Thailand falls in global English Proficiency Index for fourth consecutive year
Thailand’s English proficiency ranking amongst non English speakers has fallen for the fourth consecutive year. According to this year’s English Proficiency Index, which was released last week by Swiss based international education company Education First, Thailand ranked in just 89th place, out of 100 hundred countries surveyed. With an overall score of just 419, Thailand is […]
The week in wildlife – in pictures
A jaguar that was struck by a car in June is pictured after being released at the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve in Chetumal, Mexico Photograph: IFAW/Reuters A wild bald eagle calls out from its perch on a large Douglas fir tree along the Umpqua River near Elkton in rural south-western Oregon, US Photograph: Robin Loznak/Zuma […]
Intimate portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama – in pictures
Photographer Callie Shell documented the Obamas at home in Chicago, on the campaign trail and in the White House. Her new book shares candid images from the 10 years she spent photographing the family. Hope, Never Fear is published by Chronicle Books. Sarah Gilbert
NATO phonetic alphabet
As an international businessman working in Bangkok, Thailand may I make an impassioned plea for all businesses, hospitals, schools, government departments in Thailand to equip their switchboard (and indeed all staff) with a copy of the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet, commonly known as the NATO phonetic alphabet or ICAO phonetic alphabet. With the greatest respect to our Thai […]
Here’s Why 11/11 Will Be The Luckiest Day Of The Month
Singles Day 11.11 in China and across SE Asia. 38 Billion USD spent last year – they expect more this year! Some numerologists and New Age philosophies believe that events linked to the time 11:11appear more often than can be explained by chance or coincidence and is an example of synchronicity. Some authors claim that seeing 11:11 on a clock is an auspicious sign.[ Others claim […]
OPINION: AJW’s Time for Reflection
History will show us the damage or otherwise the Trump era has had on the hearts and soul of not only America but the world. For readers of this space will know that I try to not make many public statements. My SKÅL training has taught me to be open-minded, to listen, to be non-political, […]
The world is rocked by protest – but does taking to the streets ever work?
f all else fails, democracy takes to the street. The street is its last resort. At present, each weekend we see the people of Belarus marching to demand the resignation of their president, Alexander Lukashenko. We see protesters in Thailand are jamming Bangkok to reform their monarchy. Nigerians are rioting in Lagos, Brazilians in São Paulo. Something about street protest is […]
Look of the Irish: the communities captured by Tony O’Shea – in pictures
Four decades of work by the Irish photographer feature in a new photobook. His dignified images, according to his former editor Colm Tóibín, offer ‘a hesitant window into the soul’ All images by Tony O’Shea Good Friday, Seán McDermott Street, Dublin 1983/84 The Light of Day is a photobook retrospective of Tony O’Shea’s work, spanning […]
Once upon a time in Hackney: 80s photos of poverty, protest – and partying
In 2016, Andrew Woodyatt started working at the Rio cinema in Dalston, Hackney, London. Handed a large bunch of keys, and blessed with a healthy curiosity, he started to explore the Rio’s basement rooms, which had been used for years for storage. Among the broken hoovers and discarded paperwork, he started to come across negatives – local […]
Alarm as Arctic sea ice not yet freezing at latest date on record
Delayed freeze in Laptev Sea could have knock-on effects across polar region, scientists say. For the first time since records began, the main nursery of Arctic sea ice in Siberia has yet to start freezing in late October. The delayed annual freeze in the Laptev Sea has been caused by freakishly protracted warmth in northern Russia and the intrusion […]