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Fifty-nine Rohingya people have been discovered on a Thai island, saying they were abandoned by traffickers en route to Malaysia, a senior police officer said Sunday. The group — among them five children — were found on Koh Dong island in the southern Satun province on Saturday, said lieutenant general Surachet Hakpan. Each year, thousands of the mostly Muslim minority Rohingya people, heavily persecuted in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, risk their lives in months-long expensive journeys to […]
by Rose Troup Buchanan and Thanaporn Promyamyai Millions of Bangkok voters will elect a new governor on Sunday in the first major polls since pro-democracy protests rattled Thailand’s capital, with a former minister ousted in the 2014 military coup leading the race. The poll comes as embattled Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha fights to hold his ruling national coalition together until a general election due within 12 months. The bustling, traffic-clogged metropolis of 10 million […]
by Pathom Sangwongwanich © Agence France-Presse BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — At his upmarket Bangkok restaurant, Michelin-starred chef Thitid “Ton” Tassanakajohn spoons black caviar onto a plate, adding the newly affordable Thailand-made delicacy to his reinterpreted traditional family recipes. The luxury food, better associated with chilly northern nations, is breaking into the Southeast Asian country’s fine-dining scene, with the 37-year-old celebrity cook able to economically serve the roe thanks to an innovative farm outside the […]
WASHINGTON, D.C., United States (AFP) – The United States has given more than 500 million coronavirus vaccines to other countries since the jabs were developed, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday in a statement obtained by AFP. “The United States has now shared over 500 million safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine doses, free of cost, to more than 110 countries and economies around the world — for the sole purpose of saving lives,” Blinken said. Washington aims […]
by Pathom SANGWONGWANICH Agence France-Presse UBON RATCHATHANI, Thailand (AFP) – A vast array of solar panels floats on the shimmering waters of a reservoir in northeast Thailand, symbolising the kingdom’s drive towards clean energy as it seeks carbon neutrality by 2050. The immense installation, covering 720,000 square metres of water surface, is a hybrid system that converts sunlight to electricity by day and generates hydropower at night. Touted by the authorities as the “world’s largest […]
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Thailand’s economy rebounded in the fourth quarter of last year on the back of rising exports and the easing of coronavirus restrictions that allowed tourists to return, senior officials said Monday. The 1.9 percent on-year expansion was more than double what was forecast and marked a strong bounce after a 0.2 percent contraction in the previous three months. For the whole year the economy grew 1.6 percent, according to the National […]
RAYONG, Thailand (AFP) – Oil washing up on a beach on Thailand’s east coast could be the “nail in the coffin” for pandemic-hit hotels and restaurants, local hospitality businesses said Saturday. The Thai navy and pollution experts are scrambling to clean up Tuesday night’s spill in the Gulf of Thailand where at least 60 tonnes of crude leaked about 20 kilometres (12 miles) off the coast of Rayong province. Crews in yellow plastic protective suits […]
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Scientists discovered more than 200 new species across the greater Mekong region in 2020, according to a WWF report, despite the threats posed by climate change and human activities such as logging. The finds include a new primate, a colourless cavefish and an iridescent snake with an unusual non-overlapping pattern of scales. In all, 224 new species of plants and vertebrate animals were found in the region — which includes Myanmar, […]
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) – Thailand’s navy and pollution experts battled Thursday to clear up an oil spill close to pristine holiday beaches, after an undersea pipeline leaked up to 50 tonnes of crude. The kingdom’s Pollution Control Department has warned that the spill in the Gulf of Thailand, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) off the coast of Rayong province, could threaten a national park in nearby Ko Samet island. Weak currents have kept the oil […]
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-cha will this week make the first visit by a Thai leader to Saudi Arabia in more than 30 years following decades of diplomatic tension sparked by a jewel theft from a Saudi palace. Thai-born janitor Kriangkrai Techamong stole $20 million worth of precious gems in 1989 from the home of a Saudi prince, triggering a feud between the countries dubbed the “Blue Diamond Affair” that has yet […]
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Thailand will resume its quarantine-free travel scheme from February 1, officials said Thursday, after the programme was suspended due to the fast-spreading Omicron Covid-19 variant. Pandemic travel curbs have hammered the kingdom’s tourism-dominated economy, sending visitor numbers dwindling to a trickle. Fully vaccinated travellers will now be able to enter under the “test and go” scheme as long as they take Covid tests on the first and fifth days after arriving, […]
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Thailand will introduce a $9 entry fee for foreign visitors from April, officials said Wednesday, even as the kingdom seeks to lure travellers back and repair its Covid-battered tourism sector. Strict entry rules imposed to curb the pandemic hammered Thailand’s crucial tourism industry last year, contributing to the economy’s worst performance in more than 20 years. The new 300 baht ($9) charge will be incorporated into airfares, government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana […]
