Asian Correspondent Thailand News

Thai detention of Iranian bomb suspect extended

By AP News Wed, Feb 22, 2012 7:35PM UTC

BANGKOK (AP) — A Thai court on Wednesday allowed police to continue to detain one of five Iranian suspects in an alleged terror plot that was exposed by an accidental blast in a residential Bangkok neighborhood. Police Maj. Gen. Piya Uthayo said Mohammad Kharzei, 42, will be held at a Bangkok prison for at least...

Big questions still unanswered in wake of Bangkok bombings

By AP News Wed, Feb 22, 2012 1:42PM UTC

BANGKOK (AP) — It began when three men blew up their house accidentally on Valentine’s Day in Bangkok. It ended with a gory scene that looked more like Baghdad: a bloodied, would-be bomber with severed legs moaning on a glass-strewn sidewalk after another botched blast. Last week’s explosions in the Thai capital announced the apparent...

Thai ‘anti-corruption vigilante’ Chuwit: Cleaning up in his own ranks

By Siam Voices Wed, Feb 22, 2012 10:00AM UTC

By Saksith Saiyasombut We have featured the former massage parlor tycoon turned anti-corruption vigilante Chuwit Kamolvisit before (see here), whose Rak Thailand Party surprisingly scored a few seats in the House at the elections last year (and where Chuwit also knew how to make a first impression) and positioned themselves as an opposition watchdog. Since then,...

Malaysia urges Muslims in southern Thailand to reject violence

By Asian Correspondent Mon, Feb 20, 2012 6:10PM UTC

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia has urged Muslims to reject violence in southern Thailand where an ongoing insurgency has killed nearly 5,000 people. Prime Minister Najib Razak and his Thai counterpart Yingluck Shinawatra met Monday. Razak said they both believe the people of southern Thailand “must not seek a separate state.” An Islamist insurgency erupted...

Thai economy shrinks 10.7 percent after floods

By AP News Mon, Feb 20, 2012 3:31PM UTC

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s economy shrank 10.7 percent in the last quarter of 2011 as widespread flooding forced manufacturers of autos, hard drives and other goods to halt production. The government’s economic forecasting agency is predicting Southeast Asia’s second biggest economy will rebound this year to grow between 5.5 percent and 6.5 percent. It grew...