Thai authorities struggle to contain forest fires, a persistent cause of air pollution during the dry season
The Chiang Mai authorities in northern Thailand will hand out face masks to the public as the province struggles with dangerously high levels of air pollution caused by persistent forest fires.
The fires are an annual problem between the months of December and April, when farmers set light to their fields to clear the land ready for the next crop cycle.
Continue reading...‘Tonmai’, 26, given two-year sentence over cartoons of yellow ducks that became symbol of democracy protests
A 26-year-old man in Thailand has been sentenced to three years in prison, reduced to two years, for selling satirical calendars featuring pictures of cartoon ducks that officials say insult the monarchy.
The man, a legal officer known by the nickname Tonmai, was arrested on 31 December 2020 after police raided his home and confiscated desk calendars that included images of yellow ducks – one of the symbols of youth-led pro-democracy protests that began more than two years ago. Officials said the calendars, which were being sold through a Facebook protest group, defamed the king.
Continue reading...Thai government rejects Peta’s claims, saying the practice of using monkeys to harvest is rarely used in industry
The meal kit provider HelloFresh has said it will no longer sell coconut milk sourced from Thailand, after campaigning by an animal rights group that accused coconut farms in the country of using monkey labour.
The company confirmed to Axios that it does not tolerate “any form of animal abuse in our supply chain” and “out of an abundance of caution” will not be placing orders for coconut milk from Thailand. HelloFresh has not yet responded to the Guardian’s request for comment.
Continue reading...Exclusive: VKG, where workers made jeans for Tesco’s Thai branch between 2017 and 2020, faces charges including fraud
Thai police have brought criminal charges against a clothing factory that was used by Tesco to make F&F clothes, over its treatment of workers.
The Guardian revealed in December that Burmese workers who produced F&F jeans for Tesco in Thailand reported being made to work 99-hour weeks for illegally low pay in terrible conditions.
Continue reading...Friends of Duangpetch Promthep share emotional messages after the talented player was found dead in his dorm at a football academy
Tributes have been paid to Duangpetch Promthep, one of the 12 boys rescued from a flooded Thai cave in 2018, who died in the UK on Tuesday.
Kiatisuk Senamuang, the founder of the Zico Foundation and a mentor to Duangpetch, known also as Dom, wrote in a message: “Have fun playing football in heaven, be what Dom wanted to be, just go for it, go to watch every match you want to.”
Continue reading...Cause of death of Duangpetch Promthep, who moved to Leicester to attend a football academy, has not been confirmed
Duangpetch Promthep, one of the 12 boys from the Wild Boars football club who were rescued from a flooded Thai cave in 2018, has died in the UK.
Duangpetch, who had moved to the UK to attend a college’s football academy, died on Tuesday, the Zico Foundation, which had supported his scholarship abroad, said. His death was also confirmed by Brooke House college in Leicester.
Continue reading...One teacher accused of cutting hair of at least 100 students after relaxing of regulations last month
Activists in Thailand have called for clearer guidance and enforcement to stop the use of humiliating punishment haircuts in schools, after a teacher was accused of cutting the hair of at least 100 students as they sat in rows on the floor.
For decades, students in Thailand have had to comply with strict rules regarding the length and style of their hair. Last month, however, in response to growing protests from young people, the ministry of education revoked its hair regulations, saying schools could instead develop their own policies.
Continue reading...Richard Wakeling, 55, had been on the run since he fled the UK before his trial for drug smuggling in 2018
A British organised crime boss has been arrested in Thailand after being on the run for five years.
Richard Wakeling, 55, from Brentwood, Essex, tried to import £8m of liquid amphetamine into the UK in April 2016.
Continue reading...Jailed activists Tantawan Tuatulanon and Orawan Phupong are demanding lese-majesty law be repealed
Two young Thai activists accused of insulting the monarchy are in a weak, exhausted condition and experiencing symptoms such as nosebleeds and chest pain after a hunger strike during which they have only sipped water, according to their lawyer and doctors.
Tantawan “Tawan” Tuatulanon, 21, and Orawan “Bam” Phupong, 23, were accused of breaching Thailand’s lese-majesty law after they held up a poster at a shopping mall asking people whether they believed that royal motorcades – which lead to road closures – create trouble for the public. Tantawan faces a second lese-majesty case over a speech she gave on Facebook live.
Continue reading...Leaked tax records suggest subsidiaries of international gas field contractors continued to make millions after the coup
In the two years since a murderous junta launched a coup in Myanmar, some of the world’s biggest oil and gas service companies continued to make millions of dollars from operations that have helped prop up the military regime, tax documents seen by the Guardian suggest.
The Myanmar military seized power in February 2021 and according to the United Nations special rapporteur on Myanmar, it is “committing war crimes and crimes against humanity daily”. More than 2,940 people, including children, pro-democracy activists and other civilians have been killed, according to Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
US oil services giant Halliburton’s Singapore-based subsidiary Myanmar Energy Services reported pre-tax profits of $6.3m in Myanmar in the year to September 2021, which includes eight months while the junta was in power.
Houston-headquartered oil services company Baker Hughes branch in Yangon reported pre-tax profits of $2.64m in the country in the six months to March 2022.
US firm Diamond Offshore Drilling reported $37m in fees to the Myanmar tax authority during the year to September 2021 and another $24.2m from then until March 2022.
Schlumberger Logelco (Yangon Branch), the Panama-based subsidiary of the US-listed world’s largest offshore drilling company, earned revenues of $51.7m in the year to September 2021 in Myanmar and as late as September 2022 was owed $200,000 in service fees from the junta’s energy ministry.
Continue reading...Thai capital’s already bad air made worse by forest fires and burning on farms
People in Bangkok have been advised to work from home and wear face masks due to air pollution that has worsened to unhealthy levels.
Officials urged people to use public transport rather than private cars for commuting, and said the authorities would seek to reduce sources of pollution such as outdoor burning and construction activities. Face masks would be distributed to vulnerable people, Bangkok authorities said.
Continue reading...Travel without the combustion-engine fumes and noise is increasingly popular in the country with some of the world’s worst air pollution
Thailand’s iconic, gas-guzzling tuk-tuks are being replaced by a greener, more energy efficient model, offering travellers a more environmentally friendly way of getting around what is one of the world’s worst countries when it comes to air pollution.
“The benefits are quite clear in terms of the environment”, says Krisada Kritayakirana, co-founder and CEO of start-up Urban Mobility Tech. “When you use traditional tuk-tuks, you can smell the gas and it sometimes could be unpleasant. With the electric tuk-tuks, basically you don’t have any noise and you don’t have any emission from tailpipes.”
Continue reading...Exclusive: Officials took one day to conclude no laws were broken at VK Garment factory and workers say their words were deleted
Thai police have been accused of conducting a “sham” investigation into potential forced labour at a garment factory formerly used by Tesco, after officials took one day to conclude no laws were broken.
The Guardian revealed last month that Burmese workers who produced F&F jeans for Tesco in Thailand reported being made to work 99-hour weeks for illegally low pay in terrible conditions.
Continue reading...Anne Jakrajutatip, boss of JKN Global, recently made headlines by buying the firm behind the contest for $20m
Anne Jakrajutatip, 43, has a story unlike many of the world’s media moguls. Growing up in Bangkok, the child of shop owners, she felt that she was trapped in the wrong body. At school, she faced constant bullying and stigma. She tried to carefully manage her identity, showing what she believed to be her true self in front of friends, and acting as a good son in front of her parents. She experienced sexual harassment while still a child.
It was reading a local newspaper article about Oprah Winfrey, a survivor of child abuse, that led Jakrajutatip to want a career in the media and to become a TV chatshow host. A microphone seemed like a powerful weapon.
Continue reading...Interviews follow raid on VK Garment factory, the subject of a UK lawsuit against the supermarket from 130 ex-workers
Thai police and civil servants have begun screening more than 100 former workers at a factory that supplied Tesco to determine if they were victims of forced labour.
The Guardian revealed last week that Burmese workers who produced F&F jeans for Tesco in Thailand had reported being trapped in their work, enduring 99-hour weeks for illegally low pay in appalling conditions.
Continue reading...Effort to reduce new year collisions has been criticised for encouraging drivers to film others or stage violations
Thai police are taking an alternative approach to their annual road safety campaign by offering cash prizes of 10,000 baht (£240) for the best – or worst – videos of traffic violations.
About 22,000 people die each year in Thailand in road traffic accidents, one of the worst death rates in the world. The week over the new year, known locally as the “seven dangerous days”, has the biggest spike as people speed around the country.
Continue reading...At least 19 people now known to have died but figure could rise as rescue teams have not reached all areas
A fire that lasted more than 12 hours in a Cambodian hotel casino killed at least 19 people and injured scores more, with an official warning that other people could be missing.
“There are 19 dead so far as we see bodies and bones,” said Sek Sokhom, the director of the Banteay Meanchey provincial information department, warning “the dead figure could be higher” as rescue teams have not reached many parts of the complex.
Continue reading...Sobhraj arrives in Paris on commercial flight after release from Nepalese prison on health grounds
Charles Sobhraj, a convicted killer known as “the Serpent” who police believe targeted western backpackers on the hippie trail in the 1970s, has returned to France after nearly two decades behind bars in Nepal, BFM TV reported.
Nepal’s supreme court ordered the release of Sobhraj on Wednesday, citing his advanced age and health.
Continue reading...VK Garment factory in Mae Sot is subject of a UK lawsuit against the supermarket from 130 ex-workers
Thai police have raided a clothing factory previously used by Tesco that is the subject of a UK lawsuit over alleged sweatshop conditions.
The Guardian revealed earlier this week that Burmese workers who produced F&F jeans for Tesco in Thailand reported being trapped in, in effect, forced labour, working 99-hour weeks for illegally low pay in appalling conditions.
Continue reading...Nepalese supreme court orders release on account of old age of man jailed for murders of two tourists
The Nepalese supreme court has ordered the release of the French serial killer Charles Sobhraj, known as “the Serpent”, who preyed on western tourists travelling on the hippy trail in south Asia in the 1970s and was jailed for life for the murder of an American woman.
Sobhraj, who has French citizenship and is of Indian and Vietnamese descent, has been linked to the killings of 20 foreign tourists across Thailand, Nepal and India. He is said to have lured them in before drugging, robbing and murdering them.
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