The Nation

Myanmar Pongpipat, a Thai mining company, has reached a settlement with The Nation newspaper over an article on the Heinda tin mine in Myanmar. The company sued The Nation and journalist Pratch Rujivanarom after a report published on 1st March claimed that the mine had contaminated local water supplies. The report has now been deleted from the newspaper's website.

When the lawsuit was filed, I speculated that the newspaper had failed to contact the company before publishing the story. This was confirmed in an apology printed on page six of The Nation today: "Pratch admitted that he did not contact the plaintiff about the allegation that appeared in the report".

Today's clarification, headlined "Pongpipat follows Myanmar environmental regulations", does include the mining company's response to the allegations. Pongpipat's dropping of the lawsuit was conditional on The Nation publishing the correction: "The court has arranged mediation session for the plaintiff and the two defendants during which they have agreed to settle the case without proceeding to court trials."