Thailand starts aid deliveries to Myanmar under plan aimed at managing conflict
Bangkok, Thailand Reuters Thailand started the delivery of aid to military-ruled Myanmar on Monday, in a humanitarian initiative that seeks to pave the way for talks between warring camps after three years of instability and violence triggered by a coup. The first batch of 4,000 relief bags carrying rice, dried food, and other essentials for […]
At least 40 fires set in night of arson across Thailand’s south
Bangkok, Thailand Reuters Attackers set fire to shops, cars and utility poles in at least 40 locations across Thailand’s deep south in the early hours of Friday, authorities said, killing at least one person in a coordinated wave of arson. The attacks occurred at around 1:00 am across four southern provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat […]
Thai tycoon Thaksin tastes freedom in homeland, 15 years after fleeing
Bangkok, Thailand Reuters Thailand’s billionaire former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was released on parole on Sunday after six months in detention, his first day of freedom in his homeland 15 years after fleeing in the wake of his overthrow in a military coup. Thailand’s best-known and most polarising premier, the influential Thaksin has loomed large […]
Thailand confident aid effort will lead to Myanmar crisis dialogue
Bangkok, Thailand Reuters A new Thailand-led humanitarian initiative aims to pave the way for talks between warring camps in military-ruled Myanmar, a senior Thai official said, three years after a coup triggered instability and a wave of violence across the country. Thailand plans to establish a humanitarian safe zone later this month at its border […]
Thailand trying to rescue 162 nationals as tens of thousands flee Myanmar fighting
Bangkok, ThailandReuters Thailand is trying to bring home 162 of its nationals trapped in Myanmar, where tens of thousands of people have been displaced by a surge in clashes between junta troops and ethnic minority insurgents near the border with China, officials said. The effort to rescue Thais from chaos in neighbouring Myanmar comes after […]
To stay or go?: Caught up in war, Israel’s migrant workers face tough choices
Foreign workers in Israel, many from Thailand and the Philippines, fear for their safety but desperately need their jobs. LIN TAYLOR, MARIEJO RAMOS and CHAIYOT YONGCHAROENCHAI, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports…
Climate stress: Soaring rice prices sow hope – and trouble – for indebted Thai farmers
DEVJYOT GHOSHAL, NAPAT WESSHASARTAR AND PASIT KONGKUNAKORNKUL, of Reuters, report…
Thai court rejects election winners’ challenge to derailed PM bid
Bangkok, ThailandReuters Thailand’s Constitutional Court on Wednesday rejected a request from the election winning Move Forward Party to review a parliamentary decision that blocked its prime ministerial candidate from being re-nominated. The move all but kills off any hope of the progressive Move Forward leading the next government and paves the way for the legislature […]
StrangeSights: World’s youngest ref?; church attempts to set a new clapping record; and, buffalo racing…
DAVID ADAMS provides a round-up of some stories on the odder side of life…
Thailand election winners make way for allies after PM bid fails
Bangkok, ThailandReuters Thailand’s election-winning Move Forward party on Friday made way for runner-up and alliance partner Pheu Thai to try to form the next government, after its leader’s bid was twice thwarted this month by a military-backed Senate. The progressive Move Forward and populist Pheu Thai have the lion’s share of the 500 lower house […]