All the latest news from Thailand and around the world.
Paroled former prime minister Thaksin left his Chan Song La residence this morning for the Ratchadaphisek Criminal Court to be formally indicted with lese majeste and violation of Computer Crime Act charges by the public prosecutors. Travelling in a chauffeured Mercedes Benz, Thaksin was seen through the car’s window waving to a small army of
Concern is growing that Thailand’s new fisheries law will drag the country backwards, making it more vulnerable to human trafficking and jeopardising its multibillion-baht seafood export industry. “If Thailand’s ranking in the US State Department’s Trafficking in Persons [TIP] Report slips to Tier 3, it is going to be difficult to climb back up,” said
V8 Intertrading has won the bid for 15,000 tonnes of ten-year-old pledging scheme rice, with its offer of Bt19.07/kg, in an auction held today by the Public Warehouse Organisation. The company’s bid was the highest of those submitted by six local rice trading companies. They were V8 Intertrading, Tanasan Rice, SSMR Karnkaset, Sup Saeng Thong
When Thailand decided recently to join BRICS, the international community was taken aback because the announcement came hot on the heels of its submission to be considered for membership of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Bangkok-based diplomats were perplexed by the timing of the decisions, as they appeared juxtaposed. The Pheu Thai-led
The Election Commission revealed today that 2,164 men and 836 women passed the provincial-level voting for new senators yesterday and they advance to the national-level vote on June 26 at the Impact Arena, Muang Thong Thani. The 200 candidates who win the national-level vote will become senators. In Bangkok, 40 candidates, representing 20 background groups,
Thailand on Sunday expressed concern over the long-lasting negative impact of the disruption of food supply chains due to the Russia-Ukraine war, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ spokesman, Nikorndej Balandura. In his intervention, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Russ Jalichandra said that the degradation of agricultural land due to the conflict not only diminishes
A Philippine ship and a Chinese vessel collided near the Second Thomas Shoal in the disputed South China Sea on Monday, the Chinese Coast Guard said. Known in Chinese as the Ren’ai Reef, the Second Thomas Shoal hosts a garrison of Philippine troops on a grounded navy vessel, the Sierra Madre, to assert Manila’s claims to
Police have found the three missing oil smuggling boats floating in Malaysia’s exclusive economic zone and will escort them back to Thailand’s southern province of Songkhla, according to the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB). The three vessels, with about 330,000 litres of fuel on board, disappeared from a marine police pier in Sattahip on June 12th,
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin is taking a sick leave after being diagnosed with COVID-19. Government Spokesman Chai Wacharonke said the prime minister fell ill, has felt tired since last Friday and went to see a doctor, who diagnosed a COVID infection. He was advised him to take a rest for a few days to avoid infecting others. He said he expects the prime minister to be able
Thirty-seven people were injured, six seriously, after a “Bung Fai” home-made rocket misfired and exploded during a “Bung Fai” festival in Phon Thong district of Roi-et province today. Many people were attending the festival, being held this morning in Bang Sang Bu in Pho Si Sawang sub-district, when a huge home-made rocket exploded while surrounded
After a series of failed amnesty bills over the past decade, a new attempt to pardon people charged with lese majeste has become a burning issue that is adding heat to Thailand’s political conflict. Proposed forgiveness for people charged with political crimes has been a hot potato since 2013, when the Pheu Thai-led government’s attempt
London, United Kingdom – Catherine, Princess of Wales, on Saturday tentatively returned to UK public life for the first time since being diagnosed with cancer, attending a military parade in London to mark King Charles III’s official birthday. Kate, as she is widely known, travelled in a state carriage alongside her three children at the
Several well-known figures failed to gain enough votes at the provincial-level today to advance to the national-level voting for senators. Some of the senatorial candidates in Bangkok who lost out included former election commissioner Somchai Srisutthiyakorn, former Special Branch officer Santhana Prayoonrat, Yutthapichai Charnlekha, Sonthiya Sawasdee, Nuttaa Mahattana, Phongsakorn Mahapaoraya and Dr. Rienthong Nanna, director
Seven international human rights organisations have written an open letter to Thailand’s Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong, urging him to conduct a transparent investigation into the death of hunger striker Netiporn Sanesangkhom and to end “unlawful” detention of political offenders. The organisations claim that imprisonment of or denial of bail for political activists and protesters, especially
The COVID-19 KP.2 sub-variant is quickly replacing JN.1, the dominant sub-variant in Thailand since late last year. Currently available vaccines, which were developed to deal with the XBB.1.5 sub-variant, are ineffective against KP.2, according to Dr Yong Poovorawan, head of the Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology at Chulalongkorn University, on his Facebook page today.
A number of suspected vote buyers have been held for questioning by Special Branch police in the north-eastern province of Si Sa Ket, ahead of provincial-level voting for senators today. According to the police report, the suspects made hotel bookings for a group of senatorial candidates, allegedly to instruct them on how they should vote
