Latest Thailand News

Trauma lingers on for survivors of the deadly tsunami that hit Thailand 20 years ago

Dec. 22, 2024 21:18 PM EST

BAN NAM KHEM, Thailand (AP) — The 20-year-old freshman student was still asleep that Sunday morning at the family's house on the Andaman Sea coast of southern Thailand when her mom, sensing something wasn't right, woke her up saying they needed to leave right away. The day is...

The water was their livelihood. Now Thailand's sea nomads work to preserve a vanishing way of life

Dec. 21, 2024 21:47 PM EST

SURIN ISLANDS, Thailand (AP) — When Hook was a child, he started his days by jumping off the boat that his family lived on and into the ocean. By age 3, he could already swim and dive in shallow waters. His home was a kabang, a boat, that his family sailed in Thailand’s southern waters. The...

AP PHOTOS: Scenes of devastation from the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami

Dec. 21, 2024 12:29 PM EST

On Dec. 26, 2004, a 9.1 magnitude earthquake struck off the west coast of Sumatra, causing a massive wave that devastated Asian coastal communities across thousands of miles. Some 230,000 people died as the tsunami leveled remote villages, ports and tourist resorts in Indonesia,...

Utah mom killed with 3 kids was a refugee who fled violence in Myanmar

Dec. 19, 2024 18:15 PM EST

A Utah mother who police believe was shot and killed by her husband along with three of their children was a refugee who fled violence in Myanmar and dreamed of thriving with her family in the U.S., relatives said Thursday. Police believe the husband killed his family before...

14-year-old stabs a Thai-Australian schoolmate to death in a fight, Thai police say

Dec. 13, 2024 05:53 AM EST

BANGKOK (AP) — A 14-year-old has been arrested on charges alleging that he stabbed a Thai-Australian schoolmate to death in a fight after having an ongoing feud, police in Thailand said Friday. The suspect told investigators he and the victim harbored a mutual dislike from school...

Relic of the Buddha loaned by China gets a warm welcome in Thailand

Dec. 04, 2024 19:28 PM EST

BANGKOK (AP) — More than 2,000 people took part Wednesday in a procession to escort a relic of the Buddha lent by China to a shrine in the Thai capital Bangkok to honor the birthday of King Maha Vajiralongkorn and to celebrate half a century of diplomatic relations between Thailand and China. ...

Floods wreak havoc in Malaysia, southern Thailand with over 30 killed, tens of thousands displaced

Dec. 03, 2024 21:33 PM EST

KOTA BARU, Malaysia (AP) — Severe floods caused by monsoon rains killed more than 30 people and displaced tens of thousands in Malaysia and southern Thailand, officials said Tuesday, with both countries preparing shelters and evacuation plans in anticipation of more heavy rain. ...

Thailand's prime minister expects fishermen seized by Myanmar to be repatriated soon

Dec. 03, 2024 10:38 AM EST

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on Tuesday said her government is negotiating with neighboring Myanmar for the return of four fishermen captured by Myanmar’s navy for trespassing. Paetongtarn told reporters in Bangkok that it was confirmed that...

A rare ceremony in Thailand marks the king's auspicious 72nd birthday

Dec. 03, 2024 09:42 AM EST

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Tuesday presided over a parade that saw the queen lead hundreds of military personnel in honor of his 72nd birthday. It was the first such ceremony in Bangkok’s vast Royal Plaza in 16 years. Birthdays...

3 dead and over 90,000 displaced as Malaysia prepares for its worst floods in a decade

Nov. 29, 2024 06:46 AM EST

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia is preparing for its worst floods in a decade after heavier-than-expected monsoon rains caused severe flooding that killed three people and displaced more than 90,000. The National Disaster Command Center online portal said Friday that 94,778...