Year: 2023
- World News
Prank video stokes fears for unmarried tourists in Bali
Bali’s tourism industry is worried that a viral TikTok video could discourage travellers from visiting the island due to fears of prosecution over their private activities. Are security forces doing sweeps of hotel rooms to find unmarried people having sex? In some of the most Draconian measures introduced in the Southeast Asian nation for decades, lawmakers declared that sex outside…
Read More » - Thailand video news
The most common complaint about Bangkok taxi drivers is… | GMT
In today’s episode, Patong Police catch 3 Mongolian credit card thieves, The most common complaint about Bangkok taxi drivers is…, and Russian tourists fined 20,000 baht for jet skiing in Krabi, Thailand.
Read More » - Environment News
Pattaya’s air suffers unhealthy PM2.5 dust levels
Pattaya’s air is suffering from unhealthy PM2.5 dust levels. The health-hazardous dust level has risen to 174 microgrammes per cubic meter, far above the safety threshold of 50 microgrammes per cubic meter, The Pattaya News reported yesterday. AQI readings above 100 are considered “unhealthy” (red), above 200 are considered “very unhealthy” (purple) and beyond 300 are considered “hazardous.” The dust…
Read More » - Road deaths
6 year old child flung from overpass in car accident
On Sunday, a family of four was travelling on the Bang Phli-Suksawat expressway in the Greater Bangkok area when tragedy struck. After losing control and crashing, the family’s 6 year old son was flung free of the car and off of the overpass to the road far below, killing the child. The horrific incident took place on the expressway in…
Read More » - Transport News
China’s home-grown cruise ship close to launch
China plans to make a big splash with the launch of its first home-grown cruise ship later this year. It will be the nation’s first voyage into a sector dominated by European shipyards, and a critical step in reducing reliance on external sources. Lavish, unsinkable and afloat by May Known as the H1508, construction began in October 2019 and she…
Read More » - Thailand News
Severed crocodile head crocs up in eastern Thailand
A fisherman made a jaw-dropping discovery on Friday when he found a crocodile head at the Bang Phra reservoir in Si Racha district, Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand. The fisherman posted a photo of the bodyless croc in the Facebook group ‘Bang Phra Reservoir Fishing Club’ with the caption… “It was bitten by a local god? Or, how else did…
Read More » - Tourism News
Russian tourists fined 20,000 baht for jet skiing in Krabi, Thailand
Two Russian tourists were fined 20,000 baht for jet skiing in Krabi province, in southern Thailand, where the watersport is prohibited according to the province’s environmental protection measures. Jet skis and all other kinds of motorised water sports are banned in Krabi province to protect the environment, but two Russian tourists say there were not aware of the rule. Yesterday,…
Read More » - Hot News
Bing gagged after ‘ugly’ journalist compared to Hitler
Microsoft’s new Bing search engine has been gagged since a supposedly dentally-challenged journalist was compared to Hitler. The upgraded search engine with new artificial intelligence (AI) functionality, powered by the same kind of technology as ChatGPT, was announced earlier this month. The Bing bot was meant to be all about how AI will change the way people access information online.…
Read More » - Business News
Taxes up, bribes down – Palang Pracharath Party wants venues to operate legally
The ruling Palang Pracharath Party’s Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn wants to make it easier for entertainment venues to operate legally. The Minister for the Digital Economy would like to see bars and clubs operate within the tax system, bringing in fiscal revenue and administration fees while reducing the scope for bribery. Chaiwut said on Sunday that Palang Pracharath members had agreed that…
Read More » - Thailand video news
Thai Airways cabin crew forgets to collect meal trays before landing | Thailand News Today
Tourism in South Thailand province jumped by over 600% last year The number of tourists that visited South Thailand’s Surat Thani province last year jumped by over 600% from 2021, according to officials. The province includes the holiday paradise islands of Koh Samui and Koh Tao. Surat Thani Governor Kh. Witchawut, said the province saw 3,690,642 tourists last year, a 666%…
Read More » - Transport News
The most common complaint about Bangkok taxi drivers is…
Bangkok dwellers are not happy with the city’s taxi drivers. Since new taxi fares came into effect on January 16, there have been over 2,000 passenger complaints about taxi drivers in Bangkok, with the biggest proportion of them concerning cabbies’ rejection of passengers, according to the Land Transport Department. Of the 2,120 complaints, 720 concerned cabbies’ rejection of passengers, 455…
Read More » - Crime News
‘Big Joke’ team search home of alleged triad leader Yu Xinqi
Following last week’s Facebook revelations by the Pied Piper of Bangkok Chuwit Kamolvisit, immigration police Saturday searched a house in Bangkok’s posh Watcharaphol area belonging to alleged triad leader Yu Xinqi. The house belongs to the Chinese businessman who Chuwit alleges set up the Shaanxi Association of Thailand, without a license from the Ministry of Interior. The search of the house…
Read More » - World News
Emotional return home for stolen Cambodia treasure
The vast treasure trove of antiquity stolen by a British art smuggler has been returned home to Cambodia. In September last year, a Cambodian delegation visited London to investigate whether the United Kingdom was harbouring cultural treasures stolen from Khmer sacred temples. It turns out there were, and a lot more surprises as well. Cambodia sent a list of missing artefacts to the British Museum,…
Read More » - Crime News
Excise officials accused of extortion of elderly grocer
Five officials from the Thai Excise Department have been accused of extortion after allegedly demanding money from an elderly grocer. The woman asserts that the men planted evidence in order to shake her down, and says she’s got CCTV footage proving the extortion claims The men, who claimed to have found counterfeit cigarettes on the premises, demanded 20,000 baht from…
Read More » - Phuket News
Patong Police catch 3 Mongolian credit card thieves
Patong Police caught three Mongolian credit card thieves yesterday. This was after a Malaysian man, Choi Mei Choo, and a Singaporean woman, Ho See Ling, filed police reports on February 11. The two said their wallet was stolen at a pier in Patong, and that they later received SMS messages about expensive products being bought with their credit card. Patong…
Read More » - Thailand News
Nok Air to launch Bangkok – Korat route
Low-cost carrier Nok Air plans to connect Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok to northeast Thailand in the coming months with a new direct flight to Nakhon Ratchasima, aka “Korat.” Chief Executive Officer of Nok Air, Wuttipoom Churankun, said the Bangkok – Korat route should begin after Songkran Festival in April 2023. The date of the route’s inaugural flight hasn’t yet…
Read More » - Environment News
Graphic shows Thailand in top 10 countries with most ocean plastic waste
A new graphic shows that Asian countries, including Thailand, are among the top ocean plastic polluters due to mismanaged waste. The graphic by Louis Lugas Wicaksono is based on data from a 2021 research paper by Dutch academic Lourens JJ Meijer. The graphic shows a pie chart made up of plastic waste, labelling each country’s amount of ocean plastic waste…
Read More » - News
Sexual exploitation is not everyone’s cup of tea in Kenya (video)
Explosive revelations have emerged regarding the sexual exploitation of workers on tea farms in Kenya that supply some of the UK’s most beloved supermarket brands, including PG Tips, Lipton, and Sainsbury’s Red Label. An undercover reporter investigating the matter uncovered the sordid reality in which more than 70 women on Kenyan tea farms had been subjected to sexual abuse by…
Read More » - Thailand News
WARNING: Don’t buy fingers online!
If you could count on your hands how many people were ripped off in a recent online scam, you are probably not their target victim. A couple went public to the press to expose what they believe is a scam they encountered when trying to buy replacement fingers online. Yes, fingers. While this is a fairly specific scam targeting a…
Read More » - Tourism News
Elephant’s back caves in after 25 years of tourist rides in Thailand
Pai Lin the elephant spent over 25 years in Thailand’s trekking industry, where she was forced to give rides to up to six tourists at a time. Now, her back is visibly deformed. She now lives free at Thailand’s biggest wildlife rescue centre where she can roam chain-free and engage in natural behaviours. Photographs show that Pai Lin’s spine, which should naturally be rounded…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket dwellers run for Turkey and Syria
The people of Phuket are stepping up for victims of the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Early yesterday morning, hundreds of Phuket dwellers gathered to participate in a charity fun run to raise funds for earthquake victims. The run was organised by the Phuket Tourism Association (PTA), and supported by more than 16 local private businesses and government agencies. The…
Read More » - Tourism News
Tourism in South Thailand province jumped by over 600% last year, officials say
South Thailand’s picturesque beaches and islands continue to reel in tourists. The number of tourists that visited South Thailand’s Surat Thani province last year jumped by over 600% from 2021, according to officials. The province includes the holiday paradise islands of Koh Samui and Koh Tao. Surat Thani Governor Witchawut Jintoe, citing the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, said the…
Read More » - Thailand News
Woman’s body found floating in waters of Koh Tao, Thailand
A boat driver found a woman’s body floating in the waters of Koh Tao island in Surat Thani province in southern Thailand, the Thai Maritime Enforcement Centre (MECC) reported this morning. The woman was discovered floating among 20 200-litre oil barrels around 12 nautical miles northwest of Koh Tao island in the Koh Pha Ngan district. Speedboat operators from Koh…
Read More » - News
Thailand schools and colleges banned from expelling pregnant schoolgirls
Thailand has implemented a new directive to prohibit schools, colleges and education institutions from expelling, banning or transferring pregnant schoolgirls. Previously, it was easy for an institution to get rid of pregnant students but the new directive, published in the Royal Gazette on Friday, has put a stop to all that. The mandate was jointly signed by the Education Ministry…
Read More » - Crime News
Police commander shot by wife in home
The Royal Thai Police (RTP) Office was left stunned by the tragic death of Pol Lt Gen Panya Pinsuk, their commander, who was found shot at his home on Sunday afternoon. Today, his wife, Pornprapha Pinsuk, who was alone in the house with him at the time of his death, confessed to the shooting. According to reports, the police received…
Read More » - Crime News
Australian drug trafficker breaks silence on hellish 7 years in Thai prison
An Australian woman convicted of drug trafficking has broken her silence about her hellish seven years behind bars in a maximum-security prison in Bangkok, Thailand. Holly Deane-Johns was spared the death sentence and handed 31 years in prison in 2003 after pleading guilty to attempting to post 10.6 grams of heroin from Thailand to Australia in 2000 when she was…
Read More » - Koh Samui News
New hospital aims to boost Samui medical tourism
A new hospital hopes to boost medical and wellness tourism on the popular holiday island of Koh Samui. Wattanapat Samui Hospital has just opened its doors, marking the fifth medical facility on the island. The hospital has 380 beds, specialist personnel, and modern equipment that are expected to boost confidence in Koh Samui as a wellness destination. Dr Somchai Chansawang,…
Read More » - Thailand News
Government websites mostly hacked to promote gambling
When a government website gets hacked, one might assume it’s an act of cyber warfare or a government opposition protest group. The truth is far less nefarious. The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DES) announced that, out of about 500 cyberattacks on government websites last year, two-thirds of the hacks were to promote online gambling websites. According to the…
Read More » - Bangkok Travel
‘Ari Ago’ back to the old days – an exhibition of the Ari area’s traditional lifestyles.
‘Ari Ago’ invites you to come back to the old days with an exhibition of the Ari area’s traditional lifestyles. “The plan for the Ari Ago exhibition was created from the view that global warming has become widespread and is affecting the population of the world, which causes turbulent weather conditions, unusually hot weather, and also natural disasters. Thailand has…
Read More » - News
Christian Atsu’s body returns home to Ghana
The body of former Newcastle United footballer Christian Atsu has been returned to his native Ghana. He died in the earthquake that hit Turkey two weeks ago, The transportation of the 31 year old’s coffin was carried out by members of Ghana’s armed forces after the flight arrived in Accra last night. Atsu was discovered dead beneath his residence in…
Read More » - Crime News
Thai cop resigns citing ‘protection of the guilty’
A Thai cop who said he was a sergeant in the central Suphan Buri province resigned from his job. His resignation letter is making waves on social media. In the letter, which a fellow police officer posted on Facebook on Saturday, the officer cites “protection of the guilty” as one of the reasons for the loss of morale among police.…
Read More » - Thailand News
Thai Airways cabin crew forgets to collect meal trays before landing on Singapore-Bangkok flight
Thai Airways is ‘”urgently investigating” why cabin crew failed to collect meal trays on a Singapore – Bangkok flight before landing on the runway at Suvarnabhumi Airport after an irked passenger recorded the incident on TikTok. TikTok user Praewa Nang Mana (@Praewa_panicha) posted a clip of food trays sitting on the foldable tables of three seats. As the plane lands,…
Read More » - News
Young Polish woman claims to be Madeleine McCann, citing rare eye defect (video)
A 21 year old Polish woman has made an extraordinary claim that she may be Madeleine McCann, the four year old British girl who went missing while on holiday with her parents in Portugal in 2007. The woman posted a six-minute video on the Instagram account @iammadeleinemcann, stating that she has the same rare eye defect as Madeleine and wants…
Read More » - Phuket News
Russian woman rushed to hospital after Patong hotel fire
Rescuers rushed a Russian woman to a hospital after a fire broke out at a Patong hotel kitchen on Saturday. The woman, Svetlana Stashko, suffered from smoke inhalation after the blaze broke out on the hotel’s first floor. The hotel is located on Phang Mueang Sai Kor Road. Firefighters arrived on the scene and were able to put out the…
Read More » - Thailand video news
AoT increasing airport services to meet tourist demand | GMT
In today’s episode, AoT increasing airport services to meet tourist demand, Chiang Mai mother pays 400 baht (plus extras) for husband’s murder, 2 monkeys dead as police catch smugglers red-handed, and Cloud Nine Celebrates their “GET LIFTED” Grand Opening Wednesday March 1st, 2023.
Read More » - Hot News
Thailand women’s footie team to miss WC finals
It’s been more than three years since Thailand‘s women’s football team were given the biggest-ever spanking at a women’s World Cup, a 13-0 hammering by the United States. The humiliation left woman’s football in a perilous state in the kingdom. New-look Thailand’s women’s soccer team On Saturday, a new-look Thailand team with a confident head coach and the youngest group…
Read More » - Crime News
Thai cops bust Chinese man over counterfeit electronics worth 20 million baht
Thai cops busted a Chinese man in Bangkok over counterfeit electronics that cost over 20 million baht. Officers from the Economic Crime Suppression Division (ECD) found fake phones and electronic devices in a raid at a warehouse in the Don Mueang district on Friday. The team searched three buildings and found Huang Yiqun, a 56 year old Chinese national, working…
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