Author: Desk Team

Chinese dams cloud Mekong River relations A dried riverbank area of the Mekong River in Pak Chom district in the northeastern province of Loei. China was pressed in June last year to share year-round data on water levels. AFP The new Chinese Ambassador to Thailand, Han Zhiqiang compares relations between the two countries and their collective effort to combat Covid-19 pandemic as being "one family". The ambassador insists he is not exaggerating and said his sentiments resonate with what is happening on the ground. He said Thais and Chinese have had a good rapport, quoting a phrase that reinforces affinity between both countries: "Chinese and Thais are no strangers; both are descended from the fraternity." Even so, the bilateral bonds and 46 years of diplomatic relations will not be tes...

BERLIN — The World Health Organization and UNICEF are calling for a “humanitarian airbridge” to be set up immediately to allow the unhindered delivery of medicines and other aid supplies to Afghanistan. The two U.N. agencies said in a statement Sunday that they are “committed to stay and deliver for the people of Afghanistan.” But they added that “with no commercial aircraft currently permitted to land in Kabul, we have no way to get supplies into the country and to those in need.” They noted that other humanitarian agencies face similar problems. The agencies said that, even before the Taliban’s recent takeover of Afghanistan, the country required the world’s third-largest humanitarian operation, with more than 18 million people needing help. They said that while the main focus in rec

The Anti-Corruption Organisation of Thailand (ACT) has expressed concern over the quality of the 8.5 million sets of Chinese-made antigen test kits (ATKs) the government is planning to procure. However, the anti-corruption body says there is no evidence of corruption in the procurement plan. The government is facing criticism over its plan to purchase the test kits, which come cheaper than other ATK brands. The product was recently recalled in the United States over concerns that test results may not be accurate. The public has over the past few days expressed concern over the procurement plan, including whether corruption is involved. Mana Nimitmongkol, secretary-general of the ACT, wrote on Facebook saying the ATKs can be procured under National Health Security Office (NHSO) specifica...

On Saturday, the Department of Health warned against hook-ups with strangers as it could lead to another cluster of Covid-19, which could then spread to families and communities. Those who are considered at risk of contracting Covid-19, tested positive for it or waiting for the test results are also urged to refrain from sexy times. Moreover, the health authority also laid down nine "safe sex" suggestions that lovers and married couples should follow during the Covid-19 era. I would like to add my two satangs to them (and dirtying up my own internet search history in the process) but let's hear them out first. 1. Wash your hands. Wash your body with soap before and after coitus. 2. Refrain from French kissing or saliva swapping as Covid-19 viruses can be found in saliva. 3. Refrain fro...

UPDATED to include comment from Minister Jonathan Wilkinson. The Canadian government is investing $340 million to support Indigenous guardians and Indigenous Protected Areas as part of its commitment to conserving 30 per cent of the country’s lands and waters by 2030. The funding will be provided over the next five years and includes money earmarked to support the forming of a national Indigenous guardians network. “It is heartening to see the recognition of the role of Indigenous conservation and stewardship in achieving Canada’s ambitions in terms of its biodiversity goals and certainly in terms of keeping carbon where it is, which is in the ground,” Valérie Courtois, director of the Indigenous Leadership Initiative, told The Narwhal in an interview. The announcement comes days before

The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Saturday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available. 3:31 p.m.: In Crescent City, Calif., the mortuary is filled beyond capacity and needs a refrigerated truck to hold bodies. The small hospital is so full that it is lining up helicopters to fly COVID-19 patients out of remote Del Norte County. So many employees are out with coronavirus infections that businesses have closed. Deaths in Del Norte County from COVID-19 have more than doubled in recent weeks, from 10 on Aug. 15 to 22 on Friday. Four people died in a single day, officials said. A year and a half into the pandemic — and eight months since highly effective vaccines became available — COVID-19 is surging across rural Califo

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Belarusian authorities have detained over 20 people in the latest wave of arrests, continuing their sweeping crackdown on dissent a year after a disputed presidential election, human rights activists said Thursday. Belarus was rocked by protests, which were fueled by the Aug. 9, 2020 re-election of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko to a sixth term in a vote that the opposition and the West rejected as a sham. Lukashenko responded to demonstrations, the largest of which drew up to 200,000 people, with massive repressions that saw more than 35,000 people arrested and thousands beaten by police. Belarusian authorities have ramped up the clampdown in recent months, arresting scores of independent journalists, activists and all those deemed not loyal. Viasna hu