18/01/2026

theSun on Sunday JAN 18, 2026

WORLD 7

New treaty to create ‘marine protected areas’

Thailand halts 14 projects after fatal accidents BANGKOK: Thailand’s Transport Ministry has ordered a 15-day construction halt on 14 contracts involving Italian-Thai Development (ITD) PCL as well as other large projects overseen by the ministry, as it conducts safety inspections after two fatal crane accidents in two days. The decision follows a train derailing that killed 32 passengers in northeastern Nakhon Ratchasima on Wednesday and the death of two drivers when their vehicles were crushed near Bangkok 24 hours later, with both incidents caused by the collapse of cranes used on Italian-Thai projects. ITD, founded in 1958 by Italian and Thai partners, has said it accepts responsibility for providing care, compensation and remedies for the losses incurred in both incidents. The halt to the 14 projects would allow expert teams to conduct detailed inspections to ensure safety standards were being met, said Chirapong Theppithuck, deputy permanent secretary of the Transport Ministry. He also ordered other major projects commissioned by the ministry to stop construction for up to 15 days for similar inspections, after which legal or regulatory action would be taken if required, the ministry said in a statement. This week’s crane collapses were the latest in a series of fatal accidents at construction projects in Thailand. Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who faces a general election next month, reiterated on Friday that his government would terminate ITD’s contracts for the two accident-hit projects and pursue legal action against the firm. The two projects are an elevated highway near Bangkok and the building of concrete structures for a stretch of an elevated high-speed rail line in the northeast. “The government sees this as a danger to people’s lives and property and has instructed the transport minister to terminate the contracts,“ Anutin said.

Legal regime to address threats

“While we only needed 60 for it to enter into force, obviously it’s really critical for its implementation and for it to be as effective ߑ as possible for us to achieve global or universal ratification of the treaty,” said Rebecca Hubbard, director of the High Seas Alliance, a coalition of environmental groups. “We’re really aiming for all UN member states to ratify the treaty.” Under the treaty, countries must conduct environmental assessments of activities that have an impact on ocean ecology. It will also create mechanisms allowing ߑ nations to share the spoils of the “blue economy”, including “marine genetic resources” used in industries such as biotechnology.

ocean, (and) it’s half the surface of the planet that for the first time will have a comprehensive legal regime,” said Adam McCarthy, first assistant secretary at the Australian Foreign Ministry and a co-chair of the treaty preparatory committee, speaking at a media briefing. The treaty reached the threshold of 60 national ratifications on Sept 19 last year, meaning it would go formally into operation within 120 days. The number of ratifications ߑ has since risen to more than 80, with China, Brazil and Japan adding their names to the list. Others, including Britain and Australia, are expected to follow soon. The United States signed the treaty during the previous administration but has not yet ratified it.

Japan PM mulls suspending sales tax on food TOKYO: Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is considering a pledge to suspend the sales tax on food as part of her campaign for a general election next month, the Mainichi newspaper reported, citing unnamed sources. The government and Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will carefully assess the market impact before deciding, as scrapping the 8% levy on food sales would cut government revenue by an estimated ¥5 trillion (RM122 billion) a year, the newspaper said. A call to the Prime Minister’s Office seeking comment went unanswered. Takaichi plans to dissolve parliament on Friday and call a snap election as she seeks public backing for spending plans that have rattled financial markets. She is considering holding the election on Feb 8, two LDP lawmakers told Reuters. LDP formed a coalition government in October with the right-leaning Japan Innovation Party, known as Ishin, paving the way for Takaichi to become the country’s first female prime minister. The parties said they had agreed to consider legislation that would exempt food and beverages from the consumption tax for two years, without providing further details. – Reuters “The question of mining in the seabed simply belongs to the ISA (International Seabed Authority). It’s not something that the ߑ BBNJ gets a role.” – Reuters Environmentalists say more than 190,000 protected areas would need to be established to meet the “30 by 30” target to bring 30% of the oceans under formal protection by 2030. Currently, only about 8%, or 29 million square kilometres, is protected. But the treaty will have little impact on what some conservationists ߑ identify as one of the greatest threats facing the marine environment – the clamour to extract mineral resources from the ocean bed. “BBNJ is ambitious but there are limits,” McCarthy said.

SINGAPORE: A landmark global treaty to safeguard biodiversity in the high seas came into effect yesterday, providing countries with a legally binding framework to tackle threats such as overfishing and meet a target to protect 30% of the ocean environment by 2030. The UN treaty, also known as Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), was finalised in March 2023 after 15 years of negotiations, and will allow the creation of a global network of “marine protected areas” in vast and ߑ previously unregulated ocean ecosystems lying in international waters. “It’s two-thirds of the

“In this case, actions have posed a danger to the public. Therefore, we must use an administrative order to proceed.” – Reuters China, Canada reach ‘landmark’ deal

ROUSING SUPPORT ... Pheu Thai Party’s prime ministerial candidate Yodchanan Wongsawat greeting supporters with fellow party members and parliamentary candidates during a rally in Samut Prakan city on Friday ahead of the general election next month. – AFPPIC

summit in October. “It can be said our meeting last year opened a new chapter in turning China-Canada relations toward improvement,” Xi told the Canadian leader. “The healthy and stable development of China-Canada relations serves the common interests of our two countries,” he said, adding that he was “glad” to see discussions over the last few months to restore cooperation. – AFP

visitors to enter the country visa free. In return, Canada will import 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles (EV) under new, preferential tariffs of 6.1%. “This is a return to the levels that existed before recent trade frictions,” Carney said. Welcoming Carney in the Great Hall of the People, Xi said China Canada relations reached a turning point at their last meeting on the sidelines of the Apec

reached a preliminary but landmark trade agreement to remove trade barriers and reduce tariffs,” Carney told a news conference after meeting Xi on Friday. Under the deal, China, which used to be Canada’s largest market for canola seed, is expected to reduce tariffs on canola products by March 1 to about 15%, down from 84%. China will also allow Canadian

BEIJING: Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney and President Xi Jinping agreed on a raft of measures from trade to tourism at the first meeting between the countries’ leaders in Beijing in eight years. The Canadian leader hailed a “landmark deal” under a “new strategic partnership” with China, turning the page on years of diplomatic spats, tit-for-tat arrests and tariff disputes. “Canada and China have