Tara Abhasakun

A Thai-American dual citizen, Tara has reported news and spoken on a number of human rights and cultural news issues in Thailand. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in history from The College of Wooster. She interned at Southeast Asia Globe, and has written for a number of outlets. Tara reports on a range of Thailand news issues.
  • Bangkok NewsBangkok learning centre to host award ceremony for board game competition

    Bangkok learning centre to host award ceremony for board game competition

    One Bangkok learning centre plans to host an awards ceremony for a recent competition it held. The ceremony will be held at TK Park, located on the eighth floor of Central World Bangkok on Rama I Road, from August 6-7. It will last from 10.30am to 5.30pm. TK Park, or The Knowledge Park, has libraries but it also has interactive…

  • Northern Thailand NewsMeth bust in northeast Thailand, pills worth about 20 million baht

    Meth bust in northeast Thailand, pills worth about 20 million baht

    There was another meth bust in northeast Thailand last night, this time in Nakhon Phanom province. Rangers had been patrolling the Mekong River when they noticed a group of men on a long-tail boat. The men took a sack out of the boat and left it on the riverbank before they sped off in their boat. In the sack, the…

  • World NewsLucky American wins US.3 billion in lottery, identity still unknown

    Lucky American wins US$1.3 billion in lottery, identity still unknown

    One lucky American bought the winning lottery ticket at a convenience store outside Chicago in a draw on Friday and landed a US$1.3 billion jackpot. The lucky winner hasn’t been identified yet but, whoever it is, they have scooped the third biggest lottery jackpot in US history. The winning numbers were 13, 36, 45, 57, and 67, plus the mega…

  • Pattaya NewsTwo foreigners killed in separate motorcycle crashes in Pattaya

    Two foreigners killed in separate motorcycle crashes in Pattaya

    Two foreigners were killed in separate motorcycle accidents in Pattaya this weekend, with both incidents happening in the Nong Prue sub-district of Chon Buri’s Bang Lamung district. An Omani man was killed in a motorcycle accident in Pattaya last night (Saturday). Security guards heard at the Royal Cliff Hotel heard the sound of the crash when it happened. They rushed…

  • Phuket NewsCovid-19 outbreak in Phuket elderly home

    Covid-19 outbreak in Phuket elderly home

    There’s been a Covid-19 outbreak in a Phuket elderly home, with a total of 45 people testing positive for the virus so far. Forty-two elderly residents and three guests have been infected, according to the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office Chief Dr Kusak Kukiattikoon. Dr Kusak said the office was informed of the outbreak on July 27. The Phuket Elder…

  • World NewsBurmese and Karen forces battle for 7 hours near Thai border

    Burmese and Karen forces battle for 7 hours near Thai border

    Burmese and Karen forces battled each other for seven hours yesterday, close to the border between Myanmar and Thailand’s northern Tak province. It was the second day of consecutive fighting between the Burmese junta army, and the Karen National Liberation Army alongside Myanmar’s People’s Defence Force. The Burmese army had arrived in a Karen area aiming to capture it, but…

  • Pattaya NewsChon Buri man shoots and kills stepson over noise

    Chon Buri man shoots and kills stepson over noise

    A Chon Buri man claims he shot and killed his stepson in a fit of rage over his loud music. The stepfather, 58 year old Dairat Saelim, shot his stepson 36 year old Prasert Santalulai in the chest and right arm, killing him on the spot in their front yard in the Bor Thong district. Dairat told police that he…

  • Pattaya NewsPolice arrest Australian man allegedly involved in Pattaya’s Harley Davidson shooting

    Police arrest Australian man allegedly involved in Pattaya’s Harley Davidson shooting

    Police have arrested an Australian man who is a suspect in a shooting at a Pattaya Harley Davidson motorcycle shop, which happened back in April. Nongprue police arrested the man yesterday when he was trying to cross a border in Sa Kaeo province. The man is 61 year old Anthony George Leorga. In the shooting, four suspects had allegedly fired…

  • Northern Thailand NewsUPDATE: Police find clues in likely murder case in northeast Thailand

    UPDATE: Police find clues in likely murder case in northeast Thailand

    UPDATE Police have found clues in a likely murder case in northeast Thailand. This news comes after villagers the bodies of a man and a woman in a forest in Chok Chai district in Nakhon Ratchasima province on Thursday night. Now, police have found microchips in the woman’s silicon breast implants. She also had unique tattoos. These include a tattoo…

  • South Thailand NewsScam gang tricks child, steals over a million baht from his father

    Scam gang tricks child, steals over a million baht from his father

    A man in South Thailand is the latest victim of the country’s call centre scam pests. A call centre scam gang tricked the man’s son into transferring 1,206,000 baht to the gang from his father’s bank account from July 7-25. The 49 year old man, ‘A’, and his 10 year old son live in the province of Nakhon Sri Thammarat.…

  • Eastern Thailand NewsCelebrity among thousands of tourists on holiday in Koh Chang

    Celebrity among thousands of tourists on holiday in Koh Chang

    Eastern Thailand’s picturesque island of Koh Chang has been drawing tourists over Thailand’s long holiday weekend, including one celebrity. One of Thailand’s most famous actors, Nadech Kugimiya, was spotted at a show at the Klong Son Elephant camp yesterday. Nadech reportedly donated 160,000 baht for elephant feed. He posted photos and videos of his visit on Instagram. One video shows…

  • Phuket NewsFlooding chaos in Phuket

    Flooding chaos in Phuket

    Yes, Thailand’s monsoon season is still here, and Phuket has been hit by the latest round of flooding chaos. After heavy rain poured down on the island province, cars were slowly driving through high floods in the main city district yesterday. Many people have come to Phuket for the long holiday weekend, which has added to the traffic problems. Traffic…

  • Pattaya NewsPattaya transgender foundation concerned about stereotypes following thefts

    Pattaya transgender foundation concerned about stereotypes following thefts

    A foundation in Pattaya is concerned about stereotypes against transgender people. This news follows a series of thefts against Indian tourists this year, many by transgender people. Most of the thefts involve transgender people snatching gold necklaces off tourists’ necks. However, there was also an incident this week when an Indian tourist said a transgender person stole his wallet. One…

  • Eastern Thailand NewsPolice in eastern Thailand give helmets to riders caught without them

    Police in eastern Thailand give helmets to riders caught without them

    Police in one province in eastern Thailand is giving free helmets to motorcycle riders caught not wearing them. The deputy chief of Trat Provincial Police, along with a team of traffic police, started this new approach today. Instead of fining riders caught without helmets, the police passed out free helmets to riders passing by a school in the main city…

  • Tourism NewsThailand has 2 of the world’s most beautiful beaches, UK newspaper says

    Thailand has 2 of the world’s most beautiful beaches, UK newspaper says

    After all these years, Thailand continues to be renowned for its breathtaking beaches. Thailand has two of the “World’s 20 Most Beautiful Beaches” on a list published by UK’s Daily Star newspaper. Thailand’s Sunrise Beach was ranked in sixth place, and Maya Bay came in at 12th place on the list. Both beaches are located in South Thailand. Sunrise Beach is…

  • World NewsSri Lanka former president’s stay in Singapore extended

    Sri Lanka former president’s stay in Singapore extended

    After fleeing to Singapore on July 14, Sri Lanka’s former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa will now be able to stay in the country until August 11, Reuters reported today. Gotabaya fled Sri Lanka after over 100,000 protestors stormed the presidential palace, demanding that he and the country’s PM resign. Since Gotabaya fled, Sri Lanka’s parliament elected former PM Ranil Wickremesinghe as the…

  • Pattaya NewsBlaze breaks out at Pattaya hotel

    Blaze breaks out at Pattaya hotel

    A fire broke out on the seventh floor of a Pattaya hotel earlier this week. The blaze ripped through a storage room with electrical boxes at the LK Royal Suite Hotel on July 25. The hotel is located in Chon Buri’s Bang Lamung district. Luckily, no injuries were reported, and the fire was put out by the time firefighters arrived…

  • Pattaya NewsPattaya’s Jomtien Beach planning temporary vendor zone

    Pattaya’s Jomtien Beach planning temporary vendor zone

    Pattaya officials have plans for a temporary solution to the drama over Jomtien Beach’s vendors. Earlier this year, a new stretch of the beach was created for tourists to enjoy. But merchants, local businesses, and hawkers quickly moved onto the area setting up stalls, tables, chairs, etc., denying access to people wanting to use the sandy area. Since then, the…

  • Crime NewsBusinessman rejects rumours of arrest over marijuana seizure at Bangkok airport

    Businessman rejects rumours of arrest over marijuana seizure at Bangkok airport

    A businessman is rejecting rumours that he was arrested after customs seized his marijuana products at a Bangkok airport. Customs at Suvarnabhumi airport seized 5.3 kilograms of illegally imported marijuana flowers and hemp products from him earlier this week. He had allegedly smuggled the products in from the US. The suspect, who many Thais call ‘Tom Kreuasophon,’ is known by…

  • Phuket NewsNo more monkey business! Phuket monkeys lose tourists from monkeypox scare

    No more monkey business! Phuket monkeys lose tourists from monkeypox scare

    Phuket’s monkeys are missing out on their usual feedings from tourists at Koh Siray island’s monkey viewpoint. At the viewpoint, tourists usually buy fruit from vendors to feed to the roughly 200 monkeys there. But following Phuket’s recent monkeypox scare, after a Nigerian man was found to have the virus, fewer tourists are coming to feed their furry friends. Local…

  • Covid-19 NewsThailand reports increase in Covid-19 related deaths and serious cases

    Thailand reports increase in Covid-19 related deaths and serious cases

    Thailand has reported a jump in Covid-19 related deaths, and serious cases, throughout the past week. The Public Health Ministry said this morning that there have been 2,390 more coronavirus in-patients and 29 new deaths in the past 24 hours. The numbers provided by Worldometers for today (July 24) are 2,390 new cases and 30 deaths. All the new infections…

  • World NewsProject proposal for Vietnamese city to become more walkable

    Project proposal for Vietnamese city to become more walkable

    Ho Chi Minh City officials are on a mission to make the Vietnamese city more walker friendly. In a proposed new pedestrian street project, the city will block 22 streets to traffic on weekends. The project will be spread into three phases between 2022 and 2025. In the first phase from 2022 and 2023, streets around the International Square roundabout…

  • Pattaya NewsPattaya vendors grumpy about python and homeless people bothering customers

    Pattaya vendors grumpy about python and homeless people bothering customers

    Just a normal day in Pattaya. Vendors in Pattaya are grumpy that homeless people have been bothering customers, and a huge python added to the chaos on Friday. According to vendors at South Pattaya’s Wat Chaimongkol Market, homeless people have been sexually harassing female customers, speaking crudely to them. Many vagrants camp out on sidewalks around the market. Then on…

  • South Thailand NewsRescuers carry injured Dutch hiker down steep mountain in South Thailand

    Rescuers carry injured Dutch hiker down steep mountain in South Thailand

    Rescuers have carried an injured Dutch hiker in a stretcher down a mountain on South Thailand’s island of Koh Pha Ngan yesterday. The man, 48 year old Jan Harm Kedde, broke his ankle after slipping and falling on a rock on Hat Khom mountain. He had been hiking with a friend. After trekking down the mountain for two and a…

  • Pattaya NewsRescuers capture massive python from Pattaya house

    Rescuers capture massive python from Pattaya house

    Rescuers have managed to capture a massive python that slithered its way into a Pattaya home on Friday night, terrifying the house owner. The owner, 34 year old Sukanya Boonla, told The Pattaya News that she saw the five metres’ long beast behind a water tank. She said, “…it was very big, so I just ran and called for help.”…

  • Thailand TravelFirst tourists arrive in Phuket on South Korea’s Jin Air airlines

    First tourists arrive in Phuket on South Korea’s Jin Air airlines

    Phuket welcomed the first flight of South Korean tourists from Jin Air airlines since Covid-19 restrictions eased. Phuket International Airport staff greeted the 179 passengers as they arrived at the international terminal. They had flown directly from Seoul to Phuket. This news comes after both South Korea, and Thailand, have eased several of their Covid restrictions. On July 1, Thailand…

  • Thailand Weather UpdatesMore heavy rain throughout Thailand today and tomorrow

    More heavy rain throughout Thailand today and tomorrow

    Once again, more heavy rain is expected to pour down on most regions of Thailand today and tomorrow. This includes the north, northeast, central, east, and south regions. The Thai Meteorological Department says the monsoon trough is lying across the lower North, upper Central and lower Northeast of Thailand. Meanwhile down in the country’s south, there is a moderate southwest…

  • Chiang Mai NewsRescuers searching for missing tourist in Chiang Mai find broken helmet

    Rescuers searching for missing tourist in Chiang Mai find broken helmet

    Rescuers searching for a missing tourist in Chiang Mai have found a broken helmet and a lifejacket about two kilometres away from where the tourist fell into a river. The man, 30 year old Nicolas Hinckxt, fell off a rubber dinghy while rafting with two of his friends in the Mae Taeng River yesterday. Rescuers have been on the lookout…

  • Crime NewsMan extradited from Thailand to Australia to face murder charge

    Man extradited from Thailand to Australia to face murder charge

    A man charged with the murder of another man in 2014 has been extradited from Thailand to Australia. The man, 33 year old Antonio “Tony” Bagnato, carried out the murder of 25 year old Bradley Dillon along with others. The suspects shot Dillon in the back three times and stabbed him repeatedly at a car park in Leichhardt, a suburb…

  • Northern Thailand NewsNortheast woman dies chasing biker thief who nabbed her gold chain

    Northeast woman dies chasing biker thief who nabbed her gold chain

    A woman in northeast Thailand died this week while chasing down another biker who nabbed her gold chain. The woman, 47 year old Somchit, had been driving her motorcycle home after going to the bank when another biker started to move closer to her. The biker then snatched her chain. The incident happened in the main city district of Sisaket…