Bangkok Post
Dams a threat to Mekong
Almost a decade ago, Vietnam was the most vocal neighbour in opposing Laos’ first dam on the Mekong River. Now, it has become a partner in the Lao government’s Luang Prabang dam project — its fifth on the mighty river. This new partnership is worrying, ...
Editorial
Human traffickers flout 99% of court orders to compensate their victims
Human traffickers in Thailand have ignored court orders to compensate victims in more than 99% of cases in recent years, fuelling fears that many survivors could be re-trafficked, data obtained exclusively by the Thomson Reuters Foundation revealed.Keep reading ...
Nanchanok Wongsamuth
EU open to resuming free trade talks with Thailand
The European Union aims to resume negotiations with Thailand on a free trade agreement (FTA), the Council of the European Union said in a statement, after earlier suspending trade talks following a 2014 military coup.The statement linked the decision to the general election in March ...
Reuters
MPs prep for budget vote
The government and opposition parties will have separate meetings on Tuesday as they gear up for Thursday’s debate on the 3.2-trillion-baht budget bill for the fiscal year 2020.The vote on the budget bill will be a high-stakes battle between the Phalang Pracharath Party (PPRP)-led coalition ...
Bangkok Post Reporter
A starchy safety net
The stage is set for practical risk management for grassroots farmers, who chance natural disasters ruining crops every year, through a micro-insurance policy for rice harvests, a flagship Thai commodity.A crop insurance project in Thailand was launched in 2011 via integration of a public-private partnership, ...
Bangkok Post Reporter
NBTC: EEC may get first taste of 5G adoption
The Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) areas could see 5G rolled out, along with industrial and healthcare zones by next October, says the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC).The EEC is the government’s flagship investment scheme, spanning the eastern provinces of Chon Buri, Rayong and Chachoengsao. ...
Komsan Tortermvasana
NHSO eyes clean sweep of funds
The National Health Security Office (NHSO) expects the 13 public health funds which have not joined the National Clearing House (NCH) system to take part soon, so it can use their database to formulate better strategies for future policies.According to the Office’s deputy secretary-general Karoon ...
Bangkok Post Reporter
High-tech plans for a better future
Science and technology strategist, Kittiphong Phromwong, the man behind the state’s much-touted “Thailand 4.0” scheme, believes it is not too difficult to see Thais earning more and becoming richer.Even farmers, who are often struggling to climb up the socio-economic ladder, can shed their financial ills ...
Thodsapol Hongtong
Seeds of Sufficiency now flourishing
Though it’s been three years since the passing of the country’s revered monarch, Pid Thong Lang Phra Foundation, a royally sponsored initiative applying the sufficiency economy philosophy, is still keen to uphold King Rama IX’s legacy of caring for rural communities.Its chairman MR Disnadda Diskul ...
Chatrudee Theparat
Cabinet OKs new perks for tourism
The economic cabinet on Friday approved a new round of tourism measures, aiming for the number of foreign visitors to reach 39.8 million and generate 2.04 trillion baht this year.Kobsak Pootrakool, deputy secretary-general to prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha for political affairs, said the new tourism ...
Chatrudee Theparat