News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.
-
Sponsored Hot Phuket property deal: Arise Vibe launches limited offer on only four units, now from 2.5m baht
Phuket's property market is full of big names and high prices, but some of the most exciting opportunities are happening just outside the spotlight. That’s where you’ll find Arise Vibe. Set in Si Sunthon, one of Phuket’s fastest-growing areas, this...
-
Phuket police gear up for pre-election safety
More than 200 Phuket police yesterday lined up in a showcase parade to ‘assure’ locals, tourists and expats that they’re set up and ready for safety before the March 24 election. 245 police and Phuket’s Vice Governor Thanyawat Chanpinit lined up in front the Phuket City Police Station last night at 6 pm. The Phuket Provincial Police Commander Maj Gen…
-
New trend ‘Challenge for Change’ rubbish cleanup
PHOTO: We Don’t Deserve This Planet A Facebook page named ‘We Don’t Deserve This Planet’ is running a campaign ‘Challenge for Change’ for rubbish cleanups. The site is an international page. The Facebook page says “Let it be trending!” with the hash tag #ChallengeForChange. “Here is a new #Challenge for all. Take a photo of an area that needs some cleaning or…
-
UPDATE: Regulators ground the Boeing 737 Max 8, but not in Thailand
PHOTO: Thai Lion Air won’t be grounding their Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft The digital flight data recorder for Flight ET302 from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to Nairobi, Kenya was located yesterday morning Citizens of 35 countries are among the 157 people killed, including 32 Kenyans, 18 Canadians, nine Ethiopians and eight passengers each from China, Italy and the US Multiple…
-
Northern provinces choking on toxic haze and air pollution again
by Kriangkrai Rattana, Panwich Yoodee, Nathawat Laping Northern provinces are again choking from dangerous levels of PM2.5 dust particles, air pollution and smog. The harmful haze is being worsened by smoke from forest fires on the other side of the Myanmar border, with a satellite images showing 1,035 hot spots in the neighbouring country, and another 516 in Thailand (123…
-
Body of baby boy tied to stroller found off Pattaya beach
WARNING: Some readers may find the following story disturbing PHOTOS: Pattaya Law Enforcement / Rak Siam A body of foreign baby boy in a stroller was found floating near a beach in Pattaya yesterday. Pattaya City Law Enforcement say they were notified by locals that a body of baby was found floating near a pier at Laem Bali Hai in…
-
4 ways Thais use Twitter. Which one are you?
With hundreds of millions of users globally, Twitter is many things to many people. Amongst Thailand’s growing Twitter community, it’s interesting to see how users are evolving the way they use Twitter. Trending topics change rapidly as Thai users jump from one hot topic to another, while favourite celebrities and musicians remain relatively consistent. Below are just four ways Thais…
-
“Nothing to do with the election” – Deputy PM Prawit
Senior government security officials are claiming the series of bomb blasts last weekend in the southern provinces of Phatthalung and Satun are related to insurgency activities in the predominantly Muslim region. They say there is no connection with the upcoming election and that the timing is just co-incidence. The South has been racked by violence from an ongoing insurgency since…
-
Police wrestler avoids jail but gets a hefty fine
PHOTO: Daily News Bangkok’s Dusit Court has fined a Honda City sedan driver 8,500 baht for four offences related to an incident caught on video last week. The video showed Pol Lance Corporal Thanakit Wiboonphan trying to clamp a car parked illegally in a no standing zone. Not happy about the situation, the driver argued and wrestled with the traffic policeman.…
-
Australian ‘bottles’ customer in an unprovoked attack in Pattaya
SCREENSHOT: Facebook/David Collier A customer in a bar has been attacked in Pattaya. CCTV footage shows the moment an Australia thug launched a shocking and apparently unprovoked attack on the man. As the customer was walking out of the bar the assailant gets up and whacks the man over the head with a bottle. The attacker has been identified as…
-
From Moto GP to Weed Fest, Buriram leads the way
PHOTO: A Pan Ram supporter can’t wait for the ‘cannabis festival’ next month in Buriram province – Khaosod English They pulled off the MotoGP event with flair and great organisation. Now Buriram is bracing for a very different crowd heading for the next big event. Taking advantage of the new liberalisation of laws governing marijuana and cannabis, the north-east festival…
-
Security stepped up in Phuket in the wake of Satun and Patthalung bombs
Phuket security officials have increased safety and tourist security after suspects set off pipe bombs in Statun and Patthalung during the weekend. Although the southern provincial trio of Songkhla, Pattani and Narathiwat have been the site of a 20 year insurgency between southern Thais and Muslim insurgents, provinces north of the region have been largely spared any insurgency-related violence. That…
-
German tourist bitten by snake in Krabi temple
A female tourist has been rushed to hospital after she was bitten by snake at the Tiger Cave Temple in Krabi. The 23 year old German tourist was taken to Krabi Hospital after she was been bitten by a snake on her right foot. The German tourist was still conscious whilst being treated at the scene and during her trip…
-
Demolition order for illegal balcony at luxury villas in Ao Sane
PHOTO: Chatchanon Na Thalang A demolition order has been issued for an illegally constructed balcony, which also leads to a pool and spa, at the controversial villas being constructed overlooking Ao Sane beach near Nat Harn. Rawai Municipality put a halt to construction activities on the villas last week after Rawai officials noted that the balcony was not part of…
-
Phuket 1988: Thai expat digs out his old Super 8 movies
David Barrett gets out his Super 8 projector for another film night – this time we see Patong in 1988, already quite developed even though mass tourism was still more than a decade away. The few high-rise are certainly not cluttering up the skyline at this time. David is sharing his early Super 8 movies with us as we wallow…
-
Some airlines ground the Boeing 737 MAX 800 aircraft “as a precaution”
Airlines around the world that fly the new Boeing 737 MAX 800 model are starting to ground their fleets of the new next-gen aircraft. China’s aviation regulator have already ordered local airlines to stop flight with the 800 MAX model after an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft of the same model crashed yesterday morning. The aircraft is relatively new to the skies,…
-
Bank evasive after 91 year old claims 5 million baht removed from his account
A 91 year old land owner and farmer in Chumpon claims that he’s had 5 million baht ‘taken’ from one of his bank accounts. Daily News reports that Thon Brahmjan from Tha Kham district had been to the bank, the police and government consumer watchdog Damrongtham Centre at the end of last year after the 5 million baht went missing…
-
Body recovered of a man who jumped off Sarasin Bridge last Thursday
The body of a man, who was seen jumping off Sarasin Bridge last week, has been found and recovered off the coast of Rawai in Phuket’s south. Kok Kloi Police in Phang Nga were notified about the man jumping off the bridge that links Phuket to the mainland (southbound) last Thursday. Read more about the man jumping off Sarasin Bridge HERE.…
-
Ethiopian Airlines crash – a second new Boeing 737 falters after take off
PHOTO: A brand new Boeing 737 Max 800 for Ethiopian Airlines All 157 people on board the Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa that crashed yesterday morning have died, the airline has confirmed. The airline said in a statement… “We hereby confirm that our scheduled flight ET 302 from Addis Ababa to Nairobi was involved in accident today.” The plane is…
-
Will Asian airlines allow female flight attendants to leave the make up and tight clothes at home?
Some regional airlines, principally AirAsia and Vietnam’s VietJet Air are being criticised for putting young female flight attendants in tight-fitting clothes or revealing outfits either on the job or in promotional videos. The local online ‘outrage’ follows an announcement this week that Britain’s Virgin Atlantic has dropped a requirement that female flight attendants wear makeup. This sees Virgin join other major…
-
Phuket airport numbers soar, despite the sag in the second half of 2018
“India became the fastest growing source market last year with more direct flights in 2019.” by Bill Barnett of C9 Hotelworks In 2018, Phuket tourism experienced volatile trading. While the first half year achieved a record high 4.8 million passenger arrivals, the second half year dropped unexpectedly due to the impact of the boat tragedy in July when 47 Chinese…
-
American all smiles after getting nabbed over convenience store theft
A 54 year old American has been caught stealing from a convenience store in Chiang Mai. Gregory Paul Burke was captured on camera at the Muang police station grinning over the matter. Staff at the store in Khotchasan Road, Chiang Mai, caught him stuffing two big bags of instant coffee, some chewing gum and a pack of sushi into his…
-
Krabi woman fakes death to avoid “loan sharks”
PHOTO: Sanook A 30 year old woman named Sudawan, who went online to post pictures of herself, apparently dead with cotton wool stuffed up her nose, has now been located. Relatives went to the police because they did not believe she was dead. They told police that they thought she went into hiding after finding out she had to pay…
-
Bangkok woman gives birth in the back of a taxi!
PHOTO MONTAGE: Thai Rath So you’re on your way to hospital with a passenger in the back of your taxi who says she’s going to have a baby – soon. Ahead there’s a lot traffic. Taxi driver Pratheep Manop said he picked up a woman aged about 25 – 30 from Pahonyothin Soi 48. She wanted to be taken to Wipharam…
-
The Nan “U-Turn of Death”. A fatality almost every day.
Thailand’s U-Turns, a favorite traffic mechanism of Thai road planners, are a cause of constant delays, dangerous turns and frequent fatalities. Daily News reports on a U-turn in Nan, northern Thailand, where there is a fatality almost every day. Nan is east of Chiang Mai on the Laos border. The police had shut it but the locals wanted it reopened…
-
Long queues and poor arrangements greet early Thai voters in KL
PHOTO: Thai PBS A long queue of waiting voters spilled out of the Thai embassy compound in Kuala Lumpur during yesterday’s early voting. Over 4,000 Thai nationals working in Malaysia turned up at the Thai embassy in KL yesterday to cast their ballots. The actual Thai election day is on March 24 but foreign embassies provide opportunities for Thai expats to cast their vote…
-
Chachoengsao man killed by grenade explosion on Facebook Live
PHOTO: M79 grenades and launcher A man was killed by a grenade explosion at a border patrol police base in Chachoengsao whilst trying to catch wild chickens. Chachoengsao is directly east of Bangkok. The 28 year old, Apisit Kerdlarpphol, was killed after entering the prohibited army training zone and broadcasting his exploits live on his Facebook page. Police say they discovered…
-
“Waiter, there’s a cockroach in my beer!” Drama in Pattaya
PHOTOS: Daily News Big drama in Pattaya! • A female customer has taken to Facebook to complain, despite not having to pay. • A staff member has offered her resignation. • A deputy manager denies that it was ‘their’ cockroach. • And Terminal 21 has taken it all very seriously and issued a letter promising further action. Behind all this…
-
88 arrested and being sent to ‘attitude adjustment’ on March 11
88 motorcyclists have been arrested along with 92 bikes, illegally modified, seized. The arrests relate to road racing in the, now, weekly Bangkok roadside crackdowns. This week police set up checkpoints on roads under the jurisdiction of Metropolitan Police Division 2. A media conference was held this morning, just after midnight, to announce the results of the operation. Police say…
-
Three died, three injured in Chiang Mai road crash
Three people were killed and three others injured when their car hit a power pole on the Chiang Mai-Hod road in Chiang Mai’s Doi Lor district early today (Saturday). The vehicle overturned after it hit the pole. Emergency responders and rescuers from the Putthasawan Nopparat Foundation had to use iron cutters (Jaws of Life) to extract the bodies from the vehicle.…
-
Is Thailand falling behind in the startup race? Techsauce Global Summit Bangkok
PHOTO: Oranuch Lerdsuwankij, CEO and co-founder of summit organiser Techsauce Media by Asina Pornwasin Oranuch Lerdsuwankij, CEO and co-founder of summit organiser Techsauce Media, underlined the forthcoming conference’s importance as a platform for tech enthusiasts across different industries to discuss digital knowledge, ideas and experiences. She says the summit is bringing tangible changes to the tech ecosystem across Thailand and…
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.