The Nation
Upstream dams a threat to tomatoes, farmers
THAILAND’S finest tomato production areas along Mekong River in the northeastern region have suffered serious impacts from dams in the lower Mekong River Basin, causing financial distress for the local farmers and threatening their livelihoods. Local tomato producers in Bueng Kan and Nakhon Panom provinces said ...
Mekong communities urged to organise emergency plans
A COMMUNITIES-LED emergency response plan is being advocated to cope with water hazards and dam disasters on the entire Mekong River Basin, as climate change magnifies the threats of water disasters posed by dams. Local Thai people in seven northeastern provinces along Mekong River gathered ...
Mekong River levels drop but floodwaters fail to drain from Nong Khai district
Even though the level of the Mekong River in Nong Khai’s Phon Pisai district is dropping, farmland, 20 homes and a school along Lam Suay Creek in Tambon Wat Luang remain submerged, as the river continues to block the drainage of floodwater from the creek. Keep ...
Border-crossing rules in Mekong subregion ‘need to be standardised’
Setting standards for the crossing of borders is an urgent requirement for logistics in the Mekong sub-region, the former chief of World Trade Organisation (WTO), Supachai Panitchpakdi, said yesterday. Keep reading ...
Cybercrime surges above $120-bn in Southeast Asia
THE RAPID growth of Bitcoin-related scams and other cybercrimes has prompted the United Nations to urge member countries, including Thailand, to step up their legal safeguards against potential economic losses. Cybercrime-related losses worldwide top US$600 billion (Bt19.6 trillion), said Julien Garsany, deputy regional representative of ...
Health care, mobility to take center stage in ASEAN region: experts
Southeast Asia is expected to see greater demand for health care services, for services that increase the mobility of its populations, and for entertainment, experts said Wednesday, attributing these trends to the rise of the middle class in the region and to its relatively young ...
Activists brace for new war on agri-chemicals
THE CALLS for a ban on the use of paraquat and two other farm chemicals seen as dangerous are growing louder again, as a government-appointed panel is set to discuss the issue at its first meeting tomorrow. Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha set up the panel ...
Authorities redoubling efforts to legalise Lao workers in Thailand
All Lao workers who return home to register with the authorities will need to get work permits and passports from labour officials so they can legally work in Thailand. The Ministry of Labour and Social welfare recently ordered all its provincial departments to provide free ...
PM calls for a digital ecosystem for region
Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha has urged policymakers and entrepreneurs in Southeast Asia to develop and nurture a digital trade ecosystem as information technology in the region takes off. Delivering the keynote speech on the topic of “CLMVT Taking-Off Through Technology”, Prayut praised the region’s status ...
Laos urged to abandon ‘Battery of Asia’ plan
Hydropower projects ruining Mekong, culture and causing deaths, meeting told LAOS HAS to wake up from its dream to be the major power supplier of the region, say critics. Keep reading ...