COVID-19

The Energy Ministry approved a plan on Thursday to charge mid-sized and large businesses for electricity at cost instead of mandatory minimum pricing from April to June, another relief measure to help shuttered companies with their power bills. The decision came after calls from the Federation ...

The following is a translation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s letter sent to Thailand’s 20 richest people following a special 10-minute speech broadcast on national TV at 6pm last Friday. The letter was dated April 20. “Thailand is facing a Covid-19 outbreak which is one of ...

Incomplete and prospective hydropower dam projects in Southeast Asia, particularly along the Mekong River and its tributaries, are at risk of major delays and shutdowns as the COVID-19 pandemic impacts major industries, energy markets and worker safety. The government of Laos has already ordered a temporary ...

Health officials in Laos say the government has implemented effective measures to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus, but that authorities must ensure they continue to be upheld because the impoverished nation with limited medical resources remains at risk. The small landlocked country of 7 ...

Thailand has found the largest number of nests of rare leatherback sea turtles in two decades on beaches bereft of tourists because of the coronavirus pandemic, environmentalists say. From wild boars patrolling the Israeli city of Haifa to deer venturing into London suburbs, virus closures are ...

More than 5,800 suspects have been arrested and 233 million methamphetamine or “speed” pills seized during a regional anti-drug campaign that has benefited from the Covid-19 pandemic. Niyom Termrisuk, secretary-general of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), said the mushrooming number of checkpoints due ...

Vietnam, just south of coastal China, is the 15th most populous country in the world with 97 million people. According to its Ministry of Health (MoH), as of April 13, there were 262 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 144 recovering or discharged from hospitals, and no ...

The Myanmar army is carrying out “almost daily air strikes and shelling” in the restive Rakhine and Chin states amid a surge in clashes with fighters, with reports of at least 32 civilians killed in recent weeks, according to the United Nations human rights office. The ...

Popular beaches in southern Thailand, empty of tourists due to closures and restrictions related to the Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, are seeing the return of rare wildlife, officials said on Sunday (April 19). “As we fight the Covid-19 outbreak, nature is also rejuvenating and creating balance,” Warawut ...

Vietnam is the ninth safest place in the Asia-Pacific to get through Covid-19, a study released by Hong Kong’s Deep Knowledge Group says. It scored 594.91 to become one of only three Southeast Asian nations to make the top 10 along with Singapore and Thailand, the ...