All the latest news from Thailand and around the world.
The government should ease restrictions and reduce bureaucratic red tape to facilitate investment by foreigners, as a short-term measure to boost the sluggish economy, said Kirida Bhaopichitr, director of International Economics and Development Policy of the Thailand Development and Research Institute (TDRI). She said that Thailand’s economic growth in the first quarter of this year
The Police Commission has voted 12-0 to endorse the order by Acting National Police Chief Pol Gen Kitrat Phanphet to remove Deputy Police Chief Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn from the police service. The commission spent two hours discussing the issue, after the Council of State, the government’s legal advisor, ruled that the removal order was
The Election Commission (EC) has confirmed that the identities of 200 new senators will be unveiled at 5pm today. 2,989 candidates showed up for the national level of the senatorial selection process, according to EC chair Itthiporn Boonpracong. Itthiporn explained that the election officials will initially explain the voting process to the candidates, which should
The House Budget Scrutiny Committee decided today to put on hold the 152.7 billion baht budget earmarked for the government’s ‘digital wallet’ scheme due to a lack of details about the project. Takorn Tantasith, a Thai Sang Thai party-list MP and a member of the committee, said in his Facebook post that they have demanded
The senatorial candidates who won in the provincial-level vote reported to the election centre at the Impact Forum conference hall in Muang Thong Than exhibition centre this morning, for the final round of voting for new senators. Again, the selection process will be divided into two rounds. The first round is the intra-group voting in
Yingcheep Atchanont, manager of Internet Dialogue on Law Reform, known as iLaw, criticised today the Election Commission (EC) for not keeping its promise to live stream the final round of senatorial election voting. He said the broadcast from the convention halls, where the senatorial voting is being held, shows only a single angle and lacks
Well-known monarchy reformist Parit Chiwarak, aka “Penguin”, failed to show up at the Criminal Court yesterday to hear the verdict on a lèse majesté charge against him, prompting the court to issue a warrant for his arrest, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR). The new date for the reading of the verdict has
Police and the family of a missing school director in Lamphun province enter the tenth day of their search for him. Ruchagorn Jaisanti, 43, acting director of a school in Nong Chang Khuen sub-district in Mueang Lamphun district, has been missing since June 16th. Police have found evidence from CCTV cameras, recorded on June 14th,
Chinese, Russian and Myanmar nationals are the three top foreign buyers of condominium units in Thailand, acquiring 14,500 units worth about 73 billion baht last year, according to Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul. In 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, the three nationalities bought a combined 13,000 units, worth about 57 billion baht, but the purchases dropped
Indonesia’s national data center has been compromised by a hacking group asking for a $8 million ransom that the government says it won’t pay. The cyberattack has disrupted services of more than 200 government agencies at both the national and regional levels since last Thursday, said Samuel Abrijani Pangerapan, the director general of informatics applications
Five photographs promoting sustainable tourism in ASEAN countries have won awards in a contest organized by the Confederation of Thai Journalists (CTJ). Winning the top prize is a photo entry from Indonesia showing a spectacular view of the Nepal Van Java tiered village in Butuh, Central Java while Thailand’s entry reflecting the way of life
Even more puzzling than the country’s two top policemen being sidelined simultaneously for alleged corruption is that both have been reinstated months later as if no damage had been done. In a development that critics call “a farce”, national police chief Pol General Torsak Sukvimol and his deputy Pol General Surachate Hakparn have been shifted
Australia’s prime minister hailed WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s US plea deal hearing Wednesday as a “welcome development”. Assange, 52, pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to obtain and disseminate US national defence information at a court in the US Pacific territory of the Northern Mariana Islands. The plea is part of an agreement
The Cabinet approved subsidies to rice farmers today, for the purchase of fertiliser and microbial pesticide at 500 baht per 0.16 hectares per household or a total of 10,000 baht for 3.2 hectares of farm land for the 2024-25 crop year. Government Spokesman Chai Wacharonke said today that, under the so-called “50:50” fertiliser support program,
Police General Surachate Hakparn, the deputy national police chief, appears to be embarking on a vendetta against those he blames for his recent fall from grace. A defamation suit was filed today with the Criminal Court, against a member of the Police Commission, for allegedly disclosing to the media details of a police investigation report
Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan began his official visit to Thailand today, at the invitation of his Thai counterpart, Maris Sangiampongsa. Today he is scheduled to attend a working luncheon with Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and an official welcome dinner, hosted by Maris, according to Thai Foreign Ministry. Tomorrow he will attend a bilateral
