News
PM issues slew of urgent measures to deal with Covid-19 situation
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha issued 14 urgent measures today (March 3) to handle the Covid-19 situation, government spokesperson Narumon Pinyosinwat said. They are: 1. State agencies must strictly enforce the Public Health Ministry’s measures and guidelines on the outbreak and, if need be, can also issue ...
Meet Thailand's secret weapon in climate change battle
Bangkok’s future hangs in the balance. Rising sea levels, unchecked development, groundwater extraction, and rapid urban population growth has left millions vulnerable to natural disasters — scientists warn the city itself may not survive the century. New analysis by the Nestpick 2050 Climate Change City Index says ...
Lillian SUWANRUMPHA
Thammasat University to collaborate on new 'smart city'
Universities and their buildings and infrastructure are more than just the physical space where students and their professors meet for lectures. These learning institutions improve and rejuvenate the areas they are situated in, and become inexorably linked to the communities which they serve. One recent example is ...
SUPOJ WANCHAROEN
Northeastern folk voice fears over new Mekong dam
Unseasonal drought, floods and the negative impact of hydropower projects on the Mekong River’s ecology were major concerns raised by residents of northeastern provinces at a public hearing on the Luang Prabang Dam on Tuesday. Pradap Klatkhemphet, deputy secretary-general of the Office of the National Water ...
APINYA WIPATAYOTIN
4,200 Line accounts hacked in Feb, including 2 in Thailand
A total of 4,225 registered accounts on messaging app Line, including two in Thailand, have been hacked in the last two weeks, with some used for phishing scams, according to the operator. Line Corp said 4,073 accounts in Japan, two in Thailand, 81 in Taiwan and ...
KYODO NEWS
Court orders rewrite of law on abortion
The Constitutional Court has found a section of the Criminal Code to be unconstitutional for failing to hold men legally responsible for illegal abortions. The ruling will take effect on Feb 13 next year — 360 days after the ruling was made. The court ruled on the ...
Thailand nixed China’s Mekong River blasting project. Will others push back?
China has had a setback in its infrastructure building along the Mekong River after Thailand cancelled a project on the vital Southeast Asian waterway. But observers say that without more coordination between downstream countries, China’s influence in the region will continue to go unchallenged. In a ...
Laura Zhou
Thais Living Along Mekong Struggle from Drought, Effects of Dams
Dam operations upstream combined with a drought have caused a severe drop in water levels along the Mekong River, on which tens of millions of people rely for their livelihoods through fishing or farming, say Thais who live by the banks of the great waterway. BenarNews ...
Nontarat Phaicharoen
Big meth seizure on Mekong bank
Rangers made a large seizure of methamphetamine pills and arrested three men in Tha Uthen district of this northeastern border province on Sunday night. The drugs were found by a unit from the 21st Ranger Task Force patrolling the Mekong river bank in Tha Uthen district, ...
PATTANAPONG SRIPIACHAI
Damming the Lower Mekong, Devastating the Ways and Means of Life
The water is so clear on the Mekong River in northeastern Thailand that the sunlight pierces through to the riverbed, transforming the waterway into a glinting, empty aquarium. It is beautiful but it means death. At this time of year in Thailand, this stretch of the ...
Hannah Beech