News
COVID-19 and the Effects on Supply Chains in Vietnam
The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed global trade and disrupted supply chains. The virus, which first started in China, shut manufacturing facilities for an extended period of time. As China, known as the factory of the world, shut factories, it resulted in a ripple effect battering ...
Pritesh Samuel
China comes to the Covid-19 rescue in Laos
The Beijing-backed and financed China-Lao high-speed railway’s official inauguration was planned for December 2021, symbolically opening coincident with the 46th anniversary of the founding of communist rule in Laos. But the Covid-19 crisis has caused delays in the 414-kilometer railway’s construction, with progress on the link ...
BERTIL LINTNER
EU provides €5 million emergency cash for Myanmar garment workers
The European Union (EU) said it will provide €5 million (K7.9 billion) in cash to support garment workers in Myanmar who have been affected by COVID-19. The Myan Ku (Quick Assistance) emergency cash fund will go directly to cut, make, pack (CMP) workers who have lost ...
A forest lockdown will fuel more fires
With strong wind and fast-approaching forest fires, a group of forest dwellers on Doi Mon Dok mountain in Chiang Mai’s Samoeng District are racing against time to stop the flames from engulfing their village. “This is the ninth time the fires have erupted near our home,” ...
SANITSUDA EKACHAI
‘Patient Under Investigation’ criteria stretched to cover more people
The Public Health Ministry has expanded the definition of “Patient Under Investigation” (PUI) to four cases where free tests will be administered, Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin, spokesman of the government’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, said on Wednesday (April 8). 1. Passengers screened by international communicable disease ...
First Person: COVID-19 is not a silver lining for the climate, says UN Environment chief
“The global coronavirus pandemic, which has already caused unimaginable devastation and hardship, has brought our way of life to an almost complete halt. The outbreak will have profound and lasting economic and social consequences in every corner of the globe. In the face of such turmoil, as ...
Development of Dawei SEZ expected to be delayed again
Officials are expecting the outbreak of COVID-19 to slow the development of Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Tanintharyi Region. “The virus is affecting the development process, including road construction,” said U Tin Htoo Naing, secretary of Dawei SEZ. Things are being delayed just as foreign investors ...
AUNG LOON
TIJ suggests non-custodial measures in response to COVID-19
The coronavirus outbreak has upended our lives in unimaginable ways and prison inmates are no exceptions to the struggles. In light of the novel coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic, people globally are facing a multitude of challenges and problems. While the lethal virus is claiming lives in ...
Migrant workers’ unemployment may hinder disease control
As the Thai economy is heavily impacted by government attempts to control the COVID-19 outbreak, experts believe that the situation for migrant workers may contribute to the epidemic. Proper policies and employment support are needed to set things right. It has been 2 weeks since Rachen ...
Yiamyut Sutthichaya
Covid-19 measures leave Southeast Asia’s migrant workers exposed, lay bare their living conditions
Job loss, crowded quarters and reduced access to healthcare are among the issues foreign workers face. Advocacy groups say the pandemic can only be controlled with an inclusive approach that protects every individual’s rights to life and health. The spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus among Singapore’s migrant ...
Neo Chai Chin