2021: The year that kept students out of school and glued to screens

13 Sept 11:39 Key points summarised by AI

Prolonged online learning defined 2021 for millions of Thai students due to the COVID-19 pandemic, disrupting traditional schooling.
Surging virus variants (Alpha, Delta, Omicron) led to repeated school closures and postponements, despite high vaccination rates, dashing hopes for a return to classrooms.
Digital learning presented significant challenges, including student burnout, difficulty concentrating, a heavy assignment load, and a critical lack of peer interaction.
Parents and education experts voiced growing concerns over children's holistic development, emphasizing the urgent need for schools to resume on-site learning permanently.

Suchada: Meet the reluctant star of Thailand’s cryptic crypto drama

Today 15:38 Key points summarised by AI

Thai MP Suchada Zhang Thaensap faces intense scrutiny over her husband’s substantial 1.84 billion baht wealth, with opposition lawmakers alleging connections to international scam networks.
A significant portion of her husband, Taiyang Zhang's, declared assets includes a 1.44 billion baht loan to the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, which still owes him 1.34 billion baht.
Opposition MP Rangsiman Rome accused Suchada's husband of links to online scam networks and gambling sites, prompting Suchada to vehemently deny the claims, demand evidence, and file a defamation complaint.
Taiyang Zhang's background includes co-founding Ren Protocol, later sold to Alameda Research (linked to the FTX collapse), and some of his former associates have been convicted in crypto company failures.
Suchada, a former actress and first-time MP, maintains her husband's innocence, while her party leaders have distanced themselves from the allegations, deeming it a private matter.