The Nation
UN rights council comes down heavily on junta
Thailand came under severe criticism over the human rights situation in the country with international delegates of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) raising serious concerns in Geneva yesterday.At the UN’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) session, the Thai delegation led by Justice Ministry permanent secretary ...
Gold miners face business shutdown
Thailand’s gold mining industry is set to go out of business as the cabinet has decided to stop renewing and issuing licences for gold ore exploration and gold mining following a public outcry over health and environmental issues. Industry Minister Atchaka Sibunruang said the cabinet had ...
Across Thailand, a cruel drought takes terrible toll
In Pathum Thani’s Lam Luk Ka district, the Lam Luk Ka-Thanya Buri Road in Moo 8 of Tambon Lat Sawai has been damaged by subsidence, causing a 1.5-metre-deep and 100-metre-long section to collapse yesterday, prompting authorities to close the road as a safety precaution. In Chon ...
Majority in NE understand ‘less than 20%’ of draft charter
Most residents of the Northeast understand only a small part of the draft constitution, a public opinion poll found. As many as 54.3 per cent of respondents said they understood less than 20 per cent of the draft’s content, according to survey results released on 9 May by ...
Public figures ‘must tolerate criticism’
Academics and activists on 8 May called for the government and its leaders to tolerate criticism as its reaction to being mocked could violate people’s freedom of expression. Public figures must be able to take criticism otherwise they should stay at home and raise grandchildren, said ...
Govt urged to promote at least three $1-billion tech start-ups in five years
Thailand should nurture at least three technology business start-ups worth US$1 billion each within the next five years, according to an industry white paper. Citing the white paper submitted to the government, Patai Padungtin, president of Thailand Start-up Association, said the country needed to quickly develop the ...
PM calls for expedited action over rice losses
“The prime minister would like to tell all bureaucrats that this was an expensive lesson. They should bear in mind that they have to adhere to righteousness, integrity and the law,” the spokesman said. “Bureaucrats should not allow themselves to become a tool of politicians.” This ...
Media workers lament decline in freedom of expression in Thailand
“We are the worst, even when compared to Laos or Vietnam,” said Kulachada Chaipipat, campaign manager at the Southeast Asia Press Alliance. “Those two countries have seen stagnant, bad situations, but Thailand is going down.” Speaking on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day on ...
High-profile group opposes private gold mining and licence renewal
A group of high-profile academics and former politicians in Thailand have rallied opposition against the renewal of Akara Resources’ gold mining licence and the company’s plan to open a new gold mine, arguing that the gains from the new concession would not be worth the environmental ...
NLA approves question on Senate role in choosing PM
Thailand’s National Legislative Assembly on 7 April voted unanimously to approve an additional referendum question asking voters whether they would approve the upper and lower houses of Parliament to jointly choose the new prime minister during the five-year transition period under the new charter. Keep reading ...
