News

The Nation 24 April 2018 | Pratch Rujivanarom

Amid ‘very dangerous’ air pollution, children and elderly told to stay inside

The North continued to choke in smog, as air pollution level soared in an increasing number of hotspots after the end of the ban on burning.

The level of particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns (PM2.5) in many provinces of the northern region, especially in Chiang Mai, continued to rise yesterday to 100 microrams per cubic metre of air by 6am, as measured by the Pollution Control Department (PCD).

The Nation 20 April 2018 | PRATCH RUJIVANAROM, RACHANON CHAROONSAK

LOEI PROVINCIAL Court has dismissed the case against seven female activists who are being sued for their campaign against a gold mine operator’s effort to renew land usage permission on forestland.

Reuters 20 April 2018 | Rina Chandran

BANGKOK, April 20 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A Thai court has dismissed all charges against seven female activists accused of violating public assembly laws, just weeks after a United Nations team called on the government to end attacks on human rights campaigners.

Khaosod English/ AP 19 April 2018 | Kaweewit Kaewjinda

BANGKOK — A court found seven environmental activists not guilty Thursday of violating a law on public gatherings that imposes severe penalties for actions that disrupt public services.

The activists, all women, in November 2016 blocked access to a meeting at a local government office in Loei province in the country’s northeast to protest a request by a gold mining company to expand operations near their homes.

The Nation 18 April 2018 | PRATCH RUJIVANAROM

AIR POLLUTION in the North is expected to worsen following an end to the ban on outdoor burning in many provinces.

Both academics and authorities yesterday cautioned people in the North to be prepared for a new and final wave of hazardous haze, while the Regional Environment Office 1 (Chiang Mai) assured there were measures planned to limit burning in the open.

BANGKOK 18 April 2018

Verdict expected tomorrow in peaceful assembly case

Thailand authorities should drop charges against seven environmental defenders involved in a peaceful protest in Loei Province, Fortify Rights said today. The Loei Provincial Court will issue a decision on the case tomorrow, April 19.

The Guardian 17 April 2018 | Fiona Harvey - Environment correspondent

Poorest are hardest hit with many developing countries falling behind on cleaning up toxic air pollution

More than 95% of the world’s population breathe unsafe air and the burden is falling hardest on the poorest communities, with the gap between the most polluted and least polluted countries rising rapidly, a comprehensive study of global air pollution has found.

The Guardian 15 April 2018 | Graham Readfearn

‘It never breaks down and goes away,’ say scientists struggling to understand the impact of widespread pollution

While heading down the Brisbane river, Jim Hinds once pulled aboard a drunken half-naked man just seconds from “going down for the last time”.

Mongabay 12 April 2018 | Tommy Apriando 

Residents of villages in Indonesian Borneo who have long complained that a coal company is polluting local waterways have won their first victory in court, but activists say the sanctions against the company don’t go far enough.

On Dec. 4, 2017, the Tenggarong District Court in East Kalimantan ordered PT Indominco Mandiri to pay a fine of 2 billion rupiah ($145,400) after finding it guilty of dumping waste without a permit, a violation of Indonesia’s Environmental Protection and Management Act.

Khaosod English 12 April 2018 | Teeranai Charuvastra

CHIANG MAI — The “Rose of the North” won world recognition Wednesday for the dubious distinction of having the worst recorded air quality during peak conditions.