Lawmakers in Thailand overwhelmingly approve a bill to legalize same-sex marriage
Lawmakers in Thailandโs lower house of Parliament have overwhelmingly approved a marriage equality bill that would make the country the first in Southeast Asia to legalize equal rights for marriage partners of any gender.
Former Thai leader Thaksin makes first public appearances after release from detention
Thailandโs paroled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has launched a series of public appearances with an early morning visit to a holy shrine in the capital Bangkok before flying to his home province of Chiang Mai in the countryโs north.
Jailed former Thai PM Thaksin gets parole, capping a reconciliation with military that ousted him
Thailandโs former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who last year returned from more than a decade of self-imposed exile to serve a prison sentence for misdeeds committed while in office, has been granted parole and could be released this weekend, the countryโs justice minister announced Tuesday.
Suspect in Bangkok mall shooting that killed 2 used a modified blank-firing handgun, police say
Police say a teenage boy who allegedly shot two people dead and wounded five others inside a major shopping mall in Thailand's capital used a blank-firing handgun that had been modified to fire real bullets.
Accused of bomb threats they say they didn't make, family of Chinese dissident detained in Thailand
The wife and daughter of exiled Chinese dissident Gao Zhi are in detention on immigration charges in Thailand, after a series of bomb threats made in their names against airports, luxury hotels and the Chinese embassy in Bangkok derailed the familyโs plan to join Gao in the Netherlands.
Thailandโs Move Forward Party leader Pita falls short in parliamentary vote for prime minister
The head of the progressive Thai political party that outpaced its rivals to a surprise first-place finish in Mayโs general election has failed in his initial bid to have Parliament name him the countryโs new prime minister.
Thailand hopes for major splash in tourism during Songkran
Hordes of revelers tote colorful water guns as Thailand kicks off its exuberant three-day Songkran festival at full blast for the first time since 2019, hoping for a significant boost in tourism after the industry was devastated by coronavirus travel restrictions.
Members of exiled Chinese church detained in Thailand
More than 60 self-exiled members of a Chinese Christian church who were detained in Thailand have paid fines for overstaying their visas but remain in police custody uncertain about their legal status amid fears they would be deported against their will to their home country, where they face possible persecution.
Across Asia, spike in virus cases follows Lunar New Year
Many Asian countries are facing a spike in COVID-19 infections after the widely-celebrated Lunar New Year holidays, as health officials grapple with the highly-transmissible omicron variant and expectations that numbers will continue to rise in coming weeks.
Thailand tightens entry requirements due to omicron spread
Thailand has announced it is tightening some entry restrictions while expanding its โsandboxโ quarantine program, and has urged people to follow social distancing and mask rules to control the spread of COVID-19 fueled by the omicron variant.
Thailand's festival honoring rivers also pollutes them
Thais have flocked to rivers and lakes to release small floats adorned with flowers and candles in an annual festival honoring the goddess of water, with many of the hundreds of thousands of floats ending up clogging and polluting the countryโs waterways.
Thai police fire tear gas at protest over COVID response
Thai riot police have fired water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets to repel a crowd of several hundred young anti-government protestors who marched on an army base where Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has his residence to demand his resignation.
Thai media restrictions raise freedom of expression concerns
Thailand implemented have new regulations that appear to broaden the governmentโs ability to restrict media reports and social media posts about the coronavirus pandemic, raising immediate concerns that authorities will seek to stifle criticism.
Death rates soar in Southeast Asia as virus wave spreads
Images of bodies burning in open-air pyres during the peak of the pandemic in India horrified the world in May, but in the last two weeks three Southeast Asian nations have surpassed Indiaโs peak per capita death rate as a new coronavirus wave tightens its grip on the region.
Vaccine deliveries rising as delta virus variant slams Asia
As many Asian countries battle their worst surge of COVID-19 infections, the slow flow of vaccine doses from around the world is finally picking up speed, giving hope that inoculation rates can increase and help blunt the effect of the rapidly spreading delta variant.
Evacuations ordered after Thai chemical factory explodes
A massive explosion at a chemical factory on the outskirts of Bangkok has killed at least one person, injured dozens more and damaged scores of homes, while prompting the evacuation of a wide area over fears of poisonous fumes and the possibility of additional denotations.