News
Hundreds of Myanmar anti-junta protesters rally in Bangkok
Bangkok – Hundreds of protesters screamed and wept as they demonstrated against Myanmar’s junta in Thailand’s capital on Thursday, the third anniversary of an army coup that ended the country’s brief spell of democracy. Young and old gathered outside the United Nations headquarters in Bangkok, wearing T-shirts showing ...
Agence France-Presse
Rethinking our cities' link to water
Water holds special symbolic significance in Thai culture, from Loy Krathong to Songkran festivals. But as much as we respect the value of water, we must also recognise that failure to care for our water resources puts our lives and wellbeing at risk. Over the last ...
RICHARD FRIEND & PAKAMAS THINPHANGA
Global carbon countdown: Is the world doomed? Shocking revelations from climate talk
At the Thai-German conference Climate Talk in Bangkok, Germany’s Ambassador to Thailand, Dr Ernst Reichel, warns that the world is perilously behind in achieving net-zero carbon emissions. As countries grapple with the devastating consequences of climate change, a fossil fuel ban emerges as a contentious issue during Climate Talk, creating challenges for the ...
Puntid Tantivangphaisal
ASEAN air chiefs unite with RTAF to ‘clear the air’ in Thailand pollution battle
The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) is gearing up to join forces with its ASEAN counterparts to combat air pollution, specifically honing in on the issue of fine particulate matter PM2.5. This announcement took flight during the annual ASEAN Air Chiefs Conference in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, which concluded ...
Atima Homtientong
Report: Forest encroachment for maize cultivation increased in Lower Mekong
Industrial-scale maize cultivation to produce animal feed, one of the two main reasons behind annual smog in the three Lower Mekong countries, has grown on a massive scale, satellite data analysis has revealed. More than 11.8 million rai (4.7 million acres) of forested area in the ...
Subel Rai Bhandari for RFA
New Thai government must show more responsibility with the Mekong
Around this time of year when the rainy season begins, people living on the banks of the Mekong River along the Thai-Lao border always feel a little less stressed because rising water levels mean more fish and food to support their survival. Until the mid-1990s, these ...
Titipol Phakdeewanich
Thai investment in Laos hydropower reveals dire disconnect in the Mekong
Over the past year, the pace of hydropower development along the mainstream of the Mekong River in Laos has picked up, fuelled by long-term funding agreements. Chinese and Thai hydropower project investors have been signing Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), which usually cover a 30-year period, ...
Ming Li Yong
Ratify enforced disappearance pact now
As of last year, according to UN figures, there were nearly 80 unresolved cases of enforced disappearances in Thailand. Considering the country now has a law in place against enforced disappearances, in force since earlier in the year, how should we prevent and remedy these ...
VITIT MUNTARBHORN
Mekong water level falling
NAKHON PHANOM: The level of the Mekong river is falling and water can now be drained more quickly out of thousands of rai of flooded rice fields, authorities in this northeastern border province said on Monday. The river was receding by 10-20 centimetres per day. It ...
PATTANAPONG SRIPIACHAI
Ancient alligator species identified in Thailand
Scientists have discovered a previously unknown alligator species with a distinct skull structure that thrived in ancient Thailand about 230,000 years ago, offering additional insights into the evolutionary history of Asian alligators, according to a new study. The creature in question shares a close evolutionary relationship ...
Subel Rai Bhandari for RFA