Thailand is prepared to accept up to 100,000 people from the conflict-torn Karen State in neighboring Myanmar, its foreign minister said yesterday, as ethnic Karen rebels closed in on the town of Myawaddy on the Thai border. Late last week, the Karen National Union (KNU) announced that it and allied anti-regime militias had overrun a … Read more
Thailand is set to become the first Southeast Asian nation to legalize same-sex marriage after the country’s House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a marriage equality bill yesterday. The legislation was passed by 400 of the 415 lawmakers present, with only 10 voting against it, according to Reuters. The decade-long Thai campaign for same-sex marriage has … Read more
Thailand’s Chiang Mai now has airborne pollutants that are 20 times higher than the World Health Organization (WHO) standard. Last week, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin declined to designate the northern city as a disaster area in order to protect the country’s tourism sector. In an announcement on X (formerly Twitter), Srettha expressed worries that … Read more
Thailand’s plan to legalize same-sex marriage will take another step toward realization sometime later this year, with the country’s lawmakers set to approve a draft bill next week. On Thursday of last week, Bloomberg reported, a committee set up by the House of Representatives approved a draft amendment to the country’s Civil and Commercial Code … Read more
Thailand’s former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday began a three-day visit of his northern hometown of Chiang Mai, less than a month after his release on parole. According to Reuters, the 74-year-old leader arrived by private jet with his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the head of the ruling Pheu Thai Party, and an entourage of dozens. … Read more
Thailand expects to complete its negotiations over a free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union by the end of next year, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said yesterday during a state visit to France. In a statement issued after a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace in Paris, the Thai leader … Read more
The long queues outside the Thai embassy in Yangon in recent weeks speak to the devastating toll and regional significance of the humanitarian crisis that continues to unfold in Myanmar. The country has now entered into the third year of protracted, embittered, and violent conflict between the junta government run by the military (Tatmadaw), and … Read more
The Thai government and Muslim separatist rebels in southern Thailand have agreed on a roadmap to try to end the region’s long-running conflict, according to the Malaysian of facilitator the talks. In a news conference in Kuala Lumpur yesterday evening, Malaysian facilitator Zulkifli Zainal Abidin said that the two sides had agreed “in principle” to … Read more
Earlier this month, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin enthusiastically announced that he would be waiving visa requirements for Chinese visitors to the country from March. The policy, which was formally signed by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Thai counterpart Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara on January 28, was a recognition of the massive importance of Chinese … Read more
Tomorrow, Cambodia’s new prime minister will pay his first official visit to Thailand since taking the reins of power last year, with economic and border affairs likely to top the bilateral agenda. In a vague statement yesterday, the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Hun Manet will arrive in Thailand on Wednesday. During the … Read more