- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
- In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- Ruthless Gauff beats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open
- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
Thailand chokes on pollution but greens struggle to be heard in election
Trudging along Bangkok's hot and dusty streets, green candidates struggle to canvass support ahead of Thailand's election, with record-breaking pollution failing to spur anything more than political hot air.
For the past three months, much of the kingdom has been choking on dangerous air pollution, with smoke from forest fires and farmers burning crop stubble suffocating northern Chiang Mai and cloaking the capital with hazardous smog.
Despite the region facing recent record-breaking heatwaves and worsening flooding due in part to rising sea levels, green movements have gained little traction with Thai voters.
"People acknowledge it but they have no hope that politicians can solve this problem," Green Party leader and founder Phongsa Choonaem told AFP while he campaigned for the May 14 vote.
As he distributed tree leaves rather than paper flyers to bemused bystanders, he said the public's understanding of environmental issues was improving.
But the party is fielding just a handful of candidates for the 500-seat lower house.
"We are not aiming for the prime minister position, we want to solve the environmental problem," said Phongsa.
- 'Public health crisis' -
Thailand's election is gearing up to be a clash between reformist movements -- the Pheu Thai and Move Forward parties -- and establishment outfits like Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-Cha's new United Thai Nation Party.
But alongside the circus of parties vying to outbid each other with populist welfare policies, environmental issues have been a sideshow.
Move Forward has rolled out proposals to drive growth and reduce carbon emissions, including agricultural subsidies and promoting electric vehicle technology, while Pheu Thai has pledged to stop the stubble burning within a year.
Pheu Thai -- along with PPRP, and the Democrat Party -- has also backed a version of the Clean Air Act, initially drafted and proposed by the citizen think tank Clean Air Network (CAN).
"This is a real public health crisis," said CAN's Weenarin Lulitanonda, noting that about two million people have needed hospital treatment this year because of air pollution.
She cautiously welcomed politicians finally talking about the issue, but characterised many of their election promises as "loosey-goosey" in detail.
Delivering results in the form of legislation is what will count, she said.
A long-time campaigner on air pollution, Weenarin said voters' growing awareness of the issue was encouraging, but warned against framing it as a choice between the environment on one side and economic growth, healthcare and democracy on the other.
"These things can be done in parallel, because maintaining your health and being alive is a really important precondition for any other issue that you care about," she said.
"This is something that has to be above political or business interests, whether that's the case or not is to be seen."
Hampering substantive change is Thailand's system of political patronage, in which wealthy clans leverage links to further their business interests, said Danny Marks, assistant professor of environmental politics and policy at Dublin City University.
Air pollution is blamed on poor rural farmers burning their crops, he said, but they are paid by huge multinational Thai firms.
"Those who benefit basically from everyone breathing the bad air, unfortunately, are those who are quite close to the government," Marks told AFP.
He noted that even leading opposition parties like Pheu Thai had never prioritised air pollution or environmental issues.
"I think they have always been allied to big business," Marks said.
- 'Hear us' -
The northern city of Chiang Mai, long a favourite with backpackers, has this year earned an unenviable international reputation for poor air quality, regularly beating notorious hotspots such as Beijing and Delhi in the list of most polluted cities.
Verapol Charasirilert was studying in Chiang Mai but returned to Bangkok because the pollution was so bad.
"I don't think political parties have enough policies on the environment," the 19-year-old told AFP, saying he planned to vote for Move Forward.
An ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute climate report late last year found 66 percent of Thais felt political parties did not prioritise climate change enough.
On the front line of the public health crisis caused by pollution, Chiang Mai cardiologist Rungsrit Kanjanavanit agreed.
"The policymakers need to understand the science and they need to realise the importance of it," he told AFP.
"People have been yelling, screaming a lot so they are beginning to hear us."
S.Caetano--PC