All the latest news from Thailand and around the world.
The Philippines has become the world’s second most dangerous place for environmental activists after Brazil, with 48 green advocates killed last year, The Manila Times Online reported. According to watchdog Global Witness, Brazil was the most dangerous country, accounting for 57 of more than 200 environmental activists worldwide who were killed last year as government-sponsored
Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May hosted a reception on Tuesday for the British divers who were involved in the dramatic rescue of the 12 Wild Boars soccer team members and their coach from Tham Luang cave earlier this month. All the boys and their 25-year-old soccer coach were brought to safety over the course of
Dr. Richard Harris and Dr. Craig Challen were today awarded Australia’s second-highest civilian bravery decoration at a specially-convened ceremony for their leading role in the rescue of the 12 Wild Boars footballers their soccer coach from Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai. Six Australian Federal Police officers and a Royal Australian Navy officer were also
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha this morning expressed deep concerns over the plights of thousands of Lao people affected by the collapse of the Xepian-Xe Namnoy dam in Attapeu province of Laos as Laotian authorities continue the search for hundreds of people still missing. Unofficial reports estimated that scores of people were killed and more than 1,300
Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told of the “unspeakable tragedy” the country faced after at least 74 people were killed by wildfires that swept through a resort, trapping people in cars and on the edge of cliffs as others were forced to jump off to survive, Reuters reported. The scale of Monday night’s devastation in
At least 50 people have died and 170 injured in wildfires ravaging woodland and villages in the Athens region, as Greek authorities rush to evacuate residents and tourists stranded on beaches along the coast, AFP reported. The death toll soared with a Red Cross official reporting the discovery of 26 bodies in the courtyard
Hundreds of people went missing with many believed drowned after a hydropower dam in Attapeu province of Laos collapsed late Monday, unleashing about five billion cubic metres of water downstream, flooding six villages. A statement issued by the Laotian government in Vientiane via state media said that “several human lives” were lost and “several hundreds
Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon was urgently taken to hospital after complaining of a serious stomach-ache while attending the mobile Cabinet meeting in Ubon Ratchathani province this afternoon. He was whisked away from Theparatanasiriprapa Building of Ubon Ratchathani University at about 1.15pm in an ambulance sent by Sappasithiprasong Hospital in Ubon Ratchathani town. Deputy Prime
The spokesman of the court of justice tried to clarify why the Criminal Court ordered the acquittal of the defendant in a murder case which allegedly led to an apparent suicide by the murder victim’s father today. The defendant, Mr Natthapong Nernkiri, was charged with murder for stabbing to death Mr Thanit Kanhasunthorn in Din
The Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, began meeting at Ubon Ratchathani University amid tight security this morning. Police have been deployed around the Thepparattana Siripapha building, where the Cabinet meeting is being held, and all over the university campus. People and vehicles travelling in and out of the university are subject to security
The Cabinet today approved the construction of the sixth Thai-Lao friendship bridge linking Nadan district of Ubon Ratchathani with Pheng township in Salavan province. Construction of the one-kilometre bridge spanning across the Mekong river was estimated to cost 4.3 billion baht. Mr Natthaporn Jatusripitak, spokesman of Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, said that the bridge
Eleven of the Wild Boars soccer team and their coach will this afternoon have their heads shaven in a ceremony at a local temple in Mae Sai District of Chiang Rai in preparation for a mass ordination tomorrow Earlier this morning they joined a ceremony to wrap clothes around Phra That Doi Wao pagoda.
Unequal wealth distribution is one of the most pressing problems facing Thailand with the richest one percent owning more than half of the total household wealth while entrenched corruption is threatening the country’s long-term growth, Governor of the Bank of Thailand Veerathai Santiprabhob said today. He also said low financial literacy and high household debt
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has an advice for people who dislike him. “Stop reading newspapers for five days,” he said, adding that they would start loving him after that. Addressing a crowd of people during his visit to Ubon Ratchathani for mobile cabinet meeting on Monday, the prime minister said he himself has already stopped
President Rodrigo Duterte has vowed to pursue a “relentless” and “chilling” war against illegal drugs as he laid out plans for the second half of his six-year term in his third State of the Nation Address on Monday, the Manila Times reported. It said Duterte declared in his 48-minute expletive-free speech that his two-year-old
Three major dams on the southwestern part of the country are now more than 80 percent full although the end of the rainy season is about three months away. According to the Irrigation Department, the Srinakarin dam in Kanchanaburi province is now 83 percent full with 14,790 million cubic metres of water; the Kaeng
