Politics News
Thailand politics news, government updates, policy changes, and election coverage—stay informed on key political events, leaders, and decisions shaping the nation. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted source for political news in Thailand.
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Sponsored Why long-term expats in Thailand say insurance is worth every baht
Thailand’s warm weather, low cost of living, and good healthcare attract many long-term expats, including retirees and remote workers. Life here feels easy and affordable, but medical costs can be high if something goes wrong. Private hospitals are popular because...
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Anti-government protest leader under fire over expensive handbag
Anti-government protest leader Panusaya “Rung” is under fire for her alleged flaunting of a 200,000 baht handbag. Rung was called out by senator Jetn Sirathranont as he asked the National Security Council to look into her finances after a photo of her with the handbag circulated on Facebook and on other social media outlets. According to the Bangkok Post, Jetn…
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No more university education for women under Taliban-ruled Afghanistan
The Taliban is continuing its relentless campaign to chip away at women’s rights in Afghanistan. Yesterday, the terror group banned women from universities. Afghanistan’s Ministry of Higher Education said the move was to go into effect immediately. Afghan women are now mourning the loss of education, which was a lifeline for many under Afghanistan’s deeply patriarchal society. One university student…
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Ukraine’s Zelenskiy requests weapons systems from Western leaders
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy is asking Western leaders for a wide range of weapons systems to assist the country in its fight against Russia’s invasion. According to Thai PBS World, he asked leaders of countries in the Joint Expeditionary Force, including British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, to meet in Latvia to discuss his request for assistance. “I ask you to…
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POLL: Thai politics unchanged, honesty and transparency wanted
A new poll shows that most people in Thailand don’t believe that politics have really changed much. They like responsible, honest politicians and hate people who break promises and abuse authority. They want their political parties to be honest and transparent with a clear goal. Corruption is the biggest issue they want to be tackled. Poll respondents said that they…
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Thailand’s submarine engine talks stall again
Thailand’s submarine engine talks have stalled again. The Royal Thai Navy (RTN) has still not decided on how to power an S26T Yuan-class submarine being assembled in China. The choice remains the same – a Chinese-made engine or an unobtainable German-made one. Germany’s embargo on sales of military equipment, which it initiated in the wake of WWII, prevented the sale…
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Major Qatar corruption scandal allegedly involving Greek MEP
There’s been a major corruption scandal allegedly involving a Greek member of the European Parliament (MEP). MEP Eva Kaili has been stripped of her role as one of the EP’s 14 vice presidents. Belgian prosecutors announced on Sunday that they had charged four people with corruption, money laundering and participation in a criminal organisation. The charges are part of an…
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FTI threatens to raise prices if govt hikes energy costs
It appears tourism won’t be the only thing on the rise in Thailand next year. Thai industries appear to be holding the government to account, threatening they will hike prices if the price of electricity is raised in the new year. Entrepreneurs under the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) warned it will increase product prices by 5-12% if the government…
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Young Iranian footballer at risk of being executed
A young Iranian footballer is at risk of being executed amidst the country’s uprising against its regime. The young man, 26 year old Amir Nasr-Azadani, is a former member of three different teams in Iran. The Iranian state news broadcaster IRIB released a video on November 20 of the forced confessions of three people accused of being involved in the murders…
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Who is Khru Yun, ‘angel of child protection,’ accused of abuse?
For the last four decades, Montri “Khru Yun” Sintawichai has been known as the “angel of child protection” – but that changed recently. Now, he is facing charges of child abuse, child labour and even human trafficking. Montri denies all the allegations made against him. He said… “I’m hurt, but I’m not going to give up social work.” Thaipbsworld tells…
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Suthep graft case dismissed by Supreme court
Former Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban has been cleared in a graft case, dismissed by Supreme Court Friday. The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) is to appeal against the ruling acquitting Suthep of massive corruption. Suthep is accused of malfeasance in construction projects for police stations and officers’ living quarters more than a decade ago. NACC chairman Watcharapol Prasarnrajkit said Friday…
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Thailand’s Deputy PM not too excited to take over after Prayut
Thailand’s Deputy PM Anutin Charnvirakul is allegedly not too excited to take over after current PM Prayut Chan-o-cha. Anutin made such remarks after PM Prayut made it known that he hopes to stay in office for another two years after the upcoming election in 2023. Anutin noted that most who did inherit the position never served a full term. But,…
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US to send Ukraine anti-drone military aid package worth US$275 million
The US is planning to send Ukraine an anti-drone military aid package that is reportedly worth US$275 million. The incoming military aid is said to offer new tools to strengthen air defences and defeat drones. According to Reuters, and The Straits Times, the package could be officially announced today. The Pentagon is also expected to include Lockheed Martin rockets for…
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Czech man behind trans Thai refugee attack avoids Paris trial
The Czech man behind an attack on a Thai trans activist has had his appeal delayed again. A Paris court postponed the appeal trial of Petr Donatek, a Czech man who allegedly hired two thugs to beat up trans activist Aum Neko and musician Nithiwat Wannasiri in France. According to Prachatai, Aum Neko is a political refugee in France, well…
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Electioneering: Thaksin’s daughter vows to end poverty in Thailand
Tis the season to be… electioneering in Thailand, it seems. Only yesterday Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha announced plans to stay on as Thailand’s PM for another two years before grooming a successor. Today, the youngest daughter of the Shinawatra clan, Paetongtarn, declared a vote for her Pheu Thai would eradicate poverty in Thailand. The daughter of former Thai PM, Thaksin…
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Thailand PM wants to groom successor in two years
Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is not throwing in the political towel just yet, he wants another couple of years at the helm before grooming a successor. PM Prayut seized power in a 2014 military coup, was reelected in a disputed election in 2019, and bizarrely had to stand down in August this year after the Constitutional Court of Thailand…
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Whole new world of censorship pain on its way to Thailand
A whole new world of censorship pain is on its way to Thailand, with the latest act by the thought police becoming law on Christmas Day. Online platforms must abide by a new regulation to deal quickly with complaints about content deemed to violate the Computer Crimes Act. A new regulation issued by Digital Economy and Society (DES) Minister Chaiwut…
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6 months in, Bangkok Governor Chadchart rated highly
A new poll shows that after six months in office, Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt remains popular with a high approval rating. An impressive 81.55% of people polled said that they were satisfied with Chadchart’s performance as governor so far. Only 18.47% of those who answered the poll said they were not satisfied. Chadchart was elected as governor in May in…
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Man armed with a pen gun arrested at seminar visited by PM Prayut
The Thai Air Force bomb squad quickly dealt with a potential threat to the life of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha when an abusive man with a pen gun turned up at a seminar the PM was addressing. The Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOC) arrested the armed man yesterday at the seminar in the northern province of Chiang Rai. PM Prayut joined…
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Europe wakes up to US profiteering from Russia-Ukraine conflict
It appears Europe has finally woken up to Sleepy Joe’s foreign policy and US profiteering from the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The war in Ukraine has been blamed for higher fuel costs, the rise in inflation, austerity, and an economic meltdown throughout the world. Yet everything in the US garden appears to be rosy, profits are blooming and life goes on as…
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Iran promises Thailand it won’t attack Israeli tourists
Iran promised Thailand that it won’t attack Israeli tourists on Thai soil. The Thai government informed Israel’s government yesterday that it had received a commitment from Iran not to attack Israeli targets in Thailand, according to an Israeli Foreign Ministry cable and two Israeli officials. Iran, and Iran-backed forces, are believed to have been behind attacks on Israelis and Jews…
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People of China protest on streets over mainland’s zero-Covid policy
The people of China appear to have had enough of the mainland’s zero-Covid policy. Incredibly, the usually deferential Chinese people were on the streets calling for their nation’s leader, President Xi Jinping, to stand down. It wasn’t anarchy on the mainland streets over the weekend but it wasn’t far off as hundreds of people in several major cities clashed with…
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Iranian Kurdish football player arrested after speaking out
Iranian authorities arrested a former member of the country’s national football team on November 24. Voria Ghafouri was arrested for “insulting the national soccer team and propagandising against the government,” Iranian media reported. Ghafouri, who was not chosen to go to the World Cup, is a member of Iran’s Kurdish ethnic minority. He recently called for an end to the…
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Ukraine accuses Russia of ‘terror and murder’ after missile strike kills newborn baby
Ukraine’s president is accusing his Russian counterpart of bringing “terror and murder” to his country after an alleged Russian missile strike killed a newborn baby. The missile hit a maternity unit in the Ukrainian town of Vilnyansk in the country’s southern Zaporizhzhia region. The only woman in the facility was the baby’s mother who was rescued from the building along…
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Thailand’s Public Health Minister vows to keep weed legal if he stays in office
Thailand’s Public Health Minister is vowing to keep weed free and legal so long as he stays in office. Anutin Charnvirakul told advocates for the plant that the possibility of cannabis being re-criminalised would not be possible if he is voted into office again. Anutin has been credited with starting the weed revolution in Thailand, and he continues to support…
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BTS Skytrain demands 40 billion baht debt is paid
The BTS Skytrain, under the BTS Group Holdings Public Company, launched a video yesterday to demand their money back! BTS says the government owes them 40 billion baht and they want the debt paid. The BTS revealed it intends to shame the government by airing the debt-collection message on every screen inside BTS trains and station platforms along Sukhumvit, or…
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RTP contravened UN ruling using rubber bullets on protestors
A non-governmental organisation slammed the illegal use of rubber bullets by the Royal Thai Police (RTP) after skirmishes outside of the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre left a man blind in one eye and dozens of others injured. International Lawyers Assisting Workers Network (iLaw Network) made known that the RTP contravened a United Nations ruling by using rubber bullets to…
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North Korea leader brings 9 year old daughter to missile launch
North Korea leader Kim Jong Un brought an unexpected guest to a missile launch – his nine year old daughter. Kim took his daughter Ju Ae to the launch of a “new type” of intercontinental ballistic missile on Friday. Before the rather unusual daddy-daughter day out, Ju Ae’s existence had not previously been confirmed. Kim said the test was meant…
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APEC Summit closes, Prayut declares success
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit has come to a close, with PM Prayut Chan-o-cha hailing it as a huge success. The APEC meeting brought world leaders to Bangkok for two days to discuss global issues. This 29th APEC summit came to a close when they endorsed a leaders’ declaration that included a plan for easy border crossing and free…
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Thailand must drop charges against child protesters – Amnesty
Thailand must drop charges against child protesters. Thai authorities should drop charges against child protesters who took part in demonstrations between 2020 and 2022, Amnesty International said today, in the lead-up to tomorrow’s World Children’s Day Persecution of child protestors in Thailand – intimidation, surveillance, and criminalisation – has been going on for years. Amnesty has recorded instances of police…
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North Korea warns US of a “fiercer” military response, launches another missile
North Korea has warned the US of a “fiercer military response” to the US’s defence ties with South Korea and Japan. North Korea also launched yet another ballistic missile yesterday. The missile was fired towards North Korea’s eastern waters, according to officials in Seoul. North Korea said in its statement that the warning was in response to trilateral talks between…
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