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Blazing opportunity: Four Twenty Thailand offers franchise programme
Did you know that Four Twenty, Thailand’s premier cannabis brand, has a franchise programme? That’s right, you can now join their efforts to bring high-quality cannabis products and a vibrant community experience to more locations across Thailand. Four Twenty has...
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Bangkok will be underwater in 30 years says new study
Glug, glug, glug… An NGO that analyses and reports on climate science, says many cities, including Bangkok, will be under water in 30 years due to rising sea levels. The dramatic and frightening report from Climate Central says sea levels are expected to rise up to 2.1 metres or even more in this century, putting more than 300 million people…
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Broadway in Bangkok…unplugged. Live theatre in BKK
Book now for the matinee or evening show on Saturday now (details below). ‘Broadway in Bangkok…unplugged’ is a unique and exciting night in Bangkok, featuring classic songs from hit Broadway musicals, performed by two fantastic musical superstars. Live theatre right here in the capital. If you missed Big Mango’s last amazing production in January, then here is your chance to see musical…
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Songkhla business man claims he was forced to sign dodgy drug test
PHOTOS: Sanook.com A Songkhla businessman is claiming that he was forced to sign a document admitting to using illicit drugs. 38 year old Somchai owns a banana business and is a special professor at the Songkhla Rajabhat University, and qualified electrical contractor, according to Sanook. Somchai and his lawyer faced the media this week and presented documents from Ramathibodi Hospital…
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Thai PM will negotiate the GSP issue with US officials during ASEAN Summit
Thailand will hold talks with US officials, about the GSP (Generalised System of Preferences) suspension for Thai exports to the US market, on the sidelines of the weekend’s ASEAN Summit, being held in Bangkok. Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says there are still six months in which to resolve the issues before the suspension of trade benefits for up to 500…
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Insurgents detonate car-bomb and fire at a security outpost in Pattani
PHOTO: Thai PBS World Southern insurgents have damaged eight vehicles in front of an old police station in Mai Kaen district in Pattani after detonating a car bomb. The incident happened last night in Thailand’s southern border province of Pattani. A security outpost in Yarang district was also under fire from a different group of suspected insurgents last night as well.…
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Man arrested in central Thailand after Chiang Mai millionaire’s body found in fridge
PHOTO: Na Naew A man has been now been arrested and charged with murder, after the body of 58 year old Wannee Jiracharoenying was found stuffed in a refrigerator in her home in the Jom Thong district of Chiang Mai. It’s reported that the woman’s body was found by her brother after he became concerned about her whereabouts. Her hands…
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Philippines lifts restriction on rice imports from Thailand
PHOTO: VietnamPlus The Philippines has suspended a trial measure put in place to control imports of Thai rice following objections from Bangkok. The measure was initially put in place after the Philippine Department of Agriculture deemed existing regulations too lax. Rice imports had been under the control of the country’s National Food Authority until the government took over and attempted to…
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New land tax forces land owners to evaluate their options
PHOTO: SCMP The new Land and Property Tax, which takes effect in January 2020, will be a challenge for the Thai property market, according to the managing Director of CBRE Thailand. In an open report to the media, CBRE says owners of vacant sites will pay significant taxes once the new law comes into effect. Many will try to avoid the…
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Red shirts get four years for 2009 Pattaya protests
PHOTO: A decade ago when Red Shirts stormed the ASEAN Summit in Pattaya – Reuters Passionate remnants of the former red-shirt (pro-Thaksin Shinawatra) movement are considering their situation after this weeks’ handing down of a long sentence for some members’ involvement in protests at an ASEAN Summit a decade ago. Three former members of the United Front for Democracy Against…
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Ministry considering third round of the Chim Shop Chai stimulus packages
Deputy PM Somkid Jatusripitak is praising the Chim Shop Chai (Eat Shop Spend) scheme and has told the Finance Ministry to consider launching a third round before the end of the year. In a policy speech, he defended the scheme, saying it’s neither wasteful nor a populist policy, fending off accusations by critics. He insists the program has been successful in…
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Tourist missing, presumed drowned, off Nai Thon Beach, Phuket
PHOTOS: Phuket Hotnews A 29 year old tourist is still missing after going swimming off Nai Thon Beach in northern Phuket on Wednesday night, (October 30). Local Saku police received a report about the tourist who disappeared whilst swimming off the southern end of Nai Thon Beach, in Thalang District, around 7pm. At the beach, police found distraught 29 year…
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“Three year ban is too long” – Bangkok ‘win’ riders complain about new penalties
Win riders, Bangkok’s ubiquitous and slightly notorious motorcycle taxi drivers, are claiming that proposed penalties for riding on the sidewalk are too severe. Currently the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority has laid down bans of up to three years for motorbike riders caught riding on the city’s pavements. But Win riders say losing their jackets for three years is unfair. The Bangkok…
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Driver dies after car collides with a tree in Chon Buri
PHOTOS: Dragon Rescue Foundation A 23 year old driver died as a result of his vehicle colliding with a tree and catching fire in Mueang Chonburi this morning. Dragon Rescue Foundation was notified of the accident at 3:50am on the Wat Saman Road in Nong Kangkok, Chonburi, north of the Laem Chabang seaport. Emergency responders rushed to the scene to find…
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Thai Immigration Chief warns law-breaking foreigners “this is just the start”
PHOTOS: Naew Na The chief of Thai Immigration, Lieutenant General Sompong Chingduang, also known as ‘Big Oud’ (because the head of Immigration has to have a nickname starting with ‘big’ apparently), is warning foreigners breaking the law in the country that the latest crackdown “is just the beginning”. ThaiVisa reports that the immigration chief made his announcement at Immigration HQ…
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Second bridge connecting Thailand and Myanmar opens
The second bridge connecting the Thai north-western province of Tak and Myanmar is now open. The bridge crosses the Moei river in the Mae Sot district of Tak and is expected to give Thai exports a significant boost, up from the current 78 billion baht a year to 100 billion. The second friendship bridge was opened by the Thai Transport…
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Bar dancers in Pattaya claim boss owes them 400,000 baht
PHOTO: “Each dancer was promised a daily salary of 1,200 baht” – The Sun Bar girls, employed as go-go dancers in a bar on Pattaya’s infamous Walking Street, have filed a police report alleging their foreign boss has withheld 400,000 baht in unpaid wages. The Bangkok Post reports that around 30 girls allege they have not been paid since starting work…
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‘Matmo’ will bring floods to upper and central Thailand
Thundershowers will bring rain to northern, lower-central and eastern Thailand, including the capital and its suburbs over the next few days, according to the Meteorological Department. The south will also see isolated heavy rains. The department is warning that a category 2 depression over the South China Sea has become a tropical storm, named Matmo (below). At 4am on October…
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Bangkok airport taxi drivers protest over ride-sharing apps
With app-based ride services set to be legalised in Bangkok from March next year, taxi drivers at Suvarnabhumi airport are threatening to protest over what they see as the government’s failure to ensure fair competition. The Bangkok Post reports that the drivers are threatening to limit the number of bags they will accept from November 1, accusing both the Transport…
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DSI takes over 400 million baht ‘Mae Manee’ Ponzi scheme investigation
Police are hunting for a woman suspected to be at the head of a huge pyramid scheme that has allegedly scammed hundreds of people. Justice Minister Somsak Thepsutin has handed a case, where at least 2000 victims were allegedly cheated out of more than 430 million baht, over to the Department of Special Investigation (DSI). The ”Mae Manee pyramid scheme”…
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Tham Luang Cave reopens to visitors in November
The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation says it is reopening the Tham Luang Cave in Chiang Rai on November 1. The cave had a test opening on October 27 and everything went as planned. It will be the first time visitors have been allowed into the caves since the famous Tham Luang Cave Rescue nearly 18 months…
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US downgrades delegation to ASEAN summits
The US is downgrading its participation in two Asia-Pacific summits in Bangkok next week, a move sure to disappoint Asian partners worried by China’s expanding influence. US President Donald Trump is expected to attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Chile in November, but the most senior official from his administration, when Thailand hosts the annual East Asian Summit…
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Possessed Krabi drug dealer leads police to his drugs
PHOTO: khaosod.com A drug dealer became ‘possessed’ before leading police to his drugs in Krabi. On October 29, Krabi police arrested two drug dealers, before one of them acted like he was possessed by a spirit and led the police to check his friend’s car to discover even more drugs. Initially, police arrested 31 year old Ekkachai Petchsong when he…
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Extra day off added to Thailand’s end-of-year holidays
PHOTO: Thaizer.com Monday, December 30, has been approved as an additional public holiday, meaning one extra day added to the year-end celebrations as an official day off. The Nation reports that the Cabinet approved the extra day, which brings the holiday period to a total of five days, beginning on Saturday, December 28 and running until Wednesday, January 1. It’s…
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HM The King fires palace bedroom staff over “violence and adultery”
PHOTO: Royal Palace Household According to an official notice from the Thai Royal Household yesterday, Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn has dismissed two more palace officials for committing “adultery and unspecified violent conduct.” There were two other sackings announced in yesterday’s statement from the Thai palace. The action adds four more palace officials to a series of high profile public dismissals…
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Elephant chooses bad time for a lie down in Khao Yai national park
A large bull elephant has attempted to crush a car full of tourists that stopped on a road in Khao Yai national park in Korat (Nakhon Ratchasima), north east of Bangkok, prompting national park staff to remind visitors what they should do if they are confronted by one of the mighty beasts as they drive through. The 35 year old…
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The world scrambles to attract Chinese travellers
PHOTO: pri.org Spending US$277 billion worldwide last year, Chinese travellers are the world’s top tourism spenders, by a long margin. Now the global travel industry is scrambling to capture its slice of the lucrative ‘bamboo dollar’, and falling out of Chinese travellers’ favour can have a dramatic impact on tourism figures. For example, Phuket has suffered as a result of…
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Thailand has 6 months to discuss GSP with US
PHOTO: TNA Thai authorities still have six months to discuss the US decision to suspend tariff exemptions for Thai exports under its Generalised System of Preferences, according to PM Prayut Chan-o-cha. The PM says the US has suspended GSP privileges not only for Thailand but other countries too. Thailand has enjoyed GSP privileges for nine years and Washington might think…
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Phuket burglar dies after jump in Thalang
PHOTO: Bangkok Post “The unidentified man, aged around 30-40, was found lying in a pool of blood on the roof of the shop on Thepkasattri Road.” A man fell to his death after jumping from an apartment onto the awning of a shop below in Phuket’s Thalang district after breaking into an apartment early yesterday morning, October 29. The unidentified…
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Chiang Mai police hunting for bus driver suspected in millionaire murder case
“The victim’s hands and legs were tied, and her body had been covered with cement after being placed in the refrigerator.” Chiang Mai police have confirmed they have sought an arrest warrant for 39 year old Vitoon Sritabutr, known as Tum, a song thaew (local public bus) driver who is the main suspect in the murder of a local millionaire.…
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120 Future Forward members quit the party
PHOTO: Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit – Khaosod One hundred and twenty members of the Future Forward Party, some of them former election candidates, have resigned, claiming that the party’s leaders have failed to keep their promises. Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit confirmed their decisions, saying it was their right and admitted that the party had made mistakes. Phuket News reports that…
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