- Thailand Election News
UTN deputy leader accused of taking King’s name in vain
A Saturday speech at an election rally by deputy UTN leader Trairong Suwankiri that referred to the Thai royal family has set a former election commissioner’s ears buzzing. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s brand new Ruam Thai Sang Chart Party (United Thai Nation/UTN) could be in trouble. The new political force is already looking somewhat slightly tarnished, as a senior PM…
- Tourism News
Nok Air begins Bangkok-Hyderabad flights
Thailand’s budget airline Nok Air has begun direct Bangkok-Hyderabad flights linking the Thai capital with India’s IT hotspot. A Boeing 737-800 aircraft with 189 Economy Class seats plies the nonstop route from Don Mueang International Airport to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport four times per week. Nok Air begins Bangkok-Hyderabad flights The new route provides Hyderabad, a major centre for the…
- Tourism News
Jetstar Bangkok flight stranded in Alice Springs
Hundreds of passengers on a Jetstar Bangkok flight Saturday were stranded on board the aircraft at Alice Springs airport for seven hours. The latest mega-delay comes just days after a 2-hour flight across Japan became a 16-hour nightmare when a flight was denied permission to land because it was 10 minutes late. Jetstar flight JQ30 was heading from Bangkok to Melbourne on Saturday with 320 passengers…
- Hot News
Grab Food delivery guys do the funniest things…
A clip of a Grab Food delivery guy who suddenly started entertaining diners on the piano at a bakery in Khon Kaen in northeast Thailand went viral this weekend. The clip shows the delivery guy playing the piano and singing a song while waiting to pick up his order. And he’s not half bad. Restaurant goers were visibly delighted and…
- Northern Thailand News
Udon Thani thief with a heart of gold, and head of lead
What happened to an Udon Thani thief last week could so easily happen to any of us. You are strolling down the street – or cycling – and something in a shop window catches your eye, shiny and glittery. You pause to admire some random treasure beyond the glass and you think: “That’s beautiful. I’d love to own that.” But…
- Health
FDA seizes imported Chinese food
The Food and Drug Administration seized almost 4,000 items of imported Chinese food from seven Bangkok stores yesterday. FDA deputy secretary-general Weerachai Nolwachai said his agency had discovered that 3,783 food products sold at the stores had not been certified by the Thai FDA. Weerachai said… “They have no proper labelling for food products, and no Thai labels. None of…
- Hot News
TAT imposes Tipsy Tubing ban over the River Pai
The viral popularity of tubing down the Pai River in Mae Hong Son province has proved much too much for the provincial office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). The authority has imposed a Tipsy Tubing ban, putting a quick stop to all that highly profitable fun. The authority claims to be doing nothing more but enforcing safety regulations…
- Things To Do
Preserving Thailand’s historic railway heritage
In most countries, people take great pride in their railway systems. Thailand’s historic railways, however, occupy a different place in the national psyche. Time, money and effort go into the conservation of valuable public assets around the world that give a sense of place, beauty and identity. When developers want to tear down old railway stations, people take to the…
- Transport News
Thai Airways to merge with Thai Smile to ‘reduce losses’
Thai Airways is to merge with Thai Smile to “reduce losses.” The plan is expected to be approved by the end of this year. Piyasvasti Amranand, chairman of THAI’s committee overseeing the airline’s rehabilitation, said the restructuring had been on the cards for a while and had always been part of the plan. “A study about the merger plan is…
- Hot News
Thai wife murdered in Yorkshire Dales – British police go home
A British police cold-case squad are in Thailand to speak with the family of a Thai wife murdered in the Yorkshire Dales. Twenty years after the half-naked body of Lamduan Seekanya, was found in a stream near Pen-y-ghent in 2004, officers failed to interview her husband, prime suspect David Armitage. For 15 years the identity of the woman remained unknown…
- Transport News
AOT soar above last year’s levels
As Thailand’s economy rebounds to close to pre-pandemic levels, the recovery can be traced directly to more flights. Airports of Thailand are set to soar above last year’s levels of both domestic and international arrivals, and the millions of tourists these flights bring. The first two months of this year have seen 150,000 flights, double the number in the same…
- Entertainment
Netflix subscription fees cut to outmanoeuvre rivals
Streaming giant Netflix has cut subscription prices by up to 60% in over 30 countries, including Thailand. Netflix subscription fees are seen as too high amid serious competition. The move to cut prices could boost growth. Why do Netflix subscription fees matter? While streaming services such as Apple TV+ and Disney+, have decided to hike subscription rates, Netflix has decided…
- Transport News
Thai Airways Q4 loss narrows
Thai Airways Q4 profit almost tripled as tourists started to return to the holiday kingdom. The carrier’s net income for the three months ending December 31 rose to 11.2 billion baht (US$300 million) from 4 billion baht a year earlier, chief executive officer Chai Eamsiri said on Friday. Thai Airways Q4 profit to support strong growth in 2023 Operating income…
- Business News
Malware and ransomware biggest threat to Thai businesses
Malware and ransomware continue to be just as much of a threat to businesses this year as last, according to a cybersecurity firm FortiGuard Labs. The global cyber threat study and research team, found malware and ransomware with sophisticated attack patterns and delivery remain the main threats to Thai organisations. Vulnerability will increase During the fourth quarter of 2022, FortiGuard…
- Hot News
Calvin and Hobbes author comes out of his shell
On New Year’s Eve 1995, six-year-old Calvin and his tiger, Hobbes, sledged off together for the last time. It was the final strip in Bill Watterson’s acclaimed comic, Calvin and Hobbes, which appeared in 2,400 newspapers. The man who had become a cartooning legend all but disappeared, rarely giving interviews. Last week’s announcement of Watterson’s first major work in nearly…
- Things To Do
Best park runs in Bangkok
There’s no better way to take in the sights of Bangkok than by running. Public transportation away from the metro systems is useless. Taxis and tuk tuks are a baffling rip-off. The city is far too big to walk around. Park runs in Bangkok are the most fulfilling transportation routes in the city. One of the coolest places to see…
- Expats
‘My husband keeps disappearing to Thailand’ – and I don’t know why
It sounds like a bad dream. But for one woman it is the very sad reality of her marriage. The New York Post reported how a 70 year old woman shared on UK television that after 50 years of marriage, her husband keeps disappearing to Thailand and spending “hundreds of pounds there monthly.” Speaking on a segment called the “Dear…
- Tourism News
Forest encroachment at Thap Lan puts tigers at risk
Forest encroachment at Thap Lan National Park in Prachin Buri – the heartland of Thailand’s tiger population – has become so severe that Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa is considering the possibility of new borders being drawn up. Varawut said… “I’m confident the government won’t be disadvantaged by using forest borderlines to solve this problem inside the park.…
- Health
Smoke without fire – Thailand’s vaping law
While e-cigarettes are used around the world as a way of helping people quit smoking, travellers must be aware that Thailand’s vaping law means these devices are illegal in the kingdom. Whatever the motivations for the ban were in the first place, it’s now just another way for Thai police to fleece visitors. Vaping remains illegal under Thailand’s vaping law…
- Environment News
Restoration of Maya Bay balances tourism, sustainability
The restoration of Maya Bay, Thailand, balances tourism with sustainability. Phi Phi Islands’ tropical paradise, made famous by Leonardo DiCaprio’s movie The Beach, has drastically reduced visitor numbers, and sea life is flourishing. The beach was closed in 2018 and before the pandemic hit, and in many respects, the past two years without pressure from great numbers of visitors have…
- 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…
- 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.…
- 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…
- 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…
- Crime News
Chiang Mai mother pays 400 baht (plus extras) for husband’s murder
A Chiang Mai mother trapped in a loveless marriage of more than 20 years, last week decided that she had taken enough beatings and abuse. Living in the village of Khun Yuam, Kanda Cheewasawat was exhausted by the brutality of her vicious, drunken husband Phetchaburapa Meesri many years before. She had often tried to leave, but he wouldn’t let her.…
- World News
ASEAN to rescue trafficking victims from Chinese gangs
Thailand is a key destination country for migrant workers, human trafficking, and forced labour. Many IT jobseekers who end up in Thailand look to ASEAN to rescue trafficking victims recruited by Chinese gangs as slaves in cybercrime factories. ASEAN is now to help rescue these trafficking victims reeled in with promises of high-paying jobs overseas which turn out to be…
- Economy News
Thailand’s Q4 economy slows as exports decline
Thailand’s Q4 economy grew by 1.4% in the final quarter of 2022 with hopes high for a tourism-led recovery. Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy grew slower than expected in the fourth quarter of 2022 as exports and manufacturing declined. The much-anticipated rebound in tourism will continue to boost the recovery this year as global demand for manufactured goods declines. On a…
- Hot News
Warrior Zhuo and the Fish Farmer, a TikTok love story
As women all over the world struggle to avoid nuptial nonsense if they can, the ancient institution has lost none of its lustre in China, where love and marriage blossom beside the street, and Warrior Zhuo met her match. Chinese media loves a love story. Zero-to-hero narratives with fairy-tale endings are not hard to find in the world’s most populous…
- China News
Chinese billionaire tech banker Bao Fan is missing
Chinese billionaire tech banker Bao Fan is missing. The disappearance of the China Renaissance renegade chair is not a huge surprise but raises fears of a fresh crackdown on China’s finance industry With billionaire boss either banged up or on the lam, Renaissance, one of the country’s top investment banks has plunged into turmoil. ‘Do not believe the rumours’ Bao…
- Thailand News
Thailand’s new lotteries sold via Pao Tang app
The Government Lottery Office approved a plan for Thailand’s new lotteries – the six-digit (L6) and three-digit (N3) lotteries. The move was proposed by the Finance Ministry. Entry into the L6 lottery will be 80 baht (US$2.30), the same as lotteries currently available. The L6 lottery will only be available in digital format. Tickets will be sold via the Pao…
