Regional news from Southeast Asia in English — ASEAN politics, economy and diplomacy, covered by Thai PBS World.
Migrant workers from Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar, who want to return to their home countries to celebrate Songkran between April 1st and May 15th, will be exempted from paying re-entry fees, Labour Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said yesterday. The decision to exempt migrant workers from those countries was approved by the policy committee on the management
Thailand began today delivering humanitarian aid to people in Myanmar affected by internal fighting between the governing junta and ethnic groups. The Thai Red Cross branch in Mae Sot handed over 4,000 relief bags, containing rice, dried food and other essentials for about 20,000 people, to the chairman of the Myanmar Red Cross Society in
Sixteen undernourished Asiatic black bear cubs have been found in a home in Laos capital Vientiane by a conservation charity, the largest rescue of the year. The clutch of cubs, also known as moon bears after the white crescent of fur across their chests, are classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of endangered
The recent scuffle between Thai and Filipino transgender groups on Sukhumvit Soi 11 in Bangkok has questioned whether Thailand’s attempts to build a strong regional identity for our LBTQ+ communities are being threatened by what many consider to be trivial issues. Captured on mobile phones, cameras, and CCTV, the images reveal how the small fracas
More than 60 students from Thailand and Myanmar recently gathered at a riverside spot last week in Mae Hong Son’s Mae Sariang district, where the bullets only recently stopped flying, to protest harmful dam development and deadly state violence. Speaking on behalf of the youngsters, Arina (no surname) said her group is demanding an end to not
Pheu Thai party leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra led her executive board members on a visit to Cambodia today, at the invitation of Hun Sen, the former Cambodian prime minister. The team boarded a private jet to Phnom Penh and were received at the airport by Cambodia’s deputy premier Hun Many, Hun Sen’s youngest son. She paid
The State Administration Council’s (SAC) plans to draft more soldiers to fight the resistance forces poses serious challenges for Thailand’s volatile and porous border. Myanmar’s People Military Service Law, enacted in 2010 but activated on February 13, obligates men and women, aged 18 to 45 and 18 to 35 respectively, to be drafted into the
A Thai business delegation, comprising business leaders in the education, food, manufacturing and agricultural industries, has been impressed by the vibrancy and infrastructural projects in East Java, Indonesia. The lack of direct flights, however, between Bangkok and Surabaya, the second-largest city in the country, is moderating investor interest in the province. Despite a large potential
Thailand should review its controversial junta-supportive approach to deal with the crisis in strife-torn Myanmar, dissidents fighting military rule said even as Bangkok began the implementation of a humanitarian corridor to deliver assistance to affected people. Dissidents, activists, politicians and experts gathered at Thailand’s Parliament in Bangkok on March 2-3 for a seminar hosted by
The Thai government should establish a safety zone or a humanitarian corridor at the Thai-Myanmar border, close to Mae Sot district of Tak province, in anticipation of a mass influx of refugees from Myanmar in March and April, when fighting between government troops and rebel forces is expected to intensify, said a security expert today.
A former Miss Philippines trans has called for and mutual respect in Thai-Philippines relationships, following a clash between transgender people from both countries in Bangkok on Monday night. Las Pacheco, Miss International Queen Philippines 2023, said that she loves Filipino people but does not support any form of violence. Speaking on TikTok, she said that she
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin does not criticise or envy Singapore for its success in convincing Taylor Swift to perform six concerts exclusively in Singapore this month, Government Spokesman Chai Wacharonke said today. Instead, he said the prime minister praised Singapore for its bold decision and business acumen for doing something unexpected and urged other people
