Hot News
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Nakhon Si Thammarat named Thailand’s most murderous province
Nakhon Si Thammarat, a southern Thai province, is proving worrisome for the Crime Suppression police as they have named the area the country’s most murderous province since the start of 2021. Police suspect the abundance of households that possess guns is partially to blame for the high murder rate. The Crime Suppression police have expressed their alarm at the number…
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Thai PM calls on state agencies to disburse allocated funds quickly to revive economy
The Thai PM is calling on state agencies to inject funds into the economy for the new fiscal year in October, in order to help its recovery. According to a Bangkok Post report, deputy government spokesperson Traisuree Taisaranakul says budget spending is vital to the revival of an economy decimated by Covid-19. “In light of the pandemic, the state budget…
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Return of 2-ballot voting system could prove a threat to PM’s future
The future of PM Prayut Chan-o-cha and that of the ruling Palang Pracharath Party is in question due to the return of the 2-ballot voting system. The Bangkok Post reports that Parliament has approved a charter amendment bill that proposed a return to the system. According to the report, the voting system could prove an advantage to the Pheu Thai…
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Police arrest 78 protesters, bystanders, medics and minors
Last night, protesters and crowd control police met at Din Daeng in a heated confrontation that resulted in 78 people being arrested including bystanders, volunteer medics, and even underage people. Those who were taken into custody were held in several different police facilities, and the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights observed and reported on the arrests. They said 20 people…
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Man stabbed his common-law wife in front of police station
After getting into an argument in front of a police station this morning, a man stabbed his common-law wife to death. The crime took place at about 9:30 am this morning in front of Cha-uat Police Station in Nakhon Si Thammarat in the south of Thailand. After an argument that became more and more heated in front of the police station, with the…
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Koh Samui partiers fined 10,000 baht, commuted 15-day sentence
In an update to our story yesterday regarding an illegal birthday party on Koh Samui that saw 48 partiers taken into custody, charges have apparently been filed against 44 party attendees. A report in Thai media said 44 of the 48 partiers at Maithy Pool Lounge & Restaurant inside a luxury resort in the hills behind Bangrak on the northeast…
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Suspect in Chiang Mai kidnapping faces 2 new charges
Siew, the man who is suspected of being involved in the disappearance of the toddler “Nong Gina”, is facing 2 new charges: depriving a child under 15 of parental care and detaining a child, says the superintendent of Bo Luang police station, Kriangsak Prom-Uthai. The toddler who is just shy of 2 years old went missing from her home last…
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Captain arrested in Samut Sakhon for allegedly not paying workers
A boat captain suspected of mistreating 6 Cambodian workers and depriving them of their wages has been arrested in Samut Sakhon, a central Thai province, following his nearly 5 years on the lam. The 59 year old captain identified only as Somwang was arrested at a shopping centre. Somwang faces charges of colluding in human trafficking by forcing labour, as…
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Kidnapped baby Nong Gina was not sexually assaulted
After the bizarre excuse given for Nong Gina’s kidnapping, that the 2 year old was left at a cave as a sacrifice to the nature spirits, police and missing persons groups suspected more sinister motivations. Police are looking into the possibility that a human trafficking network had targeted Nong Gina, and questioned 3 additional suspects. Now after a physical examination,…
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Hua Hin reopening could hurt bigger domestic tourism market
With Covid-19 restrictions being eased a bit and allowing for some domestic movement, Hua Hin has seen an influx of Thai domestic travellers coming for a much-needed holiday. The seaside town in Prachuap Khiri Khan province is seeing a boom but the Vice President of the Thai Hotels Association is advising that the planned reopening for foreigners may do more…
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Island of rubbish: Koh Samui’s pollution problem remains unsolved
No one can argue with the appeal of visiting Thailand’s exotic, tropical islands. With their glistening palm trees, crystal-clear waters, and powdery, white sands, a trip down south is what many yearn to cross off their bucket lists. One of Thailand’s most iconic islands is that of Koh Samui. As the largest and most developed island in the Gulf of…
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Prediction for international travellers to Thailand lowered again
Tourism researchers have once again downgraded their expectations for the total number of international travellers in 2021 after Thailand has yet to recover from the third wave of Covid-19 starting in April that brought the Delta various and huge infection numbers across the country. The Tourism Authority of Thailand, known for its rose-tinted predictions and press releases, had predicted in…
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Thai artist to launch legal action over National Artist title being revoked
Thai artist Suchart Sawadsri says he’s taking legal action after losing the title of National Artist, allegedly because of his support for anti-government activists. Suchart says it’s not the loss of the title that bothers him, but the belief that the National Culture Commission behaved inappropriately in revoking it. The Bangkok Post reports that the artist took to Facebook to…
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Bangkok police to ramp up counter-protest measures
Police in Bangkok say they’ll get tougher on anti-government protest action, but without resorting to violence, according to a Bangkok Post report. Piya Tawichai from the Metropolitan Police Bureau says there is a need to control activists rallying at the Din Daeng intersection in order to keep law and order. However, he adds that the capital’s residents will not be…
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PM Prayut ousts Thamanat Prompow and Narumon Pinyosinwat
Just days after defeating a vote of no-confidence that spawned suspicions of a rift in the party, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has ousted controversial Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives Thamanat Prompow as well as Deputy Minister of Labour Narumon Pinyosinwat, who was a spokeswoman for Prayut before her 1 year tenure at the Labour Ministry. The command was issued yesterday…
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2 hospital data breaches on Monday exposed patient data
Two prominent hospitals were the victims of data breaching hackers in the last few days with each hospital having over 40,000 patients’ personal information at risk. On Monday, Phetchabun Hospital had the personal data of 46,000 of their patients compromised while Bhumirajanagarindra Kidney Institute Hospital had the data from 40,000 patients stolen in parallel attacks. The Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau…
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Rescued Chiang Mai child doing better, still needs time to heal, says doctor
The toddler that was recently rescued in northern Thailand’s Chiang Mai province is recuperating well and has allowed her parents to hug her, but still needs time to heal both physically and mentally, says a doctor. Gina’s father says his daughter has a healthy appetite and looks fresher and healthier than she did the day before. A doctor cautions that…
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Foundation suspects darker motive in missing girl’s kidnapping
After a bizarre case where a baby known as Nong Gina disappeared on Monday and was thankfully recovered unharmed yesterday, the suspect later admitted to leaving her at a cave in the forest as a sacrifice to spirits that had spoken to him. Now an organisation that helps find missing people is casting doubt on the story, saying they suspect…
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Phuket police raid gambling den in Wichit, arrest 15 people
In Cape Panwa, Wichit late last night, Phuket police raided and shut down an illegal gambling den and arrested 15 people there. The raid came just after midnight early this morning or late last night as Region 8 Police captured 14 people, all aged between 44 and 58 years old. The police also confiscated hundreds of green cards and orange…
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Auto repair shop allegedly pawns cars instead of fixing them in Saraburi
An auto repair shop owner stationed out the central Thai province Saraburi, allegedly pawned cars that he was supposed to be fixing. Police say they have recovered 11 cars so far. The police were alerted to the alleged thefts after multiple victims filed police reports. Saraburi City Police say the owner, identified only as Bunnam, has pawned cars in 3…
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Bangkok court denies request for arrest warrants for anti-government protesters
A Bangkok court has rejected a request to issue arrests warrants for 2 anti-government protesters. News of the activists’ potential arrest led to a planned rally being cancelled. However, the Bangkok South Municipal Court has decreed that as the charges in question carry a prison term of no more than 3 years, police must first issue a summons for the…
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Samui relaxes re-opening rules following low tourist demand
The rules are being somewhat relaxed when it comes to the Samui Plus re-opening model, following disappointing figures. Ratchaporn Poolsawadee from the Tourism Association of Koh Samui says that from October 1, vaccinated tourists only need to spend the first night in a SHA Plus hotel, until they get the result of their PCR test. Prior to this, international tourists…
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Pattaya rocked by heavy rains and floods with more predicted
Pattaya has been pummelled by heavy rains over the past few days causing local flooding in roads and neighbourhoods around the area. And weather forecast calls for more torrential downpours over the next few days. Around Pattaya and Bang Lamung, roads flooded last night and locals spent the day cleaning up the messes of the night before. The heavy rains…
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El Salvador: first country worldwide to make bitcoin legal tender
Cryptocurrency has been making inroads at gaining more and more mainstream acceptance, but this week marked a new major milestone. El Salvador just became the first country worldwide to accept bitcoin as legal tender, on Monday purchasing 400 bitcoins at a price of US $21 million. The announcement caused such a swell of interest, the country’s cyber wallet system was…
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Major earthquake near Acapulco, Mexico kills 1
A major earthquake shook the southwestern Mexican beach town Acapulco, yesterday. The earthquake has killed at least 1 person after a post fell on him. There were also rockfalls that damaged buildings, and power outages across several states as a result of the earthquake, says local officials. The earthquake, or temblor, had a magnitude of 7.0, which Michigan Tech estimates…
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Missing baby girl found by cave she was brought to as a sacrifice
In Chiang Mai, a toddler, who has been missing since Sunday evening, has reportedly been found. A man allegedly admitted to kidnapping the girl, who is almost 2 years old, and leaving her outside a cave as a sacrifice to the spirits of the mountains and forest. She was found in a hut just outside the cave. The 44 year…
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Torrential rain warning for Thailand as Tropical Storm Conson approaches
Batten down the hatches, there’s some heavy rainfall coming in the next 24 hours and most of the country will get it. The Thai Meteorological Department says the approach of Tropical Storm Conson means most regions are in for some very wet conditions. Conson is currently moving in a north-westerly direction, across the central Philippines, headed for Vietnam. Over the…
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Survey shows over half of Thai hotels are considering closing due to low demand
A survey conducted by the Bank of Thailand and the Thai Hotels Association shows that 52% of hotels are considering closing temporarily and 9% want to shut down for good. 62% plan to reduce their workforce costs as a result of the financial fallout from Covid-19, while 61% say they will cut expenditure elsewhere. The Bangkok Post reports that the…
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Protesters at Bangkok’s Asok intersection call on PM Prayut Chan-o-cha to resign
Protesters gathered at Bangkok’s Asok interaction yesterday, calling on PM Prayut Chan-o-cha to resign. For the past year, pro-democracy groups have been pushing for the prime minister to step down, but with the latest wave of Covid-19 surpassing more than 1 million infections, along with a limited supply of vaccines, protesters now say Prayut should resign due to mismanagement during…
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Hua Hin to re-open to international tourists from October 1
Hua Hin’s re-opening is still on track for October 1, with officials hoping to welcome commercial flights and private jets to the airport. Yuthasak Supasorn from the Tourism Authority of Thailand says the Hua Hin Recharge programme covers 86.3 square kilometres between Hua Hin municipality and the district of Nong Kae. The Bangkok Post reports that once tourists receive a…
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