On August 18, the Pheu Thai Party dug in its heels and publicly threw its full weight behind the suspended prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, as the countdown to the Constitutional Court’s decision on a leaked audio clip accelerates. With the court’s ruling expected on August 29, party leaders moved quickly to calm nerves, quash rumours and insist they’re not bracing for political collapse — even as Thailand watches closely. Visuth Chainaroon, Pheu Thai list-MP and the party’s chief government whip, painted a picture of confidence rather than crisis. According to Visuth, MPs remain unworried about the forthcoming judgment and are united in their belief that Paetongtarn’s private conversation with Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen was meant to protect national interests and preserve stability amid growing tensions along the Thai-Cambodian border. In short: what some critics call a scandal, Pheu Thai calls context. Visuth was at pains to stress that party…
Posts published in “Thailand”
In a result that sent ripples through Thailand’s civic chat rooms and comment sections, the State Audit Office (SAO) was crowned the country’s most transparent and integrous independent government agency in the Office of Integrity and Transparency Assessment’s (ITA) 2025 rankings. The award, handed out at a ceremony on 15 August, looked impressive on paper — but many Thais scratched their heads and asked: can a watchdog also be the subject of serious construction controversy? Top performers — and the big picture The ITA, which operates under the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), evaluated 8,317 government units for the 2025 fiscal year. The national average nudged up to 93.82 points — a 0.77-point rise from last year and comfortably above the anti-corruption master plan benchmark. In the category of independent organisations the top five were: State Audit Office (SAO) — 94.64 points Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) — 93.47 points National…
It was a quiet afternoon in Trang province until Phinyo’s meal on the front porch turned into an unexpected wildlife documentary. The 74-year-old homeowner looked up when her daughter called out, only to find that their house had a very unwelcome guest: a large snake slipping under the family wardrobe. What started as a routine encounter quickly became the kind of neighbourhood headline that gets everyone peeking out their windows. At first glance the reptile was mistaken for a golden tree snake, a common sight for locals. But this was no ordinary visitor. Rescue workers later identified the intruder as a female king cobra — an impressive, and potentially dangerous, find. Measuring about one metre long and weighing roughly one kilogram, the snake was calm but unmistakably regal in appearance. For Phinyo, who has seen many species over the years as the wife of a former soldier, this was the…
At about 8:00pm on the evening of August 18, a routine drive along the Udon Thani–Sakon Nakhon Road turned into something out of an action movie — except it had a surprisingly lucky ending. A white Isuzu pickup, registration ป 5179 Udon Thani, flipped over several times in Mueang Nong Han district, leaving a trail of twisted metal, a badly damaged traffic sign and a felled tree. Miraculously, the driver walked away with only a minor head wound. The man, the tiles and the talisman The injured motorist was identified as 32‑year‑old former traffic officer Phong Sakon, better known to friends as “Oung.” Locals who rushed to help pulled him from the wreck and took him to Udon Thani Centre Hospital, where medics treated a small head injury and released him after observation. Phong, smiling amid the chaos, gave reporters an explanation that mixed practicality with devotion: he had been…
Thailand’s underground cockfighting world just got a headline-grabbing jolt: a champion rooster named Fakhamram — fresh from an earth-shaking victory at Kaew Khok Krot stadium in Nakhon Ratchasima — has been sold for a jaw-dropping 6.5 million baht. The sale came hot on the heels of a five-round, multimillion-baht showdown on Sunday, August 17, that featured two elite birds and a prize pot so enormous it felt more like a sporting spectacle than a traditional fight: 125.1 million baht. The epic clash: Fakhamram vs. Jao Kaotao Under the lights at Kaew Khok Krot, Fakhamram — representing Richa Farm — faced off against Jao Kaotao of Ban Suan Nong B White Rooster Farm in a match that had the crowd holding its collective breath. Both birds fought under the customary rules for high-stakes matches: spurs and gaffs wrapped, five bruising rounds, and drama to spare. Fakhamram set the tone early, landing…
If you thought a trip to Lotus Mall in Tak Province was going to be a quiet errand run, think again. On August 18, a scene straight out of a heist movie — minus the cinematic finesse — unfolded at Wang Tokang Gold Shop when a 28-year-old man allegedly tried to make off with a one-baht gold necklace. The suspect, identified as Thanapol from Mueang district, reportedly walked into the store acting like a customer, but staff quickly grew suspicious and raised the alarm. Security and police were already on the mall floor conducting routine checks when a sharp cry cut through the hum of shoppers. Store employee Onchuda Sukla shouted for help, which set into motion a swift response. Police Colonel Sitthichai Yimyuan and his team were among the officers who joined in apprehending Thanapol as he attempted to flee the scene clutching the necklace. Although he made a…
It sounded like something out of a movie: dozens of packages bobbing in a narrow canal, glinting like sinister ice cubes under the Thai sun. But this was no cinematic prop — it was a major drug bust in Samut Songkhram province that had locals dialing the police and authorities scrambling to piece together a sprawling trafficking puzzle. On August 18, officers from Mueang Samut Songkhram Police Station were alerted to narcotics floating in the Lampradong canal beside a busy road in the Mueang district. Police Lieutenant Chananthip Ongkhlueab, the station’s deputy inspector, led the response team. He was joined by Deputy Governor Kornakod Wongsuwan and Police Major Anake Khachijit as they confirmed what residents feared: about 87 kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine were bobbing in the water and were soon recorded as evidence. What began as a startling discovery quickly revealed itself to be the latest knot in a much…
In the quiet pre-dawn hours of August 18, a fierce blaze ripped through the sanctuary of Wat Weluwan in Mueang Kaew subdistrict, Mae Rim district, Chiang Mai — leaving a beloved place of worship smoldering and scorched. What began as smoke spotted by a resident monk at about 3:20 a.m. quickly escalated into a full roof fire that would gut the sanctuary’s interior before firefighters brought the situation under control at around 4:00 a.m. Responders from Mae Rim Police Station, the Phanthong rescue team and Mae Sa Subdistrict Administration Organisation’s disaster prevention unit arrived promptly on scene with one fire truck and a four-member crew. Their fast action contained the blaze before it consumed neighboring buildings, but they could not save the sanctuary’s inner treasures. The interior was devastated; although the Buddha statues and the principal Buddha image suffered only minor damage, restorers now face a difficult job and an…
A quiet pre-dawn stretch of Sukhumvit Road turned tragic on the morning of August 17, when a collision near the U-turn at Pattaya South Highway left two people dead and a neighbourhood shaken. At 5:06 a.m., what began as an ordinary commute became a scene of destruction — a mangled Yamaha motorcycle, a pickup truck crashed into a house, and two lives lost in a moment that investigators and residents are still trying to piece together. Rescue volunteers from the Sawang Boriboon Thammasathan Foundation and officers from Pattaya City Police Station, led at the scene by Deputy Investigator Lieutenant Anirut Jehaera, arrived quickly after the emergency call. The first responders found a blue Yamaha Grand Filano motorcycle badly damaged, its parts strewn across the asphalt. Nearby, 37-year-old Arthit Atjamnuay was critically injured and struggling to breathe. Volunteers administered CPR and rushed him to hospital, but he later succumbed to his…
On a hot, tense day in Si Saket province, a Dutch man and his Thai wife stepped forward to tell a personal story that brought the abstract headlines down to human scale: they had fled cross-border violence, narrowly escaped attacks, and wanted the world — starting with the Netherlands’ ambassador — to know what they had seen and felt firsthand. From the front line to the ambassador’s ear The couple, who moved to Si Saket two years ago, met with the Dutch ambassador during an international delegation’s tour of border areas affected by recent clashes. The visit was led by Thailand’s Foreign Affairs Minister Maris Sangiamphongsa together with Royal Thai Army Spokesperson Winthai Suwaree, and included ambassadors and representatives from 33 countries and international organisations. The goal: show clear, on-the-ground evidence of damage and, crucially, alleged anti-personnel mines that Thai officials say were planted by the Cambodian military. Standing before…