THAI.NEWS - Thailand Breaking News

The monsoon has RSVP’d, and it brought a dramatic entrance. A broad rain system is sweeping across Thailand, drenching coasts and inland provinces alike and churning up choppy seas. The Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) is sounding the alarm: expect heavy to very heavy downpours, flash floods, and swelled waterways — especially along foothills, riverbanks and other low-lying spots. If you live in (or are headed to) Rayong, Chanthaburi, Trat or even Bangkok, prepare for soggy streets and sudden puddles that mean business. At sea, conditions are anything but placid. The upper Andaman Sea and the upper Gulf of Thailand are forecast to throw up 2-metre waves, with surf rising even higher during thunderstorms. The lower Andaman will see 1–2 metre swells that can climb above 2 metres when storms brew. The TMD has urged all vessels — from rusty fishing boats to pleasure cruisers — to avoid thunder-prone zones and…

Hat Yai woke to heartbreak after a frantic overnight search ended in tragedy for a family who spent hours chasing a shadow. The missing child — a young boy affectionately known as Nong Inter — was found dead in the U-Tapao canal on the morning of September 18, just a day after he disappeared from a car repair shop where his father was working. The boy vanished on Wednesday afternoon, September 17, from Ball Turbo car repair on Sakornmongkol 2 Road in Hat Yai District 8. Witnesses say he had been playing near the shop in a camouflage shirt and maroon shorts, happily occupied with a basket while his father tended to a motorcycle. What began as an ordinary afternoon collapsed into a community-wide search when Inter did not return. His mother took to a local Facebook community group as anxiety turned to panic, posting a simple, heartbreaking plea: “Please…

How Quick-Thinking Bank Staff and a Nosey Note Foiled a 1 Million Baht Scam in Chachoengsao What began as a routine trip to the bank for a 71-year-old pensioner turned into a high-stakes drama worthy of a midday soap — except this time the heroes were the bank tellers. On the afternoon of September 18, officers from Chachoengsao City Police Station, led by Police Lieutenant Colonel Ekkapop Sakulsayamphu, were called to Krungthai Bank’s Provincial Hall branch after alert staff flagged a suspicious withdrawal pattern that nearly cost an elderly man 1 million baht. The two main players were identified as 57-year-old Tor from Sisaket and 71-year-old Samak from Tha Takiap. According to bank staff, the pair had earlier visited the Tha Takiap branch to request a replacement passbook — Tor explained that the original had been lost. With the fresh passbook in hand, the duo set off on what became…

Thailand’s skies have sent a firm RSVP: expect rain, drama and the occasional thunderous drumroll. The Meteorological Department (TMD) has issued a broad warning after spotting a monsoon trough stretching through the central, eastern and lower northeastern regions that connects to an active low‑pressure system over the South China Sea. Add a beefed‑up southwest monsoon over the Andaman Sea, the South and the Gulf of Thailand, and you’ve got the recipe for widespread heavy showers — some of them sudden and spectacular. In plain speak: scattered thundershowers will pop up across the country, and certain patches — including Bangkok and its suburbs — could see very heavy downpours. The TMD is asking people who live near foothills, waterways and low‑lying areas to prepare for flash floods and runoff. In short: don’t be cavalier about puddles that look deeper than they are. Mariners, listen up: seas will be noisy. The upper…

Thailand is turning up the heat on the global food scene with a bold new contest: a national curry rice championship designed to crown the country’s top Khao Gaeng chefs and elevate Thai “curry rice” to an iconic status alongside world-famous dishes. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), working with the Thai Restaurant Association and a stable of partners, has launched the campaign to showcase Khao Gaeng — the beloved, no-fuss rice-and-curry plate found in every neighborhood — as a signature of Thai culinary culture. TAT Governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool framed the campaign with confident flair: “Just as Nasi Lemak represents Malaysia, and Laksa or Hainanese chicken rice represent Singapore, Khao Gaeng is a quintessential part of Thai food culture.” It’s a simple observation with big ambition. The goal is to take a dish that’s been feeding locals and delighting travelers for generations and give it a polished global spotlight. Accessible,…

Shopee turned its 10th anniversary 9.9 sale into an all-out e-commerce carnival, smashing records and proving that Thai shoppers love a good deal — and they mean business. According to Kongkrit Lawlertratana, head of marketing commercial at Shopee Thailand, more than one million orders were placed within the first 30 minutes after the September 9 launch. That’s not a warmup; that’s a rocket launch. “The 9.9 campaign highlighted the seamless connections between buyers, sellers and creators through Shopee Live, Shopee Video and the Shopee Affiliate Programme,” Kongkrit said — and the numbers back him up. This year the platform leaned heavily into interactive content and creator-fueled promotion, turning browsers into buyers at an astonishing pace. Shopee Live emerged as the event’s powerhouse. Sellers used real-time demos, flash promos and playful host energy to turn viewers into instant purchasers. One local seller recorded a 29-fold increase in sales during the campaign,…

Late on the night of September 18, what should have been a brief and joyful arrival in Phuket turned into a family nightmare on Patong Beach. Fifty-three-year-old Laurent Simon, who had flown in just a day earlier with his brother, sister and brother-in-law for a seaside visit, drowned after being swept out by powerful monsoon currents during a late-night swim — despite red warning flags lining the shore. According to Patong Police, the group entered the water at about 2:30 a.m. behind the Tourist Police office, north of Bangla Road. Lifeguards and police later confirmed that red flags were posted along the beach at the time, a clear signal that conditions were hazardous. But in the hush of the night, when the ocean’s roar can feel both inviting and deceitful, the family waded into surf that had already been judged unsafe. When the fierce currents took hold, Laurent’s sister, Francoise,…

Asia’s Hidden Gems Are Having Their Moment — and Agoda Is Handing Out Maps Forget the postcard-perfect crowds. This year, travellers are steering their compasses away from the usual suspects and discovering Asia’s quieter, quirkier corners. Agoda’s latest data shows a clear pivot: accommodation searches for secondary destinations across the region are growing 15% faster than searches for traditional tourist hubs compared with the same period last year. That’s not a trickle — it’s a tide of curiosity sweeping beyond capitals and beach resorts into provincial towns, rice-terraced valleys and coastal villages where local life still hums at its own pace. It’s a shift you can spot from Bangkok’s backroads to Japan’s obscure island hamlets. The trend is particularly prominent in Thailand, India, Indonesia, Japan and Malaysia — countries whose tourism ministries are busy rolling out invitations to look beyond their headline cities. In Thailand, for example, the government has…

What do you get when you swap a four-figure lottery habit for a humble 200‑baht whim? For 53‑year‑old Samruay Phangkonrak of Phra Thong Kham in Nakhon Ratchasima, the answer was two golden tickets and a life-changing 12 million baht windfall. The Government Lottery Office confirmed the jackpot-winning first prize number for the September 16 draw as 074646. Other notable results were front three-digit numbers 740 and 512, back three-digit numbers 308 and 703, and the two-digit prize 58. But for Samruay, the only number that mattered was 074646 — twice over. Photo courtesy of KhaoSod Samruay, a regular lottery player who usually spends about 2,000 baht per draw, decided to cut his spending to just 200 baht for this round. The tiny budget tweak paid off spectacularly: he bought two tickets that matched the first prize and each ticket was worth 6 million baht. “This is my first time winning,…