Phuket, Thailand’s largest beach, has undergone rapid growth due to its tourism industry, a key driver of the Thai economy as a whole. Of the government’s 35.5 million international visitors in 2024, about 13 million headed to the beach. ” The growth of ( Phuket ) city has been muchContinue Reading
TONS OF GARBAGE Around 600 participants, including local occupants, hospitality employees, and tourists, braved a gloomy day to pick up the spare by side before filling hundreds of big sacks. It was” the worst” plastic waste pollution to wash ashore in Bali, according to the environmental NGO Sungai Watch. ”Continue Reading
As the dry season approaches in the region, the ASEAN Specialized Meteorological Centre ( ASMC) issued a” Level 1″ alert on Thursday ( Jan 2 ), warning of hotspots and haze in the region.
The center claimed in a press release that the east monsoon’s “established” will result in clean conditions covering the majority of the Mekong sub-region.
The hub and cloud situation over the sub-region may get worse in the coming months due to the season’s persistent dry spells, it added.
The provincial weather center even observed a steady rise in the sub-region’s hotspot count since mid-December. It recorded a leap in the number of areas between Dec 31 and Jan 1, from 164 areas to 335 both.
Although it found some localized smoke plumes or fog in parts of Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos, it claimed that there hasn’t been any transnational smoke haze thus far.
The Mekong sub-region even includes Myanmar, Vietnam and parts of China.
At the start of 2025, ASMC added that it anticipates natural or short-lived La Nina conditions, which may cause wetter-than-average conditions in some pieces of Southeast Asia.
” However, its results on snowfall may not be pronounced over the Mekong sub-region , and there may still be a danger of expanded hub activities and intergovernmental smoke , cloud in the sub-region”, it said.
Although major tech companies have plans to educate millions of people in the area, there is general agreement about a growing online skills space.
” It is still very hard, challenging to find a really, really great software skills. The difference is always there”, Kanggrawan said.
Even as the market experienced the so-called “tech winter,” a business slump of massive work deficits and hiring freezes in the past two years, this is still the situation.  ,
According to Khuong, nations like Thailand and Singapore will have an even “more serious” difficulty finding labor.
He claimed regional education reforms were required, and tech firms may be encouraged to work in this area.
Everyone must execute the catching up game in this area of training their people, according to” I see the space outside, because the technologies actually advance thus quickly.”
Benja Bencharongkul is the owner of Brainergy, a engineering software company run by a telecommunications company called Benchachinda Group, which operates its own data center and cloud services in Thailand.
He claimed that the country is currently suffering from a significant shortage of skilled workers, which is further exacerbated by the arrival of tech companies with high salaries and career opportunities. Local people are left to thrive inconveniently.
” When Google or Microsoft come in, I just see a huge demand increase with, at least in the short term, the same pool of supply ( of talent )”, he said.
” We are hunting in this same small pool, and what we have seen in the last three years is the 50 % or 20 % increase in the cost of talent with no discernible increase in skill.”
He is concerned that Thailand, which has continued to prioritise economic variety, may not be able to keep up with its mates like Vietnam, which has developed a strong tech industry.
” In the older Eastern perspective, when you ask people what they want to be, a lot might say they want to become a doctor, for instance, correct? Never in Vietnam again. They want to be in tech”, he said.
Tech leaders like Benja are concerned about countries trying to be everything at once as digitalization makes its mark on many aspects of society and organization.
” We just have 70 million people and we’re producing less and less people for the workforce”, he said, referring to Thailand’s declining population. ” But, to please every business is going to be a lot more threatening.
Institutions may have to make difficult choices both now and in the future. Trying to compete with global superpowers for AI growth may turn out to be a futile endeavor, according to Kanggrawan.
He claimed that looking for business suit or niche areas to use technology could provide more advantages to citizens.
” And if we can utilize that, perhaps in Southeast Asia, businesses or service providers can become world people, but we must be believable, “he said.
Technology and coaching programs have, nevertheless, created prospects for some people with disabilities.
Jidapa Nitiwirakun, 21, was only a child when she was diagnosed with muscular disease, a condition that has caused her to gain muscle power year on year.
As she got older, she began to consider career options.  ,
After the air quality has deteriorated, India has tightened regulations to help the public deal with waste half in 24 hours in New Delhi and its surrounding areas. The most recent recommendations for Tuesday ( Dec. 17 ) were made late on Monday after the air quality index ( AQIContinue Reading
On Wednesday morning, India’s capital, Delhi, a toxic fog enveloped the country’s capital as temperatures dropped and waste increased, causing awareness to decline in some areas and triggering airport authorities ‘ warning that flights may be impacted. Delhi overtook Pakistan’s Lahore as the world’s most polluted city in Swiss groupContinue Reading
While backyard activities including outdoor sporting activities, exhibitions and festivals, and outdoor eating at restaurants have been prohibited, “unavoidable spiritual rites” are excluded from this course, the purchase said. Some stores like pharmacies, fuel depots, cheese shops, and fruit and vegetable shops have also been exempted from the directions toContinue Reading
NEW DELHI: On Wednesday ( October 23 ), arid clouds engulfed India’s capital as air pollution from farms and fireworks was declared “hazardous” by monitors for the first time this winter. More than 30 million people live in New Delhi, which is frequently cited as one of the most pollutedContinue Reading
Southeast Asia, which is sensitive to rising sea levels, storms, heatwaves and floods, faces difficulties when it comes to financing weather action, said watchers at the SIEW conference.  ,
” If you look at reactive financing, clearly there is significant financing that’s going on, after ( a disaster ) has taken place”, said Dr Ramesh Subramaniam, director general and group chief of the sectors group at the Asian Development Bank ( ADB).  ,
” But the problem that we face is that, in terms of allocating from your macroeconomic resources, a certain percentage of the funds to be ready to face catastrophe, that has been quite, quite slow”, he told CNA.
” And if you look at healthcare industry, I would say it’s about non-existent”.
Next month, the lender approved a new purpose to give climate finance 50 % of its monthly loans by 2030.
Dr. Subramaniam touched on the creation of a loss and damage account during the meeting and mentioned the COP28 climate summit in Dubai last year, stating that it is” a very important first action” in helping less-developed nations.
” We are very positive that there’ll get momentum”, he said, calling for more aid beyond what has been pledged by developed countries.  ,
” Evidently, in terms of funding, the problem that we face is that given the scale of tragedies, no amount of funding is going to be enough”.
” Pleasant Pleasure” Malaysia and Indonesia have vehemently opposed the new regulations, and the song of condemnation grew louder as the date for December’s application loomed, with Brazil and the United States a few places voicing their concerns. Malaysia’s Palm Oil Council welcomed the proposed pause as a “victory forContinue Reading