Zara Larsson plays Bangkok on 1 November, and she has told her followers why that show means something to her. She went to school here.

Writing to her Thai audience on TikTok, she put it like this:

"Did you know that I lived in Thailand for a semester? I did 3rd grade in Koh Lanta!! So it's basically like my home coming show."

Not Bangkok. Not Phuket. This island.

What is confirmed, and what is not

The Koh Lanta part comes from her, on her own account, in her own words. That is as good as sourcing gets.

Which school she attended is a separate question, and she has not answered it publicly. Sanuk, the Swedish school in Saladan, tells us she was a pupil there in year three. A Thai fan group that has been researching her connection to the island reached the same conclusion by working backwards from what she said.

Both of those are plausible and neither is her word. We are reporting it as what the school says rather than as established fact, and if she or her people want to settle it, we would happily print that.

The timing is not a coincidence

The year matters. Zara Larsson was born in December 1997, which places a third-grade year somewhere around 2006 or 2007.

That is precisely the period the island's Swedish community stopped being a curiosity and became a season. By the 2006/07 school year there were 220 pupils and 20 teachers across two Swedish schools here, and a second school had just been built at Long Beach for families staying longer than four months.

In other words, if a Swedish family brought a child to Koh Lanta for a semester of school in that window, they were not doing something unusual. They were part of a wave. We wrote about how that wave started, from a diary kept by the first pupil, here.

A homecoming, sort of

Bangkok is a nine-hour journey from this island, so calling a show there a homecoming is a stretch by any normal measure of distance.

But it tells you something about how the place lands on people. A woman who has since sold out arenas across Europe spent one school year on a Thai island, and two decades later still counts it as somewhere she came from.

Plenty of people who spent a season here would say the same thing. Most of them just do not have a stage to say it from.

Zara Larsson performs at UOB LIVE, EmSphere, Bangkok on 1 November as part of the Midnight Sun Tour. Her remarks about Koh Lanta were posted to her own TikTok account. We have not approached her or her representatives, and would correct anything here that turns out to be wrong.

On August 24, Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Pipat Ratchakitprakarn, along with senior officials from the Transport Ministry, Department of Highways, Samut Sakhon Province, Royal Thai Police, and related agencies, inspected the M82 expressway project spanning Bang Khun Thian, Ekachai, and Ban Phaew to assess progress and readiness before the public trial opening of the Ekachai–Ban Phaew section on Friday, August 28, 2025, at 10:00 AM.

Ratchakitprakarn stated that the Transport Ministry and Department of Highways are accelerating the M82 motorway project to benefit the public and fulfill the "Quick Win" policy. The new section will operate 24 hours daily with free toll passage, allowing uninterrupted elevated highway use from Bang Khun Thian through Ekachai to Ban Phaew, a distance of approximately 25 kilometers. This provides an additional route option on Rama II Road and improves connectivity to Southern Thailand.

The Department of Highways has been instructed to verify all service sections meet standards, including structure, pavement, lighting, signs, traffic markings, and safety equipment. The department will coordinate with highway police, provincial police, rescue units, and local agencies to station personnel, patrol vehicles, and emergency response teams 24/7. Traffic management plans for M82 and Rama II Road, particularly at entry-exit points and the Ban Phaew junction, are being prepared, along with public information campaigns on access points, route conditions, and speed limits. A load test conducted on August 15 with the Engineering Institute of Thailand and structural engineers, using AASHTO standards and legal load specifications, confirmed the structure's response values are within acceptable limits, validating readiness for safe operation.

Flash Express Limited, represented by Printhip Isriyanmetha, Assistant Vice President of Corporate Communications and Government Relations for the Flash Business Group, is continuing its support for Bangkok's BKK Food Bank project for a second year. The initiative helps reduce inequality and promote food security by donating essential consumer goods to vulnerable groups in Huay Kwang District, including people with disabilities, the elderly, and those unable to care for themselves. As an organization committed to sustainable development, Flash Express aims to build an inclusive society by providing daily necessities to improve quality of life for those in long-term need, with the endorsement of Sombutti Kruekitti, Huay Kwang District Director, and his management team.

The director of Khao Laem National Park temporarily closed Gerung Krawei Waterfall on August 24 following severe flooding and falling rocks, with officials urging visitors to be cautious. Sakhon Supsai, head of Khao Laem National Park in Kanchanaburi, announced the temporary closure of the waterfall area in Prang Poel subdistrict, Sangkhla Buri district, after days of continuous heavy rain caused water to surge with cloudy discharge flowing into the Vajiralongkorn Dam reservoir. The connecting bridge used for sightseeing was partially damaged by the strong current. To protect visitors, the park has shut the waterfall area and will reopen as soon as water levels recede and conditions stabilize. The park's café, food stalls, drinks vendors, and restrooms remain open to the public. Visitors can track water level updates on the Khao Laem National Park Facebook page.

NARATHIWAT — 24 August 2026, Security officials have detained one suspect in connection with a series of attacks at 40 locations across Narathiwat province, while bomb disposal teams are inspecting a railway track damaged by an explosive before repairs can begin and services resume as soon as possible.

Personnel from the Southern Border Provinces Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit, the Narathiwat Provincial Police EOD unit, the Narathiwat Provincial Forensic Science Division and military sniffer-dog teams went to inspect a railway line where an explosive device had been planted.

The site is at kilometre marker 1090, between Maruebo Railway Station and Tanyong Mat Railway Station in Village 1, Maruebo Tok subdistrict, Ra-ngae district, Narathiwat.

It was one of 40 locations targeted in a coordinated series of attacks on the night of 22 August, prompting the State Railway of Thailand to suspend all train services from 23 August.

Before reaching the scene, officials had to walk about 1 kilometre along the railway line from Maruebo station while exercising caution. They found three improvised explosive devices, each packed inside a 25-kilogramme gas cylinder and fitted with timers.

One device had been placed directly on the railway track, damaging two concrete sleepers and tearing apart the rail, making it impossible for trains to pass. Two other devices had been placed on electricity poles beside a road running alongside the railway, about 50 metres from the main blast site. The poles were damaged but did not collapse.

Officials collected forensic evidence from the scene and estimated that at least six people may have been involved in the attack at this location.

Southern Train Services Adjusted

The State Railway of Thailand has adjusted its southern train services following the attack on the track between Maruebo and Tanyong Mat stations at kilometre marker 1090. The temporary arrangements will remain in place until officials repair the damaged track, which is expected to take one to two days.

Train No. 452 from Sungai Kolok to Nakhon Si Thammarat will terminate at Tanyong Mat before returning as special passenger train No. 2541 from Tanyong Mat to Sungai Kolok.

Train No. 37 from Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal to Sungai Kolok, which departed Bangkok on 22 August, will terminate at Maruebo before returning as special passenger train No. 2542 from Maruebo to Yala and continuing as Train No. 38 from Yala to Krung Thep Aphiwat.

Train No. 985 from Bangkok to Sungai Kolok, which departed on 22 August, will terminate at Lalo before returning as special freight service No. 2545 from Lalo to Yala and continuing as Train No. 986 from Yala to Bangkok.

Train No. 447 from Surat Thani to Sungai Kolok will terminate at Yala and operate as Train No. 448 from Yala to Surat Thani on 24 August.

Train No. 463 from Phatthalung to Sungai Kolok will terminate at Yala before returning as Train No. 464 from Yala to Phatthalung.

A mathematics teacher at a school in Bang Lamung District, Chonburi, has been suspended following allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct toward a 16-year-old Grade 10 student, with claims that grades were involved. The school principal revealed that before the case became public, the school had received information and reviewed relevant video evidence, immediately establishing a fact-finding committee. The school invited parents and the student to provide information and asked the accused teacher to give a statement; a three-member committee unanimously found the conduct constituted serious disciplinary violation.

Because disciplinary investigations and penalties for specialists fall under the authority of higher officials, the school compiled witness statements, documents, and physical evidence and submitted the case to the District Education Office for formal disciplinary investigation. The principal noted the teacher had worked at the school for approximately seven years with no previous complaints of this nature. Following discovery of the evidence, the school ordered the teacher to cease teaching duties and avoid contact with students temporarily to prevent interference with witnesses and evidence. The teacher continues other administrative duties given the ongoing investigation status.

The principal clarified that the teacher's separate transfer request was a routine application to which all staff are entitled, not a direct result of this case. Police and disciplinary investigations remain ongoing, with the teacher remaining the accused party pending investigation findings or formal determination.