By Aidan Jones For any party that wants to change Thailand, bitter experience has shown that winning an election and taking power are two entirely different things. Conservatives hold the keys to government in the kingdom, where politicians, tycoons and generals serving the apex power of the monarchy allow elections, but conjure up coups and […]
Read MoreThailand has said it is delaying the transfer of 18 captured Cambodian soldiers amid the Southeast Asian nations’ simmering border conflict due to alleged breaches of a renewed truce agreement, as the ceasefire passed the 72-hour mark that was supposed to trigger their release. Thai Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nikorndej Balankura said on Tuesday that Bangkok […]
Read MoreBANGKOK: Cambodia shut its border crossings with Thailand on Saturday, after Bangkok denied US President Donald Trump’s claim that a truce had been agreed to end days of deadly fighting. Violence between the Southeast Asian neighbors, which stems from a long-running dispute over the colonial-era demarcation of their 800-kilometer (500-mile) border, has displaced around half […]
Read MoreBloomberg Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has threatened to derail a fragile peace deal with Cambodia – signed just last month – after a landmine explosion injured two Thai soldiers near their shared border. The soldiers stepped on what the Thai army suspects were newly laid mines while on routine patrol Monday in Si Sa […]
Read MoreBy Ralph Jennings in Kuala Lumpur The United States has ramped up efforts to hedge against rare earth export controls by China – the world’s dominant supplier – through agreements signed on Sunday with two Southeast Asian countries, including one that experts believe could deliver results relatively quickly. Memoranda of understanding with Malaysia and Thailand […]
Read MoreThailand’s Queen Mother Sirikit, who brought glamour and elegance to a postwar revival in the country’s monarchy and who, in later years, would occasionally wade into politics, has died aged 93, the Thai Royal Household Bureau said today (25 October). Sirikit had been out of the public eye since a stroke in 2012. The palace […]
Read MoreThailand’s recently removed prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra resigned Wednesday as leader of the party founded by her father, ex-premier Thaksin, signalling the potential end of the family’s decades-long political dynasty. Paetongtarn, 39, served less than a year as prime minister before being sacked by a court in August over an ethics breach related to her […]
Read MoreBy Aidan Jones In Thailand, elections do not necessarily decide who governs. Over the past few weeks, that paradox has played out once more, with a prime minister ousted, the country’s best-known political dynasty sidelined and a new leader taking the reins. For young Thai activist Aitarnik Chitwiset, the endless chaos feels like it has […]
Read MoreBy Aidan Jones In Thailand, elections do not necessarily decide who governs. Over the past few weeks, that paradox has played out once more, with a prime minister ousted, the country’s best-known political dynasty sidelined and a new leader taking the reins. For young Thai activist Aitarnik Chitwiset, the endless chaos feels like it has […]
Read MoreAidan Jones and Agencies Thaksin Shinawatra, the billionaire tycoon who once dominated Thai politics, spent his first night behind bars on Tuesday after the Supreme Court sentenced him to a year in prison. The verdict was a stunning blow for the former prime minister, whose political dynasty has, for now, been pushed aside. Thailand’s top […]
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