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.
-
Rock Thailand, Japanese start-ups eye Thai businesses
Noting Thailand as the new south east Asian regional innovation hub, the Japanese Embassy in Bangkok, in collaboration with Thailand’s Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, CP Group and True Corporation, launched Rock Thailand, a start-up incubation project. Rock Thailand is being used to open a stage for 10 top technology start-ups from Japan to present their business models to…
-
Pre-Songkran inspections of public buses and their drivers
The Land Transport Department has started the inspection of drivers and mechanical condition of public transport vehicles at bus stations ahead of the Songkran holiday period next month. The period, aka. the ‘seven days of danger’, is notorious for a marked increase in road accidents due to much higher traffic levels as Thai’s head home for celebrations. On the first…
-
Porsche driver charged with reckless driving after death of two women
Bangkok Police have charged a Porsche driver who crashed into a motorcycle, killing two women, one of them also losing her unborn baby and being rushed to hospital, only to die soon after. The accident also damaged a roadside motorcycle-repair shop. The original report from The Thaiger HERE. Police announced that Somkiat Pakdeenok had been charged with reckless driving causing…
-
Water shut offs to hit parts of Cherng Talay for two weeks
The Phuket Water Authority (PWA) has announced that water supply in some areas of Cherng Talay will be shut off from March 19 – 31 at ‘some times’ during the day. Water will be shut off while work is being carried out on moving main water pipes. Areas to be affected include parts of Cherng Talay. “Residents in these areas should save…
-
Two killed in family road trip to Krabi
PHOTOS: Thai Rath A family trip has ended in tragedy this morning after their car crashed into a tree in Prachuap Khiri Khan, killing the father and daughter and leaving the mother and son injured. The family was on its way from Nakhon Phanom to Krabi when the accident occurred at 8.30am on Phetkasem Road in Bang Saphan district. 40…
-
American falls to his death from a Chiang Mai apartment
An American man has fallen to his death from the balcony of his room on the tenth floor of a condo building in Chiang Mai’s main city district early this morning (Monday). The Muang Chiang Mai police station says they were alerted at 1.50 am to the death of 60 year old Ruben Ponce at the Astra Condominium on Chang…
-
BTS launch their new album on April 12, appear on Saturday Night Live the next day. Why this matters.
The music business is about to have another one of those seismic shifts in the next month as the power of the music business continues to dribble away from western record company influences to a more democratic, social media-driven, business model. In the past two years, mainly, a small South Korean production house has re-tooled the massive world music business…
-
Wastewater runs freely into sea in Krabi
The Krabi provincial government appears to be attempting a ‘band-aid’ solution to stop wastewater running freely onto one of the most popular beaches in the region. For now, Krabi canal is releasing waste water straight into sea at Ao Nang Beach. Tourists in Ao Nang have reported that a catchment is being dug where waste water is freely flowing into…
-
Surin train runs over homeless man
A homeless man has been killed after being hit by a passenger train in Surin’s main city district early today. Surin is north- east of Bangkok on the Cambodian border. A policeman on duty at the Surin station was alerted at 5.48 am that the man, who police report appears to be in his 50s, was killed as the train…
-
One dead, kids injured in school bus accident in Prachinburi
Photo: Prachinburi PR Office A bus has crashed just north-east of Bangkok, killing one and injuring another 10. Wangkhon Police in Prachinburi were notified of the accident at 4:40am early today. The bus was travelling from Nong Bua Lamphu, north east of Thailand, to Prachinburi. The bus was carrying 20 high school students and 19 teachers. When the bus arrived…
-
Thai driver puts in an excellent weekend at Australian GP finishing 14th
PHOTO: Alex Albon makes a splash in Melbourne with the first crash of the season and then a sparkling result against the odds Alex Albon, the Thai-English F1 driver, says he was was satisfied with yesterday’s work in Melbourne after the first Thai driver in Formula 1’s modern era threatened a huge shock before settling for a respectable 14th place…
-
Preliminary data suggests ‘similarities’ to Lion Air incident – Ethiopian Airlines crash
PHOTO: The ‘black box’ data recorder arrived in Paris last week Preliminary data analysis from the black boxes of last week’s Ethiopian Airlines plane crash has revealed “similarities” to last October’s Lion Air incident. Ethiopian Minister of Transport, Dagmawit Moges, says that investigators recovered all relevant data from the data recorders on board the fateful final flight of the Boeing 737…
-
Week kicks off with more choking haze and cancelled flights in the north
From Nan to Mae Hong Son, Phrae, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, choking smog continues to be a persistent problem and part of daily life in the North, where more than 400 brushfire hotspots have now been identified. Most of the fires are in Mae Hong Son, on the far north-west border with Myanmar, which counted 100. Bangkok Airways has…
-
25 year old electrical contractor electrocuted in Chalong, Phuket
FILE PHOTO A 25 year old electrical contractor has died after accidentally touching a high voltage power cabling in Chalong. Police say that the power was still connected when the man was working. Pakasit Raksakam was working on the cabling when he accidentally touched a cable that was still live, according to fellow contractors working nearby. Rescue workers arrived on Soi Na…
-
Thais vote today as registered absentees in the lead up to next week’s election
PHOTO: 98 year old Prem Tinsulanonda, president of the Privy Council – Bangkok Post Arlina Arshad, Regional Correspondent – Straits Times Hundreds of thousands of voters across Thailand are heading out today to cast early ballots, a week ahead the country’s first general election – the first time Thais have voted since 2011 and since the military took control in…
-
Water shut offs to hit parts of Patong, Kata and Karon for a week
The Phuket Water Authority (PWA) has announced that water supply in some areas of Patong, Kata and Karon will be shut off from 9am to 5pm from March 25 – 31. Water will be shut off while work is being carried out in the repair and maintenance of the Reverse Osmosis (RO) water pumping station in Karon. Areas to be…
-
Bangkok now in the Top 10 list for most expensive Asian locations for expats
Bangkok has, for the first time, made it into the list of Asia’s top 10 most expensive locations for expats. A rise in average rental prices this year caused by an influx of expats from China and an increase in tourism traffic have hit expats and put the city in 10th place on the annual list, with an average US$3,880…
-
Production staff coughs up blood during filming in Chiang Mai
PHOTO MONTAGE: Daily News A Chiang Mai filmmaker is calling on authorities to urgently tackle the problems of smoke haze and air pollution around the northern capital because it’s posing severe health problems. The filmmaker, frustrated with problems associated with production in Chiang Mai this week, has posted photos of a trainee from his company coughing up blood. He says…
-
Chemical fire in a pick-up on on Sukhumvit Road
PHOTOS: Sanook A Toyota pick-up van with a cargo of 3 tonnes of 50% Hydrogen Peroxide has burst into flames in the street in North Samrong, south of the capital. 24 year old driver Janepop says he had picked up the consignment for delivery to a customer in Chanthaburi, south east near the Cambodian border. He told police he noticed…
-
Suspects arrested on Koh Phi Phi – Attack on 25 year old US tourist
PHOTOS: Daily News Krabi Police say that they have a second of three young men who attacked an American tourist on Koh Phi Phi back on on March 9. But they are trying to locate 25 year old tourist Stephen Trimble who is now believed to be on Koh Phangan. They want him to give evidence so that they can…
-
Thai driver qualifies for Australian F1 Grand Prix in Melbourne
PHOTO: Fox Sports Thai driver Alex Albon is brushing aside a crash during Friday’s practice to outpace his teammate in qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix today, earning him a place on the starting grid tomorrow. Sunday’s race will see a Thai flag flying over the grid for the first time in the modern F1 era. Albon, born to a…
-
Don’t drink and vote – 24 hour alcohol ban starts at 6pm
Police are out and about in Thailand’s popular tourist zones warning people that there will be an election alcohol ban starting at 6 tonight, for 24 hours. There will also be a ban next weekend as well. Nobody appears to have told the police and officials that international tourists don’t vote. “No selling of alcohol will be allowed from 6…
-
Porsche/motorcycle crash – one dead, another woman loses baby
PHOTOS: Thai Rath | Sanook A Porsche Cayman S has been involved in a collision with two women on a motorcycle at 3am this morning (Saturday). The incident happened in Putthamonthon Sai 3 Soi 5. Thai Rath reports that the carnage happened as the vehicles collided outside a car repair yard. A friend of the women says that 24 year…
-
24 hour alcohol ban starts tonight, another one next week – Election
Alcohol is officially banned from sale or distribution from 6pm tonight. It’s all part of the pre-voting for next week’s Thai national election, the first since 2011. Sales and the distribution of alcoholic drinks are banned from 6pm tonight (Saturday) for 24 hours. Police say violations of the ban are punishable by imprisonment of up to six months or a…
-
Accused Australian killer appears in Christchurch court charged with murder
A 28 year old Australian man smirked as he walked into the Christchurch District Court in New Zealand’s South Island this morning, charged with murder after a carefully planned mass shooting at lunchtime prayers at two mosques. The public was banned from the courtroom for the proceedings, but an angry crowd waited outside the court building. Brenton Tarrant was brought…
-
3 wounded in explosion at Narathiwat border defence unit
Three security officials have been injured in the latest bout of southern violence when armed militants attacked a border defence unit’s base near the Kolok River in the Tak Bai district in the southern province of Narathiwat on the Thai/Malaysian border. Several houses and cars nearby were also damaged by the powerful IED (improvised explosive device). Initial reports have revealed that a group of about 6 militants opened fire at the base with automatic weapons, followed by…
-
Deputy PM orders review of intercity and rural road speeds
Deputy PM, Defence Minister and also in charge of police affairs, General Prawit Wongsuwan has instructed police and related agencies to review and set appropriate speed limits for various vehicle types on intercity motorways and rural roads in order to boost road safety and reduce accidents. He has instructed the Royal Thai Police to coordinate with Interior and Transport ministries…
-
Former army captain gets death sentence over Si Sa Ket murder
by Pongpat Traipipat After nearly a year in court, the former army captain Supachai Paso has been sentenced to death over the abduction and murder of Si Sa Ket-based administration organisation official Juthaporn Oun-on. Si Sa Ket is north east of Bangkok on the northern Cambodian border. He was also ordered to pay 2.37 million baht in compensation, plus 7.5%…
-
Boy killed by train while playing on his mobile phone in Songkhla
PHOTOS: Phatong Tredtam Rescue Foundation A 12 year old boy has died on a railway track near a school in Hat Yai, Songkhla after being crushed by a train while he was playing on his mobile phone on local railway tracks. The Phatong Tredtam Rescue Foundation report that Thunglung Police in Hat Yai, Songkhla were notified of the incident at…
-
49 dead as New Zealand reels to shock mass murder in Christchurch mosques
The death toll from todays massacre at two mosques in Christchurch in New Zealand’s South Island, is now 49 with 20+ injured, some critically. The gunman in the Christchurch mosque shooting livestreamed the incident for 17 minutes on Facebook. The shooter identified himself as “Brenton Tarrant”, a caucasian, 28 year old Australias, the NZ Herald reported. The livestream began as…
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.