Hot News
Stay updated with the latest Hot News in Thailand, featuring in-depth reporting and analysis of local events and goings on! We bring you breaking news, in-depth reports, and exclusive interviews covering a wide range of Thailand-focused topics, from Crime and Politics to Tourism and Business.
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Former Office of Buddhism chief sentenced to 20 years for corruption
PHOTO: National Office of Buddhism The former chief of the National Office of Buddhism has been handed a 20 year prison sentence for the mis-appropriation of temple funds. Thai PBS World reports that at the Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases, Panom Sornsilp was found guilty of graft, along with the former director of the Office of Temple Renovation…
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Former NZ Olympic champion busted for working illegally at Bangkok fitness studio
PHOTO: Olympic.or.nz | Bangkok Get Fit Cycling Studio A former Olympic champion from New Zealand has been arrested for working in Thailand without a work permit. The Nation reports that 37 year old Kiwi, Marc Ryan, was arrested yesterday at the Bangkok Get Fit Cycling Studio in the Sukumvit district. The arrest came after police received reports of a number of foreign…
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Asia leads the way in travel technology over next decade
In an industry already heavily “disrupted” by technology, tourism and travel will see even more of the business-side move online. Singapore-based travel booking company Agoda says that single one-stop-shop apps for all travel needs, passport free travel, and mobile app check-in are the top three new travel trends expected by travellers. Their report indicates travellers now expect a lot more from their travel experience…
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Phuket Sky Way cable car will provide tourists with a new view of the island
PHOTOS: Phuket People’s Voice The committee of economy development, bringing together both government and private sectors, has agreed to allow a cable car project on Phuket as the island’s new landmark. It has been revealed that the cable car design is finished and the Environmental Impact Assessment will be commissioned soon. At the moment the working title for the project…
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And they’re off! Hundreds of thousands leave Bangkok for New Year break
PHOTO: Eleven Media Group Hundreds of thousands of Bangkok residents have already started heading out of the capital, headed to various Thai provinces to welcome in 2020 in the company of friends and family. The long weekends starts from tonight with many Thais being granted a public holiday on Monday, in addition to the Tuesday and Wednesday public holidays. It…
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Trang mayor’s body found five kilometres from scene of fatal accident
Following a Christmas Day road incident where a white Mitsubishi SUV was seen plunging into a canal, rescue workers have recovered the body of the mayor of Nakhon Trang five kilometres from the scene of the crash. The Nation reports that CCTV footage shows the car being driven at high speed before running off the road and plunging into the…
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Thai PM urges New Year partygoers not to drink and drive
A reflective Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has spoken out about his desire to further help the country, calling on citizens not to drink and drive during the year-end celebrations. The Nation reports that while speaking at an event in Bangkok, the PM declared his love for his fellow citizens, expressing his desire to change his name to something that better reflects…
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Live links to watch Thailand solar eclipse today
Here are some live links to watch the solar eclipse which is currently happening across Thailand. It is now at its peak (midday). CAUTION: Looking at the sun directly and without proper equipment is dangerous and can cause blindness. Read more, along with some guidelines for viewing the solar eclipse, HERE. While Singapore, Sri Lanka, India and Indonesia will all…
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Chinese phone scam gangs using Thailand to hack into WeChat app
Police have raided a hotel in the Ratchada district of Bangkok after being tipped off that a group of young Chinese were spending all the time in their rooms. Hotel staff became suspicious after they were calling room service for all their meals, never venturing outside and refusing to allow the housekeeping staff in to clean the rooms. The Economic…
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Samut Sakhon temple Abbot accused of sexual abuse of up to 19 temple novices
PHOTO: Police The acting abbot at a temple in Samut Sakhon has been arrested following allegations that he held captive and sexually abused a list of young novice monks. It’s been reported that the youngest was only 8 years old. Samut Sakhon is just to the east of Bangkok, facing the Gulf of Thailand. 40 year old Phra Khru Sangkharak Saksit…
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A Krabi palm plantation returned as a community forest. Protesters want more.
PHOTO: Mekong Eye A private company’s concession to grow oil palms in Krabi has come to an end. So local authorities have opened it to locals as a “Community forest”. The local Forest Resource Management officials have launched a reclamation project at the site in Ban Thung Preu, Khao Phanom. The concession to grow oil palms there expired in 2015 and…
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Plearn Wan ‘retro’ shopping village to close its doors in Hua Hin
Yesterday, December 24, the founder and owner of Plearn Wan Company, operator of Plearn Wan shopping village in Hua Hin and Plearn Wan Panich shopping experiences at multiple locations around Thailand, Phattra Sahawat, posted that the Hua Hin shopping village will close down on January 31, 2020. The rambling retro shopping experience would attract families on weekend trips from Bangkok…
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Government trying to tame strong baht, but bank says it will remain strong in 2020
The prominent rise of the Thai baht in over the past year has had wide implications and effects, and PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says that state agencies have met often to come up with ways to tame the strong currency. Kasikorn Bank Research Centre has already released a report outlining reasons the baht will remain strong into 2020. The bank’s research arm…
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French man killed after a motorcycle incident on the cliff-road to Kamala, Phuket
PHOTO: Phuket Hotnews On December 23, Kamala police received a report about a motorcycle accident on the Patong – Kamala cliff-road (Kuan Yak Curve), in front of the Ocean Wind Hotel. The man’s body was found lying in grass, besides his motorbike at 9:50am. At the scene, police found the body of 35 year old Karim Elmir, a tourist from…
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DSI to charge former national park chief over “Billy” murder
PHOTO: Chaiwat Limlikhit-akson, former head of Kaeng Krachan National Park and Polajee “Billy” Rakchongcharoen The Department of Special Investigations says they plan to file charges against a former national park chief and three park officials, in connection with the murder of Karen community rights activist Polajee “Billy” Rakchongcharoen back in 2014. Shane Kanchanapat, director of the DSI’s Special Cases Division,…
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Where are Thai airbnb customers staying over the holiday period?
Where are the people booking share accomodation staying for the Christmas and New Year period? • Tokyo, Osaka and Hokkaido are among the top five trending destinations where Thai travellers usher in another year • Seoul is the most-booked overseas destination for Thai travellers on New Year’s Eve • Chiang Mai is the most popular domestic destination for Thai travellers…
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“Illuminati Case” against Future Forward Party rejected by Court
The “Illuminati Case”, a charge of sedition against the embattled Future Forward Party, has been rejected by Thailand’s Constitutional Court after a petition for an inquiry back in July. The complaint claimed the popular opposition political party is linked to ‘The Illuminati’, an imaginary secret elite seeking world domination, according to conspiracy theorists. So, to make this clear, the Thai Constitutional…
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Year-end tourism expected to generate over 80 billion baht
PHOTO: Kudla/Shutterstock The Kasikorn Research Centre says both domestic and foreign tourists in Thailand are expected to generate over 82 billion baht between December 28 and January 5, aka the ‘silly season’. This is traditionally the busiest time for holiday visitors to Thailand. This is up 1.3% year on year, but growth in 2019 is lower than the 7.4% growth…
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Two new airlines to hit Thai skies in 2020
PHOTO: Eastar Airlines Two new Thai low-cost carriers are set to take to the skies early 2020. The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand made the announcement yesterday. They are the first new Thai airlines being launched since the lifting of the ‘red flag’ by the International Civil Aviation Organisation in 2017. Thai Eastar Jet and Thai Summer Airways have already…
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Thai Ponzi scheme investigations wrap up
PHOTO: Bangkok Jack 2019 has been the year of the ‘Ponzi’, unsustainable investment schemes which always end up in the late-comers receiving nothing and losing their investment. Thai media have reported on up to 10 high-profile Ponzi schemes that have crashed leaving Thais losing billions of baht. This is the latest news on three of the current investigations. Police have…
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Careers and business heading for the scrap-heap. And the ones that will thrive.
Is your career headed for the scrap-heap? Rangsit University’s Economic and Business Research Centre for Reform has been studying the careers and businesses that are at high risk of disruption, layoffs or downright extinction. They’ve also identified 10 other careers that have a promising future. In discussing the detailed survey, the centre’s director, Anusorn Tamajai, said 12 careers faced high risk of…
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Villages fed up with living with dirty water in Phattalung
PHOTOS: INN News Imagine living with dirty tap water for four years. In a country like Thailand, in 2019, that’s not intolerable. But if you live in an unfortunate village in Phattalung, that’s the current situation. Villagers in Tamot District, Phatthalung, southern Thailand, have expressed their complaints after living with dirty tap water for years. The villagers have approached the…
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Baht to remain strong into 2020: Kasikorn Research Centre
The Kasikorn Research Centre believes that the Thai Baht is going to remain strong into 2020. KBank’s research arm forecasts the baht to move in a range of 30.10-30.50 Thai baht to the US$ for the next few quarters. But they warn a key domestic factor to be monitored closely will be November’s export data, which will be released soon. External…
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Some big retailers will stop giving out plastic bags on January 1
The Thaiger reminds readers that many major Thai retailers will stop providing plastic bags from January 1 in a campaign to reduce the whopping 13.5 billion plastic bags used in Thailand annually. At least the ban will make a dent in the plastic problem as the government progressively rolls out other bans and programs throughout next year. Seventy-five members of…
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Senate calls for urgent expansion Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport
PHOTO: Oriental Express Just days after Thailand set yet another annual record for incoming visitors, a Senate committee is urging the government to speed up the expansion of Suvarnabhumi Airport. The Senate Committee on Transportation, met with Airports of Thailand officials on December 19 and both sides acknowledged the urgent need for the expansion. After learning of the progress being made…
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Fakes valued at 50 million baht found in raids in Saraburi
PHOTO: INN News That’s another 50 million baht worth of counterfeits off the streets. The Department of Special Investigation has seized counterfeit goods in a series of raids, with a street value of around 50 million baht and including some 158,000 items. In this case, the fakes were mostly brand name eyeglasses and clothing accessories. The DSI, Department of Intellectual Property…
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Thais split over the holding of the ‘Skywalk’ rally in Bangkok – Poll
PHOTO: Khaosod English Thai people have been surveyed on their attitudes towards the December 14 “Skywalk” rally held by the Future forward Party. They responded to a recent NIDA poll conducted by the National Institute of Development Administration. The controversial rally was held on the busy Pathumwan skywalk, outside MBK and linking the National Stadium BTS station. The event attracted around…
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Man arrested for using Twitter and Thai postal service to sell “ice”
… and not the frozen water stuff. The Narcotics Control Board has arrested a man for selling “ice,” crystal methamphetamine, using Twitter and shipping the drug by the Thai postal service. Kriangsak Hadda was arrested with a total 191.6 grams of crystal meth, according to authorities. Niyom Termsrisuk, the ONCB secretary-general says that this kind of clandestine trade has led…
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On Boxing Day the skies will go dark across Thailand – solar eclipse
The skies will go dark in Thailand around midday on Boxing Day. The sun will partly vanish and a ghostly pall will shadow the Kingdom. But it’s all good. It’s a solar eclipse, a completely natural phenomenon. The Nation reports that viewing spots have been prepared in Chachoengsao province, east of Bangkok, in Chiang Mai province in the north, Nakhon Ratchasima…
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Over 30,000 displaced in Narathiwat floods, southern Thailand
Out of almost nowhere, and amidst a looming drought for many parts of the country, heavy rains have left flooded areas in Narathiwat, in Thailand’s deep south, displacing over 30,000 people. Soldiers, government officials and volunteers yesterday rushed to the assistance of 37,171 people hit by unseasonal floods in five districts of the southern Thai province, according to Thai Rath.…
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