Page 10 - Thailand

In a first in Southeast Asia, Thailand passes marriage equality bill

LGBT advocates called the move a "monumental step forward," as Thailand would be the first nation in Southeast Asia to enact marriage equality legislation

Thaksin indicted on charge of royal defamation as more cases stir Thailand

Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was formally indicted on Tuesday on a charge of defaming Thailand's monarchy in one of several court cases that have unsteadied Thai politics. Thaksin, an influential political figure despite being ousted from power 18 years ago, reported himself to prosecutors just before 9 a.m. and the indictment process has been completed, Prayuth Bejraguna, a spokesperson for the Office of the Attorney General, said at a news conference. A car believed to be carrying Thaksin arrived at the Criminal Court in Bangkok but he did not come out to meet reporters, and it is unclear whether he went to the court or the nearby prosecutors' office. His lawyer Winyat Chatmontree told reporters that Thaksin was ready to enter the judicial process and that he has prepared a request for his release on bail. The law on defaming the monarchy, an offense known as lese majeste, is punishable by three to 15 years in prison. It is among the harshest such laws globally and ..

Thailand aims for 3% economic growth this year, to attract more tourists

Growth was 1.5 per cent in the first quarter year-on-year, slowing from 1.7 per cent in the prior quarter

Thailand to offer visa-free travel for Indian travellers, starting June

Starting next month, Thailand will permit remote workers, graduate students, and retirees from 93 nations to stay for up to 60 days

Thailand's Move Forward party braces for court case that might dissolve it

The former leader of Thailand's progressive opposition Move Forward party vowed on Sunday to keep fighting as the party faces a court case that could result in its dissolution. The Constitutional Court has agreed to rule on whether the party violated the constitution by proposing to amend a law that forbids defaming the country's royal family. The petition requested the party's dissolution and a 10-year ban on political activity by its executives. The court has not said when it will rule on this case. Pita Limjaroenrat, the former leader of Move Forward, laid out the details of the party's legal defences that have been submitted to the court at a news conference on Sunday. If there is a rule of law in Thailand, I'm extremely confident the party's arguments will prevail, he said. Pita said the Constitutional Court does not have jurisdiction to rule on this case and that the petition filed by the Election Commission did not follow due process because Move Forward was not given an ..

Thailand approves longer visa stays for tourists, students, remote workers

Digital nomad visas for self-employed and remote workers extended to five years

Ex-Thai PM Shinawatra to be indicted for royal defamation, say prosecutors

Thai prosecutors on Wednesday said former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will be indicted for defaming the monarchy, three months after he was freed on parole on other charges. Thaksin will not yet be indicted because he had filed a request to postpone his original appointment on Wednesday with proof that he has contracted COVID-19, said Prayuth Bejraguna, a spokesperson for the Office of the Attorney General, at a news conference. The attorney general's office scheduled a new appointment for Thaksin's indictment on June 18, Prayuth said, adding that Thaksin will also be indicted for violating the Computer Crime Act. Thaksin had been in self-imposed exile since 2008, but returned to Thailand in August last year to begin serving an eight-year sentence. He was released on parole in February from the hospital in Bangkok where he spent six months serving time for corruption-related offenses.

US sanctions 3 Chinese, 3 Thai entities over Covid related cyber fraud

The botnet enabled users to commit widespread cyber-enabled fraud using compromised victim computers that were associated to residential IP addresses

6,000 feet drop in 3 mins: Singapore Airlines flight's mid-air chaos. WATCH

A British passenger suffered a fatal cardiac arrest, and many were injured when a Singapore Airlines flight encountered severe turbulence mid-air. The plane made an emergency landing in Bangkok

Thai Constitutional Court agrees to hear case that could imperil the PM

Thailand's Constitutional Court accepted a petition Thursday from members of the country's outgoing Senate to begin an ethics probe against the prime minister over his appointment of a Cabinet member. If eventually found guilty, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin could be ousted from his position. The court ruled that Srettha's appointment of Pichit Chuenban as minister of the Prime Minister's Office was in violation of Section 160 of the constitution, which requires those in ministerial positions to be of evident integrity" and bars those who fail to comply with ethical standards. Pichit was jailed for six months in 2008 on contempt of court charges after he tried to bribe a judge presiding over former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's land purchase case with 2 million baht (USD 55,000) in a grocery bag. Pichit resigned from his post Tuesday in what he described in his resignation letter as an effort to protect the prime minister. The minister of the Prime Minister's Office is a ..

Thailand, Sri Lanka, Mauritius: List of visa-free countries for Indians

Thailand and Sri Lanka have extended the visa-free entry facilities for visitors from India

Thailand extends visa waiver plan for Indian, Taiwanese tourists for 6 mths

The temporary extension follows the success of the initial waiver in November last year. Indian and Taiwanese tourists are normally eligible to stay in Thailand for 15 days under a visa-on-arrival

1,300 people from Myanmar flee into Thailand after clashes in border town

About 1,300 people have fled from eastern Myanmar into Thailand, officials said Saturday, as fresh fighting erupted at a border town that has recently been captured by ethnic guerillas. Fighters from the Karen ethnic minority last week captured the last of the Myanmar army's outposts in and around Myawaddy, which is connected to Thailand by two bridges across the Moei River. The latest clashes were triggered in the morning when the Karen guerillas launched an attack against Myanmar troops who were hiding near the 2nd Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge, a major crossing point for trade with Thailand, said police chief Pittayakorn Phetcharat in Thailand's Mae Sot district. He estimated about 1,300 people fled into Thailand. Thai officials reported people had started crossing since Friday following clashes in several areas of Myawaddy. The fall of Myawaddy is a major setback for the military that seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021. Myanmar's once-mighty

Thai firm to pay $20 mn to settle with US over Iran sanctions violation

A Bangkok -based plastics firm has agreed to pay USD20 million to settle with the US over 467 egregious violations of Iran sanctions, the US Treasury announced on Friday. SCG Plastics Co. used US banks to process USD291 million in sales of Iranian high-density polyethylene resin from 2017 to 2018, according to the signed settlement agreement between the firm and Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control. The resin, used for product bottles and industrial items, was manufactured by an Iranian joint venture owned in part, by SCG Plastics' parent company, SCG Chemicals and the National Petrochemical Company of Iran, which is a government entity. The settlement states that SCG Plastics used shipping and documentation practices that obfuscated the product's Iranian origin and Iranian parties' involvement, which caused banks to unknowingly process transfers in violation of OFAC's sanctions on Iran. As a result of these transactions, significant economic benefits were conferred to Iran'

Thailand plans Schengen-style visa for Asia: How does it impact you?

Thai Prime Minister is in discussion with Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Vietnam for a Schengen-style visa programme

Thailand lawmakers overwhelmingly pass bill to legalise same-sex marriage

Lawmakers in Thailand's lower house of Parliament overwhelmingly approved a marriage equality bill on Wednesday that would make the country the first in Southeast Asia to legalise equal rights for marriage partners of any gender. The bill passed its final reading with the approval of 400 of the 415 members of the House of Representatives who were in attendance, with 10 voting against it, two abstaining and three not voting. The bill amends the Civil and Commercial Code to change the words men and women and husband and wife to individuals and marriage partners. It would open up access to full legal, financial and medical rights for LGBTQ+ couples. The bill now goes to the Senate, which rarely rejects any legislation that passes the lower house, and then to the king for royal endorsement. This would make Thailand the first country in Southeast Asia to pass such a law and the third in Asia, after Taiwan and Nepal. Danuphorn Punnakanta, a spokesperson of the governing Pheu Thai party a

Thailand sends aid to war-torn Myanmar, critics say it will only help junta

Thailand delivered its first batch of humanitarian aid to war-torn Myanmar on Monday, in what officials hope will be a continuing effort to ease the plight of millions of people displaced by fighting. But critics charge that the aid will benefit only people in areas under the Myanmar military's control, providing it with a propaganda boost while leaving the vast majority of displaced people in contested areas without access to assistance. Myanmar is wrecked by a nationwide armed conflict that began after the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021 and suppressed widespread nonviolent protests that sought a return to democratic rule. The fighting has displaced millions of people and battered the economy. Thailand sent ten trucks over the border from the northern province of Tak, carrying some 4,000 packages of aid to three towns in Kayin State, also known as Karen State, where it will be distributed to approximately 20,000 displaced people. The parcel

Thailand replaces its Ambassador to WTO following strong protest by India

Thailand has replaced its Ambassador to WTO Pimchanok Vonkorpon Pitfield from here following a strong protest lodged by India on her contentious comment on New Delhi's rice procurement programme, a top government official said on Friday. The official said that Pitfield has been asked to report back to Thailand after the 13th ministerial conference (MC), which has entered the fifth day of talks. She has been learnt to have replaced the Thai foreign secretary. India has expressed strong disappointment over Pitfield's remarks during a consultation meeting on Tuesday accusing New Delhi that India's rice procurement programme at Minimum Support Price (MSP) for the public distribution system is not for people but for capturing the export market, the official said. Following this, India has formally registered its protest with the Thai government and has also expressed displeasure with the WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, agri committee chair Kenya and UAE. "The Thai Ambassador has been ...

'Thai economy shrinks, adds to rate cut case amid central bank, PM feud'

From a year earlier, GDP grew 1.7%, faster than revised 1.4% growth in the third quarter but slower than a forecast 2.5% expansion

Ex-Thai PM Thaksin released on parole after serving 6 months in hospital

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was released on parole early Sunday from a Bangkok hospital where he spent six months serving time for corruption-related offenses. Thaksin was seen in a convoy of cars leaving the Police General Hospital just before sunrise and is believed to be headed to his residence in western Bangkok. A homemade banner with the words Welcome home and We've been waiting for this day for so so long was seen hanging at the front gate of his house. A polarising figure in Thai politics over the last two decades, Thaksin was in office from 2001 until he was toppled in a 2006 coup. He was later convicted of abuse of power and other misdeeds while in office and returned in August from more than a decade of self-imposed exile to serve his prison sentence. His original eight-year sentence was commuted to only a year by King Maha Vajiralongkorn on September 1. Thaksin had called his convictions politically motivated. Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong confirmed .