Thailand News
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Petition aims to impeach Election Commissioners
PHOTO: Election Commission chief Ittiporn Boonpracong – The Nation More than 670,000 people have signed a petition at the change.org website calling for the Election Commission’s five commissioners to be ‘stood aside’ pending an investigation in the aftermath of the March 24 Thai election. Petitioners contend that the election was marred by mistakes, blunders and tampering. The campaign could actually become…
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Parties race to cobble together a working coalition
Day Two following the election and the only thing that is clear is that nothing is clear at this stage. Pheu Thai and Phalang Pracharat are both claiming the right to form a government with support of like-minded parties. The two rival parties, the pro-democracy Pheu Thai and the pro-Junta Phalang Pracharat, are locked in a close battle to form…
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Election: The problems ahead, Tuesday
PHOTO: The political dance of horse-trading begins. Prayut Chan-o-cha in campaign mode And so we awake on the second day since the election. With 95% of votes counted we’re in firm territory now as far as voting trends are concerned . So we can start guessing which way the new parliament might be formed. Here are the main issues for…
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Pheu Thai wins the Lower House – Unofficial from the EC
The Election Commission has just announced the official tally for constituency MPs, showing that Pheu Thai Party has won 138 of the 350 seats on offer. Phalang Pracharat, meanwhile, came in second with 96 seats, trailed by Bhumjaithai with 39. The Democrats only won 33 seats, while Future Forward snared 30. The rest of the seats were shared between Chartthaipattana…
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UPDATE: Latest poll results, Monday 11am
RESULTS: Election Commission Updated poll results as of 11am this morning. The latest votes reveal some changes in the total seats each party has now won. There are also some changes to the wins of the small parties. Pheu Thai continues to pull ahead, Future Forward continues its very impressive showing as a brand new party and the Democrats, with their…
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Thai poll results, for newbies
PHOTO: France 24 The numbers are still being counted but the trends are now quite defined so that any changes are unlikely to affect the final result. According to popular vote figures from the Election Commission, with 93% of the total votes counted, Palang Pracharat garnered the most votes with 7.5 million, with Pheu Thai following at 7.3 million. But…
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UPDATE: Election results – what it all means
The Election Commission says the official results of the Thai general election will be announced today. By the close of counting last night around 92% of the votes had been counted. The bleary-eyed commission decided to delay the announcement until this afternoon. The EC chairman says the announcement of winners in each constituency had to be deferred because expat’ votes…
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His Majesty urges Thais to elect ‘good people’ in today’s election
His Majesty the King has quoted from a speech delivered by his father, the late King Bhumibol, to urge voters to elect “good people” to rule the country. The Royal Household Bureau announced at 8.44pm that His Majesty had instructed the Lord Chamberlain to quote from a royal speech delivered by King Bhumibol at the sixth gathering of National Boy…
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Eight Burmese migrants drown, two still missing in Kanchanaburi road crash
Eight Burmese migrants drowned along with two others that are missing, presumed dead, after a van they were travelling in was hit by a 10 wheel truck and both vehicles plunged into a canal in Kanchanaburi’s Tha Muang district in western Thailand today. Police say the accident happened at 12.10pm at the Sa Setthi Intersection in Tambon Ban Mai. About…
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Thailand ‘slightly impacted’ from a no deal Brexit
The EU has agreed to postpone Brexit from next Friday and give UK PM Theresa May time to get her deal approved in Parliament. The PM had hoped to persuade the EU to delay the March 29 Brexit date, set in law, to June 30. But the EU country leaders have offered her two dates… A delay until May 22…
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Deputy PM promises ‘no coup’ after the election
Thailand’s Deputy PM General Prawit Wongsuwan is hosing down speculation that there could be another coup after the March 24 general election if the votes don’t support the pro-military parties. Responding to questions about his role in maintaining peace and order around this Sunday’s election, General Prawit says there is “nothing to worry about”, including the situation in the three southernmost provinces of Yala,…
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Alcohol ban again this weekend around Thailand
The election is two days away. That means Thais go to the polls for the first time since 2011. It also means there will be another 24 hour alcohol ban on this weekend. Alcohol sales and distribution will be forbidden again from 6pm on Saturday, March 23 until 6pm on Sunday, March 24. Officials say weddings, parties and other celebrations…
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Some election results out by 8pm Sunday night
More than 92,000 polling stations will be operating this Sunday for the national poll to elect a new Government. Seven million new voters, eligible since the last poll in 2011, will make a new impact on the election results making predictions more complex than in the past. Election results will start dribbling out of smaller polling booths just an hour…
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800 million baht of drugs seized in three recent busts
by Jessada Chantharak Police have seized a total of eight million methamphetamine pills, 2,070 grams of crystal methamphetamine and 1,546 grams of cocaine with an estimated street value of 800 million baht from three recent drug busts. Four suspects were arrested and a fifth was killed during arrest. The report from the national police deputy commissioner Pol General Chalermkiat Srivorakan.…
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Foreign Affairs denies attempts to extradite Thaksin from Hong Kong
PHOTO: The happy couple and ‘dad’, in HK for tomorrow’s wedding The director of the foreign affairs department of the public prosecutor’s office in Thailand says media reports that the Thai officials are trying to extradite former PM and fugitive Thaksin Shinawatra in Hong Kong, are wrong. Daily News reports that Chatchachom Akkhapin says there was no truth in stories…
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Thungyai wildlife chief could appeal for a heavier penalty for Premchai
Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary chief Wichien Chinnawong, hailed as a hero for standing up to Premchai and taking his case to court, says, while he respects the verdict of the Thong Pha Phume provincial court on Italian-Thai Development boss Premchai Karnasuta, he believes the billionaire deserved a heavier penalty. A panel discussion organised by the Seub Nakhasathien Foundation and environment reporters’ club yesterday heard from the Wildlife Sanctuary chief in…
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Thaksin is in Hong Kong. Thailand wants to extradite him.
The exiled former Thai PM, Thaksin Shinawatra, is in Hong Kong to be part of the wedding party in the marriage of his youngest daughter Paetongtarn ‘Ing’ Shinawatra to a commercial pilot, Pidok Sooksawas. Thai authorities are seeking the extradition of the exiled former PM from Hong Kong, according to local HK media. Many of the powerful Shinawatra clan are…
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Choosing sides. Abhisit Vejjajiva will have to choose after Sunday.
PHOTO: The Nation Sunday’s election will not be the end, it will only be another episode in a two-decade long drama as Thailand struggles with democracy and attempts to throw off the shackles of nearly a century of military tampering in political affairs. Thailand’s oldest political party, the Democrats, head into Sunday’s election with leader Abhisit Vejjajiva facing some tough…
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“I’m sorry” – Premchai granted bail
“There is one thing. I am sorry.” PHOTO: Thai PBS Thailand’s billionaire construction magnate says he was “sorry” after being granted bail following yesterday’s court verdict that set a prison sentence of 16 months for illegal hunting in the Thungyai Naresuan wildlife sanctuary in far north-west Thailand. Three others were also found guilty and given jail terms by the court. Yong…
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Premchai verdict and prison sentence comes just 5 days before the election
Premchai Karnasutra, once listed among Thailand’s richest people, has been found guilty in a Kanchanaburi court of poaching protected animals, and sentenced to 16 months in jail. Wildlife rangers arrested the 64 year old tycoon along with four other associates in the Thungyai Naresuan nature reserve, a world heritage site in Kanchanaburi in February last year. The incident has caused…
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Six per cent of Thai university students have attempted suicide
Recent research reveals a disturbing finding that over 6 per cent of university students have attempted suicide. The study findings have been highlighted after several students killed themselves in recent weeks. “From research on university students’ depression during the past three to four years, it can be concluded that 6.4 per cent of students turned suicidal and tried to take…
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Court to rule on Premchai poaching case today
The Thong Phaphume provincial court in Thailand’s western province of Kanchanaburi will deliver its long-awaited verdict in the illegal hunting case on the billionaire Thai construction tycoon Premchai Karnasuta today. He, and his hunting party, is charged with killing protected species. The alleged offence took place on February 3 last year in Kanchanaburi’s Thungyai Naresuan wildlife sanctuary. They were arrested by…
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Pre-Songkran inspections of public buses and their drivers
The Land Transport Department has started the inspection of drivers and mechanical condition of public transport vehicles at bus stations ahead of the Songkran holiday period next month. The period, aka. the ‘seven days of danger’, is notorious for a marked increase in road accidents due to much higher traffic levels as Thai’s head home for celebrations. On the first…
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King Power’s duty free monopoly under review
King Power Duty Free’s monopoly of duty free concessions at some of Thailand’s busiest airports may be coming to an end. The Thai PM has warned against the “monopolisation” of the country’s airport duty free sector ordering a review of the auctioning process that could threaten the multi-billion-dollar empire of current concession holder King Power. Thailand expects to welcome over…
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Thai driver puts in an excellent weekend at Australian GP finishing 14th
PHOTO: Alex Albon makes a splash in Melbourne with the first crash of the season and then a sparkling result against the odds Alex Albon, the Thai-English F1 driver, says he was was satisfied with yesterday’s work in Melbourne after the first Thai driver in Formula 1’s modern era threatened a huge shock before settling for a respectable 14th place…
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Thais vote today as registered absentees in the lead up to next week’s election
PHOTO: 98 year old Prem Tinsulanonda, president of the Privy Council – Bangkok Post Arlina Arshad, Regional Correspondent – Straits Times Hundreds of thousands of voters across Thailand are heading out today to cast early ballots, a week ahead the country’s first general election – the first time Thais have voted since 2011 and since the military took control in…
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Thai driver qualifies for Australian F1 Grand Prix in Melbourne
PHOTO: Fox Sports Thai driver Alex Albon is brushing aside a crash during Friday’s practice to outpace his teammate in qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix today, earning him a place on the starting grid tomorrow. Sunday’s race will see a Thai flag flying over the grid for the first time in the modern F1 era. Albon, born to a…
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Don’t drink and vote – 24 hour alcohol ban starts at 6pm
Police are out and about in Thailand’s popular tourist zones warning people that there will be an election alcohol ban starting at 6 tonight, for 24 hours. There will also be a ban next weekend as well. Nobody appears to have told the police and officials that international tourists don’t vote. “No selling of alcohol will be allowed from 6…
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Deputy PM orders review of intercity and rural road speeds
Deputy PM, Defence Minister and also in charge of police affairs, General Prawit Wongsuwan has instructed police and related agencies to review and set appropriate speed limits for various vehicle types on intercity motorways and rural roads in order to boost road safety and reduce accidents. He has instructed the Royal Thai Police to coordinate with Interior and Transport ministries…
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Former army captain gets death sentence over Si Sa Ket murder
by Pongpat Traipipat After nearly a year in court, the former army captain Supachai Paso has been sentenced to death over the abduction and murder of Si Sa Ket-based administration organisation official Juthaporn Oun-on. Si Sa Ket is north east of Bangkok on the northern Cambodian border. He was also ordered to pay 2.37 million baht in compensation, plus 7.5%…
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