PARIS (FRANCE) — US and Iranian officials are due this week to hold their first talks since Iran launched a deadly crackdown on protests, in a meeting likely to be crucial in determining if the United States carries out renewed military action against the Islamic republic.

UBON RATCHATHANI — Crime Suppression Division (CSD) police arrested a 15-year-old Songkhla native at the Ubon Ratchathani bus terminal on Wednesday evening, one day after he allegedly stole about 2.43 million baht in gold from a Hat Yai mall shop.

CHIANG MAI — The abbot of a 400-year-old Buddhist temple in this northern province has filed a police complaint after CCTV footage captured a man and woman — believed to be foreigners — spray-painting its perimeter wall, despite the temple having spent money repainting it several times.

KWARA — Gunmen killed at least 162 people in Nigeria's Kwara state in one of the deadliest attacks in the country in recent months, a Red Cross official said Wednesday.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has ruled that Chaithip Kamolpantip, a former Ratchaburi MP and current parliamentary candidate for the Klatham Party, committed a serious violation of ethical standards after being found to have engaged in gambling inside the parliament building.

The Pheu Thai Party on Wednesday vowed at a rally in the northeastern province of Si Sa Ket to implement comprehensive debt solutions if elected.

The Thai Kao Mai (TKM) Party has set its sights on reforming the social security system and welcomed the Election Commission (EC)’s scrutiny of party policies, party leader Suchatvee Suwansawat has said. 

The Democrat, Pheu Thai and Klatham parties have moved to defend their campaign spending plans after the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) warned their pledges could place an unsustainable burden on the country’s finances.

Thailand’s inability to revive its economy has left its stocks and bonds in an unenviable position: cheap, unloved and increasingly irrelevant.

Anti‑corruption officials on Wednesday inspected an ice hockey rink in Bangkok used for the SEA Games last year, following a report of irregularities in invoices it issued to the Ice Hockey Association of Thailand that showed claimed amounts higher than actual expenses during the event.