AP
Asia-Pacific leaders seek unity on war, economic ills, virus
Pacific Rim leaders were striving to find common ground on the war in Ukraine and other dire threats to humankind in an annual meeting that began Friday at a heavily guarded venue in Thailand’s capital. The annual summit of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum is ...
ELAINE KURTENBACH and CHALIDA EKVITTHAYAVECHNUKUL
Ghostly monkey, succulent bamboo among new species in Mekong
A monkey with ghostly white circles around its eyes is among 224 new species listed in the World Wildlife Fund’s latest update on the greater Mekong region. The conservation group’s report, released Wednesday, highlights the need to protect the rich biodiversity and habitats in the region, which ...
ELAINE KURTENBACH
Thailand tightens measures as daily cases cross 10,000
Thailand has tightened coronavirus restrictions and warned of further measures as daily cases surpassed 10,000 and the death toll hit a record 141 on Saturday despite an overnight curfew in Bangkok and several other provinces. The surge since April has overwhelmed hospitals, strained the economy and ...
Chalida Ekvittayavechnukul
Vietnam puts southern region in lockdown as surge grows
Vietnam put its entire southern region in a two-week lockdown starting midnight Sunday, as confirmed COVID-19 cases exceeded 3,000 for the third day in a row. The lockdown order includes the Mekong Delta and Ho Chi Minh City metropolis, the country’s financial and economic hub with ...
AP News
Thailand aims at pandemic risks by fighting wildlife trade
Thailand is ramping up efforts to curb trade in wildlife to help reduce the risk of future pandemics, officials said Thursday, though it was unclear whether that would mean an end to all such sales in the wildlife trafficking hub. The government intends to make Thailand ...
ELAINE KURTENBACH
UN condemns violence against Myanmar protesters and deaths
The U.N. Security Council late Thursday strongly condemned the use of violence against peaceful protesters in Myanmar and the deaths of hundreds of civilians, but dropped the threat of possible future action against the military following the Feb. 1 coup. The British-drafted press statement approved by ...
EDITH M. LEDERER
Thailand reduces quarantine, paperwork for vaccinated
Thailand on Thursday began halving the quarantine time for vaccinated visitors as a first step to allowing inoculated people into the country without the need to isolate. The pandemic has devastated Thailand’s tourism industry, a key income earner, but strict border measures have left the country ...
Thailand scrambles to contain outbreak, secure vaccines
For much of 2020, Thailand had the coronavirus under control. After a strict nationwide lockdown in April and May, the number of new local infections dropped to zero, where they remained for the next six months. Thailand closed its borders, enforcing mandatory quarantines for its own ...
BILL BREDESEN
Indigenous activists clash with UN over proposed park
When farmer May Cho Win learned that a conservation project proposed by the U.N. Development Program in Myanmar would include the land she’s worked for over a decade, the 28-year-old wondered how she and her husband would be able to support their three children. “Without our ...
VICTORIA MILKO
Thai official warns of water shortages due to weather, dams
Thailand should brace for serious water shortages when the hot season begins in March after a year with unusually little rainfall, one of the country’s top water management officials said Monday. Retention of water by dams in upstream areas of the Mekong River also is seen ...
Grant Peck