Get ready, futsal fans — South Asia is stepping up to the indoor pitch. The South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) will host the inaugural SAFF Futsal Championship in Bangkok, Thailand, from 13 to 26 January 2026. It’s a landmark moment: the region’s seven member nations will make their debuts in a dedicated futsal tournament designed as much for development as for silverware. A seven-team curtain-raiser All seven SAFF nations are signed up: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. These teams will trade the sprawling outdoors for tight, fast-paced indoor arenas where space is a premium, skills are magnified, and matches feel like high-intensity chess marathons — quick thinking, quick feet, and plenty of dramatic twists. Why Bangkok? SAFF General Secretary Purushottam Kattel said Thailand was chosen for practical reasons: “Bangkok brings proven sporting infrastructure, international accessibility, and the event know-how needed to host a successful indoor…
Posts published in “Thailand”
Just after lunchtime on Friday — well, 12:15pm on January 2, 2026, to be precise — a routine afternoon in Bangkok’s Ladprao neighborhood turned smoky and chaotic when a condominium unit erupted in flames. The scene: a six‑storey building on Ladprao Road in Khlong Chaokhun Sing, Wang Thonglang, where black smoke began pouring from a fourth‑floor apartment and sent neighbours and first‑responders scrambling. The quick response that kept the blaze from spreading Thanks to an immediate emergency call to Chokchai Police Station, a coordinated team was on its way in minutes. Officers linked up with firefighters from Huamark Fire Station and volunteers from the Ruam Katanyu Foundation, turning the residential building into a streamlined rescue operation. Responders worked methodically: they secured the area, evacuated residents, and pushed into the affected unit to locate anyone trapped inside. It was a textbook case of efficient crisis management. Firefighters contained the blaze within…
Good news with a cautious shrug: Bangkok’s air has finally started to lighten up. The Bangkok Air Quality Information Centre reported on Saturday morning that average PM2.5 concentrations across the capital are easing, though a few neighbourhoods still demand extra attention. What the numbers say Citywide, the average PM2.5 reading sat at 26.3 µg/m³ — comfortably below the city standard of 37.5 µg/m³. That’s a welcome drop and means most people can breathe a little easier. Still, air quality doesn’t behave uniformly across Bangkok’s mosaic of districts. Two areas nudged into the orange band — the level that flags initial health impacts — and a dozen districts stood out for the day’s highest readings. Top 12 districts with the highest PM2.5 readings Pathum Wan: 41.5 µg/m³ Chatuchak: 39.3 µg/m³ Sathorn: 35.7 µg/m³ Bang Rak: 32.8 µg/m³ Khlong Sam Wa: 32.5 µg/m³ Lat Krabang: 31.7 µg/m³ Bang Sue: 31.7 µg/m³ Nong…
Thai Police Ramp Up Security for New Year 2026 — A Spiderweb of Safety As Thailand prepares to ring in 2026, the Royal Thai Police have launched a major safety push to keep celebrations bright and worry-free. Pol Gen Kitrat Phanphet, Commissioner‑General of the Royal Thai Police, has ordered intensified public‑safety operations across the country — mobilising more than thirty thousand officers for around‑the‑clock duty and tightening security at major countdown locations from Bangkok to the provinces. What’s being deployed The operation is striking in scale and specificity. Key elements include: Manpower: Over 30,000 police officers on active duty — roughly 7,300 assigned to security posts and about 23,000 focused on traffic control and enforcement. Target venues: Police will monitor 337 countdown and overnight prayer events nationwide, with extra attention on large gatherings of more than 1,000 people. Checkpoints: More than 3,000 traffic‑discipline and breath‑alcohol checkpoints will be in place…
As 2025 winds down and a fresh slate beckons in 2026, Bangkok floods with a gentle, hopeful energy: year-end prayer services at the city’s most beloved temples. For many Thais and visitors alike, staying up through midnight to offer prayers, make merit and welcome the new year is a tradition that blends reflection, ambition and a touch of magic. If you’re planning to join the crowd—or tune in from afar—here’s a lively guide to seven Bangkok temples where New Year prayers are especially meaningful, each with its own flavor of blessing. 1. Wat Saket (Temple of the Golden Mount) — prayers from the city’s high point Climbing Wat Saket’s gilded peak as the year flips over has become almost cinematic: you emerge breathless on the summit, the city’s lights spread below like a promise. People praying here often ask for recognition, prestige and sustained success—perfect if you’re launching a bold…
It sounds like a scene from a thriller — only this time, the setting was a luxury condominium on Pattaya Sai Sam Road and the protagonist was very real. In the early hours of December 28, a 26-year-old Thai woman identified as Alvarado survived an extraordinary fall from the 25th floor, landing critically injured near the building’s swimming pool after an apparent dispute with her foreign husband. The drama that followed was part rescue mission, part investigation, and a stark reminder of how domestic strife can turn dangerous in an instant. Rescue teams from the Sawang Borriboon Dhammastan Foundation received the emergency call at 7:06 a.m. A security guard at the upscale condo reported that a woman had fallen from a high floor. Responders rushed to the scene and found Alvarado lying at the pool’s edge, soaked and badly injured, bleeding from her mouth and nose. First aid was administered…
In a dramatic — and at times theatrical — turn of events, former US President Donald Trump announced on December 28 that a ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia was in effect, following roughly 20 days of intense border clashes. The deal, reportedly reached on December 27, was hailed by Trump on his Truth Social account as a swift resolution achieved with “very little assistance” from the United Nations. Trump’s post read like a victory lap: “I am pleased to announce that the breakout fighting between Thailand and Cambodia will stop momentarily, and they will go back to living in peace, as per our recently agreed to original treaty.” He praised the leaders of both countries for what he described as fast, decisive leadership and effective negotiation — adding, with trademark emphasis, “It was fast & decisive, as all of these situations should be!” But the announcement didn’t stop at congratulations.…
The sight was equal parts devotional, theatrical, and oddly festive: a pickup truck rolled up to Wat Mai Samakkhi in Nong Phai District on Sunday, not with floral wreaths or incense bundles, but with 5,000 chicken eggs stacked so high they towered over the couple who brought them. By the time family members had carefully unloaded and arranged the cartons, the column of eggs rose above human height — a glittering, fragile obelisk that drew a crowd of curious villagers, merit-makers and tourists to Wat Luang Pho Ham Jon in Huai Pong Subdistrict, Phetchabun. The donors were Mr. Narongrit, 44, a real estate salesperson, and his wife, Ms. Sirirat, 45, who came with more than 10 relatives to fulfill a vow made to Luang Pho Ham Jon, a beloved Buddhist figure in the region credited by devotees with protecting worshippers from poverty and bringing financial stability. The date was December…
When an 80-Year-Old Icon Decided to Celebrate the Old-Fashioned Way: By Throwing Fights For eight decades Rajadamnern Boxing Stadium has been a crucible where Muay Thai earns its reputation the hard way — on canvas, under lights, and in front of unforgiving crowds. This year, for its 80th birthday, the venerable hall didn’t stage a polite tea and slideshow. It did what it knows best: it staged a night of war. The “R80 Rajadamnern Anniversary” wasn’t a nostalgia tour. It was a statement, equal parts spectacle and soul-stirring sport. The theatre was packed, the air thick with incense and anticipation, and the sound that mattered most — the heel of a glove on flesh — echoed round after round. Fighters from Thailand and overseas answered the call, delivering a showcase of power, pinpoint technique, and the ritual respect that separates Muay Thai from mere combat sports. If you wanted proof…
Chaos quietly stacked itself into neat cardboard piles inside a Yala warehouse on December 28, as tens of thousands of parcels sat waiting — some for days, others for an unknown stretch — while frustrated customers, reporters and local officials scrambled for answers. What began as delivery delays rapidly ballooned into a full-blown logistics crisis after a sudden mass resignation of delivery drivers and sorting staff effectively ground operations to a halt at a major shipping company’s regional hub. Inside the backlog: a warehouse full of questions Reporters who toured the facility found corridors of boxes crammed into sorting bays and storage areas, a visible sign that last-mile delivery had become last-mile limbo. With far too few hands left to process incoming shipments, the inflow of packages quickly outpaced any ability to move them onward. Customers told of missed delivery dates, tracking updates that froze mid-transit, and phone lines that…