On 14 August 2018, Pattani Islamic Mujahideen Movement deputy leader Nasori Saeseng surrendered at an army rangers’ unit in Kapor, Pattani. This, coupled with a record low number of deaths last year has risen hopes that the insurgency may be coming to a halt in favour of the government. Whether this marks the beginning of the end to the deep South Thailand insurgency conflict is yet to be seen.

Last July, The National Legislative Assembly in Thailand voted unanimously to approve, with binding effect, the country’s 20-year National Strategy. The National Strategy overlooks six strategic areas: security, competitiveness enhancement, human resource development, social equality, green growth and rebalancing and public sector development.

Members states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are turning to renewable energy as the most sustainable way to ensure energy security. The shift to renewables can be expensive and arduous.

It is irrefutable that rice is the staple food of Southeast Asia. This love affair with the seed of the grass species, oryza sativa is not only rooted in the tangible world but has its own mystical underpinnings to it. Such a relationship is observed through the worshipping of the goddess of rice, fertility, and wealth, Dewi Sri, by communities in what is now modern-day Indonesia, prior to the advent of Islam.

Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha seems to have dropped another hint that the country’s long-awaited election will be delayed yet again. Despite previously promising that one will be held in February 2019, Prayut recently said that a further delay is possible.“We still confirm that the general election will be held in February 2019.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones are usually associated with military applications but they also have immense usefulness in agriculture.Drones are used in Japan’s rural heartland to aid the aging farmer populace spray pesticides and fertiliser. The median age of farmers in the rice-planting region of Tome is 67 years. Similarly, Thailand’s agriculture industry is aging as youngsters below the age of 30 are shunning the profession.

A pack of dogs look nervously as strangers walk toward and past them, their eyes watchful for signs of danger, yet hopeful for a morsel of food. These are the stray dogs that litter the streets of Thailand. “The authorities used to shoot and poison these dogs but it did not solve the problem.

Thai energy companies are growing beyond the country’s borders, with projects slated for the rest of the region. These planned projects are a testament to Thailand’s energy policies and the savviness of its energy companies. It is not just the big oil giants such as PTT or B Grimm that are expanding throughout the region but renewable energy companies such as Wind Energy Holdings and solar company Superblock are also branching out in the region.

Following a regulatory framework which went into effect last month, Thailand’s central bank has announced a set of rules governing cryptocurrency activities in the country.

When news of the Thai government’s move to ratify the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO’s) Work in Fishing Convention (Convention 188) reached fisher associations, they came together to protest. This week, fisher associations from 22 coastal provinces of Thailand threatened to bring the country’s fishing industry to a halt by ceasing work if the government there fails to address their grievances within seven days.