Phnom Penh. In a historic first, a UN-backed court Monday sentenced a Khmer Rouge prison chief to 30 years in jail for crimes against humanity over mass executions during Cambodia’s “Killing Fields” era, AFP reported. Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, is the first Khmer Rouge cadre to face justice in an international tribunal over the deaths of up [...]

Thailand’s deposed leader Thaksin Shinawatra marked his 61st birthday Monday with tweets from exile that called for peace, a day after a grenade exploded in downtown Bangkok that left one person dead and 10 wounded. There have been no claims of responsibility for Sunday’s blast at a bus stop in a busy shopping district, which coincided with a parliamentary election [...]

Government objective: Hear no evil, speak no evil Global Voices Advocacy (GVD), a global anti-censorship network of bloggers and online activists, has launched a shocking report that Thailand has blocked at least 113,000 websites deemed to pose a threat to national security. With its objective to defend free speech online, Global Voices revealed that Thailand’s Ministry of Information and Communication [...]

BANGKOK, July 23 — Thailand’s Emergency Decree currently imposed in 16 provinces will be gradually lifted with possible revocation in some provinces next week, according to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. Mr Abhisit said the government shared a common view with former prime minister and National Reform Committee chairman Anand Panyarachun that the emergency decree should be lifted at all provinces [...]

BANGKOK, 23 July 2010 (NNT) – The Ministry of Public Health is preparing to upgrade 2,000 local public health centers across the nation to hospitals equipped with proper medical facilities. Minister of Public Health Jurin Laksanawisit said his ministry is aiming to raise the standard of over 9,000 local health stations across the country to become sub-district hospitals. The upgrade [...]

BANGKOK (Dow Jones) – Thailand is considering plans to upgrade the speed of its rail system and expand its logistics network nationwide, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said. Part of the THB170 billion ($5.26 billion) rail system budget for the next five years is aimed at doubling the speed of trains, to 100-120 kilometers per hour from 50-60 km/h, he told [...]

Top-ranked Rafael Nadal and US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro will play in this year’s PTT Thailand Open, organisers said yesterday. Rafael Nadal Nadal, the reigning Wimbledon and French Open champion, withdrew from the previous two editions due to an abdominal injury. “I have been disappointed that I have not been able to play the PTT Thailand Open in [...]

BANGKOK, July 22 – An independent reporter on Thursday filed a lawsuit against Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and other 12 persons for attempted murder and mayhem in the army’s security operation to retake the anti-government Red Shirt rally site at Khok Wua intersection on April 10. Bodin Watcharobol, who described himself as an independent reporter, asked Udom Prongfa, personal [...]

Government plan to terminate the current mobile-phone service concessions could face legal hurdles; NTC will hold roadshows overseas in attempt to woo foreign bidders While the national telecom regulator is moving ahead as planned with its grant-ing of 3G spectrum licences, the government’s concession-termination plan runs the risk of getting snagged by a legal hurdle. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said [...]

Earlier this week we have reported on the banned TV commercial “ขอโทษประเทศไทย” (Sorry Thailand). For those, who haven’t seen it yet, here’s the video with English subtitles: The ban has created some considerable public uproar and the censorship board, which consists of representatives of the free-TV channels and other ‘experts’, has gotten itself into the crossfire of criticism. The ad [...]