The pair had hoped to escape governments when they went to live on a tiny oil rig-like structure 15 nautical miles out to sea. But things went south when the Thai navy showed up to accuse them of establishing a breakaway nation.

The grilling of a second Future Forward party leader has raised fears that the junta is using prosecutors to neuter the Democratic Front coalition after the country’s March 24 election.

For more than a month, the northern Thai city and its neighbouring provinces have been shrouded in smog, which has discouraged tourists and hurt hotel occupancy rates.

As Thailand waits for the election commission to unveil the allocation of party-list seats after its March 24 polls, concerns are rising over the use of a new formula to determine how many seats contesting parties can obtain.

Authorities say they are distracting pilots and have banned them from the area. The maximum penalty for trespassing is death.

Charges against Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit and his deputy Piyabutr Saengkanokkul raise speculation junta leader Prayuth Chan-Ocha will stop at nothing to cripple the democratic front that claims to have won the vote

Tourism revenue, particularly from China, underpins Thailand’s economy. The number of arrivals recovered after the deadly Phuket boat accident last year but Chiang Mai’s smog crisis is another setback.

As tongues wag over who will solve the Thaksin-junta stalemate in the Thai election, one man has emerged a kingmaker: a pro-marijuana tycoon who has offered this piece of cryptic advice as to his political intentions: ‘Hot and Spicy’.

Seven parties led by Pheu Thai, the party projected to have won the most seats, say the pro-junta camp should stand aside.

The military backed Palang Pracharat party wins the popular vote, Shinawatra-backed Pheu Thai wins the most seats. And a third party’s leader – called ‘Daddy’ – says he is ready to be prime minister. Welcome to Thai politics.

Exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in Hong Kong urged supporters to maintain ‘hope’ but did not mention prospect of defeat.

In a shock twist, the Palang Pracharat Party of Thai junta chief Prayuth Chan-ocha is headed towards victory, with one leader claiming the result was ‘made in heaven’.

Sunday’s vote – the first since the 2014 coup – took place peacefully with the royal military establishment and the rural-backed populist movement linked to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra vying for power.

Five years after the latest in a long string of coups, democracy is back in town in Thailand. Or at least, that’s what it looks like. But in Sunday’s election, winning the most votes and winning power are not the same thing.

Leader of biggest political party warns that unelected Senate could hand prime ministership to junta chief – even if his political proxies are trounced at the ballot box on Sunday.

The family, led by self-exiled patriarch and deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, will be in the city for the wedding of his youngest daughter.

The billionaire’s Future Forward is among a group of parties that plan to reduce the army’s outsize influence should they take power after the March 24 polls – and they have support from millennial voters.

Images of the Shinawatras are banned on the campaign trail, but their legacy lives on through the populist economic policies that swept them to power and are now being embraced by all – even the military bloc that deposed them

Campaigning is in high gear ahead of the March 24 polls but there’s no reaction to the dissolution of Thai Raksa Chart – instead, there is a fierce debate about how the military should stay out of politics after the country votes.

Campaigning is in high gear ahead of the March 24 polls but there’s no reaction to the dissolution of Thai Raksa Chart – instead, there is a fierce debate on how the military should stay out of politics after the country votes.

Despite a bloody war on drugs and frequent seizures by authorities, the supply of ya ba pills has grown to the point prices are falling. A better approach, according to a UN expert, is treatment, prevention and harm minimisation.

Thailand braces for violence after Constitutional Court disqualifies the party from March 24 election, dealing a blow to influential Shinawatra clan and strengthening junta.

The controversial bid to make King Vajiralongkorn’s sister the next premier could end in the party’s dissolution, depending on a court verdict. Such a ruling would be a blow for the anti-junta bloc aligned with the Shinawatras.

Anont Rotthong will also give the ideal candidate US$300,000 and a chance to take over his thriving durian business.

Thai firms can take advantage of myriad links between Hong Kong and mainland China to expand into new markets, Carrie Lam tells Bangkok forum.

The law is after him, the ladies call him ‘daddy’, and he’s running in the Thai elections promising a welfare state. It’s millennial darling, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit

Party leaders have vowed to continue campaigning until the Constitutional Court decides their fate.

Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya’s abortive prime ministerial bid may have stunned investors, but the Thai baht and the kingdom’s economy have a ‘Teflon’ reputation

The royally appointed body has formally blocked the princess’ bid to enter politics – but some say it bodes ill for the March 24 election’s hopes of returning democracy to junta-led Thailand

Will blurring the lines between palace and parliament be the panacea to the country’s long-running power struggle?