Latest Thailand government News

US commerce secretary hails progress at year's first meeting of Indo-Pacific trade grouping

Mar. 14, 2024 11:30 AM EDT

BANGKOK (AP) — U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Thursday praised the progress made by the 14 countries in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity after the group held a ministerial meeting Thursday to discuss proposed guidelines for regional commerce. Raimondo...

Former Thai leader Thaksin makes first public appearances after release from detention

Mar. 14, 2024 01:52 AM EDT

BANGKOK (AP) — Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra began his first public appearances since leaving detention, with an early morning visit to a shrine in Bangkok on Thursday before flying to his home province of Chiang Mai in the country’s north. The controversial...

Thai election body to seek dissolution of progressive party that won last year's general election

Mar. 12, 2024 06:06 AM EDT

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s Election Commission on Tuesday said it will seek the dissolution of the progressive Move Forward party, which won last year's general election, after a court ruled that the party’s proposal to amend a royal anti-defamation law was unconstitutional. The...

In northern Myanmar, Kachin rebels claim attacks on army outposts as offensive gathers pace

Mar. 07, 2024 11:16 AM EST

BANGKOK (AP) — A rebel group in Myanmar’s northern state of Kachin said its troops on Thursday attacked more than 10 army outposts along the main road to the state capital of Myitkyina, increasing the pressure on the military government from pro-democracy resistance forces and ethnic minority...

Thai court acquits former PM Yingluck Shinawatra on charges of mishandling government funds

Mar. 04, 2024 08:18 AM EST

BANGKOK (AP) — A Thai court on Monday acquitted former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, now living in exile, on charges of mishandling funds for a government project in 2013, the latest legal victory for the powerful family of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The ruling...

Many in Myanmar consider fleeing to Thailand to escape conscription into an army they despise

Feb. 24, 2024 03:43 AM EST

BANGKOK (AP) — Thwel, a 25-year-old schoolteacher, saw very few options left to her after Myanmar’s military announced it is implementing conscription to fill its ranks. “As a person living in this country, I only have two options: to go abroad illegally or die here,” Thwel...

How Thailand's Thaksin Shinawatra went from prime minister to fugitive abroad and back home again

Feb. 19, 2024 09:04 AM EST

BANGKOK (AP) — Thaksin Shinawatra, the billionaire former prime minister of Thailand, made a dramatic return home after more than a decade of self-imposed exile. He was detained in a hospital for six months and on Sunday, Thaksin was released on parole for corruption-related...

Thai ex-Prime Minister Thaksin, just freed from detention, may still face a royal defamation charge

Feb. 19, 2024 03:15 AM EST

BANGKOK (AP) — Thai prosecutors said Monday that further investigation is needed to decide whether to bring former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to trial for defaming the monarchy, just a day after he was freed from a prison sentence on other charges he was serving in a hospital. ...

Thai ex-Prime Minister Thaksin is free on parole, but can he restore his old political luster?

Feb. 18, 2024 23:32 PM EST

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the Southeast Asian nation’s most controversial politician for more than two decades, was released on parole early Sunday from a Bangkok hospital where he spent six months serving time for corruption-related offenses. ...

High air pollution levels in Thai capital spark order for city employees to work from home

Feb. 15, 2024 08:41 AM EST

BANGKOK (AP) — City employees in Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, were ordered Thursday to work from home for two days, and those in the private sector were encouraged to do so as well, as air pollution soared to unhealthy levels. Air pollution has been a problem for many years in...