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Change in the weather spells trouble for rice farmers
07/02/2010 : Serm Sornwiset tried desperately to start a water pump on his farm to draw pond water for rice saplings withering in his field, but the pump had run out of gas again. Over the past few weeks, the 50-year-old farmer has used pumped water from three ponds in the hope of keeping the saplings alive and earning extra income from the sale of the harvest this dry season. The problem is that the ponds are only half full, and there is no guarantee he will have enough water to ensure a good yield.
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Burma in the grip of election fever
07/02/2010 : Election fever is already gripping Burma even though a date for the polls has yet to be announced. The election law which will govern the process is now expected to be published in May, with the elections at least six months away, according to Asian diplomats who closely follow events in Burma. "The elections will be held whether we like it or not," a young Arakanese student in Rangoon, Nyi Nyi said.
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Ban Mankong: From slum upgrading to social upliftment
07/02/2010 : Prior to 2004, 230 families in the Bang Bua Canal Community lived in shabby and unsafe conditions. For almost a century people have squatted illegally here, living in fear of eviction. Drugs, violence and abuse were constant threats to dwellers.
Bali High, Phuket not so much
07/02/2010 : Bali was the magical word when it came to Asian resort destinations in the early 1990s, before it was overtaken by Phuket. But now the tide has turned again and the Indonesian island has surpassed its Thai rival over the past 18 to 24 months, says Bill Barnett, managing director of C9 Hotelworks.
Death toll rising in land reform quagmire
31/01/2010 : When a group of about 500 members of the Thailand Land Reform Network (TLRN) demonstrated in front of Government House on Jan 19 this year, the media paid little attention to them or their message.
Punishment or treatment?
31/01/2010 : At Cambodia's drug treatment facilities, residents, who mainly comprise street children, young glue sniffers, disabled people and some other drug users, are told to "sweat out" their addictions. Security officials operate most of the centres, and daily regimens consist of exercise and discipline - for example, they may be forced to stand on one leg or spend hours chained to a flagpole.
Tales of prison life: A male convict tells all
31/01/2010 : Kai is a young Thai man recently released from a provincial prison after serving a three-year term. He was an amphetamine (ya ba) addict but was found with enough pills to classify him as a distributer. Kai might have had a lighter sentence had he confessed to the court, but he chose to fight the case and lost. He also lost an appeal for a reduction to his sentence. Prison has taken three years from this man's life and his continued addiction could have been even more costly.
Expat Counsel
Family law in Thailand Part XX: Void marriages - annulment
24/01/2010 : We have received a number of emails from readers asking questions about ending a marriage on grounds other than those for divorce. In the West, of course, marriages can be annulled, or declared void as a result of conditions that existed or didn't exist before the marriage was entered into.
Ban Mankong: Slum solution or a fiasco?
24/01/2010 : In the world of low-income housing, the concept of Ban Mankong (Secure Housing Scheme) in Thailand is understood to be a solution to the slum problem. Under this concept, security of land tenure is delivered to the dwellers and a lot of assistance programmes are undertaken.
Drug registration needs overhaul
24/01/2010 : When her young daughter had a fever, Suda (not her real name) would buy cheap medicine in a small shop in her village. With a picture of a child on its packaging, she assumed that the medicine was safe for children. One day she looked at the small print on the label, however, and saw a warning not to give the medicine to children under 18 years of age. Unfortunately there are a number of medicines registered as safe and effective on the shelves of local Thai pharmacies when in fact they may not be safe for children, and in many cases for adults either. Consumer advocates argue that warning labels are often ineffective because people don't bother to read them.
Prolonged withdrawal
24/01/2010 : In 1989, the Ministry of Public Health ordered the withdrawal of two medicine formulas for safety reason. One was a combination of the anabolic steroid methandienone, vitamins and/or cyproheptadine, an antihistamine which is sometimes used to promote weight gains. The other formula contained the anabolic steroid as a significant ingredient and was used as an appetite stimulant for children.
Gold still glisters but may dull later
24/01/2010 : While there is a great opportunity to make good profits on gold in the first half of this year, with prices forecast to rise to between $1,300 (42,822 baht) and $1,350 an ounce, there are still problems to be ironed out in the relatively new gold futures market in Thailand.
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