Thailand Stories

Thai policemen inspect identity cards at a checkpoint in outskirts of Bangkok. The Thai government has invoked a tough security law, the Internal Security Act, giving the armed forces broad powers to control an upcoming rally by supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra if necessary. (Reuters) A Thai policeman stands …

The Thai government over the past few years have been so focussed on first the yellow shirts and then the red shirts that hardly anyone has noticed the rampant increase of drug use in Thailand. It is almost getting to epidemic proportions …

I am at the airport saying goodbye to our foreign English teachers. They have been teaching at our school for the last year. In May we will be welcoming a new group of university graduates. The red shirts will be rallying in Bangkok this …

Escorted and guarded by Thai commandoes, Maj. Gen Khattiya Sawasdipol (center), alias Seh Daeng, a supporter of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, is brought to criminal court Monday, March 8, 2010, in Bangkok. Khattiya and seven associates were arrested on Saturday on charges of illegal possession of firearms. The Criminal Court on …

Thai Muslim villagers look at birds in cages during in a bird-singing contest in Yala province, about 1,100 km (683 miles) south of Bangkok March 7, 2010. About 6,000 birds took part in the competition. (Reuters) Thai Muslim villagers look at birds in cages…

A traffic policeman walks past a group of Bangladeshi Jumma Buddhist student monks and novices during a rally outside the United Nations building in Bangkok March 5, 2010. The monks urged the Bangladesh military and Bengali Muslim settlers to stop attacks on the Jumma indigenous people in Chittagong Hill Tracts …

Thai tennis player Paradon Srichaphan poses next to a cutout of himself in “Bang Rajan 2″, a new historical movie at the opening ceremony of the movie in Bangkok March 3, 2010. (Reuters) More Thailand pictures can be found at www.ThaiPhotoBlogs.com .

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva (R) poses with a boxing champion belt upon receiving it from World Boxing Council (WBC) President Jose Sulaiman during their meeting at Parliament House in Bangkok March 3, 2010. (Reuters) President of the World Boxing Council Jose Sulaiman, left, presents a champion belt to Thailand’s Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva during …

Thai security forces inspect the site of a bomb attack in front of the Government Saving Bank in Narathiwat province, south of Bangkok March 2, 2010. Series of bomb attacks in Thailand’s rebellious Muslim-majority far south of Narathiwat, injuring two people, police said. (Reuters) More Thailand pictures can be found at www.ThaiPhotoBlogs.com .

A woman holds up figurines in the shape of former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra at her shop in Bangkok February 24, 2010. Each figurine sells for 100 baht ($3.02). (Reuters) More Thailand pictures can be found at www.ThaiPhotoBlogs.com .

One of the most important events in the Thai Buddhist calendar is Makha Bucha Day (sometimes spelled Magha Puja). It takes place on the full moon day of the third lunar month which is usually late February or early March. This year it was today, 28th February 2010. Like many Thai people, I was up early this morning before …

Police secure the area as members of bomb squad investigate the site of an explosion outside a branch of the Bangkok Bank in central Bangkok late February 27, 2010. A total of four different branches of Bangkok Bangkok were attacked. (Reuters) Full story at ThailandQA.com

Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej makes an appearance with his dog at Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok February 27, 2010. Update: H.M. The King returned to the hospital the following day. More Thailand pictures can be found at www.ThaiPhotoBlogs.com .

Thailand’s Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is all smiles during a televised news conference at government house Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010 in Bangkok. Supporters of populist former Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra denounced a court order to seize US$1.4 billion of his assets, and vowed Saturday to pursue a nonviolent struggle …

BANGKOK THAILAND - FEBRUARY 26: Red shirt pro- Thaksin supporters react as the court announces the final verdict for former PM Thaksin Shinawatra’s family on February 26, 2010 in Bangkok, Thailand. Thailand’s Supreme Court has ruled that the Shinawatra family should be stripped of more than half a contested $2.3bn fortune, which is approximately $1.4bn that …

Deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is shown on a large screen during a teleconference to his supporters at the Pheu Thai Party building in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, Feb. 26. 2010. Thailand’s highest court prepared Friday to rule on whether Thaksin should lose part of his fortune …

Policewomen attend a briefing at the Supreme court in Bangkok February 26, 2010. Security forces are braced for a big turnout and a possible violent response to a court verdict due on Friday on whether to seize $2.3 billion in assets belonging to the family of former …

Thai police and military police officers guard the main entrance to the Supreme Court in Bangkok, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010. Ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra emotionally pleaded for sympathy and an end to his exile Wednesday, days before Thailand’s Supreme Court decides whether $2.29 billion of his family’s fortune should be seized due to alleged corruption…

Migrant workers from Myanmar work on a fishing boat before sailing out of the port of Mahachai, near Bangkok February 23, 2010. Migrant workers in Thailand face extortion, arbitrary detention, forced labour and physical abuse, sometimes at the hands of officials in a climate of impunity, a rights group said on Tuesday. (Reuters) Migrant workers…

Thailand’s finance minister Korn Chatikavanij gives a speech before receiving the “Global Finance Minister of the Year” award from The Financial Times’ Banker magazine at a hotel in Bangkok February 22, 2010. (Reuters) More Thailand pictures can be found at www.ThaiPhotoBlogs.com .