top columnists
The blaze at Prapakorn lubricant oil warehouse in Nakhon Pathom province's Sam Phran district on Monday was put under control within a few hours and the police arrested the suspected arsonist within two days.
The emergence of a new Covid-19 variant -- Omicron -- has caused quite a stir globally just as many nations are on the recovery track from the Delta variant. Scientists worry that the latest strain first detected in South Africa has as many as 50 mutations, 32 of them on the spike protein which theoretically makes it much more transmissible than the Delta variant.
Re: "Still an outsider," (BP, Nov 30). I beg to disagree with Khun Millie Tan, who says that a non-Thai should not comment on our politics despite that person's having a Thai wife and lived here for 18 years -- unless he has Thai citizenship and can protest and argue like a Thai.
The blaze at Prapakorn lubricant oil warehouse in Nakhon Pathom province's Sam Phran district on Monday was put under control within a few hours and the police arrested the suspected arsonist within two days.
The emergence of a new Covid-19 variant -- Omicron -- has caused quite a stir globally just as many nations are on the recovery track from the Delta variant. Scientists worry that the latest strain first detected in South Africa has as many as 50 mutations, 32 of them on the spike protein which theoretically makes it much more transmissible than the Delta variant.
The ocean covers more than 70% of our planet's surface, produces half of the oxygen we breathe, feeds billions of people, and provides hundreds of millions of jobs. It also plays a major role in mitigating climate change: over 80% of the global carbon cycle passes through the ocean. But this precious natural resource is not invincible. Despite all the benefits it affords us, the ocean today faces unprecedented man-made crises that threaten its health and its ability to sustain life on Earth.
National Broadcasting Telecommunication (NBTC), the state regulator overseeing telecom and digital TV concessions, has recently been cast in a not so favourable light.
It is incredible to think that when the last Paris Peace Forum was held, in November last year, no Covid-19 vaccine had yet been approved. A year later, more than seven billion doses have been administered, preventing countless deaths and helping to turn the tide of the pandemic in many countries. But this scientific triumph is being overshadowed by the failure to ensure that all people benefit from it.
Melbourne is not the most distinctive of Australia's cities. It does not have Sydney's sandy beaches or Brisbane's rugged, Crocodile Dundee appeal. Lying on a flat plain, crossed by a meandering river, it is an urban agglomeration of some 10,000 square kilometres -- six times the size of London -- consisting of a dense urban core surrounded by sprawling suburbs.
The recent deportation of three internationally recognised Cambodian refugees provoked an international outcry, much to Thailand's embarrassment. The first two were deported from Thailand on Nov 9, while the third was sent back home on Nov 20 to also face the risk of political persecution. Such efforts to "push back" refugees have regrettably tarnished Thailand's generally commendable policy and practice of offering refuge to persons fleeing persecution and other dangers from foreign territories. This is all the more poignant since Thailand's human rights record is in the middle of being assessed in Geneva under the UN's Universal Periodic Review (UPR).
At the recent Unesco General Conference this month, one of the key issues discussed and debated among member countries was the state of global media development. The overall picture painted was very gloomy. For one thing, traditional journalism, for which the writer needs to be on the ground to report, is vanishing fast. In newsrooms around the world, the craft of journalism is becoming a rarity due to budget constraints in terms of hiring staffers to report, check and verify sources, as well as put into context all the information received.
Is it obvious that something has to change?
Rescuing Christmas from the supply-chain Grinch won't be easy. To make it happen, policymakers and business leaders need to take an expansive approach, paying attention to logistics beyond our clogged-up harbours.
