Pilgrimage tour prices soar as demand surges for Umrah trips during Ramadan
High global demand has driven up the cost of transport and hotel rooms there, in what is considered one of Islam’s holiest months.Continue Reading
Caesium concerns remain, says Greenpeace
Although authorities had confirmed that caesium-137 contamination was safely contained at a foundry in Prachin Buri province, facts indicate that related health risks remain, according to Greenpeace Thailand.Continue Reading
China’s Mekong dams turn Thai fishing villages into ‘ghost towns’
CHIANG KHONG, Thailand: From February to April each year, Kam Thon spends most of her days knee-deep in the waters of the Mekong River by her village in northern Thailand, gathering river weed to sell and cook at home.Continue Reading
Malaysia’s Rosmah Mansor to visit Singapore for six weeks after court temporarily releases her passport
Her lawyer, Jagjit Singh, said that Rosmah will be leaving for Singapore on Thursday and will be in the country for six weeks. Rosmah will be in Singapore for Hari Raya Puasa before returning to Malaysia on May 5, reported Bernama. Her lawyer also said that they will return Rosmah’sContinue Reading
South Korea cuts 2030 emissions reductions targets for industry
SEOUL: South Korea revised down its 2030 targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the industrial sector on Tuesday (Mar 21) but maintained its national goal of cutting emissions by 40 per cent of 2018 levels in what it called a reasonable adjustment. This is the first annual and sectoralContinue Reading
China’s demography not an imminent economic threat
China’s population fell in 2022 and will continue to do so throughout the 21st century, according to the United Nations Population Division’s 2022 Revision of World Population Prospects. The data shows a sharp fall in China’s fertility rate from 1.81 births per woman in 2017 to 1.16 in 2021. This trend is based on data […]Continue Reading
Chinese pair reported abducted for ransom
CHON BURI: Two Chinese nationals, a woman and a man, are reported to have been adbucted and held for ransom in Chon Buri.Continue Reading
Why Nepal suffered fewer fatalities than Turkey in similar quakes
A 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Turkey on February 6, and more than 45,000 people have died to date, and the toll is still rising. A quake of the same magnitude struck Nepal on April 25, 2015, and 8,790 people were killed in that Gorkha Earthquake. Turkey and Nepal have huge disparities in terms of economic and […]Continue Reading
US Federal Reserve in high-wire rate decision
The Federal Reserve faces a pivotal decision on March 22, 2023: whether to continue its aggressive fight against inflation or put it on hold. Making another big interest rate hike would risk exacerbating the global banking turmoil sparked by Silicon Valley Bank’s failure on March 10. Raising rates too little, or not at all as […]Continue Reading
Zhao Weiguo: Chinese regulator accuses chip tycoon of corruption
Zhao Weiguo formerly headed Tsinghua Unigroup, which was one of China’s leading chipmakers.Continue Reading