Asia-Pacific Archives

MEPs have confirmed that a letter sent to the deposed former Prime Minister of Thailand, Yingluck Shinawatra, is genuine and that their invitation to speak in Brussels, or Strasbourg, about the country’s military junta, still stands.

Civil society is making increasing use of national courts to enforce international environmental agreements. Even a non-binding agreement in Paris will increase pressure on governments to cut emissions. EURACTIV France reports. 

Impoverished migrant workers in Thailand are sold or lured by false promises and forced to catch and process fish that ends up in global food giant Nestlé’s supply chains.

EXCLUSIVE / The suspended Free Trade Agreement with Thailand will “never be ratified” whilst the country is under a military dictatorship, a top aide to EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom admitted on Friday (20 November).

The energy consumption of refugee camps has been neglected by international governments and humanitarian agencies, costing an estimated $2bn annually, according to a consortium of NGOs and think tanks. EURACTIV’s partner Edie.net reports.

The European Union and eight OECD countries have agreed to reduce state aid for coal-fired power stations in developing countries. But many stations will be exempt from the cuts. EURACTIV France reports. 

Advanced economies - including the United States, Japan and European Union - have agreed for the first time to restrict state aid for exports of large, inefficient coal-fired power stations, the OECD announced Wednesday (18 November).

When a landslide created a huge, turquoise lake that cut them off the world, the farmers of Gulmit were left destitute and unable to sell their potatoes. Their solution: to drag their Himalayan valley in Pakistan's far north into the Internet age.

Russia, the United States and powers from Europe and the Middle East outlined a plan on Saturday (14 November) for a political process in Syria leading to elections within two years.

European Council President Donald Tusk warned on Thursday (12 November) it would be "very, very tough" to reach a deal on reforms Prime Minister David Cameron has asked for to help keep Britain in the bloc.

An increasingly popular route for migrants to cross Russia and into Norway has Oslo angered and worried as winter approaches, while commentators suspect Moscow is deliberately creating problems for its neighbour.

EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini on Monday welcomed as a “historic milestone on the road to democracy” the weekend elections in Myanmar, which seem set for a victory by Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy.

Millions of people voted Sunday in Myanmar's landmark election, with a massive turnout that could catapult Aung San Suu Kyi's party to power and finally end decades of military control.

The EU urged all parties on Friday (6 November) to settle peacefully territorial disputes in the South China Sea, where Washington has challenged Beijing's efforts to bolster its claims through an island-building programme.

Environmentalists are demanding that German banks end their “irresponsible” financing of the coal industry abroad. EURACTIV Germany reports.

Myanmar's government, made up of ex-generals of the former military junta, is employing tactics associated with the erstwhile dictatorship to intimidate journalists before next weekend's historic general elections, Amnesty International has said.

US Secretary of State John Kerry met with officials from five Central Asian states on Sunday (1 November), who are accused of being among the world’s worst offenders of human rights.

New Zealand and the European Union launched free trade talks on Thursday (29 October) that would give the small farming nation open access to Europe's 500 million consumers.

A new study by the WHO has shown that the number of tuberculosis cases per year has nearly halved, but that there is still a lot of work to be done. EURACTIV Germany reports.

A leading candidate for a free trade agreement with the EU has been accused of a major crackdown on human rights, in what could be a test case for Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström’s new focus on an ethical dimension to FTAs.

Greenpeace and British TV presenter Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall have launched a protest targeting Britain’s largest tuna importer John West and its parent company Thai Union Frozen Products over the firm’s alleged backtracking on promises to source its fish more sustainably.

Indonesia intends to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, reached earlier this month between the United States and 11 Pacific countries, President Joko Widodo told his American counterpart Barack Obama. EURACTIV's partner EFE reports.

The German government wants to deport more rejected Afghan refugees as part of a European readmission agreement. European Parliament President Martin Schulz supports the idea. EURACTIV Germany reports.

The least developed countries have all submitted their national contributions for the COP21. Many of these texts are highly ambitious, but depend on uncertain finances. EURACTIV France reports.