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Senior Southeast Asian officials said the so-called ASEAN Guide on AI Governance and Ethics was taking shape and would try to balance the economic benefits of the technology with its many risks. The other ASEAN countries are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The sources declined to comment further on what the AI guide would look like, given the early stage of the discussions and confidentiality of the ASEAN process. The sources, who included officials in three Southeast Asian countries, declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak to the media. The island city-state has been at the forefront of AI strategy in the region and is leading the talks to draw up the AI guide, according to three sources.

Persons: Fanny Potkin, Panu, Stephen Coates, William Mallard Organizations: Reuters, Regulators, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, Senior Southeast, ASEAN Digital Ministers, Singapore’s Ministry for Communications, Information, European Union, Media Development Authority, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, BANGKOK, ASEAN, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, United States, Europe, U.S

SINGAPORE/BANGKOK, June 16 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian countries are drawing up governance and ethics guidelines for artificial intelligence (AI) that will impose "guardrails" on the booming technology, five officials with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Senior Southeast Asian officials said the so-called ASEAN Guide on AI Governance and Ethics was taking shape and would try to balance the economic benefits of the technology with its many risks. The other ASEAN countries are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The sources, who included officials in three Southeast Asian countries, declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak to the media. The island city-state has been at the forefront of AI strategy in the region and is leading the talks to draw up the AI guide, according to three sources.

Two sources with knowledge of Sunday's meeting told Reuters that Myanmar's junta-appointed foreign minister had been invited. Myanmar's military spokesman did not respond to phone calls on Friday night. ASEAN chair Indonesia has declined to attend the proposed meeting, according to three sources. Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said the Thai foreign minister had shown "arrogance" by inviting his junta counterpart who other regional neighbours have shunned. Indonesia last month cited progress in its own behind-the-scenes efforts to engage multiple parties in Myanmar's conflict in a bid to advance a peace process agreed by ASEAN leaders and Myanmar's military in April 2021.

Persons: Don Pramudwinai, Nobel, Aung, hasn't, Myanmar's, Prayuth Chan, ocha, Don's, Don, Phil Robertson, Ananda Teresia, Devjyot Ghoshal, Kay Johnson, Stanley Widianto, Martin Petty, Devjyot, Angus MacSwan Organizations: ASEAN, of Southeast Asian Nations, Thailand's Foreign, Reuters, Myanmar's, Foreign Ministry, Human Rights, Party, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, Thailand BANGKOK, Suu, Jakarta, Asia, Bangkok, Shoon

They are seeking to form a coalition government with six other parties, all of which are due to sign the agreement on their objectives later on Monday. Other alliance members have had reservations about tampering with that law. The party had on Friday said lese-majeste would be included only if the eight parties backed it. His alliance comprises 313 seats, but it needs backing from 376 legislators to vote Pita in. Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat, Chayut Setboonsarng and Panu Wongcha-um; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"Move Forward chooses an uncompromising mode of change while Pheu Thai choose a compromising mode of change," Prajak said. Pheu Thai has been far more measured in its messaging on the monarchy - and that could leave it with more options. "Pheu Thai is holding its cards close to its chest," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University. "I think Pheu Thai will stick with Move Forward," he said, adding abandoning its ally would make Pheu Thai look as if it was betraying the will of the people. "I still think that a conservative coalition ... with Senate backing is far more likely to emerge than a pro-democracy led coalition," Abuza said.

Move Forward's main coalition partner would be the Pheu Thai party, backed by the billionaire Shinawatra family that was - until now - the main challenger of the conservative, military-backed royalist establishment that has held power for the last decade. Pheu Thai, which won the last five general elections but got pushed out of power each time, secured 141 seats, according to the latest projections, only 10 fewer than Move Forward. "There are many obstacles that Move Forward and Pheu Thai have to overcome." Full-time politics came in 2019, when Pita entered parliament with 80 other members of the Future Forward Party. To become prime minister, Pita must also navigate the upper house.

☆ Deals to be done as Thai opposition parties look to form government
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Chayut Setboonsarng | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Sunday's election showcased an extraordinary surge by the progressive Move Forward party that almost had a clean sweep of the capital Bangkok, followed closely by the populist Pheu Thai party, which had been the dominant force in every Thai election this century. Between them the two opposition parties decimated parties with ties to the royalist army but it is far from certain the opposition will form the next government, with parliamentary rules drafted by the military after a 2014 coup skewed in favour of its allies. To govern, agreements may need to be struck with multiple camps, including rival parties and members of a junta-appointed Senate with a record of favouring conservative parties led by generals. [1/2] Move Forward Party leader and prime ministerial candidate, Pita Limjaroenrat, looks up at the crowd during the general election in Bangkok, Thailand, May 14, 2023. Pita said on Sunday he was ready to partner with Pheu Thai but Paetongtarn Shinawatra, one of her party's prime ministerial candidates, said it was too soon to discuss.

☆ Political analysts, business groups react to Thailand election results
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

THITINAN PONGSUDHIRAK, CHULALONGKORN UNIVERSITY"The top two parties will be Pheu Thai and Move Forward. "Pheu Thai fought the wrong war, the populism war that it already won. That's the new battleground in Thai politics. KEN MATHIS LOHATEPANONT, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN"Since 2001, Pheu Thai has won the largest number of seats at every election comfortably. After two decades, this certainty of Thai politics has been overturned.

☆ Factbox: Preliminary results of Thailand's election
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Move Forward Party leader and prime ministerial candidate, Pita Limjaroenrat, meets with the media members on the day of the general election in Bangkok, Thailand, May 14, 2023. REUTERS/Jorge SilvaBANGKOK, May 14 (Reuters) - Thailand's opposition parties Move Forward and Pheu Thai won the most seats in Sunday's election, paving the way for a challenge to the military-backed government, which has been in power for nearly a decade. Parliamentary seats are distributed based on 400 open constituency seats and 100 'party-list' seats - or seats won by parties based on their share of national votes. Below are preliminary results of Sunday's ballot, according to the Election Commission of Thailand, with 97% of the vote counted. The tabulation of party-list seats is based on a Reuters tally of voting data made available by the election commission.

This time, Pheu Thai is polling strongly along with the progressive, youth-oriented, Move Forward party. 'LOOKING FOR A DEAL'But bringing her father home may ultimately be the deciding factor for Pheu Thai, and that would force it into a deal with the establishment. "Post election, Pheu Thai will be biding its time and looking for a deal. That's why I think the likelihood of Pheu Thai going with Move Forward is very slim." He said he could envision a deal that allowed Thaksin to return in exchange for minimal jail time and a promise not to run for office.

☆ Thailand's influential ex-PM Thaksin eyes July return from exile
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Panu Wongcha-Um | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BANGKOK, May 9 (Reuters) - Thailand's billionaire former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said on Tuesday he would return home in July after 17 years in self-imposed exile, just days ahead of an election his party is expected to win. Although Thaksin, arguably Thailand's most influential and divisive former leader, has failed to make good on numerous pledges to return, his remarks on Twitter were the first time in recent years that he has set a timeframe. The latest surveys show parties in the ruling, military-backed coalition far adrift of Pheu Thai and another opposition party, Move Forward. In a later Twitter comment, Thaksin said he would not "be a burden to Pheu Thai" and his return would follow legal processes. But his family and business clique is reviled by some of Thailand's most powerful families and institutions, including the military.

☆ Thai election agency criticised after snags in early voting
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BANGKOK, May 8 (Reuters) - Thailand's election commission came under scrutiny on Monday after what a monitoring group said were widespread complaints in early voting, fuelling concern on social media about the competence of a body appointed under military rule. The Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) said it had received 92 complaints and investigations were going on. "They don't understand the system so they only do what they understand," Yingcheep said, adding many complaints were over the same issues. The hashtag "why do we have an election commission?" The commission at the time denied wrongdoing and said it needed time to allow recounts, disqualifications and by-elections.

☆ Thai voters cast early ballots one week before election
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] People cast their early vote for the upcoming Thailand's general election at a polling station in Bangkok, Thailand, May 7, 2023. REUTERS/Athit PerawongmethaBANGKOK, May 7 (Reuters) - Many Thais lined up on Sunday in long queues to vote early in parliamentary elections scheduled for May 14. More than 2 million Thais had registered for early voting out of 52 million eligible voters who are aged 18 and above, according to the country's election commission. "I wish to see change and improvement in management," said 51-year-old Gosol Pungtaku, one of the 800,000 Bangkok residents who registered for one-day-only early voting in the capital. Opposition Pheu Thai Party, a populist group that won five general elections before 2019 and was ousted by Prayuth in the coup, is leading in most polls followed by the progressive Move Forward Party.

Her Pheu Thai Party is also leading in recent polls and has won every election since 2001, including two in landslides. If Pheu Thai can win a landslide and be government, we can make change straightaway." Asked about a Move Forward alliance, she said Pheu Thai would join "with parties that support our policies" and ruled out military-backed rivals. Paetongtarn's father Thaksin Shinawatra was prime minister for five years before he was ousted by the military in a 2006 coup. He didn't say he wants to be prime minister," she said.

☆ Myanmar's neighbours, some ASEAN members hold secretive talks on crisis - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Devjyot Ghoshal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BANGKOK, April 26 (Reuters) - Government and think-tank representatives from Myanmar and its neighbours, including India and China, held talks in New Delhi on Tuesday as part of a secretive effort to de-escalate a bloody crisis in the army-run Southeast Asian nation, two sources said. One of the sources said participants were interested in bringing into the process Myanmar's shadow National Unity Government (NUG), an organisation affiliated with the resistance and declared "terrorists" by the junta. "The neighbouring countries' perspective needs to be taken into account," said the source, "For them, the foremost priority is the de-escalation of the violence." ASEAN has barred the junta from attending until they implement the plan, which has infuriated the generals. "This effort will not supplant ASEAN," the second source said of the ongoing talks, "This will only complement."

BANGKOK, April 22 (Reuters) - Thailand's opposition bloc should stick together to dislodge the military from politics and form a government after an election in May, the leader of a popular opposition party told Reuters on the sidelines of a packed campaign rally on Saturday. Thailand's election, on May 14, is shaping up as a contest between pro-military conservatives and the populist opposition led by Pheu Thai Party and its ally the Move Forward Party. Two governments Pheu Thai supported were overthrown by military coups, in 2006 and 2014. He is contesting the upcoming election but recent opinion polls put him behind both Pheu Thai and Move Forward, who maintained first and second places. Pita said that support bases complimented compliment Pheu Thai, backed by the working class and farmers in the rural north and northeast.

☆ Thai authorities issue extreme heat warnings for dozens of provinces
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Chalinee ThirasupaBANGKOK, April 22 (Reuters) - Thai authorities on Saturday warned residents across large swathes of country, including the capital Bangkok, to avoid going outdoors due to extreme heat. Parts of Asia are reporting extreme heat this month, with record-breaking temperatures seen in some countries. In Bangladesh and parts of India, extreme heat is leading to surge in power demand, causing power cuts and shortages for millions of people. Thailand's department of disaster prevention and mitigation said that temperatures will exceed 40 C in at least 28 provinces on Saturday. "What is happening right now is caused by climate change, influencing abnormal (weather) and a phenomenon that is called extreme weather," Mathinee Yucharoen, a researcher of coastal oceanography and climate change at Prince of Songkhla University, told Reuters.

☆ Young Thais who questioned monarchy look to win seats in parliament
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Panu Wongcha-Um | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

They are bringing the issue of the role of monarchy in society into the open. Changing - though not abolishing - those laws is part of the platform of Lookkate's progressive Move Forward party, which is campaigning on reducing the severity of punishments for royal insult and how it is applied. Kanokrat said the protests had put issues such as LGBT rights and the ending of the military conscription on the agenda. They had energised the progressive left while at the same time triggering the rise of a right-wing royalist party, Thai Pakdee, which is campaigning on toughening up the lese majeste law, he said. "We have a real progressive left that connects with street politics and a far-right party that rises as a response."

[1/2] Anutin Charnvirakul, Bhumjaithai Party's leader and prime ministerial candidate, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Bangkok, Thailand, April 10, 2023. This time, new election rules favour bigger parties, and Bhumjaithai has strengthened its slate of candidates to compete with larger opponents. "Last time, Bhumjaithai Party won millions of votes from people who believed in the benefits of marijuana," he said. Some small parties have suggested amending it and Pheu Thai has raised the possibility of discussing it in parliament. "Protecting the monarchy is an inspiration for the party," Anutin said.

☆ Thailand prepares to dissolve parliament ahead of election
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BANGKOK, March 17 (Reuters) - Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said on Friday he had prepared a decree seeking to dissolve parliament ahead of an election, an expected step as his government heads into the last week of its four-year term. The decree would require approval of Thailand's monarch and would take effect once published in the Royal Gazette. We have to wait for the announcement in the Royal Gazette," Prayuth told reporters in the northern city of Chiang Mai. He will be up against Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the daughter of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra and Yingluck's niece. Paetongtarn, 36, has led Prayuth in opinion polls for months as the top choice for Thailand's next prime minister.

☆ Exclusive: Daughter of Thaksin banking on nostalgia to win Thailand election
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Juarawee Kittisilpa | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] Paetongtarn Shinawatra, 36, the Pheu Thai Party's most visible candidate for prime minister, speaks during the general election campaign in Ubon Ratchathani province, Thailand, February 17, 2023. REUTERS/Athit PerawongmethaAMNAT CHAROEN, Thailand, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Touting her billionaire family's legacy of populism and massive election victories, Thailand's Paetongtarn Shinawatra is emerging as the candidate to beat in upcoming polls, betting that nostalgia can win millions of working class votes. And only through stable politics can people's lives change in a sustainable manner," she said, while campaigning in the northeast. Thaksin and Yingluck were toppled by the army in 2006 and 2014 respectively, despite overseeing big economic growth. Thailand's election is shaping up to be another grudge match between warring elites in Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy.

☆ Captain of Thai 'cave boys' soccer team dies in Britain
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Duangpetch Promthep introduces himself during the news conference in Chiang Rai, Thailand July 18, 2018. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun/File PhotoBANGKOK, Feb 15 (Reuters) - One of 12 boys dramatically rescued after two weeks trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand in 2018 has died in Britain where he was attending a soccer academy, his former teacher said on Wednesday. Duangpetch Promthep, better known as "Dom", was captain of the "Wild Boars" team whose seemingly impossible extraction by international divers and Thai navy SEALs captured huge global attention. The news was shared on social media by a Buddhist monk who taught the boys in Thailand's northern Chiang Rai province. Once rescued, the boys were invited to attend a Manchester United match and their story was the subject of books, documentaries and films, and most recently, the Netflix (NFLX.O) series "Thai Cave Rescue".

☆ Activists urge Thailand's opposition to scrap royal insult law if elected
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Thailand has some of the world's strictest lese majeste laws, with punishments of up to 15 years in prison for each perceived royal insult. Eight activists met on Tuesday with the Pheu Thai party and said scrapping Article 112 must be a priority. "If the Pheu Thai Party want to win by a landslide, they need to revoke 112," activist Somyot Prueksakasemsuk said ahead of the meeting. No political party has ever called for it to be revoked, though several support debate on its enforcement or reducing punishments. After the meeting, Natiporn Sanesangkhom, one of the activists, said Pheu Thai gave no firm answer on abolishing article 112.

☆ Myanmar activists, victims file criminal complaint in Germany over alleged atrocities
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

BANGKOK, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Myanmar activists and 16 alleged victims of abuse have filed a criminal complaint in Germany, accusing top generals of instigating genocide against Rohingya Muslims and other atrocities since a military coup two years ago. A spokesman for Myanmar's military government did not answer a call seeking comment on the complaint filed in Germany. The 16 individual complainants in the Myanmar filing include ethnic Rohingya and others who survived or witnessed crimes in Myanmar since the coup, Fortify Rights said. In the case of the Rohingya, Myanmar authorities have previously said security forces were carrying out legitimate operations against militants who attacked police posts. The junta has also denied the military had carried out atrocities since the coup, disputing casualty figures given by activists and terming opponents "terrorists".

☆ Daughter of Thailand's exiled former PM Thaksin to seek premiership
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BANGKOK, Jan 16 (Reuters) - The daughter of Thailand's self-exiled former leader Thaksin Shinawatra has declared her readiness to run for prime minister in an election this year, as the main opposition seeks to regain power after being ousted in a coup eight years ago. Paetongtarn Shinawatra, whose father Thaksin and aunt Yingluck Shinawatra both led governments toppled by the army, will run under the Pheu Thai Party, the latest incarnation of a populist movement founded by her billionaire family two decades ago. "We want the party to win the election by a landslide so the promises we made to the people can be realised," she said. Both Yingluck and Thaksin are living overseas to avoid jail terms handed down under military rule. Prayuth, 68, joined the new United Thai Nation Party last week, hinting at a bid to remain premier.

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