Thailand

PHUKET /Thailand/, July 15. /TASS/: Russia plans to open new diplomatic missions in Southeast Asian countries, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the ceremony of opening Russia’s consulate general in Phuket on Saturday.

"Our plans envisage opening missions in other friendly [Southeast Asian] countries," Russia’s top diplomat said.

BANGKOK, Jul 15 (NNN-TNA) – Thailand’s parliament will hold its second vote for a new prime minister on Jul 19, after the previous nomination failed to secure majority support, National Assembly President, Wan Muhamad Noor Matha, confirmed yesterday.

This came after Move Forward Party leader, Pita Limjaroenrat, the only candidate nominated as prime minister in a joint sitting of parliament, received only 324 votes in favour on Thursday, short of the simple majority required to become prime minister.

BANGKOK, July 13 (NNN-Bernama) — As Thailand’s Parliament convenes Thursday for the much-anticipated prime ministerial vote, all eyes are on the outcome – will Pita Limjaroenrat become the next prime minister. 

The 42-year-old leader of the Move Forward Party (MFP) is the only candidate nominated on Thursday for prime minister.

However,  he faces challenges in securing at least 375 votes of the 749-member bicameral parliament – 249-member Senate  (one senator resigned on Wednesday) and a 500-member House of Representatives.

BANGKOK (AP) — The dismembered body of a missing German businessman was found in a freezer inside a house in southern Thailand, police said Tuesday.

Tawee Kudthalaeng, the police chief in the town of Nong Prue, said the body of 62-year-old Hans-Peter Mack was discovered at about 11 p.m. Monday. Mack had been missing for a week.

Investigators located his body by using security camera videos from the area, Tawee said. He did not elaborate, but photos and video published by Thai media showed the freezer in the bed of a black truck with a man squatting next to it.

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s Supreme Court scheduled hearings for this month to consider appeals from ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi against her conviction in cases that saw her receive a total of 33 years in prison, legal officials said Saturday.

The cases against her are mostly brought by the military that seized power from her elected government in February 2021.

BANGKOK (AP) — A Thai court is to deliver a verdict Wednesday in the case of five people accused of impeding the queen’s motorcade during a pro-democracy march in 2020, an offense that if judged egregious could bring a death sentence.

BANGKOK, June 21 (NNN-Bernama) — Thailand’s Election Commission (EC) will call more witnesses to provide testimony on the inquiry into Pita Limjaroenrat, the front-runner for prime minister’s eligibility to compete in the general election last month.

The 42-year-old progressive Move Forward Party leader was under investigation for holding 42,000 shares in the shuttered television company ITV Public Company. 

EC member Thitichet Nuchanart said the poll agency will call Pita and iTV executives for questioning. 

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares were mostly lower Wednesday in Asia after Wall Street benchmarks retreated following the S&P 500’s rise to its highest level since the spring of last year.

U.S. futures were little changed and oil prices rose.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 edged 0.1% higher to 33,427.14, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong sank 1.5% to 19,607.08. The Shanghai Composite index gave up 0.5% to 3,240.36 and the Kospi in Seoul slipped 0.4% to 2,594.19.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.2% to 7,345.30.

This week has few potentially market-moving events.

BANGKOK (AP) — The huge trade in methamphetamine and other illegal drugs originating from a small corner of Southeast Asia shows no signs of slowing down, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime warned Friday.

“High volumes of methamphetamine continue to be produced and trafficked in and from the region while the production of ketamine and other synthetic drugs has expanded,” said the agency’s 2023 report, Synthetic Drugs in East and Southeast Asia — the first since the borders reopened post-COVID-19 pandemic.

BANGKOK, May 25 (Reuters) - The United States has declined to sell its F-35 stealth fighter jets to Thailand over issues with training and technical requirements, the Southeast Asian country's air force said on Thursday.

Thailand, which was designated a Major Non-NATO Ally by the United States in 2003, had last year set aside a 13.8 billion baht ($407.68 million) budget for new jets to replace its aging, mostly U.S.-made F-5 and F-16 fighters.

It identified up to eight Lockheed Martin (LMT.N) F-35A jets as its target.