"Thai junta"

Thailand's new lawmakers are set to vote for a prime minister Wednesday, with junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha in pole position to sweep away the challenge of a charismatic billionaire leading the anti-military bloc.

Chaiyaphum -Thailand holds it first election in eight years on Sunday under rules concocted by a junta to keep it in power, but with the appeal of both old foes and the new millennial vote posing an unpredictable challenge.

Thailand's junta chief warned against the "monopolisation" of the country's airport duty-free sector on Thursday, ordering a review of the bidding process that could threaten the multi-billion-dollar empire of current concession holder King Power.

Left holding a hot potato to determine the election date, the Election Commission (EC) on Friday said it was ready to hold an election and was only waiting for the government to issue the royal decree.

Amnesty International has called on the Thai junta to end all restrictions on human rights before the next election tentatively scheduled for February 24.

Re: “Don’t let Thai junta chief chair Asean next year”, The Nation, Aug 2

Next year, Thailand will get its turn to chair the 10-member Asean. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is scheduled to hand over his chairmanship to Thai counterpart Prayut Chan-o-cha in November. It will be a major political boost for the general.

THE United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) yesterday made public the letters it had sent to the Thai junta government about alleged rights violations even as the council holds its 38th session on June 18.

Malaysia’s peaceful change of government and transition of power after the May 9 general election continues to send shock waves throughout Southeast Asia.

FOUR YEARS after the 2014 military coup, Thailand’s education sector is still stuck over the same old question: which way forward?

The sons of a convicted murderer, a rural "don" who has spun a fortune from football and gun-loving provincial bigwigs -- as elections near, Thai junta leader Prayut Chan-o-cha is cosying up to "influential figures", a group he vowed to expunge from politics with his coup four years ago.

Thailand's junta will lift a near four-year ban on political activity in June, an official said Friday, as space for debate slowly expands in the kingdom with polls promised for next year.