Showing 1 - 10 of 28
Avoiding tourism's stresses and strains
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 20/06/2022
» Foreign visitors have started returning to tourist destinations since the start of the year after the government lifted some Covid-19 measures. The influx of tourists has been observed from Phuket to Chiang Mai, some of which report visitor overcrowding.
Soft power must have global appeal
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 25/04/2022
» The presence of the 19-year-old rapper Milli at the Coachella Music Festival in the United States has reinvigorated Thailand's soft power ambitions -- an area the Thai government has not fully explored nor exploited.
Payment transformed
Asia focus, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 02/08/2021
» The protracted Covid-19 pandemic has wrought havoc across many business sectors worldwide, and Southeast Asia has been no exception. But that is not the case for the digital payment industry. It has been thriving even during lockdowns, as more people make daily transitions on online marketplaces, food delivery and entertainment platforms.
Public trust in govt is quickly eroding
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 05/07/2021
» The Covid-19 pandemic chaos has worsened in Bangkok and its vicinity in the past week. With the rise of cases, the arrival of new variants, dubious vaccine deliveries and a lack of hospital ICU beds, people are becoming more infuriated about how the government is handling the Covid situation.
Time for govt to show Karen some heart
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 12/04/2021
» After struggling for survival on an empty stomach for days, Karen villagers who fled the war atrocities in Myanmar, from an area under the control of the Karen National Union, took shelter along the Salween River. They received some food and medicine, supplied largely by non-profit organisations, temples, Thais, and fellow ethnic people.
Sharing the Mekong
Asia focus, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 29/03/2021
» "The Mekong River is the source of prosperity," an old saying goes, and it was once true for Pongsak Saitongmart. The 69-year-old former fisherman and his family of five largely depended on income from fishing and a vegetable farm fed by water from the Mekong.
Thai TV series give ugly truths a rosy hue
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 25/05/2020
» As I've been following progress of the Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Myanmar, I can see the project receives little attention from the mainstream Thai media, despite the fact the contentious project involves a big investor, the Thai government -- and human rights violations.
Virus fight sees impoverished go hungry
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 13/04/2020
» Already reeling from shutdowns brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, the poor have found themselves facing increasing economic hardship since the government enforced social distancing measures and travel restrictions to flatten the curve of transmission three weeks ago.
Government fails to invest in human capital
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 21/10/2019
» Though having passed the first of three readings in the Lower House on Saturday, the government's 3.2-trillion-baht budget bill for the 2020 fiscal year has failed to gain approval from most opposition party MPs, who abstained in the vote.
Reckless development sows seeds of disaster
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 09/08/2018
» As monsoon rains have struck the Mekong region recently, some countries have been hit hard by flooding. These disasters reflect the fact that the region's development projects have not fully recognised climate change impacts and so lack plans to deal with them.