- Thailand Weather Updates
As storms continue, 23 billion baht might not be enough
The Thai government is to spend at least 23 billion baht (US$600 million) on helping people who have suffered in the recent flooding. According to today’s Bangkok Post, at yesterday’s Cabinet meeting Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha ordered all agencies involved in the flood response to speed up efforts to take care of those who suffered in the flood, and the…
- Central Thailand News
Unhappy days! More Haagen-Dazs destroyed in cancer scare
Almost 28,000 Haagen-Dazs ice creams worth 12 million baht were destroyed in Samut Prakan Monday, even though the samples had not been found to contain a chemical linked to cancer. According to today’s Bangkok Post, the country’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) deputy secretary-general, Weerachai Nolwachai, said on Tuesday that a number of countries in Europe had recalled Haagen-Dazs ice cream…
- Entertainment
Son of a gun! Hunter Biden caught lying on pistol application
The hard drive that Hunter Biden abandoned at a Delaware computer repair shop is the gift to tabloid media that just keeps on giving. The New York Post yesterday claimed to have found a 4-minute, 30-second recording on a copy of the drive that has the United States President Joe Biden’s son begging his sister-in-law-turned-lover Hallie Biden for cash to…
- Crime News
Debt, drugs and death in Phatthalung midnight murder mystery
The story has emerged in today’s Bangkok Post of a Phatthalung woman who was making her way to the hospital after escaping the clutches of her abusive husband. Already in a state of shock, 26 year old Dararat Songnui was further traumatised by the site of her husband’s corpse by the road. Suphamit Chandee had been stabbed to death. A…
- World News
In the soup – wildlife trafficker extradited to US
A Malaysian man arrested for alleged wildlife trafficking has been extradited to the United States. Teo Boon Ching, 57, was put on a flight to the US at Suvarnabhumi airport on Friday night. The suspect, wanted on a warrant issued by the Criminal Court for colluding in wildlife trafficking and money laundering, was arrested at a Bangkok hotel on June…
- Crime News
Miracle at nap time – the girl who survived
Three-year-old Ammy slept through the whole thing. During the assault by the crazy killer who burst into her daycare centre, Ammy slumbered on, unnoticed by the man with the knives. Ammy has a habit of completely wrapping herself up in her blankets, and according to her mother, Panomphat Srithong, that might have saved her. Panomphat was working at an electronics…
- Crime News
Once bitten… English financial advisor who took chunk out of Thai investors
Foreign financial “advisors” have been defrauding the country’s ex-pats for decades. Does seeing the arrest of Briton Mark Kirkham mean that the Thai economic police are finally catching up with them? Probably not, and why would you expect them to? Kirkham, according to financial blogger Andrew Drummond, looked every inch the upstanding member of the community on his arrest at…
- Entertainment
Ring craft – Muay Thai referees saving fighters from themselves
Muay Thai has some amazing referees, lots of them being former fighters themselves. One referee has recently been showered with praise for his quick reaction that saved a fighter from a “kill shot,” an aptly-named illegal kick to the head. Refereeing can be an unappreciated task – especially in combat sports. As well as risking injury yourself, you’re never going…
- World News
Rare pink diamond sells for US$57m in Hong Kong auction
A rare diamond, described in the auction catalogue as “fancy vivid pink” has been sold for 453 million Hong Kong dollars (US$57 million) – more than double its estimate – a world record for a diamond sold at auction. The UK’s Guardian newspaper reports that the 11.15-carat Williamson Pink Star is named after another pink diamond, simply “the Williamson” given…
- World News
Myanmar border monastery destroyed in air raid
A monastery in the Karen State village of Mekatha was turned to rubble in an attack by fighter jets on October 6. Airstrikes by the Myanmar air forces on Thursday destroyed the monastery and several houses in a village near the border with Thailand. The attack on the village began at around 2.30am and lasted about half an hour. At…
- Health
When snakes strike, why not call for the chicken-ass squad?
As a country where there are about 7,000 bites by snakes each year, leading to about 30 deaths, something that everyone who lives in Thailand knows, or should know, is that sucking out snake venom is a terrible idea. That John Wayne staple has long been debunked, as any boy scout could tell you. But what if you persuade someone, or…
- Thai Law News
Pakistan’s transgenders dragged back into Dark Ages
Early last month, Pakistani Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan proposed the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights amends the Transgender Protection Act of 2018, leading to a firestorm of online abuse on both sides of the argument. Despite its desire to be known as a conservative society with strong Islamic inclinations, Pakistan is one of only a few countries with legislation…
- Things To Do
LIV golfers trundle pointlessly into Bangkok’s ‘billionaire’s paradise’
LIV golfers competing in Bangkok this weekend will not earn any world ranking points, the UK’s Guardian newspaper reports despite very public claims to the contrary. The move is a considerable embarrassment to Greg Norman, CEO of LIV Golf and leader of the rebel tour. Norman had claimed that a partnership with the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Tour,…
- World News
Slaughtered Thai grandfather celebrated in street sign
A thoroughfare in San Francisco was renamed last weekend in commemoration of the 84-year-old Thai grandfather who was killed in a brutal attack last year that spurred the Asian-American community into action against increased physical and verbal assaults during the pandemic. According to usnews.com a short lane in Sonora, close to the University of San Francisco was renamed “Vicha Ratanapakdee…
- Entertainment
‘The Trapped 13’ lets Wild Boars speak for themselves
We’re probably all too familiar with the uplifting tragedy of the Wild Boars football team. We know almost every detail of their time underground, their escape to the light and subsequent international celebrity. But still, the screen adaptations come, three in the last year alone. This time, it’s Netflix The Trapped 13: How We Survived the Thai Cave. The Trapped 13…
- Crime News
Police snag 2.5 meth pills in checkpoint stings
A massive 2.5 million methamphetamine pills and 700 kilos of crystal meth have been found by police in Lampang, Chiang Mai and Phrae provinces. Eighteen suspects were arrested and eight vehicles impounded in three separate cases, according to top cop Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittiprapas at a press conference yesterday. According to reports in the Bangkok Post, two pickups fully loaded…
- Crime News
Shark warning – illegal Chinese money lenders nailed in Pattaya
Sixteen Chinese nationals suspected of running an illegal online money-lending business were arrested during a police raid in Pattaya on Wednesday. Following a tipoff, police and immigration officers in Pattaya’s Bang Lamung district, raided a three-storey townhouse at around 3pm on Wednesday. The officers were given information that a gang of foreign nationals were using the house as their operational base,…
- Entertainment
Immersed in coffee on Ratchadamri Road
Visitors to CentralWorld on Bangkok’s Ratchadamri Road, have a chance to try and buy the best coffee beans from around the world, and gourmet coffee from across Thailand at Coffee Hub until Oct 11. It’s the first big public event by the Specialty Coffee Association of Thailand and promises a so-called immersive experience, perhaps a little too much for someone who does…
- Phuket News
Cheeky Taoist procession spices up Phuket’s veggie fest
Traditionally coinciding with Phuket’s vegetarian festival, mild-mannered vegans on the island have been treated to the decidedly fleshy delights of a nine-day Taoist festival. Central to the event, or at least central to Instagram postings devoted to the event, are the many outlandish facial piercings on display. Taoist devotees adorn their mouths and faces with metal spikes, swords, skewers and…
- Entertainment
Hot tip – Don’t pay hot tips!
To tip or not tip is becoming a hot issue among Thailand’s restaurant goers and waiting staff. For foreigners, tipping can be problematic in this part of Asia with expectations ranging from Chinese-style (no tips ever, anywhere, for anything) to Filipino (tips with everything). No matter what your situation is though, according to the law, 10% is enough. On Tuesday,…
- Crime News
Danish heroin smuggler dies in Klong Prem Prison
Danish national Niels Jørgen Jensen has died in Bangkok’s maximum security Klong Prem Central Prison in Chatuchak District. The news was confirmed by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in an email to Danish media, Ekstra Bladet. Jensen is the real name of the prisoner known in the Klong Prem as Peter Effersøe, a convicted heroin smuggler. According to the ministry, Jensen’s…
- World News
Malaysian beauty salon gets makeover as dentistry school
As the world supply chain collapses and unemployment rises, why not think about retraining as a small-town dentist? And why not rebrand your beauty salon as a school of dentistry? That was the plan of the owner of a fly-ridden hole-in-the-wall beauty salon in Malaysia’s in Setapak district. The former manicure parlour not only provided dental courses and issued certificates…
- Thailand News
Northern floods tragedy – Monks unable to help
Waist-high water flooded into riverfront neighbourhoods after the remains of Hurricane Noru dumped a heavy load of rain and knocked down trees. The heaviest rainfall, about 22 centimetres in 24 hours, was recorded in the north-eastern province of Ubon Ratchathani, where more than 5,000 people were moved to shelters on higher ground. In Chai Nat province, Buddhist monks made their…
- World News
Xi’s Bangkok APEC trip to open tourist floodgates
If Chinese President Xi Jinping shows up at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Bangkok that could go a long way to securing 12 million tourists this year, according to Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakan. Phiphat believes as many as 1.5 million Chinese travellers could visit Thailand in December if Xi allows outbound tourism to resume. The Chinese…
- Thailand News
King Charles III debuts on UK coins
The British Royal Mint has unveiled the image of King Charles III to be used in the country’s coins. The first coins to be emblazoned with the regal portrait are to be commemorative five-pound crowns and the reverse of a 50-pence coin commemorating the life of Queen Elizabeth II. King Charles has been next in line to the throne for…
- Politics News
The long goodbye – Which way now for PM Prayut?
No matter which side you are on, yesterday’s Constitutional Court ruling gives us some measure of much-needed clarity. After weeks of debate and rumour, we now know that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s term started on April 6, 2017, the date the present charter came into force. His previous leadership as part of the junta government does not count. What we…
- Pattaya News
Pattaya Police Chief cleared of vice slurs, back on duty
Troubled Pattaya Police chief Pol Col Kunlachart Kunlachai has been reinstated after being temporarily placed in an inactive post following allegations the top cop forced a Kyrgyzstani woman into prostitution. The woman later committed suicide. Pol Col Kunlachart is set to return to Pattaya Police headquarters immediately, following a September 30 order by Pol Maj Gen Attasit Kitchahan, commander-in-chief of…
- Thailand Weather Updates
Hurricane Ian lashes South Carolina
A reinvigorated Hurricane Ian battered South Carolina Friday, deluging neighbourhoods with calf-high water. The storm caused calamitous damage in Florida and trapped thousands in their homes. Streams of rain whipped trees and power lines and left many areas under water. Four piers along the coast collapsed into the waves and were washed away. Online cameras showed seawater in Garden City…
- Thailand Protest News
Anti-Prayut rallies expected across Bangkok
Following the reinstatement of General Prayut Chan-o-cha as Prime Minister by the Constitutional Court yesterday, anti-Prayut activists have called a mass demonstration at the Victory Monument on Saturday to show their contempt for the court’s wisdom. Led by activist Thatchapong Kaedam and dressed in black, a contemptuous crowd of Ratsadon movement members gathered at Pathumwan skywalk in front of Bangkok…
