The BBC World Service has stopped broadcasting from one of its major global transmission stations situated in Thailand, AFP has learned, after talks broke down with a junta riled by its uncensored coverage. Sources with knowledge of the negotiations said the BBC’s Thai-language output impeded discussions about renewing the 20-year lease on the complex, the … Read more
Japan’s emperor Akihito met Thailand’s new monarch on Sunday during a brief visit to pay respects to his recently departed friend the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The audience was one of the first face to face meetings King Maha Vajiralongkorn has held with a fellow monarch since he ascended the throne following the October death … Read more
Leaping out from Bangkok’s vast concrete sprawl is a kidney-shaped green space, home to hundreds of plant and bird species, and where cars are outnumbered by bicyles. But residents and campaigners fear the unique ecosystem and character of the city’s so-called “Green Lung” is under threat as developers lure locals with lucrative land deals. Bang … Read more
Japan’s emperor left for Vietnam on Tuesday to meet families of Japanese soldiers sent there by his father more than seven decades earlier during World War II. The 83-year-old Akihito and his wife, Michiko, are making their first visit to the country, the latest in a series of trips to former battlegrounds. “It is our … Read more
A senior adviser to Thailand’s new monarch has been sacked, authorities said Tuesday, the second aide to King Maha Vajiralongkorn to be publicly purged in recent weeks. Vajiralongkorn, 64, took the throne following the October death of his widely revered father King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who reigned for seven decades. He has yet to attain his … Read more
Thailand’s generals took centre stage on Monday at a ceremony blessing the start of construction of an enormous funeral pyre for the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, a vivid illustration of the army’s intimate links to the palace. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha, a former army chief who seized power in 2014, led the ceremony, which saw … Read more
A senior member of the personal security retinue of Thailand’s new king has been fired and stripped of his titles, the palace has announced, the latest royal official to publicly fall from grace. Air Vice Marshal Chitpong Thongkum was accused of improperly using his connections to King Maha Vajiralongkorn in a statement published in the … Read more
Floods in Thailand have killed 14 people and badly affected southern holiday islands as the country heads into the December-January high season for tourism, authorities said on Tuesday. A low pressure system has brought heavy rain to parts of the south including the islands of Samui and Pha Ngan in the Gulf of Thailand, and … Read more
Thailand’s parliament invited Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn to be the new king on Tuesday, completing a formal step for the apparent heir to take the throne following the death of his father last month. Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, president of the National Legislative Assembly, said in a televised session that the prince would be invited to ascend the … Read more
Marcello Lippi, head coach of China’s national soccer team, reacts during the press conference for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Asian Zone Qualifiers against Qatar at Tuodong Sports Stadium in Kunming, capital of southwest China’s Yunnan Province, on Nov. 14, 2016. (Xinhua/Lin Yiguang) Marcello Lippi starts mission almost-impossible today as he bids to take China … Read more
The meeting with Google representatives was as a result of insults targeted at Thai monarchy system. Thailand’s government met with representatives from Internet giant Google, amid growing calls from Thai hardline royalists to bring those who insult the monarchy to justice, as many Thais look with uncertainty to a future without their revered king. King … Read more
Thailand’s military government said on Tuesday it would ask other countries to extradite people suspected of insulting the nation’s monarchy following the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej last week. Thailand has entered a year of mourning and sensitivities are running high following the death of the revered king last week after seven decades on the … Read more
Thousands of Thai mourners have lined the streets of Bangkok, as the body of King Bhumibol Adulyadej was moved from a hospital to the royal palace. The world’s longest-reigning monarch died on Thursday aged 88 after years of ill health, sparking a national outpouring of grief. The government has declared a year-long official mourning period. … Read more
he people of Thailand are mourning the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, their head of state for 70 years and the world’s longest-reigning monarch. An emotional crowd held a late-night vigil in Bangkok for the king, who died on Thursday aged 88. His body is to be moved to the city’s Emerald Temple later on … Read more
The death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej is raising new questions about Thailand’s economy, a tourist hotspot where growth has been derailed time and again by political instability and violence. The king’s 70-year reign came to an end on Thursday, and mourning began immediately. The 88-year-old was revered by his people, the vast majority of whom … Read more
Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world’s longest-reigning monarch, has died after 70 years on the throne, the palace says. The king, 88, was widely revered in Thailand. He was seen as a stabilising figure in a country hit by cycles of political turmoil and multiple coups. He had been in poor health in recent years … Read more
A Thai woman holds a portrait of King Bhumibol Adulyadej as she prays for his health The health of Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej is “still unstable”, the palace said late Wednesday, with the 88-year-old on a ventilator and battling a new infection as crowds gathered to pray outside his Bangkok hospital. Bhumibol is the world’s … Read more