- Crime News
Army man rents 12 luxury cars, then sells them to used car dealers
A former army sergeant came up with a creative – and illegal – way to pay off some debt. He allegedly rented 12 luxury cars and then forged paperwork to sell the borrowed vehicle to car dealers. The sergeant has now been arrested by the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) yesterday and faces charges of fraud, counterfeiting, and using counterfeit official…
- Northern Thailand News
Chiang Rai runway closed after Nok Air plane skids off runway
In Chiang Rai, a Nok Air plane slid off the runway while landing due to heavy rains that resulted in slippery ground conditions. The accident took place last night, as a landing Boeing 737-800 skidded off the runway at Mae Fah Luang International Airport in the northern province. No one was injured in the crash, but it did force the…
- World News
PayPal, Yahoo, gaming sites blocked for users in Indonesia
Social media is erupting in Indonesia after the government blocked multiple gaming websites, PayPal, and Yahoo for failing to follow licensing rules in the country. The new regulations, enacted last November, allow authorities to force websites to share data of users and take down unlawful content that is said to disturb public order within 24 hours, or four hours for…
- Thailand News
Foreign arrival screening increased to prevent monkeypox spread
The Thai government is taking precautions to screen incoming travellers from countries with monkeypox outbreaks in hopes of preventing its spread in the kingdom. Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul reported that his ministry is coordinating airport screening and focusing on people travelling from countries that are struggling with a monkeypox outbreak. The deputy director-general of the Department of Disease…
- Environment News
More tigers in Thailand than any other Southeast Asian country
Happy International Tiger Day! Thailand is celebrating it by declaring that, after over a decade of conservation, Thailand now has the most tigers in the wild of any nation in Southeast Asia. Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Varawut Silpa-archa announced that this is due in large part to the National Strategy for Tiger Conservation, a programme that has been…
- Road deaths
SLOW DOWN! Speed limits on highways in Thailand now in effect
Thailand’s notoriously dangerous roads may be getting a little bit safer. A new regulation just reported by the Expressway Authority of Thailand is slapping speed limits on the highways and expressways throughout the country. On the ground, the maximum speed will be set at 110 kilometres per hour, while elevated roadways will be capped at 100 kilometres an hour. The…
- Crime News
British man injured in assault by Thai taxi driver, or was it a fence?
What looked to be another blight on Thailand’s treatment of foreigners ended up instead as a blight on foreigners in Thailand as a British man who claimed to have been attacked by a taxi driver in Chiang Mai confessed that he had actually injured himself on a fence. The man suffered cuts in the palm of his hand and on…
- Tourism News
Russian airline Aeroflot resuming flights from Moscow to Phuket
After halting flights due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Aeroflot is now planning on relaunching service from Russia to Phuket. The Russian airline will start its daily flight service from Moscow to Phuket on October 30, to shepherd Russians to the tropics to escape the cold of winter. Earlier this year, Aeroflot was joined with other Russian airlines in…
- Crime News
Drunk Russian man smashes glass door on Pattaya gogo bar
After not being able to pay his tab in a Pattaya gogo bar, a drunk Russian tourist went on a rampage, smashing the bar’s glass door and punching a security guard. The incident took place at Dolls, a girlie bar on Pattaya Walking Street late last night involving a 25 year old Russian man identified only as Viago. Pattaya police…
- Tourism News
Travel packages mired by pricey airfare, slowing tourism recovery
Many that have been eagerly awaiting the full reopening of Thailand and the return of tourism, did not anticipate the severe cost of airfare and travel packages that has come with it. Now, tourism recovery in Thailand is threatened by the staggeringly high cost to fly, pricing many would-be travellers out of the trip. The president of the Thai Travel…
- Environment News
130 tonnes of imported waste going back to Australia
Many expats living in Thailand are shocked when they see locals dumping their trash on the side of the road, but it turns out there is a much bigger perpetrator of illegal dumping in the kingdom. The Inter-Pacific Paper Company was caught by Thai authorities shipping 130 tonnes of illegal waste to Thailand from Australia. The Department of Customs contacted…
- World News
US $6.1 million paid for rare Gorgosaurus dinosaur skeleton
Got a couple of million dollars to blow and loved the latest Jurassic Park movie? You just missed your chance to own a rare dinosaur skeleton, as a rare Gorgosaurus fossil just sold at auction for US$6.1 million. The high bid was the fifth most expensive dinosaur sales ever. Sales like this are rare as most countries consider fossils from…
- Covid-19 News
Study reminds that Long Covid, not just death, a hazard of infection
Much of the debate over the continued importance of the Covid-19 pandemic focuses on the milder variants lowering the death rate even when infections are on the rise. But Long Covid – the long-term effects of an infection that can last for weeks or months or longer – is an often overlooked, but potentially major, problem now and in the…
- World News
Bangkok Airways flights resume to Da Nang, Siem Reap, Yangon
Flight traffic is growing in the post-pandemic era, and now Bangkok Airways has announced the resumption of flights to nearby international destinations Vietnam, Cambodia, and Myanmar. Thailand’s boutique airline will resume service in August and September to Da Nang, Siem Reap, and Yangon. Direct daily flights between Bangkok and Siem Reap, the Cambodian tourism mecca and home to the world’s…
- World News
Lulo Rose: Largest coloured diamond in 300 years found in Angola
What experts believe to be the largest coloured gemstone unearthed in 300 years, the “Lulo Rose” is a beautiful pink diamond that weighs in at an impressive 170 carats. Discovered at the Lulo alluvial diamond mine in the African nation of Angola, it was announced to the world by the Australian-based Lucapa Diamond Company that owns the mine on Wednesday.…
- Cannabis News
Public Health Ministry requests, then retracts cannabis crackdown
First, it’s very illegal with harsh punishment, then suddenly it’s legal with no restrictions, then it’s banned for government, military, children, and pregnant women, then it was never intended for recreational use, and then cigarettes containing it will be banned. Now the rollercoaster that is the decriminalisation of cannabis in Thailand took another sharp u-turn as the Ministry of Public…
- Covid-19 News
New studies show Covid-19 started in Wuhan market, not lab
Two new studies suggest rumours of a lab leak or unnatural starts to Covid-19 are likely wrong, as a Wuhan animal market appears to be the epicentre of the pandemic’s beginnings. The studies were published Tuesday in Science, an academic journal, and point to a natural transition from animals to humans as the start of Covid, not any sort of…
- Thailand News
8 common problems for Thai consumers addressed
Scam calls and texts, being cheated, pricy expenses… everything isn’t always rosy in the Land of Smiles. Now, the Thailand Consumers Council has drawn up a list of eight typical real-life issues that are decreasing the quality of life for consumers in the country. During a meeting with the Senate Committee on Human Rights, Rights and Liberty, and Consumers Protection…
- Thailand News
Was the Nigerian man the real first monkeypox case in Thailand?
The head of the Centre for Medical Genomics at Ramathibodi Hospital has addressed what many have questioned in the wild case of the Nigerian man who was diagnosed in Phuket with monkeypox and then fled to Cambodia. This first confirmed case of monkeypox in Thailand was likely contracted inside of the country, suggesting earlier, unidentified cases. The Nigerian man arrived…
- Covid-19 News
Emergency Decree extended by cabinet until end of September
The Thai cabinet met yesterday to officially extend the State of Emergency in Thailand, announced earlier this month, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This will be the 19th extension it will prolong the Emergency Decree that was set to expire on July 31, going into effect on August 1 and continuing until September 30. The decree, which was first invoked by…
- Technology News
Mor Prom to transition from Covid to a full healthcare app
Developed and evolved during the pandemic to be an all-purpose Covid-19 centre, the Mor Prom mobile app will now be transitioned into a new life as Thailand’s online health platform. The app was created as a Covid infection tracker, but quickly evolved into a source of coronavirus information, vaccine appointment scheduling and confirming, and a communication tool for the government…
- Thailand News
Royal birthday holiday upcoming July 28-31, and again August 12
We are entering royal birthday season, as this weekend marks July’s second long holiday weekend in celebration of the king’s birthday, followed just two weeks later by the Queen Mother’s birthday. His Royal Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun will celebrate his 70th birthday on Thursday, July 28, prompting a holiday to be extended on Friday to create a four-day holiday…
- Crime News
Pathum Thani Police nab 17 teen gang members after explosions
Gang violence in the Greater Bangkok province of Pathum Thani has escalated with 17 teenagers being arrested by police after throwing small bombs at each other. Thai news media reported that in the province to the north of Bangkok, on Soi Thammasuthee 23, Moo 5, in Muang district, explosions were heard three separate times related to gang wars. The first…
- Tourism News
Aviation industry eyes 33% recovery this year, 100% in 2024
Airports of Thailand (AoT) says the aviation industry is making steady progress in recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic and is forecasting a full recovery by the end of 2024. The AoT believe that in a year and a half, airplane and passenger traffic will finally recover to the levels they were at in 2019. The current prediction is that flight…
- Bangkok News
Bangkok police shoot out tyres in dramatic car chase
A video is going viral of Bangkok police officers shooting out the tyres of a fleeing car that did a runner at a checkpoint in Ekkamai. The incident took place last night when Thong Lor police attempted to stop a red Mitsubishi Mirage at a checkpoint, but the driver refused and tried to speed off. At around 8pm yesterday, officers…
- Phuket News
Health officials test 19 for monkeypox after contact with fugitive
After a Nigerian man fled Thailand upon being diagnosed with monkeypox and was subsequently captured in Cambodia, authorities have been tracking down anyone in contact with him to test them for the disease. Health officials have identified 19 high-risk people who came in close contact with the man and have now tested all of them for monkeypox. Results are still…
- World News
Burmese junta executes 4 democracy activists
In the first executions in Myanmar in decades, the military junta killed four democracy activists they accused of terrorist activities. The executions came after a conviction in January that took place behind closed doors. The four men stood accused of creating pro-democracy militias that fought against the military junta after it seized power last February from the democratically elected government.…
- Crime News
Phuket gold necklace thief arrested, Pattaya thefts still unsolved
After an apparent rise in gold necklace snatching crime, police in Phuket have managed to nab one man accused of grabbing a necklace from a woman on her motorbike a few days ago. The necklace that was grabbed as the woman rode her motorbike was gold with a pendant attached and is valued at about 35,000. The Deputy Inspector-General of…
- World News
Monkeypox declared a Global Health Emergency by WHO
Monkeypox has been found in 74 countries around the world, including Thailand and now Cambodia, and the World Health Organisation (WHO)has now officially declared it a Global Health Emergency. The warning is the highest rating the WHO can assign, after nearly 17,000 people worldwide have been afflicted with the disease. The chief of the WHO held a press conference where…
- World News
Rohingya genocide case allowed to move forward in UN Court
After more than a year of a violent and often bloody military coup in Myanmar, it’s easy to forget that the country was already mired in genocide accusations before forces overthrew the government in February of last year. But in an ongoing case, the International Court of Justice at the United Nations has rejected Myanmar’s attempt to avoid trial for…
