Posts published in “Thailand”

On a bright Tuesday in early September, Ban Nawang School’s multipurpose hall in Takhian Tia, Chon Buri, became the scene of something more inspiring than the usual round of school assemblies: local leaders, educators, police and health officials gathered to sign a bold pact aimed squarely at one of the most stubborn problems facing young people today — drugs and other harmful vices. A united front: who showed up and why it matters Deputy Mayor Wachira Sujoe signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on behalf of Mayor Mitchai Prabsattham, marking a formal commitment between Ban Nawang School and the Takhian Tia Subdistrict Municipality to create “Drug-Free and Vice-Free Educational Institutions.” The room was packed with the practical heavyweights of community safety: Mansruang Menanet, Director of Ban Nawang School; Police Sub-Lieutenant Suriya Klaharn, Deputy Inspector of Bang Lamung Police Station; and Phromthep Ngernmag, Acting Director of Takhian Tia Subdistrict Health Promotion…

Mumbai and Phuket just became a lot closer — and a lot more tempting. Akasa Air has announced a new non-stop route linking India’s financial powerhouse with Thailand’s sun-drenched island playground starting September 20. For travellers used to the old relay race of connecting flights and endlessly ticking layovers, this is the kind of welcome news that makes you reach for swimwear and a boarding pass at the same time. Goodbye layovers, hello beachfront cocktails Until now, flying from Mumbai to Phuket often felt like a part-time job: hop a flight, deplane, requeue, wait, repeat. Akasa Air’s new direct service rewrites that script. The quick, seamless hop promises to chop total travel time and swap the weary shuffle through transit hubs for a faster launch into Phuket’s world-famous beaches — think Patong’s electric nightlife, Karon’s wide sandy stretches, and quieter coves for anyone craving a low-key escape. More than a…

Thailand’s political pot is boiling over after caretaker Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai unexpectedly told the Palace he wanted the House of Representatives dissolved — a move that has ignited a cascade of criminal complaints, constitutional questions and accusations that the monarchy has been dragged into party politics. On September 3, a list MP and a well-known activist marched to the Central Investigation Bureau in Bangkok to file a formal complaint accusing Phumtham of lèse-majesté and other violations. Suratin Pichan of the New Democracy Party and activist Thaikorn Polsuwan argued that Phumtham, as a caretaker leader, lacked any legal basis to request a dissolution of Parliament. Thaikorn went a step further, saying the submission risked politicising the monarchy — a sensitive allegation that immediately amplified public outrage. To understand why this exploded so quickly, rewind a few dramatic beats: the turmoil follows the removal of Paetongtarn Shinawatra — once a leading…

An 81-year-old British expat in Udon Thani has been left both baffled and heartbroken after thieves made off with his treasured tricycle motorcycle in a brazen early-morning theft captured on nearby CCTV. Wayne, a retired restaurateur originally from Liverpool, reported the theft to Mueang Udon Thani Police Station on September 2 through a translator. His beloved blue-and-bronze three-wheeler — a Sky Lab tricycle he’d lovingly maintained — disappeared from outside his home in the Dong Udom area of Nong Bua subdistrict after being parked there for about a month. Despite being second-hand, he values the machine at 27,000 baht; more importantly, it was his pride and joy. The incident itself was quick and stealthy. CCTV footage from a nearby curtain shop shows two men, estimated to be in their mid-to-late 20s, arriving at 6:25 a.m. on Saturday, August 30, riding a white motorbike with no plates. The passenger is seen…

Thailand’s long-anticipated U-Tapao airport expansion — a headline-grabbing 290-billion-baht project meant to supercharge the Eastern Economic Corridor — suddenly looks less like a runway-ready ambition and more like a plane stuck in a holding pattern. The consortium behind the development, U-Tapao International Aviation Co Ltd (UTA), has given authorities one month to show meaningful progress or risk walking away after years of delays and what it calls “government inaction.” UTA isn’t a lone adventurer. It’s a three-way partnership: Bangkok Airways owns 45%, BTS Group Holdings holds 35%, and Sino-Thai Engineering & Construction brings the remaining 20%. For a project billed as a game-changer for Eastern Thailand — including a high-speed rail link connecting Don Mueang, Suvarnabhumi and U-Tapao — the latest pause is a major plot twist. “We have waited many years without clarity. If nothing improves, we may have no choice but to withdraw.” The consortium points at a…

Tensions along the Thai-Cambodian border flared afresh on 2 September, and the tone from the Thai military is anything but conciliatory. Major General Bunsin Padklang, commander of the 2nd Army Region, told reporters that the recent clashes were fiercer than those in 2011 and inflicted “significant losses” on Cambodian forces. The message was blunt: the lines are drawn, the fences are up, and Thailand intends to hold what it calls sovereign ground. According to Maj. Gen. Bunsin, several foreign governments urged restraint and pressed for an end to hostilities, but their appeals produced only a temporary truce after protracted negotiations. “The other side uses the same tactics, planting explosives, denying it, negotiating one way and acting another. Can they be trusted? Some can, some can’t. I’m not pointing fingers, but think carefully who you deal with,” he said, capturing the weary skepticism that has become all too familiar at this…