Social development
Freedom of press still lacking in Thailand
Last Thursday news reports broke about a Thai journalist who had been sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for defaming the owner of a poultry farm via a tweet. A court convicted Suchanee Cloitre in December for a tweet referencing a dispute over working conditions at ...
Sheith Khidhir
CAT seeks to capitalise on online education
CAT Telecom has entered the online interactive learning platform business to capitalise on the burgeoning trend of e-learning and open the door for those in remote areas to access alternative education.The platform, called Aculearn Online by CAT, was launched on Dec 25 in collaboration with ...
Komsan Tortermvasana
MOPH announces successful medical cannabis outcomes
The Ministry of Public Health has released initial findings on medical cannabis administration to patients, and related clinical research, which show positive effects among young patients with epilepsy, and patients with end-stage cancer.The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Health has revealed initial outcomes ...
Tanakorn Sangiam
Rocky road to academic excellence
It seems 2019 was not the best year for the education system as Thai students still performed below the international average. Meanwhile, The Education Ministry’s plan to merge small-sized schools with fewer than 40 students into larger ones sparked protests. Another issue was the school ...
Dumrongkiat Mala
UNHCR welcomes Thai Cabinet approval of national screening mechanism
In a development welcomed by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, the Thai Cabinet approved on 24 December 2019 the establishment of a screening mechanism to distinguish people who need international protection from economic migrants. This follows the Cabinet’s January 2017 approval of a proposal to ...
Kratom leaves dropped from narcotics list
Justic Minister Somsak Thepsuthin and Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today (December 27) to remove Kratom leaves from Thailand’s list of narcotics.It aimed to study the impact of using marijuana and kratom leaves for other purposes, instead of ...
The Nation Reporter
Women 'inferior' in politics
Young women in politics are still looked down upon as being inexperienced, while their ability to perform roles is often questioned, a forum was told on Wednesday.Speaking at a discussion organised by the Thai Journalists Association, deputy government spokeswoman, Rachada Dhnadirek said parliament has appointed ...
Penchan Charoensuthipan
Monthly allowance for special needs people to be increased
The monthly allowance for those with special needs will be raised from Bt800 to Bt1,000, the Department of Empowerment of Persons With Disabilities’ committee decided at a meeting.Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit chaired the meeting and said the resolution would soon be ...
The Nation Reporter
Health insurance extended
In a move to help the government cope with Thailand’s ageing society, the cabinet on Tuesday approved a proposal to let freelance workers up to 65 years of age register under the social security system.This decision will benefit the 4.36 million self-employed people aged 60 ...
Chatrudee Theparat
Isaan human rights defenders between fight or flight
Over 300 people gathered at Ubon Ratchathani University on Monday to discuss the state of human rights in the Northeast and the country.The 10th Annual Isaan Human Rights Festival gathered communities from across the region, activists, scholars, students, and foreign diplomats. Ambassador of Sweden, Staffan ...