News
Prayut kills 'unnecessary' GMO bill
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on 15 December dropped a controversial bill regulating genetically modified organisms (GMOs), saying the bill currently was unnecessary. The legislation was initiated long ago and its consideration should stop as there was no pressing need for it, the prime minister said after the ...
Red-shirt arsonists' light jail terms upped to life sentences
The Supreme Court on 14 December handed a life sentence to the man who led red-shirt protestors to torch Ubon Ratchathani’s provincial hall in 2010, overruling a lower court’s sentence of only one year. The high court initially gave the death penalty to 60-year-old Pichet Thabutda, a ...
Stateless Lao still struggling for basic rights in Thailand 40 years later
The 21-year civil war in Laos forced a large number of Lao people to seek refuge in Thailand, and many of them still live in the country today. Despite a long presence in Thailand, scores of them have not yet obtained Thai citizenship and are now more concerned ...
Thailand falls out of auto top 10 in the world
Thailand has dropped from ninth place to 12th in the world ranking of automobile manufacturers as European production has recovered, according to a local industry executive. Thai vehicle exports, on the other hand, remained among the global top 10, said Surapong Paisitpattanapong, vice-president of the Federation of ...
Shrimp peeled by slaves in Thailand
Pervasive human trafficking has helped turn Thailand into one of the world’s biggest shrimp providers. Despite repeated promises by businesses and government to clean up the country’s US$7 billion seafood export industry, an Associated Press investigation has found shrimp peeled by modern-day slaves is reaching ...
Poverty scheme moves to 2nd phase
The Pid Thong Lang Phra (doing good without any intention of getting anything back) royal programme seeks to secure the participation of educational institutions and private companies for its next five-year development plan to help address rural poverty. The project’s secretary-general MR Disnadda Diskul said the 2016-20 programme aims to tackle ...
Police mull defamation suit against asylum-seeking officer
Police on 11 December said they were considering suing a former officer investigating human trafficking for defamation over comments he made implicating senior officials in the trade. Pol Maj Gen Paween Pongsirin arrived in Melbourne a few days ago and told the Australian Broadcasting Corp on 10 ...
Seafood giant TU steps up worker protection
Thai Union Group Plc, one of the world’s largest seafood producers, will stop using subcontractors for shrimp pre-processing and will bring all operations in-house in order to improve worker protection. “From 1 January 2016 onwards, all processing work will be directly controlled by Thai Union, ensuring ...
Thai border shooting injures two loggers
Thai soldiers opened fire on a group of 17 illegal loggers on 10 December evening, wounding two, police said. The group had illegally crossed the border into Thailand in Oddar Meanchey province under cover of darkness when they encountered a Thai patrol, according to Brigadier General Men ...
Orange Line plans hit giant bump
The Transport Ministry is planning to review the western section of the Mass Rapid Transit Authority’s (MRTA) Orange Line — from the Thailand Cultural Centre to Taling Chan — after residents refused to relocate. News of the review comes a day after the cabinet approved the construction ...
