- Crime News
“Useless”. Probation Department’s rented monitoring devices don’t work.
The electronic monitoring bracelets, worn by prisoners on parole to keep track of their movements, and rented from a private company, are useless. Deputy Thai justice permanent secretary Thawatchai Khaikhaeo, together with a spokesperson from the Justice Ministry, told the media that the investigating committee, set up on August 9 to probe the Chinese-made bracelets, completed its investigation last Friday.…
- South Thailand News
Abdulloh’s family demands answers from Thai military as hundreds gather for funeral
Relatives of 34 year old Abdulloh Esormusor, who died in a Songkhla hospital after falling into a coma whilst being interrogated at a notorious Thai military camp in July, are demanding an investigation. Hundreds of people attended the funeral of Abdulloh in Pattani yesterday. Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch told Reuters that the case has raised serious issues about rights violations in military…
- Business News
US-China tit-for-tat rattles Asian markets after Trump’s ‘tariff tantrum’
US President Trump has caused widespread panic in Asian financial markets today after Fridays “tariff tantrum” where he used Twitter to announce new levels of tariffs on Chinese imports after China announced their response to his previous ramping up of the ongoing trade war between Washington and Beijing. Asian shares have headed southward today after the President escalated tariffs in…
- Property
MS Siam Tower opens on Rama III
The first premium office building at the corner of Rama III & Industrial Ring roads with an investment value of 2.6 billion baht. Thunsrisiam has announced the official opening of “MS Siam Tower”. The Board of Thunsrisiama and guests held the Grand Opening last Friday in the front of the office building before embarking on a walking tour on the…
- World News
Thailand plans to become electricity-hub for region
“Thailand’s push for regional energy trading could be a step to increasing security of supply and system resiliency, particularly as falling costs and higher government targets increase the volume of variable renewable energy generation in the ASEAN region.” – Caroline Chua, Bloomberg Finance analyst covering Southeast Asian power markets. Thailand aims to be the power-trading hub as it jump-starts plans to create…
- Events
South Korean President to visit Thailand next week
The South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Madame Kim Jung-sook have accepted an invitation to visit Thailand for three days from September 1. During the visit, President Moon will deliver a keynote speech at the Thailand-Korean Business Forum. The president will meet PM Prayut Chan-o-cha in general discussions to strengthen the strategic partnership between the Republic of Korea and Thailand.…
- World News
Jay Chou fans queue up for four days in KL to grab concert tickets
Jay Chou fans have been queuing up for four days before tickets went on sale for the ‘Mandopop’ king’s concert in Malaysia to ensure they get to see their idol. The All New Jay Chou Concert World Tour will be held in Hong Kong Disneyland in December, Singapore on January 10 and 11 and at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium…
- Environment News
Autopsy on dead 15 year old Hawksbill sea turtle held today
PHOTO: Thai PBS World Veterinarians from the sea turtle hospital at Sattahip naval base in Chon Buri, south of Pattaya on the Gulf of Thailand, are doing an autopsy on a dead endangered Hawksbill sea turtle. The one metre long and 40 kilogram dead sea turtle, believed to be about 15 years old, was found floating near Koh Juang in…
- Technology News
Is it a motorcycle? Is it a delivery? Is it a taxi? No, it’s Line Man
Line Man, part of the Line message App universe of services, is cutting into other well-known brands in the Thai market by providing a variety of services, including food delivery, taxi-hailing, parcel and convenience goods. But Line is able to expand its businesses based on its already huge subscriber base in Thailand. Lin is the most popular messaging App used in…
- World News
New Robinsons Tower in Singapore reaches for the sky with a green thumb
Thailand’s capital could never be accused of having one of the world’s most interesting skylines. Except for maybe the Mahanakorn ‘lego building’, there is little cutting edge skyline architecture in Bangkok. It’s a different case a few hours flight south in the Lion City, Singapore. Pushing all sort of limits is the new Robinson Tower in the CBD. The first impression…
- South Thailand News
60 million baht of gold stolen in Songkhla heist
Five people have robbed a gold shop in the city centre of Na Thawee district in Songkhla province yesterday (Saturday). The robbers were dressed in military uniforms and armed with assault weapons, fleeing with gold and jewellery valued around 60 million baht. According to the Thai PBS report, the five bandits arrived at the Suchada Gold Shop in a white…
- Environment News
Phuket’s water bosses claim there will be enough water
PHOTO: Bang Neow Dam in Thalang, just a few muddy ponds Well into the second half of the Phuket wet season and the three main dams are well below capacity, Bang Wad Dam just over 13% capacity and the Bang Neow Dam in Thalang district around 5%, mostly unusable muddy ponds. The newer Khlong Katha in Chalong is at a…
- Crime News
British man stuck in Thailand, facing jail for defending himself
A British man, beaten up by a gang of Thai “thugs”, is facing jail after throwing punches in self-defence. 38 year old Luke Thornton was kicked and punched in the face and repeatedly knocked out in the assault. He was visiting his wife Sayforn Phetkajang in the village of Pai, north west of Chiang Mai. At the time reports in Thai media…
- World News
US and China ramp up the rhetoric and the tariffs in a day of tit-for-tat
Beijing has unveiled a new round of retaliatory tariffs on the US valued around US$75 billion. China will now place additional tariffs of 5%-10% on US imports starting next week. The tit-for-tat trade war between the world’s two largest economies is causing widespread disruption to supply chains and long-held trade conventions. China’s Finance Ministry says they will also resume tariffs on…
- Crime News
Thai DJ rounds up stray cats then films killing them for payment
PHOTOS: khaosod.co.th A female DJ has been charged over the killing of 27 stray cats at her home in Thon Buri, according to Khao Sod, a Thai online news portal. According to the police investigation, Miss Wararat Krasae, better known as ‘DJ Sun’, picked up stray cats found on the streets into her home before killing them. The arrest followed…
- Environment News
The second baby dugong ‘Yamil’ dies in Phuket
The second young dugong, being cared for by vets at the Phuket Marine Biological Centre, has died. Yamil, the baby dugong stranded on a Krabi beach on July 1, died of “shock and cardiac arrest” last night (Thursday) after suffering indigestion and gastroparesis. The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources report that Yamil was sent from the Phuket Marine Biological…
- Environment News
Thai government to consider bringing forward plastics ban
That’s a ban on of single-use plastic bags, styrofoam (polystyrene) boxes, plastic straws and single-use plastic cups In a surprise announcement, the Thai Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment says they’re considering bringing forward, by 1-2 years, a complete ban on the use of the key plastic polluters. Varawut Silpa-archa, the Natural Resources and Environment Minister, says the department’s proposal,…
- Technology News
More than four million guests stayed in an Airbnb on August 10, 2019
“Airbnb has created an opportunity to meet people from all around the world.” – Pim, an Airbnb Host in Thailand Exactly 11 years since Airbnb was founded, the home-sharing hospitality company and ‘accommodation disrupters’ celebrated its biggest night ever, with more than 4 million people spending the night in an Airbnb listing on August 10, 2019. To date, there has…
- Expats
Koh Phangan get a fully licensed International School opening next month
Si Ri Panya International School announced this week they have received their license from the Thai Ministry of Education and will open as the first official international school on Koh Phangan on September 4. In an important first for the Gulf island, a ferry ride from Koh Samui or the mainland, the school is now licensed to teach a full…
- Northern Thailand News
John Legend & Chrissy Teigen check out the tastes at a Korat Market
American music legend, John Legend, and his Thai-American wife Chrissy Teigen headed to a Nakhon Ratchasima food market only to be surrounded by locals trying to get a quick selfie. The army of fans surround the musician, his wife and daughter to follow them around the market in the 25 minute Facebook post. It was smiles all around but as…
- Bangkok News
Hong Kong’s protests have been good for Bangkok’s luxury condo market
High end Hong Kong investment is turning away from the Chinese business hub and looking outside for new investment opportunities. Thailand’s high-end luxury condo market has been one of the beneficiaries. Keerin Chutumstid, from the Bangkok-based Magnolia Quality Development, says about 40% of the condos in a 52 storey Bangkok luxury tower development that opened last week have already been sold…
- Environment News
Lamphun monks ahead of the trend to eliminate single-use plastic bags
Phra Samutnatthee Suvathato, the deputy Abbot of the Wat Pa Book, in the Pa Sang district of Thailand’s northern province of Lamphun, says their temple has been ahead of the trend to reduce the use of plastics for two decades. Lamphun is just south of Chiang Mai. They’ve already been using a portable kitchen cabinet to receive alms from Buddhist…
- Phuket News
Phuket Governor and Vice Governor deny million baht bribe accusation
Recently, an audio clip went viral, claiming to have recorded a conversation between an anonymous man and an employee from a project accused of having encroached on Sirinat National Park (in Phuket’s north west). Phuket Governor, Pakkapong Tawipat, says that he had nothing to do with the voice recording, which detailed a 7 digit negotiation deal to end an encroachment…
- Tourism News
Proposal to offer 15 day visa-free travel to Chinese and Indian visitors steam-rolled
The new Thai Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn’s proposal to provide 15 day visa-free travel to Chinese and Indian tourists, was steam-rolled yesterday by Cabinet. The cabinet resolved instead to extend the fee waiver on visas for visitors from China, India and other countries in the program. The program will now be extended beyond October 31 this year to…
- Tourism News
TAT proposes 4am closing time at nightspots to promote tourism…ummmmm
The Thai government are coming up with new ideas to actually lure people to visit Thailand. Go figure!?! Now the Tourism Authority of Thailand is suggesting to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports to extend the closing hours of night entertainment establishments in Thailand’s party zones by another 2 hours, from 2am until 4am. Of course, in most of the…
- Crime News
Scrap metal merchant arrested over stolen rail track pins causing train derailment
PHOTOS: Twitter@pr.railway A scrap metal shop owner has been arrested for stealing rail track ‘pins’ that were responsible for the derailment of a railway carriages heading south from Bangkok to Chumpon province yesterday. The derailment happened in the Phetchaburi province. The incident happened yesterday (Monday) just after midday and took the rest of the day and evening to lift the…
- Health
Smoking at home in Thailand has been banned from today
The ban on smoking at home in Thailand comes into effect today. From today people can be prosecuted for “domestic abuse” by lighting up a cigarette inside a home. People can call Family and Protection centres on 1300 to report a smoker. According to the new law, women and children are often the recipients of second hand smoke and the…
- Thailand News
Thai Government seeks public opinion on civil same-sex union bill
PHOTO: Chiang Rai Times The Thai justice minister is insisting that draft legislation for civil partnerships of same-sex couples won’t be rushed and that the department is waiting for public feedback on the proposal. Justice Minister Somsak Thepsutin says the process will take time as it requires “careful deliberation to prevent any misunderstanding”. Somsak made the comments yesterday whilst chairing…
- Environment News
Environment Ministry wants to increase dugong populations by 50% over a decade
“Dr. Thon Thamrongnawasawat says that trash in the seas was the main cause of the death of many endangered marine species.” Pinsak Suraswadi, deputy director-general of the Marine and Coastal Resources Department, says the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment wants to increase the population of dugong in Thailand’s waters by 50% in the next ten years. The effort will…
- Expats
Thai Immigration bristles about TM30 revolt as it copes with PR disaster
The TM30 form, as well as the associated TM28 form, have now become a huge public relations liability for the Thai Immigration Department. The more questions asked, and the more explanations by well-intentioned Immigration officials, the more confusing the whole matter becomes. If the policy is intended to make Thailand safer and make foreigners feel more secure, the opposite is…
