Hot News
-
Sponsored Top 10 reasons for expats to get a comprehensive health insurance in Thailand
Moving to Thailand offers a prospect full of excitement and adventure, but in the same vein, if any injuries were to occur (and god forbid it does), the local healthcare system can be confusing at first glance for many expats...
-
U-Tapao, AIS collaborate on smart terminal
U-Tapao Rayong Pattaya International Airport and AIS, Thailand’s largest GSM mobile phone operator, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to turn the airport’s Passenger Terminal 2 into a “smart terminal.” U-Tapao, a joint civil/military public airport serving Rayong and Pattaya City, has been working on developing digital solutions with AIS in its second passenger terminal since 2018. Now it is…
-
Thai police scrutinised over record number of dismissed human trafficking cases
Thailand is home to about 610,000 modern-day slaves, or about one in 113 of its population of 69 million, according to the Global Slavery Index by the Walk Free Foundation. Yet Thai prosecutors turned down nearly a fifth of human trafficking cases sent to them by police last year. This has raised concerns that police were on a drive to…
-
The rise of the e-bicycle in Thailand, a bit of motorised assistance
by Nicole Kash Cycling tours offer a unique way to explore Thailand. Faster than walking but slower than driving, cycling tours cover plenty of ground while allowing cyclists to immerse themselves in the sights, smells, and culture of Thailand without the boundary of a car window. Cycling tours can cover up to a heart-pumping 150 kilometre a day. Though exciting…
-
Deputy transport minister says Thai Airways must increase revenue, cut costs
Thai Airways International is in the process of slashing costs and restructuring. Deputy Transport Minister Thaworn Senneam discussed Thailand’s open sky policy and stressed the importance of increasing revenue and reducing expenditure to turn the airline around and make it sustainable. Thaworn, along with the assistant secretary at the Ministry of Transport and other officials visited Thai Airways’ HQ to…
-
Haze and coronavirus killing tourism in northern Thailand
It’s the smoke and Wuhan effect. Haze and the Novel Coronavirus are having a brutal effect on northern Thailand tourism. With numbers already low, China’s recent outward travel ban on tour groups coupled with dangerous haze levels are likely to hit tourism hard. Northern Thailand has a high proportion of Chinese tourists. Residents of Nan province are concerned over the…
-
Nonthaburi beggar exposed, drives a big SUV
Beggars and the homeless remain a major issue in Thailand, especially in larger cities and tourist areas, and many choose to help, but their kindness is sometimes exploited. Facebook user “Chaluta Joy” posted photos on Monday of a beggar, who’s been seen asking for money in different villages and markets in the central province of Nonthaburi, stepping out of a…
-
Thailand to screen all airline passengers from China for coronavirus
Beginning yesterday, all airline passenger arrivals from China, regardless of their point of origin, are being screened for the Wuhan Coronavirus when entering Thailand. Health officials announced the measure after six more Chinese visitors were diagnosed with the virus, bringing the total in Thailand to 14 cases. The death toll from the outbreak now stands at 131 (as of Wednesday morning),…
-
School of weed: Ministries preparing course on medical marijuana
The government wants people to have the facts as the medicinal effects, and possible risks, of ‘ganja’ emerge. UPDATE: The Cabinet today gave the greenlight for kanchong (cannabis) cultivation to make this type of hemp a cash crop, according to Thai News Agency’s English news. As earlier reported by The Thaiger, two Thai government agencies have agreed to cooperate to…
-
Tiger and piglet shows discontinued at Sriracha zoo
“The show is cruel, affecting those who witness it and it is not appropriate for a zoo to be showing such lack of care for a piglet.” Netizens were horrified when a tourist posted a short video of a screaming piglet being clawed by a tiger at the Sriracha Tiger Zoo in Chonburi province. Many criticised the zoo, complaining that…
-
Severe air pollution forces Nok Air flight back to Bangkok
The severe air pollution which has plagued much of Thailand’s central and northern regions for weeks is showing signs of subsiding, with many areas reporting “moderate” to “good” air quality levels yesterday. But in the north levels remain high, with the pollution in Phrae province preventing a Nok Air plane from landing and forcing it back to Bangkok. Meanwhile, Bangkok…
-
Pollution closes Lampang schools
Schools in the northern province of Lampang were closed yesterday as the level of air pollution went up, according to KhaoSod. Authorities have instructed families to keep their children indoors during this period of poor air quality. The problem is partly caused by the the burning of crop fields, which despite prohibitions, has been going on for weeks, with the…
-
Pattaya leaders meet to discuss effects of Coronavirus on tourism
Pattaya luminaries, community leaders and business owners met yesterday at Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden to discuss the effect of the Wuhan Coronavirus on local tourism and ways to minimise the damage. The deputy Governor of Chonburi province, where Pattaya is located, travelled to Nong Nooch Gardens to meet with the director of U-Tapao Airport, the director of the Pattaya…
-
Police announce nationwide crackdown on air pollution
The Royal Thai Police are preparing measures to counter the PM2.5 problem by tackling the sources of air pollution in areas reported with poor air quality, a spokesman said on Sunday. (PM2.5 is particulate matter having a diameter of less than 2.5 microns) “National Police chief Pol General Chakthip Chaijinda has ordered deputy chief Pol General Suwat Jaengyodsuk to be…
-
Air quality improves in Bangkok, North still battling some haze
The severe air pollution which has plagued Thailand in recent weeks is improving: air quality is dramatically better in most areas today except in the north, where the PM2.5 level remains above safe levels, especially Lampang and Phrae provinces. According to the Pollution Control Department, at 10 am the PM 2.5 levels in the northern provinces of Lampang, Lamphun, Nan, Phrae,…
-
Thai tourism to take hit over Coronavirus
by Bill Barnett of c9hotelworks.com A travel ban is now in effect in Mainland China for tour groups who were booked for holidays overseas. Over the past few days hoteliers in Phuket, Bangkok and throughout the country are reporting significant cancellations, not only of groups but also independent travellers (FITs). Last year Mainland Chinese travellers to Thailand nearly eclipsed 11 million,…
-
Everything you need to know about 5G
by Live Tiles 5G literally refers to the fifth-generation of wireless technology, following on from 3G and 4G. The biggest changes will bring users higher speeds, lower latency, and the chance to connect more devices at once. Speed, for example, will provide almost instantaneous transfers across the internet, faster than the human reaction time. So something like a livestream of…
-
Online grocery shopping gains popularity in Thailand
Squeezing the avocados and smelling the mangoes, in person, may well become a thing of the past as online grocery buying quickly gathers pace. The intense competition in online grocery sales is expected to surge in 2020. Online Apps like Line, Grab and Lazada are making major inroads into the Thai grocery market valued around 30 billion baht. Pushing the growth…
-
Romeo robber arrested for drugging women in their homes
Lonely hearts beware: a serial robber has been arrested after meeting up with girls for a night of fun but instead robbing them in their own homes. Police arrested a 28 year old man, who they named only as “Suchin,” in the eastern province of Chonburi on Thursday. One victim told authorities she met Suchin on a dating site in…
-
“Greetings from Thailand”, escaped convict sends Belgian prison a postcard
“Greetings from Thailand”. That was the message on the postcard sent to the directors of a Belgian prison. The sender? The management of Turnhout prison believe the greeting letter was from Oualid Sekkaki, who escaped last month. Sekkaki is one of five inmates who escaped from the Flemish prison in mid-December. The letter was addressed to the three directors of the…
-
Electric vehicle registrations in Thailand rose 380% in 2019
Electic cars (EVs) are on the rise in Thailand. The Electric Vehicle Association of Thailand (EVAT) reports a sharp increase in the number of electric vehicles registered in 2019. Department of Land Transport statistics show that, as of December 31, there were 2,854 electric vehicle registrations, including 1,572 new cars, up 380% from 2018 when only there were only 325 registered.…
-
Air purifiers installed at Victory Monument whilst southern winds blow the smoke north
The Nation reports that the Rajaprajanukron Foundation, under Royal Patronage, installed four air- purifiers yesterday around the Victory Monument area in a trial of their effectiveness in filtering out PM2.5 dust particles. Silpasuay Raweesaengsoon, permanent secretary of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration says the machines can purify polluted air at the rate of two cubic metres per second. “Placed in areas…
-
Sugar industry asks the government to subsidise harvesting machinery
Sugar factories are campaigning to cut and harvest raw sugarcane, instead of boring it first, for processing. The conglomerates are recommending that the government offer funding at low interest rates to farmers to buy harvesters as the prices of the equipment are quite high (6-12 million baht). They are also urging the government to purchase electricity from biomass power plants…
-
Shakedown rocks the top levels of the Royal Thai Police
The upper echelons of the Royal Thai Police Force has been rattled by some high-profile shakedowns that have been ordered by executive order from the Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha. Starting with the former immigration chief, Pol Lt-Gen Surachat Hakparn, the PM has ordered him to “adhere strictly to the ethical code and discipline expected of all civil servants” Earlier this…
-
More human remains found submerged in metal casket in suspect’s pond
In a story that grows grislier with each new discovery… now an old metal casket with more than 30 human bones has been retrieved from a pond at the Bangkok home of Apichai Ongwisit, dubbed “Ice Heep Lek” (metal casket killer), who has already been charged with murdering his girlfriend and disposing of her corpse on his property. Nearly 300…
-
Prasitthichai speaks to the Thai media, “killings were unintentional”
In a bizarre sequence of events, Thai media were able to directly question the suspect, who has allegedly confessed, of the cold-blooded murders of three, whilst injuring four others, on January 9 at a Lop Buri gold shop. School principal Prasitthichai “Golf” Khaokaew is reported to have told police that he robbed the gold shop because he had financial problems…
-
Man survives drive-by shooting and crash, credits his Buddhist amulet
A Pattaya man who was fired upon and crashed into a power pole early yesterday morning is thanking his lucky Buddha and crediting his Buddhist amulet with saving his life. 30 year old Waranyoo Kaewmala’s car was shot nine times, yet somehow miraculously escaped unharmed. Bang Lamung Police were notified of the incident at 2am rushed to the scene to…
-
3 arrested for selling fake gold in Khon Kaen
Three men are now in police custody in the north-eastern province of Khon Kaen for selling fake gold to gold shops. 42 year old Suparb from Udon Thani province, 41 year old Pakorn from Bangkok and 30 year old Thanakorn from Surin Province were arrested after police received complaints of fake gold chains being sold to several shops in the…
-
Top 10 islands to visit in Thailand (Part Two)
And now the Top 5… 5. Surin islands Those who are seeking a peaceful and relaxing holiday experience will be left amazed by what Surin islands have to offer. Famously known as a destination that promises peace and tranquility, Surin islands are relatively secluded and have little to no human interference, leaving it unspoiled. Most tourists who visit the Surin…
-
Baht will continue to remain strong throughout 2020
The Thai baht will continue to maintain its strength for the rest of 2020. It will remain strong, propelled by the increased surpluses in the Thai current account and the country’s trade balance. Kobsidthi Silpachai, KBank’s head of capital markets research, predicts that the Thai baht will float around 29.75 against the US dollar for the first half of 2020,…
-
Arrested Lop Buri murder suspect was a provincial headmaster
The director (headmaster) of a Sing Buri school is now in police custody as a suspect in the case of the lone of being the lone gunman in a gold shop robbery at the Robinson’s Shopping Centre in Lop Buri province on January 9. Three people, including a two year old boy, were shot and killed, another four were injured…
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.