Kocha Olarn - News Producer
Kocha Olarn
News Producer
Kocha Olarn is an award-winning news producer for CNN, based in Bangkok.
Latest
Why mango sticky rice is one of Thailand’s most beloved summer dishes
Apr 16, 2024
Mango sticky rice is a deceptively simple dish that’s incredibly delicious. Here’s what makes it a summertime favorite in Thailand.
Myanmar military loses control of key town on Thai border, rebels say, in major win for anti-junta resistance
Apr 12, 2024
Myanmar rebels fighting the junta say they have seized the last remaining military base in a key border town, dealing the latest significant blow to the country’s military rulers as they struggle to cling to power.
Thailand’s lower house passes bill to legalize same-sex marriage
Mar 27, 2024
Thailand’s House of Representatives voted to legalize same-sex marriage on Wednesday, bringing the Southeast Asian nation a step closer to becoming the third territory in Asia to guarantee equal marital rights.
Red panda found alongside 86 other animals in luggage at Thai airport
Mar 7, 2024
An endangered red panda has been found alongside 86 other animals inside luggage at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, Thailand’s Customs Department said in a statement Wednesday.
Tesla is in talks to build a factory in Thailand, government official says
Mar 5, 2024
Tesla is in talks with the Thai government to build a production facility in the country, the prime minister’s office told CNN on Tuesday.
Thailand’s former leader Thaksin Shinawatra freed after six months in detention
Feb 18, 2024
Thailand’s former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was released from detention on Sunday where he served six months following his return to the kingdom after more than 15 years in self-imposed exile.
Thailand’s jailed former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to be freed
Feb 13, 2024
Thailand’s jailed former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will soon walk free from detention after his parole was approved, according to Thailand’s justice minister, just six months after his dramatic return to the kingdom.
Canadian arrested for allegedly opening plane door, deploying evacuation slide in Thailand
Feb 9, 2024
A Canadian man has been arrested in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai after he allegedly opened the door on a commercial plane and triggered the evacuation slide prior to takeoff.
Thai court orders election-winning party to end its royal reform campaign in blow to voters who backed change
Jan 31, 2024
A Thai court on Wednesday ordered the kingdom’s most popular political party to end its campaign to amend the kingdom’s notoriously strict royal defamation law, dashing its supporters hopes for reform of the powerful monarchy.
British BASE jumper falls to his death from condominium in Thailand after parachute fails
Jan 29, 2024
A British BASE jumper has died in Thailand after his parachute failed to open when he launched off an apartment building, local police told CNN.
Explosion at Thai fireworks factory kills at least 21
Jan 18, 2024
The death toll from an explosion at a fireworks depot in central Thailand has risen to at least 21, Thai authorities said Thursday.
Snake on a plane! Live reptile discovered in overhead cabin on Bangkok flight
Jan 17, 2024
Chaos erupted on budget flight traveling from Thailand’s capital Bangkok to the southern province of Phuket after a live snake was discovered by passengers in an overhead cabin.
Thailand moves to ban recreational cannabis use, 18 months after historic decriminalization
Jan 17, 2024
Thailand’s new government is moving ahead to pass new legisalation banning cannabis for recreational use in a major reversal 18 months after the country became the first in Asia to decriminalize the plant.
Chinese influencer charged in Thailand for ‘breaking visa laws’ after video on women’s safety sparks backlash
Dec 13, 2023
Thai police are taking legal action against a Chinese social media influencer for allegedly flouting visa rules, days after she came under fire for a video she made that portrayed a popular Bangkok nightlife district as being unsafe for women.
Israel’s farms need foreign labourers. The Hamas attacks triggered an exodus
Nov 27, 2023
On the morning of October 7, Hamas fighters streamed into the quiet lanes of kibbutz Alumim, setting off on a rampage of killing and destruction. But most of their victims in the community weren’t Israeli, or even Jewish, they were Thai and Nepali farm workers, sleeping in a dormitory right in the militants’ path.
About
Kocha Olarn is an award-winning news producer for CNN, based in Bangkok.
Since joining CNN in 2008, Olarn has covered all major news stories from South East Asia including the Thai cave rescue, the death of King Rama IX, the Rohingya crisis, the Red Shirt-Yellow Shirt political protests, and Cyclone Nargis.
Before CNN, Olarn was a Bangkok-based news producer for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation where she covered the Saffron Revolution, and for TV Asahi where she covered both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Olarn has been recognized for her work multiple times, including winning an Amnesty International Media Award and a George Polk Award for her work highlighting the on-going persecution of ethnic Rohingya people.
She has a degree in International Business Management from Assumption University in Thailand and speaks English and Thai.