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Young men are forced to take part in conscript lottery, but the rich often avoid serving in armyEvery April in Thailand young men take part in a lottery to determine whether they will be forced to do military service. Pull out a red card and you are drafted for up to two years. A black card means you are exempt.When it was Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal’s...

Thousands of civilians flee as resistance fighters fight to flush out soldiers holed up at eastern bridge border crossing Fighting raged at Myanmar’s eastern border with Thailand on Saturday, both governments said, forcing 3,000 civilians to flee as rebels fought to flush out Myanmar junta troops holed up for days at a bridge border crossing.Resistance fighters and ethnic minority rebels seized the key trading...

Thailand PM says army is weakening after junta requests permission to land evacuation flight from Myawaddy across the borderMyanmar’s embattled junta has evacuated personnel from a key border position after hundreds of soldiers surrendered to opposition groups, in another humiliating defeat for the army.The military is now on the brink of losing control of Myawaddy, in Karen state, one of the most important border...

Primates are symbol of Lopburi but residents have had enough as monkeys resort to violence to get foodMischievous long-tailed macaques are, for many, a symbol of the Thai city of Lopburi. Tourists flock to the city’s ancient temple to feed the macaques fresh fruit and photograph them as they maraud the streets. But, increasingly, residents say they have had enough.This week, after growing complaints...

No casualties after fire engulfs ferry carrying 108 people from Surat Thani to Koh TaoPanicked passengers jumped into the sea to escape a raging ferry fire in the Gulf of Thailand early on Thursday, and all 108 people onboard survived.The overnight ferry from Surat Thani province was about to arrive at Koh Tao, a popular tourist destination off the Thai coast, when one of...

Governments across region grappling for response as temperatures soar to unseasonable highsThousands of schools in the Philippines have stopped in-person classes due to unbearable heat. In Indonesia, prolonged dry weather has caused rice prices to soar. In Thailand’s waters, temperatures are so high that scientists fear coral could be destroyed.A “historic heatwave” is being experienced across south-east Asia, according to Maximiliano Herrera, a climatologist...

Lawmakers overwhelmingly vote to make country the first in south-east Asia to recognise same-sex unionsLawmakers in Thailand’s lower house of parliament have overwhelmingly approved a marriage equality bill that would make the country the first in south-east Asia to legalise equal rights for marriage partners of any gender.Four hundred of 415 lawmakers present voted for the bill on Wednesday and footage from inside parliament...

Bangkok customs officers arrest six after finding 87 animals, including lizards, birds, a monkey and snakesThai customs officials have arrested six Indian nationals for attempting to smuggle dozens of wild animals, including a red panda and cotton-top tamarin monkey, out of the country.Officers found 87 animals, including monitor lizards, birds and snakes, packaged inside the suspects’ checked luggage at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport. They were...

Srettha Thavisin claims promoter told him Singaporean government offered ‘subsidies’ of $2m-$3m a showThailand’s prime minister has claimed that Singapore sought a deal with Taylor Swift to prevent her from playing elsewhere in south-east Asia on her Eras tour.Srettha Thavisin said the concert promoter AEG had informed him that the Singaporean government offered subsidies of US$2m-$3m (£1.6m-£2.4m) a show as part of an exclusivity...

Formerly exiled billionaire freed six months into eight-year sentence due to age and healthFormer Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been freed on parole and returned home, six months after he was arrested on his dramatic return to the kingdom from 15 years of self-imposed exile.The controversial billionaire, twice elected premier and ousted in a 2006 military coup, was jailed for eight years on...

Billionaire politician was jailed on corruption charges in August last year after returning from self-imposed exile Jailed former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is to be freed, the kingdom’s justice minister has said, possibly as soon as the weekend – just six months after returning from 15 years of self-imposed exile.The controversial billionaire, twice elected premier and ousted in a 2006 military coup, was...

Pita’s sentence for holding an unlawful rally comes a week after a Thai court ruled that his Move Forward party had undermined the monarchyA Thai court has handed suspended sentences to former prime ministerial hopeful Pita Limjaroenrat and seven other political figures for holding an unlawful rally in 2019.The case adds to the legal trouble facing the opposition Move Forward Party after the country’s...

Opposition leader rejects claims party is seeking to cause deterioration of monarchyThailand’s constitutional court has ruled that the opposition party’s pledge to reform the country’s lese-majesty law is unlawful and that it must cease such efforts.The court ordered the Move Forward party and its leader, Pita Limjaroenrat, to stop all forms of communication aimed at bringing reforms to the law, under which criticism of...

Nathy Odinson, 33, had parachute problem after climbing up building in Pattaya and jumping offA British Base jumper has died after his parachute failed to open during a stunt in Thailand.Nathy Odinson, 33, from Cambridgeshire, who had performed skydives and Base jumps around the world, is said to have illegally climbed up a 29-storey building in the coastal resort of Pattaya and jumped off...

Sawangjit Kosoognern charged with illegal possession after video showing animal being driven around Pattaya gains 2.6m viewsA Thai woman has been charged with illegal possession of a lion cub, police said on Friday, after a video of the animal cruising in a Bentley went viral online.The police ordered an investigation after a video showing a lion cub riding around the raucous Thai resort town...

Pita Limjaroenrat’s party was blocked from taking power last year after complaints led to his suspensionThailand’s constitutional court has ruled that a pro-reform opposition figure whose party was blocked from taking power last year did not violate election law and can be reinstated as an MP.The court rejected a complaint brought against Pita Limjaroenrat by conservative politicians that he had violated election law by...

Rescue teams find charter ambulance flight from Thailand to Moscow after it disappeared from radar screens Four people are reported to have survived after a private jet carrying out a medical evacuation from Thailand to Russia disappeared from radar screens and crashed in a remote and mountainous area of north-eastern Afghanistan on Saturday.Russian aviation authorities said two passengers and four crew members were onboard...