Thai Meth Barons Look Closer To Home As Pandemic Curbs Exports By Lisa MARTIN, Pitcha DANGPRASITH
02/16/21 AT 9:20 PM
Cheaper than a coffee but powerful enough to keep him riding Bangkok s streets without sleep, Soonthorn puts a flame to a methamphetamine tablet wrapped in foil and inhales the intoxicating vapours.
Thailand has long been a global gateway for exports of the drug, but the coronavirus pandemic s sudden disruption of international transport has seen a surge in cut-price yaba tablets in the local market. The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the export market for illegal drugs from Thailand, leading to a surge of cut-price product on the local market Photo: AFP / Jack TAYLOR
Indian Edtech giant Byju s is closer to acquiring rival Toppr in a deal pegged at approximately $150 million. Both Byju s and Toppr cater to the burgeoning K-12 (Kindergarten to Class 12) education space.
Ravichandran Ashwin hit a sparkling century and took a key wicket yesterday to edge India closer to a series-levelling victory in the second Test against England, who face a daunting target of 482 to win.
GO NZ: Hokitika holiday highlights - what to see, do and where to stay
16 Feb, 2021 05:00 PM
7 minutes to read
Conservative estimates have the Hokitika of the gold rush-crazy 1860s being the proud owner of no less than 100 pubs. Less conservative estimates place the number closer to 200. Either way, in what was a booming population of 25,000 transient souls looking to find fortune in those rich West Coast soils, whether your pub-to-person ratio was 1:250 or 1:125, you were unlikely to have gone thirsty.
All of which can be gleaned from the history lesson that comes free when you stay at the Hokitika Fire Station Apartments, a place with a history that dates back to those gold-digging, beer-swilling days. With all those pubs n people crammed together in hastily-built quarters, fire was an ever-present risk. Indeed, in an ironic divine act, the town s first fire station once burnt to the ground after a lightning strike.