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The death toll from floods in Thailand has risen to 22, authorities said on Tuesday, as they rushed to deliver relief to an estimated 370,000 people affected by heavy rainfall and overflowing rivers.

More than 369,000 people in 19 provinces, excluding Bangkok, were affected, the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department reported, with Uttaradit and Ayutthaya among the worst-hit areas.

Authorities said emergency teams were distributing food and supplies and closely monitoring water levels as the monsoon season brings widespread rainfall.

Of the 19 provinces, six were in the North, namely Uttaradit, Phitsanulok, Phetchabun, Sukhothai, Phichit and Nakhon Sawan.

In the Central Plains, eight provinces saw flooding: Uthai Thani, Chai Nat, Sing Buri, Ang Thong, Suphan Buri, Ayutthaya, Pathum Thani and Nakhon Pathom.

Four northeastern provinces – Chaiyaphum, Ubon Ratchathani, Udon Thani and Yasothon – also experienced flooding.

The only eastern province affected was Chachoengsao.

Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt said on Tuesday that the city would not face severe flooding like in 2011, because of the current water flow of the Chao Phraya River.

Up to three more storm systems were expected to hit the region before the end of 2025.

Thailand’s Weeraphon Wichuma stunned the weightlifting world by claiming gold in the men’s 71kg category at the IWF World Championships in Forde, Norway, on a day that saw an extraordinary 16 world records shattered.

The men’s 71kg final delivered one of the most thrilling sessions in recent memory, with the top four lifters all breaking world records. Wichuma’s final lift of 194kg secured a total of 346kg, edging out Japan’s Masanori Miyamoto by a single kilogram and sealing Thailand’s sensational victory.

The session’s intensity peaked as four lifters vied for the podium in the final lifts. Miyamoto briefly took the lead with 193kg, only to be overtaken by Wichuma’s 194kg. Turkey’s Yusuf Fehmi Genc gambled on 192kg, which gave him a fleeting second place before he was pushed down to fourth.

Ri Won Ju of North Korea nearly stole the show despite injuring his knee. He returned to lift 195kg but lost balance at the top, turning a potential gold into fifth place. His courage drew admiration from the crowd.

In the women’s 63kg, North Korea’s Ri Suk dominated with four world records, finishing 17kg ahead of Canada’s Olympic medallist Maude Charron. Ri’s total of 253kg included new marks in snatch, clean and jerk, and total, though she still trails the historic 262kg set by China’s Deng Wei in 2016.

Charron, 32, broke her own mental barrier by lifting 133kg in clean and jerk, her best ever. ‘It must be the Norwegian air,’ the Canadian joked, praising the host city where she had previously trained and competed.

Colombia’s Yenny Sinisterra and the Philippines’ Elreen Ando both finished with 231kg, but Sinisterra took bronze by virtue of lifting it first. Americans Sophia Shaft and Katie Estep followed closely in fifth and sixth.

The championships continue with North Korean aiming for a clean sweep in the women’s categories, as Song Kuk Hyang is favoured to win the 69kg event earlier this week.

Deputy Prime Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn has admitted that the restoration of the road surface in front of Vajira Hospital will not be completed by Wednesday or Thursday as planned, due to the need to demolish the subsiding Samsen Police Station building.

Mr Phiphat, who also serves as transport minister, said on Tuesday during a site inspection on Samsen Road, where severe road subsidence occurred on Sept 24, that engineers had found further sinking and cracks in the police station’s structure.

The safety inspection team recommended immediate demolition, a decision approved by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to prevent further risks.

The demolition, however, has delayed road restoration.

The Ministry of Transport and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) have apologised for the inconvenience and will soon announce a revised completion timeline. The Mass Rapid Transit Authority (MRTA) and the construction contractor have adapted their operations to work safely within the limited space.

Demolition of the police station has already started on the left side of the building, near the Vajira Hospital intersection, using long-arm cranes and robotic equipment to carefully dismantle the upper structure and reduce vibrations that could affect the hospital, Mr Phiphat said.

The right side of the station will remain temporarily intact while engineers inject chemicals underground to stabilise the soil before refilling the pit with sand and paving the surface with asphalt. Rebuilding the police station will be the contractor’s responsibility.

The Ministry of Transport has also established a fact-finding committee to determine the cause of the incident. If the contractor is found responsible, it must cover all related costs under the contract terms.

Meanwhile, senior prosecutor Thanakrit Vorathanatchakul on Tuesday commented on a Facebook post stating that if the MRTA is to pay for the damage, it must ensure taxpayer money is used appropriately.

He stressed that if the fault lies with the contractor, they must indemnify the MRTA and rely on their construction insurance to compensate for losses.

As of Tuesday, most of the station’s roof and steel structures had been dismantled to reduce building weight.

Phuket International Airport reopened its main runway on Wednesday afternoon, three hours after a Royal Thai Navy aircraft experienced a landing gear malfunction and blocked the runway.

The belly landing by the Cessna T-337 Skymaster, which the Navy said was on a routine patrol, occurred at 11.18am. There were no injuries.

The incident prompted an immediate emergency response to facilitate the safe removal of the aircraft and to thoroughly inspect the surface. Airport officials initially said the runway would be closed until 3pm.

The recovery operation was carried out by Navy pilots, aircraft technicians and Phuket airport officials. The airport provided technical equipment, drained the aircraft’s fuel and arranged for lifting equipment to remove the plane.

The aircraft was successfully moved off the runway at 1.49pm. After clearing foreign objects and oil stains, the runway was reopened at 2.30 pm.

The closure affected a total of 70 flights, airport officials said in a statement.

Passengers who were scheduled to travel during the affected period were advised to check flight status and updates directly with their respective airlines.

Phuket International Airport extended its apologies for the inconvenience and expressed gratitude to passengers for their understanding and cooperation.

Spot gold has smashed through $4,000 an ounce for the first time, as concerns over the US economy and a government shutdown added fresh momentum to a scorching rally.

It is a milestone for bullion, which traded below $2,000 just two years ago, with returns that now outstrip those for equities so far in this century. Gold has jumped more than 50% this year in the face of uncertainties over global trade, the US Federal Reserve’s independence and US fiscal stability.

Thai gold prices were adjusted 33 times on Wednesday, with the Thai Gold Traders Association quoting a selling price of 62,350 baht per baht-weight (15.2 grammes) as of 6pm, an increase of 1,400 baht from the day before.

Heightened geopolitical tensions have boosted demand for safe-haven assets this year, while central banks have continued to buy gold at an elevated pace.

The rally has taken on extra urgency as investors seek protection from potential market shocks following the government funding impasse in Washington

The start of the Fed’s monetary easing cycle has also been a boon for gold, which does not pay interest. Investors have responded by piling into exchange-traded funds, with bullion-backed ETFs seeing their biggest monthly inflow in more than three years in September.

‘Gold breaking $4,000 isn’t just about fear – it’s about reallocation,’ said Charu Chanana, a strategist at Saxo Capital Markets. ‘With economic data on pause and rate cuts on the horizon, real yields are easing, while AI-heavy equities look stretched. Central banks built the base for this rally, but retail and ETFs are now driving the next leg.’

Bullion climbed as much as 0.7% to $4,010.84 an ounce on Wednesday and was trading at $4,009.75 as of 10.56am in Singapore.

Jumps in the price of gold typically track broader economic and political stresses. The metal breached $1,000 an ounce in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, $2,000 during the Covid pandemic, and $3,000 as the Trump administration’s tariff plans washed over global markets in March.

The precious metal has now broken past $4,000 against the backdrop of, among other things, President Donald Trump’s assault on the Fed, including threats against chairman Jerome Powell and a push to oust Governor Lisa Cook, the clearest test so far of the US central bank’s autonomy.

A pliant Fed that would lower rates and spur higher inflation could set up a Goldilocks situation for gold. Bullion is seen as an inflation hedge and is usually weighed down by high borrowing costs, which make cash or bonds more appealing.

‘We expect gold to reach a cyclical peak when there is greatest market concern about the outlook for Fed independence,’ Macquarie Bank analysts wrote in a Sept 30 note.

‘In the event, however, that a compromised Fed were to make clear policy errors, gold’s performance should of course be even stronger.’

Gold is on pace for its best annual performance since the 1970s, a decade when rapid inflation and the end of the gold standard sparked a 15-fold rally of the precious metal.

At that time, then-President Richard Nixon pressured the Fed to lower rates. The central bank under then-chair Arthur Burns made only ‘limited efforts’ to maintain independence and ultimately enabled volatile inflation for ‘political reasons,’ according to a recent court submission from various monetary policy luminaries.

‘The reason that investors are buying gold – and should be buying gold – is because of its diversification qualities,’ said Stephen Miller, an investment strategy adviser at GSFM.

‘That sentiment is in its early stages, and gold will get increasing acceptance as part and parcel of prudent investing behaviour,’ he said, adding he could see prices reaching $4,500 by the middle of next year.

Billionaire Ray Dalio said on Tuesday that gold is ‘certainly’ more of a safe haven than the dollar and the record-setting rally echoes the 1970s. The remarks from the founder of hedge-fund firm Bridgewater Associates came after Citadel founder Ken Griffin said that bullion’s rise reflected anxiety about the US currency.

‘The metal’s climb to the $4,000 milestone reflects not only surging safe-haven demand, but also a deepening distrust in paper assets as fiscal risks and geopolitical tensions intensify,’ said Hebe Chen, an analyst at Vantage Markets in Melbourne. ‘In the short term, a consolidation phase looks likely after such a relentless advance.’

Central banks have been a key driver of bullion’s rally, flipping from net sellers to net buyers following the global financial crisis. The pace of buying doubled after the US and its allies froze Russia’s foreign-exchange reserves in 2022 following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. That pushed many central banks to consider diversifying, while inflation and speculation that the American government would treat foreign creditors less favourably further highlighted bullion’s appeal to policymakers.

Elevated central bank buying is a ‘structural shift in reserve management behaviour, and we do not expect a near-term reversal,’ Lina Thomas, a commodities strategist at Goldman Sachs, wrote in a September note. ‘Our base case assumes that the current trend in official sector accumulation continues for another three years,’ Thomas said.

Goldman raised its gold forecast for December 2026 to $4,900 an ounce this week, up from $4,300.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul yesterday emphasised that local police and military units are fully responsible for maintaining public safety in the deep South, following a robbery at a gold shop in Narathiwat on Sunday.

His remarks followed another violent incident that occurred yesterday when an ATM belonging to the Islamic Bank of Thailand in Pattani’s Yarang district was damaged by explosives.

The robbery at a shopping plaza in Narathiwat’s Sungai Kolok district saw armed assailants make off with over 35.6 million baht worth of gold jewellery.

In response, Mr Anutin said he had instructed the Provincial Police Region 9 and the Fourth Army Region to tighten security operations and step up intelligence efforts across the deep South.

Pol Lt Gen Piyawat Chaloemsri, commissioner of Provincial Police Region 9, also issued a warning to residents and business owners in the southern border provinces, urging heightened vigilance, particularly around ATMs and gold shops during evening and nighttime hours.

Authorities said they believe that the Narathiwat gold heist was carried out to raise funds for a southern separatist network, according to the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) Region 4.

Labour Minister Treenuch Thienthong has dismissed speculation that she is set to succeed Gen Prawit Wongsuwon as leader of the Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) following a series of MP defections.

“As of now, Gen Prawit remains the party leader and continues to perform his duties as usual,” she told the media on Tuesday.

The speculation intensified after a string of defections from the PPRP, including former secretary-general Santi Promphat, who resigned from the party and joined the ruling Bhumjaithai Party along with his son, Public Health Minister Pattana Promphat. Their departure dealt another major blow to the PPRP, which now has only seven MPs left.

The remaining PPRP members are Gen Prawit, Ms Treenuch, Kwanruen Thienthong, Chotiwut Thanakamanusorn, Chaimongkhon Chairop, Krasae Trakoonpornpong and Wiriya Tongpa. The rest of the 21 MPs, once allied with Gen Prawit, have defected to the Klatham, Bhumjaithai, and Pheu Thai parties, among others.

In response to the exodus, Ms Treenuch reaffirmed her commitment to staying with the PPRP, saying the party remains united and is preparing for the next general election. “The number of seats we win is less important than our shared ideology and commitment to serving the public,” she said.

She also rejected rumours suggesting she might follow Mr Santi to Bhumjaithai.

“I am already working in the same team under Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s leadership,” she said, implying that there is no need to switch parties just to remain in the coalition.

Regarding the vacant post of secretary-general, Ms Treenuch said the PPRP’s executive committee would soon meet to select a replacement.

The new appointee, she said, should be someone capable of working cooperatively with other parties that share similar political goals.

Coursera, an online learning platform, is introducing a regionally localised pricing model that lowers course prices in Thailand by up to 40%.

This initiative makes its online learning courses more accessible, helps to stimulate artificial intelligence (AI) skill development to meet urgent demand, and supports Thailand’s ambition to become an AI hub, said Ashutosh Gupta, managing director for Asia-Pacific at Coursera.

Thailand stands to gain 2.6 trillion baht from an AI-led economy, accounting for 15% of Southeast Asia’s total AI potential.

“The world is going through a lot of change, disruption and displacement, presenting challenges and opportunities,” Mr Gupta said.

According to the World Economic Forum, 35% of key skills in Thailand will change in five years.

“If the Thai workforce were 100 people, 56 would need retraining by 2030, while nine are unlikely to be retrained. This highlights the urgent need for upskilling to prepare for the future of work,” said Mr Gupta.

“Learners must scale to meet urgent demand. We need to rethink training and learning.”

He said Thailand is advancing its AI skills through key initiatives like the National AI Strategy (2022-2027). These efforts focus on training 30,000 AI professionals, stimulating 100 AI innovations, and expanding adoption in over 600 organisations.

Investments target digital infrastructure, industry-aligned education, and flexible university programmes like the Higher Education Sandbox. The goal is to reach a top-50 global AI readiness ranking by 2025, supported by expanded degree programmes and scholarships, said Mr Gupta.

He cited Unesco data that found that access to higher education is limited, as 40% of people entering the global workforce had college-level education, while in Thailand the rate is 44%.

“To reduce this challenge, it needs to provide world-class courses with affordable prices,” said Mr Gupta.

Affordable prices

Coursera has introduced a regional geographic approach based on affordability that lowers the average course price by 40% in Thailand.

The company is partnering with OpenAI to become the first online learning platform embedded in ChatGPT, which can suggest the Coursera app to ChatGPT users and suggest appropriate content to Coursera’s learners.

This partnership allows Coursera to offer the most widely used AI tool in the world, and reflects OpenAI’s commitment to expand access to education, Mr Gupta said.

As of June 2025, Coursera recorded significant growth with 1.1 million registered learners, a fivefold increase since 2019.

The typical learner is 33 years old, and enrolment is split equally between men and women, with a focus on job-relevant, digital, and business skills, in a hands-on learning experience.

The most popular courses from January to September 2025 were “Introduction to AI” from Google, “Maximize Productivity with AI Tools” from Google, and “Discover the Art of Prompting” from Google.

The company has 30 enterprise customers and seven campus customers in Thailand.

There is huge demand for generative AI (GenAI) skills, with 250,000 enrolments for GenAI courses in Thailand.

“We see one enrolment every three minutes, up from one every 16 minutes last year,” said Mr Gupta.

There are more than 1,000 GenAI courses and projects on Coursera.

Of the top 10 popular courses in Thailand, nine are related to AI which reflect Thais’ focus on AI.

In Thailand, GenAI adoption varies significantly across generations, with millennials leading the way in reskilling efforts at 56%, followed by Gen X at 31%, Gen Z at 9%, and Boomers at 4%.

When it comes to the gender gap in GenAI skills, men comprise 62% of enrolments, while women account for 38%. However, enrolment growth is faster amongst women, rising by 370% compared with 190% for men.

The government plans to allocate around 10 billion baht to address non-performing loans (NPLs) among individual borrowers, according to Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas.

He said on Tuesday the bad debts the government purchases will be transferred to Bangkok Commercial Asset Management (BAM) Plc and Sukhumvit Asset Management (SAM).

These agencies will help restructure the debts to reduce the monthly repayment burden for the public.

Regarding progress on the government’s plan to ease small-scale debt burdens, Mr Ekniti said the Finance Ministry, Bank of Thailand and related agencies were instructed to finalise the debt restructuring plan within one month.

In principle, the plan calls for the government to draw about 10 billion baht from the unused portion of the Financial Institutions Development Fund allocated to the “Khun Soo Rao Chuay” (You Fight, We Help) programme, part of a total fund worth 26 billion baht, to acquire NPLs.

The debts are to be purchased at a discounted price, which should not affect banks’ balance sheets as provisions for these bad debts have already been fully set aside.

As for the asset management companies (AMCs) responsible for purchasing the debts, several options were initially considered — including the establishment of a new AMC.

However, that option would take time so the government decided to assign state-owned AMCs such as BAM and SAM to handle the purchases.

Once the debts are acquired, the AMCs are to manage, restructure and reduce the debts and extend repayment terms to enable debtors to regain repayment capacity.

The AMCs are also expected to work on enhancing debtors’ financial potential so they can eventually qualify for new credit.

The household debt resolution policy is one of the government’s five pillars to be implemented over four months. Other policies comprise:

Stimulating the economy and tourism through the “Khon La Khrueng Plus” co-payment scheme, expected to launch at the end of October.

Providing liquidity support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by having the Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation provide guarantees totalling 50 billion baht for businesses in the supply chains of large companies. If large businesses support SMEs under the “Big Brother Helps Little Brother” scheme, the Revenue Department allows expenses to be deducted from taxes.

Increasing personal savings for retirement by having the Government Lottery Office allocate part of its marketing budget to savings accounts for those who purchase online lottery tickets. Each buyer receives an individual savings account that can be withdrawn at age 55. This programme is separate from the retirement lottery scheme.

Developing workforce skills for future industries, including bio-agriculture, smart farming, artificial intelligence and digital technology, data centres and electric vehicles. The Board of Investment has a Competitiveness Enhancement Fund worth 10 billion baht that can be allocated in collaboration with the private sector to select workers for reskilling and upskilling.

The House committee will summon Digital Economy and Society (DES) Minister Chaichanok Chidchob and relevant agencies on Thursday over allegations of a 40-million-baht bribery offer tied to online criminal activity.

Siam Hathasongkroh, chairman of the House Committee on Communications, Telecommunications, and Digital Economy and Society, and a Pheu Thai MP for Nong Bua Lam Phu, said on Tuesday that Thursday’s committee meeting will focus on the alleged bribery attempt that Mr Chaichanok revealed during the government’s policy statement a week ago.

At that time, Mr Chaichanok claimed someone had approached him through an MP to pay 40 million baht per month to overlook crackdowns on call centre scams, online fraud, and illegal gambling websites.

Mr Siam said the case must not be swept aside. “The minister is obliged to pursue legal action against those involved,” he said.

He added that the committee is increasingly concerned about the resurgence of cybercrime, noting that scam-related losses have exceeded 90 million baht per day — equivalent to at least one billion baht a month.

Without clear policies from the new administration, he warned, the damage to Thailand’s economy could deepen.

Mr Siam said the committee would also question the ministry about its cybercrime suppression strategy, noting that the previous administration under Paetongtarn Shinawatra treated the issue as a national priority, successfully preventing tens of billions of baht in public losses each year.

“If this government lacks genuine intent to address the problem, cybercriminal groups will return and harm the Thai economy again,” he warned.

Meanwhile, Phattarapong Supakson, known as “Lawyer Aun Buri Ram”, submitted a petition to the DES Ministry’s permanent secretary urging faster progress in the internal inquiry.