Author: Kantsom Sutabuhr

Thai officials on Friday promised action to address a spike in air pollution that came before the normal peak of seasonal haze, but environmental activists accused authorities of hot air. Bangkok ranked as the world’s 10th most polluted city on Friday, according to the air quality monitoring firm IQAir. Government officials said the sudden spike was largely due to atmospheric conditions, with fine particulate accumulating due to colder air, high air pressure and dry weather. The jump in PM2.5—particles that are so fine they can enter the bloodstream—prompted the government to warn vulnerable groups. “Air quality and safety… is an important…

Rome (16/11 – 57) Sri Lanka is mired in a deep political and economic crisis and the country’s then President Rajapaksa has flown out of the country, days after a huge crowd of protesters stormed his residence in July 2022. Protesters for months have demanded the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, whose government has been blamed for chronic mismanagement of the country’s finances. The island nation of 22 million people has suffered months of lengthy blackouts, acute food and fuel shortages, and galloping inflation in its most painful downturn on record. Here is how the crisis unfolded: April 1: State of emergency Rajapaksa declares a temporary state of emergency, giving security forces sweeping powers to arrest and…

The global political machine grapples with instability. The raging protest-riots in Sri Lanka, the government collapse in Pakistan, the resignation of UK’s Boris Johnson, the resignation of Italy’s Mario Draghi, the assassination of Japan’s Shinzo Abe and the plummeting public approval for America’s Joe Biden are just some of the bad cards on the international table of politics. At present, a new rise of political instability unfolds in Iraq, where protesters backed by ex-militant leaders have stormed the nation’s parliament twice within the last seven days — perhaps repugnant precedence from the Sri Lankan neo-insurrection. Iraq’s politics and national security…

London (08/11 – 50) A U.S. development agency announced on Wednesday that it would lend $553 million to establish a deepwater shipping-container terminal at the Port of Colombo in Sri Lanka, expanding America’s effort to finance infrastructure around strategic parts of Asia. The loan package is tied to Adani Ports, part of a conglomerate closely linked with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India that is still wobbling from a short-seller’s attack in January. Adani will help develop the terminal with Sri Lankan partners. The money from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation resembles the kind of big-ticket deals that China’s…

On October 18, 2023, welcoming by Mr.Suwich Rungwattanapaiboon, president of the Publishers and Booksellers Association of Thailand (PUBAT), and other executives, Mr. Mark Gooding, British Ambassador to Thailand, visited the 28th Book Expo Thailand, which was organized by The Publishers and Booksellers Association of Thailand (PUBAT) and alliances at Hall 5-7, LG Floor, at Queen Sirikit National Convention Center. The Ambassador enjoyed visiting the event while also visiting the British Embassy’s booth to showcase British literature for the first time in Thailand. The ambassador said that the embassy decided to participate in the Book Expo Thailand as it is one…

London, Dublin (1/11 – 66) Hamas is sheltered in a sea of civilians. Ostensibly a Palestinian political and military organization established in 1987, Hamas “governs” on the basis of having won a majority in the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections – defeating Fatah, another Islamist terror combine – before forming a government in the Gaza Strip, described as “…the world’s largest open-air prison” for its Palestinian inhabitants. So why don’t the Palestinians, having been robbed of their ancient lands, simply up and move somewhere else? It is telling that none of the Islamic nations surrounding Israel care to admit any more…

BANGKOK — Police in Thailand on Monday raided the Bangkok residence of one of the country’s four deputy national police chiefs, an action the target complained was intended to discredit him due to “politics inside the Royal Thai Police.” Police Gen. Surachate Hakparn is a contender to become the next chief of Thailand’s national police. The position is expected to be filled soon. The Royal Thai Police force has a tradition of fierce internal politicking, as well as a longstanding reputation for corruption at all levels. Trairong Phiwpan, a commander in the force’s Office of Legal Affairs and Litigation, said the…

Berlin (24/10 – 67) UN Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Nazila Ghanea, visited Tajikistan from April 11 to April 21 to conduct research on issues in this field. The UN expert will assess religious freedom and its interaction with the right to freedom of expression, discuss gender equality, women’s rights, and children’s rights. She stated that the implementation of religious freedom and belief in the country is a cause for concern. Ghanea, the newly appointed UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, called on Tajikistan to adapt and review its laws, policies, and practices regarding religion…

HCM CITY — HCM City’s first metro line will be operational for commercial use starting from July 2024, city authorities said. The line is set to be completed by the end of this year, followed by staff training in June 2024, according to the Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR). Certain regulations, standards, and procedures pertaining to system safety certification are yet to be finalised, which has impacted the project’s progress, it said. The line, connecting Bến Thành Market in downtown District 1 with Suối Tiên Theme Park in Thủ Đức City, is currently over 96 per cent complete.  Its…

BANGKOK, THAILAND –Media OutReach – 22 September 2023 – Thailand’s Department of Foreign Trade (DFT) Director General Ronnarong Phoolpipat presided over a trilateral meeting with the U.S. Embassy’s Export Control and Border Security Program (EXBS) and the European Union’s (EU) Partner to Partner Program (EUP2P) on September 21, 2023, at the Department of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Commerce, Thailand. Representatives from both programs emphasized the significance of implementing strategic trade control measures (STC) to regulate weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and dual-use items (DUI) through licensing measures. Director General Ronnarong Phoolpipat is of the view that this concept is needed…