- Expats
Thailand’s immigration police catch thousands of overstayers thanks to airport biometrics
The chief of Thailand’s immigration police says the biometrics system in place at sixteen airports across the country has so far netted 1,000 people who are blacklisted or on watch lists, 700 who have arrest warrants out for them, and 45,000 who have overstayed in the country. The Nation reports that the system is also used to detect fake passports…
- World News
Thai Airways announces cancellation of six routes to four ASEAN destinations
The President of Thai Airways International says the airline is set to cancel six flight routes to Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Myanmar. The Nation reports that Sumeth Damrongchaitham says the routes in question are all from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport to Vientiane, Luang Prabang, Phnom Penh, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh and Yangon. “These routes are all covered by a small number…
- News
Army chief not planning a leap into political life
Army chief General Apirat Kongsompong will have to wait for two years after he retires before he can run for PM, the Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam has declared – while Apirat himself claims it’s not even something he’s considering. The Nation reports that Prawit Wongsuwan, another Deputy PM, had suggested that Apirat should be Thailand’s next PM, but Wissanu insists…
- News
Thai government plans to issue guidelines for watching Bryde’s whales in Chonburi
The Director of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources says guidelines are needed for Bryde’s whale watching after more than twenty tourists rode jet-skis on a whale-watching trip in Chonburi last week. The Nation reports that Yutthaphon Ankinandana, who is an adviser to the Minister for Natural Resources and the Environment visited the area shortly after and said such…
- Expats
Thai app will ease expat immigration woes and make 90 day reporting simple
The “OSS Foreigner” app is coming, and you will be able to use it for 90 day reporting, according to the Secretary-General at the office of the PM. Dr Kobsak Pootrakool says the planned app can be used for all immigration reporting, including 90 day reports, adding that typing in the required data and uploading a selfie will accomplish the…
- Northern Thailand News
Another illegal concrete structure has to be removed from Thai national park
PHOTO: ชมรมstrong-จิตพอเพียงต้านทุจริต จังหวัดนครศรีธรรมราช A website run by anti-corruption activists has posted a picture of a concrete platform built into a Nakhon Si Thammarat waterfall by food vendors, accusing authorities of failing in their duty to prevent such encroachment. This is the second pouring of concrete encroaching into the creek pointed out by police for immediate removal over the past week.…
- Politics News
Opposition hits out at government’s military spending in 2020 budget
PHOTO: Reuters | The Business Times The opposition is accusing the government of being more concerned with military arms than the daily struggles of Thai citizens. During a debate in Parliament on the budget bill, the government was accused of caring more about the growth in military spending than citizens’ financial woes. The opposition levied the attack after PM General…
- Environment News
Academics warn of high cost of Thai ban on agri-chemicals
The chairman of the Thai Sugarcane Farmers Association, Thongkam Cheongklad, says a ban on the weed-killer paraquat would have a severe impact on production costs. Academics and Thai sugarcane farmers have also expressed their concern over the ban, saying it could cost the industry up to 570 billion baht. The Nation reports that up to 1.2 million people working in…
- Economy News
Study shows most Thai people live hand to mouth
PHOTO: eTamping Nearly half of Thailand’s citizens aged 18-65 are spending everything they earn on monthly bills and living expenses, leaving them with nothing to put aside as savings. A study carried out by GoBear, an international financial comparison site, reveals that the highest percentage of people living paycheck to paycheck (53%) are those in the 36-45 age group. 51% of…
- Crime News
BTS thief and credit card skimmers arrested in Bangkok
Tourist police in Bangkok have arrested a thief accused of pick-pocketing tourists on the city’s BTS Skytrain, along with an Indonesian couple charged with credit card fraud and card skimming. Kasem Masan Jantaro, a 44 year old food vendor in the Huay Kwang market, says he started pick-pocketing when business became too slow for him to adequately support his family. The…
- Thailand News
Her Royal Highness Princess Sirindhorn hospitalised for infection
The Bureau of the Royal Household confirms that Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn is being treated for an infection and inflammation of the digestive tract at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital in Bangkok. The Palace has reported that the princess was admitted yesterday on the recommendation of a medical team caring for her. She had been suffering with stomach…
- Northern Thailand News
Jump in national park visitor numbers as ‘winter’ arrives in northern Thailand
As northern Thailand moves into the ‘cold season’ (well, cold for Thailand) and temperatures drop, national park officials are reporting an increase in visitor numbers. Whilst the temperature is cooling down on the local northern mountain tops, the ground level temperatures are still around 30 (forecast below). But later in December the temperatures sometime reach as low as zero for places…
- Northern Thailand News
Earthquake rattles north-east Thailand
A 3.9 magnitude earthquake has shaken Loei province in north-east Thailand, near the Laos border, although there are no reports of any damage. But residents were certainly talking about it yesterday as it shook the region. The quake was felt at around 12.30pm yesterday, in the main business district of Loei and several of the surrounding sub-districts near the border.…
- Crime News
Drug dealer on the run for 20 years arrested by Thai immigration
PHOTO: The new biometrics working at Phuket international Airport – The Thaiger A female drug dealer who evaded capture for almost 20 years has been nabbed after a spate of recent arrests carried out by Thai immigration police. Thai Residents reports that the criminal court issued an arrest warrant for the woman, Chatamach, back in 2000, for possession of methamphetamine pills with…
- Northern Thailand News
Bodies of 8 dead elephants risk contaminating reservoir in Thai national park
PHOTO: Thai PBS Officials are concerned that the bodies of eight elephants who died after plunging down a waterfall in Khao Yai national park, central Thailand, now risk contaminating the park’s water flowing into a nearby reservoir. Thai PBS World reports that officials at the Khun Dan Prakan Chon reservoir plan to take a boat upstream to Khlong Ton Sai…
- Northern Thailand News
Over 100 million baht worth of assets seized from Thai drug dealers
The homes of three alleged drug traffickers have been raided in a joint operation between Thai police and the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Thai Residents reports that two of the alleged drug traffickers are women and the raids took place in Samut Prakan, Nonthaburi and Sukothai provinces. It’s understood that more than 100 million baht worth of assets has been…
- Chiang Mai News
Hostage drama in Chiang Mai – Man holds seven 7-Eleven employees hostage.
PHOTO: Chiang Mai City Life A former Thai soldier has killed himself following a stand-off with police in Chiang Mai where he had taken seven 7-Eleven employees hostage. Eyewitnesses told Chiang Mai Citylife that a man with a gun arrived at the 7-Eleven in Mae Rim district on Chotana Road at around 5am yesterday and took one of the employees hostage.…
- Food
Singha grabs a 90% stake in Thailand’s Santa Fe restaurant chain
(…or is that a 90% ‘steak’?) PHOTOS: Wongnai DealStreetAsia, an investor news site reporting on Asian business, confirms that Singha Corporation has purchased a majority stake in the Thai restaurant chain, Santa Fe. It’s understood that Singha purchased the shares held by Lakeshore Capital for approximately US$50 million or 1.53 billion baht, giving it a 90% stake in the chain seen…
- World News
Bangkok and Nonthaburi to get 2 extra holidays during ASEAN summit
November 4 and 5 have been approved as official holidays for Bangkok and Nonthaburi as a result of the 35th Asean Summit and Related Summits being held at Impact Arena Muang Thong Thani in Bangkok. Deputy government spokeswoman Traisulee Traisoranakul confirmed yesterday that the measure was being taken in an effort to alleviate traffic problems in both areas during the…
- Economy News
Strong baht and divisive politics threatening Thailand’s economy
The director of the Economic and Business Research Centre for Reform at Thailand’s Rangsit University, says that if the US Federal Reserve cuts the policy rate by another 25 basis points this month, the baht could reach 29 baht to the US dollar. Anusorn Tamajai says such a cut would put pressure on Thailand’s currency, which has been seen as…
- Pattaya News
Toilet break goes wrong when trucks collide in Pattaya, injuring two
PHOTOS: Pattaya Update News The driver of a ten-wheeler truck got more than he bargained for after stopping for a toilet break at the side of the road in Pattaya. Pattaya Update News reports that 57 year old Jirawat parked his truck on the Krathing Rai-Rayong road at about 1.30am over the weekend. While he was away from his vehicle,…
- Crime News
30,000 baht reward offered after prisoner walks away from Bangkok prison
Police in Bangkok are offering a reward of 30,000 baht for information that leads to the capture of an escaped convict. The Daily News reports that Pol Col Chanaworasin Suphaphanarak, the chief of Prachacheun police in northern Bangkok, confirmed the reward yesterday. Phraiphiw Phumiphu, a convicted thief, escaped Bangkok Remand prison on Saturday. It’s understood he had been working outside the prison…
- World News
1000s flock to Hong Kong’s Chater Garden for pro-democracy rally
PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG Last night, Chater Garden, located near government headquarters in the Central district of Hong Kong, was the scene of the city’s first approved rally since the face mask ban came into being about 10 days ago. So far, the face mask ban has been largely ineffectual. A day after an explosive device was detonated during protests,…
- Pattaya News
Angry driver terrifies employees at Chonburi gas station
PHOTO: Sanook.com An employee at a Chonburi gas station has told a Sanook news team how the behaviour of an angry truck driver left her and her colleagues terrified. Niracha, aged 23, used her phone to record a video of the angry customer driving at speed around the gas station and throwing alcohol bottles at another customer. Her colleague Atirut…
- World News
Future Future leader Thanathorn denies interfering in Hong Kong issues
PHOTO: Thai PBS World The leader of Thailand’s Future Forward party, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, says the reaction to him being photographed with Joshua Wong, leader of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, is totally overblown and taken out of context. The picture, taken at a Hong Kong event organised by The Economist magazine where Thanathorn had been invited to speak, went viral on…
- Tourism News
Thai government introduces new measures to improve tourism
Proposed measures to improve tourism in Thailand have been approved in principle by the council of the economic ministers. The steps, proposed by the Tourism and Sports Ministry, are expected to be put in place before the end of 2019 and will mean an increase in the number of places and agents offering a VAT refund service to visitors to…
- Technology News
Thai immigration’s biometrics nabs 3 more fake passport holders
Thailand’s Immigration Bureau commander says the biometric system at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport caught three foreigners carrying fake passports during the month of September. “In the first case, immigration police arrested an Iranian man, aged about 47 years, holding a French passport and travelling from Germany to Thailand. The biometric scanning showed only a 19% match between his face and passport…
- Thailand News
Thailand faces renewed calls to abolish death penalty
A lobby group arguing for the abolishment of the death penalty is urging Thailand to agree to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), as part of a process that would ultimately see an end to capital punishment in the country. To mark World Day Against the Death Penalty, Gothom Arya, a representative…
- World News
Trade talks resume between China and US but hopes fade
Expectations are low as trade talks between China and the US resume today. US President Donald Trump has taken an aggressive stance with China and says he will decide the outcome of the talks. “They want to make a deal. The question is do I want to make a deal.” With $250 billion worth of Chinese imports facing an increase…
- Phuket News
Phuket motorcycle crash leaves one tourist dead, another injured
PHOTO: Kamala Police The Phuket News reports that an Indian woman has been killed, and her male companion injured, following a motorcycle accident in Patong. The accident happened last night on the Patong to Kamala road. When police arrived on the scene shortly after 8.00pm, they found the tourists trapped under an SUV, with the 23 year old driver, Worachat…
