News

Citizen journalism helps tackle environmental issues

Along with professional journalists, local villagers and citizens play an important role in gathering and reporting environmental news events, experts have said. The fundamental role of citizen journalism (CJ) in building climate resilience in the wetlands of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Việt Nam was highlighted at a workshop held ...

Mai Khuyên

Facial recognition push in South raises rights concern

Telecom firms under focus for ultimatum to phone users on submission of photos; isoc denies sending registration message Rights defenders raised concerns yesterday over the move to force all |cellphone users in the restive South to submit their pictures for facial-recognition identification. Those who fail to do ...

China’s potash demand stirs resistance in rural Thailand

The future of a potash mine planned for north-eastern Thailand is mired in uncertainty as villagers put up fierce opposition, fuelled by concerns about their livelihoods, health and environment. Last year a group led by local women blocked access to exploratory drilling sites in the Wanon ...

Yodsapon Kerdviboon, Visarut Sankham

Rohingyas bring a statement to ASEAN Summit, police block them

On Sunday 23 June, the Rohingya Community in Thailand planned to hand a statement to Myanmar, Thailand as ASEAN’s chair, and the leaders of the ASEAN countries, but the police blocked them. They therefore decided not to go to the ASEAN Summit and Thai Ministry ...

Thailand's famed 'Rose of the North' is wilting

This 700-year-old city nestled in a green valley of northern Thailand has long enjoyed a story-book reputation for its myriad Buddhist monasteries and charming wooden homes, the delicate manners of its citizens and a tranquillity hardly ruffled by its temple bells. More than 10 million tourists ...

Denis D. Gray

Where does your plastic go? Global investigation reveals America's dirty secret

What happens to your plastic after you drop it in a recycling bin? According to promotional materials from America’s plastics industry, it is whisked off to a factory where it is seamlessly transformed into something new. This is not the experience of Nguyễn Thị Hồng Thắm, a ...

Erin McCormick, Bennett Murray, Carmela Fonbuena, Leonie Kijewski, Gökçe Saraçoğlu, Jamie Fullerton, Alastair Gee, Charlotte Simmonds

Kokko Chinatown project sparks concerns in Tak

Border towns are often labelled as remote villages without modern infrastructure or amenities. However, recent economic policies such as the development of special economic zones and foreign investment have led to the urbanisation of these rural areas. A clear example of this can be seen in Mae ...

Assawin Pinitwong

High-speed rail project mired in land issues

The high-speed train project to link up three major airports is still mired in land expropriation and eviction problems concerning 20% of the land required for construction despite it being expected to begin operation in five years. If the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) fails to ...

Rayong residents worry EEC will come with empty promises

Rayong residents have raised concerns about pollution and the empty promises that the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) project might bring. Their concerns, they said yesterday, were based on the lesson they learned from the Eastern Seaboard Development programme more than 30 years ago.  “When the Eastern Seaboard ...

Khanathit Srihirundaj

Thailand 'Prostituting its Resources,' Says Top Nature Photographer

As one of Thailand’s foremost marine conservation photographers, Sirachai “Shin” Arunrugstichai sees on a daily basis dead baby sharks discarded as trash by fishing trawlers, tourist speedboats crushing coral, and dead whales cut open and full of plastic. “We are prostituting our resources for others to ...

Asaree Thaitrakulpanich

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