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July 06, 2026
 

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Panarat Thepgumpanat
Two suspects, a Thai man (center) and his Laotian wife (not pictured), suspected of sending drug parcels from a border province to Bangkok, are escorted by officials to the Office of the Narcotics Control Board in Bangkok on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jul 5, 2026
How drug gangs use social media to recruit Thai air crew as couriers
Early in the morning on June 18, a message from an unknown account slipped into the TikTok inbox of a flight attendant in Bangkok with a series of questions: “Are you flying to Australia? Do ​you do carry-for-hire? What is your rate?”
A worker cultivates rice plants at a farm in Bangkok. Rice supply is expected to fall this year due to impacts of the Iran war and an emerging El Nino weather phenomenon that is set to usher in hotter, drier conditions.
BUSINESS
May 1, 2026
From surplus to strain: Iran war and El Nino threaten global rice supply
Rice is central to global food security, and even small supply disruptions can ripple through countries, raising prices and straining household budgets.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul speaks to reporters to announce the dissolution of parliament on Friday in Bangkok.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 12, 2025
Thailand’s snap poll set to boost odds for PM Anutin, but risks loom
The political maneuvering came after fierce clashes erupted again this week at the Thailand-Cambodia border.
People's Party leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut (center) attends a news conference at the parliament in Bangkok on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 3, 2025
Thailand’s ruling party seeks house dissolution as opposition backs rival’s PM bid
Thai politics were in chaos as the ruling Pheu Thai party said it had sought royal approval to dissolve the parliament for a new election.
Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thailand's prime minister, during a news conference in Bangkok, on Thursday. Thailand's government faces collapse after a leaked phone call unleashed fresh political turmoil.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 20, 2025
Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thailand’s prime minister, under siege
After less than a year in office, Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has her back to the wall — and little room left to maneuver.
Milled rice at a rice mill in Nakhon Pathom province, Thailand
BUSINESS
Apr 23, 2025
Trump tariffs threaten to pile more pain on Thailand’s rice sector
Thailand is among the Southeast Asian nations hardest hit by Trump’s proposed measures, facing a 36% tariff on goods unless ongoing negotiations are successful.
Victims of scam centers who were tricked or trafficked into working in Myanmar
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Mar 18, 2025
Scam hubs on Thai-Myanmar border still have up to 100,000 people, Thai police says
The main focus of Thai authorities currently is to help coordinate the return of scam center victims to their home countries.
An immigration detention center in Bangkok. A group of Uyghurs were sent to China in accordance with international standards, Thailand's defense minister said, in Thailand's first confirmation of the deportation.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 28, 2025
Thailand sends 40 Uyghurs back to China after decade in detention
Rights experts warned that the Uyghurs were at risk of torture, ill-treatment and “irreparable harm” if returned.
Fredric Gushin, president and CEO of Spectrum Gaming Group
BUSINESS
Feb 12, 2025
Thailand’s big casino gamble hangs on fine print of regulations
Experts warn success will come only by playing its cards right on regulation.
A police officer from the Narcotics Control Board stands guard in front of boxes of confiscated drugs during the 50th Destruction of Confiscated Narcotics ceremony in Ayutthaya province, Thailand, on June 26, 2020.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Oct 2, 2024
Myanmar’s civil war is driving the drug trade, Thailand official says
The political unrest in Myanmar has led to an expansion of synthetic drugs production and trafficking.
Workers assemble a car inside BYD's first electric vehicle factory in Southeast Asia in Rayong, Thailand, on July 4.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 15, 2024
Thai economy faces upheaval due to factory closures
Scores of companies are shuttering in Thailand, which is bearing the brunt of cheap imports from China and factors including rising energy prices and an aging workforce.
Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra gestures while flanked by his son Panthongtae Shinawatra and daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra at Don Mueang airport in Bangkok in August 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 10, 2024
Thailand yet to decide on indicting former PM Thaksin, lawyer says
The royal insult complaint against the former leader and tycoon stemmed from an interview he gave to foreign media in 2015.
Pita Limjaroenrat at the Thai Parliament complex in Bangkok on Wednesday
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 31, 2024
Thai court rules against opposition’s view of royal insults law
The nine-member court said in a unanimous ruling that Move Forward’s push for changes amounted to an attempt to overthrow the constitutional monarchy
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Jul 11, 2023
Role of Thailand’s monarchy looms over battle to appoint prime minister
A deadlock over the appointment could tip Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy into crisis, with reformers vying to dislodge the grip on power of the royalist military establishment.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
May 11, 2023
Thailand’s ex-PM Thaksin shakes up election with talk of return
If Thaksin is serious about coming home, it could complicate an expected post-election scramble by Pheu Thai to try to form a coalition with other opposition parties.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 22, 2023
Some new faces but old divisions to haunt Thailand’s May election
The confrontation between the military-royalist establishment and popular opposition parties has shaped a tumultuous two decades of street protests, judicial intervention and coups.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Mar 7, 2022
Thailand bids to avert ‘population crisis’ as birthrate crashes
While Thailand’s demographic path is similar to other Asian economies, as an emerging market relying on cheap labor, the implications are far more profound.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 3, 2021
A year after taboo on Thai king broken, 103 face prison for royal insult
Human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa, one of those charged, says he has no regrets and vows the prosecutions won’t crush the country’s anti-government movement.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 3, 2021
Strong relations likely to keep Thailand from toughening stance on Myanmar coup
Military ties and fears of a flood of refugees mean Bangkok is unlikely to go further than saying it is ‘gravely concerned’ over bloodshed in its neighboring country, analysts say.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 25, 2020
Anti-Myanmar hate speech flares in Thailand over virus
The rhetoric reflects a global pattern since the start of the pandemic of foreigners being blamed for spreading the virus.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
Thailand gets serious about chasing high-spending tourists
Chinese tourists at Wat Arun Ratchawararam Rathawaramahawihan in Bangkok
Murakami says his novels are ‘different’ from AI literature
Haruki Murakami's first book in three years hit shelves in Japan on Friday.
Japan’s princesses face life-altering legal revisions
Princess Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito, said in a 2022 news conference upon coming of age that she hopes to “spend a long time together” with her parents.
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
Okinawa’s prized seaweed under threat as oceans warm
Local harvesters gather <i>mozuku</i> during low tide at Hyakuna Beach in the city of Nanjo, Okinawa Prefecture. As the planet warms, rising ocean temperatures are placing increasing pressure on the seaweed industry.
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
X Games returns to Chiba with new team format
Skateboarder Sora Shirai practices at Makuhari Messe in Chiba on Friday afternoon. X Games Chiba begins on Saturday.
NU Festival tests Takanawa Gateway City complex’s culture cred
Veteran improvisers Kazuo Imai and Atsuhiro Ito brought some unruly energy to NU Festival, a three-day multimedia event held at the Takanawa Gateway City complex.  
Japan’s princesses face life-altering legal revisions
Princess Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito, said in a 2022 news conference upon coming of age that she hopes to “spend a long time together” with her parents.

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