Thailand's new Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul pays respect to a portrait of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, as he receives the royal endorsement ceremony at Bhumjai Thai party Headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. (Thai government spokesman office via AP)
By JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI
BANGKOK (AP) — Anutin Charnvirakul, a veteran politician best known for successfully lobbying to decriminalize cannabis in Thailand, became the country’s prime minister after receiving a royal endorsement Sunday, two days after he was chosen by Parliament following a court order that removed his predecessor.
Thailand’s new prime minister had served in Paetongtarn’s Cabinet as a deputy prime minister and an interior minister, but resigned his positions and withdrew his party from her coalition government after news of the leaked phone call caused public uproar.
Letter of appointment
Anutin received the letter of appointment in a ceremony at his party Bhumjaithai’s headquarters in Bangkok, attended by senior members of parties expected to join his coalition government. They wore white civil servants’ uniforms used for royal and state ceremonies.
“I’d like to take an oath that I determine to perform my duties to my fullest capabilities, with honesty and virtue,” he read out a statement after receiving the endorsement.
Speaking to reporters after the ceremony, Anutin said his government will seek to address the country’s urgent problems, including the economy, the border conflict with Cambodia, natural disasters and crimes.
He also reiterated he will commit to a promise to rewrite the constitution and call an early election “to return power to the people to decide on the future of the country.”
Thailand’s new Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, left, talks to Bhumjai Thai lawmakers at Bhumjai Thai party Headquarters after receiving a royal endorsement in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. (Thai government spokesman office via AP)
A conditional win
He won the vote in Parliament on Friday with support from the main opposition People’s Party. In exchange for their votes, Anutin has promised to dissolve Parliament within four months and organize a referendum on the drafting of a new constitution by an elected constituent assembly.
The People’s Party said it would remain part of the opposition, leaving the new government potentially a minority one. The party, which runs on progressive platforms, has long sought changes to the constitution, imposed during a military government, saying they want to make it more democratic.
Pheu Thai said after Anutin won the vote that it would become an opposition party.
During the Pheu Thai-led government, he has been embroiled in scandals, including suspected collusion in last year’s Senate election to give an unfair advantage to some candidates, and a land dispute involving property claimed by the state that has belonged to the family of his Bhumjaithai mentor, Newin Chidchob.
Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul reacts during news conference Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022, at the Public Health Ministry in Nonthaburi, Thailand, after signing a measure that drops cannabis from his ministry’s list of controlled drugs. Photo: Sakchai Lalit / AP
Anutin became the third prime minister of Thailand in two years after the 2023 general elections. The People’s Party, then named the Move Forward Party, won the most seats but was kept from power when military-appointed senators, who were strong supporters of Thailand’s royalist conservative establishment, voted against the party’s candidate because they opposed its policy seeking reforms to the monarchy.
The Senate no longer holds the right to take part in the vote to elect a prime minister.
The Pheu Thai Party, which at the time came second in the elections, later had one of its candidates, real estate executive Srettha Thavisin, approved as prime minister to lead a coalition government. But he served just a year before the Constitutional Court dismissed him from office for ethical violations.
Srettha’s replacement, Paetongtarn, the daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, also lasted just a year in office. Her government was already greatly weakened when the Bhumjaithai Party abandoned her coalition in June.
Thailand's new Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, left, talks to Bhumjai Thai lawmakers at Bhumjai Thai party Headquarters after receiving a royal endorsement in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. (Thai government spokesman office via AP)
The mutual hatred between the Orange and Red camps stems from the Pheu Thai party’s repeated betrayals of the People’s Party (which was known as the Move Forward Party before). This started with the government formation attempts for Pita Limjaroenrat, leader of the Move Forward Party, who later penned a memoir entitled “The Almost Prime Minister” after a failed bid as a result of the Pheu Thai Party outmanoeuvring the young party.
It continued when former PM Thaksin Shinawatra went on stage in the north earlier this year and disparaged Natthapong Ruengpanyawut, the People’s Party leader, as “a young dumb man” in the Northern dialect.
More recently, a Pheu Thai House committee member, including former Prachatai editor Chuwat Ruksiri, infamously refused to vote in support of pushing for the granting of amnesty to those under the age of 18 charged with lese-majeste.
This while Bhumjaithai committee members, knowing they are from an ultra-conservative royalist party and will never vote for such a move, accepted the People’s Party’s request to leave the room in order for the rest to stand a better chance to push for this in the draft amnesty bill, thus winning the PP’s trust, as recalled by Progressive Movement co-leader Pannika Wanich recently with bitterness.
These are but some of the grievances that the People’s Party supporter in the social media video I viewed described with bitterness and Schadenfreude that his party eventually chose Anutin, an agent of the deep state, instead of Pheu Thai’s PM candidate Chaikasem Nitisiri.
This is the level of animosity that the People’s Party and its leaders would never publicly admit to. The bad blood between the two sides exists both at the party level and among supporters. They’ve left it to their supporters, particularly the man in the video I watched, to lay bare the perceived truth about both parties in the video.
This video was heartfelt and raw. It exposes the dark side of both Pheu Thai and the People’s Party: the deep grudges held by PP supporters who were heartbroken when Pita was outmanoeuvred and when insult was added to injury with needless public boasting by the talkative and megalomaniac Thaksin.
In the end, this was an unacknowledged factor as to why the People’s Party didn’t vote for Chaikasem Nitisiri, the Pheu Thai PM candidate. Not only do they not trust the Pheu Thai Party, they likely hate them too much.
As someone who doesn’t align with either political colour so I can say whatever I think, instead of becoming their mouthpiece or tool, it can be stated that mutual disrespect and contempt between the two pro-democracy political camps, and among their supporters, have reached a new low and have created a deeply toxic political environment, making cooperation between the two parties increasingly difficult.
Both sides can’t even stand to look at each other. In the end, both parties are more comfortable working with conservative parties and the deep state – and in the case of the People’s Party, they chose Anutin as a more “credible” alternative.
The victor who reaped the benefits of the fallout between the two parties and their supporters is the deep state, the extra-parliamentary power, however.
Of course, Thaksin’s loose mouth was a factor. Thaksin should have known better but couldn’t help but publicly and needlessly disparage Natthapong, the People’s Party leader, as a “kid”, “clueless” and “dumb.” It’s understandable if Natthapong, his fellow MPs and supporters, would harbour deep resentment but won’t admit that this is one of the main reasons the party chose to slap Thaksin in the face by voting for Anutin, an agent of the extra-parliamentary power, or the deep state—a move which this writer strongly disagrees with and must condemn as myopic, desperate even, despite them insisting that Anutin will dissolve the House within four months months and push for a referendum on a new constitution.
As I type these words, former deputy junta leader Gen Prawit Wongsuwan is a leading contender for the post of Defence Minister under the new Anutin administration. (Let’s hope Prawit won’t make it)
Earlier this morning, prominent human rights activist Sunai Phasuk made the following forecast on social media about the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the Anutin administration, regarding how it will handle the use and abuse of the draconian and anarchistic lese-majeste law.
“The new Foreign Minister will likely have to work as hard as they did during the NCPO [military junta] era, when they publicly defended the use of Section 112 (the royal defamation law) and various dictatorial laws to suppress dissent and restrict rights and freedoms. The Bhumjaithai Party has a clear policy of prosecuting those accused of lese-majeste strictly, without any chance of amnesty. We will likely see the number of political prisoners increase.”
Bad blood between the People’s Party and Pheu Thai also means some will resort to any measures to make the other side suffer.
Shortly after PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra was removed from office by the Constitutional Court a little over a week ago, former Move Forward MP Amarat Chokepamitkul performed a naked dance to deities for granting her wish. Her supplication was to see Paetongtarn removed from office by the Constitutional Court. This is despite the People’s Party saying they do not support the decision made by the Constitutional Court, which is viewed by some as an organ of the deep state.
Also, today, the local press report that the House Speaker is preparing to file a petition from 60 MPs to the Constitutional Court against the Anutin-Natthapong Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on Monday after at least one-tenth of the Members of Parliament (MPs), including many Pheu Thai MPs, had jointly signed a petition to the Speaker of the House of Representatives to forward its petition to the Constitutional Court.
The petition seeks a ruling on whether the MP membership of Anutin and Natthapong Ruangpanyawut has been terminated according to the Constitution.
I strongly disagree with the move. No matter how much mutual animosity exists between Pheu Thai and the People’s Party, we should not support the use of power that’s not truly answerable to the people and cannot be scrutinised.
In the end, on September 5, 2025, the Thai deep state won a crucial battle. They have divided and now rule over the democracy movement. Faith in both the Pheu Thai and the People’s Party is no longer the same. It may take another decade for the democracy movement and civil society to recover and unite.
Police in Udon Thani detain a 39-year-old Korean man who punched an 81-year-old British man until he was bloodied at a shopping mall in downtown Udon Thani on September 6, 2025.
UDON THANI — Shoppers at a wholesale mall in downtown Udon Thani were shocked on Saturday when a Korean man punched an elderly British man, leaving him bloodied, simply because he thought the Briton was approaching to warn him about speaking too loudly.
Police at Mueang Udon Thani Station received reports at 4:30 p.m. on September 6 of a foreigner assaulting someone, causing injury and panic among mall visitors.
Officers found Wayne, an 81-year-old British man, with blood on his shirt from a wound above his eyebrow. After receiving first aid from rescue workers, he told police he was shopping when he noticed a Korean man speaking loudly with a Grab delivery worker. Thinking there might be trouble, he approached to ask what was happening, but was attacked instead.
The perpetrator, a 39-year-old Korean man surnamed Lee, showed off his somersault skills at the back of the police pickup truck before giving his statement through a tourist police interpreter.
Lee told police through an interpreter that he was minding his own business when the British man approached and stared at him. “I didn’t like it, so I punched him once,” he said. “I don’t want anyone bothering my life or interfering with my affairs. I just wanted to teach him a lesson.”
Rescue volunteers treat wounds on the 81-year-old British man who was punched by a Korean man at a shopping mall in downtown Udon Thani on September 6, 2025.
Police volunteer Kittichich Pongsri from Nong Bua district said Lee had been in Thailand for about eight months. He has been charged with assault and disorderly conduct.
Wayne recently made news after reporting that his three-wheeled motorbike was stolen from his residence parking area. CCTV footage clearly captured the theft on September 2, and police are tracking two suspects.
A backhoe clears an area near the parliament building that was damaged in the March 28 earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
MANDALAY, Myanmar (AP) — Thae Mama Swe stood atop a pile of earthquake rubble in the monsoon rain as she watched an excavator below tear away at the concrete and rebar, while a second machine scooped the wreckage away.
It has been a daily ritual for the 47-year-old seamstress for five months, ever since a 7.7-magnitude earthquake centered in Myanmar brought down a 10-story condo and office building with her son inside. Nearly 200 bodies have been recovered from the site, including seven in the past week, but not his.
“If it were possible, I would exchange my life for his,” she said, her glasses wet with rain and her eyes swollen with tears.
The March 28 disaster that killed more than 3,800 people unfolded as Myanmar was already mired in a civil war, in which armed militias and pro-democracy forces are fighting the military-led government that seized power from the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021.
A fire officer works at the site of the Sky Villa, a 10-story condo that collapsed during the March 28 earthquake, in Mandalay, Myanmar, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
During a rare trip into the disaster zone, The Associated Press recently witnessed a country laboring to rebuild the roads, temples, hospitals, schools and government buildings needed for a society to function, while still grappling with the deadly divisions that have torn the nation apart.
The military allowed AP to report on the quake damage in the capital, Naypyitaw, and in the country’s second-largest city, Mandalay — both areas firmly under its control. Official representatives accompanied the team to all sites.
A ceasefire was declared after the quake, but strikes go on
All sides declared a ceasefire immediately after the earthquake, but the fighting never really stopped.
Military airstrikes and artillery attacks have continued, including on civilian targets and in areas affected by the earthquake, said Tom Andrews, the U.N.-appointed human rights expert for Myanmar. The attacks have slowed or halted the delivery of humanitarian aid to many areas. Meanwhile, insurgents have also attacked the military.
Even before the quake, the United Nations estimated that more than 3.5 million people had been displaced from their homes due to the fighting, and some 20 million were in need of assistance. Now, five months on, the military continues to restrict aid to areas outside its control, the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a report this week.
Thae Mama Swe stands at the site of Sky Villa, a 10-story condo that collapsed during the March 28 earthquake, in Mandalay, Myanmar, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
“The junta has to stop killing people, it’s as simple as that,” Andrews said. “And they need to stop obstructing aid.”
Authorities deny that the military, known as the Tatmadaw, is holding up any aid and maintain that any airstrikes are in response to attacks on them from militia groups.
“We are only doing it in self-defense when the enemy comes and attacks us,” Zaw Tun Oo, the head of the protocol department of the Myanmar Foreign Ministry, told AP outside the ministry building, which itself was badly damaged by the earthquake.
Several aid organizations operating inside Myanmar that need the regime’s permission to be there declined to comment on the situation.
Quake damage, sanctions and budget cuts impede recovery
The destruction of infrastructure such as roads and bridges has added to the challenge of bringing aid to the worst-hit areas. Hospitals, schools, places of worship and other community buildings have been damaged or destroyed, leaving few places where people can seek shelter or care.
Along the main highway from the country’s largest city, Yangon, to Mandalay, toppled temples and buckled sections of pavement serve as a constant reminder of the quake’s destructive power. Military engineers have erected temporary bridges to allow traffic to pass over rivers where spans have been destroyed. Damaged bridges that remain standing are being repaired.
Violence is never far away, with pro-democracy forces attacking along the road even after the earthquake.
Across the Mandalay region, nearly 29,000 homes, 5,000 Buddhist pagodas and 43 bridges were either completely or partially destroyed, according to official statistics.
Laborers work at a building in the Mandalay University compound that was damaged in the March 28 earthquake, in Mandalay, Myanmar, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
Myanmar continues to trade with China, Russia and others, but Western sanctions have hurt an already struggling economy. That means authorities have fewer means at their disposal to rebuild while also enduring shortages of supplies and equipment.
Recent cuts to foreign aid by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration have also left both U.N. organizations and other groups operating inside Myanmar struggling to meet humanitarian needs.
The lack of American logistical help has been especially acute, including the transport of aid and heavy equipment to remote areas, Andrews said. In the past, such assistance was routine.
Crews race to rebuild parliament before election
At the parliament complex in Naypyitaw, up to 500 people are working day and night, seven days a week, on the five most important buildings that were damaged. Crews are repairing collapsed ceilings and walls and shoring up foundations so they will be usable in time for elections scheduled for the end of December. Scaffolding fills entire chambers.
It’s seen as symbolically important to have the main parliament buildings ready for new lawmakers to gather in their first session. Critics say the elections are a sham to normalize the military takeover, and several opposition organizations, including armed resistance groups, have said they will try to derail them.
Following the dissolution of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party, which won a landslide victory in 2020, the opposition maintains elections cannot be considered fair or representative. The military seized power before the NLD could begin its second five-year term.
The National Unity Government, established by elected lawmakers who were barred from taking their seats, did not respond to a request for comment.
Elsewhere in the capital, teams of about 40 workers, primarily women, toil largely by hand to repair roads at about a dozen sites. The laborers carry baskets of large stones on their heads and shoulders and dump them to form the foundation, followed by loads of gravel that are topped with asphalt.
Laborers work inside a parliament building that was damaged in the March 28 earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
As the reconstruction progresses, officials say Myanmar needs help from other countries that have experience constructing earthquake-resistant buildings.
Aye Min Thu, the chief of the Mandalay division of Myanmar’s disaster management agency, said with that assistance, the country could “build a resilient society” so that “future generations will not be easily destroyed.”
At the site of one of the capital’s largest hospitals, nothing remains but rusted rebar, plastic pipes and concrete, sorted into piles to be taken away. Hospital beds and furniture are stacked under a shelter for possible reuse, but the engineer in charge of the project, Thin Thin Swe, said it’s not yet clear whether Ottara Thiri Hospital will be rebuilt.
The 47-year-old lost two friends — the hospital’s accountant and its pharmacist — when the main lobby caved in.
“I still pray for them every day,” she said.
At the site where Thae Mama Swe’s son worked, Mandalay’s fire chief Kyaw Ko Ko said the recovery work has been difficult on his teams, especially when they come across the bodies of children, who “could easily be my own relatives or family members.”
As she watched the slow recovery effort continue, Thae Mama Swe talked about the guilt she feels over her son’s death since he was only working in the building that collapsed because she encouraged him to return to Mandalay. Her greatest hope is to recover his body, an essential part of Buddhist religious rites.
“I will never give up hope for that,” she said. “Then his soul will be free, and I can live peacefully.”
Central Park newest shopping center opens on September 4, 2025.
BANGKOK — The Silom-Rama IV district has reached peak vibrancy with the opening of “Central Park,” Central Group’s newest shopping center, which launched on September 4. The mall attracted over 70,000 visitors on its opening day alone, reflecting not only Central Group’s strength but also the tremendous potential of prime real estate in the Silom-Rama IV area.
Silom: Bangkok’s Original CBD
According to Prachachat Business report, Silom stands as Bangkok’s traditional Central Business District (CBD), being one of the first three roads built in the capital. It serves as the financial hub with headquarters of major banks, securities companies, insurance firms, and numerous large corporations concentrated in the area.
Today, Silom has evolved into Bangkok’s “Super Core CBD” – a high purchasing power economic zone featuring over 40 office buildings and continuous development of mixed-use projects combining offices, retail, residential, and hotels. An estimated 700,000 people commute through the area on weekdays, with over 500,000 even on weekends.
According to CBRE Residential Transaction data from 2023, the investment potential of the Rama IV-Silom area is remarkable, with residential properties showing investment returns as high as 33.46% and compound annual growth rates of 13.68% – significantly higher than other Bangkok locations.
Historical view of Silom Road, now Bangkok’s premier Central Business District. (Photo: Matichon Weekly)
Central Hub Connecting Four Major CBDs
Beyond its inherent potential, Silom’s status has been elevated by mass transit systems including BTS and MRT, making it a central connection point to Bangkok’s other CBD districts:
North: Links to Ratchaprasong, packed with office buildings and shopping centers popular with both locals and tourists, featuring BTS Green Line connections
South: Connects to Charoen Krung Road, which is experiencing commercial expansion with routes extending to Thonburi
West: Joins Yaowarat (Chinatown), where food, beverage, and hospitality businesses are flourishing, especially since the MRT extension opened with its characteristically classic stations attracting tourists
East: Extends to Sukhumvit, dense with office buildings, shopping centers, and expatriate communities including Japanese residents in Phrom Phong and Korean communities in Asok
Central Park’s newest shopping center attracts over 70,000 visitors on its opening day, September 4, 2025, alone.
Retail War Heats Up
A key highlight and latest magnet in the Silom area is the collection of shopping centers, both established and newly opened. “Central Park” is the newest player, featuring 130,000 square meters of retail space with over 550 brands offering products, dining, and services. The center employs a new strategy leveraging the iconic Lumpini Park – a 360-rai green space.
Dr. Nathakitthi Tangpoolsintana, Executive Vice President of Marketing at Central Pattana Public Company Limited, explains that Central Park will integrate Lumpini Park’s green spaces, similar to Central Park in New York or Hyde Park in London. This includes synchronized activities in both Lumpini Park and the center’s own 7-rai sky garden, panoramic Bangkok skyline viewing points, a 750-meter jogging track, and spaces for art and cultural activities.
A major highlight already launched is the food zone, which opened on September 4, 2025, featuring restaurants making their Thai debuts, popular venues with new concepts, Michelin Guide establishments, and 70 renowned street food stalls.
Central Group revealed that Central Park’s opening day drew over 70,000 visitors, exceeding their targets.
Central Park’s newest shopping center attracts over 70,000 visitors on its opening day, September 4, 2025.
Central Confident About Non-Impact on Other Branches
Central remains confident that this new branch won’t impact other nearby locations. Dr. Nathakitthi emphasizes that Central Park won’t affect CentralWorld, Central Chidlom, or Central Embassy due to distinct concepts and features: smaller-sized stores focusing on exclusive products available only at this branch, and a regular customer base from surrounding residential and office buildings who will spend entire days at the center – from morning workouts and breakfast to lunch, afternoon snacks, and nightlife.
The differentiation will be reinforced through activities including co-working spaces for events and weddings, as well as coordinated activities between the sky garden and Lumpini Park.
Battle for “One Bangkok-Silom Edge”
Besides Central Park, nearby mixed-use projects with strong retail components include One Bangkok, a collaboration between TCC Assets (Thailand) Limited and Frasers Property Holdings (Thailand) Limited, located on Wireless Road and Rama IV Road with underground connections to the MRT Blue Line. It opened on October 25, 2024.
One Bangkok marks its official opening with themed celebration on October 25, 2024.
The development features over 190,000 square meters of shopping space with over 900 stores across three zones: Parade (Shop-Play-Work-Eat across 85,000 square meters over 9 floors), The Storeys (35,000 square meters over 5 floors), and POST 1928 (luxury shopping across 40,000 square meters over 5 floors). It also includes a dining zone with over 250 restaurants from around the world.
Meanwhile, on Silom Road sits “Silom Edge,” another mixed-use project by Frasers Property (Thailand) Public Company Limited, part of the TCC Group. This project transformed the former Robinson Department Store at the corner of Silom and Rama IV roads under the concept “The New Sandbox Community in CBD.”
The 24-story building spans 50,000 square meters total, with 22,000 square meters of leasable space. The top 12 floors house 12,000 square meters of innovative office space, while 7 floors provide 10,000 square meters of retail space. It opened in 2022.
FILE - A vehicle with members of the Thai royal family onboard passes through a road where anti-government protesters gathered outside the Government House in Bangkok, Thailand on Oct. 14, 2020. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)
As a witness in the court case of “obstructing the royal motorcade” of activist and former lese-majeste detainee Ekachai Hongkangwan and four others, I am appalled and deeply disturbed by the Court of Appeal’s overturning of the lower court’s not-guilty verdict.
The defendants, including Ekachai and Francis Boonkuenun Paothong (a 26-year-old Mahidol University graduate with a promising future, fluent in English and not parochial), were found guilty yesterday. Ekachai was sentenced to 21 years and the others, including Francis, to 16 years each. (They are currently being remanded while awaiting the results of their bail application to the Supreme Court.)
As a witness of the 14 October 2020 incident, I wonder how this could have happened, especially since the prosecutors in the initial criminal court trial could not present a strong case. Here are my five key observations:
On the day of the incident, a group of monarchy-reform demonstrators, including the five, had arrived in front of Government House, and there was no prior warning—via megaphone or any other method—that the royal motorcade would shortly be passing through.
There were no special police units present, which you normally see during a royal motorcade. Normally, special police tasked with coordinating a royal motorcade route are deployed 10 minutes in advance, if not longer. There were none on that day.
Given that the police were aware of the protest, why did they choose this route for the motorcade when there were other alternatives?
Based on what I saw, none of the defendants obstructed the royal motorcade. They simply found themselves in the “wrong place at the wrong time.”
The minimum penalty of 16 years under Section 110 of the Thai Criminal Code is excessive. This severe penalty is anachronistic and draconian, unfit for the modern age where our political system is no longer that of an absolute monarchy.
I am willing to testify anew at the Supreme Court level if needed and hope that the defendants will be granted bail while they appeal their case.
Market vendors and bystanders wait for police and rescue personnel to attend to a French tourist who stabbed himself on the sidewalk at Kim Yong Market, Hatyai District, Songkhla Province, on September 4, 2025.
SONGKHLA — A 25-year-old French tourist identified as “Anu” stabbed himself three times in the abdomen with scissors at Hatyai’s Kim Yong Market on September 4, leaving police investigating possible religious or cult motives.
The incident occurred around 4:30 PM on Supsarn Rangsan Road when the man suddenly ran into a chicken rice shop, grabbed scissors, and stabbed himself on the sidewalk outside, causing heavy bleeding. Shocked vendors immediately called authorities.
Hatyai Police revealed they received reports of a foreigner using a sharp object to harm himself near the market. Emergency responders provided first aid before rushing him to hospital for treatment.
Witnesses said the French man was walking alone when he unexpectedly entered the restaurant, seized the scissors, and inflicted three deep wounds to his stomach area.
Police are waiting for the tourist to recover before questioning him about his motives. Preliminary investigations suggest the self-harm incident may be connected to religious beliefs or cult practices.
The man remains hospitalized while authorities continue their investigation into the unusual case.
BANGKOK — When Anutin Charnvirakul won a parliamentary majority to become Thailand’s 32nd Prime Minister, the woman at his side naturally attracted increased public attention.
Thananont Niramit, originally named Supanan Nirasit and also known as Jajaa, is 39 years old and the partner of Anutin, 58, who had already been through two divorces before they met. Their love story began when Anutin became a regular customer at her coffee shop, JaJaa Coffee, in Ranong Province. After two years together, he introduced her to his family.
Public Debut at Royal Ceremony
The couple made their first official public appearance on May 4, 2022, when Anutin brought her to the royal blessing ceremony for His Majesty the King on Coronation Day at Santi Maitree Building, Government House. This marked their formal recognition as a couple, particularly in political circles.
The couple made their first official public appearance on May 4, 2022.
Family Background and Education
Jajaa comes from a Chinese-Thai family with four sisters. Her family originally operated a car parts business in Ranong under the names Jin Heng Auto Parts and Jin Heng Auto Glass, which younger generations continue to run today. Her father has passed away.
She attended Sriarunothai School for primary education, then Phichairattanakarn School—a well-known provincial school in Ranong—for lower secondary. She moved to Bangkok for upper secondary school at the prestigious Triam Udom Suksa School, before studying at Thammasat University, where she gained recognition as the drum major at the annual traditional Chulalongkorn-Thammasat football match.
Thananont Niramit, also known as Jajaa, owns coffee shops in both Bangkok and Ranong Province.
Coffee Shop Owner Turned First Lady
Jajaa owns JaJaa Coffee on Phetkasem Road in Bang Rin sub-district, Mueang district, Ranong municipality. The coffee shop has become one of the province’s most popular destinations, and she frequently posts appealing photos of food, coffee, and cakes to promote the business.
The couple have no children together, though Anutin has two children—a son and daughter—from his first marriage to Sanongnuch Wattanawarangkul. He used to jokingly tell people, before becoming Prime Minister, that he was “president of the hen-pecked husbands association.”
Orange Cake and Political Irony
Currently, Jajaa also owns a coffee shop called Jaristaa at Bhumjaithai Party headquarters, which also serves cakes. On the day the People’s Party (known as the “Orange Party”) voted to elect Anutin as Prime Minister—despite the two parties having polar opposite policies—reporters teasingly asked Jajaa if she would start selling orange cake at her shop. She replied that the shop already sold orange cake and that sales had actually increased recently.
Anutin Charnvirakul and Thananont Niramit
From Disinterest to Love
Jajaa recalls that initially, she had no interest in or knowledge of politics before meeting Anutin, who was then Health Minister. He came to Ranong on official business, and she was chosen to pick him up from the airport—their first meeting. They met again when his entourage stopped by her coffee shop. At the time, she thought Anutin resembled her father.
She reveals there was no instant attraction or “spark” at first, but when he began visiting her shop regularly and asking about her mother’s wellbeing, she was touched by his attention to small details.
Getting to know his true character, she discovered he deeply values family. Even today, no matter how busy he gets, he still has dinner with his father and regularly arranges family meals with children and grandchildren.
Jajaa – Thananont Niramit says Anutin Charnvirakul is warm, simple, down-to-earth, and has a good sense of humor.
The Man Behind the Politics
“He’s warm, simple, down-to-earth, and has a sense of humor, just like you see in the news. He’s detail-oriented and always respects those around him. He especially supports people who work hard. He notices small things and pays attention to details. At work, he can be stern, but when we’re together, we tease and joke around. Wherever we go together, there’s always something that makes us laugh,” she said.
Work-Life Balance
Most importantly, his partner praises the Prime Minister for clearly separating work from personal life. He never brings stress or pressure home. When he returns home, it becomes a true place of rest—he never brings work frustrations or irritations back to their domestic life.
FILE - Student activist Bunkueanun Paothong, right, with activist Ekachai Hongkangwan talks to reporters before leaving a criminal court in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, June 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, file)
BANGKOK (AP) — An appeals court in Thailand on Friday reversed the acquittals of five people charged with impeding the motorcade of the country’s queen during pro-democracy demonstrations in 2020, handing them prison sentences ranging from 16 to 21 years.
The case stemmed from an incident on Oct. 14, 2020, on the fringes of a rally in Bangkok that was calling for democratic reforms, including to the privileges of the country’s powerful monarchy.
Prosecutors had alleged that the five knew that the royal motorcade — with a limousine carrying Queen Suthida, the wife of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, and his son, Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti, then 15 years old — was due to pass the area and that they had tried to block its route.
They were also were accused of scuffling with police officers who were securing the path and urging other protesters to sit in the road to stop the entourage’s passage.
The original case in Bangkok Criminal Court was brought under a rarely used law targeting actions intended “to harm the liberty of the queen, the heir apparent and the regent.” It specifies different levels of offensive behavior, with the gravest one punishable by the death penalty.
FILE – A vehicle with members of the Thai royal family onboard passes through a road where anti-government protesters gathered outside the Government House in Bangkok, Thailand on Oct. 14, 2020. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)
That court ruled in June 2023 that the evidence and testimony did not support the charges against the five, a rare legal victory for Thailand’s pro-democracy movement, which has often faced an uphill battle in the royalist conservative courts.
However, the Court of Appeal on Friday found it credible that all five defendants knew it was the queen’s motorcade and that they had engaged in conduct obstructing it, according to a summary of the verdict prepared by the legal aid group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.
It judged that although they did not commit the highest degree of the offense, because the car was able to pass, they were still punished with the strictest allowable penalty because they had violated several laws in jointly attempting to commit an act of violence against the queen’s liberty.
Ekachai Hongkangwan, a veteran activist and social critic who has been attacked several times by unknown assailants, was sentenced to just over 21 years imprisonment, while the other four defendants each received 16 years.
Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said applications for bail were being filed for all five pending a further appeal to the Supreme Court.
The royal family is traditionally revered in Thailand. Its sacrosanct status is backed by a royal defamation law, which carries a prison sentence of up to 15 years, and is more actively prosecuted.
In this photo released by the Roscongress Foundation, Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he speaks at the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. ( Stepan Pugachev/Roscongress Foundation via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that any foreign troops deployed to Ukraine, particularly while its invasion was still ongoing, would be considered “legitimate targets” by Moscow’s forces.
“If any troops appear there, especially now while fighting is ongoing, we assume that they will be legitimate targets,” he said during a panel at the Eastern Economic Forum in the far eastern Russian city of Vladivostok.
Putin also dismissed the idea of peacekeeping forces in Ukraine after a final peace deal, saying “no one should doubt” that Moscow would comply with a treaty to halt its 3½-year full-scale invasion of its neighbor.
He said that security guarantees would be needed for both Russia and Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov later said Moscow would need “legally binding documents” to outline such agreements. “Of course, you can’t just take anybody’s word for something,” he told Russian news outlet Argumenty i Fakty.
From left: TV anchor Maria Rybakova, Laotian Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mongolian Prime Minister Gombojav Zandanshatar and China’s Vice Chairman of the standing committee of the country’s National People’s Congress Li Hongzhong attend the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
European leaders pledge peacekeeping force in Ukraine
Putin’s comments follow remarks from French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday that 26 of Ukraine’s allies have pledged to deploy troops as a “reassurance force” for Ukraine once fighting ends.
Macron spoke after a meeting in Paris of the so-called coalition of the willing, a group of 35 countries that support Ukraine. He said that 26 of the countries had committed to deploying troops to Ukraine — or to maintaining a presence on land, at sea or in the air — to help guarantee the country’s security the day after any ceasefire or peace is achieved.
Addressing the participants of the international economic conference the Ambrosetti Forum on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it was important that security guarantees “start working now, during the war, and not only after it ends.”
He said he could not disclose more details as they are “sensitive and relate to the military sphere.”
Drone strikes continue
Russian troops attacked Ukraine overnight with 157 strike and decoy drones, as well as seven missiles of various types, Ukraine’s air force reported Friday. Air defenses shot down or jammed 121 of the drones, it said.
One attack damaged multiple residential buildings in Dnipro in central Ukraine, regional administration head Serhii Lysak wrote on social media. The regional administration also said that an unspecified “facility” had been set alight in the strike, but did not give further details.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron, right, embraces Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the end of a press conference following a summit on Ukraine at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, France, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (Ludovic Marin, Pool Photo via AP)
Lysak shared photos of residential buildings with damaged roofs, glass shards lying on the ground and people carrying wooden boards to cover broken windows. “Private homes were damaged. Windows in apartment buildings were shattered,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, in Ukraine’s Chernihiv region north of Kyiv, Russian drones attacked infrastructure in the Novhorod-Siversk district, leaving at least 15 settlements without electricity, local authorities reported.
Elsewhere, Russian troops destroyed 92 Ukrainian drones overnight, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Friday. Local social media channels in the city of Ryazan, approximately 200 kilometers (125 miles) southeast of Moscow, reported that the city’s Rosneft oil refinery had been targeted. They shared videos that appeared to show a fire against the night sky.
Local Gov. Pavel Malkov said that drone debris had fallen on an “industrial enterprise” but did not give further details, instead warning residents not to post images of air defenses on social media.
