Free Republic

The steel scandal behind the collapse of Thailand’s State Audit Office (SAO) building has deepened after fresh test results revealed another failure by Chinese manufacturer Xin Ke Yuan Steel — marking the second time its materials have failed to meet Thai industrial standards. Yesterday, April 23, Industry Minister Akanat Promphan confirmed the findings, citing results from the Iron and Steel Institute of Thailand (ISIT). The substandard steel sample was taken from the collapsed SAO building on April 11 and subjected to rigorous testing. “The Chinese company’s SD40T 20-millimetre steel bar failed the mass-per-metre test, consistent with the previous results,” said...

During the recent earthquake in Thailand, one woman found herself struggling to evacuate, not because of the disaster, but because her dog, blissfully unaware of the mayhem around it, was determined to sleep through it. An 18-second clip of the viral incident was posted to TikTok on Saturday (March 29), showing a woman desperately trying to wake her dog while pulling on its front paw. Despite the chaos, the samoyed, named Echo, refuses to budge, completely unbothered by its owner's desperate pleas. At one point, the woman even tried pulling both of Echo's paws but didn't get anywhere. Shortly after,...

Pongsri Woranuch, a trailblazer in Thai country music (also known as Luk Tang), has passed away following a battle with a lung-related illness at 85. Woranuch died early on Sunday morning at her home, as confirmed by her son. The famed singer and Thai music icon had been struggling with either lung disease or cancer, according to varying reports. She was allegedly in and out of hospitals leading up to her death. Videos by American Songwriter “And then Mom got on the last express train and left us,” Woranuch’s son, Jujuk Boonnachoti, wrote on Facebook. “No need to hug a...

Skinny guests have less “dough” to burn at this diabolical diner. A restaurant in Thailand is being accused of “fat shaming” after offering diners discounts if they can fit their bodies through spaces of varying widths, as detailed in an Instagram post with nearly 8 million views. According to the clip, the restaurant features multicolored “skinny discount” bars where the rule is that the smaller the gap, the bigger the reduction. There are five total categories, ranging from 20% off for customers who can fit through the smallest space to a 10% discount for navigating the medium slots, and finally...

Bangkok -- Search teams in Myanmar recovered more bodies from the ruins of buildings on Friday, a week after a massive earthquake killed more than 3,100 people, as the focus turns toward the urgent humanitarian needs in a country already devastated by a continuing civil war. United Nations humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher, who is also the emergency relief coordinator, will visit the area on Friday in an effort to spur action following the March 28 quake. Ahead of the visit, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed to the international community to immediately step up funding for quake victims “to match the...

Thailand will negotiate with the United States on tariffs, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Thursday, hours after US President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on imports from many countries to the US. 'We won't let it get to where GDP will miss the target,' Ms Paetongtarn told reporters. 'We have a strong plan.' 'We have prepared several steps, including sending our permanent secretary to talk with them. … I think we can still negotiate.' Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat said the government was not surprised to be hit with tariffs, though the 36% level was higher than anticipated. 'We...

The Telegraph via Yahoo News Chinese company investigated after Bangkok skyscraper collapses in earthquake Sarah Newey Sat, 29 March 2025 at 1:03 pm GMT-4 A Chinese-backed contractor is facing an investigation over the collapse of a 33-floor skyscraper in Bangkok in Friday’s earthquake. The unfinished building’s glass facade tumbled to the ground in a heap of smoke and dust, trapping dozens of people in the rubble, when a 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit central Myanmar, some 800 miles from the Thai capital. But despite the skyline of the megacity being dotted with cranes, no other construction site reported similar collapses. Eight...

88th Anniversary Royal Thai Air Force - Airshow and Exhibition Join us at Don Mueang Air Base (Wing 6) for the spectacular 88th Anniversary Airshow of the Royal Thai Air Force! ✈️🎉 Experience breathtaking aerial performances and explore an impressive lineup of aircraft from Thailand, the United States, Singapore, India, and China. Highlights include: 🔥 Static Display: Featuring C-130H Hercules, F-16, Saab JAS 39 Gripen, F-35 Lightning II, Airbus A330 MRTT, and more! 🔥 Aerobatic Shows: Thrilling performances by August 1st Aerobatic Team (China), Surya Kiran (India), and the Royal Thai Air Force. 🔥 Simulated Air Combat: Watch the T-50TH...

I’m hoping to hear from some fellow freeper thoughts on retiring in Thailand. We’re looking at Chiang Mai as our target destination. We’ve been to Thailand before; 1989, 1992 and most recently in 2014 (so we know what it is like right now - big changes lol). I know there is a lot of info available on YouTube and other sites, but I want to check here with anyone who may have actually made the move and what their suggestions may be.

ransgender refugees and asylum seekers are going to be making attempts to flee the United States to go to other places that will allow them to keep up with the transgender madness. I don't think the transgender community or the transgender activists understand that everyone is getting tired of gender ideology and refugee status isn't about just not liking what your presidents says. I can't help but feel like the transgender activists don't take refugee status or seeking asylum seriously on any level. If you ask me it's time for the transgender and even LGBTQ community to take some accountability...

Thai authorities have cut off internet, power and fuel along the Thailand and Myanmar border in a bid to thwart the operation of scam centres there. The move on February 5, 2025, came amid growing pressure for Thailand to do more to help clamp down on the illegal compounds that have ensnared vast numbers of people from many jurisdictions. The Thai Provincial Electricity Authority disconnected power supplies at five points along the northern border, including Myawaddy in Myanmar’s Shan state. The high-profile rescue of a Chinese actor from a scam operation near the Thai border in January has put the...

A high-profile gay couple married in Thailand on Thursday (Jan 23) as the kingdom's same-sex marriage law went into effect, an AFP journalist saw, among the first of hundreds expected to do so. Thai actors Apiwat "Porsch" Apiwatsayree, 49 - who was in tears - and Sappanyoo "Arm" Panatkool, 38, in matching beige suits, were handed their pink-bordered marriage certificates at a registry office in Bangkok. "We fought for it for decades and today is a remarkable day that love is love," said Arm. The milestone sees Thailand become by far the biggest place in Asia to recognise equal marriage,...

Takeshi Ebisawa, 60, of Japan, pleaded guilty in Manhattan, New York, today to conspiring with a network of associates to traffic nuclear materials, including uranium and weapons-grade plutonium, from Burma to other countries, as well as to international narcotics trafficking and weapons charges.“Today’s plea should serve as a stark reminder to those who imperil our national security by trafficking weapons-grade plutonium and other dangerous materials on behalf of organized criminal syndicates that the Department of Justice will hold you accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security...

The tourist - 22-year-old Blanca Ojanguren García - was bathing the elephant at the Koh Yao Elephant Care Centre in southern Thailand when she was attacked by the animal. This has renewed concerns over Thailand's booming elephant tourism industry, which animal rights groups have long criticised as unethical and dangerous. Activists say that elephant bathing is disruptive to natural grooming behaviours and could injure the animals, exposing them to unnecessary stress. ... García sustained a head injury - and later died in the hospital - after the elephant, 45-year-old female Phang Somboon, pushed her with its tusk. Her boyfriend, who...

BALI bombing mastermind Hambali has told interrogators how al-Qaida funded the attack that killed 202, including 88 Australians, a year ago today. The terrorist is being held under strict security by US intelligence agents on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia. Hambali, also known as Riduan Isamuddin, also has told agents al-Qaida wanted to build a bio-weapons plant in Indonesia to produce weapons to deliver the deadly biological agent anthrax. He revealed that the Islamic network of terrorist cells known as Jemaah Islamiah had recruited American-trained scientist Yazid Sufaat to oversee the project. He has studied chemistry at California...

An aspiring actress was swallowed to death by a giant wave while doing cliffside yoga on her vacation in Thailand, local outlets report. Shocking footage captured Kamilla Belyatskaya, 24, as the wave swept her away at the island of Koh Samui, overlooking the Gulfside of Thailand, during a meditation session on a pink yoga mat, according to the Khaosad English. Belyatskaya, a Russian-born tourist vacationing in Thailand with her boyfriend, was unexpectedly struck by the wave Friday afternoon. The footage showed her struggling against the currents and succumbing to the frothing waters. A bystander went into the water to attempt...

A Thai woman believed to be among the worst serial killers in the kingdom's history was convicted and sentenced to death Wednesday (Nov 20) for poisoning a friend with cyanide, in the first of her 14 murder trials. Sararat Rangsiwuthaporn, 36, an online gambling addict, is accused of swindling thousands of dollars from her victims before killing them with the chemical. A court in Bangkok convicted her Wednesday for fatally poisoning her friend Siriporn Kanwong. The two met up near Bangkok in April last year to release fish into the Mae Klong river as part of a Buddhist ritual. Police...

More than 20 people died after a bus carrying students and faculty members on a school trip in Thailand crashed and caught fire near the country’s capital, Bangkok, on Tuesday, officials said. ...

The Saudis have joined other Asian countries in ditching their long-term sensitivity to the gold price. Evidence suggests the Saudi central bank has been covertly buying 160 tonnes of gold in Switzerland since early 2022, contributing to the current gold bull market. Although the Saudis played a key role in the birth of the global dollar standard in the early 1970s, this time around they might even become a lynchpin for its dissolution. Introduction Until recently, Saudi Arabia’s gold demand would decline when the gold price went up and strengthen when the price went south. This dampened volatility in the...

BANGKOK, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on Tuesday said part of the government's vaunted 450 billion baht ($13.1 billion) "digital wallet" handout will be distributed in cash, in another change to its flagship populist policy. Details are still being finalised and will be announced in a policy statement to parliament, she added. The digital wallet handout had previously entailed transferring 10,000 baht ($292) in credit to 50 million Thais via a smartphone application to spend in their localities within six months.