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...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...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...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...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...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...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...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...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...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...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”.
Continue reading...Thaksin, who returned to Thailand last week, ‘accepted his crime and showed remorse’, says royal gazette
King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand has reduced the sentence of Thaksin Shinawatra from eight years down to one, just over a week after the former prime minister returned from more than 15 years in self-imposed exile.
A document published in the royal gazette said the country’s most famous politician had “accepted his crime and showed remorse”, adding the former prime minister was elderly and ill.
Continue reading...Tourism body tries to nail down best recipe for a dish popular at home but often overshadowed abroad
Pad kaphrao has a strong claim to be Thailand’s most loved dish. The meal – holy basil fried with minced meat – is a quick and easy staple. It is a regular among street vendors whose woks fill the air with a distinctive, fiery aroma, and on the menus of high-end restaurants and in the ready-made sections of convenience stores.
But abroad it is overshadowed by the likes of pad thai and green curry – and when it does feature on menus, the ingredients tend to differ from those used in Thailand.
Continue reading...Ex-PM begins eight-year jail term but appointment of Srettha Thavisin as leader could shorten his sentence
Thailand’s populist former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has arrived in Bangkok after more than 15 years in exile as his party returned to government in a controversial pact with its military rivals that keeps reformists out of power.
Thaksin – a hugely influential but also divisive politician – began an eight-year jail term on his return, though commentators have noted that his arrival in the country coincides with his party’s return to office and a backroom deal could allow him to escape a full sentence.
Continue reading...Arrangement angers many Pheu Thai supporters and could coincide with former PM’s return from exile
The party associated with Thailand’s former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has struck a deal with its former military rivals, a move that could coincide with his return after more than 15 years in exile.
The deal announced on Monday has angered many Pheu Thai supporters, as well as those of the reformist Move Forward party that won the most votes and seats in the May general election but whose leader was blocked from taking office.
Continue reading...Campaigners criticise renovation and call for better protection for the city’s distinctive architecture
A Bangkok landmark known as the “robot building” has been stripped of its identity, heritage campaigners have said, as they called for the city’s distinctive architecture to preserved.
The building – in the form of a giant robot made up of stacks of cubes and inspired by the architect watching his son play with a toy – has loomed over one of Bangkok’s busiest commercial districts for decades. Its design included oversized bolts and antenna, and windows shaped like cartoonish eyes.
Continue reading...Reappearance of Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse raises questions over succession
The estranged second son of Thailand’s king has returned to Bangkok for the first time in almost three decades, in an unannounced visit that surprised many and raised questions about the succession plan.
Footage of Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse making what appeared to be a low-key arrival at Suvarnabhumi airport on Sunday, and visiting sites in the capital, was shared widely on social media.
Continue reading...More than 100 injured and hundreds of homes reportedly damaged near border with Malaysia
An explosion has ripped through a firework warehouse in Thailand , killing nine people and injuring more than 100, a senior official has said.
The blast in the town of Sungai Kolok, in the southern province of Narathiwat, on Saturday is thought to have been caused by welding during construction work on the building.
Continue reading...Influential figure who has spent 15 years in exile is set for comeback at a time of political crisis in homeland
Thailand’s former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who has spent more than 15 years in self-imposed exile to avoid legal charges, will return to the country next month, his daughter has said, amid tense political deadlock.
Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who recently ran as a prime ministerial candidate for Pheu Thai, the party backed by her father, said Thaksin would return on 10 August.
Continue reading...Cafes refuse to sell Pheu Thai party candidate’s favourite beverage amid fears of plot to ice-out coalition partners
For some in Thailand, the thought of a chocolate-mint ice drink suddenly leaves a bad taste.
Several cafes have suspended their sales. One shop described it as a “betray-your-friend” drink in a graphic posted on their Facebook page. Another said it was a drink to “kick your friend into the boat”, a phrase that means to push a friend away.
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