(Photo supplied)Paroled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s trip to Phuket, which he claimed to be a private leisure trip, has drawn flak as he was seen meeting several local administrative officials and business figures on the island. The trip has also raised questions about its real purpose and whether it violated the conditions of Thaksin’s parole. Phuket, he said, is among the cities the government believes have the potential to host such an entertainment complex. Nattacha Boonchaiinsawat, an Move Forward MP for Bangkok, said no one would have questioned the purpose of Thaksin’s trip had he kept a low profile instead of going around inspecting various development projects and pitching his suggestions. The MP noted that Thaksin’s trips gained more attention from the media than the government’s mobile cabinet meetings.

Bilateral relationships between Thailand and South Africa have yielded good outcomes, especially in the agricultural sector, according to South Africa's Ambassador to Thailand Darkey Africa. Mr Africa gave the Bangkok Post an exclusive interview to mark the 30th anniversary of freedom and democracy in South Africa and three decades of the South Africa-Thailand bilateral relationship. "Thailand and South Africa's relationships over the past 30 years have been positive," Mr Africa said. He said he'd also love to introduce beef and wine from South Africa -- regarded as some of the world's best -- to Thailand. We are now able to talk about non-racial South Africa with positive prospects of prosperity and development," he said.

Impact of loan rate cuts on key players deemed as limitedPeople seek consultations about how to settle their debts at an event in January. According to an analyst in the banking sector, the loan rate cuts by the four major banks account for 7-10% of each bank's total loan portfolio. "The impact of the loan rate cuts will be limited, helping the banks in managing asset quality amid an uneven economic recovery," said the analyst, who requested anonymity. KTB's loan rate reduction is estimated to affect about 300,000 retail loan accounts with a total credit line of 200 billion baht. Around 200,000 customers qualify for the loan rate reduction, with a total credit line of 82 billion baht, according to KBank.

Cold water and ice used to restore normal conditions on line in Nakhon Si ThammaratWorkers cool down bent railway tracks in Ron Phi Bun district of Nakhon Si Thammarat with water and ice on Tuesday. (Photos: State Railway of Thailand)Extremely hot weather warped rails in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat, and it took railway workers about an hour to cool them down to make the tracks usable again, the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) said on Wednesday. The rail deformation was spotted between the Ron Phi Bun and Khao Chum Thong stations in Ron Phi Bun district of Nakhon Si Thammarat at 2.20pm on Tuesday, said Ekarat Sri-arayanpong, chief of the SRT governor's office. Extremely hot weather at the time caused expansion and stress on rails and sleepers on a section of the rail line and the tracks were bent out of shape, he said. SRT employees and rescue workers treated the bent tracks and hot concrete sleepers with cold water and ice and the tracks returned to their normal state in about an hour, Mr Ekarat said.

(Photo: Nutthawat Wichieanbut)The Constitutional Court on Wednesday granted the opposition Move Forward Party (MFP) a 15-day extension to submit a written defence in the party dissolution case against it. The original deadline was April 18 but the party requested a 30-day extension. The EC was acting in response to a Jan 31 Constitutional Court ruling that found the Move Forward policy constituted an attempt to undermine the constitutional monarchy. However, Move Forward refused to budge and Pheu Thai went ahead to form a new coalition. Move Forward’s predecessor, the Future Forward Party, was dissolved in 2020 by the charter court following an EC complaint about a campaign finance violation.

Country aims for 2-5% growth in future food exportsIn 2022, future food exports tallied 142 billion baht, up 24% year-on-year. In 2023, the value of exports of future food amounted to 143 billion baht, up 1% from 2022, accounting for 9% of all food exports. The most popular segment of future food was functional food and functional ingredients, valued at 128 billion baht, up 1%, accounting for 89.5% of all future food exports. Functional food products, such as energy drinks, probiotic yogurt, and kombucha hold a dominant position in the market, comprising 97% of all Thai future food products. Organic food refers to food products that are grown or processed without chemicals and genetic modification while medical food refers to food products that are used instead of medicine or as supplements and are provided under a doctor's supervision.

Srettha promises to tackle civil servants' debt problemsPower dinner: Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, left, is seen with former prime ministers Thaksin Shinawatra, centre, and Somchai Wongsawat, who is also Thaksin's brother-in-law, at Ban Green Valley in Mae Rim district, Chiang Mai province. (Pool photo)Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin vowed to address the debts of almost three million civil servants and stressed the necessity of lowering interest rates to help reduce their debt burden. Speaking after a meeting with the heads of 11 state agencies to follow up on their attempts to tackle the debts of civil servants and state employees, Mr Srettha said on Friday the efforts over the past two months were showing positive results. He said he also asked the Cooperative Promotion Department (CPD) to join the government's debt solution programme as soon as possible as many civil servants and state employees owed large sums to the cooperatives of their organisations. The prime minister said he would hold talks with the management of the Student Loan Fund (SLF) to discuss the possibility of reducing interest rates for defaulters who are charged 18% interest a year.

What Mr Chavala either fails to see or does not care about is that the law the EC is enforcing is grossly unjust, that the law violates basic human rights, and that the law is blatantly undemocratic. The root cause of his error is perhaps that Mr Chavala fails to understand what democracy is. Almost every, possibly more, arrest and imprisonment of Thais for peaceful speech fails that test. But in order to qualify as a democracy, there is a threshold of minimal requirements that must be met. Its institutions intent on eliminating Move Forward in strict accord with the law which are proving that Thailand fails to meet basic legal safeguards to be a democracy of any variety.

“Happiness depends on family,” the former prime minister told reporters before adding, in English, “Happiness is at home.”He made the comments as he and family members attended a ceremony to pay respects to his parents at a cemetery in Mae On district in Chiang Mai. Mr Srettha arrived in Chiang Mai on Friday to study ways to reduce the toxic dust pollution plaguing the North, and Thaksin was quick to offer some advice. We love Thaksin,” thousands of people chanted earlier in the day after Thaksin arrived at Waroros Market. “I am ecstatic,” said a seller of thong muan, a Thai rolled wafer, after Thaksin bought 10 packs from her. One group of supporters who did not get a chance to see Thaksin were local red-shirt activists who gathered near of Chiang Mai University.

Frigate shot by another navy shipHTMS Khirirat is damaged by an ammunition of HTMS Chonburi at Sattahip Naval Base in Chon Buri on Thursday. (Photo: Wassana Nanuam)A gun shot from HTMS Chonburi accidentally hit HTMS Khirirat on Thursday, causing a fire and injuring 13 soldiers. Both Thai navy vessels were anchored at Laem Thian Pier, Sattahip Naval Base, in Chon Buri province. The incident took place at 11.50am when the naval gun shot discharged from the front gun of HTMS Chonburi hit the rear section of HTMS Khirirat. The Royal Thai Navy said 13 soldiers were injured, 10 of them in serious condition.

Super Energy looks for renewable power partnersThe Sinergy Ninh Thuan 1 solar farm, operated by Super Energy in Vietnam. SET-listed Super Energy Corporation, one of Thailand's largest operators of solar farms, is restructuring its business and forming new partnerships to expand its renewable power plants throughout Southeast Asia. The company aims to seek new partners in all renewable energy segments under its expansion plan, he said. Super Energy plans to use the money to support its renewable energy development projects. The projects, which are in the small power producer category and under private power purchase contracts, include solar and wind farms as well as waste-to-energy power plants in Thailand and Vietnam.

Recovery operations were underway on Wednesday (March 13) after a suspected gas leak caused a blast in China’s northern Hebei province earlier in the day, killing at least two people and injuring more than two dozen, according to state media and authorities.

At least 13 injured in ammunition incidentHTMS Khirirat is damaged by an ammunition of HTMS Chonburi at Sattahip Naval Base in Chon Buri on Thursday. (Photo: Wassana Nanuam)A gun shot from HTMS Chonburi accidentally struck HTMS Khirirat on Thursday, causing a fire and injuring 13 soldiers. Both Thai navy vessels were anchored at Laem Thian Pier, Sattahip Naval Base, in Chon Buri province. The incident took place at 11.50am when the naval gun shot discharged from the front gun of HTMS Chonburi hit the rear section of HTMS Khirirat. HTMS Chonburi

Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra meets supporters in Chiang Mai on Thursday. (Photo: Panumet Tanraksa)The sight of a seemingly healthy Thaksin Shinawatra touring Chiang Mai has increased public scepticism about whether he was ever as ill as the government claimed, says an opposition MP. “Then days afterwards Thaksin was able to leave hospital and days after returning home he is able to travel to Chiang Mai,” Mr Rangsiman said on Thursday. … If Thaksin was not ill, I think that … the government will then be held responsible,” he said. Thaksin, 74, was discharged from Police General Hospital on the morning of Feb 18.

Adults-only website OnlyFans has made aspiring porn stars rich and celebrities richer. But a Reuters investigation found a darker side. More than 120 people have complained to U.S. police agencies that they were featured in the site’s sexually explicit content without their consent, including a woman who says a video of her brutal rape was sold on OnlyFans. Linda So's report contains graphic language, details and images which some viewers may find distressing.