Tag: Thailand

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand has taken another step toward holding elections next year by easing some restrictions on political activities to allow parties to conduct basic functions, but they are still barred from campaigning. A special order issued by the prime minister, which became law Friday following its publication in the Royal Gazette, allows political parties to gather funds to operate and, with the ruling junta's permission, recruit party members and choose new leaders. The order comes two days after enactment of laws covering the selection of members of Parliament and senators that mandate that a general election be held between February and May next year. The ruling junta has previously postponed several promised election deadlines. Deputy Prime Prawit Wongsuwan said Thursday that elections are tentatively scheduled for Feb. 24, repeating previous assertions by other senior officials. The military banned virtually all formal political party activities after it took over from an elected government in a May 2014 coup. Friday's order, issued under an emergency law the military enacted after seizing power, said restrictions are still necessary to make sure the country, which it says is now "relatively stable," is on track to achieve the government's reform goals. For example, all senators in the next government will be appointed by the ruling junta, apart from six senatorial positions which automatically go to army and police chiefs. Thawatchai Terdpaothai, a member of the Election Commission, said Friday that it will hold a meeting with all political parties on Sept. 28 to explain the regulations and to hear any concerns the parties may have. Abhisit Vejjajiva, the leader of the Democrat Party, the country's oldest, announced Friday on the online messaging platform LINE that his party will hold a meeting of senior members on Monday to plan for a broader Sept. 24 meeting at which it will adjust its rules to meet the new election regulations and organize the registration of new members.

King Maha Vajiralongkorn endorsed two bills on Wednesday that cleared the bureaucratic hurdles to a poll, which has been promised and delayed for years by the government. “We demand for the junta to lift the political activities ban as soon as possible,” said Pichai Naripthaphan, a former minister in Yingluck’s cabinet. Pichai said that date is now increasingly likely. He warned the National Council for Peace Order (NCPO) – the political name of the government – against postponing it again. Peua Thai is affiliated with the Shinawatra clan, a powerful and wealthy political family whose parties and proxies have won every Thai general election since 2001. Yingluck – and her older brother Thaksin – are living in exile to avoid prison after they were both convicted of corruption. With the ban on politics still in place, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has spent months positioning himself for a potential run in the next election. For months he has criss-crossed the country promising economic development, wooing local politicians with promises of investment and showing his softer side to the electorate with endless photo opportunities. On Thursday he hosted Japanese girl pop sensation AKB48 at Government House, waving a luminous pink stick to one of their smash hits and posing for photos. Flanked by a royalist, conservative Bangkok-centric establishment, Thailand’s military loathes the Shinawatras, accusing them of winning the hearts of the electorate with a toxic form of populist politics.

Players give press conference on days spent in cave; Benjamin Hall reports on what the boys had to say. FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour all-encompassing news service dedicated to delivering breaking news as well as political and business…

The 12 members of a youth soccer team and their coach who spent more than two weeks trapped underground in a flooded cave network in northern Thailand have appeared in public for the first time since their ordeal.

-Written by Elaine Godfrey (@elainejgodfrey) Today in 5 Lines President Trump pardoned Dwight and Steven Hammond, two ranchers in Oregon who were sentenced to prison for arson on public lands, and whose imprisonment inspired the 41-day occupation of a wildlife refuge in 2016. Trump is reportedly preparing to impose tariffs on an additional $200 billion worth of Chinese products. Dozens of children will be released from government custody and reunited with their parents after being separated at the U.S. border, according to the administration. On Monday, the Trump administration said they would only be able to reunite about half of the children under age 5 by Tuesday, the court-imposed deadline. All 12 members of a boys’ soccer team and their coach have been rescued after spending 18 days trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand. Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, began meeting with Senate leaders on Capitol Hill. Today on The Atlantic Breaking Precedent: Supreme Court nominees never discuss how they feel about specific court cases. (Elaina Plott) Moment of Truth: At some point, American and South Korean leaders will have to decide whether the denuclearization of North Korea is really achievable. That time is coming soon. (National Review) The End of Roe: Americans should expect Brett Kavanaugh to gut Roe v. Wade.

The last remaining member of the Wild Boars soccer team and his coach have been pulled out of a flooded cave in Thailand, bringing an end to a near three-week ordeal that prompted a huge international recuse effort.

Authorities call effort to save trapped youth soccer team a race against time; Jeff Paul reports from Chiang Rai, Thailand. FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour all-encompassing news service dedicated to delivering breaking news as well as political and…

Experts from around the globe are working furiously to extract the remaining young Thai boys from inside a cave. CNN's Polo Sandoval looks back at two weeks of search and rescue drama that have gripped the world.

Rescue teams have safely pulled out four boys who were trapped deep inside a cave in Thailand for more than two weeks. CNN's David McKenzie has the latest.

We're following that story, and we will bring you updates throughout the morning. Tomorrow, we're expecting President Trump to announce his Supreme Court pick. And then the president heads to Europe for the annual NATO summit and later to Finland for a one-on-one meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Here to help us understand what to watch for is NPR national political correspondent Mara Liasson. There's Judge Brett Kavanaugh, Raymond Kethledge and Judge Amy Coney Barrett. GARCIA-NAVARRO: So, Mara, it's not just about the money for President Trump. He's also questioned the value of the alliance for national security of the United States. TRUMP: President Putin is KGB and this and that. Putin's fine. GARCIA-NAVARRO: That's NPR national political correspondent Mara Liasson.