Tara Abhasakun

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.
  • Pattaya News

    Trouserless Chon Buri man crashes car into power pole

    A Chon Buri man wearing no trousers crashed his car into a power pole in the main city district yesterday. The car of 30 year old Praphot Sriwan was found on a bypass road inbound to Bang Saen in the Ban Suan sub-district. Police said no one witnessed the accident. Praphot suffered serious head injuries, and rescuers rushed him to…

  • World News

    Australia sets goal of preventing any more species from going extinct

    Australia has set an ambitious environmental goal of preventing any more species from going extinct. To do this, the country’s labour government has set another ambitious goal of conserving over 30% of its land mass by 2030. The new 10-year plan was announced on Tuesday. Australia’s new conservation plan will focus on 20 places and 110 species. The areas include…

  • Central Thailand News

    Meditation retreat in lush garden setting coming up in central Thailand

    A world-renowned Buddhist author and teacher will guide a Vipassana meditation retreat coming up in central Thailand. The teacher, Supawan Green, will lead the retreat at the Bring Your Mental Self Back Home (BMSBH) Centre in Nakorn Pathom on Thursday, October 27. The retreat will be conducted in English from 9.30am to 4.30pm. The retreat will be held in a…

  • World News

    Drug traffickers and rangers swapped gunfire on Thai-Burmese border

    Drug traffickers and army rangers were involved in a gunfight on the Thai-Burmese border in Chiang Mai’s Mae Ai district on Tuesday night. The rangers witnessed a group of 30 men. Five men were carrying knapsacks, while five had guns. The rangers signalled for the group to stop and they responded by firing at the rangers. A battle between the…

  • Thailand Weather Updates

    17 of Thailand’s national parks close waterfalls and attractions due to floods

    Thailand’s national parks continue to bear the brunt of the country’s devastating floods. Seventeen national parks in the kingdom are now temporarily closing waterfalls and other natural sites due to the floods, Nation Thailand reported yesterday. Below is a list of the 17 sites that will be temporarily closed: Mae Keong Luang waterfall in Wiang Kosai National Park Tat Mok…

  • Central Thailand News

    100 elephants could be evacuated from camp in central Thailand due to floods

    Thailand’s beloved national animal is another victim of the country’s floods. In the central province of Ayutthaya, officials are preparing to possibly evacuate about 100 elephants from a camp after a river overflowed. The Lopburi River had risen 30 centimetres as of yesterday morning, Nation Thailand reported. The flooding from the overflow impacted houses in Ayutthaya’s main city district, as…

  • Pattaya News

    Two lost children found on Pattaya’s Walking Street

    Two lost children were found on Pattaya’s famous Walking Street yesterday. A Good Samaritan alerted Pattaya Tourist Police when he saw a three year old boy and five month old girl near a pumping station in front of the street. The children were alone with two bags of clothes. The police tried to find the children’s parents, but were unsuccessful,…

  • World News

    Avalanche strikes mountaineering team in Indian Himalayas, 4 killed

    An avalanche struck a mountaineering team in the Indian Himalayas yesterday morning, killing four people. Meanwhile, another 28 people are still missing. The Nehru Institute of Mountaineering said the team had been training on a mountain in the northern state of Uttarakhand. The institute’s statement said the team was returning from a 5,670 metre peak when the avalanche hit. The team…

  • World News

    Angelina Jolie claims Brad Pitt abused her and their children

    Angelina Jolie has accused her ex-husband Brad Pitt of physically and emotionally abusing her and their six children, several news outlets reported today. Jolie’s court papers allege that Pitt began to shout at her while their family was on a private plane in 2016. They say Pitt told her she was “too deferential” to their children. The papers say Pitt…

  • Northern Thailand News

    Cracks in road to popular mountain in northern Thailand

    Adventurers driving on the road to a popular mountain in northern Thailand might have a few obstacles ahead of them. Those obstacles include cracks in the road, along with possible mudslides. Highway officials warn drivers that the main road is fractured to the Phu Thap Boek mountain in Phetchabun province. The officials said there were cracks and subsidence on the…

  • Bangkok News

    Hundreds of water pumps installed for floods in Bangkok and nearby provinces

    Thailand’s Royal Irrigation Department is working to fight the floods currently wreaking havoc on Bangkok and its vicinity. Yesterday, the Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister announced that the department installed more than 220 large water pumps to drain water from the capital and its surrounding provinces, Nation Thailand reported. The minister, Chalermchai Sreeon, said the pumps were draining 45 million cubic…

  • Phuket News

    Phuket Vegetarian Festival wraps up

    The Phuket Vegetarian Festival officially wrapped up its last day yesterday. The last day began with street processions in the main city district. The processions started in the morning at the Lor Rong Shrine and headed toward Saphan Hin Public Park. Later in the afternoon, there was a fire-waking ritual from Kathu Shrine. In the evening, there was another fire-walking ritual…

  • Expats

    Bangkok ranked one of top 5 expat cities

    Bangkok is one of the top five expat cities in the world, according to the language learning platform Preply. Thailand’s capital city came in at No.5 on a list of the 60 best cities for expats to live and work. The four cities that beat Bangkok, in order, were Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Tbilisi in Georgia, Lisbon in Portugal, and…

  • Chiang Mai News

    Chiang Mai wakes up to a flooded city district

    After Chiang Mai’s Ping River overflowed last night, residents woke up to a flooded city district this morning. The river’s water level this morning was 4.51 metres. This was 0.81 metres above the critical level. Residents were using sandbags to stop water from getting into their shops and houses. Small vehicles couldn’t pass through several roads. This included Loi Kroh…

  • Tourism News

    Thailand wants more tourists from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan

    Thailand’s tourism officials are eyeing two Central Asian countries in hopes of more tourists. Those countries are Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Travellers from both countries are interested in visiting Thailand, Tourism Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said on Monday. Phiphat said that Kazakh and Uzbek tourists started to show interest after Thailand extended its Visa on Arrival from 15 to 30 days on…

  • World News

    Europeans arrested in Iran

    Iran’s authorities are continuing their brutal crackdown amidst the country’s latest uprising. But the crackdown isn’t limited to Iranians. Nine European nationals have now been arrested, several media outlets reported on October 1. Iran’s intelligence ministry says the people arrested are from Poland, Sweden, Germany, Italy, France and the Netherlands. Local media said that intelligence officers had arrested people considered foreign…

  • Phuket News

    Girl sustains head injuries while surfing in Phuket

    A girl sustained head injuries while surfing at Phuket’s Kamala Beach in the Kathu district on October 2. This news comes as Phuket and Thailand at large are experiencing lots of stormy weather, which has caused strong waves in the country’s seas. Rescuers arrived on the scene and took the girl to a nearby hospital. Her name, age, and nationality…

  • Chiang Mai News

    River in Chiang Mai overflows, floods spread

    The remains of Storm Noru are continuing to plunder Chiang Mai. The province’s Ping River has overflowed and inundated several communities in the main city district today. The chief of the Chiang Mai Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office had said that the water level at the P1 station near Nawarat Bridge was 4.35 metres, almost above the critical point. The…

  • Thailand Weather Updates

    Thailand’s cold season expected to hit in late October

    Thailand’s cold season is expected to hit the country slightly later than usual. The season is expected to start in the fourth week of October, about a week later than usual. The Thai Meteorological Department said the coldest time of the season would be December and January. The lowest temperatures are expected in the country’s north and northeast at 8-9…

  • World News

    South Korea gives North Korea a warning

    South Korea isn’t playing around when it comes to North Korea’s nuclear programme. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol gave North Korea a little warning at South Korea’s 74th Armed Forces Day ceremony on Saturday. Yoon stated that if North Korea attempted to use nuclear weapons, it would face a “determined and overwhelming response.” Yoon reaffirmed that South Korea and…

  • Phuket News

    Japanese man drowns near Phang Nga resort

    Thailand’s stormy seas tragically claimed another tourist’s life, this time in Phang Nga. A Japanese man, 46 year old Satoshi Sato, drowned on Saturday in the Takua Pa district. Satoshi had gone swimming in the sea in front of the Moracea by Khao Lak resort. Thai media reported that a red flag had been posted on the beach to warn…

  • Pattaya News

    Pattaya woman crashes after allegedly racing Belgian man who dissed her car

    Many people take great pride in their cars, and one Pattaya woman certainly did on Saturday. The woman, 48 year old Chanphen Thaweesri, allegedly raced her Mercedes Benz against a Belgian driver who she claims made fun of her car. She then ended up crashing her car. Chanphen said the Belgian man, 35 year old Stephane Cordemans, knocked on her…

  • South Thailand News

    Songkhla factory fire injures 2

    A fire broke out at a plastic factory in the southern Songkhla province yesterday, injuring two workers. Thai media reported that the workers had mild burns. The blaze ripped through the entire factory, and 10 fire trucks were deployed to put out the flames. The cost of the damages has not yet been reported. The fire broke out when hundreds…

  • Thailand Weather Updates

    Storm Noru weakens from typhoon to depression as it moves across Thailand

    Tropical storm Noru has weakened from a super typhoon to a depression as it moves across Thailand. The Thai Meteorological Department has still advised people in 64 provinces to be prepared for heavy to heavy rainfall, which may cause flash flooding and overflows. After Noru plundered Thailand’s northeast this week, the department said yesterday that the storm was moving west…

  • Thailand News

    20 baht notes printed with errors, says Bank of Thailand

    A batch of 20 baht banknotes have been printed with errors, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) said yesterday. The BoT said the Thai numerals were printed mismatching the Arabic numerals. People can still use the misfit banknotes until they are fully removed from the system, Thai media said. The company De La Rue (DLR) International Limited said that there was…

  • Thailand News

    Thai researchers develop flood-resistant rice strain

    As heavy rains continue to plunder Thailand, researchers have developed a new flood-resistant rice strain. The new strain, called Hom Le Noi, can grow in all climates, according to the chief of the team that developed it. The team is from the National Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology. The team’s chief, Dr Theerayut Tuchinda, said that Hom Le Noi…

  • Phuket News

    Phuket’s governor Narong braces for storm Noru

    Phuket’s Governor Narong held a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall on Wednesday to prepare the island province for tropical Storm Noru. Narong said officials are ready to handle the storm with water removal, shelter, food, and other assistance. He said… “Every relevant office is ready to help as fast as possible with plans.” Meanwhile, Noru has wreaked havoc on other…

  • World News

    Singaporean food hawker centre makes NYC debut

    A Singaporean food hawker centre made its debut in the Big Apple this week. The ‘Urban Hawker’ centre, located in New York City’s midtown Manhattan, sells tasty dishes including chilli crab, oyster omelettes, and Hainanese chicken rice. The centre serves meals meant to represent Singapore’s diverse cultures. The island nation is made up of Chinese, Indian, and Malay people, among…

  • Phuket News

    Four alleged investment scammers arrested in Phuket

    Four alleged investment scammers have been arrested in Phuket’s main city district. The alleged scammers were arrested in the Wichit sub-district. Police held a press conference at the Region 8 Police Station base in Phuket on Tuesday. Lieutenant General Amphon Buarabphon said that eight arrest warrants have been issued. Amphon said… “The cost of damage is 1,258,630 baht from online…

  • Bangkok News

    As rain pours down on northern Thailand, Bangkok ups its canal drainage

    As the rain pours down on northern Thailand, Bangkok authorities are stepping up canal drainage to prepare for more water runoff. Governor Chadchar Sittipunt inspected operations in Prem Prachakon Canal this morning. The canal is the main channel in the Don Mueang and Lak Si districts for water to be drained into the Chao Phraya River at the Rama VII…