Thailand’s parliamenthas chosen Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the 37-year-old daughter of billionaire and former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, as the country’s new prime minister.
Paetongtarn will be the youngest person ever to hold the office and the second woman to do so, following her aunt, Yingluck Shinawatra.
Her appointment follows the dismissal of former PM Srettha Thavisin by a constitutional court just two days earlier. Both Paetongtarn and Thavisin are from the Pheu Thai Party, which, despite finishing second in the 2023 elections, managed to form a ruling coalition.
Paetongtarn now faces the challenge of rejuvenating Thailand’s stagnant economy while navigating the political instability that has seen four previous administrations from her party ousted through military coups and judicial actions.
“I really hope that I can make people feel confident that we can build opportunities and to improve the qualify of life and to empower all Thais,” Ms Paetongtarn told reporters after the vote on Friday. She was visibly overwhelmed, syaing her hands were trembling from excitement.
She acknowledged that she is “neither the best, nor the most talented one in the room”. “But I always think I have a strong will and I have a good team… My team is strong, experienced, determined and we share the same ideas. That’s something I value highly,” she said.
Ms Paetongtarn, who received 319 endorsement and 145 against votes, is the fourth member of the Shinawatra clan to become prime minister in the past two decades. The other three, including her father Thaksin and aunt Yingluck, were deposed by military coups or constitutional court rulings. The same court dismissed Mr Thavisin on Wednesday for appointing to his cabinet a former lawyer who was once jailed.
On Friday, Ms Paetongtarn said she was “confused” and “very sad” to learn about Mr Srettha’s dismissal. She decided it was “about time to do something for the party and for the country” after speaking to him and to her family, she said.
She mentioned that her father, Mr. Thaksin, called her to offer encouragement, urging her to “do your best” and expressing his happiness at being able to witness her take on the role in his later years.
Educated at prestigious institutions in Thailand and the UK, Paetongtarn Shinawatra worked for the Shinawatra family’s Rende hotel group, where her husband is the deputy chief investment officer. She joined the Pheu Thai Party in 2021 and became its leader in October 2023.
Her appointment infuses new energy into Thailand’s leadership. The Pheu Thai Party may be hopeful that her leadership will revitalize its political standing.
He returned to Thailand in October of the previous year, just before Mr. Srettha was elected as prime minister. His return was part of a major political deal with his former conservative opponents, who now form a coalition with Pheu Thai.
Thailand might be the first country in South East Asia to make it possible for same-sex couples to get married.
“Nearly all of the 400 House of Representatives members agreed on a bill to legalize same-sex marriages, also known as gay marriages, on Wednesday. ”
Only 15 lawmakers who were there to vote did not support it. When the result was announced, the clapping and waving of Pride flags made it hard to hear them.
“This is the start of fairness,” said Danuphorn Punnakanta, a member of parliament and leader of the group working on the law for equal marriage.
‘This law aims to give back the rights to this group of people, not to give them new rights. ‘
The bill needs to be approved by the Senate and the Thai king Vajiralongkorn before it can become a law. It would then be the law after 60 days.
The media reported that gay police officer Phisit Sirihirunchai said he is happy and already looking forward to the thing happening.
‘I am getting closer to seeing my dreams come true. ‘
It has rules against treating people differently because of their gender identity or sexual orientation, which makes it one of the most welcoming countries in Asia for LGBT+ people.
In 2019 and 2023, Taiwan and Nepal became the only Asian countries to make same-sex marriage legal.
Last year, a survey by the government in Thailand found that over 96% of people supported same-sex marriage.
But it has taken many years of trying and not succeeding to get this bill close to being passed.
The new law says that marriage is a partnership between two people, not just between a man and a woman.
In addition to showing support after many years of trying, it would actually make a big difference in the everyday lives of LGBT+ couples.
It would make sure that both partners have the same rights for taxes, inheritance, and making medical decisions for their partner if they can’t do it themselves.
The law would let married gay couples adopt kids.
However, it continues to use the words “fathers and mothers” instead of the word “parents” which was suggested by the marriage equality committee.
Today, everyone is treated the same. Tunyawaj Kamolwongwat said it’s a special day for the Thai parliament because they’re fighting for the rights of LGBTQI+ people.
The politician from the Move Forward party has been working for ten years to make sure that everyone, including gay people, can get married.
Efforts to make same-sex marriage legal have not worked in the past, but Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has been a strong supporter since starting as the leader in September.
In December, the lower house approved four possible laws about marriage being equal for everyone.
It approved a mix of these on Wednesday.
Thailand could become the 38th country to allow gay marriage if the bill is approved by the royal family.
Estonia is the first country that used to be part of the Soviet Union to have marriage equality, which means that people of any gender can legally get married.
Greece’s government agreed to allow gay marriage. This makes it the first mainly Christian Orthodox country to do this.
Nepal had its first same-sex marriage in November after the Supreme Court made a temporary decision.
Other countries are going in the opposite way on LGBT+ rights.
Uganda made it legal to punish people with death if they are attracted to the same sex in 2023.
Gay sex is against the law in 65 countries. In 12 places, you can be killed for doing this.
Thailand’s former Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, convicted of corruption and abuse of power, has been released on parole and returned to his mansion in Bangkok.
The billionaire, aged 74, was freed from a police hospital where he had been serving a one-year sentence. He had been detained upon his return to Thailand in August after 15 years in self-imposed exile but did not spend a night in jail due to health complaints.
Originally sentenced to eight years, his term was reduced to one by the king shortly after his return, sparking criticism over preferential treatment for the wealthy and powerful.
Thailand’s Move Forward Party, which won the majority of seats in the last election but was blocked from forming a government, called for equal treatment under the law.
Questions have been raised about Thaksin’s health, with Senator Somchai Swangkarn questioning the need for parole.
Thaksin, a polarizing figure, was seen leaving the police hospital, greeted with well wishes on social media. He is eligible for parole due to age and health reasons, though conditions of his release were not disclosed.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin stated readiness to listen to Thaksin’s political advice but has no immediate plans to meet him.
Thaksin, ousted by a coup in 2006, spent years in exile in London and Dubai. His family’s Pheu Thai party currently holds power in Thailand.
While reviled by Bangkok’s elite, he remains popular among rural Thais for his populist policies. Thaksin made history as Thailand’s first elected PM to serve a full term from 2001-2006.
Shanghaman Gowribalan, 24 years old, was kayaking with his friends at the Rajjaprabha Dam in southern Thailand starting at 09:00 on Sunday 11 February.
They think the hiker from Swansea fell into the deepest part of the reservoir, which was about 500m (1,640 ft) from where he was staying.
Thai rescue teams and scuba divers looked for him for three days and then they found his body.
Thailand’s political leader will be back as a member of parliament after winning a trial. His supporters believe the trial was meant to stop him from being a politician.
Pita Limjaroenrat, who went to Harvard, and his party Move Forward, won the most votes in a big election last year.
However, he was not able to lead because the Senate, which was not elected by the people, stopped him.
The charming young leader was seen as a problem for the government because he said he would change the strict insult laws and reduce the power of the military.
After winning the election, he was trying to form a government with others, but then he got sued two times. His followers thought that this was part of a bigger plan by conservative politicians to remove him from politics and make his party’s ideas look bad.
On Wednesday, he was found not guilty in the first case, but he has another more serious legal problem next week.
The Constitutional Court will make a decision about whether his plan to change Thailand’s strict lese majeste law was an attempt to overthrow the government with the king as the leader.
A decision saying that Move Forward did something against the rules could make it shut down, and its leaders could be told they can’t be in politics anymore.
In 2019, the court ended Move Forward’s old form called Future Forward because it did well in an election. The decision caused many people to have protests on the streets and to say things that were not said before about the king and queen.
On Wednesday, Pita’s fans cheered outside the Constitutional Court after hearing that he had won his case. They chanted “PM Pita” to celebrate his victory.
Luksikarn Tangchotithanavid, 40, said that Pita told us to live with hope.
“Our generation can understand the law when we read it. ” We understand what it says and how to do it. By the law, he should not be kicked out in this situation.
Mr Pita was found not guilty of breaking election laws by owning shares in a media company while running in last year’s election.
He was told he could not be an MP anymore last July because of the accusations. He was also not allowed to go to parliament, so he had to quit leading his party.
He says he got the shares from his dad, but the company wasn’t running for a long time before he became a politician. Most of the judges agreed with him when they made their decision on Wednesday.
“Keeping the stocks was not against the law. ” The judge said that the court decided he is still a member of parliament.
Before the decision was made, Mr. Pita also spoke to the reporters and said he will continue to push for the changes his party had said they would make.
In addition to changing the lese majeste law, they also want to stop big companies from having too much power and reduce the military’s role in politics and business. This platform was very popular in the 2023 election. It helped Move Forward win 151 out of the 500 seats in parliament, more than any other party.
He said on Wednesday before the decision that he will keep working for the people no matter what happens. “This court case is just a temporary change of plans. ” No matter the decision, we will keep on fighting.
Under the rule of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, Thailand has been using lese majeste laws more to quiet people who criticize the government. Over 260 people have been accused of breaking the law since November 2020.
A 30-year-old man was given a 50-year jail sentence for making comments that were found to have insulted the Thai king. This was the harshest punishment ever given under the country’s strict lese majeste laws.
The factory in Suphan Buri province, near Bangkok, appears to have been destroyed in the pictures from the scene.
Thai PBS news said that an explosion happened around 3:30pm in a village in Suan Taeng.
The news source said that the injured people were brought to Chao Phraya Yommarat Hospital, and the firefighters have now brought the fire under control.
Kritsada Manee-In, a worker at the Samerkun Suphan Buri Rescue Foundation, said earlier that 15 to 17 people had died.
Channel 7 News said that 30 workers were in the factory. People nearby said they could hear the explosion from far away.
The explosion happened just before Chinese New Year, when people want to buy lots of fireworks in East and South-East Asia.
The head of the national police, Torsak Sukvimol, said that there was another explosion at the factory in November 2022, where one person died and three others were hurt.
We don’t know what caused today’s incident yet, so we are starting an investigation to find out.
Mr Sukvimol said they will take legal action if anyone does something wrong.
In July, a fireworks warehouse in southern Thailand exploded. At least 10 people died and 100 were hurt.
The leader of the province thinks that the problem happened because of sparks from welding work during construction in the building.
The Thai Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation says about 100 houses within a 1,640ft area were damaged.
Thailand eliminated visas for Chinese citizens in September in a bid to increase tourist arrivals.
The show attracted strong reaction at a time when Thailand was starting to lose its appeal to Chinese tourists.
Authorities said more than 22,000 Chinese people entered the Southeast Asian country in the first two days of the exemption. “Currently, we are ready to open the country and take care of tourists from both countries together.
This is good news,” Srettha said at a press conference on Tuesday. “This is an improvement in relations [between Thailand and China and strengthens the importance of the Thai passport,” he said.
Chinese are the second largest group of foreign tourists to Thailand, after Malaysians.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand said in November that it expected to welcome up to 3. 5 million Chinese visitors in all of 2023, still short of its target of 4 million.
The number is less than half of the roughly 11 million Chinese tourists who visited in 2019, but still represents a marked improvement over 2022, when just 270,000 of them were welcomed pick up.
The lack of cheap flights in the post-Covid era and the slowdown in the Chinese economy are among the reasons why tourists are hesitant to visit Thailand.
But some have also raised security concerns after rumors emerged that tourists were being kidnapped and taken across the border to work at scam centers in Myanmar or Cambodia.
Tourists are also worried after a shooting at Bangkok’s most famous shopping mall left a Chinese mother of two dead last October.
The tourism agency has set a target of welcoming 8. 2 million Chinese tourists by 2024.
China has also waived visa requirements to attract tourists.
Last November, it announced a trial visa exemption for visitors from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia.
The program starts in December and will last until the end of November this year.
In a harrowing incident in Thailand, a dispute over a parking space took a fatal turn, leading to the brutal murder of a couple by their frustrated neighbor.
The victims, Michael Nixon and his partner Anurak, had just wrapped up a gathering with friends at their home when the horrifying events unfolded on Thursday, December 14.
The alleged assailant, Kachornsak Panyadee, reportedly became increasingly agitated with the couple’s guests obstructing the entrance to his house. Seizing an opportunity, Panyadee patiently waited until the visitors departed before entering the victims’ residence armed with a knife.
According to a Mail Online report, the assailant first attacked Anurak as she answered the door and then directed his violence towards Michael, who rushed to assist his terrified partner. Local Police Lieutenant Colonel Chaiwanich Khamlamool reported receiving a distressing call about the stabbing and promptly responded to the scene, where Panyadee surrendered.
Details from the police investigation revealed that Michael suffered two stab wounds to the chest and another to his torso, while Anurak was stabbed in the abdomen.
Anurak’s 18-year-old daughter, Parichat Longsokchueak, shared that her mother had frequently quarreled with the neighbor, particularly over parking issues.
“I don’t live with my parents, but I know my mom often argued with the neighbor regarding the parking. The perpetrator may have been dissatisfied with my family for blocking the parking space. My mother also tends to speak loudly, so that may also be a reason for his actions,” Parichat revealed.
Police Panyadee and the couple had regular arguments about the parking area, according to preliminary investigations conducted by Colonel Preecha Kengsarikij, deputy commander of the Khon Kaen Provincial Police.
In relation to this tragic incident, Panyadee is scheduled to face murder charges after she admitted to stabbing the husband and wife.
A female politician from Thailand was given a six-year prison sentence for breaking strict laws about criticizing the royal family. She has been let out of jail after paying bail.
Rukchanok “Ice” Srinork was blamed for posting tweets that said bad things about the king. She said she did not do it.
The Move Forward party won the election and wants to change the lese-majeste laws.
However, the senate, which is not voted into their positions, used this as the main reason for stopping the party from forming a government.
People were upset about the lese-majeste laws, which led to big protests in 2020 that went on for many months. Thai Lawyers for Human Rights say that about 260 people have been charged with breaking the lese-majeste law since 2020. Around 2,000 people have been charged with breaking the law for taking part in the protests.
Earlier this week, a 26 year-old man was sent to prison for yelling at a royal motorcade about something he thinks is a problem for society. He is out of jail after paying some money.
Ice from the Move Forward party was found guilty by a Bangkok court on Wednesday for making two posts that insulted the monarch. In one post, she criticized how the country dealt with the pandemic, and in the other post, she shared a tweet that was critical of the monarchy.
The 28-year-old will not be able to keep her job if she goes to jail.
She won a big election in May even though the area usually voted for a powerful family. She didn’t spend a lot of money, but just rode a bike and still won.
She was called “giant-killer” by a Thai news outlet because she won against a very powerful politician.
Many important people in the Move Forward party are also accused of insulting the monarchy. Some of them were activists in the 2020 protests.
The protests started because of a court decision in February 2020 that shut down Future Forward, the old version of Move Forward party. It was the first party to campaign for big changes in Thailand’s institutions.
Future Forward did really well in the 2019 election because a lot of younger voters were really excited about them. This year, Move Forward surprised Thailand’s leaders by doing really well and winning more seats than any other party. Ice’s victory in Bang Bon played a big part in their success.
After King Vajiralongkorn became king in 2016, the lese-majeste law was not used for about two years because the king asked for it.
However, when the protesters in 2020 demanded changes to the royal family, the authorities began to use the law more strictly than ever before in Thailand’s history.
The lese-majeste law is very broad, so it’s hard to defend against it in court.
It is a law that deals with keeping the country safe, and judges don’t often declare defendants as not guilty. Trials are sometimes held in secret, without anyone else watching. Defendants are strongly pressured to admit they are guilty, even if they have a strong case. If they admit guilt, they are likely to get a shorter sentence from the judge.
Legal cases in Thailand usually last for a long time, and the young activists involved in the 2020 protests will have to spend a lot of time in court dealing with serious charges. This will affect their lives for a long time.
This way of making the legal process slow has been very effective at stopping the protest movement. The leaders of the protest are facing many charges and do not have time to plan and organize right now.
Fourteen people in Thailand died when a two-level bus went off the road and hit a tree.
Pictures on the internet show the bus tilted over and its front broken in half, with some parts of the tree stuck in it.
Thirty-two people got hurt in a crash in Prachuap Khiri Khan, a province by the ocean in the south of the country.
Thailand has a lot of car crashes, which cause thousands of deaths each year.
Some people think that this is because the roads in the country are not very safe.
In 2022, 15,000 people died in car accidents in Thailand, according to the Road Accidents Data Centre. In the UK, where there are slightly fewer people, the number is 1,700.
In 2021, almost one out of every three deaths in the country was because of traffic accidents, according to the World Health Organization.
The reason for the crash on Monday night is not known for sure, but the police think the driver might not have gotten enough sleep. AFP told
He was really hurt but he lived. Officials are also testing how much alcohol is in his blood, the news agency reported.
The police are still checking to make sure they know who died in the crash.
Prachuap Khiri Khan is a favorite spot for tourists because of its nice beaches, caves, and walking paths.
Rescuers worked for a long time to help the dead and injured people out of the bus, according to the Sawang Prachuap Dhammasathan Foundation.
Photos on the foundation’s Facebook page showed a lot of people trying to remove the tree that was on top of the bus. Someone broke the car windows with a hammer.
In the past three years, fewer people have died in road accidents. However, Thailand is still one of the top 10 worst countries for road safety.
However, very few people are asking for safety improvements, and the problem hardly ever comes up during elections.
Many people think this is because most of the people who die – more than 70% – are riding motorbikes, and they are usually some of the poorest people in society. Also, most accidents happen on country roads.
Wearing helmets is often not enforced in Thailand, but it is enforced in Vietnam and Indonesia. Alcohol often causes accidents.
The government in Thailand tends to be influenced by the campaigns supported by rich city residents.
The roads in Thailand are in good condition for driving fast, but they are often not well-lit or marked, which can make accidents more likely.
Sometimes, people who speed don’t get punished. The fines are not very high and are sometimes not even paid.
It doesn’t happen very often that Thai drivers lose their driving privileges.
Parnpree, who is also the foreign minister of Thailand, will come to Israel in under three hours.
While in Israel, he will visit three people from Thailand who were hurt in the Hamas attack on October 7. They are in the hospital. The deputy PM will also talk with other Thai workers who are working in Israel, said Thailand’s foreign ministry.
Parnpree and the 17 hostages will return to Bangkok a little after 12 pm on Thursday.
Fifteen people from Thailand are still being kept by Hamas, according to numbers given by Thai officials before.
Thailand’s former PM Thaksin Shinawatra has been jailed upon returning to the country after 15 years in exile.
But many believe he has struck a deal that will keep him from serving more than a short period in prison.
He arrived on Tuesday morning in a private jet, ahead of a vote for the next Thai leader – the frontrunner is from his Pheu Thai party.
He was then sentenced to eight years, on former criminal convictions he says were politically motivated.
Mr Thaksin, Thailand’s most successful elected leader, has long been feared by conservative royalists, who have backed military coups and contentious court cases to weaken him.
But now the brash, politically ambitious telecoms tycoon is back, years after he was deposed by a military coup.
He landed in Bangkok’s main airport to cheers from hundreds of loyal supporters who had gathered overnight to see him.
Flanked by his two daughters and son, he emerged briefly from the airport terminal and paid his respects to a portrait of the king and queen.
The 74-year-old was immediately taken to the Supreme Court where he was sentenced to eight years on three former convictions, and then to Bangkok Remand Prison.
Prison authorities there say he will be kept in a wing with specific medical equipment, given his advanced age. He will also immediately undergo a 10-day quarantine – the first five days of which he will be confined to his room, authorities said.
It has been speculated that Thaksin will seek a royal pardon, and prison authorities on Tuesday said he would be able to submit a petition from jail immediately. The process can take one to two months.
Mr Thaksin greets supporters after arriving in Bangkok
Hundreds of “red shirt” loyal supporters had gathered at Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport on Tuesday morning to welcome the former leader’s return.
Samniang Kongpolparn, 63, had been waiting since Monday evening to see Mr Thaksin. She, like many of the other supporters, had travelled from Surin province in the northeast, the stronghold of Mr Thaksin’s party in past decades.
“He’s the best prime minister we’ve ever had. Even though I won’t get to see him today, I still wanted to come to show him support,” she said. “I’m ok with them reconciling with the pro-military government, or else we’re stuck with the senators. We don’t want that.”
Thaksin’s political party in the front seat
Mr Thaksin’s Pheu Thai party is expected later today to join a coalition government – a byzantine process which in three months has taken Thailand full circle.
It began with the heady hopes of a new dawn led by the radical young Move Forward party, which won the most seats in the May election.
Move Forward initially formed a partnership with Pheu Thai but it’s now certain that the coalition will include almost everyone but the reformers, including two parties led by former coup-makers – a deal with its sworn enemies that Pheu Thai vowed it would not do.
Pheu Thai insists the two developments are unconnected. Few people believe that.
It is true that Pheu Thai’s hands have been tied by the unelected senate, a 250-seat constitutional landmine planted in Thailand’s political landscape by the military junta which ruled for five years after a 2014 coup.
And Pheu Thai’s bargaining position was weakened by its poorer-then-expected performance in the election, when it lost a lot of support to Move Forward and for the first time was relegated to second place.
The senators, all appointed under the junta, are allowed to join the 500 elected MPs in voting for the new prime minister. Their thinly-disguised remit is to block any party which might threaten the status quo – the nexus of monarchy, military and big business which has dominated decision-making in Thailand for decades.
Unsurprisingly they refused to back the Move Forward-led coalition with Pheu Thai, despite its commanding majority in the lower house. When it was Pheu Thai’s turn to negotiate a new coalition, its need for senate support meant it had to take in some of its former opponents.
Many of the supporters had come from the northeast, a Thaksin stronghold
However some Pheu Thai politicians argue that the party should have held out for a better deal, by refusing to be in a government with the most hard-line conservative groups. Any minority administration formed without Pheu Thai and Move Forward would quickly collapse, because the senators cannot join normal parliamentary votes on issues like the budget.
But the Pheu Thai leadership was not willing to wait; it even invited the ultra-royalist party United Thai Nation to join the coalition, whose leaders have in the past been virulently critical of the Shinawatra family and their supporters, and were instrumental in ousting the last Pheu Thai government led by Thaksin’s sister Yingluck. That these two factions will now sit together in the same government is a mark of how far Thai politics has shifted.
In the end for the ultra-royalists the perceived threat posed by Move Forward, and by a younger generation of Thais demanding a conversation about the power and wealth of the monarchy, eclipsed their long feud with the Shinawatra family.
For the Shinawatras, and Pheu Thai’s more conservative, business-minded elements, getting into government again and guaranteeing the deal to bring Thaksin back, have been bigger priorities than worrying about the party’s reputation.
But there are those, even within Pheu Thai, who are horrified by the cynical pragmatism of this deal. They are warning that the party will lose even more of its once-passionate grass-roots supporters, and lose, perhaps forever, the dominance it held over electoral politics in Thailand for two decades.
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Tuesday that he would not run for reelection and would instead leave politics.
Following a May election in which the majority of Thais rejected military-backed governance, the news came two days before the parliament of Thailand was scheduled to vote for a new prime minister.
Since taking over as prime minister in a coup in 2014 while serving as army chief, Prayut, 69, has ruled Thailand. He was elected leader with the support of the senate after his party’s coalition secured the majority of seats in parliament in 2019.
Thai opposition parties swept the board in May’s nationwide election as voters delivered a powerful rebuke of the military-backed establishment that has ruled since the coup, capping years of rising anger over how conservative cliques have governed the kingdom.
The progressive Move Forward Party, which gained a huge following among young Thais for its reformist platform, won the most seats and the largest share of the popular vote.
Pheu Thai, the main opposition party that has been a populist force in Thailand for 20 years, came second.
Prayut was not expected to gain enough support in the lower house to win another term as premier, as his party only won 36 seats in the May election – though the final outcome still remains uncertain.
Prayut will remain as prime minister until the new government is formed.
The former general’s rule as a military coup leader turned prime minister has been marred by growing authoritarianism and widening inequality.
In 2020, young people across the country took to the streets and called for Prayut’s resignation. The mass protests stemmed from failed promises to restore democracy, and what activists say is a repression of civil rights and freedoms.
His government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and economy, nepotism and lack of transparency and accountability, also amplified calls for Prayut to step down.
Thitinan Pongsudhirak, political scientist and director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University, said Prayut’s retirement “represents the defeat of the military regime that has been in power over the past nine years since the coup in 2014,” and could be seen as a “boost to pro-democracy supporters.”
“To many Thais, Prayut’s departure from politics is overdue. He seized power in May 2014, ran a lackluster military government for five years and another rickety elected government since 2019 thanks to a military-arranged constitution,” Thitinan said.
“Thailand has seen signs of economic stagnation, political decay and its lowest international standing ever.”
It could potentially help Move Forward’s leader Pita Limjaroenrat and his chances to form a post-election government, Thitinan added.
Following nearly ten years of unsettling military-backed government, Thailand‘s parliament will vote for a new prime minister on Thursday, a crucial day for the country’s democracy.
When the bicameral National Assembly votes to choose a prime minister, it will be clear whether the ruling elite will support the choice of the vast majority of voters who supported progressive opposition parties in the May election.
Move Forward, a newcomer party, capitalised on years of growing resentment with the kingdom’s administration to win the most seats and the highest share of the popular vote in an unexpected election outcome.
But in a major setback on the eve of the vote, Thailand’s Constitutional Court Wednesday accepted two complaints against the Move Forward Party and its leader Pita Limjaroenrat.
The case is set to be reviewed next week and if it moves to trial, Pita will be suspended from political duty. That outcome will likely add fuel to the fire of his young support base, with the potential for mass street protests.
One of the complaints, forwarded to the court by the Election Commission, accuses Pita of violating election law for allegedly holding shares in a media company and requested he be disqualified. Pita has denied he broke election rules and a statement from Move Forward accused the Election Commission of rushing the case to court.
Move Forward pledged deep structural reforms to how the Southeast Asian country of more than 70 million people is run: changes to the military, the economy, the decentralization of power and even reforms to the previously untouchable monarchy.
Its policies won huge support among the country’s youth who have long felt disaffected by years of authoritarian politics and frustrated with the stuttering economy and tough job market.
The vote, which saw a record turnout, also delivered a powerful rebuke to the military-backed establishment that has ruled Thailand since 2014, when then-army chief Prayut Chan-o-cha seized power in a coup.
Thailand has witnessed a dozen successful coups since 1932, including two in the past 17 years.
Prayut was elected prime minister in 2019, a win largely credited to a military-drafted constitution that entrenched the military’s power in politics.
On Tuesday, Prayut announced his retirement, adding he would remain as prime minister until the new government is formed.
Regardless, he was not expected to gain enough support in the lower house to win another term as prime minister, as his party only won 36 seats in the May election.
Move Forward’s Pita is the main candidate to replace the outgoing Prayut. His supporters say a victory for the 42-year-old Harvard alumni in Thursday’s parliamentary vote would usher in a progressive and democratic new era for Thai politics.
Despite a clear win at the polls for Pita, it remains far from certain who will be Thailand’s next leader.
In Thailand, a party or coalition needs to win a majority of 376 seats in both lower and upper houses of parliament – 750 seats – to elect a prime minister and form a government.
Move Forward’s majority was not big enough to form a government outright, even with a coalition of seven other opposition parties.
To secure victory, the coalition will need support from the unelected 250-member Senate – which was appointed by the military under a post-coup constitution and has previously voted for a pro-military candidate.
That could be a major roadblock in Pita’s path to prime minister.
Thailand’s powerful conservative establishment – a nexus of the military, monarchy and influential elites – has a history of blocking fundamental changes to the status quo.
Move Forward’s proposed structural changes target the heart of this establishment, with priorities to “demilitarize, demonopolize and decentralize” Thailand, Pita recently told CNN.
That includes getting rid of mandatory conscription, reducing the military budget, making the military more transparent and accountable, and reducing the number of generals.
And a key campaign pledge includes radical plans to amend the country’s strict lese majeste laws despite the taboo surrounding any discussion of the royal family in Thailand.
Section 112 of the Criminal Code criminalizes criticism of the King, Queen or heir-apparent and lese majeste convictions carry long prison terms of up to 15 years. Currently, anyone can bring a case, even if they aren’t connected to the alleged crime.
The subject of royal reform is so sensitive that several senators and conservative parties have ruled out voting for Pita for this reason.
“He is not suitable to become a prime minister of Thailand. First, the Move Forward Party has a policy amending and abolishing Section 112, secondly, after the Election Commission has forwarded the case to the court to look into his eligibility, this has proved at a certain level that he is not qualified,” Senator Seri Suwannapanon told CNN.
“The tendency of the senators, they will protect Section 112 and won’t vote for an ineligible person.”
Outside parliament Thursday, Senator Kittisak Rattanawaraha said he wouldn’t vote for Pita, “because they are behind attempts to meddle with independent agencies, military, police and Section 112.”
In recent weeks, Pita has been rallying supporters across the country, with thousands of people gathering in Bangkok on Sunday, despite heavy rain.
He has previously been confident of securing enough parliamentary votes, but on Sunday warned senators not to vote against the will of the people.
“The voting is not for Pita, not for MFP, but it is for Thailand to move forward into normalcy of democratic system, just like any democratic countries in this world,” he said on Twitter.
If Pita is not elected on Thursday, the Speaker of the House has announced two more rounds of voting – on July 19 and 20 – for a result to be declared.
After that, coalitions may start to crumble and a political deadlock could derail the progressive movement’s election success, potentially sparking protests.
Move Forward encouraged citizens to show their support at parliament on Thursday and a prominent Thai protest leader Wednesday called for demonstrations if the senators refused to vote in line with the election results.
A woman faced a distressing incident at Bangkok’s Don Mueang airport when she became trapped in a travelator, resulting in the amputation of her leg by rescue personnel.
According to reports from local media, the 57-year-old woman tripped over her suitcase while en route to boarding a flight on Thursday morning. Unfortunately, her leg became lodged in the travelator, leading to the need for immediate rescue and subsequent amputation of her leg.
The woman’s family expressed their shock and concerns about her mental well-being following the surgery, which took place on Thursday evening.
“My mother’s morale is quite concerning,” her son wrote on Facebook.
“We got to speak to her a bit before and after the operation… Even though she showed her strength through facial expression and tone of voice, we knew that deep down she was broken because she suddenly lost a leg,” Kit Kittirattana added.
“Our family knows very well that we can neither make her leg work like before, nor can we bring back the same life she had lived,” he wrote.
Photographs circulating online depicted the unidentified woman, seated with her left leg trapped under the travelator at Bangkok’s Don Mueang airport. In the images, her pink suitcase was visibly damaged, having lost two wheels, and the yellow comb plates typically found at the end of travelators were broken off.
Airport authorities expressed deep sorrow over the incident and pledged to provide compensation for the woman’s partial leg amputation, as well as cover her medical expenses.
The airport director, Karant Thanakuljeerapat, addressed the media on Thursday, stating that an investigation was underway to determine the cause of the incident. He further mentioned that the airport had initially planned to replace several outdated travelators by 2025 but may expedite the process given the circumstances.
Local media reports indicated that the travelator involved in the incident had been in operation since 1996.
In order to build a new government that would have the potential to drastically change the country, opposition parties united in the hopes of preventing Thailand’s military establishment from continuing in power.
Pita Limjaroenrat, the head of Thailand’s Move Forward Party, announced on Thursday that seven additional parties have joined him in a coalition. Move Forward won the most seats and the popular vote in the election on Sunday.
Pita, a 42-year-old Harvard alumnus, referred to the alliance as “the voice of hope and the voice of change” and said that all parties had decided to endorse him as the country’s future prime minister.
Together, they secure a majority 313 votes in the lower house, according to Pita, who said: “We definitely will be able to form a government.”
The eight parties include Move Forward, Pheu Thai, Thai Sang Thai, Prachachart, Seri Ruam Thai, Pheu Thai Ruam Palang, FAIR Party, and the Plung Sungkom Mai Party.
Party members in the new coalition will now develop a memorandum of understanding, which will be presented on May 22.
“We are here to find mutual agreement and keep aside the differences,” Pita said.
Unofficial results showed Move Forward won 151 seats in Sunday’s election with populist Pheu Thai in second place with 141 seats – both far ahead of the party of incumbent Prime Minister, and 2014 coup leader, Prayut Chan-o-cha.
Prayut’s United Thai Nation Party won just 36 seats in the election, while another military-backed party Palang Pracharat, led by former army chief Prawit Wongsuwan, received 40.
The result delivered a powerful rebuke of the military-backed establishment that has ruled for nearly a decade since the coup.
The progressive coalition now needs to win a majority of 376 seats in both houses of Thailand’s parliament to elect a prime minister and form a government.
It will take at least 60 days for that process to begin andthere are still significant hurdles to overcome in a nation where the military have ensured they maintain a significant say in who can form a government.
Despite winning a landslide, a roadblock to the progressive camp’s win is the unelected 250-seat senate, which is chosen entirely by the military and has previously voted for a pro-military candidate.
Move Forward had gained a huge following among young Thais for its reformist platform, which included radical plans to amend the country’s strict lese majeste laws despite the taboo surrounding any discussion of the royal family in Thailand.
The party’s proposed structural changes to the military include getting rid of the draft, reducing the budget, making it more transparent and accountable, and reducing the number of generals.
On Tuesday, Pita told CNN he will work to “demilitarize, demonopolize and decentralize” Thailand.
“With the three-prong approach, that’s the only way that we can fully democratize Thailand and make sure that Thailand is back to business, Thailand is back in the global arena, and make sure that the country … is contributing but also benefiting by the definition of globalization,” he said.
Police have discovered the body of a missing 15-year-old girl who was last seen riding a motorbike with a slain British adolescent.
A shallow tomb containing Suraphltchaya Khamsa was found in a wooded area today about three kilometres from where Woramet Ben Taota, 16, was found on May 7.
Chaiwat ‘Wat’ Boongarin, a convicted felon, has acknowledged to killing the youngster known as Ben while denying killing Suraphltchaya. He did so by stating the boy had stolen drugs from him.
Boongarin, who is in custody, is likely to face the death penalty if convicted of either or both cases.
Ben grew up in a remote village in northern Thailand near Lampang – close to where his body was found -with his Thai mother Ooy Taota. But he has a British father, businessman Stephen Graham, who shares his time between the UK and Thailand, reports the Daily Mail.
The devastated family say Ben and Suraphltchaya have known each other since they were young and ‘were close’ and that police believe Suraphltchaya was dating Boongarin. They suspect Ben got involved with Boongarin and his drugs through her.
They think the girl, who was said to be addicted to methamphetamine pills and getting her supply from the thug, had been used to help lure Ben to Boongarin before they were both killed.
Ben’s devastated father Stephen described his son as polite, handsome and charming (Picture: ViralPress)
Suraphltchaya’s parents and grandparents identified her body, breaking down in tears when it emerged she’d also been murdered.
Police said she had signs of bruising on her face that suggested she’d been hit a number of times with a hard object.
Speaking about the suspected killer, Mr Graham said he was a prolific drug dealer and an ‘evil’ man.
The boy’s father flew out to Thailand when the tragedy unfolded and on Wednesday confronted Boongarin during a chaotic crime reconstruction.
Mr Campbell yelled ‘look me in the eye, you cowards’ and ‘may you rot in hell’ at the alleged murderer while he was being taken on a ‘perp walk’ or crime reconstruction, which will form evidence for the prosecution.
He told the Mail: ‘Usually I am very English and reserved about my emotions and my anger.
‘But after spending that long flight from the UK thinking about my beloved Ben I was just grabbed by the throat by the situation. I used some terrible words. It just flowed out of me.’
He described his son as polite, charming and handsome, but naive and ‘like all 16-year-olds’ did stupid things and tragically got himself involved with Boongarin.
Through tears, Ben’s mother Ms Taota said her son as her heart and soul.
Suraphltchaya and Ben were last seen together riding a motorcycle on Saturday evening, May 6, after visiting her grandfather earlier in the afternoon.
Ben was found dead the next morning with severe head wounds. His body had been dumped in woodland but had not been buried. His phone and cash from his wallet were missing.
A police search for Suraphltchaya followed as investigators battled to piece together the case.
Boongarin was arrested after being identified from CCTV riding a black Honda motorcycle around the area at the time of the death.
He confessed to the killing and said his motive was revenge for a drug deal in which the youngster had stolen tablets. He said, however, someone else killed Suraphltchaya.
Police major general Mongkol Sampawapol, commander of Lampang Provincial Police, said: ‘We suspect that the suspect is responsible for both murders.
‘However, police will also continue investigating the deaths to check if anybody else was involved.
‘The female victim’s body is now being sent to hospital for an autopsy to find traces of rape or sexual assault, because the suspect has a history of these crimes.’
The father of a British teenager who was killed in Thailand confronted the person who is accused of killing his son there.
To assist with the inquiry into the passing of Woramet Ben Taota, 16, who was known to friends as Ben, 60-year-old Steven Graham flew out from his home in Eastbourne, East Sussex.
Inflicted with severe head wounds and facial cuts, Ben was found on May 7 in a grove in his hometown of Lampang in the country’s north.
Chaiwat Boonkarin, 44, was charged with his murder after reportedly confessing to the killing, telling police he bludgeoned him with a piece of wood during a drugs dispute.
Handcuffed and wearing a bulletproof vest, he was taken to the secluded spot in dense woodland where Ben was found on Sunday.
Mr Graham, wearing a blue t-shirt and glasses, approached the police car saying: ‘Scum, look at me. Look me in the eye. Look me in the eye you b*****d.’
Shaking with rage, he then yells: ‘Take his mask off, I want to see his face. You’re a coward. You’re a coward. F*****g look at me you b*****d.
‘No, you can’t look at me, you’re a coward. Look, look at me. You b*****d.’
He was comforted by Ben’s mother Ooy Taota, who also yelled at the suspected killer, along with several relatives.
Speaking at the scene, Mr Graham said: ‘I just want to throttle him. He’s evil. He’s pure evil, scum.’
Ooy added: ‘I cannot understand what happened. My son was a good boy, now he will never grow up. I hope the murderer dies in prison.’
Chaiwat, who police said was recently released from prison for sex crimes, reportedly told police he lured Ben to the forest and attacked him in revenge for a bungled drug deal.
He was said to have claimed Ben and his girlfriend Suraphltchaya Khamsa, 16, who is still missing, were methamphetamine runners for him but stole a consignment.
Police Major General Mongkol Sampawapol, commander of Lampang Provincial Police, said: ‘The (suspected) killer was angry because he believed that Ben kept drugs for himself and his girlfriends, so he hit the victim with a stick several times until he died.
‘He is a criminal. He has been in prison before. He will be charged with murder.’
Police officers from the Mae Tha district said they received a report on Sunday morning that the teenager had been found dead in a grove in the Ban Than district.
Officers found in his black shoulder bag a smartphone charger and a red wallet containing his ID card and bank card.
His smartphone and cash were missing, with police suggesting he could have been robbed for the gadgets and money.
Officers believe Ben was killed elsewhere and dumped in the woods, as there were no signs of struggle where his remains were found.
They said he had head injuries consistent with severe trauma.
Police in Thailand say they are looking into the possibility that a woman who was recently detained on suspicion of killing her friend with cyanide also killed at least 12 other people in a string of slayings that has gripped the nation.
According to Deputy National authorities Commissioner Gen. Surachate Hakparn, the suspect, who authorities have only identified as Am, was detained on Tuesday for the alleged murder of Siriporn Kanwong.
According to Surachate, Siriporn was last seen with Am on CCTV tape before she passed out and died. An autopsy revealed that Siriporn had traces of cyanide in her system.
Am’s lawyer, Thannicha Akesuwannawat, told local media Thairath TV on Wednesday that her client denies any involved in Siriporn’s death.
“She has [an] explanation, with evidence in hand,” Thannicha said, declining to elaborate further citing legal reasons.
Investigators are now looking into at least 12 other suspected murder cases where the victims had links to Am and similar causes of death, said Surachate. CNN has attempted to reach Am’s lawyer for a response to those allegations.
Surachate said one woman who was allegedly targeted by Am came forward to authorities after news of her arrest broke.
The individual told police she was poisoned in 2020 but was able to make it to a hospital where doctors resuscitated her and also found cyanide in her system, he said.
Surachate said the witness was too afraid to file a case against Am at the time because the accused is the wife of a senior police officer, but she gained courage after hearing about the other alleged cases.
In the potentially linked cases currently being investigated by police, all the victims ate or drank with Am in the run up to their deaths.
“After they ate together or drank something together, later they were dead,” Surachate said. Investigators believe the killings may have had a financial motive, primarily debts. “She owed money to many people,” Surachate said.
Press photos showed Am wearing a face mask while being led into court by police in Bangkok on Wednesday. She was remanded in custody while police investigate the allegations.
The case has generated huge local media interest this week in Thailand and has prompted others to come forward to authorities with their suspicion that their loved ones may also be victims.
That came to a screeching halt during the Covid pandemic, as China virtually sealed its borders.
Now, the Southeast Asian nation is back on the welcome wagon — and telling the world it’s open for business.
Three government ministers headed to Bangkok’s international airport earlier this week to personally greet the first group of Chinese tourists to arrive after China lifted travel restrictions.
Bill Barnett, founder and managing director of C9 Hotelworks, a hospitality consultancy in Phuket, said the move underscored the economic significance of Chinese tourists, who were embraced with “arms wide open.”
In 2019, Thailand was the most-visited international destination by Chinese travelers, welcoming around 11 million tourists — over a quarter of the country’s overseas arrivals. Only Hong Kong and Macao, two special administrative regions of China, received more Chinese visitors.
Speaking to reporters at the airport Monday, Thailand’s deputy prime minister and minister of public health, Anutin Charnvirakul, said it was important to send a strong signal to revive its economy.
“The arrival of tourists from China, as well as from countries around the world, to Thailand is expected to increase continually. This is a good sign for Thailand’s tourism sector,” he said.
“If every Thai person welcomes these tourists with warm hospitality, and we also take good care of our health, it will accelerate the economic recovery after our suffering from the Covid-19 pandemic for three years.”
China scrapped its quarantine requirements on Sunday after three years, prompting businesses around the world to prepare for the return of the world’s largest outbound travel market.
In Thailand, that’s been no exception, with travel companies beginning to reactivate Chinese social marketing campaigns and increase staffing, according to Barnett.
“Hotels now are scrambling. They’re trying to get Chinese-speaking staff, they’re trying to get Chinese salespeople back on onboard,” he said. “I think we’ll start seeing salespeople start to organize sales trips back into China.”
The Golden Dome Cabaret Show in Bangkok is usually a must-see for Chinese tour groups.
“I am happy to hear the news that China has opened its country,” CEO Boonchai Tongprasert told CNN, adding that his team was also anticipating a pickup in business.
Boonchai said his income was completely wiped out during the worst of the Covid crisis.
His vibrant theater went from receiving up to 4,000 Chinese visitors a night to roughly 100. After dipping into personal savings to help pay his staff, Boonchai suspended operations for two and a half years, only reopening last September.
But the influx of business is also being met with apprehension. Many Thai people remain concerned about the risks of Covid-19 outbreaks as more tourists come back, Boonchai said.
Barnett, too, warned there was a massive “fear factor” in local communities about whether the virus would spread as inbound travel recovered.
Balancing economic needs with local concerns will be a key challenge for Thailand in the coming months, he said.
The government is also facing calls to help restaff the travel industry.
Sisdivachr Cheewarattanaporn, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents, said labor shortages were top of mind for many businesses as the sector gradually comes back to life.
The “tourism sector has been heavily damaged,” he said. “Those who had gone out of business, probably have changed their professions. And I am not confident if they would come back.”
Wittaya Chaimongkol, a cabaret dancer who has worked with the Golden Dome troupe for nearly 15 years, said she was excited about the return of Chinese tourists.
“I was missing the show very much,” she told CNN. “After two and a half years, I am now seeing light at the end of the tunnel.”
Following a clash in Thailand’s north near the infamous “Golden Triangle” region, the Thai military has killed five suspected drug traffickers and found nearly 500,000 methamphetamine pills.
In the early hours of Thursday, a military patrol in Chiang Rai province, close to the Golden Triangle, which is the area where the jungle borders of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meet, came across suspected smugglers carrying backpacks. The Golden Triangle has long been a lucrative hub for the illicit drug trade.
The group of five opened fire after being refused a search and an armed confrontation that lasted about five minutes, according to a statement released by the Thai military’s Pha Muang Task Force.
The five suspects were killed and no Thai soldiers were injured, the task force said, noting that close to half a million methamphetamine pills and a gun were found in the group’s possession.
“Narcotics have been very prevalent [at the border] but recently there has been an order from the commander to step up law enforcement efforts,” Premchai Premkamol, an officer with Pha Muang Task Force, told AFP news agency.
The latest clash follows two similar incidents – the killing of six alleged drug smugglers earlier this week in nearby Chiang Mai province and an altercation in December involving 15 deaths.
According to anti-narcotics experts, the drug trade in the Golden Triangle region has surged since a military coup in Myanmar in February 2021 with reports that the production and trafficking of methamphetamine and opium has boomed since the military takeover.
Thailand’s local Chiang Mai News outlet reported on Tuesday that six suspects were killed and 19 backpacks containing hundreds of kilogrammes of ketamine were recovered following a clash with suspected traffickers in Chiang Mai province.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is poised to release a new report on opium cultivation in Myanmar, which the UN said had seen close to a decade of decline until production increased slightly in 2021.
The increase in cultivation continued last year. Now, after the first full opium cultivation season “following the February 2021 military takeover – and it is clear the country is experiencing a profound change in the opium economy”, the UNODC said in a short statement on Thursday.
Checking vaccinations is inconvenient, according to the health minister, and a panel of health experts has agreed to withdraw the new rule.
Thailand has revoked an entry policy announced two days ago that required visitors to show proof of aCOVID-19 vaccination, according to the country’s health minister, citing adequate immunization levels in China and globally.
Anutin Charnvirakul said on Monday that checking evidence of vaccinations was inconvenient, and that a panel of health experts had agreed to withdraw the new rule, which was announced on Saturday by aviation authorities ahead of an expected influx of visitors from China, where COVID cases have surged.
Charnvirakul said those not vaccinated would also be granted entry without restriction.
“Showing proof of vaccination would be cumbersome and inconvenient, and so the group’s decision is that it is unnecessary,” Anutin told reporters.
Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Yuthasak Supasorn said there had been discussions over entry requirements but the issue had been resolved.
One of Asia’s most popular travel destinations, Thailand is enjoying an influx of visitors during its first peak season since the removal last year of tight entry restrictions that had caused its tourism sector to collapse.
In November, it recorded 1.75 million visitors, quadruple the number for the whole of last year when flights and foreign arrivals were limited.
Visitors from China
Chinese visitors have been crucial for Thailand, accounting for about a quarter of its annual visitors before the pandemic. Anutin said the government was now expecting seven to 10 million Chinese visitors, compared with an earlier estimate of five million.
The first flight from China arrived in Thailand on Monday, the first of a group of 3,465 passengers expected on the first day.
“We’re very excited to come back toThailand. We have been waiting for three years already,” said Wang Zhenyin.
“Before the start of COVID, we came here every year. And this time I take my family to come here.”
Thailand’s tourism authority is expecting arrival numbers for last year to have exceeded 11.5 million [Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters]
On Sunday, Beijing lifted a mandatory quarantine for arrivals from abroad imposed when the pandemic began three years ago. The move is expected to unleash large pent-up demand for outbound travel.
But so far, few flights have been restored. On Monday, a check of arrivals at regional airports found only a handful of flights coming from China. The largest share was travelling to South Korea.
The about-face on the vaccine rule follows similar policy U-turns by Thailand during the pandemic that have caused widespread confusion among travellers about its entry requirements.
Thailand will still require foreigners to show evidence of health insurance coverage forCOVID if their next destination requires a negative pre-entry test, Charnvirakul said.
Thailand’s tourism authority is expecting arrival numbers for last year to have exceeded 11.5 million, just over a quarter of the record of nearly 40 million in pre-pandemic 2019, who spent about 1.91 trillion baht ($55.2bn).
A Thai woman was arrested this month after she filmed herself devouring a bowl of bat soup.
According to the Daily Mail, Phonchanok Srisunaklua posted the video to her YouTube channel titled “Gin Zap Bep Nua Nua,” which the outlet says translates to “eat spicy and delicious” in English. The one-minute and 40-second clip shows the vlogger sitting in front of a dark-colored soup that contains cherry tomatoes and several Lesser Asiatic yellow bats. Srisunaklua proceeds to pick up one of the dead animals and rip it apart before dipping the meat into a sauce called Nim Jam.
She reportedly told viewers it was her first time eating a bat, and that she purchased the protected species from a market near the Laos border in northern Thailand. The teacher went on to describe the soup as “delicious,” and compared the texture to raw meat.
Pattaraphon Manee-on, the head of the wildlife health management group at the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, said he was “shocked” by the clip, as eating bats could pose serious health risks.
“Because the incident should not happen both in Thailand and around the world, it is very risky behavior, especially as bats have a lot of pathogens,” the veterinarian explained. “There is no proof that the hot water temperature will actually kill the germs. Just touching the saliva, blood, and the skin is considered a risk. Besides the concern about the disease in bats, this woman could be guilty of breaking the Preservation and Protection and Wildlife Act, B.E. 2019, because bats are protected animals.”
Shortly after the video went viral, Srisunaklua was arrested for “possession of protected wildlife carcasses” and “crimes violating the Computer Crimes Act.” Though she initially denied the accusations, Srisunaklua went on to post a video in which she apologized for her actions and vowed to never eat a bat again.
She is now facing a five-year jail sentence and a $13,800 fine.
Images ofstudents wearing “anti-cheating caps” for college examinations have gone viral on social media in the Philippines, eliciting laughter.
Students at one college in Legazpi City were asked to wear headwear to prevent them from peeping at the papers of their classmates.
Many others replied by making their own contraptions out of cardboard, egg cartons, and other repurposed items.
Their tutor told the BBC she had been looking for a “fun way” to ensure “integrity and honesty” in her classes.
Mary Joy Mandane-Ortiz, a professor of mechanical engineering at Bicol University College of Engineering, said the idea had been “really effective”.
It was implemented for recent mid-term exams, which were sat by hundreds of students at the college in the third week of October.
IMAGE SOURCE,MARY JOY MANDANE-ORTIZ
Prof Mandane-Ortiz said her initial request had been for students to make a “simple” design out of paper.
She was inspired by a technique reportedly used in Thailandsome years previously.
In 2013, an image went viral to show a room of university students in Bangkok taking test papers while wearing “ear flaps” – sheets of paper stuck to either side of their head to obscure their vision.
Prof Mandane-Ortiz said her engineers-in-training took the idea and ran with it – in some cases innovating complex headgear in “just five minutes” with any junk they found lying around.
Others donned hats, helmets, or Halloween masks to fulfill the brief.
IMAGE SOURCE, MARY JOY MANDANE-ORTIZ
A string of the professor’s Facebook posts – showing the youngsters wearing their elaborate creations – garnered thousands of likes in a matter of days, and attracted coverage from Filipino media outlets.
They also reportedly inspired schools and universities in other parts of the countryto encourage their own students to put together anti-cheating headwear.
Prof Mandane-Ortiz said her tutees performed better this year, having been motivated by the strict examination conditions to study extra hard.
She added that many of them finished their tests early – and nobody was caught cheating this year.
Three-year-old Emmy was napping next to her best friend at a day-care centre in northern Thailand when the attacker broke in, armed with a gun and a knife.
The class of 11 children, all around three years old, had earlier been busy drawing and writing. At around 10:00 local time, teachers sent photo updates to all the parents of smiling, happy children.
Two hours later, at nap time, former police officer Panya Kamrab stormed the building. Witnesses said he first shot staff, including a teacher who was eight months pregnant, before forcing his way into each of the three kindergarten classrooms.
He murdered all of Emmy’s friends as they slept.
It is unclear how she survived. She was found awake, curled up next to the bodies of her classmates.
“She had no idea what was happening when she woke up,” her 59-year-old grandfather Somsak Srithong tells me from the family home.
“She thought that her friends were still asleep. A police officer covered her face with a cloth and carried her away from all the blood.”
She is the only child to live through the massacre in Nong Bua Lamphu on Thursday. In total 37 people died – including the wife and stepson of the attacker – and 24 of the dead are children.
“I feel very grateful that she survived. I held her so tight when I first saw her,” says Somsak.
Emmy’s mother, 35-year-old Panompai Srithong, works in Bangkok during the week. She had been told that all of the children at the centre had died, and needed to be convinced her daughter was still alive.
“I finally got a video call with Emmy and was filled with blessed relief,” she says.
This small town is filled with grieving families, and for the first few days, Emmy’s grandparents struggled to know what to tell her.
We talk quietly as she plays with her favourite Hello Kitty wellington boots in the garden. She keeps asking after her best friend, three-year-old Pattarawut, who was also known as Taching.
They always napped together with their feet touching. She also loved the day care centre and wanted to be just like her teachers.
“Her grandmother finally told her that her school friends had all died, along with her teacher, and the day care centre is closed,” her mum says.
“She just wants to go to school every day. We have to keep telling her the school is closed down. She is too young to understand the concept of death.”
Buddhist funeral rites and prayers for the victims are taking place at several temples in the town to mark the start of three days of mourning.
The motive for the attack is not yet known, but police said Kamrab was fired from his job in June for drug use.
This small rural town in north-eastern Thailand is trying to support the anguished families in their grief. But many are also asking about the widespread availability of deadly weapons and the country’s pervasive problem with drugs.
“Parents are asking: ‘Where is a safe place for their children?’ I’m so sad and I beg that any authority would strengthen our safety,” pleads Emmy’s uncle Veerachai Srithong.
The victims include children and adults,authorities say, adding that the gunman was an ex-police officer who appeared in court on a drugs charge before the attack.
At least 30 people have been killed in a mass shooting by a sacked policeman at a children’s daycare centre in Thailand.
The victims included 22 children – some as young as two years old – as well as adults, authorities said, adding that the gunman was a former police officer.
A manhunt was initially launched to catch the perpetrator, named by police as Panya Khamrap, who fled the scene shooting at bystanders and driving his vehicle at them.
Officials later said the gunman had killed himself, after shooting dead his wife and child.
Image:Gunman Panya Khamrap. Pic: Shutterstock
The shooting took place in the town of Uthai Sawan in the northeastern province of Nong Bua Lamphu.
At least a dozen other people were injured in the attack, officials said.
Wielding a knife, he then forced his way into a locked room where children were sleeping, district official Jidapa Boonsom said, continuing his attack.
There were around 30 children inside the entire building at the time, she said.
The gunman first shot four or five staff, including a teacher who was eight months pregnant, before attacking the sleeping youngsters.
“At first, people thought it was fireworks,” she said.
Videos posted on social media showed emergency services at the scene, and sheets covering what appeared to be the bodies of children at the centre.
The gunman was fired from the police force last year for failing a drugs test, district police official Chakkraphat Wichitvaidya told reporters.
He was facing trial and had been in court on a drugs charge hours before the rampage, and had appeared agitated when arriving at the children’s centre.
The suspect was last seen driving a white pickup truck with Bangkok number plates.
The Daily News reported that the assailant returned to his home where he killed his wife and child, before taking his own life.
Nineteen boys, three girls and two adults were killed in the centre – and a further 12 people outside, including two children. This includes the gunman, his wife and his son, police said.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha described the attack as a shocking incident in a Facebook post and alerted all agencies to take action.
The country’s previous worst mass shooting involved a disgruntled soldier who opened fire in and around a shopping centre in the northeastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima in 2020, killing 29 people.
A British headteacherwho groomed at least 131 children worldwide using social media while working at a school in Iraq has been jailed for 20 months.
Using Facebook Messenger, Nicholas Clayton, 38, of The Wirral, made contact with kids as young as 10 and requested their images with the intention of sexually abusing them.
He was apprehended after paying a 13-year-old Cambodian boy to come to Malaysia so they could meet and asking the boy for pictures of his bare upper torso.
When he returned to the UK, the National Crime Agency (NCA) detained him after receiving information about the communication.
Investigators found Clayton had been messaging hundreds of boys from across the globe, spanning the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Iraq, Morocco, Turkey and others over a period of just three months.
He appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on 23 August where he admitted three counts of sexual communication with a child under 16 years and one charge of inciting the sexual exploitation of a child.
On Tuesday, he was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment and made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order for 15 years.
New Facebook plans will ‘hide similar predators’
The case has prompted fresh calls for a “robust” Online Safety Bill, with the NSPCC warning plans by Meta, which owns Facebook, to introduce end-to-end encryption will “blindfold” authorities to similar predators.
Andy Burrows, head of child safety online policy at the charity, said: “Clayton’s case highlights the ease with which offenders can contact large numbers of children on social media with the intention of grooming and sexually abusing them.
“Private messaging is the frontline of child sexual abuse online. It’s therefore concerning that Meta plans to press on with end-to-end encryption on Facebook Messenger, which will blindfold themselves and law enforcement from identifying criminals like Clayton.
“The UK government can show global leadership in tackling online child abuse by delivering without delay a robust Online Safety Bill that embeds child protection at the heart of every social media site.”
New Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan has previously said there are no plans to water down the proposals for new internet safety laws, which Mr Burrows welcomed as “really encouraging”.
Hazel Stewart, from the NCA, said: “Nicholas Clayton abused his position of trust as a headteacher by attempting to sexually contact and exploit children, using technology to access hundreds of potential victims across the globe.
“Clayton was very cautious and careful in his communications, making them appear to be innocent, but as NCA investigators we could see the patterns of predatory grooming he was using on vulnerable children.
“Protecting children from sex offenders is a priority for the NCA, and we continue to pursue criminals in the UK and internationally to ensure abusers like Clayton are held to account.”
Facebook ‘taking our time to get it right’
A Facebook spokesperson said: “We have no tolerance for child exploitation on our platforms and are building strong safety measures into our plans.
“We’re focused on preventing harm by banning suspicious profiles, defaulting under-18s to private or ‘friends only’ accounts, and more recently introduced restrictions that stop adults from messaging children they’re not connected with.
“We’re also encouraging people to report harmful messages to us so we can see the contents, respond swiftly and make referrals to the authorities. As we roll out this technology we’re taking our time to get it right and working with outside experts to help keep people safe online.”
Thailand has recorded 106 new coronavirus cases and three more deaths, a health official said on Tuesday.
The country now has 827 cases and 4 fatalities since the outbreak began.
The three deaths were patients who had other health complications, including a 70-year-old man who had tuberculosis, a 45-year-old man who had diabetes and a 79-year-old man who had health problems, Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a Public Health Ministry spokesman, said.
Since the start of the outbreak, 57 patients have recovered and gone home, while 766 are still being treated in hospitals.
Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul posted on his Facebook page on Sunday morning, congratulating the security forces for their actions in the north-eastern Thai town.
“Thank you police and army for ending the situation. Shooter shot dead!!!”
Officials said that the death toll stood at 20, with 42 wounded, revising an earlier total of 21 dead.
“The official number of the dead right now is 20 and 42 wounded. Of them, 21 are still in hospital and 21 have gone home,” said Narinrat Phitchayakhamin, head of the Provincial Office of Public Health in the town.
However, it is still possible that the number of fatalities could rise.
What happened at the shopping centre?
Shortly after 03:00 local time (20:00 GMT Saturday) gunfire was heard as the security forces raided the building, trying to dislodge the gunman.
Several people were led out of the centre, but there were concerns that more people were being held hostage.
At 09:30 (02:30 GMT) on Sunday, police confirmed that the gunman had been shot dead, but so far there are no more details about how the operation concluded.
REUTERS
Image captionThai security forces on Sunday evacuated more people from the Terminal 21 shopping centre
Earlier reports said the gunman, aged 32, had tried to escape via the back of the building.
The suspect’s mother was also brought to the shopping centre to try to persuade him to give himself up.
AFP/THAI ROYAL POLICE
Image captionSecurity forces evacuate people from the shopping complex
People described hiding under tables in the shopping centre before they managed to flee
One of the people freed told the BBC how she and others hid in a bathroom on the fourth floor, before fleeing to the second and hiding under a restaurant table for three hours, hearing at least four gunshots before she saw some soldiers and could get to safety.
Charlie Crowson, a teacher of English who lives in Nakhon Ratchasima, told the BBC there were “bodies on the streets” of the normally peaceful town.
He said that one of his girlfriend’s former students was among those killed in the attack that lasted for many hours.
How did the attack unfold?
It began at about 15:30 local time on Saturday (08:30 GMT) at the Suatham Phithak military camp, where the commanding officer, named by the Bangkok Post as Col Anantharot Krasae, was killed.
The Post said a 63-year-old woman, Col Anantharot’s mother-in-law, and another soldier were also killed there.
AFP
The suspect seized arms and ammunition from the camp before taking a Humvee-type vehicle.
He then opened fire at a number of sites before arriving at Terminal 21 at about 18:00 local time (11:00 GMT).
Local media footage appeared to show the suspect getting out of his vehicle and firing shots as people fled.
CCTV footage showed him inside the shopping centre with a raised rifle.
Thai police put a wanted poster on their Facebook page
What did the suspect post on social media?
He posted on his social media accounts during the attack, with one post on Facebook asking whether he should surrender.
He had earlier posted an image of a pistol with three sets of bullets, along with the words “it is time to get excited” and “nobody can avoid death”.
Facebook has now taken the page down.
It said: “Our hearts go out to the victims, their families and the community affected by this tragedy in Thailand. There is no place on Facebook for people who commit this kind of atrocity, nor do we allow people to praise or support this attack.”
Thai police put a wanted poster on their Facebook page