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.
-
Thailand bans recreational use of cannabis inside cafes
Cannabis shops and cafes in Thailand are no longer allowed to let customers smoke the plant recreationally on the premises anymore. On-site consumption of cannabis for medical purposes is still permitted if the cannabis is sold by a medical practitioner. The announcement was made in the Royal Gazette yesterday and is effective immediately. The announcement states that the Ministry of…
-
Hua Hin has a huge new beer bar complex
There’s been an exciting development in Hua Hin’s nightlife- a huge new beer bar complex. The new Nice 94 complex is located on Soi 94, behind Wonderland and Rock Zone. It has about 40 bars. Across the street from Nice 94, another smaller beer bar complex is also being built. This news comes as Soi 94 has been developing more…
-
Elon Musk sees net worth plummet by US$100 billion after Tesla shares hit record low
Elon Musk has reportedly seen his fortune cut by over US$100 billion this year, but he is still the richest person in the world. According to Fortune, the CEO of Tesla has a net worth of between US$170 billion to $182 billion, edging him slightly ahead of Bernard Arnault, the founder of luxury goods giant LVMH. Arnault reportedly has a…
-
Ukraine accuses Russia of ‘terror and murder’ after missile strike kills newborn baby
Ukraine’s president is accusing his Russian counterpart of bringing “terror and murder” to his country after an alleged Russian missile strike killed a newborn baby. The missile hit a maternity unit in the Ukrainian town of Vilnyansk in the country’s southern Zaporizhzhia region. The only woman in the facility was the baby’s mother who was rescued from the building along…
-
One-third of adult Thai citizens applied for welfare
Applications for welfare have seen a huge jump, with 22 million Thai people requesting a state welfare card in the latest round of registration. That massive figure equates to about one-third of the entire adult population of Thailand. It is a huge jump from the current 13.5 million people now carrying welfare cards in the country. The figures come after…
-
Venomous snake rescued from beer in Australia
Australian reptile rescuers have come to the rescue of a thirsty snake found with its head wedged inside the ring-pull opening at the top of a beer can. Photos and video posted to Facebook by Brisbane North Snake Catchers and Relocation show rescuers responding to a report of a snake trapped in a beer can in Brighton, Queensland. The rescuers arrived to…
-
Hotel loan program extended through June 2023
Hotels trying to recover from closing down for the Covid-19 pandemic are getting a little extra financial help. The Thai Cabinet has decided to extend low-interest soft loans until June 2023. The loans were created to help hotels address property repairs after many opted to close when customers dried up because the borders closed amid the pandemic. The announcement was…
-
Police go after transgender sex workers, urge them not to damage Pattaya’s tourism image
Police are going after Pattaya’s transgender sex workers. Last night, a team of Pattaya Police and Tourist Police inspected Beach Road, arrested 36 suspected transgender sex workers, and took them to the station for identity recording. The inspection’s leader, Police Lieutenant Colonel Pitchaya Khiaoplueng, stressed to the suspects that they could not loiter on the beach and offer sexual services…
-
Alleged Chinese drug tycoon married to Thai policewoman surrenders to police
Chinese businessman “Tuhao,” wanted on drug charges in Thailand, surrendered to police today after they raided his mansion in Bangkok this morning. The accused is married to a high-ranking Thai police officer who works for the foreign affairs division. Yesterday, Southern Bangkok Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Chaiyanat “Tuhao” Kornchayanant for “conspiring to commit drug offences and possessing…
-
Brazil’s far-right president challenges election results
Brazil’s far-right president is challenging the country’s election results, which saw him lose in October. President Jair Bolsonaro’s party, the Liberal Party, has argued that ballots from some machines were compromised during the second round and that the electoral court should reject them. Several news outlets reported today that Brazil’s supreme court justice has now given the party 24 hours…
-
Airlines argue that flights only need one pilot
If we’ve learned anything from Elon Musk’s tumultuous slash-and-burn takeover of Twitter it’s that gutting essential workers can wreak havoc on a business. Or many in the airline industry have learned nothing. Airlines and international regulatory agencies are calling for the International Civil Aviation Organization to drop the requirement of two pilots per flight. They argue that commercial flights can…
-
Man crashes car into elephant at Khao Yai National Park
A Thai man risks a charge of violating the National Park Act after he crashed his sedan into an elephant at Khao Yai National Park in the central province of Nakhon Nayok. The driver was hurt in the collision and sent to Pak Chong Nana Hospital to have his injuries looked at. Officers reported that they are still looking for…
-
Bangladeshi terrorists who hacked American blogger to death escape
Two Bangladeshi terrorists who hacked an American blogger to death in 2015 managed to escape a crowded court in Dhaka on Sunday. Police said that bikers sprayed them with chemicals before taking away the convicts. The Islamist militants had been on death row for killing Bangladeshi-American blogger Avijit Roy. Roy referred to himself as an engineer by profession and a…
-
Business is booming on Khao San Road thanks to the World Cup
Business is booming on Khao San Road in Bangkok thanks to the FIFIA 2022 World Cup. The President of the Khao San Road Business Association, Sa-nga Rueangwattanakun, revealed that businesses on Khao San Road increased by 50%. Sa-nga said visitors flocked to entertainment venues and restaurants in the area to watch the World Cup matches providing a welcome boost to…
-
Unswerving Covid-19 policy kills off Shanghai F1 GP
China’s dictatorial Covid-19 policy has killed off Shanghai’s return to the Formula 1 calendar next year. F1 has not visited China since 2019 and was due to return for the fourth time in 2023 on April 16. The key sticking point is that F1 staff would not be given exemptions from quarantine requirements in the event of being infected. F1 refuses…
-
Chinese woman stabs Russian boyfriend’s Chinese mistress to death in Bangkok
UPDATE The Chinese woman who murdered a fellow Chinese woman in a Bangkok shopping mall toilet yesterday told police that the deceased was in a secret relationship with her Russian boyfriend. The foreign killer was found to have overstayed her visa in the kingdom, said police, adding that 36 year old Tang Jun entered Thailand on a tourist visa which…
-
Patong business operators want transgender sex workers “cleaned up”
Patong business operators on Bangla Road want transgender sex workers to be “cleaned up,” in addition to food and drink vendors. The president of the Patong Entertainment Business Association, Weerawit Kreuasombat, said… “While Patong officials are now increasing safety management measures on Bangla Road, transgender prostitutes should be cleaned up too. We consistently get complaints that they are annoying and…
-
Record-breaking twins born from 30 year old frozen embryos
Twins Lydia and Timothy Ridgeway entered the Guinness Book of Records for being overdue babies – by a staggering 30 years! OK, they weren’t technically inside a mother’s womb for three decades waiting to be born. They were 30 year old frozen embryos, which broke a world record for the longest-frozen embryos to ever result in a live birth. CNN…
-
Thailand and Cambodian officials agree to remove mines in border areas
Thai and Cambodian officials have agreed to remove mines in shared border areas. Cambodian PM Hun Sen instructed provincial authorities to clear the mines after partaking in the 30th anniversary of the mine action exhibition. According to Phnom Penh Post, the PM called on all relevant authorities to work with the Thai side of the border before discussing border issues…
-
Indonesian earthquake death toll reaches 268 with 151 still missing
The death toll from the latest Indonesian earthquake has risen to 268, with 151 still reported missing. The quake which hit the island of Java, has injured 1,083 people according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency. The quake hit the city of Cianjur on Monday afternoon, with one woman saying her home started shaking like it was dancing. According to…
-
36 sex workers in Pattaya arrested for prostitution
Thirty-six prostitutes in Pattaya were arrested last night near Walking Street for selling their bodies. Channel 3 reported that the Pattaya tourist police, and volunteers, patrolled Pattaya Walking Street yesterday at about 10pm. Officers were acting on complaints by tourists that they had been robbed in the area and their mission last night focused on the resort’s sex workers illegally…
-
Phuket man who slit father’s throat faces murder charges
UPDATE The Phuket man who slit his father’s throat on Monday now faces charges of murder. The man, 26 year old Arnon Kammanochart, slit the throat of his father, 51 year old Uthai Kammanochart, in Thalang district. Arnon claimed that he was defending himself from his father. He said his father physically attacked him when he didn’t have money for…
-
AirAsia Thailand passenger data allegedly leaked after ransomware attack
AirAsia group allegedly fell victim to a ransomware attack that leaked the personal data of five million passengers and all staff of AirAsia Thailand, AirAsia Malaysia, and AirAsia Indonesia. The Daixin Team, a ransomware and data extortion group, allegedly leaked the data after the airline refused to pay a ransom. On Monday, the Daixin Team was the focus of a…
-
Rawai expat arrested for owning whale bones
Bart Simpson famously used to say, “Don’t have a cow, man!” But maybe, also don’t have a whale! In Rawai, a Frenchmen was arrested after he was discovered in possession of part of a whale skeleton. It turns out that owning whale bones violates the Wild Animal Protection Act. The Phuket Express reports that the man was nabbed when officials…
-
“Big Joke” holds press conference in Pattaya over Chinese abduction case
Following last month’s abduction of a Chinese man in Pattaya by other Chinese nationals, Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn, held a press conference in the city on Monday. The two abductors cut off the pinky finger of the victim, 41 year old Ren Haibd. They also sent a video to Ren’s 20 year old…
-
Fate of Thai baht depends on return of Chinese tourists, economists say
The Thai baht has been flying recently but its upward trend could draw to a standstill unless Chinese tourists return to the Kingdom of Thailand, according to economists. In the past month, the baht appreciated almost 6% against the US dollar as reports indicated the US Federal Reserve (Fed) would slow down its aggressive interest rate hikes. Despite inflation, a reinvigorated…
-
Thai woman accused of faking her death to escape loan sharks
A debt-ridden Thai woman has faked her death to get out of paying her debtors, says a local loan shark. A 37 year old woman from the central province of Lopburi, called Lookpad, ran up millions of debt and then hoped to escape paying her arrears by pretending to be dead. The woman’s family allegedly backed her plan, says the…
-
Construction work in Pattaya brought to a new level
Numerous new real estate projects are underway, presenting the finest in engineering and construction quality from villas to high-rise buildings. Said structures are all designed by the eclectic architect Mario Kleff who relentlessly pushes the limits and presents new engineering solutions in the field of residential construction. When it comes to setting new standards in residential construction in Pattaya, Mario…
-
Bus crash: 1 dead, 46 women injured in Phetchabun tour bus flip
A shocking highway crash in Phetchabun province saw a tour bus flip leaving 46 passengers injured and the driver dead. The crash occurred in the Nam Nao district of the northern province on Sunday at about 3.30pm. Police are still investigating what caused the crash. The double-decker bus was travelling on Highway 12 when the crash occurred. It was a…
-
Multiple rapist known as the ‘Bondi Beast’ finally named
It may be too late for the many victims of the man the press labelled the “Bondi Beast” but police finally managed to link DNA samples to the serial rapist. Unfortunately, the multiple sex offender, Keith Simms, died in February aged 66 before justice could be served. Simms was known as the “Centennial Park rapist” in the 1980s, the “Bondi…
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.