In brief :Sugar barge owner faces lawsuits
The sinking of a sugar barge was the main cause of the water pollution that killed a massive number of fish in the Chao Phya River in Angthong and Ayutthaya last month - not a factory that makes monosodium glutamate, Cabinet was told yesterday.
Government spokesman Yongyuth Maiyalarb said the two provinces would be in charge of financial assistance to fish farmers affected by the polluted water. They should contact the Fishery Department to get fish hatchlings for the farmers and support a co-op for fish farmers, or apply for loans from the BAAC bank. Natural Resources and Environment Minister Kasem Sanidwong na Ayudhaya said the Pollution Control and Fishery Departments would file a civil suit to demand compensation from the barge owner and boat rescue firm for the PCD's expenses to rehabilitate the river as well as the Fishery Department's costs assessing the loss of fish and river-life. And the government would help the affected fish farmers sue the sugar barge owner for compensation.
3,000 students still in limbo The second round for admissions to Bangkok schools ended yesterday, but more than 3,000 children still have nowhere to enrol. Suriyon Wasombat, director of Bangkok's educational zone II, said every student must have a place to study before April 22. Mantana Sangkhakrit, deputy secretary-general of the Basic Education Commission, said schools were forced to increase classroom size again to 55 pupils from 50. Second, most schools need to add about two rooms.
Cut offensive videos, embassy asks Thailand has again asked video-sharing website YouTube to remove video clips that mock His Majesty the King. The Thai Embassy in Washington has written to YouTube's owner Google asking that the videos be removed, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday. "YouTube is free to distribute material but the company should take into account that such actions affect the feelings of Thai people," ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat said.
Abbott in Aids drug about-turn Pharmaceutical company Abbott Laboratories yesterday offered to slash the price it charges Thailand for the HIV/Aids drug Kaletra to less than what it costs the government to manufacture generic copies. The US-based company's decision came as a surprise after it earlier strongly opposed the licensing decision.
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