A Tale of Two Tyrants: Nestlé's Role in Prayuth's Thailand

In what came as a shock to many, in February, the United States took the step of completely banning the import of goods made by slave labor. Indeed, President Obama signed the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, closing an 86-year-old loophole that had allowed the United States to purchase foreign goods produced with child labor or forced labor. Hold the applause, for this moral awakening did not come from Washington, DC, but stemmed from the efforts of journalists working for The Associated Press as well as from Nestlé's surprising admission of guilt that its global supply chain relied on impoverished migrant workers in Thailand.

Thailand's Army Declares Martial Law

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand's army declared martial law before dawn Tuesday in a surprise announcement it said was aimed at keeping the country stable after six months of sometimes violent political unrest. The military, however, denied a coup d'etat was underway.

The move effectively places the army in charge of public security nationwide. It comes one day after the Southeast Asian country's caretaker prime minister refused to step down and follows six months of anti-government demonstrations that have failed to oust the government.

Bangkok Shutdown: Thai Protesters Try To Paralyze Capita

BANGKOK, Jan 13 (Reuters) - The Thai Foreign Ministry once occupied a neoclassical palace built for a revered 19th-century king.

To find the ministry today, you must search the corridors of a half-deserted Bangkok convention centre for a modest room where top officials relocated on Monday to avoid citywide protests - one of many back-up arrangements for a government struggling to fend off protesters besieging the capital.

Thai protesters blockade roads in Bangkok for 'shutdown'

Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters are occupying parts of central Bangkok, meeting no resistance from the authorities.

Police and soldiers maintained a low profile as the "shutdown Bangkok" drive got under way in Thailand's capital. The mood was festive, with many protesters singing and dancing in the streets.

Led by former deputy premier Suthep Thaugsuban, thousands of protesters have set up permanent barricades and encampments at seven sites across the city. Major intersections that normally teem with cars and trucks are blockaded, but city trains and river ferries have been operating, most shops are open and motorbikes have plied the roads freely.

Democracy in a mess in 2013 in Egypt, Ukraine and Thailand

CAIRO, Egypt — Democracy broke out in unexpected places in 2011 and 2012. It did not fare so well in 2013.

Democratically elected governments in Egypt, Ukraine and Thailand were challenged in the streets this year by losers with no respect for the ballot box and no patience for the democratic process.

A common thread in all three disputes was that well-heeled urban elites assumed as a matter, perhaps, of birthright that their ambitions had far more merit than those of their less educated, poorer and usually rural countrymen.

Thailand Political Protests Turn Violent

BANGKOK (AP) — Aggressive political protests in the Thai capital turned violent late Saturday with at least one man killed and five wounded by gunshots in street fighting between supporters and opponents of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

It was not immediately known who fired the shots or what side the victims were on. National Police Deputy Spokesman Anucha Romyanan said the dead man was a 21-year-old male with two bullet wounds.

Harper sets Canada, Thailand on path to free-trade agreement

Thailand’s prime minister’s hailed the possibility of free-trade negotiations with Canada on Thursday and welcomed Ottawa’s rediscovered interest in southeast Asia.

In her remarks, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra noted that it has been 15 years since a Canadian prime minister last made a bilateral visit to the nation of 66 million, which is among the world’s fastest growing economies.

“This visit not only highlights the strong relations between our two countries but also reaffirms Canada’s re-engagement in Asia,” Ms. Shinawatra said after the two countries announced exploratory talks meant to determine if a trade pact is possible.

Jean Chrétien led the last official visit to Thailand when he brought along a Team Canada trade mission here.

Since coming to power in 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has faced criticism that he’s neglected trade opportunities in Asia, particularly in China where his administration’s strident criticism on human rights led to a cooling of relations.

Mr. Harper restated his desire to diversify Canada’s trade away from the U.S. market and preferred not to dwell on the past.

Thailand's PTT Exploration And Production Wants Alberta Energy

BANGKOK - Add one more Asian suitor to Western Canada's resource-rich energy sector: Thailand wants to buy a major natural gas asset there.

The head of Thailand's energy giant, PTT Exploration and Production, confirmed the plan in an interview with The Canadian Press days before Prime Minister Stephen Harper is set to begin a three-country Asian tour in Thailand this week.

Harper has trumpeted Canada as an energy superpower and he has identified increased trade with Asia an economic priority.

Thailand appears determined to compete with China, Japan and South Korea for Canadian oil and natural gas assets. Those resources are coveted by Asian countries to feed their ever growing, energy-hungry economies.

Thailand Free Trade Deal: Canada To Get Pitch During Harper's Asian Trip

BANGKOK - Thailand is planning a major pitch to open free trade talks with Canada this week, as Prime Minister Stephen Harper begins his second Asia trip in three months.

Thailand will sweeten its offer by positioning itself as a comfortable and safe entry point from which Canada could make further inroads throughout South Asia — raising the potential of a broader trade deal with the region's emerging, 10-country bloc, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

China is not an ASEAN member, so any economic gains with the bloc would represent a significant broadening of the Harper government's pro-Asia trade aspirations.

Harper, who made his second trip to China in January, has said increasing trade with Asia is a major economic priority after a series of economic hurdles soured relations with Canada's largest trading partner, the United States.

Thailand Flooding 2011: Prime Minister Says Floods Have Reached 'Crisis Level'

BANGKOK -- Thailand's prime minister is warning that rising floodwaters which have wreaked havoc across the nation are now threatening the capital, Bangkok, as the death toll from the worst monsoon rains in decades rose Saturday to 253.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said the flooding – which has severed rail links with the north, shut dozens of highways and swamped ancient Buddhist temples in the city of Ayutthaya – has reached a crisis level.

Bangkok has so far been spared serious damage, but many fear it could be inundated as large amounts of water flows from submerged northern rice fields toward the Gulf of Thailand. That critical runoff is expected to be impeded by high ocean tides in mid-October, and Tropical Storm Nalgae is also forecast to bring new rain in the days ahead.

In a radio message Saturday, Yingluck said authorities are hoping to ease the crisis by installing up to 400 water pumps along the Chao Phraya River, which snakes through Bangkok, to help push water to the sea. Seven canals will also be dug on the outskirts of the city, she said.