Thailand recently witnessed, what is considered by many, to be the largest street protest in more than five years (before the military coup of 2014). Thousands of people gathered on the skywalk linking the National Stadium and Siam Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS) stations, chanting “Prayut get out” at an anti-military demonstration on Saturday. Heading the protest?
It is a tradition for ASEAN’s 10 members to take turns chairing the regional bloc in alphabetical order, and come 1 January, 2020, Vietnam will formally take over from Thailand fully aware of the responsibilities it will have to shoulder.Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha proudly handed a gavel, the symbol of ASEAN’s leadership, to a smiling Vietnamese Prime Minister, Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the closing of the 35th ASEAN Summit in Bangkok on Monday – and the pressure is now on one of Asia’s fa
Thailand will not allow Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy to transit through the kingdom in a bid to return to Phnom Penh, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Wednesday.Rainsy, who has lived in France since 2015 to avoid jail for convictions he says are politically motivated, has promised a dramatic homecoming on 9 November, Cambodia's Independence Day.But Cambodia's strongman premier Hun Sen has said repeatedly that arrest warrants for his arch-rival have been sent to nei
On 24 September, a Thai student, who has not been identified, was taken into custody by Egyptian authorities in Cairo following the circulation of an online video clip that showed him voicing support for an “Islamic revolution” in an interview. According to the Thai embassy in Cairo, photos allegedly linked to the Islamic State (IS) had also been discovered on his mobile phone.The student was a resident of Yala in Thailand’s insurgency-torn deep south.
From 21 June until late November 1944, all Hungarian citizens of Jewish ethnicity living in the city of Budapest were obliged to wear the yellow star and live under curfew in designated houses with the same markings, usually made out of cardboard.
Thai-American United States (US) Senator Tammy Duckworth on Friday urged Thais to be patient with the "messy" nature of democracy, during her first official visit to her birthplace Bangkok since she was elected in 2016.Duckworth's comments come two months after 2014 coup leader Prayut Chan-o-cha was reinstalled as Thailand's civilian premier following a highly disputed poll.The US Senator met Prayut on Friday morning, after a press conference where she congratulated Thaila
“This is no longer an apology, but a threat.” That was what Chaturon Chaisang, a leader of the now-defunct Thai Raksa Chart Party, wrote online in response to a statement Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha released earlier this week.In a letter released to the media on Monday, Prayut apologised for an ongoing fight among coalition parties to secure key cabinet posts.
Southeast Asian leaders are eager to sign a sweeping China-led trade pact by the end of this year, Thailand's prime minister said Friday, with further talks expected at a Bangkok summit on the world's biggest commercial deal.Beijing is seeking to shape the rules of free trade across the Asia-Pacific, as America retreats from multilateral deals under United States (US) President Donald Trump.The China-crafted Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) includes all 10 economie
Thailand’s economy may be in for far more turbulence than anticipated after the March elections. Social unrest has risen and consumer confidence has sagged since the poll, which this month saw parliament return junta leader General Prayut Chan-o-cha to power. Critics have denounced the election as rigged in favour of the pro-military camp, and foreign investors are holding back.
When Kulthirath Pakawachkrilers had to convince yet another Chinese investor that business was still a good bet in Thailand despite the political upheaval, she knew it was going to be a tough sell.Companies once considering investing in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy were now looking at other options – and the uncertainty surrounding the aftermath of the elections was driving much of the concern, said Kulthirath, chief executive officer of the Thailand e-Business Center, which advise
Junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha formally became Thailand's 29th prime minister Tuesday after a royal endorsement, completing a long transformation from soldier to civilian leader and vowing "love, unity and compassion".But critics may doubt the divisive leader's pledge after his previous stint in power which was marked by a ban on political gatherings, a clamp down on the media and the muzzling of dissent.The 65-year-old ex-army chief led the 2014 coup, the last of
Smiling broadly, Tanwarin triumphantly cast her vote for prime minister as the first transgender MPs enter parliament in Thailand, where tolerance for the LGBT community is not matched by understanding or opportunity in public life.In a sign of that enduring gap, the elderly speaker called for "Mr Tanwarin" to come forward in a vote late Wednesday that saw former junta chief Prayut Chan-o-cha elected as premier with the help of a bank of 250 appointed senators.Tanwarin Sukkhapisit,
