- Northern Thailand News
MP for Pheu Thai convicted of murder and sentenced to death
PHOTO: Pheu Thai MP for Khon Kaen, Nawat Tohcharoensuk, sentenced to death today The Khon Kaen provincial court has convicted a Pheu Thai MP for Khon Kaen, Nawat Tohcharoensuk, of masterminding the murder of a local official and sentenced him to death today. Six years ago, Suchart Khotethum, an assistant chief of the Khon Kaen provincial administrative organisation, was killed…
- Thailand News
Rain-making training plane crashes in western Thailand
PHOTO: Channel 7 News The Thai Department of Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation have reported that a “Caravan” aircraft crashed in Kanchanaburi at 10.10am this morning during training exercises, killing the two occupants. Both the instructor, Captain Tarun Amanan, and trainee pilot, Suksan Chongsatientham, were found dead. The aircraft was crumpled and unrecognisable when found by villagers. The plane was…
- World News
Boris and Donald meet in New York to discuss Brexit
“The Prime Minister emphasised that in order to secure a deal we will now need to see movement and flexibility from the EU.” British PM Boris Johnson has reiterated his call for “flexibility” from the EU in Brexit talks during a face-to-face meeting with Council President Donald Tusk in New York that failed to yield a breakthrough. Johnson and Tusk…
- Thai Life
Top 10 things to do in Phuket when it rains (2020)
Phuket really only has two seasons – wet and dry. The wet season usually runs from April to November each year. And when it rains, it pours! But there’s still plenty to do on the island, rain or sunshine. Best of all it’s always going to be around 30 degrees so it’s not cold or unpleasant. A 20 baht plastic poncho…
- Technology News
Tech giants ramp up systems to detect and remove extremist content
PHOTO: Police officers near the Masjid Al Noor mosque, site of one of the mass shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand in March – Associated Press by Shaun Tandon The world’s largest social media empires led by Facebook say they are ramping up an industry body that will weed out extremist content, looking to put procedures in place…
- Economy News
Chim-Shop-Chai – more than a million already register for the latest Thai stimulus package
Interest in the government’s latest stimulus package has been massive with online portals being battered by people wanting to know more about how they can get their hands on the 1000 baht give-away from the Thai government. More than a million people have already registered to join the government’s Chim-Shop-Chai (Taste-Shop-Spend) program, where they will receive a 1000 baht to…
- Bangkok News
Bangkok land prices plateau, new tax on the way
Land prices in the Thai capital are forecast to plateau, or even drop this year. This would be the first time in more than ten years that Bangkok’s land prices have levelled off. So what is causing the sudden surge in land becoming available? Property and real estate consultants say the changes can be blamed on the general economic slowdown…
- Road deaths
SUV driver flees crash scene after killing two on Bangkok ring road
PHOTO: Sanook.com Police in Bangkok are looking for the driver of a Ford Everest who jumped over a wall and fled the scene after colliding with a Mitsubishi Mirage, killing two people. Witnesses told police that the collision happened when the driver of the black SUV was trying to pass on the left-hand shoulder of the road. According to Sanook.com,…
- Events
Clean the Beach Boot Camp takes on Nai Harn Beach on World Clean Up Day
A very special Clean The Beach Boot Camp (CBBC) took place on last Saturday in support World Clean Up Day. In total, 170 people, including 120 students from the Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism at the Prince of Songkla University in Kathu headed to Nai Harn Beach, one of the island’s favourites in the island’s south. Involving some 18 different…
- Travel
UPDATE: Thomas Cook financial collapse
“These insolvency proceedings do not involve the continental and Nordic businesses.” The UK Thomas Cook businesses are now under the control of the official receiver who has appointed AlixPartners and KPMG as special managers to oversee the liquidation, and in the case of AlixPartners, to work with the business to assist the UK Civil Aviation Authority on repatriation of existing…
- Pattaya News
Russian boxer dies after falling from hotel balcony in Pattaya
PHOTOS: รักสยาม นิวส์ A 35 year old Russian was found dead around 6.30am yesterday in a pool of blood with serious head, arm and leg injuries after falling from a condo balcony in Pattaya. Ruk Siam News reports that Pattaya police and emergency responders headed to Building B of the Sea Breeze Jomtien Resort after receiving reports that the man…
- Tourism News
UK travel icon Thomas Cook bankrupt, stranding tourists
PHOTO: Axios.com “This marks a deeply sad day for the company which pioneered package holidays and made travel possible for millions of people around the world.” British travel giant Thomas Cook declared bankruptcy today after failing to reach a last-ditch rescue deal. The collapse triggers the UK’s biggest repatriation since World War II to bring back stranded passengers. The 178 year…
- Environment News
Smoke-laced smog envelops Phuket
MAIN PHOTO: Phuket International Airport – Phuket People’s Voice Phuket awakes today enveloped by an eerie sea of smoke-laced mist and smog – a combination of light winds, smoke blowing up the Malacca Strait from the Indonesian plantation fires and low seasonal cloud. The conditions have reduced visibility generally around the island to less than a kilometre. Planes have still been…
- World News
Last five years “Hottest on record” – UN Climate Summit
PHOTO: Greenpeace USA “Average global temperature between 2015-2019 is on track to be the hottest of any five-year period on record, according to the report compiled by the World Meteorological Organisation.” A damning new UN report published yesterday says the world is falling badly behind in the race to avert “climate disaster” because of runaway warming, with the five-year period…
- Entertainment
BTS will have to break up, whether they like it or not, and fans are not happy
Even though they’ve been making music since their debut back in 2013, it’s the last two years BTS, aka Bangtan Boys (or Bangtan Sonyeondan for Korean pronunciation), have gone from zero to hero in the pop music world. Now they’re riding their success on the crest of a wave that has defied conventional pop marketing and ‘western’ white-washed music standards.…
- World News
Yangon’s boom falls short across river – waiting to bridge the gap
by Su Myat Mon and Dene-Hern Chen “An enormous industrial zone spanning the area south and west of the river, largely funded by money from Korea and China, is under consideration.” On her scruffy, downtrodden bank of the river, teashop-owner Khin works just a few hundred metres over the muddy water from Myanmar’s capital Yangon, and dreams of the riches…
- Thailand News
Overturned truck was carrying 450 kilos of crystal meth
PHOTO: Thai PBS World Police have seized about 450 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine (ice), with a street valued around 225 million baht – a major shipment of the illicit drug. The seizure followed a ten-wheel truck ending up on its side after crashing into a traffic island in Phetchaburi province on Friday night. The truck driver, 45 year old Adinan Laeha, and…
- Health
Thailand ranked sixth best in the world for healthcare
Sixth best healthcare system in the world! Well done Thailand. The Kingdom is gaining worldwide recognition for quality healthcare services after placing sixth in a ranking of countries with the best healthcare systems. The ranking was conducted by the US magazine CEOWORLD who do annual rankings of a number of world businesses and services. The rankings came out last month.…
- World News
Travel giant Thomas Cook teetering on financial collapse
Unable to adapt to the move online as smaller, nimbler travel companies thrive, Thomas Cook, the household name in international travel, is close to financial collapse. And the collapse could leave up to 150,000 British tourists stranded overseas. The iconic British travel giant Thomas Cook say they’ve failed to find any further private investment to stave off collapse and now…
- World News
Philippines calls for halt in aid talks with backers of UN probe into Duterte’s drug war
“The 18 members that backed the resolution are Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Britain, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Fiji, Iceland, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Slovakia, Spain, Ukraine, and Uruguay.” Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration has ordered the suspension of all loan and grant talks with foreign governments that backed a UN resolution to review human rights abuses during his signature anti-drug…
- World News
Sampling Saigon street food with XO Tours
PHOTOS: XO Tours Find yourself in Saigon and looking to learn more about the local street food scene? Well, if your sense of adventure is in intact and you prefer to receive your knowledge first hand, then XO Tours can provide you with a fascinating and insightful trip through the streets of Saigon. Sitting on the back of a moped…
- Road deaths
6 year old Burmese boy dies from bike-pickup truck crash
SOURCE: khaosod.co.th A 6 year old Burmese boy has died following a motorcycle accident when his parents crashed the vehicle onto a pick-up truck earlier this week. He died in the intensive care ward at Vachira Hospital yesterday morning (Thursday) The accident occurred on September 15 near Soi Pramote, Chaofa West Road, Chalong. The boy’s father, 39 year old Thein…
- World News
Delta airlines jet plunges 30,000 feet in controlled descent
PHOTO: Twitter:Harris Dewoskin “Other passengers relayed that they were hastily tapping out texts on their phones thinking that they might crash.” Passengers on a Delta flight, from Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale, were terrified when their plane plunged mid-air, dropping nearly 30,000 feet in around 9 minutes. Delta report that the flight experienced a “cabin pressurisation irregularity” during the journey. The flight…
- Expats
Could you be a digital nomad in Thailand?
Are you a digital nomad? Working online wherever you can find a seat and wi-fi? According to digital nomad websites, some of the most popular locations to work online around the world include Chiang Mai & Bangkok (Thailand), Budapest (Hungary), Belgrade (Serbia), Bali (Indonesia), Lisbon (Portugal) and Buenos Aires (Argentina). What do all these cities have in common? The main…
- Environment News
Our oceans are key to fighting climate change
by Amélie Bottollier-Depois and Marlowe Hood “There are at least three types of actions humans can take to help repair the damage and ensure that oceans don’t turn from friend to foe.” Humanity must heal oceans made sick by climate change and pollution to protect marine life and to save itself, experts warned days before the release of a major…
- World News
US vaping-related illnesses surpasses 500
The links between vaping and critical lung disease appear to becoming more frequent and obvious although health authorities are struggling to find the ‘smoking gun’ that is the actual cause of the current list of cases. More than 500 people have been diagnosed with vaping-related breathing illnesses. An eighth death has also been reported. The US Food and Drug Administration says…
- Expats
Immigration overhaul – TM6 disappearing and TM30 App being launched
“We made the decision last Friday. Within two to three months, life will be much easier for foreign tourists and expats.” In what appears to be a major overhaul of immigration procedures, dare we say ‘modernisation’, foreign visitors will soon no longer have to fill out the “TM6” arrival forms. The white and blue form has been a source of…
- Events
Phuket university’s safe-sex campaign attracts 390 volunteers
Yesterday, saw the return of Prince of Songkhla University’s Safe Sex Campaign. Now in its third year, some 390 PSU students turned up to support the campaign by making safe sex packs, which are then distributed free to bars in Patong. The safe sex packs include a condom and lubricant. It was the biggest turn-out of students since this corporate social…
- Chiang Mai News
Chinese netizens want to know what caused panda Chuang Chuang’s death
PHOTO: Mourners leave flowers outside the panda enclosure where Chuang Cuang died this week The “suspicious circumstances” of Chuang Chuang’s demise drew more than 260 million views on social media platform Weibo.” Chinese experts have now arrived in Chiang Mai to investigate the death of a beloved giant panda Chuang Chuang, who died at the Chiang Mai Zoo earlier this week at…
- Crime News
Robber steals Thailand Post van, then robs gold shop in Bangkok
A man dressed up in a Thailand Post uniform has got away with gold necklaces valued around 70,000 baht. He robbed the gold shop in Bang Phli, Samut Prakan and then fled in a Thailand Post van. Samut Prakan includes the southern and south-eastern suburbs of greater Bangkok. It was revealed later that Thailand Post had reported the van stolen the night before…
