Thaiger
- Koh Samui News
7 still missing after Koh Samui ferry capsizes
7 people are missing while 9 others have been safely rescued after a car ferry capsized shortly after leaving Koh Samui for the mainland last night. The ship was loaded with, three 10 wheel garbage trucks and a pickup truck. Onboard were 11 crewmen, 4 truck drivers and the pickup driver, and a saleswoman. The ferry left Koh Samui at…
- Economy News
Thai Airways to operate repatriation flights to Denmark, Taiwan
Thai Airways has arranged 2 repatriation flights to Taipei and 2 to Copenhagen this month, to bring back foreign nationals who were stranded by the Covid-19 pandemic. The airline’s acting president says the Taiwan flights will fly on August 5 and 14, leaving Suvarnabhumi Airport at 8:25am and arriving in Taipei at 1:05pm local time; Chansin Treenuchagron said the flights…
- Northern Thailand News
Wanted drug dealer killed in Korat shootout
Police in in the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima, aka. Korat, say the drug dealer who shot and seriously injured an undercover officer and fled, was killed in a shootout in Khong district yesterday. On Wednesday, 38 year old Phadungsil Lohakart allegedly shot officer Song Tuaykrathok, who was posing as a buyer of crystal methamphetamine, after realising it was a…
- Economy News
Survey: China travel may take a year to recover
Data from the latest travel report by ITB China Travel Trends show that it’s possible – even likely – that the Chinese outbound travel market will take up to a year to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. The survey of 200 Chinese outbound travel agents examined the anticipated travel behaviour of outbound Chinese tourists once the beginnings of recovery are…
- Northern Thailand News
220 kilograms of marijuana seized, 2 arrested in Nakhon Phanom
Authorities in the upper northeastern Nakhon Panom province arrested 2 men last night on charges of smuggling 220 kilograms of marijuana. They reportedly told police they they did it because they needed money after the Covid-19 outbreak left them unemployed. The arrests came after authorities got a tip that a drug gang planned to smuggle marijuana from Laos into Nakhon…
- Business News
Trump threatens US TikTok ban
Donald Trump said yesterday that he plans to sign an executive order – perhaps as soon as today – banning the Chinese-owned short-video app TikTok from the US. Such a ban would mark the culmination of national security concerns over the safety of personal data handled by TikTok’s parent company, Beijing-based ByteDance, which became 1 of only a handful of…
- Phuket News
Korean man in Phuket suicide
In an apparent suicide, the body of a South Korean man was found in a pickup truck in the city district of the southern resort province of Phuket yesterday, his head covered in a plastic bag. Police found the white pickup, with Phuket licence plates, in the car park of the Golden Triangle Been Co. in tambon Vichit after being…
- Politics News
House agrees to Constitutional amendment
Apparently acquiescing to the demands of anti-government protesters who have held demonstrations across the nation for 2 weeks, a parliamentary committee formed to study problems with Thailand’s Constitution has resolved to change Section 256 of the charter, to clear the way for broader amendments. The protesters, mainly university students, have demanded a rewritten Constitution, a new general election and an…
- Pattaya News
Jet ski explodes in Chon Buri – VIDEO
A jet ski exploded yesterday at Chon Buri’s Bang Saen beach, near Bangkok. Rescue workers and firefighters arrived to find a blue/black jet ski on fire. They were able to put out the fire but vehicle was completely destroyed. Fortunately, 46 year owner Suthep Jarworrak suffered only minor injuries and some skin burns. The rescue team administered first aid before…
- Crime News
Sa Kaeo couple in murder/suicide
Police in the eastern Sa Kaeo province, along the Cambodian border, say a 61 year old man and his 44 year old wife are dead after what they’re calling a murder/suicide. The incident in the Ban Mai Nong Sai subdistrict was reported at around 6am yesterday. Authorities arrived at the scene to find 44 year old Nuengthai Klomkraok dead in…
- Road deaths
Road carnage mounts as couple killed in Nonthaburi crash
Thailand’s road carnage continues to mount: police and rescue services were called in Nonthaburi, just north of Bangkok, after an incident in which an Isuzu pickup truck collided with a barrier then crossed over a metal fence at 6:30 yesterday. 2 people, 45 year old Adisak, and his 46 year old wife Suchada, were thrown out of the vehicle and…
- Covid-19 News
South Korean cult leader arrested for hiding Covid-19 data, embezzlement
Authorities in South Korea this morning arrested the founder of a secretive Christian sect at the centre of the country’s largest outbreak of Covid-19 infections for allegedly concealing crucial data from contact-tracers, and other offences. Police nabbed Lee Man-hee, the powerful head of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, which is linked to more than 5,200 coronavirus infections, or about 36%…
- Business News
Thai delivery app merger gets 3.5 billion baht boost
Homegrown Thai delivery app Line Man is merging with its longtime partner, online restaurant review platform Wongnai Media. Line Man has secured fresh capital investment worth US$110 million (3.5 billion baht) from BRV Capital Management to bolster the new entity. The merger marks the first time any member of the Japan-based Line Group has secured a financial investment of this…
- Politics News
Protesters attempt to “wash away” government double standards
Continuing the wave of anti-government demonstrations which has swept the country for nearly 2 weeks, protesters calling themselves “Democracy June 24” gathered outside Government House in Bangkok yesterday and symbolically washed dishes carrying various political messages. The last dish, carrying a photo of PM Prayut Chan-o-cha was dramatically smashed when protesters were “unable” to scrub it clean. (October 24 is…
- Northern Thailand News
Korat police offer bounty for drug dealer who shot officer
Police in the northeastern Nakhon Ratchasisma province, aka Korat, are offering a 30,000 baht reward for information leading to the arrest of a drug dealer who escaped after shooting an undercover agent in a sting operation gone bad. 38 year old Phadungsil Lohakart allegedly shot officer Song Tuaykrathok, who was posing as a buyer of crystal methamphetamine, in Korat’s Khong…
- Crime News
Gold shop heist foiled as owner locks thief inside
Police in Bangkok’s Klong Sam Wa district yesterday arrested a woman after she showed up at a local gold shop, dressed in pink Muslim garb and armed with a pistol, evidently intending to rob the place. Unfortunately for her, the caper was foiled when the owner of the “Yaowarat Gold Department Store” locked her in, called police and waited outside…
- Northern Thailand News
Khon Kaen police raid drug warehouse
A drug warehouse has been raided in the northeastern province of Khon Kaen. The warehouse is in Khon Kaen City’s main business district, and several types of drugs, which police valued at tens of millions of baht, were seized. The provincial governor, police chief and other authorities reported the arrest of 35 year old “Jetsadaporn” and 34 year old “Jurairat”, …
- Crime News
Pattaya police say insults led to fatal shooting
2 suspects, arrested early yesterday and accused of the fatal shooting in broad daylight of a motorbike taxi driver in Pattaya, have been charged with murder. Police traced and arrested the 2 prime suspects, named as 39 year old Manat Imamu and 45 year old Niphon Panthong, in Chon Buri’s Bangsaen district, as they attempted to withdraw money from an…
- Thai Life
Former PM Thaksin sentenced to 5 years
Thailand’s Supreme Court has sentenced former PM Thaksin Shinawatra to 5 years in prison after finding him guilty of illegally owning shares in phone companies with government concessions, as well as conflict of interest, for changing concession fees and excise taxes to benefit his family’s company, Shin Corp. The court heard that Thaksin held a majority of shares, through proxies,…
- Covid-19 News
First Lady of Brazil has Covid-19
The First Lady of Brazil tested positive for Covid-19 yesterday after her husband spent 2 weeks in quarantine with the virus. The announcement comes just 5 days after President Jair Bolsonaro said he was over his illness and had resumed his normal work routine. His office says 38 year old Michelle Bolsonaro “is in good health and will follow all…
- Covid-19 News
Europe bans US travellers for 2nd time in a month
The EU extended its travel ban on Americans yesterday for the second time in a month, as Covid-19 continues to ravage the US. The EU began lifting its travel restrictions on July 1, welcoming visitors from 14 countries, including Canada, South Korea and Australia. The US was left off of that list, and the EU extended its ban on travellers…
- Crime News
Police say “Boss” tested positive for cocaine due to dentistry
Police are claiming that illicit drugs, including cocaine, found in the blood samples of Red Bull scion Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya in the infamous fatal 2012 hit-and-run case were for his dental treatment. A parliamentary committee invited officials yesterday for questioning regarding case. A spokesman for the committee told a press briefing that the panel questioned officers who handled the case…
- Crime News
Tycoon’s prison term for attempted bribery upheld
The 1 year prison sentence for construction tycoon Premchai Karnasuta for attempted bribery has been upheld by Thailand’s appeals court. Premchai’s case captured national attention in February when the high profile CEO and 3 associates were found surrounded by animal carcasses and guns in a protected wildlife sanctuary. Premchai, president of Italian-Thai Development Corp, was later released by the court…
- World News
Still no word on abducted activist as UN deadline passes
Despite a UN deadline, the family of abducted activist Wanchalerm “Ta” Satsaksit says that authorities have yet to offer any explanation of his fate. He is believed to have been kidnapped in front of his Phnom Penh apartment on June 4. His sister, Sitanan Satsaksit says she has yet to hear any word from either the Cambodian or Thai governments…
- Pattaya News
Mayor says half of Pattaya’s security cameras aren’t working
Pattaya’s mayor claims about half of the city’s security cameras aren’t working. In an interview with associated Thai press, Mayor Sonthaya Khunpluem told reporters “There are slightly over 2,000 CCTV cameras in Pattaya in total at this time. We also have a dedicated CCTV control centre that’s manned 24 hours a day, seven days a week.” “However, some of them…
- Northern Thailand News
Drug dealer shoots policeman, escapes in Korat
Police are hunting for a drug dealer who shot an undercover agent yesterday and fled after realising he was caught in a sting operation in Khong district of the lower northeastern Nakhon Ratchasima province, aka Korat. The officer was seriously wounded and rushed to hospital. 38 year old Phadungsil Lohakart allegedly shot the agent, who was posing as a buyer…
- Thailand News
Anti-coup activist acquitted of sedition, cybercrime charges
A pro-democracy activist was acquitted today of sedition and cybercrime charges for criticising the ruling junta back in 2014. He was accused of violating Section 116 of the Criminal Code and the Computer Crime Act by posting messages against the 2014 coup that deposed PM Yingluck Shinawatra. The messages were posted between May 30 and June 4, 2015, when martial…
- Thailand News
Ukrainian man in fatal fall from abandoned Surat Thani hotel
A Ukranian fell to his death from the roof of an empty hotel in the central business district of the southern province of Surat Thani this morning. The 36 year old man, identified by Matichon as Tomak Mykola, was found lying face up on the ground in front of the abandoned Southern Star Hotel on Chon Kasem Road. Police were…
- Politics News
Pro-monarchy students plan Bangkok rally
A group of pro-royalist vocational students and their supporters are planning a rally at Bangkok’s Democracy Monument today, possibly provoking a confrontation with pro-democracy students. The student group, calling itself “Vocational Students to Protect the Nation” said on their Facebook page that they will be demonstrating at Democracy monument and voice their opinions on the current surge of pro-democratic student…
- Economy News
“We Travel Together” campaign may be extended through 2020
The “We Travel Together” government stimulus campaign may be extended to increase domestic tourism through to the end of the year, while travel bubbles for tourists will hopefully be launched by October, according to the Tourism and Sports Ministry. Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn. He says the slow start of the scheme, launched July 15, can be partly attributed to hesitation among tourists as…
