News
Thais 'most anxious' over virus
A global survey by Singapore’s social research company identified Thailand as the most anxious nation during the Covid-19 pandemic as of last month, but the kingdom is also optimistic about its economic recovery. Although citizens across 23 countries are largely unsatisfied with their own governments’ responses ...
How protecting forests and their communities can prevent the next outbreak
Clear-cutting forests may provide short-term monetary gains, but the true costs of mass deforestation could be steep. The novel coronavirus that has caused the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic is believed to be zoonotic, meaning it first spread from animals to humans. Not only is that a common ...
CAROLYN COWAN
Trafficking warning in Asia as coronavirus pummels economies
Before lockdowns, curfews, and safe distancing, Thodsapone Kitta would go door to door, visiting low-income families in Thailand’s northern Nan province, a poor, mountainous region home to hill tribes and rural farmers where people are vulnerable to trafficking. For Thodsapone, a member of The Freedom Story, ...
Caleb Quinley
Northeast residents oppose 6th Laos dam project
Thai residents living in eight northeastern provinces along the Mekong River are opposed to Laos’ plans to construct a new hydropower dam on the Mekong River over fears it will threaten the river system, where seasonal flooding supports fisheries and regional agriculture. The protest comes as ...
Thailand: Migrants Could Benefit from Moves to Ease COVID-19 Restrictions
Migrant workers in Thailand who could not return to their home countries because of the COVID-19 lockdown have lost jobs and suffered financial hardship during the pandemic, but could soon see their outlook improve as the country starts to reopen. Thailand has long been a regional ...
Nontarat Phaicharoen
Royal water project to reinvigorate farming
Pid Thong Lang Phra, a foundation dedicated to promoting the sufficiency economy vision of King Bhumibol Adulyadej The Great, has launched water-development schemes to address the scourge of mass unemployment caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Karan Supakitvilekakarn, director-general of the Royal Initiative Discovery Institute under Pid ...
CHATRUDEE THEPARAT & PENCHAN CHAROENSUTHIPAN
New UN initiative to reduce plastic pollution from ASEAN cities
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), in partnership with the Government of Japan, today launched a new project which aims to reduce the environmental impact of cities in South East Asia by addressing plastic waste pollution in rivers ...
Covid-19 crisis casts shadow over graduate futures
The coronavirus outbreak casts a shadow over the future of approximately 300,000 soon-to-be graduates this year. The bleak prospect of unemployment and layoffs as the economy staggers back to growth is expected to persist for at least two years. Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation ...
THANA BOONLERT
New quarantine venues for returnees in Bangkok
Additional state quarantine facilities in the capital are being offered to Thais returning from overseas this month, according to a Defence Ministry official. The facilities include those in Qiu Hotel and Movenpick Hotel in central Bangkok. Returnees are required to spend 14 days in state-designated quarantine facilities, ...
WASSANA NANUAM
Govt to hire jobless to offer health advice
The government may employ public health volunteers to advise on how to prevent disease transmission as certain business activities reopen from the lockdown today. Speaking at the Ministry of Public Health, Sathit Pitutecha, the ministry’s deputy minister, said the government is concerned about the large number ...
APINYA WIPATAYOTIN