On January 12, Pattaya police staged a large-scale sweep that resulted in 36 foreigners being arrested on charges ranging from illegal work and visa overstays to drug use and unlawful entry. The operation — led by the Chon Buri Provincial Immigration Bureau with support from Tourist Police — targeted an eight-storey accommodation block in South Pattaya after officials received a tip-off about an unusually high number of suspicious residents. More than 30 officers fanned out across the building and meticulously inspected all 120 rooms. Authorities discovered over 120 foreign nationals living on the premises, representing a diverse mix of nationalities including India, Myanmar, Uzbekistan, Oman, Russia and Iraq. After identity checks and interviews, 36 occupants were taken into custody for various violations. The arrests break down as follows: eight Indian men were detained for working illegally — caught renovating rooms inside the building without valid work permits — and eight…
THAI.NEWS - Thailand Breaking News
In a scene that was equal parts heartbreaking and quietly heroic, rescue workers in Nonthaburi faced an unusual obstacle while responding to a welfare check on January 12: a stubborn, fiercely loyal dog named Hippo who would not let anyone near his owner’s body. The call came into Mueang Nonthaburi Police Station reporting an unresponsive elderly woman at a two‑storey wooden and concrete house on Soi Ngamwongwan 8. Volunteers from the Ruamkatanyu Foundation and an officer from the Institute of Forensic Medicine arrived to find the 77‑year‑old woman lying face up on the ground‑floor near a bathroom. Her belongings were close by and a stainless‑steel, four‑pronged walking cane lay knocked over — quiet clues that pointed to a sudden collapse rather than a struggle. Standing guard over the scene was Hippo, a white Thai dog with the kind of devotion that scenes in movies are made of. According to relatives,…
In a scene that felt like a macabre mystery novel brought to life, divers and officers in Kanchanaburi recovered a bronze Toyota Vios sedan from an irrigation canal on January 12 — and inside the waterlogged vehicle sat a human skeleton believed to be that of a man who vanished more than two years ago. Tha Muang Police Station received the call just after 9:30 a.m., when maintenance crews lowered the canal’s water level for routine repairs and revealed the submerged sedan. The car, its windscreen shattered and its exterior cloaked in thick algae, bore a Chachoengsao registration plate: กจ 147. The condition suggested the vehicle had been underwater for an extended period. When officers hoisted the Vios out of the murky water, the grim discovery became clear — skeletal remains were still seated behind the wheel. Police used the registration number to trace the car’s owner to 61-year-old Pattanasak…
Police investigators in Chiang Mai have formally declared the devastating January 8 house fire that killed five members of a family to be an accident — and issued a sharp rebuke to media outlets that ran with unverifiable theories and sensational claims. The blaze, which tore through a two‑storey home in the Pa Dad sub‑district, claimed the lives of a husband, his wife, their twin five‑year‑old daughters and the man’s elderly mother. Authorities say smoke inhalation, not foul play, was the cause of death. Tragedy at the family home The victims were identified as 38‑year‑old Kawin and his wife, 38‑year‑old Warissara, their twin daughters Lalisa and Lalinda (both five), and Kawin’s 70‑year‑old mother, Sunee. First responders found all five family members unconscious on the second floor of the house. Despite frantic rescue efforts, they later succumbed to the effects of smoke inhalation. In the wake of the tragedy, grief rippled…
What started as a routine food delivery in Bang Bo, Samut Prakan, turned into a headline-grabbing melee that left three riders injured, six staff members out of a job, and a once-bustling restaurant shuttered indefinitely. The short version (and the video that made it public) On January 11, a food delivery rider approached a restaurant in Bang Bo. Calmly, he tried to speak with staff — but the situation escalated rapidly. A bystander’s phone captured the moment a Myanmar worker in a white shirt emerged from the establishment wielding a metal rod and allegedly struck the front of the rider’s motorcycle. What followed was a chaotic scuffle between the rider and several workers, three riders were left injured, and the footage quickly spread online. Aftermath: firings, apologies and an empty restaurant By the next day, January 12, authorities had taken swift administrative action. The restaurant was reportedly deserted when officials…
Thailand just dropped a glittering hint of what tourism looks like through the eyes of one of its brightest stars. On January 9, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) released a teaser for a new tourism film featuring Thai-born K-pop icon Lalisa Manobal — better known as Lisa — and the full feature is slated to arrive on January 28. If the short teaser is any indication, this campaign isn’t content to sell postcard views; it wants you to feel Thailand. A superstar guide with a fresh perspective Lisa was officially announced as TAT’s global tourism ambassador back in October, a partnership that promised to spotlight Thailand’s beauty through a more personal, modern lens. The campaign — teased across TAT’s social channels under the playful banner “Amazing Thailand x LISA” — leans into Lisa’s global appeal to introduce audiences to corners of the country many travelers haven’t yet discovered. TAT…
Imagine stepping off the bustling sidewalks of Song Wat, the scent of grilled seafood and incense tugging at your attention, and turning toward a new, elegantly arcing footbridge that sweeps you across the Chao Phraya River. That’s the vision Bangkok has just unveiled: a pedestrian-and-cycle bridge concept designed by international architecture studio MVRDV, created to stitch together Phra Nakhon and Thonburi while giving the city a fresh, people-first landmark. Bangkok’s river crossings are famously bound to cars and to a patchwork of ferries that run on limited schedules. This proposal flips that script. Rather than another vehicle artery, the new bridge is dedicated to walkers and cyclists, offering a continuous, safe route between historic neighbourhoods on both banks. It would sit between the Phra Pok Klao Bridge and King Taksin the Great Bridge, linking Song Wat Road with the area around Wat Thong Thammachat — places steeped in history but…
Late on the night of January 11, a routine dinner at the Golden Cat Restaurant in Mai Khao turned into a scene of alarm and swift action. According to local police and witnesses, an Uzbek national identified as Firuz Ahmedov was detained after allegedly assaulting a 16-year-old girl inside the eatery. What started as a normal evening reportedly escalated near the restaurant restroom, where the teenager’s frantic screams drew staff and patrons to the scene. Witnesses say the girl had just exited the restroom when Ahmedov allegedly stepped in front of her, blocking the door and then pulling her back inside before committing the indecent act. The victim’s screams prompted immediate intervention: restaurant staff and the owner reportedly rushed in, restrained the suspect and held him until officers from Tha Chatchai Police Station arrived to take him into custody. Authorities transported Ahmedov to the local police station for questioning. Officials…
In a story that mixed bad manners with viral outrage, an Italian tourist has found himself at the center of a social media storm after posting a video that insulted a Thai taxi driver eating from a plastic bag at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. The clip, shared on Facebook, shows the driver calmly eating with a plastic spoon while seated on the boot of his green-and-yellow taxi — a scene ordinary to many Thais but turned into fodder for ridicule by the foreign filmer. The man behind the camera, identified on Facebook as Giuseppe Taddeo, provided a running commentary in Italian. Translated captions accompanying the post read: “Enjoy travelling in Thailand. His lunch goes viral. Let’s see why.” In the footage, Taddeo allegedly compares the driver to a dog, saying, “Look at our taxi driver. He is having lunch. He eats from a plastic bag like a dog. He is…
On January 12, Thailand’s push into the stars hit an abrupt and very public speed bump: the high-resolution Earth observation satellite THEOS-2A failed to reach orbit after a malfunction aboard India’s PSLV-C62 rocket. The launch, from the storied Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, lifted off at 11:47 a.m. Thai time — and roughly 380 seconds later an anomaly during the rocket’s third stage sent the mission off-course. What went wrong — the short version According to mission briefings, a disturbance in the rocket’s roll rate during the third stage caused PSLV-C62 to deviate from its planned trajectory. That wobble was enough to prevent THEOS-2A and the other satellites aboard from attaining the precise velocity and path needed to remain in orbit. In plain terms: the rocket didn’t follow the roadmap, so the passengers never reached their destination. Who’s investigating? The Thai Geo‑Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA), which…