Earthquake!

A 6.1 earthquake struck Laos near thailand's border on Wednesday May 16 at about 4 p.m. The quake was felt hundreds of miles away in Thailand's capital, Bangkok, where the buildings were shaking. No injuries have been reported so far.

North Korea unveiled new ballistic missile

This new missile was shown during a military parade in the North. It is said to have about 3,000 miles in range.

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/theworld/2007/May/theworld_May365.xml&section=theworld

Bush promises help to Japan over North Korea abductions

Here's the link to the article.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/276188/1/.html

Value of the Rupee is "Madness"

The Indian Rupee is up almost 10% versus the U.S. Dollar. According to some experts, this sharp increase in value is "madness" and will not last. Others are hopeful that the increased appraisal will help India's economy grow stronger. More here.

More Test Firings in India

India has test fired another nuclear-capable missle. The medium range armament can travel up to 95 miles and has already been inducted into India's arsenal. More here.

Amnesty

The Organization of the Islamic Conference is meeting in Bangkok to propose to the Parliament that amnesty be given to the people involved with the violence in south Thailand. This is in hopes to end the ongoing violence. The violence has gotten worse over the last six months. Would granting amnesty stop the violence? I'm very skeptical. Amnesty Story.

Thailand Underwater

Smith Dharmasaroja, head of Thailand's National Disaster Warning Centre is predicting that Thailand's capital, Bangkok, will be 1/2 to 1 meter underwater by 2025. They mocked him before for predicting a tsunami. In 2004 over 5000 people in Thailand where killed by the tsunami. Bangkok is only about 3 to 5 feet above sea level, so this is not a totally absurd prediction. What is causing this problem? Two things. One is that the land is sinking. The pumping of underground water is causing the land to sink about 10cm a year. The other reason is global warming is causing the sea to rise. Flood Story.

This week there is a UN conference in Bangkok where they are discussing many ways to end global warming. Nuclear energy and biofuels seems to be the two big ideas to cut down on carbon emissions. But is it too late to save Thailand? Mass migration plans are being discussed as well. UN Meeting Story.