Bangkok | Pakistan

A viral video of a Thai woman confronting a group of noisy Italian teenagers who exchange vulgar words and gestures on a Bangkok train prompted online backlash and an apology from Italy’s embassy on Saturday. The TikTok video, posted on Friday, was shared more than 28,000 times with the caption: “What nationality are they?? Is it time for Thailand to stop free visas yet?” In the clip, a Thai woman off-camera is heard repeatedly telling the Italian group to be quiet. “In Thailand, we don’t scream,” she says, before a woman from the group replies: “Sorry for bringing money to your country.” One boy was filmed waving and then gesturing to the camera with only his middle finger raised. The dispute escalated as the Thai woman accused the Italians of having “no manners” — and then also used vulgar language and gestures. The incident has divided opinion online, with some internet users criticising the teenagers for impropriety and disrespecting local customs, while others said the Thai woman reacted too harshly. The...

A portion of a busy road in Thailand’s capital caved in early on Wednesday, leaving a hole dozens of metres deep in front of a main hospital and forcing people nearby to evacuate. Just outside a local police station and Vajira Hospital in a residential district of Bangkok, a roughly 50-metre (160-foot) hole pulled down power lines and exposed a burst pipe gushing water, AFP journalists saw. Dozens of police and city officials cordoned off the site, while a pickup truck teetered precariously on the edge of the hole. Suriyachai Rawiwan, director of Bangkok’s disaster prevention department, told AFP at the scene that the collapse was likely linked to recent heavy rain and a leaky pipe. “There was a leak in the water pipe — water from the pipe eroded (earth) under the road so this incident happened,” he said, adding that there were no known casualties. “The water that eroded brought some soil that dropped down to an under-construction subway station, causing the collapse,” Suriyachai added. The tunnel is part of ...

At least six people were killed when a gunman opened fire at a market in Thailand’s capital Bangkok on Monday, Thai police said in a statement. The fatalities include the gunman who took his own life, Charin Gopatta, Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, told Reuters. “Police are investigating the identity of the person and the motive for the incident,” Thai police said in a statement. The five people killed by the gunman were security guards at the market, it said. No tourists were killed or injured in the shooting incident, said Sanong Saengmani, a police official in Bangkok’s Bang Sue district, where the market that mainly sells agricultural produce is located. Tourism is a key economic driver in Thailand, Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, where growth has been sluggish and such incidents can potentially dampen sentiment. In video footage shared by police, a suspect in a white hat and a backpack slung on his chest is seen walking through a parking lot at the market. Gun violence and...