- Central Thailand News
Lopburi police powerless to stop sex-crazed, junk food-addicted monkey gangs
Since March, the city of Lopburi has battled monkey riots, as the Covid-19 pandemic dried up tourism, and thus, the primates’ main food source. Locals, in an effort to appease beasts, began feeding them, largely a diet of sugary junk food, with predictable results. Police, armed with slingshots, say there’s little they can do to stop the sex-crazed macaques who’ve…
- World News
Vietnam in new virus scare as 15 cases emerge
Vietnam, which recorded its first locally transmitted case of Covid-19 since April, has now closed the coastal resort city of Da Nang to tourists after 15 new cases were recorded there over the past 5 days. Tourists cannot enter the city for 14 days and up to 80,000, mostly domestic visitors, are being flown home. Vietnam, along with Thailand, has been…
- Events
Chiang Mai performance artists demonstrate for free speech
PHOTOS by Will Langston With anti-government protests dotting the nation for over a week, performance artists in Chiang Mai took to the streets yesterday evening with a different type of demonstration – in favour of free speech. As the sun began setting, artists at each corner and junction of the old city’s moat could be found waiting to perform. At…
- Covid-19 News
Phuket seeks to diversify after Covid-19
The Covid-19 pandemic continues to cripple Thailand’s vital tourism sector, with provinces that rely the most on tourism revenue, being hit the hardest. Thailand may have managed to contain the Covid-19 virus, but at the expense of its economy going into a free fall with the southern resort province of Phuket exemplifying the downturn. Phuket businesses, which rely almost exclusively…
- Crime News
Leaked documents reveal the reasons behind prosecutors dropping “Boss” charges
In a carefully staged leaking of a document, the alleged “new evidence” has now been revealed which the Office of Special Prosecutors for Criminal Litigation claims was behind the dropping of the charges against Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya in a fatal road death in Bangkok in 2012. Meanwhile, the Thai PM has demanded an investigation into the dropping of charges and ordered a…
- Pattaya News
Abbot of Chon Buri temple found hanged in apparent suicide
The abbot of a temple in the eastern Chon Buri province was found hanged yesterday. Police have ruled the death a suicide. The man, identified as 56 year old Phra Cholasrirosoto, was the abbot of Wat Khao Din Rom Pho Thong in Ban Bueang. He was found by 49 year old Phra Kitja Kittiphattho, who had come to deliver fruit…
- Politics News
Health minister urges demonstrators to wear masks, observe social distancing
Deputy PM and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said yesterday he doesn’t oppose students’ demonstrations but urged them to wear facemasks and observe social distancing to help avoid spreading Covid-19 coronavirus. He said his main concern about student rallies is safety, but masks and social distancing could cope with the disease. (Thailand hasn’t had a locally transmitted case of the…
- Northern Thailand News
Buriram man drowns after being struck by lightning
A man in the northeastern Buriram province was struck by lighting, fell into a reservoir and drowned. The man’s body was found early yesterday morning. Police were informed on Friday night that a man was struck by lightning and had drowned in the local reservoir in Buriram’s Nong Rong district. The dead man was identified as 44 year old Thiwa…
- Crime News
Constitutional Court judge demands investigation into Red Bull heir case decisions
A judge on Thailand’s Constitutional Court is urging PM Prayut Chan-o-cha to investigate possible mishandling, by both the police and public prosecutors, of the hit-and-run case involving the Red Bull heir Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya, saying the nation’s justice system has been “rendered meaningless” after prosecutors’ decision to drop the charges and the police’s failure to challenge the decision. In a…
- Northern Thailand News
US donates thousands of masks for Thai hill tribes
Despite Thailand going over 2 months without a locally transmitted case of Covid-19, the US embassy has sent thousands of face masks to Chiang Rai province. A representative of the US embassy delivered the masks, valued at around 458,000 baht, to authorities in Chiang Rai this week. Regional US honorary consul general Sean O’Neil says the USA wants to help…
- World News
Migrants seek to return to Thailand after lockdown
With the introduction of Phase 6 of easing Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, businesses have reopened and begun hiring, but migrant workers, who went home and waited for outbreak to end, now find themselves on the outside looking in, unable to reenter the kingdom and get back to work. The prospects for their return don’t look good despite soaring demand to revive the…
- Northern Thailand News
Nakhon Panom man shot dead after wounding policeman
A man who went berserk yesterday in the northeastern Nakhon Panom province, bordering Laos, was shot dead by a policeman who tried to calm him down but was attacked and seriously hurt. The man was said to be high on drugs. Police say the incident occurred at about 1pm in front of a house in tambon Ban Kho. Witnesses told…
- Covid-19 News
North Korean border city locked down over suspected Covid-19 case
North Korea has, until now, claimed not a single case of Covid-19 within its borders, a claim widely doubted by experts. Today, North Korea state media reports that the secretive nation’s “dear leader” Kim Jong Un has placed the city of Kaesong, near the border with South Korea, under total lockdown after a person was found with suspected coronavirus symptoms,…
- Central Thailand News
Navy rescues Thai sailor after electric shock on fishing boat
Members of the Royal Thai Navy have rescued a boat crew member in the Gulf of Thailand after he suffered a severe electric shock on Friday night. Royal Thai Navy Region 1 headquarters in Chon Buri were notified by the officers based in Prachuap Khiri Khan that a boat crew member, 51 year old Sittisak Sripipat suffered a serious electric…
- Politics News
Deputy PM backs protesters’ demand for constitutional reform
Deputy PM and Thai Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul is backing the key demand of student protesters to rewrite Thailand’s Constitution. Responding to activists’ calls for the dissolution of Parliament, the leader of the Bhumjaithai Party said yesterday such a move would be pointless without prior constitutional amendment. Speaking at the party’s annual meeting, Anutin, leader of second-largest partner in…
- Phuket News
Newly discovered 3,000 year old cave paintings in Phang Nga
New cave art, reportedly at least 3,000 years old, has been discovered in the southern Phang Nga province’s Phang Nga Bay Marine National Park. The head of the park says he he found the ancient paintings while leading park officials to investigate the Petch Pakarang Cave at Koh Talu in Takua Thung district on Friday. Currently there are 4 locations in…
- World News
First Covid-19 case in Vietnam since April
Health authorities in Vietnam today reported the first first locally transmitted case of Covid-19 in nearly 100 days, in a country whose swift and draconian lockdown won international praise for controlling the spread of the disease. “Patient 416”, a 57 year old retired man in the central city of Da Nang, is the first case of local transmission since April…
- Road deaths
Woman motorcyclist dies in Chon Buri crash
A woman is dead in the Sattahip district of Chon Buri after a pickup truck crashed into her motorbike. Sattahip Police were notified of the incident, which occurred yesterday afternoon on Sukhumvit Road. Police, emergency responders and reporters arrived to find 44 year old Bussaya Chumchuen, a staffer at the Sattahip Community Development Office. She was seriously injured and after…
- Covid-19 News
620 baht Covid-19 vaccine could be ready in 2021
The first vaccine against Covid-19 for human use is expected to be available in 2021, and is expected to be available in Thailand for a cost of about 620 baht per dose; this from the secretary-general of the National Vaccines Committee today. Dr Siriroek Songsivilai says the price is based on the 100 million doses, valued at about 2 billion…
- World News
9 illegal migrants nabbed in 2 provinces
6 Burmese have been nabbed in the central city district of the western Prachuap Kiri Khan province. They allegedly paid a Thai broker 6,500 baht each to help them enter Thailand. A combined team of border police, soldiers and immigration officers was dispatched to a border area in tambon Ao Noi following a tip that illegal migrants would be smuggled…
- World News
16 Thais, Burmese arrested in raid on illegal Narathiwat casino
Officers of the Crime Suppression Division arrested 16 Thai and Burmese gamblers at an illegal gambling den in Sungai-Kolok, on the Malaysian border in the southern Narathiwat province. The casino reportedly had a monthly cash flow of over 388 million baht, and was operating in an apartment with many games to choose from. Officials got a tip about a location…
- Northern Thailand News
Heavy rains predicted for East, South and Central Thailand
Isolated heavy rain is forecast for the East, the Central region and the South. People in the areas are advised to beware of severe conditions. Thailand’s Meteorological Department predicts that the southwest monsoon over the Andaman Sea and Thailand is weak, while the easterly wind moves to cover the East, the Central, the South and the Gulf. From Monday to…
- Crime News
DNA excludes Thais from 2007 murder of Japanese tourist
Advanced DNA testing has shed new light on the unsolved murder of a female Japanese tourist 13 years ago, suggesting a link to a male of East Asian heritage. Sanook reported on the latest developments in the cold case of Tomoko Kawashita who was found murdered in the Sukhothai Historical Park in 2007. Kawashita’s body was found near the ruins…
- Expats
CCSA clarifies requirements for entering Thailand
With the Covid-19 crisis in Thailand under control and as the nation begins gradually reopening its borders, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration yesterday clarified the following guidelines on entering Thailand for travellers and non-Thai residents: Before departure: Travellers must contact the Royal Thai Embassy or consulate to obtain an entry visa and a certificate of entry, which will be…
- Crime News
Police raid illegal motorbike parts factory in Chon Buri
In an ongoing crackdown on illegally modified motorcycles and racing, police in the eastern province of Chon Buri raided a warehouse in the central city district this week, which they say is a root cause of the problem. Earlier this week, a team of provincial and Region 2 police raided a warehouse in the Bang Sai sub-district. This warehouse reportedly…
- Covid-19 News
COVID-19 update: 10 new imported cases including 6 returning soldiers (July 24)
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration today announced 10 new cases of the coronavirus discovered in the previous 24 hours, all returnees in state quarantine facilities. Spokesman Taweesilp Visanuyothin said this morning the new cases include one returnee each from Sudan, Pakistan, Germany and the Netherlands, and 6 soldiers returning from joint military exercises in the US state of Hawaii.…
- Northern Thailand News
Alleged rapist teacher faces additional intimidation charge
A 33 year old teacher accused of the statutory rape of a schoolgirl in the northeastern province of Buriram will face an additional charge of allegedly threatening to kill her family if she told anyone. Police initially pressed 3 counts against 33 year old Kittiphop Karnram, a physical education teacher at a school in Nang Rong district: depriving a girl…
- Politics News
Protesters mustn’t insult monarchy: army chief
Thailand’s army chief warned student protesters today against insulting the monarchy in their anti-government campaigning. At a news conference, with tears in his eyes, Apirat Kongsompong urged students to respect the Royal Family and refrain from using offensive language about them. His remarks followed some veiled references to the monarchy at the protests, which as of today have continued for…
- Thai Life
Arrest warrant withdrawn, all charges dropped against Red Bull heir
Police announced today that all charges are being dropped against jet-setting fugitive Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya, heir to the Bangkok billionaire family that co-founded Red Bull, the world’s leading energy drink, theoretically making him free to return to Thailand. He stood accused in the hit-and-run death of a police officer in 2012 and fled the country 5 years later after failing…
- World News
Overly harsh travel restrictions are destroying aviation: AAPA
More than 6 months into the Covid-19 pandemic, the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines is urging governments around the region to ease what they view as unduly burdensome restrictions on international air travel and re-establish global connectivity with evidence-based measures to safeguard public health. The industry is taking initial steps toward restarting international operations by working closely with governments, health…
