News
Thailand blocks Change.org as petition against king gains traction
Thailand has blocked access to online petition site Change.org, after it hosted a petition calling for King Maha Vajiralongkorn to be declared persona non grata in Germany. The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society said the petition’s contents violated Thailand’s Computer Crime Act. King Vajiralongkorn has been ...
Don’t believe fake news that mobile phones cause brain cancer: Digital Economy Ministry
The Digital Economy and Society Ministry has warned people not to believe or share news or Internet posts which claim that placing a mobile phone near your head while you sleep will cause brain cancer due to the electromagnetic waves the phone emits. “The ministry’s Anti-Fake ...
Mangrove forests see big growth
Thailand’s mangrove forests have increased by more than 200,000 rai, raising the total mangrove coverage to 1.73 million rai, according to Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa. Citing satellite data showing the extent of mangrove forests in 24 coastal provinces, Mr Varawut said these ...
Thai farmers brave bullets, prison for community land titles
Somruedee Bunthonglek has not repaired the bullet holes in the pickup truck her husband was driving when he survived an assassination attempt barely a year after her father was shot dead on the same communal farm in southern Thailand. The grey truck, with about half a ...
Reporting by Rina Chandran @rinachandran; Editing by Zoe Tabary.
Zoo agency sets up board to investigate illegal trade
The Zoological Park Organisation of Thailand (ZPO) board on Tuesday set up a panel to investigate the illegal wildlife trade across zoos nationwide in the wake of the disappearance of rare albino barking deer at Songkhla Zoo. Chavalit Chookajorn, the former permanent secretary of the Ministry ...
APINYA WIPATAYOTIN
ADB supports Thailand green bonds for Covid-19 recovery
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is assisting the government of Thailand in designing, issuing and monitoring innovative capital market initiatives as part of the country’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic in a manner aligned with the 2015 Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. ADB’s ...
Chito Santiago
Thailand’s ban on hazardous farming chemicals to remain in place
Despite fears to the contrary among those in favour of it, the ban on paraquat and chlorpyrifos is to remain in place. The Hazardous Substances Committee has confirmed that production, possession, and importing or exporting either substance remains illegal, under legislation introduced on June 1 of this ...
Maya Taylor
Sea Bed along Southern Coast is Now Protected by Law
Thailand’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on Friday said that sea grass, coral reefs and undersea rock formations in Thailand’s four southern coastal provinces are now legally protected. The ministry warned that violators found to disrupt the protected sea treasures will face one-year in prison ...
Xinhua News Agency
Salween diversion project enters troubled waters
Over the past few months, the Irrigation Department and the House Committee Review of Integrated River Basin Management have been heavily promoting an inter-basin water diversion scheme. Planned projects will divert water across Thailand, incorporating international river basins, including the Mekong and Salween, to address ...
PIANPORN DEETES
Thailand under pressure to act against the Sanakham dam project
“Water rises so fast and drops so fast because the water doesn’t flow naturally. It has huge impacts on us. It’s hard to catch any fish, and the fish cannot lay eggs,” says Prayoon Saen-ae, 62, head of a local fishermen group in Chiang Khan ...
Ryn Jirenuwat, Tyler Roney