In a recent chat with the media, the heralded House Speaker, Wan Muhamad Noor Matha, expressed some timely anticipations. The date was July 10, 2023, and Matha aired his fervent expectations for the imminent appointment of a new opposition leader within the House of Representatives. The shift in power seemed possible now, sitting on the heels of the Move Forward Party (MFP)’s internal happenings, notably the election of their new leader Chaithawat Tulathon and the ousting of Padipat Suntiphada. Primer on the MFP’s recent updates: They’d chosen Chaithawat Tulathon as the fresh face to head their party, alongside a redefined executive committee. They’d yet had an unceremonious expulsion of Mr. Padipat, erstwhile Up-and-Comer in Phitsanulok, and the first deputy House speaker. Ostensibly, poor Mr. Padipat was shown the door to clear the way for the upcoming opposition leader, Mr. Chaithawat. With the rules laid down in Section 106 of the…
Posts published in “Thailand”
In anticipation of the Golden Week holiday stretch, Trip.com, one of China’s leading travel service providers, noted a phenomenal surge in Chinese travelers venturing abroad. This rush significantly raises the bar previously set before the COVID-19 pandemic clamped down global travel, marking the most massive exodus from China seen in recent years. Interestingly, despite experiencing a slowdown of their domestic economy, Chinese travelers remain buoyant and optimistic. The travel trends highlighted by Trip.com reveal that the United Kingdom and South Korea top the list of international destinations preferred by Chinese tourists, along with Thailand, Singapore, and Australia. These destinations registered a remarkable increase in bookings, escalating up to 20 times in comparison to the previous Golden Week in 2022. The Golden Week holiday buzz is perfectly timed with the vibrant Mid-Autumn Festival and China’s National Day, making it an ideal period for Chinese nationals to embark on their travel adventures.…
Experiencing a revival after a three-year slump due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Suvarnabhumi Airport and its director, Kittipong Kittikachorn, are now eagerly looking towards progress and growth. As the fiscal year 2023 approached to its end, the airport recorded an impressive leap in its operational performance, handling more than a quarter of a million flights, a 59.4% increase compared to the previous year. This upswing equally reflected on passenger numbers, catapulting them by a staggering 153.4% to hit 44.40 million. Stepping into its 18th year of seamless operations, Suvarnabhumi Airport has embarked on multiple expansion plans to leverage this upward trend. A key component of this growth strategy is the newly launched Secondary Terminal Building 1 (SAT-1), which made its debut recently amidst a soft opening ceremony marked by much fanfare. To be officially inaugurated by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin himself, the terminal is expected to increase the airport’s exit…
Initiating conversations with the tripartite-team inclusive of representatives from both the employee and employer side as well as the government is deemed as a crucial step. The primary focus of these discussions would be to explore crucial factors like current inflation rates, various industry wages, the minimum wage per province, and the cumulative national inflation rate. The outcome is anticipated to be declared by the time November concludes. A priority for the governing body is to enhance the minimum per day wage, which they plan on instating from the start of the new year. They aim to stimulate the sluggish Thai economy through this initiative, focusing on challenges like surging living costs and prevailing inflation that serve as conundrums for laborers and employers alike. Interestingly, the proposed wage increase is not limited to Thai employees alone, but is also extending its purview to immigrant labor. The primary objective is to…
Decade after decade, India, Vietnam, and Thailand have held strong as the dominant forces in the world’s rice exportation market, amassing an incredible 72% of global market share. However, according to prominent International Rice Consultation (IRC) consultant and Associate Professor Aat Pisanwanich, the tides are changing in the agricultural world. “Now, the battleground has diversified with the emergence of several significant players. Countries such as Pakistan, Myanmar, United States, China, Cambodia, Uruguay, and even South American powerhouse Brazil have entered the rice export game, chiseling away at the market share of the once formidable trio to 65%,” said Pisanwanich. In the midst of this shifting terrain, India has managed to hold its top spot, retaining substantial influence with a 37% market share. Meanwhile, old titans Thailand and Vietnam are caught in a fierce contest for the second spot, each hovering around a 14% share of the global market. In a…
Receiving fuel from the monsoon trough spanning the lower region of Northern Thailand, upper areas of Central, and the northeast, a deluge of rain was unleashed, as reported by the Thailand Meteorological Department. Rough weather conditions took their toll on the well-frequented tourist locale of Chiang Mai. Persistent cloudbursts since the eve brought about flash floods and water runoffs in numerous zones, including the celebrated attractions of Doi Inthanon and Wachirathan Waterfall situated in the Chom Thong district. In a preventive move on Friday, the management of Doi Inthanon National Park issued a ban on swimming activities at the waterfalls and sent a stern warning to inhabitants of neighbouring villages to stay alert about possible overflows occurring from nearby creeks flowing into the waterfall. Lampang province’s Muang district, located in the city centre, was not spared; it was swamped by floods as a result of the heavy rains early Friday.…
Today, updated information has been revealed concerning a prominent case pursued by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI). The case involves a notorious university student turning a profit by disseminating explicit child content via the Line platform. Prices for the illicit material were set between 150 and 500 baht (US$4 to US$14), and the target demographic was minors less than 18 years old. The DSI’s Technology and Information Case Department initiated the investigation yesterday. The accused student under investigation was discovered to be selling explicit child content via the Line platform. His arrest follows an operation carried out in mid-August, when the Child Sexual Exploitation Crime Center (CSECC), under the leadership of Deputy Director of the Technology and Information Case Department, Yotsan Rungsrangamsiri, arrested a 19-year-old male student from a university in Pathum Thani. The young man was caught red-handed with an enormous cache of explicit child content, exceeding 5,000…
In an unfortunate turn of events, a 37-year-old glamorous model and her personal secretary found themselves on the wrong side of the law, having been handed a two-month and 40-day detention sentence, in that order. They were aspersed in a shadowy share trading plot that led to financial ruin for ten individuals who later sought legal redress. Despite the initial court ruling of dismissing the charges, the victims remained unwavered and challenged the decision. The appellate court deliberated and revised the ruling, landing Emmy Maxim’s popular model, Amonwan, with a ten-year and eight-month sentence, and her personal secretary, Jariya, with a sentence of 84 months and 40 days. What’s more, the ruling also ordered them to recompense the victims. Although Amonwan and Jariya sought to have their sentences overturned, their pleas fell on deaf ears. However, they were granted bail pending the conclusion of their cases. Amonwan, whose fame as…
Yesterday under the cloak of the setting sun, precisely at 5pm, an illicit game den tucked deep into the belly of busy Kriangkrai Market which operates in Rom Klao was invaded by a dedicated operation unit from the Department of Provincial Administration (DPA). This gambling hub, notorious for flying under the radar for not less than sixty days, had its operations conclusively interrupted following this crackdown. In the process, law enforcement officers made an impressive haul of about 50 gamblers and 17 gambling administrators who were caught in their unlawful activities. The reverberations from this sudden crackdown had immediate implications, sending shockwaves far and wide, reaching the top tiers of law enforcement in the Rom Klao Police Station. A swift administrative action saw the leading five officers, who were charged with managing law and order in the area where these behind-the-scenes activities were occurring, promptly allocated new duties. With an…
The top official of Bangkok, Governor Chadchart Sittipunt, has issued a warning to residents living around the Chao Phraya River: brace yourselves for heightened water levels due to an unexpected storm surge predicted to happen at around seven in the evening. At the prime age of 57, the city chief unveiled this critical information at the Bangkok City Hall and outlined that the seawater volume has surprisingly transcended its predicted thresholds, resulting in a sea-level spike of 30% on the 28th of October. This unexpected surge led the waters of the Chao Phraya River to swell, causing a minor overflow into regions adjacent to the river embankments, notably affecting the Dusit district. The sheer amount of seawater volume flooding in was not foreseen, thus communities situated along the Bangkok riverbanks, as well as those near the Chao Phraya River’s mouth in the province of Samut Prakan, are advised to remain…