Thai police are investigating a vast arsenal of military-grade weapons — including assault rifles, explosives, grenades and anti-personnel mines — found at the home of a Chinese man, authorities said Saturday.

Two M16 assault rifles, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, Russian landmines, projectiles, gasoline and nearly five kilos (11 pounds) of explosives were found at the home of Sun Mingchen, 31, near the beach resort of Pattaya.

There were no clear links to a planned attack, Chonburi province’s public relations department said in a statement, but local police chief Pongphan Wongmanithet told reporters at the scene they were “investigating security implications”.

Sun was charged with illegal possession of unauthorised weapons and could face up to 10 years in prison.

Thai media reported that the suspect’s phone contained AI chatbot searches on military plastic explosive properties and videos of him handling the weapons, fuelling concerns of possible “terrorist” intent.

Police are looking into the motive of the suspect, who will be taken for psychological evaluation, Pongphan said.

The raid on Sun’s home was prompted after police found a pistol in a car with two Chinese nationals on board during a traffic stop on Friday.

According to authorities, he held a long-term visa in Thailand and had lived in the property for about two years.

Hong Kong authorities have declined to comment on reports that an activist wanted by the city’s national security police could face deportation to China after being arrested in Thailand for allegedly overstaying her visa.

Responding to media queries about concerns that wanted activist Zhang Xinyan could be transferred to China, the Security Bureau said on Monday that it would not comment on news reports about law enforcement actions in other jurisdictions.

“Endangering national security is an extremely serious crime… no fugitive should harbour the illusion that they can evade criminal liability by fleeing Hong Kong,” the bureau said in a statement.

Zhang, 54, is wanted by national security police for allegedly committing subversion, a crime under Article 23 – also known as Hong Kong’s homegrown national security law.

NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Saturday that Zhang could face deportation from Thailand. She is now being held at the Suan Phlu Immigration Detention Centre in Bangkok.

Zhang holds refugee status issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the NGO said.

According to media reports, overseas activist group the Hong Kong Parliament said she had overstayed her visa in Thailand.

Hong Kong and Thailand do not have any extradition agreements, although the transfer of fugitives can still be arranged. In February, a 62-year-old man accused in a murder case nearly 37 years ago was arrested in Thailand and extradited to Hong Kong.

HRW senior Thailand adviser Sunai Phasuk said sending Zhang to Hong Kong would put her in “grave danger.”

“Thai authorities should do the right thing by immediately releasing her and ensuring that she is not put in harm’s way,” he said.

34 activists wanted

Zhang is among a group of 19 activists named in a round of arrest warrants issued in July 2025, with bounties between HK$200,000 and HK$1 million.

Authorities cited their involvement from February to June 2025 in the “Hong Kong Parliament,” a group of overseas activists who held unofficial polls outside the city to form a shadow legislature to “pursue the ideal of Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong.”

According to the Hong Kong Parliament’s YouTube channel, Zhang ran for a seat in the shadow legislature earlier that year.

According to the police force’s notices, Zhang and the others wanted for their involvement in the Hong Kong Parliament have a view to achieve self-determination and subvert state power.

In total, 34 people are wanted under the national security law on suspicion of committing offences including subversion, inciting secession and colluding with foreign forces.

Some of them have bounties of HK$1 million on their heads, including former pro-democracy lawmakers Ted Hui, Dennis Kwok and Nathan Law.

Activists Anna Kwok and Frances Hui, as well as political commentator Elmer Yuen, who is accused of launching a “referendum” to form the Hong Kong Parliament, are also among those targeted with million-dollar bounties.

Twenty people were killed and 120 injured in the attack at the Erawan Shrine, a popular tourist destination

A Thai court has handed out death sentences to two Uyghur men from the north-western Chinese region of Xinjiang for a 2015 bombing in the centre of Bangkok that killed 20 people.

The explosion occurred at the Erawan Shrine in the centre of Bangkok, an area popular with foreign tourists. As well as the 20 people killed, another 120 were injured. Five of the dead were from mainland China and two from Hong Kong.

By Montira Rungjirajittranon

Two Chinese Uyghur men were sentenced to death Thursday for carrying out a 2015 attack on a Bangkok shrine that killed 20 people, a long-awaited verdict in Thailand’s deadliest bombing case.

A Bangkok court convicted Yusufu Mieraili and Bilal Mohammed of premeditated and attempted murder for their role in planting a bomb at the popular Erawan Shrine in the capital’s commercial heart.

The blast tore apart the site where worshippers and tourists had gathered, wounding more than 100 people and leaving the shrine to the Thai representation of Brahma littered with motorbike fragments and singed debris.

Seven Chinese tourists were among the fatalities when explosives — apparently left in a backpack — detonated.

“The defendants committed a single act that violated multiple laws. The court therefore imposed the harshest penalty available under the law, the death sentence,” one member of the four-judge panel said Thursday as the lengthy verdict was read out.

The defendants — both Chinese nationals who arrived in court in prison garb — were acquitted of charges stemming from a separate bombing at a Bangkok pier.

Following the verdict, Mieraili said: “RIP Thailand’s justice system. I don’t accept any of this. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Choochat Kanpai, the defendants’ lawyer, told reporters they “will appeal the ruling because there are many aspects of the case that the court has not fully considered, including the treatment of the defendants during the proceedings”.

The decade-long trial was beset by delays due to coronavirus disruptions and problems securing translators.

The blast came weeks after Thailand’s then-ruling junta forcibly repatriated 109 Uyghurs to China, prompting speculation that it was part of a revenge plot.

Beijing welcomed the death sentences.

“The attackers were totally inhumane and extremely heinous,” foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters.

“China supports Thailand in conducting the trial in accordance with the law and severely punishing the murderers.”

Delays and drugs

Shortly after the bombing, police named 17 suspects, but only Mieraili and Mohammed were initially apprehended.

Thailand’s junta authorities were criticised for a murky investigation that appeared to wind down shortly after the arrest of the two men.

They went on trial in 2016, accused of planting the explosives.

But the proceedings — which have involved hundreds of witness testimonies — have been delayed multiple times, once because the translator for the accused was hit with drugs charges.

In 2017 a Thai woman called Wanna Suansan was detained on arrival in Bangkok on a warrant linked to the shrine blast — making her the third named suspect arrested by police.

She was charged with attempted murder, associated murder and possession of bombs and weapons, but was acquitted in 2024.

The Uyghurs, a Turkic minority, primarily hail from China’s westernmost region, Xinjiang.

Beijing has been accused of detaining more than a million Uyghurs and other Muslims since 2017, part of a campaign that the United Nations previously said could constitute crimes against humanity.

China vehemently denies these allegations, saying its policies have rooted out extremism in Xinjiang and boosted economic development.

Thailand deported dozens of Uyghurs to China in February 2025 despite warnings from human rights groups that they would face persecution on their return, drawing swift condemnation from the United Nations.

The Erawan Shrine remains a popular draw for Chinese and other tourists to the Thai capital, and dozens of visitors made traditional offerings of marigold garlands and incense as usual on Thursday.

Devotee and online vendor Satiwan Phobangwai, 45, approved of the sentences.

“As a Buddhist, I was taught to only do good deeds and good things, right? It’s like karma, as the saying goes, ‘you reap what you sow,'” she said.

“So they must face the consequences of the wrongdoing they committed.”

BANGKOK, June 6 — Thailand’s aviation regulator has tightened rules on power banks on flights after a series of lithium-battery scares, more than two months after standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) took effect.

The move follows the January 2025 Air Busan fire in South Korea, where early investigations suggested a power bank may have been involved, as well as Thai-linked incidents on Thai AirAsia in January 2024 and Bangkok Airways in July 2025. 

The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand said power banks must now be carried only in cabin baggage and are banned from checked luggage, The Bangkok Post reported this week.

It capped devices at 100 watt-hours, or 20,000 milliampere-hours, while power banks between 101Wh and 160Wh require airline approval.

Each passenger may carry no more than two lithium-battery power banks, and devices with unclear or missing capacity labels are not allowed on board.

Passengers are also barred from charging power banks or using them to charge phones or other devices during flights. 

Power banks must be kept within reach, such as in a seat pocket, under the seat in front or on the passenger, and cannot be stored in overhead lockers.

The safety logic is simple: a lithium battery fire in the hold is hard to detect, while a smoking battery in the cabin can be isolated, cooled and contained by trained crew.

The ICAO guidelines, set on March 27, limits passengers to two power banks each, besides barring them from recharging the devices during flights. 

That means Thailand took about 10 weeks, or 69 days, to turn the latest international safety practice into a local regulator rule.

But Thailand was not starting from zero, as Thai Airways had already announced similar power bank restrictions in early April based on ICAO requirements. 

Malaysia Airlines, Firefly and MASwings tightened power bank controls on April 1, 2025, requiring passengers to keep devices with them, barring overhead storage and banning the charging of power banks in flight. 

Malaysia-based budget carrier AirAsia also moved to require power banks to be kept in the cabin and within reach, while barring their in-flight use and charging. 

Malaysia had also put core lithium-battery flight limits into a regulator directive as far back as December 2015, showing that parts of Thailand’s new package reflect safety practice that has existed regionally for more than a decade. 

Singapore moved faster on the 2026 ICAO update, limiting passengers flying out of the island nation to two power banks from April 15.

Singapore Airlines and Scoot had already banned passengers from using or charging power banks in flight from April 1, 2025, after a series of battery-related cabin fire incidents. 

The common international baseline remains that power banks and spare lithium batteries should travel in the cabin, devices under 100Wh are generally allowed, 101Wh to 160Wh devices require airline approval, and higher-capacity units are banned from passenger baggage.

Thailand’s version is slightly stricter in practice because it states the standard limit as 20,000mAh, below the roughly 27,000mAh often treated as the 100Wh equivalent for typical 3.7-volt power banks.

For travellers, the message is blunt: bring no more than two clearly labelled power banks, keep them in hand luggage, do not put them overhead, do not use them in flight, and charge your phone before boarding.

PHNOM PENH, June 2 — Cambodia initiated a UN-backed dispute resolution process today with neighbour Thailand over overlapping maritime claims in the Gulf of Thailand where undersea energy reserves are valued at around US$300 billion.

The Southeast Asian nations have disputed maritime territories and the demarcation of their 800-kilometre (500-mile) land border for decades, a legacy of the French colonial era.

The two sides agreed to a ceasefire deal in December after two rounds of deadly border clashes, but they have repeatedly accused each other of truce violations.

The move by Cambodia to begin the mediation process, taken under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), followed Thailand’s cancellation last month of a 2001 bilateral agreement on overlapping maritime claims and energy exploration.

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said his government had revoked the memorandum of understanding, known as MoU 44, due to a long-standing stalemate in implementing it.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said on state-run TVK on Tuesday that his government had submitted a formal notice to Thailand and the UN secretary-general to “begin compulsory conciliation proceedings” under UNCLOS.

“We have taken this step to protect Cambodia’s sovereignty and maritime rights in accordance with international law,” Hun Manet said.

“Both Cambodia and Thailand stand to gain from a fair and lasting settlement agreed with the guidance of the international expert conciliators.”

Both countries are parties to the UN convention.

Thailand’s foreign ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment from AFP on Tuesday.

Thailand’s energy ministry has estimated future revenues from oil and natural gas in the nations’ overlapping claims area to be worth around US$300 billion.

The neighbours’ long-standing border dispute erupted into fighting in July and December, killing dozens of people and leaving several areas in border provinces claimed by both nations under Thai control.

Cambodia has repeatedly demanded the withdrawal of Thai forces from these areas and slammed Thailand over damage to several heritage temples sustained during the fighting. — AFP

India declares onset as up to 280mm of rain falls in 72 hours in Kerala, while downpours hit south-west Thailand

The monsoon season has officially begun in parts of Asia, marking the start of a period of enhanced rainfall vital to the region’s economy.

The south-west monsoon begins each year as a consequence of a growing temperature difference between the Asian land mass and the Indian Ocean. Through spring, the land heats up more rapidly than the surrounding sea, creating a pressure difference that draws moisture-laden ocean air inland. Once this contrast reaches a critical point, the humid air pushed over the continent rises, condenses into cloud and unleashes intense rainfall across the region.

A video on X showing a behind-the-scenes video of a photo shoot at Tiger World Thailand has gone viral and highlighted a serious problem in the country.

[Read More]

BANGKOK, June 5 — Thailand will appoint two conciliators and join a little-used UN arbitration process that Cambodia ‌has invoked to help resolve a long-running maritime boundary dispute between the neighbours, Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said today.

Cambodia said on Tuesday it had launched a compulsory conciliation ‌process under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), following Bangkok’s decision last month to unilaterally terminate a 2001 bilateral agreement that provided a framework for talks over a disputed maritime belt.

For more than 25 years, Cambodia and Thailand have both laid claim to about 26,000 square km of sea in the Gulf of Thailand, an area estimated to hold nearly 12 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and large quantities of oil, together valued at about US$300 billion (RM1.2 trillion).

“Both side should have spoken bilaterally first,” Sihasak told reporters ‌in Bangkok, expressing dismay at Cambodia’s move to utilise the mediation mechanism and ⁠use it to also address resource sharing. “If ⁠we had talked and there was no progress, ⁠then we could go to UNCLOS.”

A ⁠spokesperson for the ⁠Cambodian government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Minister says conciliation will not improve ties

Bilateral relations between Thailand and Cambodia have been on edge following ⁠two round of intense border clashes last year that killed nearly 150 people and displaced at least 300,000 on both sides, although a December ceasefire is still holding.

Cambodia’s decision to use compulsory conciliation — where a five-member panel delivers a set of non-binding recommendations — will not improve overall ties between the two ⁠countries, said Sihasak, who also serves as deputy prime minister.

“We simply don’t agree with how they approached this,” he said, referring to Cambodia’s stance.

So ⁠far, the UN-backed mechanism has only been used by East Timor, also known as ⁠Timor Leste, ⁠to successfully resolve a decades-long maritime dispute with Australia. That process took a little less than two years.

“If we do this through bilateral talk in a friendly way, it may ‌take shorter time to reach an amicable solution,” Sihasak said, “Now, we don’t know how long this will take.” — Reuters

A Chinese dissident who fled to South Korea this week in a rubber boat will be transferred to an immigration detention centre, police told AFP on Thursday.

Dong Guangping, a 68-year-old former policeman, has been a thorn in Beijing’s side for advocating political reform and human rights and served multiple prison stints over the years.

The longtime critic of China’s ruling Communist Party made several failed attempts to flee the country, including a 2019 bid to swim to the Taiwanese territory of Kinmen and a 2020 trip to Vietnam where he was detained by local police.

He was found by South Korean authorities on Monday night drifting off the country’s west coast on a 3.3-metre (11-foot) rubber boat with a 9.9-horsepower engine, and was questioned on suspicion of violating immigration laws.

Prosecutors asked the court to detain him, but the Daejeon District Court determined that “detention is not necessary” for the authorities’ investigation, a court spokesperson told AFP on Thursday.

The court spokesperson said Dong had two options: “If he is deemed an illegal immigrant, it would be appropriate to transfer him to an immigration detention centre. However, if he applies for refugee status, he can stay in the country in accordance with the Refugee Act.”

After the court’s determination, the dissident remained in police custody in Taean county, on South Korea’s western coast.

Dong will soon be transferred to the immigration office’s foreign detention centre, police in Taean told AFP.

Dong’s lawyer did not immediately return AFP’s requests for comment. Seoul’s foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

South Korea has granted political asylum to relatively few applicants since it began formally processing refugee claims in 1994, with an overall recognition rate in the low single digits despite tens of thousands of applications.

Critics say the low approval rate reflects strict screening and lengthy procedures, while the government maintains that decisions are made on a case-by-case basis and take security considerations into account.

Dong was dismissed from his work as a policeman after signing a petition a decade after Beijing’s 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, according to US-based advocacy group Human Rights in China.

He later spent about three years in prison from 2001 for “inciting subversion of state power”, United Nations experts said, and was detained again in 2014 over Tiananmen-related activities.

Dong fled to Thailand with his family, who later resettled in Canada as refugees, but Thai authorities handed him over to Chinese police in 2015 despite his UN-recognised refugee status.

Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol’s health had worsened since she was hospitalised in December 2022 with heart problems that left her gravely ill

The eldest child of Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn has died aged 47, the palace has said, after nearly four years in a coma.

Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol, known in Thailand as Princess Bha, had been in hospital since December 2022 when she became gravely ill after having heart problems while out training her dogs.