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The military defended its operations along the border on Sunday, following Cambodia’s complaint to the interim observer team (IOT) over the use of so-called ‘ghostly sounds’, insisting that all activities took place strictly within Thai territory.

Maj Gen Benjapol Dechatiwong Na Ayutthaya, commander of the Burapa Task Force, brushed off the protest, saying, ‘They can complain all they want. Everything we did was on Thai soil. My men were on duty through the night and needed to stay alert. I simply helped them stay awake. It’s our land. They can file whatever they like, I don’t care.’

He added that troop morale remained high and Thai soldiers are ready to act “whenever and wherever” they are needed.

Maj Gen Winthai Suvaree, army spokesman, echoed the sentiment, noting recent incursions by Cambodian officials and civilians.

“Cambodian authorities had mobilised civilians alongside officials to provoke and obstruct Thai residents. Some Thai groups responded using loudspeakers to express their discontent – non-violently – against the encroachment and distortions by the Cambodian side,” he said.

Maj Gen Winthai said the actions taken by the military had been carefully considered to avoid escalation, in contrast to Cambodian actions, which involved aggressive actions and improvised weapons against Thai personnel.

“All actions are guided by human rights principles, ensuring law enforcement is applied in ways that minimise potential harm while addressing the border dispute responsibly,” he said.

On Saturday night, Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defence, in coordination with the IOT, inspected border areas in Banteay Meanchey province, reported the Khmer Times.

The visit was carried out to verify reports about Thai operatives broadcasting eerie sounds along the border, which affected many Cambodian citizens, especially the sick, elderly, children and persons with disabilities, during the night, said the report.

The dispute erupted after the military allowed activist Guntouch “Gun Jompalang” Pongpaiboonwet to bring loudspeakers to Nong Chan and Nong Ya Kaeo villages in Sa Kaeo, where he has played recordings of helicopter and jet engine noises, along with ‘ghostly sounds’, to intimidate Cambodian villagers who are encroaching on Thai territory since the night of Oct 10.

The ghost sounds play to Cambodians’ supposed superstitions and are intended to intimidate.

Phnom Penh later lodged a complaint with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), accusing Thailand of psychological intimidation.

The Cambodian Human Rights Committee (CHRC) also submitted an urgent appeal to the OHCHR, condemning what it described as the use of ‘disturbing sounds’ by the Thai armed forces as a form of psychological intimidation and harassment against Cambodian civilians along the border, said another report by the Khmer Times.

Mr Guntouch responded defiantly on social media, saying Cambodian authorities had ‘betrayed Thai generosity’ and his campaign was meant to remind them of the aid given by Thailand over the years.

‘We helped them when they fled hardship and even the Queen Mother extended kindness. Yet now they try to seize our land and defame us,’ he wrote.

He also hit back at human rights advocates, including Senator Angkhana Neelapaijit, who on Sunday questioned the government’s handling of the incident.

‘These rights advocates are only brave when it comes to Thais,’ he said. ‘Why not speak up about Cambodians bringing pregnant women and children to the frontline? Sometimes being too idealistic doesn’t work. For 40-50 years we’ve tried diplomacy, sent letters, but nothing changes.’

‘When we send a letter, they ignore it. But when we play sounds for two days, they panic. Sometimes you have to shake things up,’ he said.

The War Elephants have arrived in Taipei for their fourth Group D fixture in the AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers, with head coach Masatada Ishii urging his players to treat every remaining pool match as a must-win if they are to secure a spot in the finals.

Fresh off a 2-0 home victory over Taiwan on Thursday night, the Thai squad held a training session in the Taiwanese capital as they prepare for the crucial return leg on Tuesday.

Earlier, Ishii said: ‘After our first match, because we did not have much time, we divided the players into two groups – one for recovery and the other for training. Now we have two more days to work on tactics again.

‘The coach of Taiwan has said they will play more attacking football, and I actually hope that is the case. If they attack more, it will open up space for us to exploit.

‘The reason I called up Santiphap Channgom and Songwut Kraikruan is because they are already familiar with the squad and could be brought in immediately. Some other players were unavailable or too far away to join. In fact, I had already been considering how to use these two, so it was natural to bring them in.

‘From now on, we need three points in every game. Against Turkmenistan we failed to do that, so we must make up for it in the matches ahead.

‘Although Sri Lanka managed to beat Turkmenistan, I want to focus on our own team. Of course, those two will meet again, but for us the priority is clear – we must concentrate on ourselves and make sure we collect three points.’

About 79% of Thais feel confused about the upcoming election and referendums, which involve four separate ballots covering six questions, says a survey by the National Institute of Development Administration (Nida).

The poll, conducted from Oct 7-9 among 1,310 adults nationwide, highlighted widespread uncertainty over navigating the electoral process, particularly the votes on the four ballots covering six questions in the upcoming election.

The first ballot is for constituency MPs. The second ballot for party-list MPs. The third one is for the constitutional amendment referendum with two questions.

The fourth ballot is for the referendum on the fate of the Memorandums of Understanding that Thailand signed with Cambodia over overlapping land and maritime boundaries in 2000 and 2001 (MoU 43 and MoU 44). This ballot will also have two questions.

The survey found 79.16% of respondents reported feeling confused about the ballots and questions, including 48.55% who said they were very confused and 30.61% somewhat confused.

In contrast, the remaining 20.84% said they were not confused, including 11.99% who said they were not confused at all, and 8.85% said they were not confused.

When asked about their personal ability to handle the ballots, about half said they were confused, including 26.8% who were very confused and 23.36% who were somewhat confused.

The remaining half said they were not confused, including 34.73% who were not confused at all and 15.11% who were not confused.

The survey also questioned whether the four-month preparation period announced by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s government would be sufficient to educate voters.

About half said it would not be sufficient, of which 30.23% of respondents said the time was ‘not sufficient at all’ and 20.53% said somewhat sufficient.

A further 46.57% said it would be sufficient, including 24.43% who said the time is ‘definitely sufficient” and 22.14% said the time is somewhat sufficient. The remaining 2.67% did not respond or were not interested.

Finally, when asked for opinions on holding the MP election, the constitutional amendment referendum, and the MoUs 43 and 44 cancellation referendum on the same day, 49.16% said they agreed with holding all on the same day.

A little over a quarter, or 26.11%, said the three processes should be held on separate days while 12.60% said only the MP election should be separated.

Meanwhile, 5.42% said only the MoU cancellation referendum should be separated, and 2.82% said only the constitutional amendment referendum should be held separately.

Kunlavut Vitidsarn had to settle for a runner-up spot after losing to defending champion Chou Tien-chen in the final of the US$475,000 (approx 15.2 million baht) BWF Arctic Open in Vantaa, Finland, on Sunday.

Second seed Chou prevailed in three games, 21-11, 13-21, 21-19, against the top-seeded Thai to claim the Super 500 title – his first since Vantaa 2024.

It was Kunlavut’s third straight defeat against Chou this year. He also lost to the Taiwanese star at the Indonesia Open and the China Open.

Earlier, world No.1 pair Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin defeated two-time defending champions Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping 21-19, 24-22 to take the mixed doubles title.

Sunday’s final was the third consecutive year the two pairs fought for the crown.

Feng and Huang dispatched Thai duo Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Supissara Paewsampran in the semi-finals.

In the women’s doubles final, Malaysia’s Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan defeated Japan’s Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi 21-7, 21-9.

The victory ended a run of three consecutive final losses for the Malaysians.

Mixed doubles pair Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Supissara Paewsampran missed out on a chance to win their fifth title of the year after bowing out in the semi-finals of the US$475,000 (approx 15.2 million baht) BWF Arctic Open in Finland on Saturday.

Dechapol and Supissara went down to world No.2 pair Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping of China in three games, 21-15, 16-21, 12-21, on Saturday.

Feng and Huang will face compatriots Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin in the title decider after the world No.1 pair battled from a game down to edge past Thai duo Pakkapon Teeraratsakul and Sapsiree Taerattanachai, Dechapol’s former playing partner, in three games, 16-21, 21-12, 21-12 in 53 minutes.

Ratchanok Intanon and Busanan Ongbamrungphan were due to face off in the women’s singles semi-final while men’s singles top seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn was also due in action against Rasmus Gemke of Denmark later last night.

Women’s top seed Akane Yamaguchi of Japan booked her berth in the final after she cruised past the 62nd-ranked Anmol Kharb of India 21-10, 21-13 in just 29 minutes.

Yamaguchi, who won her third world title in Paris, is chasing her second World Tour crown of the year after winning the Korea Open last month.

As foreign investors increasingly select Thailand as their Southeast Asian hub, demand for localised, globally competent talent is surging. Companies now seek professionals who combine technical expertise with cultural fluency, leadership across diverse teams, and an understanding of both Thai and international standards, said Mr Fu Yuxin, President of the Southeast Asia International Education Association, during a forum on ‘The Role of Education in Shaping ASEAN’s Industrial Future’ at the Sustainability Expo 2025 (SX2025), held at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre.

Fu noted that industries continue to face challenges such as mismatched skill standards, cultural integration, and the need to build robust talent ecosystems from the ground up.

Echoing his message, Prof Dr Surin Khomfoi, Vice President of the National Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Policy Council (NXPO), said Thailand is improving its capacity to produce higher-skilled STEM workers – but not fast enough.

‘We don’t have enough skilled workforce in the industries we want to focus on,’ Dr Surin explained. ‘Only about one in three students in the system is pursuing STEM studies. Most of our skilled workforce must come from these students. Thailand needs to inspire more young people to take this path before they enter high school.’

NXPO has been developing co-creation programmes that unite various institutions to produce more potential students and skilled workers. It has also introduced a skill-mapping platform that helps students identify possible career routes based on their abilities and chosen curricula.

‘The gap is narrower than in previous years, but we’re still not catching up. This problem isn’t unique to Thailand – the whole world faces the same issue: there aren’t enough STEM talents,’ Dr Surin said.

Vocational Pathways to Industry

Dr Rangsan Thepmondhri, Director of the Public Sector Development Group at the Office of the Vocational Education Commission, highlighted the vital role of vocational education in meeting industrial demand. Thailand currently has about one million vocational students, producing around 300,000 graduates annually – a small number compared to national needs.

‘Our curriculum is 70% focused on industrial areas, and 30% on home economics, tourism, and agriculture,’ Dr Rangsan said.

The Office oversees nearly 900 public and private vocational colleges nationwide, designing programmes aligned with industry demand. ‘We try to make sure students will get a job. They need to graduate with skill certifications from the Department of Skill Development and also from Thailand’s Professional Qualification Chambers. There are more than a hundred skill certification centres working with the Ministry of Labour,’ he said, emphasising the government’s efforts to increase employability.

Changing Students Means Changing Education

‘If you want to change students, you need to change professors as well, because technology is changing so fast,’ said Dr Surin, stressing the need for educators to continuously upskill. Currently, three majors have been fully developed, with curricula tailored to another nine sectors in progress.

Dr Rangsan added, ‘We want to encourage lifelong learning, even after leaving school. Speaking is easy – doing it is not.’ He also pointed to ongoing work in recognising informal learning, experience validation, and making curricula more flexible.

Dr Surin further highlighted the importance of gender inclusion in STEM and vocational fields. ‘Although men are still more common in these industries, women are very welcome. If we want to build a better future for women through workforce development, we cannot do it alone. We need more partnerships and networks,’ he said.

He concluded, ‘Education can change someone’s life. Better education means a better future – not just for Thailand, but for the world.’

A ten-year-old girl was found dead after being electrocuted by a hair dryer believed to be of substandard quality, which her mother had purchased online several years ago.

The incident occurred at a house in Ban Tako village, Nong Teng subdistrict of Krasang district, on Friday evening. The girl’s grandmother broke down in tears upon discovering her granddaughter lying motionless on her back, mouth agape, with a hair dryer still clutched in her right hand and plugged into a power socket.

Rescue workers arrived after relatives called for help, but the child was already unresponsive. Preliminary examination revealed burn marks on her right hand, suggesting electrocution as the cause of death.

The grandmother said she had just returned home to Buri Ram from Bangkok, where she works as a street vendor, and had planned to take her granddaughter to stay with her during the school holidays. On the day of the incident, she was sitting outside the house when another grandchild ran to tell her that the victim was ‘playing with the plug socket’.

When she entered the room, she found the girl collapsed on the floor with the hair dryer still connected to the power outlet. She immediately unplugged the device, but it was too late.

According to the child’s mother, the hair dryer had been purchased online around two to three years ago but was rarely used and kept in a cupboard. It is believed the girl may have retrieved it herself after taking a shower, intending to dry her hair before the fatal accident occurred.

It was unclear, whether the device was poorly manufactured or malfunctioned due to long-term disuse. The family expressed deep regret, urging others to be cautious about using uncertified electrical appliances purchased online.