The scandal at Bangkok Remand Prison has widened into a web of allegations, dismissals and urgent investigations that read like a grim crime drama — except it involves real people, real power and a fair amount of shame on public display. Justice Minister Pol. Lt. Gen. Rutthapon Naowarat confirmed that four senior prison officials have been dismissed for serious disciplinary violations connected to preferential treatment given to certain inmates. Another 14 staff members remain under investigation, leaving the Department of Corrections scrambling to answer hard questions about who knew what, when, and why. The four dismissed include the former director of inmate supervision and three officers who, according to ministry findings, were aware of misconduct but failed to act. All four were among 20 staffers who had earlier been transferred from Bangkok Remand Prison while a committee under the Ministry of Justice conducted a full probe. The inquiry’s goal is…
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Hat Yai’s mayor, Narongporn Na Phatthalung, has publicly apologised for the city’s response to the recent, fast-moving floods — a rare, candid admission that the scale and speed of the disaster simply outpaced official expectations. Speaking on the “Kammakorn Khao” programme on Friday, November 28, Mayor Narongporn called the incident a collective misjudgement and outlined the immediate recovery priorities: clean-up, road re-openings, and getting aid to every affected household. What unfolded in Hat Yai and neighbouring Nammom was not the usual slow-rise flood many had prepared for. Officials say the area was hit by a “rain boom”: six hours of continuous, intense rainfall that dumped more than 300 millimetres of water across parts of the city — far faster and harder than previous events. The city’s original assessment had expected runoff from Sadao to reach Hat Yai, and believed it would arrive from the same direction as in past floods.…
Udon Thani’s Klao Chan community in Mueang district was rocked by a violent late-night confrontation that left a 37-year-old man fighting for his life and three teenagers behind bars. The victim, identified as Porntep, suffered two stab wounds to his back and staggered to a nearby hotel to seek help before being rushed to hospital in critical condition. How the case unfolded Police say the break in the case came from the kind of modern detective work that blends old-fashioned witness interviews with digital eyes on the street. Investigators from Udon Thani’s inquiry unit reviewed CCTV footage from the area and spoke with witnesses; within hours they had identified three suspects — all 17 years old — and made arrests. A knife believed to be the weapon used in the attack was recovered, and the suspects reportedly confessed to their involvement when questioned. Authorities have also summoned the teenagers’ parents…
When a family portrait goes viral, it’s usually because someone staged a perfect holiday shot — not because the sitter happens to be a former prime minister behind prison bars. Yet that’s exactly what happened when a crisp, A4-sized colour print of Thaksin Shinawatra posing with his children and extended family circulated online on Thursday, November 27. The photograph ignited a fresh round of debate: one camp called it a touching moment of familial warmth; another questioned prison security and protocol. Welcome to the curious intersection of politics, rehabilitation and Instagram-ready souvenir photos. The Corrections Department’s answer: “It’s our Family Photo Project” The Corrections Department swiftly moved to defend the image, explaining it was snapped as part of a long-running “Family Photo Project” aimed at strengthening emotional ties and supporting inmates’ rehabilitation. According to the department’s statement released November 28, the initiative isn’t new — it has been in operation…
Grab an extra blanket and a thermos of something warm — Thailand is feeling the chill. The Thailand Meteorological Department (TMD) has issued its 24-hour outlook for November 29–30, 2025: a reinforcing high-pressure system is sweeping cold air across the upper North and parts of the South, ushering in decidedly colder temperatures, brisk winds and some weather drama along the coasts. What’s happening and why it matters A dome of high pressure over the region is shoving cooler air southward, which means the North and Northeast will feel the sharpest drop — with some mountain tops flirting with frost. Meanwhile, the northeast monsoon continues to rattle the Gulf of Thailand, the Andaman Sea and the South’s coastal strips, bringing blustery conditions and localized heavy showers. Mariners take note: waves are forecast to rise to around two metres in places and exceed that where thunderstorms brew. Inland, authorities remind residents to…
Travel changes you. It stretches your imagination, wakes up your senses, and hands you a stack of stories you’ll tell forever. Some places flicker through your memory like a passing comet; others sink into you like pages from a beloved book. Here are nine cities that don’t just make an impression—they carve out a corner of your heart. From the neon pulse of Tokyo to the sun-soaked vineyards near Cape Town, each one deserves a place on your “visit at least once” list. Tokyo, Japan Tokyo is a thrilling contradiction: shrines and silence side-by-side with flashing billboards and the world’s most punctual trains. Imagine slurping ramen that tastes like a culinary poem, then stepping into a centuries-old temple where time seems to slow. The city’s efficient transit system will take you from overflowing fish markets to calming gardens in under an hour—an elegant dance of chaos and calm that lingers…
The Prime Minister’s Office got an awkward dose of live journalism yesterday, November 27, when Paradon Prissanananthakul — the minister who also leads the Emergency Flood Crisis Operations Centre — abruptly ended a press briefing after declining to answer a pointed question about whether sluggish government response had worsened losses from the devastating southern floods. Paradon had been giving the expected updates from Hat Yai district, Songkhla, where floodwaters have wreaked havoc on homes, businesses and the daily lives of thousands. In a sympathetic note, he announced that the Ministry of Higher Education has postponed university exams nationwide — a recognition that many students are grappling with anxiety and family crises caused by the disaster. He also outlined the logistics of the nationwide relief effort. A central donation hub has been set up at the Royal Thai Air Force Museum in Don Mueang, and donated goods will be ferried south…
The Hat Yai floods produced scenes of desperation and heartbreak this week, and among the most painful was the loss of four‑year‑old Amidala “Padme” Arayawat. The little girl’s body was recovered on November 27 — two days after she vanished from a rescue boat during a chaotic evacuation in the rising waters near Bangkok Hospital Hat Yai. The family’s ordeal began when floodwaters surged up Banja Road, swallowing streets and rising almost to the second floor of their home. Padme, her brother and their mother found themselves trapped as currents grew stronger by the hour. With rescuers unable to reach them immediately, Padme’s mother posted an urgent plea on social media, explaining she planned to swim to a neighbour’s higher ground if no help arrived. A rescue team eventually did reach them and loaded the family into a boat. But the river‑like currents in the flooded streets proved treacherous. As…
Surat Thani immigration officers uncovered what they say was a carefully staged attempt to hide foreign ownership of a Koh Samui nightlife venue, leading to a formal complaint lodged on November 26 at Bo Phut Police Station. At the centre of the probe is 60-year-old British national Maxine Lisa Schwander and two Thai women named Ladda and Jirichuda, who investigators allege acted as nominee shareholders to mask outside control of a bar near Chaweng Beach. The venue, known as Sin by Night, reportedly offered dance shows and allowed customers to book specific performers — a familiar draw on the island’s bustling entertainment strip. But according to immigration officers, the bright lights and late-night crowds were hiding a breach of the Foreign Business Act: Schwander is accused of using Thai nationals as front shareholders so she could run the business despite restrictions on foreign ownership. Under Thailand’s Foreign Business Act, the…
Thai narcotics agents pulled off a cross-border sting that reads like a modern crime thriller — only this time the plot unfolded amid cardboard boxes, postal counters and luxury condominiums. In a coordinated crackdown, officers from the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) and the Airport Interdiction Task Force (AITF) dismantled a trafficking network that had been using cleverly concealed parcels to ship heroin from Bangkok to Australia. Suspicious parcel at Suvarnabhumi sparks fast-moving probe The operation began where many international schemes do: at the airport. AITF officers inspecting outbound parcels at the Suvarnabhumi Airport Free Zone noticed something odd about one cardboard box bound for Australia. When they opened it, they found a hidden compartment — and inside, 1.52 kilogrammes of heroin. That single seizure triggered an immediate investigation aimed at finding who had packaged and shipped the drugs. What followed was a rapid series of arrests and…