Myanmar Troops Clash with Karen, Thai Home Damaged

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26 January 2026, 11:36

Myanmar Troops Clash with Karen, Thai Home Damaged

MAE SOT — 26 January 2026, heavy fighting erupted between Myanmar’s military forces and the Karen National Union (KNU) troops near the border with Thailand, causing minor damage to a Thai civilian home.

The confrontation took place at Min La Pan village, located opposite Mae Gon Ken and Huay Mahawang villages in Mae Sot district, Tak province. Myanmar’s military, led by the 22nd Light Infantry Division, employed drones, including both bomb-dropping UAVs and suicide “kamikaze” drones, to target KNU positions in the area. The strikes hit regions around the Tinu Khor stream, Phalu cemetery, and the Golden Pagoda intersection, near the Myanmar border town of Myawaddy in Karen State.

The drone assaults targeted KNU’s strongholds, situated about 1 kilometre from the Thai border in Huay Mahawang village, part of the operational zone of anti-government forces. Casualties on either side remain unclear.

The Myanmar military had attempted to seize a forest base at Min La Pan, but was repelled after heavy exchanges of small-arms fire. The firefight resulted in stray bullets hitting a Thai civilian house, causing slight damage. No injuries were reported among Thai residents.

The ongoing clashes highlight the growing tensions along the Myanmar-Thailand border, as Myanmar’s military intensifies its operations against ethnic armed groups in Karen State.

KMUTNB’s official launch of the international program “Aviation Business Management and Services in the Digital Age”

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Mc Marketing

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26 January 2026, 10:33

The International College of King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok (KMUTNB) is advancing its response to the needs of the modern aviation industry with the official launch of the Bachelor of Business Administration in Aviation Business Management and Services in the Digital Age (International Program). The new program aims to produce high-quality graduates who are not merely general operators, but also “solution seeker individuals” who are mastering strategic thinking skills and ready to drive the aviation and logistics industries at the international level.

The program is designed to match the borderless aviation industry growth rate, covering 4 core sectors: In-flight Services, Ground Services, Air Cargo and Logistics, and Aviation Industry Management. It provides students with an in-depth understanding of aviation business, services, and management within the era of digital globalization.

A major highlight of the program is hands-on aviation training conducted on a full-scale, University owned Boeing 737 “HS-KMUTNB,” that serves as a training mockup to provide a lifelike training environment. Students are given opportunities to develop practical skills, master real-time problem-solving, and gain familiarity with equipment before pursuing a professional career in the aviation industry.

The courses, following globally recognized standards, are fully delivered in English. This enhances the employment prospects and graduates can compete in the international job market. A degree from this program opens doors to a wide range of aviation-related careers domestically and internationally, such as flight attendants, ground and airport operations officers, airline cargo and supply chain staff, as well as a wide array of aviation business management and service positions in international organizations.

Those interested must apply for this international undergraduate program for the Academic Year 2026 via the Thai University Central Admission System (TCAS).

For further information, please visit our website at www.inter.kmutnb.ac.th, our Facebook page: International College KMUTNB, or contact us at phone number: 092-742-4458.

This initiative represents one of KMUTNB’s important steps toward realizing the goal of developing high-quality human resources with professional competence in response to the world’s rapid growth of the aviation sector in the digital era.

Thailand lab ready to test for Nipah virus within 8 hours

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Khaosod English

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25 January 2026, 14:35

Thailand lab ready to test for Nipah virus within 8 hours

BANGKOK — 25 January 2026, Thailand’s Department of Medical Sciences says it is ready to conduct RT-PCR testing to detect Nipah virus, with results available within eight hours, amid concerns about possible human-to-human transmission through contact with bodily fluids.

Dr. Sarawut Boonsuk, director-general of the Department of Medical Sciences under the Ministry of Public Health, said on Saturday that Nipah virus is a zoonotic disease transmitted from animals to humans, primarily through contact with animal waste or bodily fluids. The main natural hosts are fruit bats, particularly flying foxes, while other animals that can be infected include pigs, horses, cats, goats and sheep.

He said the virus can also spread from person to person through direct contact with an infected patient’s bodily fluids, such as blood or saliva.

The disease was first identified in 1998 among pig farmers in the village of Nipah in Malaysia, which gave the virus its name. Recent cases have been reported in India, while Thailand has so far recorded no confirmed infections, he said.

Dr. Sarawut said the incubation period for Nipah virus infection is typically four to 14 days but can extend to as long as one month. Early symptoms resemble influenza, including high fever, headache, muscle pain, nausea and vomiting. Some patients may develop respiratory symptoms or encephalitis, along with neurological signs such as dizziness, unsteady walking, drowsiness, confusion, seizures, abnormal eye movements or limb twitching. Severe cases can be fatal.

He said the Department of Medical Sciences, through the National Institute of Health, which serves as the country’s reference laboratory for disease diagnosis, is fully equipped to test for Nipah virus using real-time RT-PCR, a method with high sensitivity and specificity.

Samples can be taken from various sources, including blood, throat and nasal secretions, cerebrospinal fluid and urine, with at least two types of specimens required. Test results can be reported within eight hours of sample receipt, he said.

There is currently no specific treatment or vaccine for Nipah virus, and care is supportive. Authorities therefore urged the public to take preventive measures, including avoiding contact with reservoir animals and potential carriers, thoroughly washing fruit before consumption, and washing hands with soap after handling animals, meat or animal carcasses, especially bats, pigs, horses, cats, goats and sheep.

Dr. Sarawut said hospitals can submit samples from suspected Nipah virus patients, those with high fever and a history of animal contact, consumption of potentially contaminated fruit, or recent travel from outbreak areas, for testing and consultation.

Further information is available from the Department of Medical Sciences’ Service Centre and the Laboratory Disease Surveillance and Analysis Coordination Centre at the National Institute of Health in Nonthaburi province. Contact numbers are 02-951-1485 and 02-951-0000 ext. 98340.

Thai councillor arrested over failed gold shop robbery

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Khaosod English

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25 January 2026, 13:11

Thai councillor arrested over failed gold shop robbery

KORAT — Police in northeastern Thailand have arrested a local municipal councillor over an attempted armed robbery at a gold shop in Nakhon Ratchasima province, authorities said on 25 January 2026.

The suspect allegedly tried to rob Phanthong Yaowarat Gold Shop on Nong Prue–Nong Phai Road, opposite Nong Prue Market, around noon on 24 January 2026. Police said the gunman, described as a Thai man wearing a black-and-white helmet, dark jacket and trousers, white gloves and grey trainers, entered the shop carrying a backpack and shoulder bag before drawing a handgun.

He threatened staff, saying he only wanted gold and did not intend to hurt anyone, and ordered trays of gold to be handed over, police said. A sales assistant, identified as Namfon Jianmaroeng, 34, kept talking to delay him and then ran to trigger an emergency alarm. The suspect fired one shot at a display wall to intimidate staff and clear an escape route, but fled empty-handed on an automatic motorcycle parked behind the shop.

On 25 January 2026, Nakhon Ratchasima city police, joined by regional and provincial investigation units, tracked the escape route through a market and over a wall into a nearby housing estate about 800 metres from the scene.

Officers found a motorcycle matching the suspect vehicle at a house in Pho Klang subdistrict. The homeowner, identified as Wichian Sirisathit, 67, a member of the Pho Klang municipal council, raised suspicions during questioning, police said. A review of his mobile phone showed location data placing him in the area at the time of the attempted robbery and matching CCTV footage along the escape route.

Police said Wichian confessed to the attempted robbery and to firing a Norinco 213 9mm handgun to threaten the victim, citing heavy debts as his motive.

Jealous dispute triggers homemade bomb blast in Thai home

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Khaosod English

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25 January 2026, 11:59

Jealous row ends in homemade bomb blast in Thai home

CHONBURI — A jealous argument between a Thai woman and her Norwegian-Thai husband ended in an explosion at a home in eastern Thailand, injuring four people, rescue workers and police said.

The blast was reported at 00:16 on 25 January 2026 at a house in Soi Thung Klom Tan Man 29, Moo 14, Nong Prue subdistrict, Bang Lamung district, Chonburi province. The Sawang Boriboon rescue centre received the emergency call and alerted Nong Prue police before dispatching volunteers to the scene.

Rescuers found four injured people. Christian Kwamma, 27, a Norwegian-Thai national, suffered severe injuries to his left hand from the force of a homemade “ping-pong bomb”. His wife, Patcharida Kwamma, 23, was hit by shrapnel and injured in the face.

Two friends, Anuwat Chompho, 21, and Suphaphorn Jor-mor, 21, sustained minor shrapnel wounds and ringing in their ears. All four were given first aid at the scene and rushed to hospital.

Police said the blast shattered a marble table, broke windows and sprayed blood across the walls and floor. Fragments of the homemade explosive device were found and collected as evidence. Relatives of the couple and nearby residents were left shaken.

Anuwat told police the group had been drinking alcohol outside the house when Christian argued with his wife out of jealousy, as he works in Norway. He said Christian picked up the device to threaten her and slammed it onto the marble table, triggering the explosion and injuring everyone nearby.

Police documented the scene and said they would question all those injured once they recover to determine possible charges under the law.

‘Lisa effect’ boosts visits to Thailand’s Red Lotus Sea

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Khaosod English

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25 January 2026, 11:31

‘Lisa effect’ boosts visits to Thailand’s Red Lotus Sea

UDON THANI — Thailand’s Tourism Authority (TAT) says visitor numbers to the Red Lotus Sea in Udon Thani have risen sharply, driven by what it calls the “Lisa effect” and a wave of online memes that amplified global interest.

TAT Governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool said she received a report from the agency’s Udon Thani office noting a steady increase in tourists visiting the Red Lotus Sea, formally known as Nong Han Kumphawapi. The surge followed the release of photographs of global pop star Lisa visiting the site, which later sparked viral memes online and broadened awareness.

Tourist numbers were significantly higher than on 24 January, she said, with Japanese visitors in particular queuing to buy boat tickets from as early as 05:00. Thapanee said she had stressed to the Udon Thani governor the importance of effective on-site management, calling the period a “golden opportunity” for the attraction. She said demand must be matched with proper supply management, adding that provincial authorities and local residents were working together to provide a positive experience for visitors.

TAT recommends visiting the Red Lotus Sea at its peak between mid-January and mid-February 2026, when red lotus flowers are in full bloom across more than 40 square kilometre. The period has brought a lively atmosphere, especially among foreign tourists travelling specifically in the wake of Lisa’s visit.

Thapanee said TAT had previously promoted the destination through the Amazing Thailand x Lisa campaign, featuring images of the singer at the Red Lotus Sea. Many tourists have since followed in her footsteps, travelling to the actual location to recreate the photos.

About 50,000 visitors so far

Thapanee said many visitors told officials they had not known about the Red Lotus Sea before seeing the Amazing Thailand x Lisa promotion. Afterward, they decided to fly to Udon Thani and continue by van to the site, often seeking out the same photo angles and small wooden boats seen in the campaign images.

According to TAT figures, visitor numbers since the start of the season have reached about 50,000, with foreign tourists accounting for more than half of the total.

New lotus areas set to bloom

Thapanee said that while weekday visitor numbers are usually lower, the Lisa-driven trend has led to at least 100 boat trips operating daily. Group bookings have increased for February, including requests for the same style of wooden boats featured in the promotional images.

The main lotus area, covering more than 40 square kilometre, is expected to remain in bloom until mid-February 2026. A new 8 square kilometre section near Don Luang Island is forecast to bloom from mid-February through mid-March, allowing tourists to continue visiting the Red Lotus Sea before the start of the summer season.

Claims of ‘quantum mind healing’ draw crowds in northeast

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Khaosod English

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25 January 2026, 10:57

Claims of ‘quantum mind healing’ draw crowds in northeast

UDON THANI — Crowds of patients have flocked to sessions promoting so-called “quantum mind” healing linked to the wife of a deputy provincial governor in Thailand’s northeast, prompting calls for authorities to investigate the claims and their potential impact on public safety and health.

On 24 January 2069, reporters in Udon Thani said they received complaints from residents alleging that the wife of a deputy governor in the upper northeastern region was involved in activities claiming to heal illnesses using “quantum psychic power”.

Reporters later travelled to Phon Sa municipality in Tha Bo district, Nong Khai province, where they found the deputy governor’s wife, identified as Wannawilai Kanphet, the wife of Nong Khai deputy governor Chamlak Kanphet, along with a group described as “instructors” from Bangkok. The group was holding what it described as treatment or training sessions, with a large number of patients filling a meeting hall.

Those attending included people who said they could not walk, patients with diabetes-related foot ulcers, limb weakness, visual impairment and a range of other conditions.

Wannawilai told reporters the activity was intended to help patients by using “quantum mind power”, combined with the burning of incense, which she described as an ancient method involving “supernatural energy”. She claimed that ailments beyond the ability of conventional medicine could improve through the sessions, pointing to incense sticks that she said changed colour as “negative elements” left the body.

Wannawilai later stressed that what was being offered should not be described as medical treatment but as “training” to rebalance the body, combining magnetic field concepts with mental focus. She said research was under way and that data were being collected, insisting that the approach should be studied further before conclusions were drawn. When asked to compare the activity to previous controversial spiritual healing cases, she rejected the comparison and declined further comment.

Residents have urged higher authorities and relevant agencies to examine the facts and determine whether the activities breach medical or legal standards, warning that the issue could escalate if left unchecked.

Viral clip shows tourists’ dangerous motorcycle stunt in Phuket

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Khaosod English

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25 January 2026, 10:22

Viral clip shows tourists’ dangerous motorcycle stunt in Phuket

PHUKET — A viral video showing foreign tourists performing dangerous motorcycle stunts in Patong has sparked widespread criticism online, with calls for authorities to take firm action.

On 25 January 2026, the Phuket Times Facebook page posted a video clip lasting about 16 seconds. The footage shows foreign tourists riding motorcycles recklessly, repeatedly sounding their horns and lifting the front wheel off the road, apparently for show, without regard for public safety.

The behaviour caused disturbance and posed risks to other road users, as well as local residents and tourists in the area.

The incident took place on Rat Uthit 200 Pi Road in Patong subdistrict, Kathu district, Phuket province. The page captioned the clip: “Chaos without end! A gang of racing tourists popping wheelies and making loud disturbances”.

After the clip circulated online, many social media users criticised the tourists’ conduct, urging authorities to arrest and punish those involved in accordance with the law to prevent copycat behaviour. Some expressed frustration that similar incidents occur every year and described such actions as a threat to public safety, particularly on the roads.

Others called on relevant agencies to address the problem in a concrete and timely manner, warning that local residents’ patience is wearing thin.

Firework blast at Thai funeral seriously injures man, 66

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Khaosod English

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25 January 2026, 10:04

Firework blast at Thai funeral seriously injures man, 66

ANG THONG — A 66-year-old man was seriously injured when a firework exploded during a funeral ceremony in Ang Thong province on 24 January 2069, police said.

The incident occurred at about 15:30 at Wat Ngiew Rai in Moo 7, Yang Sai subdistrict, Pho Thong district. Police were alerted to a fireworks accident that left one person critically injured.

Police Lt. Col. Sutthi Thuenyai, a deputy investigation officer at Rammasak police station, said officers rushed to the scene after receiving the report. Rescue workers had already taken the injured man to Pho Thong Hospital for urgent treatment.

The victim was later identified as Somyot Sabaiprae, 66. He suffered severe injuries to his right arm, from the shoulder down to the hand, officials said.

Nattapol Boonprasop, a volunteer with the Ruamkatanyu Foundation, said he was called to the area behind the temple’s crematorium, where he found Somyot with extensive damage to his right arm, which was almost severed. First aid was provided before the man was taken to hospital.

According to Somyot, he was lighting fireworks as part of the funeral rites when one firework failed to ignite. He reached into the tube to check it, at which point it detonated, causing the injuries.

Police said they were gathering evidence at the scene and investigating the exact cause of the explosion in line with legal procedures.

Pheu Thai trying to stay alive and relevant

By

Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer

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24 January 2026, 14:15

When Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was removed from power and her father, former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, found himself returning to prison last year, many people asked if this was the end of the Shinawatras’ power in politics.

Several months on, and just two weeks before the general election on 8 February, the answer is a decisive no. Instead of another Shinawatra PM candidate, it is now a “half-Shinawatra” candidate under the name of Dr. Yodchanan Wongsawat, a nephew of Thaksin, a lecturer in biomedical engineering at the prestigious Mahidol University.

The party is still among the top three in all polls, so it will definitely at least return as a major political party, if not more.
Their main PM candidate, while not carrying the Shinawatra family name, is half a Shinawatra. Yodchanan’s mother is Thaksin’s younger sister Yaowapha (Shinawatra) Wongsawat and his father is former PM Somchai Wongsawat. The Shinawatra DNA is definitely there.

If you are fed up with family-run politics—where family connections outweigh the competence of outsiders and party professionals, and where those who refuse to kowtow to the supreme leader are sidelined—then the Pheu Thai Party is probably not the answer. That is, unless you want to see the party break a world record by becoming one in which a brother-in-law, a younger sister, a daughter, and now a nephew take turns at the helm of the party and running the government.

For some, the Thaksin Shinawatra DNA is precisely why they will keep on voting for the Pheu Thai Party, however.

“Let me be clear: I choose Pheu Thai because of the Shinawatras, because of Thaksin. I choose it because it is the only party that truly pushes the country to develop. And the more those elite NGOs, the elite class, the media, journalists, news anchors, the courts, and organisations like iLaw… and Thammasat academics attack and gang up on the Shinawatras, the more determined I am to keep voting for them—until the Shinawatras completely leave politics,” wrote X user @joosiripun to me on Wednesday in response to my social media post about the family nature of the Pheu Thai Party.

“When you think about it, ordinary people are attached to individuals they trust and believe will act in their interests. Just look at how, before Yodchanan officially came out [to run for PM], Pheu Thai’s support had dropped significantly—but the moment he was unveiled, the momentum surged immediately. Or is that not true??” another X user @shutup2557, with over 55,000 followers, replied to me.

Arguably the most influential social media promoter of the Pheu Thai Party, Ms. Kam Phaka, did not mince words when she respond to me on Wednesday as well, writing back on X, where she enjoys 387,000 followers:

“I choose based on the policies, I choose based on [Yodchanan]’s profile, and I choose because he is a Shinawatra.”

I am not writing this commentary to deride Yodchanan, who appears to have been an accomplished scholar prior to entering Thai politics on 16 December, or just over a month ago.

Yes, Yodchanan has rejuvenated the flagging Pheu Thai Party at a crucial juncture, as Thaksin is still in prison at the moment and Paetongtarn has left the party’s helm to return to private life. For a period last year, it appeared that the Pheu Thai Party might as well be doomed. Now, no one is predicting that.

I asked Pheu Thai party-list candidate Umesh Pandey on Wednesday what he finds striking about Yodchanan, and he replied:

“What I find most interesting about my PM candidate is his background as an academic/scientist. Maybe I’m a person who likes brains. But it’s not just brains; Yodchanan has been helping people in need even when he was an academic at Mahidol University.

“A person with no political position or, at that point, ambition, was trying to make the lives of handicapped people a little easier with innovations that he was undertaking. And to top it off, which nobody talks about, is the fact that he was also the head of the university’s innovation department, looking at pitching by those who wanted to undertake collaboration for innovation at the university.

“I say so because some of my friends who are in meditech had flown from London to join hands with the university’s innovation department and he was there on behalf of the university. I think our country today needs people who are smart, articulate, and thinking about what and where the country needs to be to be competitive in the future.”

Yodchanan alone cannot ensure that the party will win big and perhaps form the next coalition government. Policy-wise, it seems that the party may not have a silver bullet, however.

On Saturday, I took a taxi and chatted with the driver. The driver was 76 years old. He said he had once suffered a stroke. Luckily, he realised what was happening, pulled over, and got to the hospital in time. He used the “Gold Card” universal healthcare scheme for treatment. This is something Thaksin initiated (building on the 30-baht universal healthcare policy). No political party has dared to abolish this programme, because it has significantly improved the quality of life of ordinary people across the entire country. This is a life-changing policy for the masses credited to Thaksin and a medical doctor who sold him the idea.

And this time, caretaker PM Anutin Charnvirakul, who is also a leading PM candidate, has even said he will make it a “plus” version, improving it further.

This is the greatest contribution of the party now known as Pheu Thai. I told the driver that if he were in the US, ordinary people like him would not survive without private insurance and would have no access to such heavily subsidised treatment.

The driver did not say which party he would vote for, however. But when you think about it, I do not see that today’s Pheu Thai has any policy that can match the 30-baht healthcare scheme, or at least none that really stands out or sticks in the mind — even though election day is less than three weeks away.
This is a missed opportunity for Pheu Thai. What is their signature policy this time around? If anyone can think of one, please let me know.

And to the Pheu Thai Party—you still have 10 days to introduce a new, earth-shattering policy, if you can. Something that might bring lasting change across generations of Thais could be a turning point in the election and beyond.

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