Tag: Thailand

Victory for generals as Thais vote for junta charter

  by Aidan Jones and Thanaporn Promyamyai BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Thailand voted Sunday to approve a junta-scripted constitution, preliminary results showed, in a boost to the army’s political aspirations and a body blow to the country’s stuttering pro-democracy movement. The military says its new constitution will curb endemic political corruption, bring stability after years of unrest and pave the way for a general election next year. But critics say it aims to neuter civilian politicians and […]

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Thailand votes on divisive junta constitution

  by Jerome Taylor Ju Apilaporn BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Thailand began voting on a junta-crafted constitution Sunday in a referendum where open debate has been banned, as opponents warned the document will perpetuate military power and deepen divisions. The poll offers Thais their first chance to vote since generals toppled the elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra in 2014. The kingdom is split after a decade of political turmoil that has dented growth, seen democracy […]

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Grey zone: who will care for Thailand’s elderly?

by Sally Mairs BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — As he wheels his 77-year-old aunt away from Bangkok’s first day centre for the elderly, Nakhon reflects on the familial duties that oblige him to juggle night-shift work and care for his ageing relative. It is an increasingly common predicament in rapidly greying Thailand, where a demographic shift is straining social mores and threatening upheaval for the economy. https://youtu.be/M6Ey8wLfYH4   “She raised me when I was little so now […]

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Thai king improving after heart operation: palace

BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Thailand’s ailing King Bhumibol Adulyadej is recovering well after a recent operation to improve blood flow to his heart, the palace said, the latest in a series of major medical procedures for the 88-year-old. Bhumibol is the object of an intense personality cult and his frail health is a matter of significant public concern. On Tuesday doctors performed a series of angioplasty procedures without anaesthetic, using balloons and stents to widen […]

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Thai man narrowly escapes toilet bowl snake attack

PATHUM THANI, Thailand (Reuters) — A Thai man narrowly escaped a snake attack on Sunday (June 5) as a cobra emerged from his toilet bowl in the second such incident reported in Thailand in about two weeks. Twenty-seven year old Pollapat Laokamnerdpetch told local media he spotted the cobra, popping its head out from the toilet bowl. After rescue officials were called in, the cobra managed to disappear in the toilet pipes. It took 30 […]

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Interview with Thailand Ambassador to the Philippines, H.E. Ambassador Thanatip Upatising

In this episode of ASEAN in focus weekened aired on April 9, the program is honored to have interviewed no less than the ambassador of the kingdom of Thailand, his Excellency,  Mr. Thanatip Upatising. Our resident ASEAN resource person, Dr. Carlos Tabunda Jr., of the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP), interviewed Ambassador Upatising at his residence where he gave his views about the ASEAN region and the relationship of Thailand to ASEAN and to the Philippines. […]

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MRT adds new trains

METRO Manila, Philippines – Good news for commuters! The MRT will add two new trains next week which will greatly alleviate the problematic situation faced by commuters everyday. From 14-18 trains operating everyday, the MRT now has 20 trains in operation. The new trains feature safety belts and digital signages. (Eagle News Service Described by Jay Paul Carlos, Video Editing by Jericho Morales, Uploaded by MRFaith Bonalos)

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Parched fields force Thailand to look beyond rice

  by Marion Thibaut NONTHABURI, Thailand (AFP) —  Thailand has long served as one of the globe’s main rice bowls, but chronic water shortages are pushing the country to move away from a grain that dominates its fields and has defined a way of life for generations. Laddawan Kamsong has spent the past forty years coaxing rice from her plot in central Thailand, but she is tired of watching her farmland squeezed dry by increasingly […]

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Drought hits Thai sugar farms, next year’s crop dying

RATCHABURI, Thailand – The El Nino weather phenomenon has played havoc with crops across Southeast Asia and beyond. Thailand, the world’s second-largest sugar exporter, will ship 20 percent less of the sweetener to international markets this year than last, and farmers fear the damage already inflicted on young cane plants could make the situation even worse next year. A drop in exports from Thailand and India has contributed to forecasts for a widening global supply […]

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Global charity tracks boats carrying Rohingyas fleeing Myanmar

SAMUTPRAKAN, Thailand (Reuters) — Global charity Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) on Friday (February 26) launched a mission in the Andaman Sea to track and rescue migrant boats in distress in the Southeast Asia region. The migrant boats contain a mix of people from Bangladesh seeking to escape poverty at home as well as Rohingyas, Indonesian and Malay authorities have said. Most of Myanmar’s 1.1 million Rohingya Muslims are stateless and live in apartheid-like conditions […]

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