Showing 2,671 - 2,680 of 2,792
Poaching probe shows signs of slippage
Veera Prateepchaikul, Published on 12/02/2018
» I pity the Indochinese black leopard killed at the Thungyai Naresuan World Heritage site. Also, my regrets to its partner — another black cat which in this case survived the cruel hunters.
Waiting for justice
Oped, Melalin Mahavongtrakul, Published on 12/02/2018
» Making headlines this month is yet another scandal about the rich and powerful with their hands caught in a cookie jar. No, this is not the 26th watch — or would that be the 100th? — in Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwon’s I-borrow-them-from-my-dead-friends saga. Nor is it the 300 million-baht loan to ex-police chief Somyot Poompunmuang. This time, a man has been caught with his fingerprints on a rifle, sitting in a forest next to protected wildlife carcasses.
All you need is love, and a sense of the absurd
Oped, Roger Crutchley, Published on 11/02/2018
» The approach of Valentine’s Day means we are heading into the annual silly season, although some might argue that in Thailand it is the silly season all year round. Valentine’s is admittedly one of the most spurious celebrations of the calendar, which probably explains why it becomes more popular here every year. However, it serves as a desperately needed break from the daily diet of depressing news.
Premchai a liability to his own business
Oped, Editorial, Published on 11/02/2018
» TIT, or “This is Thailand”, is the phrase that has been commonly used here for years when people make fun of the country’s law enforcement, supposedly good governance and other systems. During the past few months, Thailand has been caught in the debate on how the law and the government are going to deal with Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon, who has been caught wearing 25 luxury watches worth close to 40 million baht in total but had failed to include them in his assets declaration. The agency which is investigating the case against him is led by his former secretary, while his alibi has been that he had borrowed the watches from his friends, one of whom has passed away.
Somyot in very hot water
Oped, Editorial, Published on 09/02/2018
» Based on his media interviews, ex-national police chief Somyot Poompunmuang’s explanation about a 300-million-baht loan he claimed he received from the owner of Victoria’s Secret Massage parlour seems pretty shameless. And unfortunately, it has done little to provide legitimate reasons over why he decided to accept the money and form a close friendship with someone who runs such a shady business. Pol Gen Somyot said he started borrowing money from Kampol Wirathepsuporn, the fugitive owner recently accused of human trafficking and other illicit activities, in October 2014. As the then, newly appointed national top cop, Pol Gen Somyot should have distanced himself from such an ethically dubious loan.
A healthcare no-brainer for Mr Trump
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 09/02/2018
» It began, as so many things do these days, with a Donald Trump tweet. Frustrated by his inability to kill the “Obamacare” expansion of public healthcare provision in the United States, Mr Trump seized on a protest about the under-funding of Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) in London last Saturday to trash the entire concept of universal healthcare paid out of taxes and free at the point of delivery.
Time to gird for change to digital era
News, Srisamorn Phoosuphanusorn, Published on 08/02/2018
» As digital transformation is bringing about a wealth of changes across industries, our policy-makers and employers are still battling over the minimum wage issue. In fact, all stakeholders need to be more prepared for this new wave of change.
Hunters must face justice
News, Editorial, Published on 08/02/2018
» The case of a top construction tycoon involved in a blatant hunting incident in the World Heritage Thungyai Naresuan sanctuary conservation area in Kanchanaburi province is appalling.
Somyot loans expose patronage roots
News, Soonruth Bunyamanee, Published on 07/02/2018
» The admission of former national police chief Somyot Poompunmuang that he borrowed 300 million baht from a fugitive massage parlour tycoon reminds us how deeply the patronage system is entrenched in Thai society.
Prawit's offer less generous than it seems
News, Veera Prateepchaikul, Published on 05/02/2018
» When the embattled deputy prime minister, Gen Prawit Wongsuwon, told a group of military affairs reporters at the Ministry of Defence last Wednesday that he was ready to resign "if the people do not want me", I was hesitant to welcome his move or shower him with praise for acting as a role model for our politicians and public figures about what they should do when caught in the middle of a scandal.