Thailand
- Pattaya News
Monk under fire over bizarre pebbles ritual
A monk from a temple in Chon Buri is under fire over his bizarre ritual of putting small pebbles onto the eyes of his followers. The monk believes the stones are relics of the Lord Buddha, have magical powers, and do not hurt anyone. A video and pictures of the strange ritual emerged on Facebook and TikTok. It shows 69…
- Thailand News
Taxi driver arrested for beating a motorcycle rider with baseball bat
Police arrested a taxi driver in the Isaan province of Khon Kaen after he beat a motorcycle rider with a baseball bat and fled the scene. The victim was hit by another car as he lay on the road in the central province of Pathum Thani and remains in hospital. The taxi driver claimed he attacked the victim in self-defence.…
- Thailand News
Fisherman reels in body of young student in northern Thailand
A fisherman pulled ashore the body of a 21 year old woman from the Nan River in Phitsanulok province in northern Thailand this morning. At 10.30am, officers from Mueang Phitsanulok Police Station received a report that a young woman’s body was found by a fisherman on the Naresuan Bridge over the Nan river in front of Wat Ratchaburana. Police, doctors…
- Thailand News
Twelve vehicle crash injures 26 people in northeast Thailand
On the sixth day of Thailand‘s “Seven Dangerous Days,” a crash involving 12 vehicles on the Friendship Highway in Nakhon Ratchasima province in Isaan left 26 people injured. At 1am, officers from Nong Sarai Police Station received a report of a multiple-vehicle accident outside a dog shelter on the inbound Mittraphap Road, known as the Friendship Highway, in Pak Chong district.…
- Thailand News
Man arrested for stealing Royal Thai Armed Forces bus
Police arrested a man for stealing a Royal Thai Armed Forces (RTARF) bus and driving it to Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi Airports to pick up some imaginary diplomats. Police reported the thief has a criminal history of drugs but did not reveal the result of his drug test. An officer from the Support Services Department under the RTARF filed a complaint…
- Thailand News
218 killed and 1,647 injured over 4-day new year holiday
According to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), 218 people were killed and 1,647 were injured in road accidents during the four-day new year holiday from December 29 to January 1. The Director of the DDPM, Boontham Lertsukheekasam, reported yesterday, January 2, that there were 1,664 road accidents across the country during the holiday break, causing 218 deaths and…
- Thailand News
Young British woman ‘may never walk again’ after fall from balcony in Thailand
A young British tourist is seriously injured and remains in hospital in Thailand after falling from a balcony on the popular party island of Koh Pha Ngan. Maddi Neale-Shankster, a 21 year old beautician from Coventry in England, suffered a fractured spine and is receiving treatment to drain fluid from her chest following the accident. The beautician travelled to Thailand with…
- News
CNN needs geography lesson after mistaking Taiwan for Thailand
United States-based news platform CNN needs a geography lesson after confusing Taiwan for Thailand, or more specifically, Taipei for Bangkok. The multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, confused Thailand for Taiwan several times during their live broadcast countdown to New Year’s Day CNN Hong Kong reporter Kristie Lu Stout asked her Taiwan counterpart in Taipei, Will Ripley, how…
- World News
IMF predicts a recession in Thailand
The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts Thailand and Southeast Asian countries will suffer from recession this year along with the rest of the world. Kristalina Georgieva believes a third of the global economy will be in recession this year, including Thailand, and Vietnam. The 69 year old Bulgarian economist reckons 2023 will be “tougher” than last year…
- China News
Chinese tourists banned from entering Morocco
Thailand may have stretched out its welcoming arms to China but the same can’t be said of other countries, especially Morocco which has banned all mainland tourists from entering the African country. Thailand Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn on Saturday was quoted as saying that his ministry was “very pleased to learn that China will implement new border control…
- Thailand News
Thai King hails nation’s triumph over adversity
His Majesty the King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua last night praised the Thai people for their triumph over adversity after the nation’s almost three-year struggle against the Covid-19 pandemic. His Majesty himself had a difficult end to the year with news breaking that his eldest daughter, Princess Bajrakitiyabha, collapsed with a heart condition. But the 70 year old monarch still…
- Events
Thai holidays in 2023
Check your calendars! As we head into 2023, it’s handy to know about the upcoming Thai holidays for the year. Thailand has many holidays throughout 2023, though some are just general observances while others are public holidays where government offices (like immigration) and other businesses are closed. Here’s a quick snapshot of the major holidays next year. Thailand public holiday…
- Thailand News
Pattaya bar security guard slaps Indian tourist in the face
A group of Indian tourists filed a complaint with Pattaya Police after a bar-restaurant security guard assaulted one of them and accused them of scamming the joint in the early hours of this morning. The Pattaya Tourist Police invited the Indian tourists to the Pattaya Police Station today, December 30, at 1am, to provide more details on the fracas. The…
- Thailand News
Wedding turned into a bloodbath after groomsman shoots his friend
A wedding is supposed to be one of the happiest days of your life but for one couple it will be memorable for another reason after a groomsman turned the ceremony into a bloodbath by shooting another groomsman after their girlfriends started fighting. The gunman and his girlfriend are now on the run in Trang, southern Thailand An officer from…
- Thailand News
Woman who tried to murder her aunty is hospitalised after hit-and-run incident
A woman hospitalised after a hit-and-run incident was fleeing the scene of an alleged murder attempt, her victim claims. Netizens said was karma. The woman was hit by a car in the northern province of Nan only moments after she tried to kill her aunty to escape paying back a 1 million-baht debt. A witness startled the potential murderer while…
- Thailand News
Police arrest boyfriend of murdered girlfriend dumped in a garbage bin
The man accused of murdering and dumping his girlfriend’s body in a garbage bin at the Khao Sok National Park at the border of Phang Nga and Surat Thani, surrendered to police yesterday. He allegedly admitted that jealousy drove him to lose his temper and commit murder. The murderer, Sukhon Kaewprapas, surrendered at Kapong Police Station in Phang Nga three…
- World News
21 Thai citizens reported dead in fire casino in Cambodia
The death toll has risen on the fire incident this morning at the Grand Diamonds City and Casino in Poipet city in Cambodia. Thai officials confirmed that 21 Thai citizens were killed and another 53 were injured in the fire. The Cambodian authorities have not yet confirmed a full report on the deaths and injuries. Officials from the Burapa Internal…
- Tourism News
Aeroflot to launch direct flights from Bangkok to Irkutsk
Russian flag carrier Aeroflot is launching direct flights from Irkutsk in Russia to Bangkok, Thailand, starting January 18, 2023. A Boeing 737-800 will service the route which will run twice weekly on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with a flight time of 6 hours and 25 minutes. Irkutsk, known as “Paris of Siberia,” is Russia’s 25th-largest city by population. It is the…
- Thailand News
110,000 traffic tickets issued to speeding drivers ahead of road safety campaign
The Highway Police Division revealed that 110,000 speeding tickets were issued ahead of Thailand’s seven-day road safety campaign. The Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, Damronsak Kittiprapas, launched the road safety campaign named Seven-day Dangerous (7 วัน อันตราย) today, December 29. The campaign aims to reduce the number of road accidents during the traditional holiday season when many Thais will…
- Thailand News
Road safety campaign spells disaster for Chiang Mai rescue services
A rescue service in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, is receiving the same “false alarm” phone call over and over again thanks to a controversial road safety campaign. Thailand sees a surge in road accidents and road deaths every year between December 29 – January 4, gaining the nickname “Seven Days of Danger.” Road safety campaigns aim to remind motorists to take…
- Tourism News
Russians take Thailand by storm
Since September, Russian tourist arrivals in Thailand have increased sevenfold. A number of favourable factors make Thailand the perfect place to escape the icy grip of winter in Russia this year. Thailand, especially Pattaya and Phuket, has always been a popular holiday destination for Russians, with 1.48 million of them arriving in Thailand in 2019. Pre-pandemic, Russia was once Thailand’s…
- Thailand News
Police track down suspect in murder of woman dumped in garbage bin
Police believe the person responsible for the death of the woman dumped in a garbage bin in the Khao Sok National Park at the border of Phang Nga and Surat Thani is her boyfriend. Police reported they found evidence in the boyfriend’s home related to the murder of the woman, Suphattra Yodkaew, and is now on the run. Police identified…
- Expats
Scottish man fights for his life in Thai hospital
A Scottish man is fighting for his life in a Thai hospital after a virus triggered a respiratory disease and rendered him unconscious while on holiday. Robert Kessell flew to Thailand on November 24 for a three-week holiday but was struck by illness on Thursday, December 8. The 66 year old, from Wishaw in North Lanarkshire, was rushed to Pattaya…
- Thailand News
Thai police rescue pregnant woman walking 600 kilometres from Isaan to Bangkok
With just 50 baht to her name, a pregnant woman attempted to walk from Ubon Ratchathani in northeast Thailand to Bangkok yesterday in search of a new start. She decided to undertake the arduous journey after she was betrayed by her Thai boyfriend of five years. Yesterday, officers from Warin Chamrap Police Station stopped to help a woman of Tai…
- World News
At least 10 dead & 30 injured in fierce casino fire in Cambodia
At least 10 people died in a fierce fire incident in the early hours of this morning at the Grand Diamonds City and Casino in Poipet city in Cambodia, on the border with Thailand. According to a report on Channel 3, the blaze started on the 7th and 8th floors of a 17-storey building in the Grand Diamonds City at…
- Crime News
Pattaya Police fine Norwegian tourist 5,000 baht for public lewdness
Police tracked down, arrested, and fined the foreign tourist who made headlines on Monday for fornicating with a Thai woman against a power pole on the mean streets of Pattaya in eastern Thailand. Yesterday, the Superintendent of Pattaya City Police Station Pol Col Kulchat Kulchai detained a 49 year old Norwegian man under suspicion of public lewdness. The scandalous Scandinavian…
- Phuket News
German man’s yacht vanishes from Phuket, Thailand
A search is underway to locate ‘Marco Polo,’ a German man’s yacht, which mysteriously vanished from a pier in Phuket, southern Thailand, yesterday morning. At 11am, 58 year old Marco Käfer of German nationality found that his eponymous boat was missing from Phuket’s charming Nai Harn Beach in Rawai district. Concerned Käfer was informed by a witness that three people…
- Covid-19 News
Thailand should impose restrictions on Chinese tourists, says Pheu Thai MP
News that China is opening its borders to foreigners and relaxing Covid-19 restrictions was widely welcomed by Thailand yesterday as it looks to further boost its tourist economy. Today, MPs are warning that Thailand should tread lightly and impose restrictions on potential Covid-carrying Chinese tourists otherwise the kingdom could face another potential catastrophic pandemic. Former Deputy Prime Minister Chaturon Chaisang,…
- Crime News
Thai police arrest gang of Chinese visa overstayers in Bangkok
Thailand’s Immigration Police arrested a gang of Chinese visa overstayers in the Chatuchak district of Bangkok yesterday. On Monday, North Bangkok District Court issued a search warrant for a property in Soi Sermsuk to investigate a group of “suspicious aliens.” Officers from the Immigration Bureau searched the property yesterday and found that seven Chinese nationals were staying there. All seven…
- Thailand News
Coach bus driver praised after giving free rides from central Thailand to Isaan
Thai netizens hailed a bus driver for offering free rides to anyone wishing to spend the festive season with their families in the Isaan province of Sa Kaeo. The free trip was from Samut Prakarn province in central Thailand which was nearly 200 kilometres long. The Facebook page Spotlight Bangpoo (สปอร์ตไลท์บางปู) announced the free rides from Samut Prakarn to Sa Kaeo…
