WET PETS
Residents in Rayong on September 18 wade through water with their pets and belongings after the overflowing Thab Ma Canal flooded their homes.
BOMBS AWAY
Locals face danger
Villagers living in 15 provinces along Thailand's three border zones face the daily risk of stumbling onto unexploded landmines spread over an area of 435 square kilometres, authorities said on September 20.
The risk remains even though most land has been cleared in the past decade, Phairot Bunsirikhamchai, of the National Institute for Emergency Medicine, said.
The land is now 17.4 percent contaminated, ordnance clearers said, down from the previous high levels, though the risk of injury is still a worry. The mines are from past conflicts.
GOLD GREED
Villagers seek reform
A group of villagers is demanding the government cancel its policy of giving out Special Prospecting Licences (SPLs) in 12 provinces throughout the country to boost gold mining, officials said on September 20.
People affected by the government's policy to boost gold mining declared that they would launch a group called the Civil Society for Reform of Natural Resources and Gold Management to oppose it.
The group has pointed out the issue of safety and the risks to the environment under the licensing policy.
EASY NEWS FOR M1-3
MORE BOMBS
Terrorists attack locals
There were explosions in Narathiwat on September 17. Two villagers and one soldier were killed. The explosions occurred in four locations in Rangae district. Police said a southern terrorist group was behind the attacks.
Vocabulary
- ordnance (n): military supplies and materials
reform (v): to improve a system, an organisation or a law by making changes to it
