The Bangkok Post
Asean a 'human rights disaster', claim groups
Asean civil society groups on Saturday criticised the deterioration of human rights in Asean as well as the bloc’s principle of non-interference, especially over the Rohingya crisis, which will reportedly receive no mention in the East Asia Summit statement. Phil Robertson, the Asia Deputy Director of ...
Thana Boonlert
RCEP ministers fail to reach agreement
Ministers from 16 Asia-Pacific nations failed to reach an agreement on creating the world’s largest free trade area at their meeting on Friday, a Thai negotiator suggested, but some are optimistic about the chances of a deal by year-end. A senior Japanese government official told reporters ...
Kyodo News
Academics urge govt to boost labour rights protection in response to GSP suspension
Academics say Thailand has not been adequately protecting workers’ rights – both Thai and foreign – and though there is some improvement, existing laws and regulations still limit their rights. Their comments came after the US Trade Representative (USTR) announced last week that President Donald Trump ...
Wichit Chaitrong
Thailand hopes new Mae Sot bridge will boost trade with Myanmar
Thailand is counting on a new bridge connecting with Myanmar to increase border trade between the two countries. Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob said after opening the second Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge that the new link between Mae Sot district and Myanmar’s Myawaddy will increase border trade to ...
Assawin Pinitwong
New Mekong dam in Laos opens to protests, dried-out downstream
The first hydropower dam on the lower Mekong River began commercial operations in Laos on Tuesday amid protests from Thai villagers who say the Xayaburi Dam and several others in the works will destroy their livelihoods. The 1,285-megawatt Xayaburi Dam’s debut coincides with parts of the ...
Reuters
Mekong River falls to critical level, sand dunes emerge
The water in the Mekong River has fallen to a critical level, recorded at only 1.50 metres on Tuesday, lower than previous years. Sand islands are now exposed along many sections of the waterway. Inadequate rainfall has also left many reservoirs in the province at only ...
Pattanapong Sripiachai
East Asia Summit draft statement skips over Rohingya crisis
A draft of the statement to be issued after the East Asia Summit in Bangkok early next month makes no mention of the exodus of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar’s Rakhine state, according to a copy of the communique seen by Kyodo News on Sunday. According to ...
Tackling Thailand's food-waste crisis
When one-third of all food produced globally is thrown away while nearly one billion people go hungry, food waste is not only a moral travesty, it’s also a crime against nature. Each year 1,300 tonnes of food waste in landfills around the world contributes 8% of ...
Thanthip Srisuwannaket & Caratlux Liumpetch
Plastic industry in recycling push
Thais can profit from plastic waste, as well as help the environment, by adopting a more circular economy, according to one of the world’s largest plastic producers, Indorama Ventures Plc. The company’s senior vice-president Richard Jones told the Bangkok Post last week that plastic waste deserves proper management ...
Apinya Wipatayotin
Mekong water level in Nakhon Phanom drops amid drought fears
The level of water in the Mekong river in this northeastern border province is dropping rapidly, exhibiting the most unnatural phenomenon in 50 years, according to local media reports. The reports said water in the Mekong river is dropping by 10-20 centimetres per day. The water ...