Thais are expected to head to the polls in November this year to democratically elect a new government after being ruled by a military government since 2014. However, the ruling junta has demonstrated a pattern of delaying a vote often citing security issues.

A senior Thai royal official has been sacked for "evil acts" including having an extramarital affair and forcing his alleged mistress to get an abortion, the palace said, the latest top aide to be axed under King Maha Vajiralongkorn.Vajiralongkorn, 65, took the throne one year ago following the death of his widely revered father King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who reigned for seven decades.He has yet to attain his father's widespread popularity but remains insulated from any criticism

A sea of black-clad mourners massed across Bangkok's historic heart early Thursday as funeral rituals began for King Bhumibol Adulyadej, a revered monarch whose passing after a seven-decade reign has left Thailand bereft of its only unifying figure.

Gilded chariots, horses and columns of military men in bright costumes swept through Bangkok's old quarter on Saturday in a final dress rehearsal for late King Bhumibol Adulyadej's funeral – a meticulously-planned spectacle of devotion to a man known as the "soul of the nation".Steered by the Buddhist ritual, palace protocol and social hierarchy that underpin Thailand's powerful monarchy, the elaborate cremation ceremony will befit a king who commanded a cult-like fol