Police seized ฿1.3 million in cash from two safes while they failed to open four others at a completely unlicensed Chinese-run high-end nightlife complex in Sathorn which had a drug warehouse at the back, where sachets of drugs in different colours sold for between ฿10,000 to ฿25,000 each to over 200 nearly exclusively high-end Chinese customers, after Wednesday morning’s raid, which saw the local police chief transferred.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/10/27/chinese-links-to-nightlife-underworld-probed/

Joseph O' Connor reports from Bangkok and Pattaya.

Speaking on Monday, the minister reaffirmed his party’s opposition to the government’s marijuana bill. The deputy prime minister said the liberal availability of cannabis was not in the national interest and that this was the main concern of the Democrat Party and its parliamentary members.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/10/26/higher-exports-in-september-sixth-trade-deficit/

James Morris reports from Bangkok.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan ocha upbeat about the kingdom’s prospects as inward investment from foreign firms for the first 9 months showed a 57% improvement in value terms compared to last year with 61.5% of projects located within the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) in Eastern Thailand.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/10/26/cabinet-agrees-land-rights-for-foreigners-surging-investment/

Carla Boonkong reports from Bangkok.

Kingdom’s finances appear to be sound with a projected debt-to-GDP ratio in 2023 of 60.4% which is extremely prudent by international standards. The fact that over 98% of public debt funding comes from within Thailand also makes the country impervious to turmoil on international markets.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/10/25/green-bonds-unveiled-seeking-900-billion-baht-finance-ministry/

James Morris reports from Bangkok.

The perpetrator, known as ‘Sergeant Bird’ is a member of the Trang Special Operations Unit or SWAT team in Trang and is understood to have taken a long gun and armoured clothing with him into hiding as police widen their search net and a murder investigation into the death of his well-connected victim begins.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/10/25/trang-policeman-guns-down-32-year-old-man/

News Desk report from Trang province.

Attack on the Progressive Movement leader by a crazed and eccentric businessman comes before a General Election is due to be called in Thailand in the coming months. It shows polarisation and political instability in the country have not gone away. It also points to the kingdom’s growing problems of mental instability.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/10/24/thanathorn-attacked-by-man-at-book-fair-k-one-million/

James Morris reports from Bangkok.

Former Deputy Minister of Labour warns that a continuation of the current trend with twin deficits would be bad news for the kingdom. Thailand’s Foreign Currency Reserves dipped again on Friday 21st October with the Bank of Thailand, on Saturday, issuing a statement in which it said it was monitoring volatile movements of the baht carefully. The government led by Prime Minister Prayut Chan ocha and Minister of Finance Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, meanwhile is highlighting the country’s expected growth rate of 3% to 3.5% for 2022, inward investment and rising numbers of foreign tourists returning to the country aided by a lower priced baht.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/10/24/second-ex-minister-queries-economic-data/

Carla Boonkong reports from Bangkok.

Political experts and commentators have been talking up the prospects of the Bhumjaithai Party as a ‘neutral’ actor on the receiving end of defections with reports of further in the pipeline before the next General Election. However, the party’s opinion poll support in national terms remains at 2.4%, just behind even newly formed parties and certainly behind the Pheu Thai, Move Forward, the Democrats and even Palang Pracharat. Recent bye-elections and opinion polls point to growing support for both the Pheu Thai Party on one side of the political divide and the Democrat Party on the other despite the long-winded prognostications of experts forecasting Bhumjaithai Party leader, Anutin Charnvirakul, as the next prime minister.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/10/23/pm-hails-economic-progress-as-election-looms-leads-south-poll/

Joseph O' Connor reports from Bangkok.

Police have not ruled out that the woman may have been attacked for her personal belongings but it is also feared she may have had difficulties in the sea off Naithon Beach and drowned. The search continues on Sunday amid stormy waters.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/10/23/fears-for-russian-tourist-elena-rusradchenko-missing-in-phuket/

News Desk report from Phuket.

The owner of the gorilla, the Pata Pinklao Department Store, on Saturday, rejected the suggestion that Bua Noi was for sale or that there had been any discussion or proposals with a third party despite a statement by the secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Mr Thanespol Thanaboonyawat, proposing that the gorilla’s freedom could be bought for ฿30 million and that she should be returned to a more natural environment with other gorillas in Germany after nearly forty years in Thailand where she first came with her male partner in early 1983 when the urban zoo opened.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/10/22/campaign-to-save-thailand-last-gorilla-bua-noi-pata-zoo/

Carla Boonkong reports from Bangkok.