Police in northern Thailand have arrested three teenagers after a video showing a disabled dog being set on fire in an abandoned temple bathroom sparked outrage online. The disturbing footage, shared on social media, prompted locals in Ko Kha district, Lampang province, to alert the Watchdog Thailand Foundation (WDT), which helped bring the case to light. The incident reportedly took place last week inside the unused bathroom at Wat Phra That Lampangluang, a temple known for its historic architecture. According to WDT and local reports, the three suspects are 14 years old. The chilling clip shows a small black dog cowering behind a toilet while one of the teenagers pours fuel and sets the animal alight. Witnesses and later statements from the foundation say the dog appeared to die at the scene. WDT described the victim as already injured and disabled from a prior accident. The foundation has been blunt…
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When a private phone call turns public, every phrase becomes a headline and every pause invites speculation. Suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra entered the Constitutional Court this week with a clear counterargument: the now-infamous line in a leaked conversation with Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen — “If there’s anything you want, just let me know, I’ll take care of it” — was not an offer of backroom favours but a deliberate negotiation tactic. In a written submission to the court, Paetongtarn painted the moment as classic interest-based bargaining rather than an ethical lapse. She explained the line was meant to coax the other side into revealing its priorities — a strategic prompt to get Hun Sen’s team to state their expectations first. “The intention was to open space for mutual understanding by identifying the true interests behind the other side’s stance,” she wrote, adding that such transparency can be the…
When a simple Facebook message turned into a fatal misadventure, a New Jersey hospital became the tragic punctuation mark in a story that raises uncomfortable questions about how social media and artificial intelligence intersect with the lives of the vulnerable. Thongbue Wongbandue, a 76-year-old Thai-born American, left home in March telling his wife, Linda, that he was going to visit a friend in New York City. That friend, it turned out, did not exist. Thongbue — who suffered from brain impairment after a paralytic episode years earlier — hurried to catch a train, fell near a Rutgers University car park in New Jersey, and sustained catastrophic head and neck injuries. He died at a hospital on March 28 after three days of treatment. What makes this heartbreak so modern — and so unnerving — is what family members found when they checked Thongbue’s phone: a Facebook Messenger conversation with a…
What was supposed to be a routine arrival into Seoul turned into a mini aviation mystery on Wednesday evening when AirAsia Flight D7 506 from Kuala Lumpur landed at the wrong airport — and no one seemed to know it immediately. The flight was scheduled to touch down at Incheon International Airport at 7:50pm, but instead the Airbus touched down at Gimpo International Airport, roughly 40 kilometres closer to the city centre, at 8:08pm. The unexpected detour left passengers, crew and families waiting at Incheon blinking in confusion and asking the obvious question: how did we get here? Passengers aboard the flight told South Korea’s JoongAng Daily that, as the aircraft rolled to a stop, the captain announced arrival at Incheon. That is when the first suspicious glances were exchanged — because the view outside the windows did not look like Incheon at all. Observant travellers quickly realised they were…
What began as a test ride and a negotiation over repair costs quickly spiraled into a viral street brawl that had Phuket buzzing. Kathu District Chief Akkaraphon Sutthirak stepped forward yesterday, August 14, to clear up the confusion around an August 10 scuffle outside the Rolling Stone All Tour motorcycle rental shop on Phra Metta Road in Patong. The short version: one foreign visitor wanted to try a Honda X-ADV 750cc, the owner agreed, the bike was crashed, and a dispute over compensation exploded into an on-the-street confrontation that ended with complaints filed on both sides. But the fuller picture that Akkaraphon painted is more precise — and, in some ways, more human. Akkaraphon didn’t pinpoint exact nationalities, but said the group of foreigners involved were Middle Eastern. He also pushed back on sensational early reports that claimed nearly 20 foreigners were involved in the clash. According to his account,…
In a moment that could have played out as a tense crime story, a small grocery shop in Pathum Thani instead delivered viral comedy — and a gentle lesson in human kindness. The scene: a Burmese man quietly slipping a bucket of snacks out the door while the shop owner’s husband watches. The subplot: the husband, Sumalee Wongintawang’s beau, remains so unflappable that TikTok users fell in love with his chill energy. The clip was posted on Tuesday, August 12 by shop owner Sumalee Wongintawang on her TikTok account, @su.pananchita995, with the rib-tickling caption: “#GoodHusbandIsNewHusband #ThisIsMyHusbandLol.” The caption teased him for being unusually calm while a theft unfolded in broad daylight — and viewers agreed, flooding the comments with laughs, praise and practical takes. In the short video, you can see the man standing near the counter, watching as a customer-turned-thief carries a bucket of snacks out of the shop.…
Thailand’s budget showdown took a decidedly local turn this week as opposition MPs zeroed in on one eyebrow-raising line item: a 41 million baht allocation for a central agricultural market in Phayao. The debate unfolded during the second reading of the sprawling 2026 fiscal budget bill — a whopping 3.78 trillion baht package — and focused on Section 14, which parcels out 62 billion baht to the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives. A modest market or a million-baht mystery? At first glance, 41 million baht may not seem headline-grabbing within a multi-trillion-baht bill. But for lawmakers like Lamphun’s Witwisit Pansuanpluk of the People’s Party, that sum raises big questions about priorities, planning and transparency. Witwisit flagged the funding for the Marketing Organisation for Farmers (Or Tor Kor) — earmarked for a new central market in Phayao — noting that it represents nearly half of the organisation’s total marketing budget for…
A quiet condominium complex in Phraekasa, Samut Prakan, turned into the scene of a tragic drama on the evening of August 14 when 29-year-old Pitiwat was found dead in his fourth-floor unit after apparently taking his own life during a video call with his girlfriend. The girlfriend, 34-year-old Janejira, contacted officers at the Mueang Samut Prakan Police Station in a panic after the call went horribly wrong. According to police reports, the unit’s door was locked and officers were forced to force entry. Inside, they discovered Pitiwat hanging from the balcony iron grills, having used an electric cable from a plug socket. Janejira told officers that she and a friend were on a video call with Pitiwat when everything seemed normal. He spoke cheerfully at first, giving no outward sign of distress. Then he briefly stepped out of the camera’s frame. When he reappeared, he held the plug and—despite desperate…
What started as a late-night joyride down a quiet Pattaya soi turned into a chaotic crash and a furious crowd scene on the evening of August 14. Residents of Soi Bongkot 8 in Bang Lamung district woke to sirens and shouting after a British man performing repeated wheelies lost control and collided with a Thai motorcyclist, leaving the 49-year-old woman in critical condition and sparking an immediate, angry response from bystanders. Rescue teams from the Sawang Borriboon Thammasathan Foundation arrived at the scene at around 11pm to a tense tableau: a Honda motorcycle overturned on the asphalt, its rider—identified as 49-year-old Churairat Phetraksa—lying nearby with a severe head injury and multiple abrasions. Emergency medics moved quickly to stabilise her while also contending with an enraged crowd. The other rider, described only as a British national, was found sitting beside his electric off-road motorcycle with visible injuries. Witnesses told rescuers those…
Asia’s tourism map is being redrawn, and Thailand—the perennial favourite—suddenly feels a little less like the centre of the sun and more like one of several bright stars in an increasingly crowded constellation. As Vietnam and South Korea roll out expanded visa-free entry and targeted incentives, travellers are recalibrating their itineraries, and industry insiders warn that Thailand may see a slowdown through the remainder of 2025. At the heart of the shift are two simple moves: easier access and sharper value. South Korea has opened visa-free entry for Chinese tour groups starting in September—timed perfectly ahead of China’s October Golden Week—while Vietnam has added visa-free access for 12 more markets (including Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland), bringing its total to 39 visa-free countries. The result? A fresh wave of visitors choosing newer, often cheaper options elsewhere in Southeast Asia. “Visa-free counts, but perception sells,” says Thanapol Cheewarattanaporn, President of the…