thegreglowe.com

Thailand’s oil palm industry is leading the way for regional biopower projects and is more sustainable than operations in Indonesia and Malaysia which have faced global pressure for devastating old-growth forest and taking a wrecking ball to farming communities, experts say.
But while the local sector is breaking ground with its renewable energy projects, inefficiency, drought [...]

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By GREG LOWE
IN BANGKOK
BUSINESSES that have been hit hard by months of protests and deadly clashes on the capital’s streets say that it is too early to assess the full impact of the recent violence on their operations.
Protesters rampaged across Bangkok on Wednesday, torching more than 30 buildings, after leaders of the red-shirt United Front [...]

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Armed clashes between security forces and anti-government protesters in Bangkok left 16 people dead and more than 100 injured, including three journalists.
This timely safety advice for reporters working in this increasingly dangerous city is based on consultation with a local security expert.
1. Consider if you really need to put yourself in the fire-zone for your [...]

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Much is made of Thailand’s economic fundamentals but the fact remains that the current political turmoil will only dampen economic activity, chase away tourists and investors and weaken the country’s overall performance.
Here are a few comments on the likely impact on the economy, these have all been made very recently, but not in response [...]

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by Greg Lowe
BANGKOK — Red Shirt anti-government protesters have conditionally accepted Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s roadmap for national reconciliation in a move that is expected to end the rallies that have paralyzed parts of the capital for months.
Opinions are mixed over whether the plan can bring lasting peace to a country whose unity has become [...]

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Last night the atmosphere on Silom Road was a far cry from the clashes between security forces and red shirt supporters on Viphawadi-Rangsit Road earlier that afternoon, which left one soldier dead and 18 people injured.
There were a few lines of police and soldiers dressed in riot gear, standing next to razor-wire cordons and guarding [...]

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Foreign Office says protests in Bangkok and beyond mean Britons should avoid all but essential visits to Thailand

Greg Lowe in Bangkok and Mark Tran

ONE THAI SOLDIER has died in clashes north of Bangkok between troops and red-shirted anti-government protesters agitating for the dissolution of parliament.
A Reuters photographer said the soldier was shot through his helmet [...]

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The state of emergency declared in Bangkok late on Wednesday night has done little if anything to calm Thailand’s escalating political tensions.
The Emergency Decree issued by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva gives security forces extended powers to clear thousands of anti-government demonstrators from the heart of Bangkok’s luxury retail district. The protesters had been camped out [...]

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Despite reports of there being more than 100,000 red shirts in Bangkok already, at about 6pm tonight the numbers were still relatively low around the main convergence point at Ratchadamnoen Klang Avenue.
The red shirts had set up tents all along the road, from quite close to the Rattanakosin Hotel, but there were very low numbers, [...]

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By GREG LOWE
IN BANGKOK
THE government is hopeful that this weekend’s mass protests will pass without violence, but security forces are well prepared for any incident, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya says.
Thousands of red-shirt supporters of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday started mobilising from around the country to converge on the capital tomorrow, when they plan [...]

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