https://www.scmp.com/rss/515373/feed Wanpen Pajai is a Thai journalist reporting on economic development and the environment in Southeast Asia. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Under a hot spotlight, armed with a big smile and an abundance of stage swagger, Pita Limjaroenrat tells a young Bangkok crowd that the only remedy for what he calls Thailand’s ulcerous “lost decade” is a pro-democracy vote on May 14. The dividing lines in Thailand’s general election are clear: young versus old, civilian democrats versus authoritarian generals, reformers versus conservative royalists. Yet the outcome remains hard to call in an electoral system calibrated to keep Thailand’s... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3218788/thailand-crossroads-will-urban-vote-spring-pro-democracy-move-forward-party-power?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3218788/thailand-crossroads-will-urban-vote-spring-pro-democracy-move-forward-party-power?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Apr 2023 03:30:24 +0000 For weeks now, a thick smog carrying harmful particles that routinely reach beyond the hazardous limit has greeted arrivals at Chiang Mai airport, with images of the wheeze-inducing smoke shared across social media. The pollution has stubbornly stayed, but the tourists have not, with bookings for what was Thailand’s second-most visited city before the pandemic having fallen off a cliff. On Friday, Chiang Mai’s governor asked people to stay home as wildfires ripped through hillsides near the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3216349/smog-drives-away-thailands-tourists-laos-myanmar-farmers-grow-cash-crops-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3216349/smog-drives-away-thailands-tourists-laos-myanmar-farmers-grow-cash-crops-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Apr 2023 01:00:17 +0000