Showing 1 - 10 of 35
Mines, rivers, and a regional crisis
Oped, Tuenjai Deetes, Published on 18/12/2025
» 'When I was a child, the Kok River and the Mekong were clear and alive. We drank directly from the river. Women and mothers gathered along the banks, hauling in fishing nets fully loaded with heavy fish, which we cooked and ate the same day. We were happy. We lived without fear -- fear of toxins, fear for our health.
Make use of MRC talks
Oped, Editorial, Published on 14/11/2025
» Thailand is set to host a meeting of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) in Chiang Rai from Nov 25-27. The choice of location couldn't be more appropriate -- for over a decade, local civic groups have been using the northern province as a base for their campaigns against major infrastructure projects, which they believe could harm the region's rivers.
Bangkok's clean streets, empty souls
Oped, Sirinya Wattanasukchai, Published on 10/11/2025
» Banthat Thong used to be a neighbourhood, not a concept. You could live here and find everything: restaurants, bookstores, hardware shops, clinics, banks -- even a place to have your shirts made. It was one of those streets where life unfolded upstairs and business happened downstairs. Today, it is something else entirely.
Inhaler fuss 'a lesson'
Oped, Editorial, Published on 03/11/2025
» A public debate has erupted following the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) announcement that laboratory tests found microbial contamination in certain lots of the popular Hong Thai herbal inhaler, one of Thailand's best-known household products, famed among both locals and foreign visitors.
Keep an eye on mining
Oped, Editorial, Published on 28/10/2025
» At the Asean summit in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, the Thai government signed an MoU with the US government to collaborate on the development of rare-earth materials.
Defusing a battery waste time bomb
Oped, Nattaphorn Buayam & Pitnaree Polsomboon, Published on 22/10/2025
» A mountain of dead batteries is piling up. If Thailand does nothing, these seemingly innocuous yet toxic batteries will become a national crisis. Properly managed, they can fuel a new economic future.
Reshuffle a bad sign
Oped, Editorial, Published on 17/10/2025
» The mass reshuffle involving 45 senior officials under the Interior Ministry, including provincial governors and department heads, is causing a stir.
Can Abhisit help the ailing Democrats?
Oped, Veera Prateepchaikul, Published on 22/09/2025
» Can Abhisit Vejjajiva, former prime minister and four-time former leader of the Democrat Party, Thailand's oldest political party who is reported to be keen to return to politics, save the Democrat Party from almost certain electoral doom? No one dares to bet.
Toxic rivers need help
Oped, Editorial, Published on 23/05/2025
» The government's reaction to heavy metal contamination in transboundary rivers in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces has left local villagers in despair. Almost three months after heavy metal contamination was recently detected in such rivers, our officials and ministers are still just at the stage of warning people not to consume water and fish from the Kok River in the North.
Govt slow on floods
Oped, Editorial, Published on 30/04/2025
» The report of flash flooding in the Sai River in Chiang Rai yesterday has renewed fears among local communities that floods and mudslides will return in ever greater numbers. Their fears are valid. In less than an hour, the flooding in the Sai River swelled to knee level, forcing villagers along the river to move their property and elders, as well as bedridden patients, out of harm's way.