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Patpicha Tanakasempipat
Thailand's former prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, arrives at Ratchada Criminal Court in Bangkok on Aug. 19. The former leader's views at a dinner event last week have been closely dissected by analysts and media for days after.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 28, 2024
Thaksin’s dinner talk signals his clout in new Thai government
His comments have been interpreted as a blueprint that’s likely to be adopted by his daughter and her Cabinet when they take office in the next couple of weeks.
Srettha Thavisin in Bangkok on Wednesday. He became the fourth Thai prime minister to be ousted by the Constitutional Court in the past two decades.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 15, 2024
Thai political upheaval shows royalists still firmly in charge
The difference this time is that former leader Thaksin Shinawatra is now in an alliance with his former conservative adversaries as part of a deal struck last year.
Thailand's Move Forward Party Leader Pita Limjaroenrat (center) during a rally in Bangkok in July 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 7, 2024
Thai court disbands opposition party over royal reform push
In a unanimous ruling, the nine-member court found that Move Forward’s bid to amend the lese majeste law violated poll rules.
Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand's former prime minister, arrives at Don Mueang airport in Bangkok after returning from a self-imposed exile on Aug. 22, 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 30, 2024
Thailand heads for fresh political turmoil as Thaksin indictment looms
The political instability can potentially delay a parliamentary approval for the 2025 budget and cause further damage to the nation’s fragile financial markets.
Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra greets his supporters after landing at Bangkok's Don Mueang Airport last August. He will be prosecuted for insulting the monarchy, the attorney general's office said on Wednesday, over comments he made while in self-exile in 2015.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 29, 2024
Former Thai PM Thaksin will be indicted in royal insult case
The move creates fresh legal risk for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the head of the political dynasty that controls the country’s ruling party.
Thailand's parliament passed a same-sex marriage bill on Wednesday, paving the way for the kingdom to become the first Southeast Asian nation to recognize LGBTQ marriage equality.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 28, 2024
Thailand passes bill to legalize same-sex marriage
Legalizing same-sex marriage could also have positive impact on tourism, which contributes about 12% to the nation’s $500 billion economy.
Thailand Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin's administration has made LGBT marriage a signature issue.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Mar 27, 2024
Bill to legalize same-sex marriage in Thailand heads to parliament
Taiwan and Nepal are the only places in Asia that currently recognize same-sex marriage, and efforts elsewhere in the region have had mixed results.
Festivalgoers sit at dining tables next to food stalls at the Tomorrowland electronic dance music festival in Boom, Belgium, last year. The event is set to take place in Thailand in 2026.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 26, 2024
Thailand to host two major music events after Taylor Swift miss
The Southeast Asian country plans to welcome two foreign music festivals, one of them Japanese, to help boost tourism.
Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin visited former leader Thaksin Shinawatra at his residence on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 24, 2024
Thai PM meets Thaksin amid questions over clout in government
The meeting was Thaksin’s first high-profile meet with a Thai politician since being released on parole on Feb. 18.
Thailand will seek to get a new cannabis bill explicitly outlawing the recreational use of cannabis approved by the end of October.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Feb 22, 2024
Thailand aims for clampdown on recreational cannabis by year-end
The move would put thousands of marijuana shops and farms out of business.
Former Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat was declared not guilty in his media shareholding case by Thailand's Constitutional Court on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 25, 2024
Thai court clears former PM hopeful Pita Limjaroenrat in share case
Thailand’s constitution bars politicians from owning shares in media firms to prevent platforms being abused for personal gains and to protect media freedom.
Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin at the Thailand Economic Outlook conference in Bangkok in October
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 9, 2023
Thailand’s 'salesman' PM travels the world to court investments
Srettha Thavisin is acting as Thailand’s chief salesman, enticing tourists, investors and anything or anyone that can support the nation’s growth.
Great Wall Motor's Ora Good Cat electric vehicles are charged at the company's charging station at Siam Square in Bangkok
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 27, 2023
Thailand bets on EVs to draw trillion baht in investment
The country has set up a "special operation” center to catch what its investment board head calls the "big fish” of the EV industry.
Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra waves after arriving at Don Mueang airport in Bangkok on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 22, 2023
Thailand's Thaksin returns to jail after years in exile
Thaksin, who was found guilty in absentia in four corruption cases and still faces 10 years in prison, was taken into custody by the police.
Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat leaves after voting for house speaker at the parliament in Bangkok on July 4.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 17, 2023
Thailand to hold PM vote next week as new bloc eyes power
The announcement of the new schedule came after the court last month denied pro-democracy leader Pita Limjaroenrat a second shot at the job.
Members of the armed forces stand with flags of Thailand outside the Grand Palace during celebrations to mark King Maha Vajiralongkorn's 71st birthday in Bangkok on July 28.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 4, 2023
Thailand’s wait for a premier gets longer, rattling markets
A revised schedule for a prime minister vote may be set after a Constitutional Court decision on Aug. 16.
Pheu Thai's prime ministerial candidates Paetongtarn Shinawatra (center, right) — daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra — and Srettha Thavisin (center, left), a local property tycoon, at a campaign event in Bangkok on May 12
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 3, 2023
Thai party to unveil new coalition after Move Forward break
Conservative parties are expected to join the new coalition and their inclusion would boost support for the nomination of Srettha Thavisin.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 21, 2023
Thai election winner lets ally lead government formation
The Move Forward Party leader has been blocked at every turn by conservative parties and military-appointed officials.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 18, 2023
As 'Detroit of Asia,' Thailand targets battery-makers to stay ahead in EV race
Long established as an auto hub, Thailand is determined to keep its grip on the economically crucial industry as the pivot to electric vehicles gathers pace.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 15, 2023
Thai PM candidate Pita willing to let ally form government
Pita said he will renew his candidacy for prime minister when the parliament meets again Wednesday, while acknowledging that time was running out for him to secure the top job.

Longform

Dul Saroth (left) and Soeum Samrach, deminers with the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority, practice using the Advanced Landmine Imaging System in Cambodia’s Siem Reap province in August.
The Japanese tech that could one day make Southeast Asia landmine-free