Land border checkpoints between Thailand and Malaysia have reopened today (Friday), after being closed for more than two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.A main checkpoint in Sadao district of Thailand’s southern province of Songkhla saw about 20 Mal…
General
Thai-China Submarine Deal Runs Aground on EU Arms Embargo
BANGKOK — China has paused construction of an attack submarine earmarked for Thailand’s navy following Germany’s refusal to export the top-end engines the plans call for, a Thai naval official confirmed.The work stoppage could strain Thailand’s militar…
Certificates for land belonging to Thailand’s Juangroongruangkit family revoked
The Land Department has revoked 59 “nor sor 3 kor” land ownership certificates, covering 337.76 hectares in the Chom Bueng district of Thailand’s central province of Ratchaburi, issued to Somporn Juangroongruangkit, mother of Progressive Movement leade…
‘Stockholm syndrome’: Why some Hongkongers are in no rush to return, despite new Covid travel rules
Published by Hong Kong Free Press Grace* left Hong Kong in mid-December for six weeks “to make the three-week quarantine on return worthwhile.” Or so she thought. Originally from New Zealand, the 32-year-old who works in holistic health flew to the UK to visit family she hadn’t seen for two years, including a new addition […]
With US-ASEAN summit postponed, 4 top diplomats travel to China
Four Southeast Asian foreign ministers are traveling to China this week while a U.S.-ASEAN summit that was due to take place in Washington appears to have been postponed indefinitely, prompting Chinese state media to carp that the region prefers to spe…
Building Forward Together: Towards an inclusive and resilient Asia and the Pacific
This report, released two years after COVID-19 began spreading around the world, considers how countries have been responding to this complex and still evolving pandemic, and highlights key elements of a forward-looking policy agenda aimed at putting c…
Social media report on damage of olfactory nerve through deep nasal swab is fake news
The Anti-Fake News Centre of Thailand has refuted as a fake news a social media report claiming that taking a deep nasal swab, for COVID-19 testing for example, can damage the olfactory nerve.According to the fake report, damage to the olfactory nerve …
Rebuilt dam near site of devastating collapse releases water, scaring residents
The company responsible for Laos’ worst ever dam collapse more than three years ago announced last week that its rebuilt dam would begin releasing water, scaring downstream residents, including survivors of the disaster.On the night of July 23, 2018, b…