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Hundreds Wed As Thai Same-sex Marriage Law Comes Into Force

Published

8 months ago

January 23, 2025

Scores of same-sex and transgender couples married in Thailand on Thursday as the kingdom’s equal marriage law went into effect, with two high-profile gay actors among the first to do so.

In matching beige suits, Apiwat “Porsch” Apiwatsayree, 49 — who was in tears — and Sappanyoo “Arm” Panatkool, 38, were handed their pink-bordered marriage certificates at a registry office in Bangkok.

“We fought for it for decades and today is a remarkable day that love is love,” said Army.

The milestone sees Thailand become by far the biggest nation in Asia to recognise equal marriage, after Taiwan and Nepal.

“Today, the rainbow flag is proudly flying over Thailand,” Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra posted on X.

The new marriage law uses gender-neutral terms in place of “men”, “women”, “husbands” and “wives”, also clearing the way for transgender people to wed, and grants adoption and inheritance rights to all married couples.

Lesbian couple Sumalee Sudsaynet, 64, and Thanaphon Chokhongsung, 59, were the first to wed at Bangrak district office, and the couple showed the media their engagement rings.

“We are so happy. We’ve been waiting for this day for 10 years,” said Thanaphon, wearing a white gown.

The couple met a decade ago through a mutual friend and bonded over their passion for Buddhism and merit-making.

“The legalisation of same-sex marriage uplifts our dignity,” Sumalee told AFP.

“It allows us to enjoy the same rights as heterosexual couples. My emotions today are so overwhelming, I can’t even put them into words.”

Dozens of couples dressed in traditional and contemporary wedding outfits trickled into a large hall in a shopping centre for a mass LGBTQ wedding organised by campaign group Bangkok Pride with city authorities.

Officials helped the couples fill out marriage forms at rows of tables, an administrative step before they could collect their certificates, with hundreds expected to do so over the course of the day.

Kevin Pehthai Thanomkhet, a 31-year-old trans man, married his wife, Maple Nathnicha Klintgaworn, 39.

“So happy, like, oh my god… my heart is beating,” said Kevin.

His 65-year-old father Phornchai added: “I have always accepted (him). Whatsoever, it is OK with me.”

– Reputation for tolerance –

Thailand ranks highly on indexes of LGBTQ legal and living conditions, and Thursday’s milestone makes it the first country in Southeast Asia to allow equal marriage.

The kingdom’s same-sex marriage bill was passed in a historic parliamentary vote last June, the third place in Asia to do so, and the law came into effect 120 days after it was ratified by King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

Thai activists have been pushing for same-sex marriage rights for more than a decade, with their advocacy stalled by political turbulence in a country regularly upended by coups and mass street protests.

Former Thai prime minister Srettha Thavisin, who attended Wednesday’s mass wedding event, took an apparent swipe at newly inaugurated US President Donald Trump, who on Monday decreed there were only two genders.

“Recently a country’s leader said that there were only two genders, but I think we are more open-minded than that.”

More than 30 countries have legalised marriage for all since the Netherlands became the first to allow same-sex unions in 2001.

Thailand has long had an international reputation for tolerance of the LGBTQ community, and opinion polls reported in local media have shown overwhelming public support for equal marriage.

But much of the Buddhist-majority kingdom retains traditional and conservative values and LGBTQ people say they still face barriers and discrimination in everyday life.

“In the past, LGBTQ people were seen as monstrosities,” said Ploynaplus Chirasukon, who married her lesbian partner of 17 years, Kwanporn Kongpetch.

She supports the push for gender identity recognition, including the right to change forms of address.

“People who don’t identify with their biological sex are like homeless people,” she said.

“The ability to be able to change our titles would allow for true equality.”

AFP

Headline

US Opposes Palestinian State Recognition, Says It’s Reward For Hamas

Published

4 hours ago

September 24, 2025

Editor

United States President Donald Trump and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, met on Tuesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, where they discussed differing views on the future of Gaza and Palestinian statehood.

CNN reports that Trump rejected the two-state solution to the crisis in Gaza, saying the idea portrays “reward” for Hamas.

France recently joined the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Portugal to officially recognise the Palestinian state.

Trump opened the Tuesday bilateral meeting by praising Macron’s diplomatic efforts, claiming the French leader had helped him prevent global conflicts.

“Emmanuel has actually helped me with a couple of the wars,” Trump said, in response to Macron’s recent remark that if the US president wants a Nobel Peace Prize, he should “put an end to the war in Gaza.”

When asked about Palestinian statehood, and his latest remarks, it would be a “gift to Hamas,” Trump again pushed back strongly.

“Well, I think it honors Hamas, and you can’t do that because of October 7. You can’t do that. But we want our hostages back,” Trump said.

“You always have to remember, people forget October 7 was one of the most savage days in the history of the world,” the US president said.

In response, Macron, seated beside Trump, emphasised that recognising a Palestinian state does not mean ignoring Hamas’ October 2023 attacks on Israel.

The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and Israel, fought since October 7, 2023, when the Hamas militant group attacked Israel, which has since launched offensive in the Gaza Strip in retaliation.

Headline

Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Is Dead

Published

18 hours ago

September 23, 2025

Editor

The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abdulaziz, has died at the age of 82.

According to a statement from the Royal Court, the revered cleric passed away on Tuesday morning.

Born in Mecca in November 1943, Sheikh Abdulaziz rose to become one of the most influential religious authorities in the Kingdom.

He served as head of the General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta, as well as the Supreme Council of the Muslim World League.

Headline

Antitrust Trial: US Asks Court To Break Up Google’s Ad Business

Published

2 days ago

September 22, 2025

Editor

Google faces a fresh federal court test on Monday as US government lawyers ask a judge to order the breakup of the search engine giant’s ad technology business.

The lawsuit is Google’s second such test this year, following a similar government demand to split up its empire that was shot down by a judge earlier this month.

Monday’s case focuses specifically on Google’s ad tech “stack” — the tools that website publishers use to sell ads and that advertisers use to buy them.

In a landmark decision earlier this year, Federal Judge Leonie Brinkema agreed with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) that Google maintained an illegal grip on this market.

Monday’s trial is set to determine what penalties and changes Google must implement to undo its monopoly.

According to filings, the US government will argue that Google should spin off its ad publisher and exchange operations. The DOJ will also ask that after the divestitures are complete, Google be banned from operating an ad exchange for 10 years.

Google will argue that the divestiture demands go far beyond the court’s findings, are technically unfeasible, and would be harmful to the market and smaller businesses.

“We’ve said from the start that DOJ’s case misunderstands how digital advertising works and ignores how the landscape has dramatically evolved, with increasing competition and new entrants,” said Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs.

In a similar case in Europe, the European Commission, the EU’s antitrust enforcer, earlier this month fined Google 2.95 billion euros ($3.47 billion) over its control of the ad tech market.

Brussels ordered behavioral changes, drawing criticism that it was going easy on Google as it had previously indicated that a divestiture may be necessary.

This remedy phase of the US trial follows a first trial that found Google operated an illegal monopoly. It is expected to last about a week, with the court set to meet again for closing arguments a few weeks later.

The trial begins in the same month that a separate judge rejected a government demand that Google divest its Chrome browser, in an opinion that was largely seen as a victory for the tech giant.

That was part of a different case, also brought by the US Department of Justice, in which the tech giant was found responsible for operating an illegal monopoly, this time in the online search space.

Instead of a major breakup of its business, Google was required to share data with rivals as part of its remedies.

The US government had pushed for Chrome’s divestment, arguing the browser serves as a crucial gateway to the internet that brings in a third of all Google web searches.

Shares in Google-parent Alphabet have skyrocketed by more than 20 percent since that decision.

Judge Brinkema has said in pre-trial hearings that she will closely examine the outcome of the search trial when assessing her path forward in her own case.

These cases are part of a broader bipartisan government campaign against the world’s largest technology companies. The US currently has five pending antitrust cases against such companies.

AFP