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- Northern Thailand News
Freak hailstorm causes blackouts, damages homes in Chiang Rai
PHOTOS: Thai PBS World Heavy rains and hail have damaged homes and caused widespread blackouts in the northern province of Chiang Rai. Strong winds knocked down trees in several districts, blocking traffic. Officials say the sudden storm, which struck Mae Sai, Chiang Saen and Mae Chan districts, lasted about 30 minutes and damaged several houses. They say the relief operation was hindered…
- Things To Do
Top 5 places to celebrate New Years Eve in Bangkok (2020)
It’s hard to imagine a more vibrant city anywhere in the world, with warm weather and an entire population ready to party, to celebrate your New Year on December 31. Bangkok will host New Years Eve parties on almost every corner but we’ve listed the Top 5 locations for you to see in 2020. The links will take you to…
- Crime News
Man arrested with loaded gun in Pattaya, allegedly firing in public
PHOTO: The Pattaya News A 42 year old Thai man has been arrested, not far from the same Pattaya checkpoint where a 26 year old man was earlier arrested with a live grenade. Police responded to a complaint that someone was firing a gun on Soi Bun Bunkaram 5 around midnight on December 29. Officers, and a reporter from The Pattaya…
- Northern Thailand News
2 million baht of gold stolen in Buri Ram, police suspect inside job
A thief has made off with 2 million baht in gold necklaces, rings and bracelets from a gold shop at a Buri Ram department store. Police examined CCTV footage showing a man wearing a cap entering the shop in the early morning on Saturday before ransacking several areas. Officers took fingerprints at various locations including the gold shop. Thai media report…
- Crime News
Thai police dis criticism of their Koh Tao Murder investigation
PHOTO: Bangkok Post Thai police have publicly hit back at foreign media allegations that their forensics investigation into the highly-publicised 2014 murder case on Koh Tao did not meet international standards. The publicity about their allegedly botched investigation began in 2014 with the brutal murder of two British tourists, David Miller and Hannah Witheridge, on Koh Tao island off Surat…
- Politics News
Thai justice minister supports chemical castration of rapists
The Thai Justice Minister Somsak Thepsutin has given his support to a law that would require chemical castration for convicted rapists. Democrat MP Rangsima Rodrasmi proposed the law during a discussion in the House of Representatives on sexual violence. The House has created an extraordinary committee on the prevention of sex crimes. Rangsima suggested sex offenders should be castrated, chemically or…
- Pattaya News
Two Chinese men survive balloon crash in Sri Racha
PHOTO: Peao Yiang Tai Sri Racha Two Chinese men have survived after their hot air balloon plummeted hundreds of feet to the ground Friday morning in Sri Racha, north of Pattaya. Rescue workers learned of the incident at 11am. They arrived at a fruit plantation to find the balloon on the ground. It appeared to have fallen into several trees, knocking…
- Thailand News
Thanathorn says he’ll fight for Thailand’s ethnic minorities
Future Forward party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit says his opposition party will press for recognition of the basic rights of Thailand’s ethnic minorities, including ancestral land rights and access to state welfare. The party leader was in the western province of Tak on Friday to attend New Year celebrations among the Hmong hill tribe, and to seek their support for the…
- Pattaya News
Man arrested with live grenade at Pattaya checkpoint
PHOTO: The Pattaya News A 26 year old Buriram man has been caught with a live grenade at a checkpoint in Pattaya. Police say the man, named only as “Seksan,” was acting suspiciously as he went through the checkpoint on Soi Ko Phai in central Pattaya. Officers pulled him aside for further investigation. They searched his black backpack and found an…
- Environment News
More palms on the way for Phuket’s Promthep Cape
The Phuket governor’s office is working with the Rawai municipality and consultants from Nongnooch Garden Pattaya to improve the landscape and amenity at Promthep Cape, the hugely popular sunset vantage point at the southern end of the island. Phuket’s Governor Phakphong Thaviphat says Promthep Cape is one of the main tourist attractions under the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s campaign to…
- Chiang Mai News
Chiang Mai rescue worker disguises himself to thwart student suicide
PHOTO: CTN News A rescue worker dressed up as a homeless man to thwart a possible suicide attempt of a young student who was about to jump from a pedestrian bridge in Chiang Mai. Withawat Sinworasrithaweekhun, chief of the rescue team, headed to the bridge in front of Chiang Mai‘s Maejo University overt the weekend after learning a young student…
- Northern Thailand News
Burmese migrants are chasing months of back-pay from Chiang Rai plantation
FILE PHOTO 45 legally registered Burmese migrant workers in Chiang Rai are seeking assistance from the local labour office to conduct an inquiry into unpaid salaries over a couple of months, some up to six months. The workers have been engaged at a banana plantation in the Phaya Mengrai district. The workers rallied at the provincial offices on Monday, some claiming they…
- Thailand News
Woman shocked by eight million baht monthly power bill
PHOTO: Thai Rath/Channel 33 A 55 year old Ayutthaya woman was surprised to receive a power bill for more than eight million baht. Ayutthaya is a few hours drive north of Bangkok. Tanyanan Ketparn told Thai Rath that she was always punctual with monthly electricity bill payments, which is normally around 18,000 baht (which still sounds a lot unless Tanyanan is…
- Pattaya News
Pattaya windsurfer discovers floating body
PHOTOS: The Pattaya News A windsurfer has come across the body of an identified person that was floating around Pattaya’s Jomtien beach. Police heard about the mystery person floating off the beach at 4pm yesterday. They arrived at the beach and found the body of a man, whose age they estimated at somewhere between 30 – 40 years. His nationality…
- World News
Thai court upholds life sentence for Lao drug kingpin
PHOTO: SCMP A Thai court has upheld a life sentence for Lao drug kingpin Xaysana Keopimpha, who’s charged with smuggling a huge number of methamphetamine pills, known as yaba in Thailand, into the kingdom in 2016. The Thai Court of Appeals found that Xaysana arranged for the drugs to be smuggled from Laos in a vehicle with a false roof compartment.…
- Environment News
Plastic microbeads to be banned in cosmetic products
Over and above the ban on plastic bags set to begin on January 1, Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health has also slapped a ban on plastic microbeads used in cosmetics. That kicks in on the same day as the ban on single-use plastic bags. All 75 members The Thai Retailers Association, including giants like Tesco Lotus and Makro, plan to stop…
- Northern Thailand News
Worst drought in 40 years means tough times for Thais
The lowest rainfall ever recorded in Thailand was in 1979. Now, Thailand’s Meteorological Department is forecasting an even worse drought and dry season saying it will last until May 2020. Forty-three provinces in the north, northeast, and central regions will be the most affected. Some are already in the grip of critical water shortages with farmers being asked to swap their…
- Economy News
Government trying to tame strong baht, but bank says it will remain strong in 2020
The prominent rise of the Thai baht in over the past year has had wide implications and effects, and PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says that state agencies have met often to come up with ways to tame the strong currency. Kasikorn Bank Research Centre has already released a report outlining reasons the baht will remain strong into 2020. The bank’s research arm…
- Thailand News
DSI to charge former national park chief over “Billy” murder
PHOTO: Chaiwat Limlikhit-akson, former head of Kaeng Krachan National Park and Polajee “Billy” Rakchongcharoen The Department of Special Investigations says they plan to file charges against a former national park chief and three park officials, in connection with the murder of Karen community rights activist Polajee “Billy” Rakchongcharoen back in 2014. Shane Kanchanapat, director of the DSI’s Special Cases Division,…
- Politics News
“Illuminati Case” against Future Forward Party rejected by Court
The “Illuminati Case”, a charge of sedition against the embattled Future Forward Party, has been rejected by Thailand’s Constitutional Court after a petition for an inquiry back in July. The complaint claimed the popular opposition political party is linked to ‘The Illuminati’, an imaginary secret elite seeking world domination, according to conspiracy theorists. So, to make this clear, the Thai Constitutional…
- Crime News
Thai Ponzi scheme investigations wrap up
PHOTO: Bangkok Jack 2019 has been the year of the ‘Ponzi’, unsustainable investment schemes which always end up in the late-comers receiving nothing and losing their investment. Thai media have reported on up to 10 high-profile Ponzi schemes that have crashed leaving Thais losing billions of baht. This is the latest news on three of the current investigations. Police have…
- Economy News
Careers and business heading for the scrap-heap. And the ones that will thrive.
Is your career headed for the scrap-heap? Rangsit University’s Economic and Business Research Centre for Reform has been studying the careers and businesses that are at high risk of disruption, layoffs or downright extinction. They’ve also identified 10 other careers that have a promising future. In discussing the detailed survey, the centre’s director, Anusorn Tamajai, said 12 careers faced high risk of…
- Environment News
Villages fed up with living with dirty water in Phattalung
PHOTOS: INN News Imagine living with dirty tap water for four years. In a country like Thailand, in 2019, that’s not intolerable. But if you live in an unfortunate village in Phattalung, that’s the current situation. Villagers in Tamot District, Phatthalung, southern Thailand, have expressed their complaints after living with dirty tap water for years. The villagers have approached the…
- Economy News
Baht to remain strong into 2020: Kasikorn Research Centre
The Kasikorn Research Centre believes that the Thai Baht is going to remain strong into 2020. KBank’s research arm forecasts the baht to move in a range of 30.10-30.50 Thai baht to the US$ for the next few quarters. But they warn a key domestic factor to be monitored closely will be November’s export data, which will be released soon. External…
- Politics News
Thanathorn’s “flash mob” enjoys widespread support amongst Thais
The public is split over what is now being called the opposition’s “flash mob,” and “Skywalk Rally” organised by the Future Forward Party in central Bangkok on December 14, but supporters slightly outnumber opponents, according to a survey by the National Institute for Development Administration, or NIDA Poll. The poll was conducted on December 16-17 and included 1,277 Thai adults…
- Tourism News
Senate calls for urgent expansion Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport
PHOTO: Oriental Express Just days after Thailand set yet another annual record for incoming visitors, a Senate committee is urging the government to speed up the expansion of Suvarnabhumi Airport. The Senate Committee on Transportation, met with Airports of Thailand officials on December 19 and both sides acknowledged the urgent need for the expansion. After learning of the progress being made…
- Northern Thailand News
4 dead, 47 injured in Loei bus crash
PHOTOS: มะเขือขื่นข่าวเชียงคาน Just two days after 14 Singaporean tourists were injured in a tour van crash, 4 people have been killed and at least 47 people injured, some seriously, after a tour bus from Buriram lost control last night. “Brake failure” has been given as the reason for the crash. The bus, which was carrying mainly elderly Buriram residents, ended…
- South Thailand News
Army compensates families of civilians slain by mistake in deep south
The Thai Army has decided to pay compensation of half a million baht, each, to the families of three men who were killed “in error” by army soldiers in the southern province of Narathiwat. Officials say the compensation is “only the beginning.” Read the story of the attack HERE. Secretary-general of the Southern Border Provinces Administration Centre, Somkiat Pholprayoon said…
- Bangkok News
Rescuers claim former transport minister tried to flee accident scene
PHOTO: Saichon Srinuanchan Thawee Kraikupt, a former transport minister and the father of government MP Pareena Kraikupt, was involved a car crash in Ratchaburi province, just west of Bangkok, that injured a 16 year old boy. His daughter Pareena was recently found guilty of illegally occupying some 700 rai of government land and forced to return most of it to…
- South Thailand News
British diver found dead at cave site in Nakhon Si Thammarat
A British diver has been found dead at a popular diving site in Nakhon Si Thammarat, southern Thailand. The 60 year old British man was identified as Roger Matthew Smith, a resident of Thailand. Authorities confirm he was still wearing his diving gear when his body was found at Talay Songhong in the westernmost section of the province. Police say there…
