Posts published by “Editorial Team”

Bangkok woke up on August 18 to a familiar buzz: the hum of phones, the murmur of cafes, and the quiet, unstoppable whirr of artificial intelligence weaving itself into everyday Thai life. At a glitzy launch for “Digital Lives Decoded 2025: Building Trust in Thailand’s AI Future,” telecom heavyweight Telenor Asia confirmed what many had suspected—AI is no longer an optional gadget; it’s an invisible co-worker, tutor, and sometimes mischief-maker in millions of Thai pockets. “AI is now an invisible part of our digital lives,” said Jon Omund Revhaug, Head of Telenor Asia, unveiling findings that should make both futurists and regulators lean forward in their chairs. The numbers are striking: 91% of Internet users in Thailand now rely on AI tools—up from 77% in 2024. The study surveyed 1,017 Thais and found that more than half interact with AI at least once a day, while 28% tap into its…

The Ministry of Culture has launched an ambitious campaign to breathe new life into one of Thailand’s most poetic and oldest performance traditions. Under the banner Community-based Revitalisation of Nang Yai Tradition in Thailand (CRNT), suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra confirmed that nang yai — the grand, firelit shadow-puppet theatre that traces its roots to the 15th century — will be proposed for inscription on UNESCO’s Register of Good Safeguarding Practices by March 2026. A blueprint for keeping heritage alive “Nang yai is not just performance art—it is a living legacy of Thailand’s history, spirituality and creativity,” Paetongtarn said, framing the CRNT as more than a preservation project. It’s a blueprint for resilient cultural life that stitches together local communities, national identity and international recognition. The pitch to UNESCO, she explained, aims to show how community-led efforts can safeguard traditions in ways that are practical, sustainable and replicable. Theatre of…

Phuket has just signaled a full-court press against HIV/AIDS — and it’s not subtle. On August 19, the island’s Bukitta Hotel became the command center for a two-day powerhouse workshop that brought together 50 representatives from health agencies, local government and community groups with one bold aim: make Phuket Thailand’s first Province of Ending AIDS by 2030. A roadmap with teeth Chaired by Phuket Provincial Chief Administrative Officer (Palad) Thiraphong Chuaychu, the workshop was more than a photo op. Thiraphong didn’t mince words: ending new infections within the next five years is now a provincial priority. He unveiled a clear roadmap rooted in the province’s 2023–2030 strategic plan — a plan with targets that sound almost shockingly achievable when met with the right will. “This workshop is about uniting every sector under one coordinated plan,” Thiraphong said, setting the tone for two days of lectures, case studies, brainstorming and group…

Police from the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) kicked off a high-stakes crackdown on village fund scams on August 19, making a dramatic arrest that reads more like a cautionary tale than a court filing. The suspect, identified as 57-year-old Jiranat (also known as “Noi”) from Nakhon Pathom, was taken into custody under a Criminal Court warrant issued August 16. He now faces a string of serious charges: fraud, forgery and money laundering, all tied to an elaborate scheme that allegedly bilked village funds of nearly 8 million baht. The case first surfaced when a victim filed a report on June 7, accusing Jiranat of posing as an insider with links to the well-known Prem Tinsulanonda Statesman Foundation. According to investigators, he promised villages help winning government and village fund projects—some of which were real, but many completely fabricated. Victims say he even pitched a non-existent military development road project and…

What began as a frantic search across two Thai provinces ended with a teenager refusing to go back to the very home her parents begged the public to help find her from. The missing girl, a 15-year-old Burmese national known as Bee, was traced to a friend’s house in Ayutthaya before telling authorities in no uncertain terms that she would not return to her family in Nonthaburi—alleging physical abuse and being forced to work. The story first reached the public eye on August 12, when Bee’s parents, 45-year-old Mamat Ye Hinn and 40-year-old Asha Bwe, went to Thai news outlets pleading for help. They had reported their daughter missing at Bang Si Mueang Police Station after she left home on the morning of July 24 around 8am. With no leads and mounting fear, the couple appealed to the media, saying Bee had been gone many days and could be in…

At the quiet edge of the Thai-Cambodian frontier, where the smell of earth meets the whisper of history, a familiar tangle of fences, flags and fierce rhetoric has resurfaced. The Royal Thai Army insists that Baan Nong Chan — a hamlet near the border in Sa Kaeo province’s Khok Sung district — sits squarely on Thai soil. Cambodian officials and some residents, however, see things differently. The result: another chapter in a decades-old border drama that blends refugee memories, boundary markers and a dash of high-stakes diplomacy. The army’s case: markers, mines and makeshift security Major General Winthai Suvaree, the Royal Thai Army spokesperson, was unequivocal when he spoke on August 18. According to the army’s account, the contested area lies between boundary markers 46 and 47 — and therefore within Thailand’s jurisdiction. The barbed-wire fences that sparked complaints from Cambodian authorities, he said, are not an attempt to redraw…

Hidden behind the hum of machines and the clink of glass was a cosmetics operation that would make any beauty influencer gasp — for the wrong reasons. In Bang Pakong district of Chachoengsao province, authorities dismantled a clandestine cosmetics factory after discovering it had been churning out unlicensed products for roughly eight months. The haul was staggering: 234,699 items, seized and valued at more than 20 million baht (about US$615,510), many of them apparently destined for overseas customers. On August 19, an inspection led by Police Major General Pattanasak Bubpasuwan, chief of the Consumer Protection Police Division (CPPD), brought the secret production line into the light. Accompanying him were Police Colonel Weeraphong Klaihong and Police Lieutenant Colonel Anusara Buadaeng, along with Doctor Srisak Tangchittham from the Chachoengsao Provincial Public Health Office and officials from the Food and Drug Administration. Their destination: a factory tucked away in Tha Kham subdistrict that,…

Imagine a routine forest patrol turning into a real-life Indiana Jones moment. That’s precisely what happened in Phitsanulok’s wild north this month, when a trio of dedicated forest rangers on a three-day mission stumbled into a cave that has archaeologists already reaching for their hats. The discovery, announced on August 18 by Protection Area Chief Mongkol Khamsuk, is now officially known as Tham Ta Kueng (Ta Kueng Cave) — and it might be the next big chapter in Thailand’s archaeological story. From wildlife watch to history hunt The patrol, conducted from Thursday, August 14 to Saturday, August 16, was meant to be fairly routine: monitor wildlife, check for illegal encroachment, and keep the Phu Khat Wild Animal Protection Area safe. The rangers were working in the Khwae Noi forest watershed — a landscape already famed for biodiversity — when the forest, as forests often do, revealed a secret. Instead of…