Hot News
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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…
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Mystery 911 emergency service call turns out to be a monkey
American police officers responded to a 911 (emergency) call in a remote area three and a half hours north of Los Angeles only to find an unlikely caller – a monkey in a zoo. The incident took place at Zoo to You, a wildlife conservation park in the quaint town of Paso Robles, California, known for its wineries and military…
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Instant noodles, a staple budget food, fighting to increase prices
There is perhaps no symbol more synonymous with living on a tight budget than dining cheap with a cup of ramen instant noodles. So it’s an extra kick for those struggling during this time of hyperinflation in Thailand and around the world that instant noodles manufacturers have requested expedited permission to raise prices on their products. The Internal Trade Department…
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Truck overturns in NE Thailand, driver dies, losing 1.5 million baht of beer
A tow truck carrying 1.5 million baht’s worth of beer overturned as it went round a sharp turn on a road in Khon Kaen province, northeast Thailand, this morning. The driver was instantly killed in the accident. Peuai Noi Police Station received a call at 7.30am to say that an alcohol truck had overturned in the Pueai Noi district. Police,…
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Motorcycle rider killed in multi-vehicle pile-up near Bangkok
A motorcycle rider died yesterday in a multi-vehicle pile-up in Nonthaburi province near Bangkok. Four vehicles were involved in the accident, including two motorbikes, two public buses, and a sedan car. The accident happened because a motorbike suddenly broke to allow an elderly person to cross the road, beneath a pedestrian overpass on Pibulsomgklam Road in the Mueng district of…
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Hong Kong man goes to Thailand to meet ‘lover,’ gets trafficked to Myanmar
A man from Hong Kong travelled to Thailand in July to meet his “lover” who he met online three years ago. Upon arriving in Bangkok, he was captured by a human trafficking gang and taken to Myanmar, where he was detained, abused, and forced to work as a fraudster for one month. After his family paid a ransom, 28 year…
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Electricity prices soar 18% to 4.72 baht per unit next month
Electricity prices are already at a record high rate of 4 baht per unit, topping an eight-year old record, and have now been approved to surge another 18%. When global oil prices rocketed up to US$110 per barrel in 2014, Thai energy prices hit 3.96 baht per unit. Coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic, the demand for all forms of…
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Four national park officials indicted over Karen activist’s murder in western Thailand
Four national park officials have been indicted for the murder of Karen activist Porlajee “Billy” Rakchongcharoen. The four men are accused of abducting and murdering Billy in Kaeng Krachan National Park in the western province of Phetchaburi in 2014. Yesterday, the Office of the Attorney General informed the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) of its decision to indict the four…
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UPDATE: Foreigner faces prison for parrotfishing in Thailand
UPDATE: The foreign parrotfishes have been caught and detained by police in Phuket, southern Thailand, and faces legal action. Thailand’s Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Warawut Silpa-archa made the following statement this morning… “Yesterday, August 15, at 3.30pm, Roslan Benedia of Dutch nationality was detained and questioned at a police station in Phuket over a video he posted on…
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Frenchman dies after being hit by sailor’s car in Phang Nga
A Frenchman was killed on a zebra crossing in the southern province of Phang Nga after being hit by a sedan car driven by a Thai sailor. The suspect driving the vehicle denies he hit and killed the Frenchman despite a security camera clearly showing otherwise. Officers from Khao Lak Police Station were notified on Saturday night about the accident…
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Jealous Swedish man stabs Thai boyfriend in the chest in Pattaya, Thailand
A Swedish man stabbed his boyfriend in the chest yesterday at a condominium in Pattaya, Chon Buri province, after misunderstanding that he was having a love affair with another man. Police are still trying to track down the Swedish man, who went on the run after the attack. At 5pm yesterday, Sawang Boriboon Foundation received a report that a man…
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Court issues arrest warrant for Sia B’s father, the ‘real owner’ of Mountain B
At 4pm today, Pattaya Provincial Court issued an arrest warrant for Sia B’s father who is suspected of being the “real owner” of Mountain B nightclub, which caught fire on August 5, claiming the lives of 19 people and injuring many more. The police investigation so far reveals that Sia B’s father used his son’s name to open the venue.…
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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…
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Govt take a trip to the shroom to help Thailand’s depressed
The Thai Narcotics Control Board announced yesterday it will develop medicine from hallucinogenic magic mushrooms to help cure the nation’s depressed citizens. The Justice Minister, Somsak Thepsuthin, informed the media that the Narcotics Control Board joined hands with Khon Kaen University in the Isaan province of Khon Kaen to study the benefits of the magic mushroom. Magic mushrooms, or psilocybin…
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Cannabis is illegal on Khao San Road, officials call for crackdown
In the ever-meandering journey of cannabis legalisation, with the plant being legalised for growing, selling, and consuming with very few rules and now receiving pushback for that lack of regulation, Khao San Road is being reminded that it’s NOT legal there. While about a million people have been licensed to sell cannabis now, smoking in public can be prosecuted as…
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4am alcohol curfew may increase revenue, but also crime, deaths
Supporters of the current proposal to allow nightlife entertainment venues to open and serve booze until 4am in some tourist provinces think it will allow money-spending customers to drink alcohol and party for a few extra hours. Meanwhile, opposition to the proposal worries that it will allow customers to drink alcohol and party for a few extra hours, with dire…
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1 dead, 4 injured as gunmen rampage at a Bangkok wedding
Police are on the lookout for rampaging gunmen on motorbikes who shot and killed one man and injured another four people yesterday at a marriage ceremony in Din Daeng district of Bangkok. The families of 25 year old groom, Fahlan, and 24 year old bride, Jinsujee, held a marriage ceremony at the bride’s home in Soi Sutthipong 1/1 on Sutthisan…
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Tenant fined 140,000 baht for keeping dog in Bangkok condominium
South Bangkok Criminal Court has ruled that a tenant who violated condominium rules by keeping a dog in the apartment must pay a 141,500 baht fine and interest of 5% per year until the sum is paid in full. The decision comes after the condo filed a lawsuit against the dog owner in December last year. On top of the…
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Speedo-wearing middle-aged joggers in Jomtien cause uproar
Scantily clad women are a fairly common sight in Pattaya, in clubs by night and on the beach by day. But when the gender roles were reversed, people on social media were going nuts over two middle-aged men jogging up Jomtien Beach Road, wearing nothing more than tight Speedo bathing shorts as they ran. Photos posted on social media on…
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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.…
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Man fights Indian Railways for 22 years for justice (and 9 baht)
Twenty-two years is a long time to fight a court battle, but nine baht is nine baht, right? A lawyer in India believes so and has fought for justice against Indian Railways for more than two decades because he was overcharged by 20 Indian rupees, the equivalent of almost 9 baht, 21 pence, or 25 American cents. The lawyer who…
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Tourism Minister visits Full Moon Party, supports later curfew
The Full Moon Party week is just wrapping on the island of Koh Pha Ngan, and while attendance was down, there was at least one special attendee that could influence the future of the party. Minister of Tourism and Sports Pipat Ratchakitprakarn visited Haad Rin, home of the iconic party that draws tens of thousands of tourists to the island…
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Thais cautioned against fake government websites
Thais are being told to be aware of websites pretending to be government agencies’ pages. A deputy government spokesperson said on Friday that cybercriminals are using these fake sites to get people’s data and even hack their devices. The spokesperson, Rachada Dhnadirek, gave one example that showed just how advanced some of the fake government sites are. A fake Department…
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Anti-Corruption Network complains of smelly wastewater in coastal Thai province
A local chapter of the Anti-Corruption Network has complained of foul smelling wastewater released onto a beach in Thailand’s coastal province of Prachuap Khiri Khan, located near the Gulf of Thailand. The chapter says that six officials are overlooking the problems with a hotel dumping wastewater onto the beach near the town hall, in the main city district. A recent…
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Police find fake Covid-19 tests worth millions in central Thailand
After raids this week, police have found tens of thousands of falsely labelled Covid-19 tests, along with medical supplies, in central Thailand worth about 2 million baht. Police posed as customers to crack down on a building in the province of Nakhon Pathom, and a house in the province of Nonthaburi, on July 11. In the Nakhon Pathom building, police…
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UPDATE: Rushdie is talking again, attacker pleads not guilty
UPDATE Renowned author Salman Rushdie appears to be recovering after being brutally attacked while giving a speech in New York City on Friday. The 75 year old was taken off a ventilator yesterday, and his agent confirmed that he was talking again. Rushdie has three stab wounds to his neck, four to his stomach, a puncture wound to his right…
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Singaporean car driver dead, 7 injured in Phuket crash with bus
On a winding mountain road, a car of Singaporean tourists crashed into a small tour bus, killing the driver of the car and injuring seven people. The crash happened in the Muang district of Phuket last night when the driver of the car lost control coming downhill and ploughed into the bus. The car, a Toyota Yaris registered in Phuket,…
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Foreign parrotfisher in Krabi says he’s sorry
UPDATE The foreign man spotted parrotfishing off an island in South Thailand’s Krabi province has said today that he is sorry for his actions. The man had been fishing in the Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park. Catching fish in a national park is illegal under Thailand’s National Park Act BE 2562. A storm of Thai netizens went…
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Exiled Sri Lanka President warned to stay in his hotel in Bangkok
With many opposing Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s arrival in Thailand, police are advising the ousted Sri Lanka president to stay in his hotel in central Bangkok for his safety. He arrived in Bangkok Thursday evening at about 8pm after diverting a flight planned to land in Phuket. Fearful of an information leak, the privately chartered plane carrying the exiled ex-president along with…
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UPDATE: Salman Rushdie on ventilator, details on stabber emerge
UPDATE Fearless writer Salman Rushdie has sustained some very serious injuries after a man stabbed him yesterday at a speech he gave in New York. The attacker stabbed the 75 year old wordsmith in his neck and torso. Rushdie is now on a ventilator at a hospital, and unable to speak. Rushdie’s agent says his liver is damaged, nerves in…
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