Category Archives: Thailand

Four of six aboard private jet survive crash in Afghanistan

Posted on by

Rescue teams find charter ambulance flight from Thailand to Moscow after it disappeared from radar screens

Four people are reported to have survived after a private jet carrying out a medical evacuation from Thailand to Russia disappeared from radar screens and crashed in a remote and mountainous area of north-eastern Afghanistan on Saturday.

Russian aviation authorities said two passengers and four crew members were onboard the charter ambulance flight, which was travelling from Utapao airport, near Pattaya, to Moscow via India and Uzbekistan.

Continue reading...

Man jailed for record 50 years for criticising Thai monarchy

Posted on by

Mongkol Thirakot receives record sentence under kingdom’s strict lese-majesty laws for posts on personal Facebook account

A Thai man has been given a 50-year prison sentence for criticising the monarchy – the longest jail term handed down under the kingdom’s strict lese-majesty laws – a legal rights group said.

The record-breaking sentence comes after several years in which Thailand has ramped up use of the legislation against pro-democracy protesters in what critics say is a tactic to silence dissent.

Continue reading...

Tracey Emin recovering in Thailand after her ‘intestine nearly exploded’

Posted on by

British artist, who has undergone multiple surgeries for cancer, says ‘horrible complications’ in her intestine were ‘made a million times worse by flying’

Renowned British artist Tracey Emin is recovering in Thailand after her small intestine “nearly exploded” due to complications after an operation.

Emin, one of Britain’s best-known living artists, has battled cancer and undergone major surgery in recent years. On Sunday she shared on Instagram that she has been “very unwell” and felt she had used “another one of my nine lives”.

Continue reading...

Thai MP given six-year prison sentence for insulting monarchy

Posted on by

Rukchanok Srinork’s posts on X found to have breached lese-majesty and computer crime laws

A progressive Thai MP has been sentenced to six years in prison for insulting the country’s powerful monarchy on social media.

Rukchanok Srinork, 29, a former activist, also known as “Ice”, was found guilty of breaching Thailand’s strict lese-majesty law and its computer crimes act, according to the group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR). The case related to comments posted or reposted on X, including criticism of a decision to hand a contract for manufacturing Covid-19 vaccines to a company owned by King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

Continue reading...

Fears grow for hundreds of Rohingya refugees adrift for two weeks

Posted on by

UN warns of possible tragedy unless people are rescued from two boats on Andaman Sea

About 400 Rohingya refugees have been adrift in two boats on the Andaman Sea for about two weeks, according to the United Nations, which called on regional governments to help rescue them.

The number of Rohingya Muslims fleeing by boats in a seasonal exodus – usually from squalid, overcrowded refugee camps in Bangladesh – has been rising since last year due to cuts to food rations and an increase in gang violence.

Continue reading...

‘We haven’t slept a wink’: families welcome freed Thai hostages home

Posted on by

Tears and joy as 17 Thai nationals who were seized in Hamas attacks on Israel land in Bangkok

Pornsawan Pinakalo’s three great aunts would not have missed his return for the world. Kularb Pinakalo’s knees couldn’t quite get her up to the room in Bangkok airport where her nephew was meeting other family members for the first time since being taken hostage in Gaza. But after travelling for four hours by van to the Thai capital, the 63-year-old was ready and waiting for him to emerge in the arrivals hall, alongside 84-year-old Nangnoi Pattataysan and Noi Prakobkan, 82.

“I just want to give him a hug,” Kularb said. She was so overwhelmed that she could hardly think of what to say to him, she added.

Continue reading...

Thai foreign minister greets hostages freed by Hamas in emotional meeting

Posted on by

Four Thais were released late on Wednesday after two on Tuesday, having spent seven weeks in captivity

Thailand’s foreign minister has met Thai hostages in an emotional welcome after their release by Hamas from seven weeks of captivity, saying he hoped for freedom soon for the remaining hostages from his country.

Four Thai workers were released late on Wednesday, bringing the total released to 23.

Continue reading...

Who are the first hostages released from Gaza?

Posted on by

Hamas released 24 hostages on Friday, including 13 Israelis, one Filipino man and 10 Thai citizens

The group of hostages brought out of Gaza on the first day of the ceasefire with Israel included 13 Israelis, 10 Thai citizens and one Filipino man.

The Israeli hostages included four children with female relatives, who were all visiting family at Nir Oz kibbutz when Hamas attacked on 7 October, and five elderly women, four of them residents of Nir Oz and one from a nearby kibbutz.

Continue reading...

‘Everybody is crying’: Thai relatives welcome release of hostages by Hamas

Posted on by

Group of nine men and one woman being treated in hospital before returning to Thailand to reunite with families

The 10 Thai hostages released on Friday are now being supervised in an Israeli hospital, the Thai government has said, adding that a further 20 of its nationals are still being held hostage.

In a statement, Thailand’s ministry of foreign affairs said the 10, who were among 24 hostages freed on Friday hours after a ceasefire was implemented, were now being accompanied by embassy officials and were staying at Shamir medical centre, south-east of Tel Aviv.

Continue reading...

Thailand’s PM says 12 of its citizens held hostage by Hamas have been freed

Posted on by

Srettha Thavisin confirms release of a dozen of at least 26 nationals being held after weeks of negotiations

A dozen of the 26 Thai nationals taken hostage by Hamas in the 7 October attacks in Israel have been released, Thailand’s prime minister has said.

Srettha Thavisin said on X he had received confirmation of their release, and that Thai embassy officials were going to pick them up.

Continue reading...

Selfridges comes under full control of Thailand’s Central Group

Posted on by

Announcement after Central’s Austrian partner Signa Group was placed in hands of restructuring expert

Thailand’s largest department store owner, Central Group, has announced it has taken control of Selfridges department stores.

Central Group and Rene Benko’s Austrian real estate company Signa Group bought Selfridges in 2021 in a deal worth $5bn.

Continue reading...

Captain of Thai cave football team took his own life at UK school, coroner rules

Posted on by

Inquest finds death of Duangphet Phromthep, 17, could not have been foreseen or prevented

The captain of the Thai football team who were trapped in a cave for several days in 2018 took his own life while at school in the UK, a coroner has ruled.

Duangphet Phromthep died at Kettering general hospital on 14 February, two days after being found unconscious at Brooke House College in Market Harborough, Leicestershire.

Continue reading...

‘I have to wear two hats’: Thailand’s breakdancing team confronts hair loss at the Asian Games

Posted on by

After breakdancing debuted at the games in China, members of the Thai national team say they needed support for hair treatment

A member of Thailand’s national breakdancing team has spoken about one of the lesser known challenges of the sport – hair loss.

At the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, where breaking – known in the media as breakdancing – debuted this year, Thailand’s national team was asked about the kinds of support performers need. They said there was a lack of facilities for training in Thailand, meaning people have to practise in parks or shopping malls.

Continue reading...

Thai police say boy, 14, arrested after shooting at mall in Bangkok

Posted on by

At least two people dead and five wounded in incident at Siam Paragon shopping centre

A 14-year-old boy has been arrested after two people were killed in a shooting at a busy luxury mall in central Bangkok.

A Chinese national and Burmese national were killed in the incident at Siam Paragon mall, according to Thailand’s national police chief, Torsak Sukvimol. A further five people were injured. Their condition is unclear.

Continue reading...

Travel website Booking.com leaves hoteliers thousands of dollars out of pocket

Posted on by

As the website boasts about increased revenue, some partners say they have not been paid for months

Travel website Booking.com has left many hotel operators and other partners across the globe thousands of dollars out of pocket for months on end, blaming the lack of payment on a “technical issue”.

The issue is widespread in Thailand, Indonesia and Europe among hoteliers who are venting their frustrations in Facebook groups as rumours swirl about the cause of the failure to pay.

Continue reading...

Thai pro-democracy activist jailed for speaking out at monarchy protest

Posted on by

Human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa imprisoned after calling for reform of country’s strict lese-majesty law

A prominent pro-democracy activist has been sentenced to four years in prison for a speech he delivered during protests calling for reform of Thailand’s powerful monarchy.

Arnon Nampa, a human rights lawyer, was at the forefront of a protest movement that erupted in 2020, when hundreds of thousands of people, many of them young students, took to the streets to call for democratic changes, including to the role of monarchy.

Continue reading...

Thailand to clamp down on cannabis use in major U-turn on drug policy

Posted on by

Prime minister Srettha Thavisin has said the drug will be for medical use only, adding that problems arising from drug use have been ‘widespread’

Thailand’s new prime minister, Srettha Thavisin, has said his government will “rectify” its cannabis policy and limit its use to medical purposes within six months.

Thailand became the first country in Asia to decriminalise cannabis after it delisted the marijuana plant as a narcotic last year, leading to a boom of cannabis cafes and weed dispensaries in popular tourist destinations such as Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Pattaya.

Continue reading...

Estranged son of Thai King Vajiralongkorn says discussion of the monarchy should be allowed

Posted on by

New York-based Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse signals he rejects Thailand’s harsh lese majeste laws, which ban criticism of the royal family

An estranged son of Thailand’s king who has spent almost all his adult life away from his homeland has unexpectedly gone public with his belief that open discussions about the country’s monarchy should be allowed, in a rejection of a harsh royal anti-defamation law.

Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse, one of the king’s five sons, posted his opinion on Facebook after attending a photo exhibition in New York about people who have been charged under the law, Article 112 of Thailand’s Criminal Code.

Continue reading...

Severe plankton bloom off Thailand creates marine ‘dead zone’

Posted on by

Hundreds of mussel farm sites in Gulf of Thailand affected by regular blooms that scientists believe are exacerbated by climate crisis

An unusually dense plankton bloom off the eastern coast of Thailand is creating an aquatic “dead zone”, threatening the livelihood of local fishers who farm mussels in the waters.

Marine scientists say some areas in the Gulf of Thailand have more than 10 times the normal amount of plankton, turning the water a bright green and killing off marine life.

Continue reading...

Australia urged to expand flights to Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam in blueprint to boost trade

Posted on by

Anthony Albanese will launch strategy amid intense debate over decision to block Qatar Airways’ request for further flights to Australia

Australia should expand flights to key south-east Asian markets such as Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, according to a sweeping economic blueprint to boost trade.

The strategy, to be released by the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, on Wednesday, also calls on the government to cut foreign investment barriers, fast track visas and urgently improve Australia’s “south-east Asia literacy”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...