Underwater divers in plastic-choked waters off the coast of Thailand snip through discarded nets tangled around a reef – a new initiative helping protect marine life and aiding the fight against coronavirus.The "ghost nets" discarded from the country's lucrative fishing industry are a deadly source of plastic pollution, ensnaring turtles and cutting into delicate coral beds. Left unattended, "they could stay adrift for decades, either entrapping or becoming the fo

A billionaire Thai opposition figure accused of defaming the country's monarchy has vowed to keep campaigning for reform, despite facing what he dubbed a "politically motivated" lawsuit.Those convicted under Thailand's strict royal defamation laws can face up to 15 years in jail per charge, and earlier this week a former civil servant was sentenced to more than 43 years for sharing audio clips deemed defamatory to the monarchy. Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, the f

A Thai woman accused of insulting the royal family was jailed Tuesday for more than 43 years, a legal rights group said, the harshest punishment ever handed out under the country’s strict lese majeste laws.The verdict comes as Thailand ramps up its use of the controversial legislation against democracy protesters, whose demands include reforms to the ultra-powerful monarchy.Ostensibly meant to shield the royal family from defamation, insults or threats, section 112 of the penal code is routin

According to think tank, the Institute for Human Rights and Business, across Southeast Asia, an estimated 10 million migrant workers live and work in major destinations such as Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Malaysia is home to around two million documented migrant workers, comprising about 15 percent of the country’s total workforce. In neighbouring Singapore where its population is over five million, roughly one million people are in the foreign work force.

Students piled bamboo canes and stationery in front of Thailand's Ministry of Education and splashed crimson paint on it to protest corporal punishment, one of several protests that took place across the capital on Saturday.

Thai authorities on Monday charged four democracy activists with royal defamation, with the protest movement rocking the kingdom put on hold because of a spike in coronavirus cases.A total of 41 people have now been charged with insulting the monarchy in a major uptick in Thailand's use of its strict lese majeste laws since a youth-led protest movement began last July.The charges can carry a 15-year jail sentence, but the threat of prosecution has not deterred protesters from demanding r

19 Rohingya and a Thai woman accused of housing them have been arrested for illegal entry to Thailand, police said Saturday, as concerns grow about trafficking routes for the Muslim minority fleeing Myanmar.The embattled Rohingya have long faced persecution in Myanmar, where they are denied freedom of movement and citizenship, and lack access to work, healthcare and schools. A 2017 military crackdown in western Rakhine state sent almost 750,000 fleeing across the border to Bangladesh

Bangkok's nightlife will go quiet as a ban on bars, nightclubs and restaurant alcohol sales went into effect Saturday, among a raft of restrictions aimed at curbing the kingdom's rising coronavirus toll.Thailand initially appeared to have escaped the worst of the virus, registering just under 4,000 total cases in November, despite becoming the second country to detect an infection, early last year.But an outbreak last month at a massive seafood market has spiralled into a resurgence

Christmas and Thailand's love of elephants combined Wednesday when four of the giant creatures dressed as Santa turned up at a school just outside Bangkok, complete with huge coronavirus masks.Excited children from Jirasat Wittaya School in Ayutthaya, an hour's drive from the capital, sang Christmas carols and lined up to have their photos taken with the animals in the annual tradition.The elephants, Sri Mongkon, 14, Sri Raya, 6, Peter, 15, and King Kaew, 18, used their trunks to ca

A coronavirus outbreak linked to a seafood market in Thailand passed 1,000 cases on Tuesday, as authorities weighed whether to introduce a wider lockdown.Thailand has been on tenterhooks since Thursday following the positive virus test of a 67-year-old prawn seller from Mahachai market, Samut Sakhon province, about 40 minutes southwest of Bangkok.As of early Tuesday morning, there were 1,063 confirmed positive cases out of 6,156 tested - a major outbreak for a country which previously had 4,3