The attack comes as Thai authorities are battling to prop up the shark numbers off the kingdom’s coasts with a falling population and birth rate. There have been other isolated reports of shark attacks on Thailand’s beaches in recent years most commonly linked with bull sharks. Officials in Phuket led by Deputy Governor Pichet Panapong have assured the mother of the boy in this latest incident that everything possible is being done to respond to any potential danger and protect the public using the beaches on the island, among the most popular in the world which, in the past, have attracted up to 10 million visitors a year.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/05/02/shark-attack-on-8-year-old-boy-in-phuket/

James Morris reports from Phuket.

It had been thought that with high smartphone penetration among the population and the widespread use of digital apps for payments during the pandemic, a transition to a cashless society had begun. The answer, according to a survey of 6,020 people, is unequivocal. No, it has not. 65% of users who took up Krung Thai Bank’s Pao Tang app to avail of government financial supports have opted to no longer use it while cash is seen to have an edge under every criterion. It is seen as more convenient, more widely accepted, cheaper and more private.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/05/01/cash-still-king-people-reject-app-payments/

Carla Boonkong reports from Bangkok

Disturbing story from Nakhon Sawan in the lower part of northern Thailand where a 24-year-old agreed with his aunt to kill a 60-year-old foreigner on the promise of a new car to replace his older one used in the act. Police also revealed that the man’s 63-year-old aunt has been implicated and charged previously in a similar murder conspiracy but avoided conviction due to lack of evidence.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/04/30/thai-wife-plot-to-kill-63-year-old-danish-man-pia-larsen/

James Morris reports from Nakhon Sawan.

The key question that may determine the outcome of the election will be the voting system used with the fate of two bills being progressed through parliament very much holding the key to that. This week, the leader of the Pheu Thai Party estimated that the bills should be finalised by July although many astute political observers doubt very much whether the election voting laws, as they are currently framed, handing the voting advantage to the Pheu Thai Party, will make it through the parliamentary process before the House of Representatives is dissolved.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/04/29/voting-laws-driving-general-election-date/

Joseph O' Connor reports from Bangkok.

The economy is very much depending on a stronger performance this year by the foreign tourism industry. The proposal to scrap the Thailand Pass regime will mean that incoming visitors by air will complete a TM6 entry form declaring their status as was the case before 2020 while the Immigration Bureau will again be responsible for screening visitors after they arrive in the kingdom from incoming flights.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/04/28/plan-to-scrap-thailand-pass-june-1st/

Carla Boonkong reports from Bangkok.

The economy is very much depending on a stronger performance this year by the foreign tourism industry. The proposal to scrap the Thailand Pass regime will mean that incoming visitors by air will complete a TM6 entry form declaring their status as was the case before 2020 while the Immigration Bureau will again be responsible for screening visitors after they arrive in the kingdom from incoming flights.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/04/28/plan-to-scrap-thailand-pass-june-1st/

Carla Boonkong reports from Bangkok.

Calls for a wider reopening are coming at a time when Thai political parties are gearing up for a General Election likely to be called before the end of 2022. As Minister of Public Health, Anutin Charnvirakul has been seen as hawkish on efforts to introduce public health measures designed to boost the economy. On Tuesday, he also questioned whether foreign tourism demand could be regenerated so quickly, saying the kingdom was like a restaurant reopening after being closed for some time.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/04/27/anutin-may-agree-to-abolish-thailand-pass/

James Morris reports from Bangkok.

More foreign tourists are part of the answer for Thailand’s still challenged economy. Figures released by the government show falling unemployment in line with rising foreign tourist numbers from the beginning of the year. However, the kingdom needs all the purchasing power it can get with a record household debt and the rising danger of a price shock after May with inflation still running at elevated levels. The Vice President of the Tourism Council of Thailand, Wichit Prakobkosol, says that as many as 12 million foreign tourists can be attracted to Thailand in 2022 if the government responds positively.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/04/26/thailand-pass-stalls-visitors-after-may-1st/

Carla Boonkong reports from Bangkok.

Police Corporal Norawich Buadok was charged with reckless driving causing death in February after public outcry over the incident. The court heard, on Monday, that he was riding an unregistered, untaxed motorbike at speed, without insurance and in the wrong lane when he careered into the popular young ophthalmologist who worked at Chulalongkorn University.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/04/25/policeman-jailed-over-zebra-crossing-death/

James Morris reports from Bangkok.

Failure to pass two laws amending the country’s voting process is not only a possibility but also very much fraught with danger, one that is being openly alluded to by key government ministers such as Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam. The surreal situation is bound to leave the country’s largest political party Pheu Thai facing a dilemma when it lays down a no-confidence motion against the government next week, a vote the government is by no means assured of winning and which could torpedo the passage of the two laws leading to a crisis.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/04/24/pheu-thai-landslide-plan-may-end-in-crisis/

Carla Boonkong reports from Bangkok.