BANGKOK — The King of Thailand will not make a public appearance on his birthday today after doctors examined his medical condition last night, the Royal Household Bureau said in a statement today.

"His Majesty's doctors have requested that the King not leave the hospital today for an audience at the Amarin Vinitchai Hall," the statement says. 

The monarch, who turns 87 years old today, was expected to leave Sririaj Hospital to make a brief public appearance and speech at the Grand Palace for his birthday.

Hundreds of Thais had been camping out by the Bangkok hospital in yellow shirts – the King's colour – hoping to catch a glimpse of the revered monarch. 

King Bhumibol's birthday is a national holiday in Thailand and also considered "Father's Day." 

His Majesty was rushed to Sririaj Hospital two months ago with a high fever and rapid heartbeat. The king later underwent a surgery to remove his gallbladder, which was said to be infected. 

On 13 November, the palace said His Majesty was also suffering from an intestinal infection, but that his overall health was improving. 

The king's frail health is a cause of anxiety for many Thais. The monarch is widely credited with bringing stability to the Kingdom during his more than 60 years on the throne.

King Bhumbiol's last public appearance was on 23 November when he granted an audience to Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, the Prime Minister and former army chief who led the 22 May coup.

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BANGKOK — Thailand’s junta chairman and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha personally met with 16 newspaper executives in Bangkok yesterday to “create understanding” about his administration.

Although news editors have been summoned to meet with representatives from Thailand’s military junta several times since Gen. Prayuth led a coup on 22 May, yesterday’s two-hour meeting marked the first time the junta chairman was present for the talks himself.

“If I do something good, you can’t say that I didn't do anything worthy,” Gen. Prayuth said yesterday. “I’m thoroughly thinking through everything and trying to do my best.”

Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha with print media executives at the Rajpruek Club in Bangkok, 3 Dec 2014.

Gen. Prayuth said the meeting was not intended to infringe on freedom of expression in Thailand, but merely an effort to explain what his government has been doing. 

“I don’t know if all of the outcomes will be good, but I’m putting myself 100 percent – or even more than 100 percent – into this,” Gen. Prayuth said. “If it’s still not good or there’s any corruption along the way, I will be audited and accept legal prosecution.”

Asked if he felt relieved after the meeting, Gen. Prayuth said he enjoyed the opportunity to get to know the news editors better.

Gen. Prayuth, who was chosen as Prime Minister by a rubber-stamp council in August, is known for his hostile exchanges with reporters, who he frequently reprimands for scrutinizing his administration.

Although he has stopped short of subjecting the press to full-scale censorship, the junta chairman has repeatedly asked the media to “cooperate” with his government.

Many news agencies in Thailand have been exercising self-censorship in the face of intimidation from the junta, and last month, the army ordered a state-owned TV station to drop a talk show that was airing complaints from the public about the 22 May coup. 

"The media has two duties,” Gen. Prayuth said last week, after chastising the press for their coverage of flash anti-coup protestsstaged by student activists in Bangkok and Khon Kaen. “One is to explain the situation and create understanding with the people, with some critical reporting and criticism. But you also have to support the missions of this government.” 

After toppling the former elected government in May, the junta appointed three bodies to oversee a broad reform effort aimed at achieving "national reconciliation." Gen. Prayuth says that elections will be held in late 2015 at the earliest, and only if the reforms are completed and the political climate is deemed stable.

Read more:
Prayuth Asks Media To Stop Reporting About Thaksin 

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YALA — A twenty-year-old man was shot and killed on his way home from a night patrol in the insurgent-plagued southern province of Yala last night.

Viroj Polpadung, a village security unit guard in Lam Paya district, was shot several times and received a fatal bullet to the head while he was riding home on a motorcycle. Pakorn Suwan, another village security guard who was on the motorcycle with Viroj, was shot and wounded in his left leg.

Police are investigating the incident and believe at least two people were involved in the attack.

Yala and the two neighboring provinces of Pattani and Narathiwat have been battered by near-daily insurgent violence for the past decade.

More than 6,000 people – mostly civilians – have died in the campaign waged by shadowy militant insurgent groups seeking to re-establish the independent Pattani sultanate that was incorporated into modern Thailand in the early 20^th century.

For years, Thai authorities have armed local volunteers in the“Deep South” border-provinces to help combat insurgents.

Thailand’s military government, which has vowed to bring peace to the region “within a year,” has distributed several thousand assault rifles to village defense volunteers since seizing power in the 22 May coup.

Human rights groups have criticised the military’s reliance on armed residents, which they say only increases lawlessness and violence in the restive region. 

On Monday, junta chairman and Prime Minister Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha met with the Prime Minister of Malaysia to discuss pursuing Malaysian-broked peace talks with the rebels. 

In contrast to the rest of the country, where the vast majority of Thais are Buddhist, the Deep South is dominated by Muslims who speak a Malaysian dialect and often do not consider themselves Thai.