• News & article

  ASEAN URGED TO BECOME CONNECTED HUA HIN ASEAN FOREIGN MINISTER’S RETREAT

  Published on 05/09/2013

  » Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh said that attention should be paid to lift ASEAN internal connectivity to a new height while pursuing the essential principles of the group in outlining a post-2015 vision.

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  Southeast Asian governments pledge to end dog meat trade

  Published on 19/09/2013

  » Officials to work with animal welfare coalition Asia Canine Protection Alliance Government officials from Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam have pledged to end the inhumane, commercial trade in dogs for meat. The trade is responsible for slaughtering an estimated 5 million dogs for human consumption per year. Thailand, Cambodia and Laos supply dogs for the trade into Vietnam, where they are slaughtered and consumed. Dog meat production has evolved from small-scale household businesses to a multi-million dollar industry of illicit dog traders causing pain and suffering to the dogs involved and posing health risks to humans. The trade in dogs for meat involves movement of dogs of unknown disease and vaccination status, impeding rabies elimination efforts in the region. Countries are failing to comply with their own national animal disease prevention measures, and are not following recommendations for rabies control and elimination by organizations such as the World Health Organization and the World Organization for Animal Health and the trade has been linked to outbreaks of trichinellosis, cholera and rabies. The World Health Organization recently cited the trade as a contributing factor in recent outbreaks of rabies in Indonesia and cholera in Vietnam. Government officials agreed to work to end the trade at a recent meeting in Hanoi with animal welfare coalition Asia Canine Protection Alliance. Concerned about the spread of rabies, officials said they would enact a moratorium on the commercial transport of dogs from one country to another for the next five years. In that time, authorities will measure the impact of a moratorium on rabies transmission in the region. (In Thailand, where the trade is illegal, authorities agreed to better enforcement of existing regulations.) Pornpitak Panlar, with the Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health in Thailand said, “We cannot change culture or habit, but we should stop the smuggling of dogs. This meeting was important to urge government agencies to see the problems caused by the dog meat trade and discuss a platform to stop the spread of rabies.” Nguyen Thu Thuy, deputy director, Department of Animal Health in Vietnam added, “The rabies situation has become more severe – especially this year. One of the main reasons is the illegal cross-border trade of dogs.” Boonseub Chemchoig, chief inspector general, Ministry of Interior, Thailand noted, “We never allow the transfer of dogs from Thailand to Vietnam for the purpose of consumption. We are still seeking solutions as the border between Thailand and other countries is long and difficult to manage considering the illegal trade. We are trying.” Animal protection organisations, under ACPA, will work with officials, helping to provide financial assistance, expertise and other resources as needed. ACPA is made up of Change for Animals Foundation, Humane Society International, Animals Asia and Soi Dog Foundation. “Canine rabies remains endemic in Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia,” it was pointed out by Lola Webber, programmes leader, Change for Animals Foundation. “Ending the illegal trade in dogs destined for human consumption is a crucial component of national and regional rabies control elimination programmes.” Kelly O’Meara, director of companion animals and engagement, Humane Society International, said, “The trade is not about a desire to maintain culture or custom. The trade is profit-driven and poses a risk to human health. In addition, throughout Asia and globally, there is mounting concern for animal welfare and overwhelming evidence documenting the inherent cruelty in all stages of the trade—from sourcing, transport, sale to slaughter.”

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  Ministry chugs ahead with trains

  Published on 29/07/2013

  » Whilst the 2-trillion baht borrowing bill is still proceeding through parliament, officials in the Transport Ministry are ploughing ahead with feasibility studies and environmental impact assessments on the electric train project involving four routes. The proposed route from Bangkok to Rayong, starting at Bang Sue and stopping at Chachoengsao, Chonburi and Pattaya, is estimated to cost 101 billion baht. A consultant has been hired to conduct the planning studies. Critics of the scheme say that high-speed trains never break even in any country which has them and require heavy subsidies. The proposed Bangkok-to-Rayong route is one of the less controversial as there is a widespread feeling that the Eastern Seaboard city needs a direct and speedy link to the metropolis. Also the expanding U-tapao provincial airport would benefit enormously from a direct high-speed connection to both Pattaya and Bangkok.

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  Oil spill threatens local beaches

  Published on 06/08/2013

  » Eastern Seaboard beaches are under threat from an oil spill stemming from a pipe leak in an offshore platform near Rayong. Using ships and helicopters, the Thai Navy and several agencies are working around the clock to contain the spread of the crude oil. The leak itself has been blocked, but not before more than 70 tons of oil had spilled into the Gulf of Thailand over an area of about 1.5 nautical miles. The primary objective of workers now is preventing the oil slick from reaching beaches, thereby threatening tourism and wild life. The offshore platform is operated by PTT Global Chemical, a subsidiary of national petroleum company PTT. Prasert Bunsumpun, company chairman, acknowledged that a crude transport pipe had begun leaking at a single-point mooring in Rayong Province. Barriers have been placed around the spill and an oil skimmer is collecting surface oil as quickly as possible, before the oil slick created an environmental catastrophe.

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  Angry factory worker stabs colleague

  Published on 08/08/2013

  » A woman confessed to stabbing to death a fellow factory worker suspected of having burgled her room. The incident took place at the RT Transport Company in Banglamung. Nuanchawee Boonphrom, age 34, told police that she had murdered Kaesorn Sukpee, 44, in cold blood  after a furious argument about thefts. The dead woman was found with knife wounds amid pools of blood, but her bankbook and mobile phone had not been stolen. Police found no evidence that the dead woman had stolen Nuanchawee’s property. Investigations continue.

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  Public Hearing in Hua Hin Launches the High Speed Train Project

  Published on 05/07/2013

  » The Bureau of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (BTTPP) recently organised a public hearing about the Bangkok-Hua Hin high speed train project.  Officials revealed their preliminary research and design and local people expressed their opinions about this project.

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  Road accident claims three lives

  Phitsanu Thepthong, Published on 17/08/2012

  » Two children are among the three people who have died when a tour bus full of school students crashed into an oncoming vehicle in Doi Saket district, Chiang Mai on Aug.15.

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  Minibus flips on way to Hat Yai

  Published on 27/08/2012

  » PHUKET: A minibus from the government-owned Transport Co Ltd, bound from Phuket to Hat Yai, slid off a curve in rain near Phang Nga township Sunday evening (August 26), landing on its side on the central divider.

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  Pattaya to have hi-speed trains

  Published on 06/09/2012

  » The Thai government will open bidding for the first phase of a hi-speed rail project linking Bangkok to Pattaya.  Under the plan, the first four routes will cover 250 kilometers linking Bangkok to Phitsanulok, Nakhon Ratchasima and Hua Hin as well as to Pattaya.  Construction on all the four routes will begin at the same time with the aim of opening the new track network in 2018. Government approval will be necessary for the international bidding process expected to be completed next year.  China, Japan, South Korea and France have all expressed strong interest in bidding for the routes.  The plan aims to boost the country’s economy by reducing energy costs by 400 billion baht as Thailand focuses more on rail travel at the expense of road transport.  At the moment, rail accounts for only two percent of all traffic and roads for 80 percent.  The price of oil internationally is expected to double within the next five years with likely big increases in the cost of petrol. Pansak Vinyaratn, chief adviser to the prime minister, said that hi-speed trains are necessary to ensure solid growth of the country’s economy as Thailand would otherwise lose competitiveness in the long run.  Second-phase construction would mean that Bangkok would link by hi-speed rail to Chiang Mai, Nong Khai, Rayong and Hat Yai by 2022.  The new railway networks will serve both passengers and cargo, including faster transport of agricultural goods which tend to deteriorate if carried long distances by slow lorries. The details of the new routes, including the exact location of stations, have not yet been decided.  Pattaya’s tourism industry is expected to gain hugely with the arrival of a 20 minute fast train service from Bangkok or Suvarnabhumi to the seaside resort.  A City Hall source told Pattaya Today, “The current rail station is far out of the city in east Pattaya, so we are hoping that the railhead for the new hi-speed trains will be nearer the downtown area.”  Another suggestion is to build a monorail track to take passengers directly from the hi-speed train to the centres of Pattaya and Jomtien. The latest rail project will be a huge step forward in enabling Pattaya to triple its receipts from tourism by the end of the decade or soon afterwards.  Other infrastructure improvements already agreed to or in the pipeline are a beach reclamation project, more by-pass roads and tunnels, a better waste disposal system, increased supplies of potable water and several “green” projects. Critics of the scheme caution that the Pattaya authorities must ensure that the infrastructure improvements are in place before the deluge of visitors expected once the hi-speed train is operational.  “Thousands may arrive and depart by train but they will need to use the roads during their stay.  The traffic queues and pollution could easily get a lot worse if the timing is wrong,” said a prominent Pattaya businessman and estate agent. With the advent of the Asean Economic Community in 2015, a free-trade area of 10 countries in the region, economists say that the hi-speed rail plans will enhance Thailand as the logistics hub of South East Asia with all the basic infrastructure such as inland transport and rail and deep seaports to carry the expected increase in freight across national frontiers.  Also scheduled for completion in 2018 is Dawei port in Myanmar, a deep water facility with major Thai funding, which will speed up the transport of goods between Asean countries and beyond to India.

• News & article

  Is cancer in Phukets air?

  Published on 13/07/2012

  » PHUKET: Phuket needs to clamp down on diesel-belching vehicles. Tanyaluk Sakoot investigates.

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