured as tourist passenger van slams into rear of broken down truck in central Thailand
Five tourists have died and another eight injured after their passenger van slammed into the rear of a parked ten wheel truck that had broken down. The incident happened outside the Ban Noi PTT petrol station in Nong Phai district on the Saraburi to Lomsak Road. The van was on its way from the south to Khao Khor in Petchabun,…
Read More » - Thailand Weather Updates
Top 10 ways to save our water
Hot weather and Thailand’s boom-or-bust water issues (floods in wet season and water shortages in the hot season) are a part of our life. It’s predicted that there will be hotter hot seasons and wet-seasons with less rain in the future. Even if we’re not sure what the future brings we should all be conscious of our water usage, be…
Read More » - World News
Iran military admits ‘unintentionally’ shooting down the Ukrainian passenger jet
Iranian officials have announced that its military “unintentionally” shot down the Ukrainian Boeing 737 jet that crashed earlier this week, killing all 176 aboard. Earlier the Iranian government had repeatedly denied accusations that it was responsible. The plane was “accidentally”shot shot out of the sky on Wednesday, just hours after Iran had launched a retaliatory missile attack on two US…
Read More » - World News
Thailand is the leading ASEAN nation in annual suicide rates
“Thailand, which ranks in 32nd place with 14.4 of suicides per 100.000 population – or nearly 10,000 suicide deaths last year.” Every 40 seconds, someone loses their life to suicide and nearly 800,000 people die due to suicide every year, according to the World Health Organisation. In Thailand, suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15-29 year olds, after…
Read More » - Environment News
Bangkok haze and smog continues over the weekend
There is unlikely to be much respite of the air pollution shrouding Greater Bangkok this weekend. And the PM is urging people to inform a hotline of any vehicles belching smoke and fumes into the Bangkok sky. The Pollution Control Department says the smog, which saw just about all of the 50 air quality stations hitting levels of PM2.5 over…
Read More » - Crime News
Senior police double down with their praise of the new Biometrics system at Thai airports
Police are doubling down with their overt support of the new biometrics system at airports. A high-level disagreement over the 2.1 billion baht contract for the biometrics equipment and installation, is emerging as the reason for last yea’s mystery side-lining of the former head of Thailand’s immigration Bureau, Surachat Hakparn. Ever since the introduction of the systems at airports across…
Read More » - Crime News
Gunman wasn’t after gold – investigators speculate about killer’s motives
Investigators have become suspicious of the motives of the lone gunman who shot and killed three people, injuring another four, at the Aurora Gold Shop in the Robinsons Mall in Lopburi on Thursday. They are seeking more information on the victims as the gold stolen was such a small amount – the suspicion is that the target wasn’t the gold…
Read More » - Thailand News
New survey shows Thai kids are subject to excessive levels of bullying
Thai students are suffering from high levels of bullying – physical, verbal and online. Two years ago a Department of Mental Health survey indicated that Thailand had the second highest rate of bullying in the world. The most recent survey shows things have not improved and remain alarming. 92% of Thai school kids have been exposed to physical or psychological abuse…
Read More » - World News
100s of pages of damaging documents about the 737 Max released by Boeing
Boeing has released more than 100 pages of internal company documents to the House and Senate committee, and media, further casting doubt about the company’s goodwill around the troubled 737 Max jet. The latest incarnation of the Boeing 737 was grounded last year after two fatal crashes which exposed weaknesses in the design development process and software systems. 400 of…
Read More » - Things To Do
Top 10 Things NOT to do in Thailand – the basics (2020)
Thailand is a wonderful place, full of new adventures, exotic cultures and a surprise around every corner. You better believe it. Thailand is unique in the region with very little obvious western influence throughout its history and a proud culture that puts the needs of its people first, ahead of appeasing westerners. Most of this is a mystery to be…
Read More » - Expats
Call centre raid in Bangkok – French citizens arrested
Ten French citizens have been arrested on charges of working illegally at an international call centre in Bangkok. Immigration officials were acting on a tip off and had already obtained a court-authorised search warrant to enter the building on Soi Thong Lor 25 in Wattana, central Bangkok. The building was a four-storey house modified for office work. Speaking to the media…
Read More » - Crime News
Lone gunman storms into Lopburi gold shop and kills three people – VIDEO
Police are now on the hunt for the Lopburi gold-shop robber who has killed three and injured four. The man stormed into a Robinson Department Store gold shop last night killing three people as he walked in. He shot without hesitation and paid no attention to the people he’d shot. One of them was a young boy. The gunman also…
Read More » - Tourism News
Crunching the numbers on Phuket’s hotels – 2020
PHOTO: Travel 141 Bill Barnett from c9Hotelworks, crunches the numbers and reports on some challenges for Thailand’s largest island and most popular tourist destination, outside of Bangkok. Robust passenger arrivals in the second half of 2019 highlighted by growth in Indian tourists helped rebalance the island’s tourism sector, according to the C9 Hotelworks newly released Phuket Hotel Market Update (link…
Read More » - Pattaya News
Thai woman’s car trashed in Sattahip by stray dogs chasing a cat
A woman’s Honda has been trashed by a pack of soi dogs who were trying to get at a local cat that had taken refuge in the engine bay of the car. The 29 year old Thai woman ‘Nichapha’ from Sattahip, south of Pattaya, was called by neighbours who called attention to the state of her car. On first inspection…
Read More » - World News
US Treasury mulls putting Thailand on its ‘watchlist’ as a currency manipulator
Thailand’s trade surplus with the US has now exceeded US$20 billion. Bloomberg reports that this could trigger the Thai currency to be added to the US Treasury’s watchlist of “currency manipulators”. According to US Census Bureau data, the surplus reached US$20.05 billion in the 12 months up to the end of November 2019. That exceeds a $20 billion upper limit…
Read More » - Crime News
Three killed, others injured in Lopburi gold shop robbery – VIDEO
Three people are now dead and another four injured after a lone gunman entered a Lopburi gold shop, shooting customers and then robbing the store (video below). Lopburi is about 150 kilometres north of Bangkok. The armed robbery took place at a gold shop in Robinson Department Store in the main city district of Lopburi province Speaking to the media…
Read More »
