Author: Tun Wunna

Aquatic life along Thailand’s eastern gulf coast is suffering as sea surface temperatures hit record highs this month amid a heatwave, worrying scientists and local communities. The once vibrant and colourful corals, about five metres (16 feet) underwater, have turned white in a phenomenon known as coral bleaching, a sign that their health was deteriorating, due to higher water temperatures, scientists say. Sea surface temperatures in the Eastern Gulf of Thailand reached 32.73°C (90.91°F) earlier this month while underwater readings are slightly warmer, with dive computers showing around 33°C, data shows. “I couldn’t find a single healthy coral,” said marine biologist…

The head of Britain’s domestic intelligence agency warned the country’s leading research universities on Thursday that foreign states are targeting their institutions and imperiling national security. “We know that our universities are being actively targeted by hostile actors and need to guard against the threat posed to frontier research in the most sensitive sectors,” said the deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden, who also attended the briefing. The threat requires “further measures,” said the deputy PM, who announced that the government was launching a consultation with the sector so it could “do more to support our universities and put the right…

IN A first, four new air routes connecting northeastern states with international destinations have been approved under the Centre’s flagship regional air connectivity scheme UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik). These will connect Assam to Thailand and Bangladesh, Manipur to Myanmar and Tripura to Bangladesh. To be operational in a few weeks, airfares on these approved routes — Guwahati-Bangkok, Guwahati-Dhaka, Imphal-Mandalay and Agartala-Chittagong — under the UDAN scheme, will be subsidised. “These new routes have been in the pipeline since the concerned states made a demand,” Anil Kumar Gupta, Executive Director, Airports Authority of India (AAI) told The Indian Express, on the sidelines…

The main driving force is domestic demand, including private consumption and private sector investments, the BOT’’s assistant governor of Corporate Relations Chayawadee Chaianan said, noting that the service sector had slowed due to the decrease in the number of Thai and foreign tourists. In October, the indicators for private consumption expanded from the previous month by 1.7%, increasing in almost every major category of goods, except for spending on services which decreased, particularly in the hotel and restaurant sectors, in line with the decrease in both Thai and foreign tourist numbers. The increased consumption was supported by employment and improved…

The Pheu Thai-led government of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin is a Frankenstein’s monster cobbled together from some 10 political parties, and includes ministers from six parties. The fact that junior coalition partners Bhumjaithai, Palang Pracharath, and Thai Raksa Chart managed to get 16 of the 36 total ministerial portfolios, including the interior, agriculture, energy, and education portfolios, is the first indicator of Pheu Thai’s weak position. The second indicator of the fragility of the Pheu Thai coalition is the reputation of the questionable ministers themselves. Thammanat Promphao, who was briefly a deputy agricultural minister in the government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha prior to his…

Esports made their much-anticipated Asian Games debut as official medal events Sunday in China’s e-commerce hub Hangzhou. Myanmar defeated Kyrgyzstan in the Arena of Valor mobile game in the day’s first completed match as spectators cheered from the stands and waved penlights, creating an atmosphere similar to a live concert. Hong Kong then defeated Taiwan in the same multiplayer online battle arena, or MOBA, game at China Hangzhou Esports Centre a day after the official opening of the Asian “Olympics.” “We had good communication, so we could win this game,” said Chan Tsz Hin, a 22-year-old player from Hong Kong,…

Myanmar residents of Japan held a fundraising event in Tokyo over the weekend to help provide support for the approximately 2 million people displaced in the military’s crackdown on the pro-democracy movement in the strife-torn country. At the Federal Festival in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro shopping and entertainment district, members of ethnic minority groups performed traditional music and dancing and offered local dishes and crafts to showcase Myanmar’s diversity as a country with more than 100 ethnic groups. “With proceeds from this event, we would like to help ethnic minority people in Myanmar…suffering due to the military crackdown,” Khin Zay Yar Myint,…

Brussels (21/10 – 75) In May 2022, tens of ethnic Pamiri protesters were killed by security forces as demonstrations were violently suppressed and an “anti-terrorist operation” was launched in the east of the country. Activists, local leaders, journalists and bloggers were arrested and sentenced in unfair trials. Many reported being tortured. Access to information, including through the media and internet, remained heavily restricted. Domestic violence remained widespread with victims rarely securing justice or support. Afghan refugees continued to be detained and deported. Tajikistan’s economic and political life continued to be tightly controlled by the president, in the 30th year of…

The Confederation of Trade Unions Myanmar (CTUM) has condemned the military junta of establishing three levels of committee to take action against the trade union body. The trade union body via a strongly worded press note mentioned, “Following the formal but illegitimate gazetting of the establishment of three levels of committee to manufacture responses to the report of the International Labour Organisation COL, we, the Confederation of Trade Unions Myanmar (CTUM) point out that neither the SAC, nor any institutions established by the SAC has any right to take action against legitimately established and formally registered organizations in Myanmar”. “The…

Frankfurt, Brussels (11/3 – 120 Tajikistan’s reliance on a limited range of export products, including aluminium and cotton, makes its economy vulnerable to external shocks, such as changes in global demand or prices. Diversifying the export base by promoting new industries and products could help to reduce this vulnerability and create new opportunities for growth. The problem is the kleptocratic approach of a Stalin like economic regime of the Rahmonov clan. Improving trade relationships with existing partners, such as China, Turkey, Russia, Iran, and Afghanistan, and exploring new markets could also help to expand the country’s export base. However, to…