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 Moving with family? Here’s how to cut health costs in Thailand
Relocating to Thailand with your family brings exciting new opportunities, but it also comes with the challenge of managing healthcare costs in a new system. Thailand has both public and private healthcare options, each offering different prices and quality of...
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Thai PM’s secretary-general appointment may be questioned in debate over political ethics
Thailand’s PM Prayut Chan-o-cha may be grilled in a debate over ethics concerning his secretary-general’s appointment. The opposition is reportedly planning to hold a general debate shortly after the New Year as it focuses on what it describes as the unethical appointment of the new secretary-general. Pheu Thai Party leader, Cholnan Srikaew, told the Bangkok Post, that the opposition is…
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Ukraine’s Zelenskiy appeals to US Republican lawmakers for additional aid in Congressional speech
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is appealing to US Republican lawmakers for additional aid during his speech to the US Congress. Zelenskiy made his first trip abroad since Russia invaded Ukraine with Ukrainian Americans offering support upon his arrival at the US Capitol. “It is a great honour for me to be at the US Congress and speak to you and…
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Zelenskiy’s US visit gives Ukrainian Americans hope
President Zelenskiy’s visit to the US is giving Ukrainian Americans hope that the US will assist Ukraine further against the Russian invasion. Dozens of pro-Ukrainian activists gathered near the White House to support Zelenskiy as he made his first trip abroad since the war started. The group called “US Ukrainian Activists” then met at the US Capitol to hear Zelenskiy’s…
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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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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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Superpowers fight for supercomputer supremacy
Sanctions designed to cripple China’s chipmakers are the US weapon of choice, as skirmishes begin in the superpowers’ fight for supercomputer supremacy. The current most-favoured US target for fear, hatred and sanctions – China’s semiconductor industry – has good reason to worry about the world’s policeman, now turned world’s store detective. The US will do almost anything to keep its…
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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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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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Hawaii’s last princess Abigail Kawānanakoa passes away at 96 years old
Hawaii’s last princess has reportedly passed away at the age of 96 years old. Princess Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kawānanakoa died on Sunday in her Nu’uanu home with her wife, Veronica Gail Kawānanakoa by her side. The Iolani Palace released the news to the public yesterday. The palace is America’s only residence where the Hawaiian monarchy dwelled but now serves mostly…
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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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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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Jailed politician erects billboard to wish voters Happy New Year
A former Thai politician appears to be making a joke out of his current prison term by splashing the cash on a billboard to wish his constituents a Happy New Year. A picture of former Democrat MP Thepthai Senpong features on a Happy New Year billboard in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat. The billboard has drawn a mixed…
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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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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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Pro-monarchy ‘dictator’ must be stopped from retiring in Australia, say Thai asylum activists
Exiled Thai activists are living in fear that a self-proclaimed “Van Helsing” “dictator” and pro-monarchy vigilante could be pursuing them in retirement. Rienthong Nanna, a doctor and former army general, announced on Facebook that he plans to retire in Perth, Australia causing fear among those who now live there after fleeing the country after his vicious campaign. Rienthong set up a…
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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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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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Police seize board game after claims it could cause insurrection in Thailand
Police officers in Yala yesterday seized a fun board game called Patani Colonial Territory from a coffee shop after a government official claimed that it could cause insurgency throughout the kingdom. For conspiracy theorists, this is up there with Elvis still lives. Officers in the southern Thailand province confiscated the offending game at the Life Coffee Slow Bar in the…
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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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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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Brazil’s far-right president challenges election results
Brazil’s far-right president is challenging the country’s election results, which saw him lose in October. President Jair Bolsonaro’s party, the Liberal Party, has argued that ballots from some machines were compromised during the second round and that the electoral court should reject them. Several news outlets reported today that Brazil’s supreme court justice has now given the party 24 hours…
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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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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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