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The Melting Clock: A sophisticated spot for Italian cuisine and exquisite wine in Bangkok
It’s no secret that Bangkok has a lot of excellent Italian restaurants and wine bars, so standing out in the crowd is no small task. But The Melting Clock, the Italian restaurant and wine lounge in Ekkamai, has shown that...
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Fire at Bangkok’s CentralWorld mall sends shoppers scurrying (video)
A fire broke out at Bangkok’s CentralWorld mall Saturday afternoon. A small fire broke out in Groove, the mall’s semi-outdoor dining area, around 4.15pm. Coughing shoppers were forced to flee along smoke-filled corridors. Fire 🚒🔥 alert at #ctw #centralworld #เซ็นทรัลเวิร์ล , please go outside in safe area 🙌 pic.twitter.com/cIlNRXJd2r — @chai_prod (@chai_prod) December 3, 2022 Firefighters were quickly at the…
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Disruptive Phuket-bound passenger thrown off flight in Karachi
A disruptive Phuket-bound passenger on a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul was thrown off the aircraft yesterday and arrested after the flight diverted to Pakistan’s Jinnah International Airport in Karachi. After the passenger was taken into custody by local law enforcement, the flight continued to Phuket. Turkish Airlines flight TK-172 on an Airbus A330 diverted to Karachi three hours into the…
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Anutin responds to photo of cannabis smoking kids on Pattaya Beach
Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul has responded after photos of a group of 10 year olds smoking cannabis from a bamboo bong on Pattaya Beach went viral on social media. The legalisation of cannabis came with very little regulation, but a prohibition on sales or consumption by anyone under 20 years old was put in place almost immediately. Anutin has been…
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Thai student allegedly raped by Hyderabad U professor
Students at the University of Hyderabad are staging protests in support of the Thai student allegedly raped by her professor yesterday. The Thai student claimed that she was raped at the home of a senior professor last night. Local police arrested the suspect, Ravi Ranjan, said to be in his sixties. Ranjan is a faculty member in the department of…
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Thailand tourism predicted at 80% of pre-Covid in 2023
Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Yuthasak Supasorn just predicted that next year, revenue from tourism will hit 80% of the level it was before the Covid-19 pandemic. He made the bold prediction at the 22nd World Travel and Tourism Council Global Summit, being held in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh. At that summit, the TAT was invited to take…
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Child Protection Foundation leader faces child labour charges
Authorities in Thailand are claiming there’s a fine line between protecting children and exploiting them. Amphawa District Police in the Samut Songkhram province filed human trafficking charges against the Secretary-General of the Child Protection Foundation. The foundation has protected the rights of children, but charges accuse them of using those children as labour in a resort owned by Secretary-General Montri…
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Red-Bull hit-and-run prosecutor dismissed
Red-Bull hit-and-run prosecutor Chainarong Saengthong-aram has been dismissed by the Public Prosecutors Commission. The former senior prosecutor at the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) was discharged after tampering with evidence in the case involving Red Bull heir Vorayuth Yoovidhya. An initial report showed that Vorayuth was driving his Ferrari at 177 kilometres per hour when he hit and killed…
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Phuket flight cancellation due to earlier cancelled flight, runway maintenance
After pandemonium at Phuket International Airport on Thursday night with a flight cancellation stranding 300 passengers overnight, airport and tourism authorities say they’re more prepared and it won’t happen again. It all started when budget airline Thai VietJet cancelled a flight from Phuket to Bangkok minutes before take-off last night because staff couldn’t find a seat for one passenger. But…
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Bullets-in-bag Israeli given 18 months in Thailand
The bullets-in-bag Israeli police officer was handed an 18-month jail sentence on Friday for arriving in Thailand with a deadly cargo of live ammunition. Gal Shmuel Farjun was arrested in October at Phuket Airport with two loaded magazines in his suitcase. The 29 year old claimed to have left the bullets in his bag “by accident.” The Israeli Foreign Ministry…
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Thai baht soars to six-month high against US dollar
The Thai baht opened at 34.78 against the US dollar today, strengthening from yesterday’s close of 35 to a six-month high. The baht’s sudden rise is down to the Bank of Thailand’s (BOT) hiking the policy rate by a quarter point earlier this week. The BOT remains committed to a gradual monetary tightening policy, raising the policy rate from 1%…
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Motorcycle taxi riders rally against unlicensed ride-share app drivers in Pattaya
Over 100 Pattaya motorcycle taxi riders showed up at Pattaya City Hall yesterday to make some noise about unlicensed ride-share app drivers. The motorcycle taxi riders are calling for a crackdown, saying that these unlicensed drivers are stealing their passengers. In an open letter to Pattaya Deputy Mayor Wuttisak Rueimkitkan, the riders accused app drivers of: Not having had their…
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Stop giving monkeys cigarettes, beg locals in Lop Buri, Thailand
Locals in Lop Buri province in central Thailand – famous for its out-of-control monkey population – are begging tourists to stop giving monkeys cigarettes. Monkey lovers in Lop Buri were saddened to see a clip circulating on social media in which a visitor to the city flicked a lit cigarette to a monkey. In the clip, the innocent monkey picked…
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Police arrest weight loss pill executive for causing 4 deaths in Thailand
A dietary supplement executive was arrested in Bangkok, Thailand, yesterday after four people died from taking his company’s weight loss pills. Police arrested 50 year old Nuttawat outside a condo in the Huai Kwang district under an arrest warrant issued by Kanchanaburi Provincial Court on January 18, 2022, for, “secretly adding a substance to food, medicine or other edible products…
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Phang Nga officials find more leatherback turtle eggs
Turtle nesting season is well on its way in Phang Nga. Phang Nga officials found more leatherback turtle eggs, after finding over 118 of them on the same beach last month. On Wednesday, officials from the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) said they found more nests on Bang Khwan Beach, about 500 metres from the previous nest. However, the…
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Fireworks to dazzle Bangkok’s Chao Phraya River area on New Year’s Eve
Bangkok fireworks lovers have a new treat awaiting them on New Year’s Eve. Fireworks will dazzle the capital’s Chao Phraya River area during the countdown. Bangkok’s largest shopping mall, ICON SIAM, is hosting the event, Amazing Thailand Countdown 2023, at Icon Siam River Park on December 31. The event’s theme is “win the world for Thailand.” The firework displays will be…
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Resurgence of AIDS in Thailand overshadows UNAIDS summit
News of the resurgence of AIDS in Thailand, blamed on the proliferation of dating apps, has dismayed many. Historically, Thailand has one of the best records of all countries in the region in caring for people living with AIDS. The government is now setting out to eradicate AIDS in Thailand by 2030, according to deputy government spokeswoman Traisuree Taisaranakul on…
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Thailand’s top cheesemaker toasts his own success
When Thailand’s top cheesemaker Jarutat Snidwongse Na Ayuthaya decided to make cheese for a living, he didn’t find much support. His family and friends doubted that was a market for Chiang Mai cheese. Thailand’s unique cuisine doesn’t find much space for dairy. Sixteen years on, and things could hardly be better in the small but perfectly formed Thai cheese cottage…
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New details unfolding over alleged assault by Pattaya loan sharks
UPDATE New details are unfolding around a Pattaya woman who on Monday, November 28 alleged that loan sharks had abducted and assaulted her. The woman, 21 year old Tasneeporn Youngram, said that four loan sharks forced her into a car on Soi Paniad Chang in Bang Lamung. She said they then brought her to a deserted road, where they beat…
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Family of man who died after a hair transplant warns others to avoid cowboy clinics
The family of an Indian man who died from a hair transplant (HT) urges others to avoid cowboy clinics offering too good-to-be-true low-cost procedures. Balding Indian television executive Athar Rasheed decided to get an HT last year only for it to end fatally. The 30 year old wanted to improve his appearance, boost his confidence, and look younger, as many…
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Ladyboys steal Russian tourist’s gold necklace in Pattaya, Thailand
In a tale as old as time, another foreign tourist had their gold necklace stolen by ladyboys in Pattaya, Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand, in the dead of night. At 3am today, 24 year old Artem [surname withheld] of Russian nationality sought help from officers at Pattaya City Police Station. He said two ladyboys molested him and untied his gold…
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Motorbike taxi driver wins 12 million baht lottery jackpot in Thailand
A “win” motorbike taxi driver from Samut Prakan province, just south of Bangkok in Thailand, won 12 million baht (US$345,050.76) in the lottery yesterday. Ek – who works in the King Kaew area of Bang Phli district – revealed that he chose the winning lottery number 375805 using the age of his ex-wife who sadly passed away just one week ago.…
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Tourists flock to famous market in Koh Samui
Tourists are flocking to a famous market in Koh Samui for its mouthwatering food. The vice president of the Tourism Council of Thailand said the tourists are loving the Pad Thai, papaya salad (Somtam), and grilled chicken at The Wharf Samui. The market opens every Wednesday and Friday from the late afternoon until late night. Tourism Council Vice President Wiwat Chuenban…
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9 year olds smoke cannabis on Pattaya Beach in Thailand
Netizens are concerned about the safety of children after pictures of a group of 9 and 10 year olds smoking cannabis from a bamboo bong on Pattaya Beach in Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand, went viral on social media. Thailand delisted cannabis as an illicit narcotic in June to allow the public to utilise the plant’s medicinal properties. But without…
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Woman allegedly steals winning lottery ticket from friend
The wife who ran off with her lover and 6 million baht lottery winnings belonging to her husband is not the only lottery ticket scandal in Thailand. A lottery winner in the central province of Chachoengsao filed a complaint against her friend saying she stole her 20,000 baht prize-winning lottery ticket. The lottery winner, 54 year old Paradee Chanwat, told…
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Pattaya Walking Street gunman surrenders claiming it was ‘friendly fire’
A Pattaya Walking Street gunman surrendered to police, allegedly claiming that the incident was one of “friendly fire.” But, his friends may not be thinking the same as they are currently injured. The suspect insisted that he was friends with the men he shot and felt really sorry for them as he called the shooting an accident. According to The Pattaya…
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China’s great firewall breached as zero-Covid policy protesters access Twitter, Telegram
China’s great firewall has been breached as zero-Covid policy protesters are accessing Twitter and Telegram in record numbers. According to SensorTower, Twitter’s downloads increased from 150th rank to ninth rank among all the free iOS apps in China at the end of November. As the nation’s zero-Covid restrictions sparked a rare uproar among residents, the government’s censors have largely silenced…
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Driving licence point deductions starting next year in Thailand
Driving licence point deductions will start next year in Thailand to help curb traffic violations and dangerous driving. Starting January 9, 2023, the Royal Thai Police and Land Transport Department will enforce the demerit point system. Each driving license holder will be given 12 points to start with but will be deducted for each violation they are caught committing. The…
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Big Joke seizes Tuhao’s private jet in Hua Hin
A private jet is the latest addition to the Thai police’s shiny collection of assets seized from Tuhao the notorious Chinese gangster. Thai police – led by Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn – seized Tuhao’s private jet at Bo Fai Airport in Hua Hin, Prachuap Khiri Khan province, western Thailand, yesterday. Police found that the “HS-HAO” plane was owned by Modern…
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South Korea increases quota of Thai workers next year
South Korea is increasing its quota of Thai workers next year from 2,500 to 15,000, but there’s a catch. Thais interested in filling the positions must learn Korean and pass a language test. Prime Minister Office spokesperson Anucha Burapachaisiri reported today that the Thai Labour Minister, Suchart Chomklon, discussed the quota of Thai workers in South Korea with the Korean…
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Indian pervs arrested after harassing tourist in Mumbai
Two men have been arrested in Mumbai after the attempted abduction of a South Korean tourist while she was livestreaming. On Tuesday night Hyojeong Park, known as Mhyochi on social media, was livestreaming as she walked through the city. The video shows a man forcibly putting his arm around Park and kissing her on the cheek. Park, who has more…
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