thailand

Thai war airship going over like a lead zeppelin

If you're going to fight an Islamic insurgency, you'd think there would be more practical tools than an airship.

But that's just what Thailand has been using to track militants in its restive southern provinces. Its manned Aeros 40D Sky Dragon, manufactured by California-based Aeros, has again run into technical trouble, making an emergency landing in the south's Pattani Province recently.

The Sky Dragon developed propeller problems and began losing altitude. It sustained some damage in an emergency landing, but no one was hurt, the Bangkok Post reported.

The 350 million baht ($11.7 million) U.S.-built craft has been seen as a boondoggle in Thailand due to problems with equipment and delays in delivery. It was returned to Aeros last year following major leaks, according to the paper.

Because the warranty has expired, the Royal Thai Army will have to pay for repairs.

The airship has a rigid structure and is thus not a blimp, and it measures 11.6 yards wide by 51 yards long. It's supposed to fly up to an altitude of 10,000 feet with a top speed of 54.6 mph. Its operational range is 348 miles.

The military has been using the dirigible for surveillance in the insurgency, which has claimed thousands of lives. It's been equipped with high-def night cameras and communications systems. … Read more

Sony Thailand site used for phishing

Sony has been hacked, and one of its servers used to host a phishing site, according to Finnish company F-Secure.

The hack, which is not connected to Sony's problems with its PlayStation Network, has placed a phishing Web page on the Sony Thailand site, F-Secure chief research officer Mikko Hypponen told ZDNet UK today. F-Secure notified Sony, the company said in a blog post today.

"The phishers are looking for credit card details and log-ins," said Hypponen.

Read more of "Sony site used for phishing" at ZDNet UK.

Bangkok adding solar to grid

Thailand's energy minister ceremonially broke ground Thursday on what will become the largest solar farm in Southeast Asia.

The outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand, will be home to a 44-megawatt solar farm to be completed by the end of 2011. The plant dovetails with the country's aim to get 20 percent of its energy from renewable resources by 2022.

Suntech Power, which bills itself as the world's largest producer of crystalline silicon solar panels, has signed a deal to provide 34.5-megawatts worth of solar panels for the first phase of the Bangkok solar project.

When complete, the … Read more

Thailand reopens YouTube access, but with limits

Thailand has lifted a ban on YouTube about five months after videos mocking King Bhumibol Adulyadej prompted the military-installed government to block domestic Web surfers' access to the site.

But there's a catch, of course.

In a Friday interview with the Financial Times, the Southeast Asian nation's information and technology minister attributed the restoration to an agreement that the Google-owned service will block any clips that the government flags as illegal. Thai law, among other things, forbids mocking monarchs, an act punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

According to the advocacy group Human Rights Watch, Thai … Read more