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- Political activist held in Thai jail dies after 65 days on hunger strike
Netiporn Sanae-sangkhom, 28, faced seven court cases including two for criticising Thailand’s monarchy
A political activist charged with insulting the king of Thailand has died in pre-trial detention after spending 65 days on hunger strike calling for an end to the imprisonment of political dissidents.
Netiporn Sanae-sangkhom, 28, had been detained since 26 January and maintained a hunger strike until the end of April, refusing food and water, according to her lawyers. The corrections department said she had experienced cardiac arrest on Tuesday morning and was unresponsive to treatment.
Continue reading...14 May 14 2024Thailandhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/14/political-activist-held-in-thai-jail-dies-after-spending-65-days-on-hunger-strike - Four kids left: The Thai school swallowed by the sea – video
Ban Khun Samut Chin, a coastal village in Samut Prakan province, Thailand, has been slowly swallowed by the sea over the past few decades. This has led to the relocation of the school and many homes, resulting in a dwindling population. Currently, there are only four students attending the school, often leaving just one in each classroom. The village has experienced severe coastal erosion, causing 1.1-2km (0.5-1.2 miles) of shoreline to disappear since the mid-1950s
Continue reading...15 May 15 2024Climate crisishttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/video/2024/may/15/four-kids-left-the-thai-school-swallowed-by-the-sea-video - ‘Inside an oven’: sweltering heat ravages crops and takes lives in south-east Asia
Governments issue health warnings as schools shut and crops fail, with fears that worse is to come as heatwave tightens grip
Extreme heat has gripped much of south and south-east Asia over recent weeks, killing dozens of people, forcing millions of students to miss school and destroying crops.
Both the Philippines and Bangladesh shut schools due to the unbearable heat last month, while governments across the region have issued health warnings. In Thailand, at least 30 people have died from heatstroke since the start of the year.
Continue reading...4 May 04 2024Extreme heathttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/may/04/inside-an-oven-how-life-in-south-east-asia-is-a-struggle-amid-sweltering-heat - Wave of exceptionally hot weather scorches south and south-east Asia
Warnings of dangerous temperatures across parts of Philippines, Thailand, Bangladesh and India as hottest months of the year are made worse by El Niño
Millions of people across South and Southeast Asia are facing sweltering temperatures, with unusually hot weather forcing schools to close and threatening public health.
Thousands of schools across the Philippines, including in the capital region Metro Manila, have suspended in-person classes. Half of the country’s 82 provinces are experiencing drought, and nearly 31 others are facing dry spells or dry conditions, according to the UN, which has called for greater support to help the country prepare for similar weather events in the future. The country’s upcoming harvest will probably be below average, the UN said.
Continue reading...26 April 26 2024South and central Asiahttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/26/asia-heatwaves-philippines-bangladesh-india - Thai conscientious objector risks jail in rare refusal of military service
Young men are forced to take part in conscript lottery, but the rich often avoid serving in army
Every April in Thailand young men take part in a lottery to determine whether they will be forced to do military service. Pull out a red card and you are drafted for up to two years. A black card means you are exempt.
When it was Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal’s turn to draw a card this month, he refused, making a rare protest as a conscientious objector. If prosecuted, it is believed he could become the first person in Thailand to be imprisoned for avoiding the draft through civil disobedience. The offence carries a maximum sentence of three years.
Continue reading...21 April 21 2024Thailandhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/21/thai-conscientious-objector-risks-jail-in-rare-refusal-of-military-service - Fighting rages at Myanmar’s border with Thailand as rebels target junta troops
Thousands of civilians flee as resistance fighters fight to flush out soldiers holed up at eastern bridge border crossing
Fighting raged at Myanmar’s eastern border with Thailand on Saturday, both governments said, forcing 3,000 civilians to flee as rebels fought to flush out Myanmar junta troops holed up for days at a bridge border crossing.
Resistance fighters and ethnic minority rebels seized the key trading town of Myawaddy on the Myanmar side of the frontier on 11 April, a blow to a well-equipped military struggling to govern and facing a test of battlefield credibility.
Continue reading...20 April 20 2024Myanmarhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/20/fighting-rages-at-myanmars-border-with-thailand-as-rebels-target-junta-troops - The Chinese émigrés leaving the pressures of home for laid back Chiang Mai
Thai tourist hotspot popular with backpackers has become an unlikely second home for thousands of Chinese people seeking alternative lifestyles
Approaching her mid-30s, Xiong Yidan reckons that most of her friends are on to their second or even third babies. But Xiong has more than a dozen. There is Lucky, the street dog from Bangkok who jumped into a taxi with her and never left. There is Sophie and Ben, sibling geese, who honk from morning to night. Boop and Pan, both goats, are romantically involved. Dumpling the hedgehog enjoys a belly rub from time to time. The list goes on.
Xiong nurtures her brood from her 8,000 square metre farm in Chiang Dao, a mountainous district in northern Thailand’s Chiang Mai province. Xiong has chronicled her journey from Beijing cryptocurrency marketing executive to farm girl in Thailand on social media; she’s particularly popular on Xiaohongshu, a female-focused app similar to Instagram, where she has more than 38,000 followers. Her account shows people that switching to a slower pace of life “is not just some illusion or idealistic thing, but is very actionable,” she says.
Continue reading...13 April 13 2024Thailandhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/13/the-chinese-emigres-leaving-the-pressures-of-home-for-laid-back-chiang-mai - As Thailand revels in Songkran water fights, tourist hub Samui suffers through drought
The resort island is facing days without running water, even as the country celebrates new year with water fights
Across Thailand, people are getting ready to take to the streets for a giant water fight to mark the new year. Roads will be lined with vendors selling water pistols, businesses will put out buckets of icy water for refills and no passersby is safe.
What began as a tradition of the Songkran festival to sprinkle water on the hands of elders, in a symbol of cleansing and reverence to mark the new year, has evolved into huge water fights that draw tourists from across the world.
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But on the tourist resort island of Samui, the water fights and celebrations bely a long running problem: the island is parched.
Residents say taps can stop running for days, causing disruption to businesses and daily life.12 April 12 2024Thailandhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/12/as-thailand-revels-in-songkran-water-fights-tourist-hub-samui-suffers-through-drought - People flee to Thailand amid intense fighting in Myanmar – video
There were queues at the Myanmar border on Friday as people attempted to flee to Thailand after the strategically vital town of Myawaddy fell to the anti-junta resistance, which has been growing in strength. The number of people crossing from Myawaddy to Thailand’s adjoining Mae Sot doubled earlier this week to about 4,000 a day, as fighting in Myanmar intensified. At the one fully operational border crossing at Mae Sot, in the west of Thailand, many of those fleeing Myanmar said they left their homes fearing for their safety after hearing the sound of aerial bombing
Continue reading...12 April 12 2024Myanmarhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2024/apr/12/people-flee-to-thailand-amid-intense-fighting-in-myanmar-video - Blow for Myanmar’s military as rebels say hundreds have surrendered at key border town
Thailand PM says army is weakening after junta requests permission to land evacuation flight from Myawaddy across the border
Myanmar’s embattled military is on the brink of losing control of one of the country’s major border crossings, in another humiliating defeat to the junta.
Hundreds of soldiers have surrendered in the town of Myawaddy, near to the border with Thailand, according to opposition groups, while Myanmar junta authorities asked Thai officials for permission to land an evacuation flight across the border on Sunday. Thailand said it granted the request on humanitarian grounds, but clarified on Tuesday that it carried only cargo and no personnel, according to media reports.
Continue reading...9 April 09 2024Myanmarhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/09/myanmar-military-rebels-myawaddy-karen-state-surrender-thailand