Thailand Stories

In this undated photo, Thongbai Thongpao, a pioneering Thai human rights lawyer who was a political prisoner under a military dictatorship, talks during an activity in Bangkok, Thailand. His wife said Thongbai died on Monday of an apparent heart attack in Bangkok. He…

Tennis player Kim Clijsters of Belgium during a boat trip past the Grand Palace on Chao Phraya River in Bangkok December 30, 2010. Clijsters will play an exhibition tennis match against Caroline Wozniacki (below left) in Thailand’s beach resort city of Hua Hin on January 1, 2011. (Richard Barrow/ThaiPhotoBlogs.com) More Thailand pictures can

Pakistani national Muhammad Athar Butt (C) is escorted out of the Department of Special Investigations (DSI) building by Thai policemen in Bangkok on December 2, 2010. Thai police on December 1 arrested two Pakistani men and a Thai woman suspected of providing forged passports to organisations linked to Al-Qaeda, the authorities said during a…

This combo of file photos shows alleged Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout waiting along with other prisoners at a detention cell at the criminal court in Bangkok on March 8, 2008 (picture L) and over two years later on October 4, 2010 (picture R) at the Criminal Court in Bangkok. Alleged Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout was flown out of …

Thai spectators listen to former US President Bill Clinton speak at Government House in Bangkok on November 12, 2010. Clinton visited Thailand as a guest speaker, delivering a lecture titled ‘Embracing Our Common Humanity’. (Getty Images) More Thailand pictures can be found at www.ThaiPhotoBlogs.com .

Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal, right, is welcomed by Thailand Tennis Association President Suwat Lipatapanlop as he arrives at Suvarnabhumi airport on Tuesday Sept. 21, 2010 in Bangkok, Thailand. The world’s number one player, Nadal completes in the Thailand Open tennis tournament that kicks off Sept. 25. (AP) More

An undate picture obtained on September 3, 2010 shows the new Thai military chief General Prayut Chan-O-Cha in Bangkok. Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej officially endorsed on September 2 the appointment of General Prayut Chan-O-Cha as the powerful commander-in-chief, part of …

Thailand’s new No. 1 heads agribusiness conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group), which father founded as small Bangkok seed importer. Over the past year stock more than doubled at 3 largest shareholdings: 7-Eleven store operator, CP ALL, on higher profits and successful expansion; as well as food producers Charoen Pokphand Foods and PT Charoen Pokphand on…

Japanese national Ichiro Ogushi, 35, speaks to reporters at the Immigration Bureau in Bangkok August 6, 2010. Ogushi was arrested in Thailand for violation of immigration laws after faking his own death to claim life insurance in Japan, and will be deported to his home country. (Reuters) More Thailand pictures can be found at www.ThaiPhotoBlogs.com .

Bank of Thailand Governor Tarisa Watanagase gestures during an interview with Reuters at the Bank of Thailand in Bangkok July 28, 2010. Thai interest rates are still low and a modest increase earlier this month is not impeding economic recovery, but it would be dangerous to keep rates low for too long…

A Thai man works next to an election campaign poster of Red Shirt leader Kokaew Pikulthong (L) in Bangkok on July 21, 2010. His face is on the posters and his name on the ballot paper, but in Thailand’s first poll battle since the government crushed mass protests, the main opposition candidate is conspicuously absent. (Getty Images) More Thailand…

Flank by father Watanyu, left, and mother Rejwanna, right, Witthawat Thaokhamlue speaks during a news conference at a hotel in Bangkok, Thailand Wednesday, July 14, 2010. Witthawat, 17, announced that he would leave the reality show after he set off a scandal as the new season of “Academy Fantasia” reality …

Thailand’s Kittipong Wachiramanowong returns a shot to Indonesia’s Christopher Rungkat during their Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group singles tennis match in Jakarta July 11, 2010. REUTERS/Supri (INDONESIA – Tags: SPORT TENNIS) More Thailand pictures can be found at www.ThaiPhotoBlogs.com .

This undated photo shows Prasarn Trairatvorakul, president of Kasikornbank, who’s appointed by the Thai cabinet on Tuesday, July 6, 2010 as the governor of Bank of Thailand, succeeding Tarisa Watanagase who is retiring at the end of September 2010. (AP) More Thailand pictures can be found at www.ThaiPhotoBlogs.com .

Photo taken on July 5, 2010 shows Russian conductor Mikhail Pletnev (L) being arrested inside his house by Thai police officers in Pattaya. Famed Russian conductor Mikhail Pletnev has been charged in Thailand with raping a boy aged under 15, a crime that carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, …

In this photo taken Tuesday, June 29, 2010, Australian Karl Kraus, center, is escorted by Thai policemen after being arrested, in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Kraus was arrested Tuesday and charged with raping and sexually abusing four underaged sisters, when one of them was as young as 5. (AP) More Thailand pictures

King Bhumibol Adulyadej (C) of Thailand stands with French President General de Gaulle (L) and General Demetz outside the Elysee Palace in Paris 14 October 1960 as the Thai royal couple is about to leave after an official visit to France. (Getty Images) King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand shakes hands with French President General de Gaulle outside…

Thai university students walk past the “Sawadee Cup” restaurant Thursday, June 10, 2010, on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand. The coffee shop is alleged to have been owned recently by Joran van der Sloot. Van der Sloot remains the lone suspect in the 2005 disapperance of U….

Tiger Woods, right, and Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand sit on a bench in the 17h tee box in the fourth round of the Memorial golf tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on Sunday, June 6, 2010, in Dublin, Ohio. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta) More Thailand pictures can be found at www.ThaiPhotoBlogs.com .

Tiger Woods, right, and Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand sit on a bench in the 17h tee box in the fourth round of the Memorial golf tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on Sunday, June 6, 2010, in Dublin, Ohio. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta) More Thailand pictures can be found at www.ThaiPhotoBlogs.