Phuket - A British BBC journalist appeared in a Thai court on Wednesday for the start of a criminal defamation trial brought by a lawyer who featured in an investigation about foreigners being scammed of their retirement homes.

Bangkok - Clobbered by coups and courts, Thailand's Shinawatra political dynasty is bracing for another withering blow in its decade-long power struggle with the kingdom's establishment as judges decide whether to convict the clan's ex-premier Yingluck.

Bangkok - A prominent student leader on Tuesday pleaded guilty to defaming Thailand's royal family by sharing a news story about the kingdom's new monarch on Facebook, his lawyer said.

Bangkok - A Thai man was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Wednesday for uploading audio clips that insulted royal family members, his lawyer said, the latest harsh verdict under a defamation law that shields the monarchy from scrutiny.

Bangkok - A prominent Thai columnist who has chronicled the erosion of human rights under junta rule was charged with sedition on Tuesday over Facebook posts that criticised the regime.

Bangkok - US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made a pit-stop in Bangkok on Tuesday with a plea to the kingdom to curb business ties with North Korea, as Washington rounds up allies for its bid to halt Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.

Bangkok - US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson landed in Bangkok on Tuesday for talks with junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha, the highest-level American diplomatic visit since the Thai army grabbed power in a 2014 coup.

Bangkok - Desperate to brighten up the gloom of Thai prison life, Prontip Mankong and her fellow female inmates used to sneak food colouring from the kitchen and mix it with Vaseline to create a homemade lip gloss.

Bangkok - Thailand's highest court on Wednesday acquitted two ex-prime ministers and two former top police officers over their role in a 2008 crackdown on anti-government protesters that killed two people.

Bangkok - Embattled Thai ex-premier Yingluck Shinawatra said she was a "victim of politics" in a defiant closing defence on Tuesday at her trial for negligence over a rice subsidy scheme that could see her jailed.

Bangkok - Monks gathered for a mass alms-giving ceremony and glittering commemorative stamps were issued on Friday as Thais marked the 65th birthday of King Maha Vajiralongkorn -- his first as monarch of the politically febrile nation.

Bangkok - Thai authorities have frozen seven bank accounts belonging to ex-premier Yingluck Shinawatra over a $1 billion fine she faces for her administration's controversial rice subsidy scheme, her lawyer said Tuesday.

Bangkok - A gang of 44 people from China and Taiwan have been arrested in Thailand for running an elaborate phone scam that conned $3 million from scores of victims, police said Monday.

Bangkok - An army 'Big Shot' whose influence seeped across the south, Lieutenant-General Manas Kongpan sat at the apex of Thailand's grisly trade in humans, raking in an untold fortune to keep prying eyes off the trafficking route.

Bangkok - Toppled Thai premier Yingluck Shinawatra was mobbed Friday by well-wishers, many bearing red roses, as she arrived for what could be the final hearing in a trial for criminal negligence that carries a 10-year jail term.

Bangkok - A leader of Thailand's 'Red Shirt' movement was jailed Thursday for defaming an ex-prime minister, sidelining a key voice of dissent against the ruling junta ahead of polls expected in 2018.

Bangkok - A Thai court charged a disgraced former monk Thursday with the rape of an underage girl, fraud and money laundering, after he was extradited from the United States.

Bangkok - A Thai court found dozens of people guilty of human trafficking offences on Wednesday in a mass trial exploring links between corrupt officials, including a senior army general, and the grim but lucrative trade in Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants.

Bangkok - A Thai general is among more than 100 defendants facing a verdict Wednesday in a sprawling 2015 human trafficking case which saw thousands of Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants abandoned at sea and in jungle death camps.

Bangkok - A new law giving Thailand's king direct control over royal assets worth billions of dollars went into force Monday, the latest move by an increasingly assertive monarch to consolidate his power.