Thailand’s former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has met the conditions for a royal pardon as part of clemency measure marking the queen’s birthday, the justice minister said on Wednesday. Thaksin, 76, served eight months of a one-year sentence for corruption and abuse of power before he was released on parole last month due to his age. The Department of Corrections said the ex-leader was required to wear an electronic monitoring device as a condition of his release. Justice Minister...
Each morning, people in Thailand wake up to the latest viral videos on social media of drunken punch-ups, thefts, scams or acts of public indecency committed by some foreign tourists. After months of warnings, Thailand on May 19 announced the cancellation of its 60-day visa-free entry rules for 93 countries and territories in a bid to curb crime, antisocial behaviour and abuse of the visa privilege by a portion of the tens of millions of tourists who have visited the kingdom annually. Visitors...
Thailand’s navy has to watch two seas at once. To the east lies the Gulf of Thailand, with its busy shipping lanes, offshore energy interests and long coastal frontier with Cambodia. To the west is the Andaman Sea, a gateway to the Indian Ocean with its own trade routes, chokepoints and strategic pressures. That twin-sea geography has long given the Royal Thai Navy a role larger than its public profile might suggest. It also underpins the navy’s stated goal, laid out in a 2023 white paper, to...
Many visitors who have been exempt for 60 days will soon have to apply for a visa after 30 days.
Supporters of Thailand’s former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra greeted him as he was released early from prison.
Influential former prime minister released on parole after spending about eight months behind bars.
Thailand’s former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was released from prison on parole on Monday, raising the prospect of a return to the spotlight for the political heavyweight. The 76-year-old telecoms billionaire has been serving a one-year prison sentence for corruption since September. He is required to wear an electronic monitor until his probation ends in four months. His hair closely cropped and in a simple white shirt, Thaksin walked out of prison around 7.40am and was immediately...
A wanted member of the overseas opposition group “Hong Kong Parliament” has been arrested in Thailand for overstaying her visa, and is reportedly set to be deported to mainland China. The opposition group said on Friday that Zhang Xinyan, who took part in what it called a parliamentary election and was sworn in as a member last year, was recently arrested in Thailand for overstaying her visa. It was not immediately clear what type of visa Zhang held. In a reply to the South China Morning Post on...