Thailand’s ‘Yellow Shirts’ return to streets demand PM quit


By AFP
June 19, 2025


Anti-government protesters demand Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra resign over a leaked phone call - Copyright AFP Lillian SUWANRUMPHA
Montira RUNGJIRAJITTRANON

Hundreds of anti-government protesters gathered outside Thailand’s Government House on Thursday, demanding Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra resign over a leaked phone call with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen that triggered public outrage.

The scandal rocked Paetongtarn’s coalition after the Bhumjaithai party, a key partner, pulled out on Wednesday, accusing her of undermining the country and insulting the dignity of the military.

The leaked call, in which Paetongtarn referred to the Thai army’s northeastern commander as her opponent and addressed Hun Sen as “uncle” has drawn strong public backlash.

The protest, held in scorching tropical heat, drew mostly elderly demonstrators wearing yellow shirts — the colour strongly associated with Thailand’s monarchy — who accused the 38-year-old leader of “lacking diplomatic skills” and “endangering national interests”.

“I was very disappointed when I heard the (leaked) audio,” Kanya Hanotee, 68, a temple worker told AFP.

“She lacks negotiation skills. Who does she think she is? This country is not hers.”

Protesters waved Thai flags and placards labelling Paetongtarn a “traitor”, and chanted “Get out!” and “Go to hell!” while dozens of riot police stood nearby.

Many in the crowd were longtime supporters of the conservative, pro-royalist “Yellow Shirt” movement, which has fiercely opposed the Shinawatra political dynasty since the 2000s.

Kaewta, 62, a housewife from Bangkok said she joined Yellow Shirt protests near Bangkok’s Democracy Monument two decades ago.

“I didn’t support any political party. All I knew was that I hated Thaksin and his family,” she told AFP.

“Our politicians are all corrupt.”

– 20-year battle –

The battle between the conservative pro-royal establishment and Thaksin’s political movement backed by its own “Red Shirt” supporters has dominated Thai politics for more than 20 years.

Yellow Shirts, backed by Royalists and business elites, led 2008 protests that shut Bangkok’s airports, stranded tourists, and helped topple a Thaksin-linked government.

In 2010, pro-Thaksin “Red Shirt” protesters rallied in Bangkok in opposition to the military-backed government, ending in a bloody crackdown that left more than 90 people dead.

“The power has been passed from her father to her aunt, and now to her,” said Mek Sumet, 59, an electrical equipment seller who took part in the 2008 Don Mueang airport occupation.

“She doesn’t think of the country but only of herself,” he told AFP.

The kingdom has had a dozen coups since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932, and the current crisis has inevitably triggered rumours that another may be in the offing.

Despite Thailand’s long history of coups, some protestors openly welcomed the idea of another military intervention.

“I want the military to take control,” Kanya told AFP.

“We are thinking long-term. It will be positive for the country.”

Thai PM faces growing calls to quit in Cambodia phone row


By AFP
June 18, 2025


Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra is facing calls to resign after a leaked phone call with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen - Copyright AFP STR
Thanaporn PROMYAMYAI

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra faced mounting calls to resign on Thursday after a leaked phone call she had with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen provoked widespread anger and a key coalition partner to quit.

The coalition government led by Shinawatra’s Pheu Thai party is on the brink of collapse, throwing the kingdom into a fresh round of political instability as it seeks to boost its spluttering economy and avoid US President Donald Trump’s swingeing trade tariffs.

The conservative Bhumjaithai party, Pheu Thai’s biggest partner, pulled out on Wednesday saying Paetongtarn’s conduct in the leaked call had wounded the country and the army’s dignity.

Losing Bhumjaithai’s 69 MPs leaves Paetongtarn with barely enough votes to scrape a majority in parliament, and a snap election looks a clear possibility — barely two years after the last one in May 2023.

Two coalition parties, the United Thai Nation and Democrat Party, will hold urgent meetings to discuss the situation later on Thursday.

Losing either would likely mean the end of Paetongtarn’s government and either an election or a bid by other parties to stitch together a new coalition.



– Resignation calls –



The Palang Pracharath party, which led the government up to 2023 and is headed by General Prawit Wongsuwan — who supported a coup against Paetongtarn’s aunt Yingluck — called for the premier to resign.

The party’s statement said the leaked recording showed Paetongtarn was weak and inexperienced, and incapable of managing the country’s security.

“This already has proved that Thailand has a leader who will lead the country to a bad situation and weakness,” the statement said.

Another opposition party, Thai Sang Thai, also called for Paethongtarn to step down, saying her conversation with Hun Sen had damaged the kingdom’s sovereignty and the army.

In the leaked phone call, Paetongtarn is heard discussing an ongoing border dispute with Hun Sen — who stepped down as Cambodian prime minister in 2023 after four decades but still wields considerable influence.

She addresses the veteran leader as “uncle” and refers to the Thai army commander in the country’s northeast as her opponent, a remark that sparked fierce criticism on social media, particularly on Pheu Thai page and Royal Thai Army page.

Thailand’s armed forces have a long played a powerful role in the kingdom’s politics, and politicians are usually careful not to antagonise them.

The kingdom has had a dozen coups since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932, and the current crisis has inevitably triggered rumours that another may be in the offing.

If she is ousted she would be the third member of her family, after her aunt Yingluck and father Thaksin Shinawatra, to be kicked out of office by the army.



– Awkward coalition –



Paetongtarn, 38, came to power in August 2024 at the head of an uneasy coalition between Pheu Thai and a group of conservative, pro-military parties whose members have spent much of the last 20 years battling against her father.

Growing tensions within the coalition erupted into open warfare in the past week as Pheu Thai tried to take the interior minister job away from Bhumjaithai leader Anutin Charnvirakul.

The loss of Bhumjaithai leaves Pheu Thai’s coalition with just a handful more votes than the 248 needed for a majority.

The battle between the conservative pro-royal establishment and Thaksin’s political movement has dominated Thai politics for more than 20 years.

Former Manchester City owner Thaksin, 75, still enjoys huge support from the rural base whose lives he transformed with populist policies in the early 2000s.

But he is despised by Thailand’s powerful elites, who saw his rule as corrupt, authoritarian and socially destabilising.

Thaksin returned to Thailand in 2023 as Pheu Thai took power after 15 years in self-exile overseas.

The current Pheu Thai-led government has already lost one prime minister, former businessman Srettha Thavisin, who was kicked out by a court order last year, bringing Paetongtarn to office.

UN refugee agency says will shed 3,500 jobs due to funding cuts

By AFP
June 16, 2025


The UNHCR said it is cutting around 3,500 staff jobs - Copyright AFP/File Manan VATSYAYANA

The UN refugee agency said Monday it will cut 3,500 staff jobs — slashing nearly a third of its workforce costs — due to a funding shortfall, and reduce the scale of its help worldwide.

UNHCR carried out a review of its activities, expenditure, staffing and structures following a plunge in humanitarian funding.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has been among a host of UN and private aid agencies badly hit by funding cuts by the United States.

The United States — which was by far UNHCR’s biggest donor — has slashed its foreign aid under a radical spending review ordered by US President Donald Trump. Other countries have also cut humanitarian spending.

Washington previously made up more than 40 percent of UNHCR contributions received — $2 billion per year, the agency’s chief Filippo Grandi told the UN Security Council in April.

“In light of difficult financial realities, UNHCR is compelled to reduce the overall scale of its operations,” Grandi said in Monday’s statement.

He added that UNHCR would focus “on activities that have the greatest impact for refugees” while streamlining its Geneva headquarters and regional offices.

The agency said it had had to close or downsize offices worldwide and implement a nearly 50-percent cut in senior positions in Geneva and at the regional HQs.

“In total, approximately 3,500 staff positions will be discontinued,” the statement said.

Additionally, hundreds of temporary workers have had to leave the organisation due to the funding shortfall.

“Overall, UNHCR estimates a global reduction in staffing costs of around 30 percent,” the agency said.

It said that programmes ranging from financial aid to vulnerable families, health, education, and water and sanitation had already been affected by cuts.

UNHCR said it was working with other organisations and refugee-hosting countries to try to mitigate the impact on refugees.



– ‘Resources are scarcer’ –



UNHCR estimates that it will end 2025 with available funding at about the same level as a decade ago — despite the number of people forced to flee their homes having nearly doubled over the same period to more than 122 million.

“Even as we face painful cuts and lose so many dedicated colleagues, our commitment to refugees remains unshakeable,” said Grandi.

“Although resources are scarcer and our capacity to deliver is reduced, we will continue to work hard to respond to emergencies, protect the rights of refugees, and pursue solutions — including returning home, as nearly two million Syrians have done since December.”

Syria’s civil war erupted in 2011, and ruler Bashar al-Assad was overthrown in December 2024.

Sudan is now the world’s largest forced displacement situation, with its 14.3 million refugees and internally displaced people overtaking Syria (13.5 million), followed by Afghanistan (10.3 million) and Ukraine (8.8 million).

At the end of 2024, one in 67 people worldwide were forcibly displaced, UNHCR said Thursday.

Scientists track egret’s 38-hour flight from Australia to PNG


By AFP
June 16, 2025


Australian researchers used GPS to follow eight plumed egrets and 10 great egrets over a period of months, after the birds left the Macquarie Marshes in New South Wales - Copyright AFP Jalaa MAREY

A species of heron has been tracked flying for almost two days non-stop between Australia and Papua New Guinea during its northern migration, scientists say.

Australian researchers used GPS to follow eight plumed egrets and 10 great egrets over a period of months, after the birds left the Macquarie Marshes in New South Wales.

Great egrets were found to disperse in all directions, said the scientists from Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation.

But the plumed egrets all migrated north, and one was tracked flying almost 2,400 kilometres (1,490 miles) over several months before settling near the town of Kalo, southeast of Port Moresby.

It took that bird 38 hours to fly more than 700km across the Coral Sea, according to findings published in the journal Pacific Conservation Biology on Monday.

It was the first time scientists had recorded the plumed egrets’ migration.

Another Australian bird, the bar-tailed godwit, holds the world record for flying more than 13,500 kilometres non-stop in just 11 days during its migration south from Alaska to Tasmania.

Red wolf endangered: Best states for wildlife protection


ByDr. Tim Sandle
DIGITAL JOURNAL
June 16, 2025


Red wolf by Magnus Manske, CC BY-SA 2.0,

There are over 1,600 endangered and threatened species across the U.S. These species require support from charities and volunteers to survive. “Endangered” signifies a species facing a very high risk of extinction in the near future, while “threatened” indicates a species likely to become endangered soon.

Examples in the U.S. include:

Red Wolf.
Florida Panther.
Florida Manatee.
Loggerhead Sea Turtle.
California Condor.
Mississippi Gopher Frog.
San Joaquin Kit Fox.
Franklin’s Bumble Bee.

Of the above, under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recognises the red wolf as an endangered species and grants it protected status. It is one of the primary species that requires protection.

Globally, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) aims to regulate international trade in endangered species. However, what is the current situation in the U.S.?

To review the likelihood of such support being manifest in a given territory, the non-profit organization SmileHub has released new reports on the Best Charities for Animals and the Best States for Wildlife Protection in 2025 to highlight leaders in conservation and inspire greater efforts to protect wildlife.

To highlight the best states for wildlife protection and the ones that have the most room to improve, SmileHub compared each of the 50 states using 17 key metrics. The data set ranges from the number of animal charities per capita to the presence of endangered species legislation to the overexploitation of wild species.

The outcomes were:

Best States for Wildlife Protection

1. Vermont

2. Wyoming

3. Colorado

4. Oregon

5. California

6. Alaska

7. Maine

8. New Hampshire

9. Washington

10. Minnesota

And in contrast, States in Need of Improvement

41. North Carolina

42. Tennessee

43. Arizona

44. Ohio

45. Georgia

46. Kansas

47. Alabama

48. South Carolina

49. Mississippi

50. Nevada

The data set contained some variances of interest. In terms of voluntary bodies, California has the most animal charities per capita – 8.6 times more than Delaware, which has the fewest charities.

With another measure, suitable open spaces Alaska has the most state land designated for parks and wildlife – 61.6 times more than Kansas, which has the least.

A further factor is the willingness of the state to step in to support volunteer efforts. On this measure, Alaska has the most state wildlife grant dollars per capita – 53.6 times more than California, which has the least.

Fighting coastal erosion with electricity


By Dr. Tim Sandle
June 16, 2025


Escorca coast, Serra de Tramuntana (Balearic Islands). Image by Vicenç Salvador Torres Guerola, CC BY-SA 3.0,

According to a 2020 study by the European commission’s Joint Research Centre, nearly 26% of the Earth’s beaches will be washed away by the end of this century. The reason for this is climate change: from intensifying rainstorms to rising sea levels.

Consequently, coastal erosion is an increasing threat. Moreover, current solutions, such as sea walls, are expensive and do not last. New technology, however, signals a viable alternative.

This is a bioinspired process makes marine sand more durable and hence resistant to erosion. The new process uses electricity to form a natural cement between grains of sand, transforming it into solid, immoveable rock.

In the study, from Northwestern University, researchers took inspiration from clams, mussels and other shell-dwelling sea life, which use dissolved minerals in seawater to build their shells.

Similarly, the researchers leveraged the same naturally occurring, dissolved minerals to form a natural cement between sea-soaked grains of sand. But, instead of using metabolic energy like molluscs do, the researchers used electrical energy to spur the chemical reaction.

Seawater naturally contains a myriad of ions and dissolved minerals. When a mild electrical current (2 to 3 volts) is applied to the water, it triggers chemical reactions. This converts some of these constituents into solid calcium carbonate — the same mineral molluscs use to build their shells. With a slightly higher voltage (4 volts), these constituents can be predominantly converted into magnesium hydroxide and hydromagnesite, a ubiquitous mineral found in various stones.

When these minerals coalesce in the presence of sand, they act like a glue, binding the sand particles together. In the laboratory, the process also worked with all types of sands — from common silica and calcareous sands to iron sands, which are often found near volcanoes. While the minerals form instantaneously after the current is applied, longer electric stimulations garner more substantial results.

From laboratory experiments it was found how a mild electrical current instantaneously changed the structure of marine sand, transforming it into a rock-like, immoveable solid. The researchers are hopeful this strategy could offer a lasting, inexpensive and sustainable solution for strengthening global coastlines.

Subsequent studies approach also can heal cracked structures made of reinforced concrete. Much of the existing shoreside infrastructure is made of reinforced concrete, which disintegrates due to complex effects caused by sea-level rise, erosion and extreme weather. And if these structures crack, the new approach bypasses the need to fully rebuild the infrastructure. Instead, one pulse of electricity can heal potentially destructive cracks.

According to lead researcher Alessandro Rotta Loria the need for this type of work was pressing: “Over 40% of the world’s population lives in coastal areas. Because of climate change and sea-level rise, erosion is an enormous threat to these communities. Through the disintegration of infrastructure and loss of land, erosion causes billions of dollars in damage per year worldwide. Current approaches to mitigate erosion involve building protection structures or injecting external binders into the subsurface.”

He adds, setting out the objectives of the study: “My aim was to develop an approach capable of changing the status quo in coastal protection — one that didn’t require the construction of protection structures and could cement marine substrates without using actual cement. By applying a mild electric stimulation to marine soils, we systematically and mechanistically proved that it is possible to cement them by turning naturally dissolved minerals in seawater into solid mineral binders — a natural cement.”

The research appears in the journal Communications Earth and the Environment. The research is titled “Electrodeposition of calcareous cement from seawater in marine silica sands”.

Venezuela’s El Dorado, where gold is currency of the poor


By AFP
June 16, 2025


Unlike Venezuela's battered currency, gold does not depreciate, and residents of the country's mining town of El Dorado use the precious metal in their daily commerce - Copyright KAZAKHSTAN'S PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE/AFP Handout
Margioni BERMÚDEZ

In the Venezuelan mining community of El Dorado, the majority of residents carry around gold instead of cards or cash to pay for groceries.

They live in a town named after the mythical City of Gold and untold riches — but most of them are poor.

Merchants use scales to carefully weigh the flecks people guard in plastic pill bottles or wrapped in pieces of paper, and market goods are priced in weight of gold.

For 0.02 grams, you can get a small packet of maize meal, for one gram a pre-packaged bag of groceries that includes flour, pasta, oil, margarine, ketchup and milk powder.

A gram of gold can purchase between $85 and $100 worth of goods, but takes hours of back-breaking work to amass. If you’re in luck.

“Gold is a blessing given to us so we can buy what we want, but you have to work hard,” 48-year-old Jose Tobias Tranquini told AFP in the town of 5,000 residents mostly employed in mining — legal and illegal.

“One day at the mine you might find nothing; there are lucky people who have gotten up to a kilo (2.2 pounds), but… I haven’t had that kind of blessing. I’ve only gotten a little bit,” said Tranquini.

El Dorado’s residents have limited access to banking services.

They could sell their gold at one of the dozens of dealers that dot the streets, but most prefer not to. Gold — unlike the battered Venezuelan currency that has lost 50 percent of its value this year — does not depreciate.



– No gold, no life –



El Dorado arose as a military fort as Britain and Venezuela squared off in 1895 over the mineral- and oil-rich region of Essequibo now at the center of an increasingly heated territorial dispute with Guyana, which has administered it for decades.

The oldest inhabitants of the town remember that when it rained, particles of gold emerged from the town’s clay streets.

Nowadays, the streets are tarred, though potholed, and the population rely for transport mainly on motorcycles that zoom noisily to and fro.

Hilda Carrero, a 73-year-old merchant, arrived in Eldorado 50 years go in the midst of a gold rush. The town, she recalls, was just “jungle and snakes… It was ugly.”

Carrero sells cans of water for 0.03 grams of gold apiece — about $1.50 — but business, like mining hauls, is erratic. Some days she sells nothing.

“If I don’t have gold I have no life,” Carrero sighed.

It can be hard to make a living in a place where abundant reserves of gold, diamonds, iron, bauxite, quartz and coltan have attracted organized crime and guerrilla groups that mine illegally, and sow violence.

Extortion of small business owners is rife, and 217 people were killed in the four years to 2020 in clashes between rival criminal gangs.

Environmentalists also denounce an “ecocide” in the heavily-exploited area, and mine collapses have claimed dozens of lives.



– Hazardous work –



Around El Dorado, there are numerous camps processing the gold-laden sand that miners dig up daily.

In tall sheds with zinc roofs, mountains of sand are milled in machines that work with modified car engines, then washed in water and toxic mercury to separate the gold from other metals.

Tiny particles almost imperceptible to the naked eye are trapped in a green mat which is shaken out to collect them.

The granules are finally heated with a blowtorch to remove impurities before the gold can be traded or sold.

It is hard work, and hazardous.

“The danger of this is the smoke” produced by the mercury burning off, a mill owner explained while smoking a cigarette.

A family of five working at a mine visited by AFP spent four hours that day processing a ton of sand.

For their efforts: one gram of gold.

“We’ll use it to buy food and whatever is needed at the mill,” a worker who asked not to be named told AFP as he cupped a tiny grain of gold in coarse hands.

It was a good day.

Dpvipracollege.indpvipracollege.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/El-Dorado-Robert-Louis-Stevenson.pdf

El Dorado Robert Louis Stevenson - D.P. Vipra College, Bilaspur

One who goes touring on foot with a single volume in his knapsack reads with circumspection, pausing often to reflect, and often laying the book down to ...

UK MPs eye decriminalising abortion for women in all cases

ABOUT TIME


By  AFP
June 16, 2025


UK MPs are set to debate decriminalising abortions for women and end laws which have seen women prosecuted for ending their pregnancy - Copyright AFP HENRY NICHOLLS

Peter HUTCHISON

UK MPs are expected to vote Tuesday on an overhaul of abortion laws in England and Wales which would end contentious prosecutions of women for terminating a pregnancy.

Currently, a woman can face criminal charges for choosing to end a pregnancy after 24 weeks or without the approval of two doctors, under laws which technically still carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The issue has gained attention in the UK due to recent court cases. In one a woman was cleared by a jury at trial, while another was released from prison on appeal.

A proposal put forward by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi seeks to change the law to ensure that no woman would be committing an offence by terminating her own pregnancy at any time.

“Women are currently being arrested from hospital bed to police cell and facing criminal investigations on suspicion of ending their own pregnancy,” Antoniazzi told AFP.

“My amendment would put a stop to this,” she said, adding it was “the right amendment at the right time”.

Abortion in England and Wales is a criminal offence under the Offences Against the Person Act, passed in 1861 during the Victorian age and which carries carrying a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The Abortion Act 1967 made terminations legal in certain circumstances, including by permitting it up to 23 weeks and six days of gestation if done by an authorised provider.

Abortions are allowed in limited circumstances after this time, such as if the mother’s life is in danger or there is a “substantial risk” the child could be born with a serious disability.

An update to the law introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic allows women to take abortion pills at home up to 10 weeks into a pregnancy.

In May, Nicola Packer was acquitted after taking prescribed abortion medicine when she was around 26 weeks pregnant, beyond the legal limit of 10 weeks for taking such medication at home.

The 45-year-old told jurors during her trial, which came after a four-year police investigation, that she did not realise she had been pregnant for so long.

“It was horrendous giving evidence, absolutely awful,” she told The Guardian newspaper last month.

The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children has however called the proposed amendment “the greatest threat to unborn babies in decades”.



– ‘Optimistic’ –



Antoniazzi’s amendment would not change any of the laws regarding the provision of abortion services, including the time limits.

And anyone assisting a woman in getting an abortion outside the remits of the law, such as medical practitioners, would still be liable for prosecution.

Some 50 organisations, including abortion providers, medical colleges, and women’s rights groups, have backed the amendment.

They say six women have appeared in court in England charged with ending or attempting to end their own pregnancy outside abortion law in the last three years.

Carla Foster was jailed in 2023 for illegally obtaining abortion tablets to end her pregnancy when she was between 32 and 34 weeks pregnant. The Court of Appeal eventually suspended her sentence.

Some 140 MPs in the 650-seat parliament have publicly backed the change.

It “has widespread support from MPs across the political spectrum and I am optimistic the Commons will support it,” said Antoniazzi.

Lawmakers will have a free vote, meaning they can decide based on their views, not what their party tells them.

Northern Ireland decriminalised abortion for women in 2019. Scotland is currently reviewing its abortion laws.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M; ECOCIDE

Verdict due for Sweden’s ‘Queen of Trash’ over toxic waste


ByAFP
June 16, 2025

Prosecutors want a six-year sentence for Bella Nilsson, former head of Swedish garbage disposal company Think Pink, who is charged with illegal toxic waste dumping - Copyright AFP Brendan SMIALOWSKI

A court in Sweden will rule Tuesday in the country’s biggest environmental crime trial, where a self-proclaimed “Queen of Trash” and four others stand accused of illegally dumping toxic waste.

The once-acclaimed waste management company Think Pink is accused of dumping or burying some 200,000 tonnes of waste from the Stockholm area at 21 sites from 2015 to 2020, with no intention of processing it correctly.

Prosecutors have called for six-year prison sentences against the five, who have denied the charges.

The Sodertorn district court is due to announce the verdict at 11:00 am (0900 GMT).

Think Pink’s former chief executive Bella Nilsson, an ex-stripper who once called herself the “Queen of Trash”, is charged with “aggravated environmental crime”.

Two others who also served as chief executive at times — Nilsson’s ex-husband Thomas Nilsson, who founded the company, and Leif-Ivan Karlsson, an eccentric entrepreneur who starred in a reality show about his over-the-top lifestyle — face the same charge and possible sentence.

As do “waste broker” Robert Silversten and Tobias Gustafsson, accused of organising the transportation of the waste.

Bella Nilsson — who has now changed her name to Fariba Vancor — told the court Think Pink “followed the law”.

Her lawyer Thomas Olsson rejected the prosecution’s claim the company used falsified documents to mislead authorities, and said any wrongdoing was “by mistake”.

Bella Nilsson has insisted she is the victim of a plot by business rivals.

The prosecution has also sought a three-year sentence against an environmental consultant accused of helping the company pass inspections, as well as sentences of between eight and 18 months for five landowners.



– Flaming waste piles –



Think Pink was hired by municipalities, construction companies, apartment co-operatives and private individuals to dispose of primarily building materials but also electronics, metals, plastics, wood, tyres and toys.

But Think Pink left the piles of waste unsorted and abandoned, the court heard.

Prosecutors said high levels of toxic PCB compounds, lead, mercury, arsenic and other chemicals had been released into the air, soil and water, endangering the health of human, animal and plant life.

Several municipalities have sought damages for clean-up and decontamination costs, totalling 260 million kronor ($27 million).

One of the biggest claims is from the Botkyrka city council, where two Think Pink waste piles burned for months in 2020 and 2021 after spontaneously combusting. One was near two nature reserves.

The Kagghamra site, buried under sand to extinguish the fire, has only recently stopped burning.

Tests will soon be conducted on the toxic waste before politicians decide what to do with it.

Despite law, US TikTok ban likely to remain on hold


By AFP
June 17, 2025


Any deal to sell TikTok's business in the United States would need approval of the Chinese government amidst a trade war between the two countries - Copyright AFP Richard A. Brooks

Glenn CHAPMAN

US President Donald Trump is widely expected to extend the Thursday deadline for TikTok to find a non-Chinese buyer or face a ban in the United States.

It would be the third time Trump put off enforcing a federal law requiring its sale or ban, which was to take effect the day before his January inauguration.

“I have a little warm spot in my heart for TikTok,” Trump said in an NBC News interview in early May.

“If it needs an extension, I would be willing to give it an extension.”

Trump said a group of purchasers is ready to pay TikTok owner ByteDance “a lot of money” for the video-clip-sharing sensation’s US operations.

Trump has repeatedly downplayed risks that TikTok is in danger, saying he remains confident of finding a buyer for the app’s US business.

The president is “just not motivated to do anything about TikTok,” said independent analyst Rob Enderle.

“Unless they get on his bad side, TikTok is probably going to be in pretty good shape.”

Trump had long supported a ban or divestment, but reversed his position and vowed to defend the platform after coming to believe it helped him win young voters’ support in the November election.

“Trump’s not really doing great on his election promises,” Enderle maintained.

“This could be one that he can actually deliver on.”

– Digital Cold War? –

Motivated by national security fears and belief in Washington that TikTok is controlled by the Chinese government, the ban took effect on January 19, one day before Trump’s inauguration, with ByteDance having made no attempt to find a suitor.

TikTok “has become a symbol of the US-China tech rivalry; a flashpoint in the new Cold War for digital control,” said Shweta Singh, an assistant professor of information systems at Warwick Business School in Britain.

“National security, economic policy, and digital governance are colliding,” Singh added.

The Republican president announced an initial 75-day delay of the ban upon taking office.

A second extension pushed the deadline to June 19.

As of Monday, there was no word of a TikTok sale in the works.

– Tariff turmoil –

Trump said in April that China would have agreed to a deal on the sale of TikTok if it were not for a dispute over tariffs imposed by Washington on Beijing.

ByteDance has confirmed talks with the US government, saying key matters needed to be resolved and that any deal would be “subject to approval under Chinese law”.

Possible solutions reportedly include seeing existing US investors in ByteDance roll over their stakes into a new independent global TikTok company.

Additional US investors, including Oracle and private equity firm Blackstone, would be brought on to reduce ByteDance’s share in the new TikTok.

Much of TikTok’s US activity is already housed on Oracle servers, and the company’s chairman, Larry Ellison, is a longtime Trump ally.

Uncertainty remains, particularly over what would happen to TikTok’s valuable algorithm.

“TikTok without its algorithm is like Harry Potter without his wand — it’s simply not as powerful,” said Forrester Principal Analyst Kelsey Chickering.

Meanwhile, it appears TikTok is continuing with business as usual.

TikTok on Monday introduced a new “Symphony” suite of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools for advertisers to turn words or photos into video snippets for the platform.

“With TikTok Symphony, we’re empowering a global community of marketers, brands, and creators to tell stories that resonate, scale, and drive impact on TikTok,” global head of creative and brand products Andy Yang said in a release.

UK automakers cheer US trade deal, as steel tariffs left in limbo

TRUMP RECYLES; ANNOUNCEMENT

By AFP
June 17, 2025


The agreement will slash tariffs on British carmakers by the end of June - Copyright AFP/File ANGELA WEISS

Britain’s auto sector on Tuesday welcomed news that the United States and UK have agreed to implement key parts of their tariff-cutting trade deal, as levies on steel remain.

US President Donald Trump signed off on the first truce in his trade offensive on Monday, on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada.

The agreement will slash tariffs on British carmakers by the end of June and remove them completely on British aerospace imports.

Britain in return has agreed to open its markets to US beef, other farm goods and ethanol.

“This is great news for the UK automotive industry, helping the sector avoid the severest level of tariffs and enabling many manufacturers to resume deliveries imminently,” said Mike Hawes, chief executive at the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

Tariffs of 25 percent on the UK steel industry remain however, despite a bilateral agreement in May to completely remove the levy for British aluminium.

“We are still working at pace to make sure we can address the issue of tariffs for the steel industry,” British Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander told Sky News on Tuesday.

According to the Financial Times, talks have stalled because a signficant portion of British steel is processed using imported materials.

Trump in June increased tariffs on aluminium and steel imports to 50 percent from 25 percent for other key trading partners around the world.