- Thailand Protest News
Thailand must drop charges against child protesters – Amnesty
Thailand must drop charges against child protesters. Thai authorities should drop charges against child protesters who took part in demonstrations between 2020 and 2022, Amnesty International said today, in the lead-up to tomorrow’s World Children’s Day Persecution of child protestors in Thailand – intimidation, surveillance, and criminalisation – has been going on for years. Amnesty has recorded instances of police…
- World News
Thai AirAsia plans Chiang Mai – Singapore route
Thai AirAsia plans a Chiang Mai – Singapore route, resuming flights between Chiang Mai and Singapore for the first time in more than a decade. Thai AirAsia CEO Santisuk Klongchaiya said… “Singapore is a complete tourism destination that has always been popular, with a high load factor average throughout the year. “The direct Chiang Mai-Singapore route will give people of…
- World News
Chinese crime boss flees Thailand on private jet
A Chinese crime boss is said to have fled Thailand on a private jet bound for Myanmar. A private jet parked up at Hua Hin airfield in Prachuap Khiri Khan province is said to have been used to help Tuhao, a Chinese crime boss, to escape justice and flee the country. However, the aircraft did not leave Thailand, at least…
- World News
Cambodian wildlife official charged with smuggling temple monkeys
A Cambodian wildlife official has been charged in the United States with smuggling endangered monkeys. Eight people have now been charged with smuggling the endangered monkeys. The Guardian reports that the Cambodian official was arrested on his way to a conference on protecting endangered species. The group arrested are connected to a Hong Kong-based company involved in breeding long-tailed macaques…
- Entertainment
Joyland cleared for cinema screenings in Pakistan
Joyland, the Pakistani film portraying a romance between a married man and a transgender woman was cleared for cinema screenings in Pakistan Wednesday, reversing a ban imposed on filmgoers by the nation’s censors. Loved by critics and audiences alike, Joyland was nominated for the jury prize at the Cannes Film Festival and is expected to be Pakistan’s entry at next…
- World News
Thailand takes delivery of Textron T-6C turboprop trainers
Thailand has taken delivery of its first Textron Aviation T-6C Texan II turboprop trainers, for use in training or as attack aircraft. Two T-6Cs have been delivered to Royal Thai Air Force Kamphaeng Saen northeast of Bangkok. A welcoming ceremony was attended by US Ambassador Robert Godec. Thailand desperately needs more military aircraft if the war against Myanmar’s drug billionaires…
- World News
BOGOF Tesla+house offer fails to excite New Zealand homebuyers
A BOGOF Tesla+house offer fails to excite New Zealand homebuyers. A homeowner in New Zealand is offering a “free” Tesla to anyone who buys his house. The house – a seven-bedroom, five-bathroom monstrosity – has been on the market for weeks. The Kiwi house price bubble is well-and-truly burst. Inflated prices fell more than 10% in October alone, the 11th…
- World News
UK bird flu epidemic threatens to cancel Christmas
As a bird flu epidemic in UK poultry farms threatens to cancel Christmas, the impact of the nation’s worst-ever bird flu outbreak on Christmas supplies will be discussed by MPs later this month. The epidemic, caused by unhygienic conditions at industrial turkey production facilities is in Norfolk, the centre of turkey production. With more than 50 cases in the last…
- Transport News
Rich pickings – Emirates to offer first-class vegan meals
In celebration of World Vegan Day on November 1, and to please members of the growing vegan community rich enough to travel first-class, Emirates Airlines now offers first-class vegan meals. Unfortunately, the fanfare around plant-based meals will not be heard by ordinary passengers in a coach who will still have to order in advance or eat (or avoid) the mystery…
- Environment News
Dying elephant Muthu Raja’s misery continues in Sri Lanka
The misery of the dying elephant Muthu Raja is set to continue in Sri Lanka as local politicians blame one another for the creature’s plight and the head of the national zoological association declares that everything is fine. Minister of Agriculture and Wildlife Mahinda Amaraweera has told the Secretary to the Ministry Chandra Herath to take whatever steps are necessary…
- Entertainment
Pakistani love story Joyland triggers rabid transphobia
Joyland, a movie made in Pakistan, is about a young married man who falls in love with a transgender woman. The movie won a prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and will represent Pakistan in next year’s Academy Awards. But a week before the film was due for release at home, Pakistani withdrew its certification. Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, a…
- Pattaya News
Police chief suspended as Pattaya pool villa suspects fess up
The chief of Chon Buri police has been suspended pending an investigation into his connections with fake suspects organised to confess to an assault and shooting case at a Pattaya pool villa in central Pattaya last month. National police chief Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittiprapas transferred Pol Maj Gen Kittanate Thanananthavisin to an inactive post at the Royal Thai Police Department…
- World News
Asia at the FIFA World Cup, Part 2 – The Best
As Thai football fans scratch around for a team to follow at the FIFA World Cup and the government scratches around for a billion baht to pay for it, what makes one country so good at the beautiful game, and the country next door bad? South Korea are the best at football in East Asia, with Japan not so far…
- Visa Information
Thailand to issue one-year visas for medical tourists
Thailand is trying to attract more rich tourists by promoting itself as a destination for medical treatment, with hospital operators such as Bangkok Dusit Medical Services and Bumrungrad Hospital among the companies expected to profit the most from the new visa. The latest attempt to lure so-called high-quality visitors comes with just as many unfathomable restrictions as previous attempts to…
- Hot News
‘Follow the gourd!’ – Steve Jobs sandals take on religious significance
The bizarre cult of Steve Jobs claimed another victim yesterday when an unnamed “collector” squandered US$220,000 (7.8 million baht) on a pair of Jobs’ dirty old sandals, the latest of Jobs’s relics to come under the hammer. The “well used” brown suede Birkenstocks dating to the mid-1970s set a record for the highest price ever paid for a pair of…
- Bangkok News
Top Samut Prakan cops transferred in shooting cover up
Four top cops in Samut Prakan province, an area well-known for illicit gambling, have been put on gardening leave following a shooting at an illegal gambling den. Pol Col Termrat Jindawat, the station chief, was among those moved to an empty desk in the police operations centre after he claimed he had not been informed about the incident. The others…
- Pattaya News
Threesome couple retaliates against victim’s story
The man accused of forcing a woman into a long-term sexual relationship with him and his wife has denied the woman’s accusations while confirming most of her story. Accompanied by his wife, the man travelled to Bangkok on Friday evening to give his side of the tale following bizarre accusations against the couple. The couple claims the woman chose to live…
- Entertainment
Spielberg’s ‘Terminal’ man departs CDG forever
The man who lived in Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport for 18 years and was the inspiration for Steven Spielberg’s film The Terminal died yesterday in his “beloved” airport. Merhan Karimi Nasseri suffered a heart attack at the airport around midday. Police and a medical team were quickly on the scene but could do nothing to save him. Karimi Nasseri was…
- Health
Thailand’s public health officials find sex drug in herbal medicine
Thailand’s public health officials have been told to recall a herbal medicine after it was found to contain Tadalafil – a drug used to treat erectile dysfunction. The Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conducted tests on a batch of Jiu Jeng Pushen Jiao Nang manufactured by Jong-Thai Jianming Eiw Ea Group Ltd. and found it to contain much stronger…
- Health
China eases Covid-19 rules, maintains propaganda onslaught
China has eased some Covid-19 rules while maintaining its tired and transparent propaganda stance, just as case numbers rise to their highest levels for months. Quarantine for so-called “close” contacts will be cut from seven days in a state facility to five days locked up and three days locked down at home. According to the BBC, secondary contacts will no longer…
- Phuket News
Phuket prison cookery contest stirs the taste buds
Inmates at Phuket prison have been learning new cooking skills and taking part in a cookery contest to prepare them for release. Street Food Cooking Contest to Build a Career (Season 2) event, organised by Phuket Provincial Probation Office concluded the food and nutrition department of Phuket Polytechnic College Thursday. Judging the contest, Phiphat Wongteerakijkosol, director of the probation office,…
- Crime News
More civil servants fall victim to Thailand’s drug ‘war’
Twenty-one civil servants in Khon Kaen tested positive for drugs during a recent campaign in Thailand’s “war” on drugs. More than 760,000 pills, many weapons, explosives and rounds of ammunition were seized during raids at 900 locations in the province in the previous four weeks, said Governor Kraisorn Kongchalard. Some 192 suspects were arrested for firearms offences with 180 weapons…
- China News
Xi confirms he’s coming to APEC summit
The Chinese foreign ministry officially confirmed that President Xi Jinping will visit Thailand from November 17-19 and take part in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. A statement by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said… “At the invitation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha of the Kingdom of Thailand, President Xi Jinping will attend the 29th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand…
- Hot News
Kentucky Fascist Chicken – It’s window breakin’ good
Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) has apologised for inviting German customers to celebrate the anniversary of Kristallnacht by ordering fried chicken and cheese. According to the Guardian, the fast-food giant sent the message to its customers on Wednesday, the 84th anniversary of the night when Nazis gangs attacked Jewish shops, businesses and synagogues across Germany, and the beginning of the Nazis’ attempt…
- Covid-19 News
Covid-19 vaccines for 18 million vulnerable people
The National Vaccine Committee is to provide Covid-19 vaccines to 18 million vulnerable people next year, including medical staff and health volunteers. The government has provided 143 million vaccine shots in the past two years, saving an estimated 500,000 lives. COVID-19 infections appear to be on the rise again, especially among those who are unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated, while…
- Hot News
Is your sacking really necessary? Elon Musk’s ship of twits sails on
Head twit Elon Musk told employees your sacking is necessary. What he told Yoel Roth and Robin Wheeler, two ex-members of his new “leadership” team, no one knows. But the word is, they have jumped ship anyway, necessarily. When Musk bought Twitter last month, one of the first things he did was fire most of the board and appoint some…
- Environment News
Dangerously ill elephant returns to Thailand for veterinary treatment
Muthu Raja, a 30-year-old bull elephant who was born in Thailand, is dangerously ill and has been handed over to the Thai Embassy in Sri Lanka to be repatriated for veterinary treatment. Muthu Raja is one of two elephants given by Queen Mother Rajawongse Sirikit Kitiyakar to former Sri Lankan President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga back in 2001. He was chosen…
- Technology News
Subsidised Toyota bZ4X finally on sale in Thailand
The long-awaited new electric Toyota bZ4X went on sale in Thailand Wednesday, taking advantage of new government subsidies. In February, the Thai government introduced subsidies of up to 150,000 baht (US$4,000) per electric vehicle (EV). The new Toyota is the first Japanese car to qualify. The tax break for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) covers passenger cars with no more than 10…
- China News
Bangkok police arrest fake Chinese diplomat
Immigration police in Bangkok arrested a 33 year old Chinese man, found with a fake Thai ID card, a fake police motorcycle and a fake military uniform. Shao Xiaobo was arrested at a rented building in Bangkok’s Sutthisarn area on Wednesday, the office of an unnamed commercial association. Pol Maj Gen Phanthana Nuchanart, the deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau,…
- Technology News
Primary teacher arrested for ‘schoolgirl’ porn
A primary school teacher in Samut Prakan has been arrested for selling alleged “schoolgirl porn” on social media. In some of the videos the teacher named Natdanai, aged 28, is seen having sex with females in school uniform. Natdanai has admitted to earning about one million baht (US$25,000) over the last year from the videos. Bangkok’s cybercrime force arrested the…
