News

The Associated Press 15 November 2017  

Penchom Saetang, director of the environmental foundation Ecological Alert and Recovery Thailand, said Bangkok is producing more trash each year because the city is quickly expanding under an insufficient waste management system.

A July 2017 Greenpeace report notes there are 2,490 waste management centers around the country, but only 466 of them work properly.

The Isaan Record 14 November 2017 | Jirasuda Saisom  

SAKON NAKHON – Local opposition is growing in the Northeast as mining companies are rushing to dig up what might be one of the world’s largest potash deposits. A new minerals act, enacted in August, makes it easier for the government to grant mining licenses while curbing public participation, activists say.

Myanmar Times 10 November 2017 | Naw Betty Han

Authorities on Tuesday blocked residents from demonstrating at the site of a proposed coal power plant in Hpa-an township in Kayin State, to express their opposition to the facility.

The protesters, carrying placards inscribed with “We don’t want, No coal”, were not allowed to go near the plant, according to Saw Eh Doe Soe, one of the demonstrators.  

The Nation 04 November 2017

Legal expert says use of article 44 by junta failed to take into account provisions under Australia-Thailand FTA.

THE THAI government faces a formidable legal challenge in its dispute with Australian firm Kingsgate Consolidated Limited over the controversial closure of a gold mine in Phichit province operated by Kingsgate’s subsidiary, according to a Thai academic.

The Nation 04 November 2017 | SUPALAK GANJANAKHUNDEE

SCHOLARS AND environmental conservationists from Thailand and Vietnam called for better and effective management of the Mekong River as Southeast Asia’s longest river was in danger due to climate change and development projects, notably hydropower dams in its mainstream.

No single government is able to take care of the Mekong, which is an international river running through China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, said Nguyen Truong Giang from Vietnam’s Diplomatic Academy. Giang and Thai and Vietnamese scholars and conservationists gathered for a seminar entitled “Promoting Cooperation in Sustainable Use of the Mekong River” hosted by Sakon Nakhon Rajabhat Univ

Chemical Watch 02 November 2017 | Dennis Engbarth

Taiwan's High Court has granted nearly US$24m in compensation to ex-Radio Corp of America (RCA) workers over their toxic chemical exposure. The court's decision reinforced a precedent set by a lower court that finding of liability for injury can be based on "reasonable medical certainty" rather than direct evidence linking cause and effect.

Bangkok Post 02 November 2017 | EDITORIAL

The military regime's relentless efforts to promote economic development have merit. But it is not always a case of the ends justifying the means as it may claim.

The Nation 30 October 2017 | PRATCH RUJIVANAROM

ACADEMICS AND residents in the Eastern region have slammed a special order issued during the Royal Cremation Ceremony, which revoked city planning in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), as inappropriate during the mourning period and harming public participation.

Bangkok Post 30 October 2017 | Apinya Wipatayotin

Locals in eastern Thailand are opposing the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO)'s order to reorganise city planning in Chachoengsao, Rayong and Chon Buri provinces to bring it in line with the government's Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) policy.

Taipei Times 28 October 2017 | Jason Pan  

MORE DEFENDANTS: An investigation found that GE took over RCA before selling it, meaning it was in control when the workers said they were exposed to chemicals

The Taiwan High Court yesterday upheld a verdict ordering Radio Corp of America (RCA) and its affiliates to pay NT$718.4 million (US$23.7 million) to its former Taiwanese employees and their families.