The scary legends are many and varied.

A small town in central Thailand is holding a mass funeral for the 23 students and teachers who died in a bus fire while on a school trip earlier this week.

The bodies of almost two dozen young students and teachers who died in a bus fire in a suburb of Bangkok have been returned to central Thailand, where they began their ill-fated school field trip.

Officials and rescuers say a school bus carrying young students and their teachers on a school trip caught fire in suburban Bangkok, leaving more than 20 feared dead.

Thailand’s landmark marriage equality bill has been officially written into law, allowing same-sex couples to legally wed.

Only a month after the adorable baby hippo Moo Deng was unveiled on Facebook, her fame became unstoppable both domestically and internationally.

State-television in Myanmar says the death toll in the military-run country from flooding and landslides caused by Typhoon Yagi has reached at least 74.

Experts meet in Bangkok this week to advance what would be the first international treaty to tackle the surging problem of plastic pollution.

Just two days after being disbanded by court order, Thailand’s main progressive political party has regrouped under a new name and vowed to continue its fight for reforms despite continuing opposition from the conservative establishment that blocked the party from taking power despite finishing first in last year’s election.

The charismatic Thai politician who led his progressive party to a stunning general election victory a year ago is urging supporters not to lose hope — even if it is disbanded by a legal order.

Should visitors to Thailand be concerned about their safety after six people were found dead in a locked hotel room in Bangkok.

Police say the bodies of six people were found in a luxury hotel in downtown Bangkok, with poisoning a possibility.

Thailand’s prime minister has said that eligible businesses and individuals can register from August for digital cash handouts, a controversial program that will cost billions of dollars and is meant to boost the lagging economy.

Two years after marijuana was decriminalized in Thailand, nearly a hundred of its advocates marched to the prime minister’s office to protest a possible ban on general use.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 has surged to a record close of 40,913.65, while most other major world markets also advanced.

A Korean Air flight to Taiwan was forced to return to Incheon airport west of Seoul after a sudden depressurization on the plane, a Boeing 737 Max 8.

Thailand’s Senate has voted overwhelmingly to approve a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage, clearing the last legislative hurdle for the country to become the first in Southeast Asia to enact such a law.

Hundreds of caged animals died after a fire struck Chatuchak Weekend Market, one of the most famous markets in Thailand’s capital.

Singapore Airlines has offered compensation to passengers of a flight that hit extreme turbulence last month.

Singapore Airlines says it will halt meal services and get all cabin crew to buckle up when planes fly through turbulence as part of tighter cabin measures after one person died and dozens were injured on a flight from London this week.

Passengers on the Singapore Airlines flight that descended sharply after hitting severe turbulence have described the “sheer terror” of the aircraft shuddering, loose items flying and people wrenched so badly that 20 remain in intensive care.

The death of a British man and injuries impacting dozens of other people aboard a Singapore Airlines flight have highlighted the potential dangers of flying through extreme turbulence.

Singapore Airlines says one of its flights hit severe turbulence over the Indian Ocean and descended 6,000 feet in about three minutes.

Brazil will host the 2027 Women’s World Cup after a vote of FIFA’s full membership chose the South American bid over a joint proposal from Belgium, Netherlands and Germany.

Dozens of pro-cannabis advocates in Thailand gathered at the health ministry on Thursday to oppose the government’s plan to relist it as narcotics, two years after it was decriminalized.

The prime minister of Thailand says he wants to outlaw the cannabis over concerns the lack of regulation had made it available to children and increased crimes.

Lawmakers in Thailand’s lower house of Parliament have overwhelmingly approved a marriage equality bill that would make the country the first in Southeast Asia to legalize equal rights for marriage partners of any gender.

Thailand’s paroled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has launched a series of public appearances with an early morning visit to a holy shrine in the capital Bangkok before flying to his home province of Chiang Mai in the country’s north.

The New Orleans police chief says conditions at the department's aging headquarters are so deplorable that rats have munched on marijuana contraband in the evidence locker.

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been released on parole from a Bangkok hospital where he spent six months serving time for corruption-related offenses.

Thailand’s former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who last year returned from more than a decade of self-imposed exile to serve a prison sentence for misdeeds committed while in office, has been granted parole and could be released this weekend, the country’s justice minister announced Tuesday.

U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Bangkok, Thailand, officials from both countries said.

Some local residents and an animal-rights group are protesting plans for a monkey-breeding facility in southwest Georgia.

U.S. stock futures are little changed Friday as the market puts the wraps on a year of surprisingly robust gains.

Three trafficked Sumatran orangutans have been sent back from Thailand to Indonesia as part of a joint effort between the countries to tackle the illegal wildlife trade.

Naphat Krutthai and Rasithaya Jindasri have been in a committed relationship for eight years, but only now they can consider getting married.

Wall Street closed higher to break out of its first three-day losing streak since Halloween.

Police say a teenage boy who allegedly shot two people dead and wounded five others inside a major shopping mall in Thailand's capital used a blank-firing handgun that had been modified to fire real bullets.

Authorities in Thailand's capital say two people were killed when a teenage boy with a handgun opened fire in a major shopping mall in the center of Bangkok.

Thailand’s new Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has vowed to act quickly to relieve the country’s economic problems in his inaugural speech to Parliament.

Xinyu Wen traveled to Thailand in June, planning a two-week vacation around Bangkok’s Pride parade.

Thai authorities say they have seized more than a ton of pangolin scales worth over 50 million baht ($1.4 million) that are believed to have been headed out of the country through a land border.

The estranged son of Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn visited a daycare center for underprivileged children in Bangkok following a surprise return to the country after 27 years of living abroad.

The wife and daughter of exiled Chinese dissident Gao Zhi are in detention on immigration charges in Thailand, after a series of bomb threats made in their names against airports, luxury hotels and the Chinese embassy in Bangkok derailed the family’s plan to join Gao in the Netherlands.

Shares are mostly lower in Asia as optimism over a Wall Street rally is countered by worries about the Chinese economy.

Thailand’s de facto legalization of marijuana last year has brought a wave of tourists from around Asia intrigued by the lure of the forbidden leaf.

The head of the progressive Thai political party that outpaced its rivals to a surprise first-place finish in May’s general election has failed in his initial bid to have Parliament name him the country’s new prime minister.

Thai authorities say at least two people have been killed after an elevated road being built in Bangkok collapsed.

A court in Thailand is to deliver a verdict Wednesday in the case of five people accused of impeding the queen’s motorcade during a pro-democracy march in 2020.

The United States has signed a trade agreement with Taiwan over opposition from China, which claims the self-ruled island democracy as part of its territory.

The leader of the progressive opposition party that won a stunning victory in Thailand’s national election says eight parties have agreed to form a coalition government with him as prime minister.

A Chinese envoy is preparing to visit Ukraine and Russia, but there appeared to be little chance of a breakthrough to end the 15-month-long invasion.

Thailand’s Supreme Court has upheld a death sentence for an ex-elementary school principal convicted of killing three people, including a toddler, during a gold shop robbery in 2020.

Ten of thousands of protesters in Thailand took to the streets in heated demonstrations three years ago seeking democratic reforms.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a phone call that his government will send an envoy to Ukraine and other nations to discuss a possible “political settlement” to Russia’s war with the country.

Extreme heat has sent temperatures soaring in Thailand as authorities warn people to stay indoors.

Hordes of revelers tote colorful water guns as Thailand kicks off its exuberant three-day Songkran festival at full blast for the first time since 2019, hoping for a significant boost in tourism after the industry was devastated by coronavirus travel restrictions.

More than 60 self-exiled members of a Chinese Christian church who were detained in Thailand have paid fines for overstaying their visas but remain in police custody uncertain about their legal status amid fears they would be deported against their will to their home country, where they face possible persecution.

Thailand’s main opposition party has paraded its slate of parliamentary candidates and outlined its policy pledges in a well-choreographed show of confidence ahead of the general election.

Thai police have detained a senior police officer who fired multiple gunshots from his home in Bangkok, ending a standoff of over 24 hours after his colleagues tried to take him to be treated for mental illness.

A Thai man has been sentenced to two years in prison for selling calendars featuring satirical cartoons of yellow ducks that a court said mocked the country’s monarch.

Concerns about the condition of two hunger strikers in Thailand seeking political and judicial reforms have heightened as the hospital where the two women are being kept urgently summoned their parents.

Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to stop by Ann Arbor on Thursday for a climate change event, the White House said.

Thailand’s king and queen have tested positive for COVID-19, and so far have only mild symptoms.

Tesla has launched sales in Thailand, offering its popular Model 3 and Model Y at prices aimed at competing with rivals like China's BYD.

The Hong Kong government says leader John Lee tested positive for the coronavirus after returning from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings in Thailand.

Leaders from around the Asia-Pacific have condemned and called for an end to Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Asia-Pacific leaders meeting in Bangkok appear likely to issue a statement condemning Russia's war on Ukraine.

Australia’s prime minister says he remains committed to building a fleet of submarines powered by U_S_ nuclear technology despite the French president describing the plan as a “confrontation with China.”.

Pacific Rim leaders are seeking common ground on the war in Ukraine and other dire threats to humankind in an annual meeting that began Friday in Bangkok.

Thailand's telecoms regulator has agreed to allow a merger between the country's two main phone carriers in a decision that raises worries over whether reduced competition will harm consumer interests.

Finance ministers of major Pacific Rim economies have pledged to combat inflation and seek sustainable growth at a meeting in Bangkok ahead of a summit next month.

A former police officer facing a drug charge burst into a day care center in Thailand, killing dozens of preschoolers and teachers and then shooting more people as he fled.

A fashion model from Myanmar who feared being arrested by the country’s military government if she was forced back home from exile has flown to Canada, which she says has granted her asylum.

Thailand’s government will lift an emergency decree it imposed in March 2020 to battle the coronavirus as it relaxes most pandemic restrictions.

A model from Myanmar denounced her country’s military rulers last year from the stage of a beauty pageant in Thailand.

Thailand has entered a phase of political uncertainty, with its prime minister suspended and his deputy taking over in his stead pending a ruling from a top court on whether the premier has reached his constitutional term limit.

It's almost six months since Russia invaded Ukraine, and the consequences are posing a devastating threat to the global economy.

Police and rescue workers say at least 13 people were killed and dozens injured when a fire broke out early Friday morning at a crowded music pub in eastern Thailand.

International outrage over Myanmar’s execution of four political prisoners is intensifying with grassroots protests and strong condemnation from world governments.

Cybersecurity researchers have outlined details of cases where Thai activists involved in the country’s pro-democracy protests had their cell phones or other devices infected and attacked with spyware.

The Biden administration is moving to strengthen ties with key Southeast Asian ally Thailand as it presses ahead with efforts to counter China's push for influence in the region.

The number of methamphetamine tablets seized in East and Southeast Asia exceeded a billion last year, highlighting the scale of illegal drug production and trafficking in the region.

The United States and four other nations emphasized their support for host nation Thailand after they walked out of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group meeting in Bangkok.

Residents of the Thai capital Bangkok have elected an independent politician seen as representing opponents of the country’s military-backed government.

Voters in the Thai capital are electing a new governor in a contest delayed by a military coup that still reflects a divided country with main candidates either supported by the conservative establishment or the liberal opposition.

Thailand has announced that beginning next month, visitors who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus will no longer have to undergo any test or quarantine on arrival.

Thai royalists have stepped up their campaign to drive out the country’s branch of rights group Amnesty International, handing over copies of a petition to government ministries that they say is backed by more than a million signatures.

Many Asian countries are facing a spike in COVID-19 infections after the widely-celebrated Lunar New Year holidays, as health officials grapple with the highly-transmissible omicron variant and expectations that numbers will continue to rise in coming weeks.

Police in the Southeast Asian nation of Laos have made their second huge seizure in three months of methamphetamine.

Thai health authorities have approved new guidelines outlining the parameters for declaring the coronavirus pandemic an endemic disease.

Thailand has become the first country in Asia to approve the de facto decriminalization of marijuana.

Thailand will ease entry requirements for vaccinated visitors from all countries next month as concerns about the omicron variant of the coronavirus decline.

Thailand has announced it is tightening some entry restrictions while expanding its “sandbox” quarantine program, and has urged people to follow social distancing and mask rules to control the spread of COVID-19 fueled by the omicron variant.

A positive COVID-19 test among U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s traveling party has cut short the top diplomat’s first official tour of Southeast Asia.

Thailand's DTAC and True Corp. plan a merger that they say will create an “equal partnership" for pursuing opportunities in the tech sector.

Thais have flocked to rivers and lakes to release small floats adorned with flowers and candles in an annual festival honoring the goddess of water, with many of the hundreds of thousands of floats ending up clogging and polluting the country’s waterways.

Thailand’s Constitutional Court has ruled that three pro-democracy activists who called for reform of the monarchy were attempting to overthrow the nation’s system of government with the king as head of state.

Police in Thailand have announced the arrest of the head of a company suspected of cheating overseas buyers of millions of dollars paid for undelivered medical rubber gloves during the coronavirus pandemic.

Thai police say a resident of a high-rise condominium near Bangkok cut the support rope for two painters, apparently angry she wasn’t told they would be doing work, and left them hanging above the 26th floor until a couple rescued them.