Showing 11 - 20 of 32
Prognosis: Improving
Asia focus, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 03/04/2017
» Two decades ago, the healthcare system of Myanmar was best described as comatose. It had been in declining condition since independence from Britain in the late 1940s. Envisioned as offering free primary healthcare, the system failed to do so in practice and languished because of a lack of investment as the country grew increasingly isolated under Ne Win and subsequent military leaders. In 2000, the World Health Organization (WHO) ranked the healthcare system in Myanmar 190th out of 191 countries.
BDMS unit opens medical lab in Yangon
Business, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 16/03/2017
» YANGON: National Healthcare System Co Ltd (N Health), a healthcare business unit under Bangkok Dusit Medical Services Plc (BDMS), launched a medical laboratory in Yangon on Monday with local partners to tap growing opportunities there.
The valuable lessons from US election
News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 14/11/2016
» As expected, the US presidential election which has just passed was a nail-biting event for millions of people around the globe, as Donald Trump emerged the winner. His success is being challenged by anti-Trump demonstrators (although some are protesting against the electoral college concept!) in major cities around the US.
A run with heart
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 24/08/2016
» The Chombueng Marathon is like a Woodstock for runners. Each year, more than 10,000 visitors vie for a spot in this hugely popular marathon in a small town in Ratchaburi province. The next race will be on Jan 15 next year, with online applications starting on Sept 1 -- expect an internet gridlock since the demand for a place at this event always exceeds the capacity of the organiser. Thus the announcement of registered runners will be done via a random selection process to be announced on Sept 9.
To squat or not?
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 09/05/2016
» Like religion and politics, toilet etiquette is a touchy subject. The latest proof is the debate on the future of traditional squat toilets in Thailand after a new law on the manufacturing standard of toilet seats came into effect on April 23. The law has provoked discussion and even fear that the state will ban the use of squat toilets, archaic but cheap household facilities that are still used in rural areas, as well as many houses and buildings.
Drought, fishing scandals and winding roads
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 23/12/2015
» In the past year, environmental disasters once again proved how much of an impact they have on everyone's lives: the air we breathe (the haze in the South, blown over from Indonesia); the water we use (the contentious Chao Phraya roads); the lights we see (the coal-fired power plants); the ground beneath our feet (the gold mining scandals); the food we eat (the fishery disputes). In all of this, local communities and the rural poor feel the heat and the fire more than Bangkok's urbanites and they're the people who keep showing public resistance against environmental problems and the depletion of natural resources, despite the grip of military rule.
Keep on running
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 19/11/2015
» I started calling myself a runner, albeit an amateur, on the third Sunday of November 2013, after I ran my first ever mini-marathon of 10km at the legendary Standard Chartered Bangkok Marathon (SCBM). For the local running community, the event is like a rite of passage, where novices participate in the "Fun Run" of 5km, while others do something more arduous, or even get a taste of the life-changing experience of a full 42K marathon. Many runners, including myself, have fond memories of the event because SCBM was their very first running competition. It is with one step that a person begin his or her relationship with the lonely, addictive and meditative-like act of running.
Looking to our neighbours on reform
News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 29/05/2015
» Last week, Indonesia blew up a total of 41 foreign fishing boats that were found illegally operating in its waters. Two of the sunken boats were vessels carrying Thai flags. Others were from the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and China.
An endangered craft
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 27/05/2015
» Ban Khlong Rua, a Muslim village in Krabi province, might be just another small fishing village on the Andaman Sea. But for southerners living along this side of the coast, the name represents the hub of Andaman fishing boatbuilding.
Seismic shift in thinking
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 12/05/2015
» Whenever Prof Pennung Warnitchai — renowned expert on structural engineering from the Asia Institute of Technology (AIT) — appears in the media, people assume there must have been an earthquake or some other kind of seismic activity.