NEWSWORTHY
Air is so dirty in northern Thailand that prime minister flies in to see it
The air hanging over Thailand's far north has become so polluted the prime minister went Tuesday to see in person what is being called a severe health crisis. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha arrived by helicopter at an army base in Chiang Mai, a popular tourist ...
Water-spraying drones and canned air among remedies touted to curb Asia's smog
As billions of people in Asia choke under polluted skies, authorities have turned to water-dispersing drones and outdoor air purifiers to improve air quality, while companies have tried to cash in by selling everything from canned air to lung-purifying teas. Around 92 percent of the ...
The wife of a lawyer who vanished after being snatched off the streets of Bangkok 15 years ago urged Thailand on Tuesday to toughen laws to end impunity of officials accused of carrying out enforced disappearances. Rights groups say 30 human rights activists have disappeared ...
Nature-short Bangkok debates whether to turn 'last' big green space into park or mall
The fate of a large green space in the middle of one of the world's most built-up cities is pitting communities and conservationists against developers and cash-strapped authorities — a type of battle that is increasingly common in Asia. The Makkasan area in central Bangkok, ...
A Vietnamese blogger for Radio Free Asia has vanished after fleeing to Thailand, the news organization said Tuesday, as rights activists voiced fear that he had been abducted. Truong Duy Nhat — a weekly blogger for the Vietnamese service of Radio Free Asia, which aims ...
Japanese parking firms see bonanza in Bangkok's traffic jams
Scarce parking space in Bangkok is aggravating chronic traffic congestion in the Thai capital, but some Japanese parking companies are taking a look at the positive side of the traffic nightmare. Nippon Parking Development (Thailand) Co., a local unit of Nippon Parking Development Co., has ...
Ahead of promised election, Thai political party jigsaw attracts new faces, veteran names
Famous golfer Thongchai Jaidee, a former beauty queen and veteran politicians were among those who flocked to new parties in Thailand on Sunday as a jigsaw of alliances formed ahead of the country's much-anticipated poll in February. The Thai junta that seized power in 2014 ...
A fire department in northern Bangkok has not been called out to put out a fire since June. But for trapping a slithery foe? There is a 24-hour hotline. "We have had several calls asking us to come and catch snakes," said Suraphong Suepchai, a ...
U.N. climate talks in Bangkok stumble over issues of financing
Developing countries rounded on the United States and its allies at emergency climate talks Sunday, accusing the world's richest nations of stalling on a deal aimed at preventing runaway global warming. Experts from around the world wrapped up discussions in Bangkok geared toward creating a ...
Governments are unprepared for a crucial climate change meeting in Poland later this year aimed at ensuring the full implementation of the 2015 Paris Agreement, Fiji Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama said this week at climate talks in Bangkok. The talks in the Thai capital ...
As Bangkok prepares to host climate-change talks, the sprawling city of more than 10 million is itself under siege from the environment, with dire forecasts warning it could be partially submerged in just over a decade. A preparatory meeting begins Tuesday in Thailand's capital for ...
Police in the Thai capital blocked a march Tuesday by pro-democracy activists protesting four years of military rule and calling for elections this year. About 3,200 officers were deployed to prevent about 200 protesters from marching from a Bangkok university campus to Government House. Police ...
