- World News
US plays mischief-maker in Taiwan Strait to infuriate China
To no one’s surprise, the United States provided further evidence of playing mischief-maker in other nations’ affairs yesterday when two US warships passed through the Taiwan Strait. It comes less than a month since US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan and made a number of crass comments to infuriate China. Washington says the two guided-missile cruisers, the USS Antietam…
- Thailand News
Thailand’s House of Representatives finally passes torture bill
The House of Representatives has finally passed a draft of the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act. It will come into effect in December. Of the 289 MPs present, 287 voted in favour, one voted against, and one abstained. The draft act will be proposed to His Majesty the King and will come into effect 120 days…
- South Thailand News
3 injured in possible insurgency bomb attack in S Thailand
An insurgency attack has not been ruled out as a bomb flipped over a truck injuring three passengers in the southern province of Narathiwat last night. The bomb went off on Highway No 4217 which runs through Ban Iso village in Narathiwat’s Chanae district causing the truck to flip about four times, knocking over an electricity pole, before it landed…
- World News
US spits dummy out in China tit-for-tat airline row
The childish rattle-throwing, tit-for-tat games continue between the United States and China with the US declaring it is banning 26 flights to China in response to the mainland suspending some US flights for importing Covid-19. The US spat its dummy out in objection to China revising its Covid policies. The mainland stated on August 7 that if 4% of passengers…
- Crime News
Thai cops seize couple from China smuggling drugs to Australia
A Chinese couple is facing a lifetime in prison, and a possible death sentence, after police arrested the pair trying to mail heroin to Australia with a street value of about US$500,000. Officers from the Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB) in central Thailand swooped to arrest the couple, Jun Dai, and Jiali Xie, in front of a chicken rice shop in…
- Thailand News
Horny primate grabs tourist’s boobs at a Bangkok zoo
A horny primate grabbed a handful of a beautiful woman’s boobs at a zoo in Bangkok as she posed for a picture and she thought it was hilarious. Tourist Angel Orangelor was on a trip to Safari World in Thailand’s capital on August 10 when she saw the zoo’s orangutan. She asked a friend to take a picture of them…
- Thailand News
China opens classroom doors to students from Thailand
Good news for students from Thailand as China announced last night that schools will be finally opening their doors to foreign students for the first time in two years. Last year the Chinese ambassador, Han Zhiqiang, said that students from Thailand would be one of the first groups allowed to return to China when the country reopens. Thailand has more…
- Tourism News
Filipino workers invited to check in with Thailand tourism sector
Workers from the Philippines are invited to check in with the Thai tourism industry. A meeting last week between the Philippines Department of Tourism (DOT), and the Thailand Ministry of Tourism and Sports (MOTS) concluded positively with an agreement to open the hospitality door to Filipino workers. The MOTS minister, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, made it known there is a shortage of workers…
- Thailand News
Thailand govt to stop criminal online sales of date rape drug
The Thai government warned drug manufacturers illegally distributing Rohypnol that they face massive fines and prison if caught. Deputy Government Spokesperson Traisuree Taisaranakul revealed PM Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha is concerned about the illegal sales of Rohypnol online and instructed the relevant departments to stop it after a recent trend of teenagers taking the drug for fun emerged. “Online trading is…
- Pattaya News
Makhot scoops 50,000 baht in Miss LGBT Thailand heat
The winner of the Miss LGBT Chon Buri pageant announced she was proud to represent her community in the final of the competition next year. Makhot scooped first prize and 50,000 baht at the event yesterday hosted at the Royal Garden Plaza Pattaya by Miss LGBT Thailand. Miss LGBT Thailand 2023 provides an opportunity for all LGBT individuals to showcase…
- Pattaya News
Woman takes poison & plunges to death from balcony in Pattaya
A woman who couldn’t face up to living alone took some rat poison and then threw herself off a fifth-floor balcony in Pattaya. It is believed the woman, Amphon Ersinger, was grief-stricken after recently losing her foreign husband so took some poison and jumped to her death from the balcony of her apartment in Soi Na Kluea 14, Moo (bloc)…
- World News
LGBTQ+ community hail Singapore’s gay sex repeal
The LGBTQ+ community hailed Singapore’s announcement to end the ban on gay sex as “a win for humanity.” Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced the decision, that the city-state will repeal the law that bans gay sex, on national television last night. The 70 year old PM said they would abolish the law as he believed it “is the right…
- Transport News
China’s new battery charges EV revolution in Thailand
Great news for Thailand’s commuters as they get on board with the electric vehicle (EV) revolution. A new battery has been developed to ensure travelers can get to their destination faster and uninterrupted. Chinese car manufacturer Great Wall Motor (GWM) has developed a new 20Ah sulfur-based solid-state prototype battery that could expand the range of electric vehicles to 1,000km per…
- Bangkok News
Tourists by locals in Bangkok: mad, bad, and dangerous to know
Pre-Covid-19 Bangkok was the most visited city in the world according to Mastercard’s Global Destination Cities Index. The Land of Smiles’ capital city attracted about 23 million visitors, more than any of the globe’s favourite other destinations including Paris, London, and Singapore. But ever wondered what the locals think of millions of farangs who visit the metropolis? The Latvian-based independent…
- Thailand News
Angry tourists demand refunds from tour operators in Thailand
Dozens of angry tourists are demanding refunds from Thai tour companies after they were denied entry into South Korea. The Thai Tourism Department acknowledged they had received complaints from 67 Thai travellers between August 5 and August 17 saying they had not been compensated by Thai tour companies to the tune of 1.4 million baht. The department’s deputy director-general, Jaturon…
- Cannabis News
New govt bill on cannabis hopes to clear blurred lines in Thailand
A new government bill on cannabis and hemp use revealed that people will be allowed to grow no more than 15 cannabis plants for household use while selling and advertising cannabis and cannabis-based products online and in vending machines will be prohibited. The House committee spokesperson scrutinising the latest cannabis and hemp bill yesterday announced the amendment will go before…
- World News
China not cod-ing about its zero Covid policy as it tests fish
China was not cod-ing when it said it remains committed to its zero Covid-19 policy. This week fish caught off the coast of Xiamen, in southeastern Fujian province, were given nucleic acid tests alongside the fishermen who hauled in the catch. China’s overzealous zero Covid strategy was made fun of by a Chinese media outlet, Sohu (搜狐新闻), who posted a video on…
- World News
Monkeypox victims told to avoid animals after pet dog is infected
The World Health Organisation appealed to those infected with monkeypox to avoid exposing animals to the disease after the first reported case of a human-to-dog transmission emerged. The British-based medical journal, the Lancet, last week reported an Italian greyhound, living with two men in Paris, had caught monkeypox. Rosamund Lewis, the WHO’s technical lead for monkeypox made it known that…
- Thailand News
2 men on a motorcycle rob a gas station in Chon Buri
Police are on the lookout for two opportunist thieves who robbed a gas station in Chon Buri yesterday. The two men arrived at the PTT gas station. No. 114/22, Village No. 2, Nong Samsak Sub-district, in the Ban Bueng subdistrict on a motorbike wearing full-face helmets and robbed about 6,000 baht in cash before fleeing the scene. Pol. Lt. Col. Ekachai Pakwat,…
- Cannabis News
Thai govt open to cannabis recreation, not pot-smoking tourists
Thailand’s Public Health Minister made contradictory statements yesterday regarding the recreational use of cannabis. In one statement Anutin Charnvirakul said he was open to the further liberalisation of the drug and in another, he said pot-smoking tourists are not welcome in Thailand. “We don’t welcome those kinds of tourists,” said The 55 year old Bhumjaithai Party leader at a “Meet…
- Thailand News
Body of one teacher found in double suicide pact in SE Thailand
The body of one of the two teachers who jumped off a bridge in Muang district in a double suicide pact has been recovered. A member of the public Anon Boonsert revealed that he saw two women sitting inside a Honda car parked on the Bang Phra Bridge, connecting Wang Krachae subdistrict and Nong Khan Song subdistrict, in Trat Province,…
- Thailand News
Hot gran bowled over by Shane Warne before he died in Thailand
The world’s self-proclaimed “hottest grandma” revealed she was secretly dating cricket legend Shane Warne before his death in Thailand earlier this year. Australia OnlyFans star Gina Stewart claimed she first met Warne in 2018 at the Gold Coast, Queensland. The 51 year old model revealed she has gone public about their relationship because she says she’s still finding it hard…
- Pattaya News
Sick German man fails in suicide attempt in Pattaya
A German man with a debilitating medical condition tried to shoot himself but missed in a failed suicide attempt in Pattaya. The 82 year old man, believed to be Jonas Wolfgang Dietrich, was found unconscious with a gun wound to the chest on Sunday at about 10.30pm at 352/58 Village No. 5, Nong Prue Subdistrict, Bang Lamung District in Chon…
- Pattaya News
Pattaya cops arrest spurned lover armed with gun after car chase
A high-speed car chase between police and a spurned lover armed with a gun ended when officers managed to arrest the man in a state of emotional duress in Pattaya. Police were called to the scene of a domestic dispute between Jane Ditphakdi and an unnamed woman, who rejected his advances, and another man trying to mediate the argument yesterday…
- South Thailand News
Landmines kill 1, injure 10 in Deep South of Thailand
A soldier was killed and ten people were injured after two landmines were detonated at a rubber plantation in the Deep South of Thailand yesterday. Of the ten people injured in the explosion at the rubber plantation in Kok Ko, a village in Narathiwat province, southern Thailand, six were police officers and four were civilians. The injuries to the police…
- Things To Do
British artist creates land art in tribute to Bangkok governor
It is fair to say that Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt has been a breath of fresh air to politics since he won the 2022 gubernatorial election by a landslide in May. The 56 year old city chief has captured the imagination of Thailand’s capital city and made others around the kingdom sit up and take note of his “get things…
- Crime News
Thailand sentences musician to 6 years for royal defamation
A Thai musician was sentenced to six years in prison today after Thailand’s Criminal Court found him guilty of being defamatory toward the royal family in 2016. Parinya Cheewinkulpathom, aka “Port Fai Yen,” a member of the Fai Yen band, was accused of posting three messages on Facebook deemed critical of the Thai royal family. The 37 year old was…
- South Thailand News
Thai temple man charged with murder of alleged would-be robber
Police revealed a temple servant wanted for murder surrendered at Hat Yai police station yesterday at about 5pm. Pinyo Suwanno, who helps out at a temple near Niphat Songkhro 2 Road, Hat Yai Municipality, Songkhla Province, confessed to killing 47-year-old Thammarit Ngamchom because he overheard him plan a robbery of the temple. The 48 year old alleged murderer, also known…
- Thailand News
Gunman wounds 8 in Jerusalem, 48 dead in Israeli Gaza strikes
Mainstream media last night reported eight people had been wounded after a gunman opened fire at two locations in Jerusalem. According to reports, the man who pulled the trigger is believed to be a Palestinian who targeted a bus carrying Jewish worshippers who had just prayed at the Western Wall and people in a car park near the holy site.…
- Crime News
Author Salman Rushdie stabbed at New York lecture
Booker Prize winning author Salman Rushdie has been attacked on stage in New York City. The 75 year old writer was speaking at an event at the Chautauqua Institution when a male suspect ran up onto the stage and attacked Rushdie and an interviewer. Rushdie was stabbed in the neck before he was rushed to hospital by helicopter His condition…