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From Channel News Asia Thailand to reduce COVID-19 quarantine period, reopen to international visitors in 4 phases BANGKOK: Thailand is preparing to downscale its COVID-19 quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated international tourists and reopen the country in four phases, starting from October, according to the COVID-19 Situation Administration Centre (CCSA). Starting from Oct 1, international travellers who have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus for at least 14 days and can prove it with a vaccination certificate will only be required to undergo seven days of quarantine upon their arrival. However, there will no quarantine requirement in certain provinces that will have reopened to international travellers. “They’ll be swabbed twice. The first time is between Day 0 and Day 1, which is the first day they arrive. The second time is between Day 6 and Day 7,” said CCSA spokesperson Taweesin Visanuyothin during a press conference on Monday (Sep 27). International travellers who are not fully vaccinated will have to be quarantined for 10 days if they enter Thailand by sea or air. If they enter by land, the quarantine period will be 14 days. According to CCSA, they will also be required to take PCR tests twice after their arrival. Besides adjusting the quarantine requirements, Thailand has also laid out a plan to reopen to international tourism in four phases. In each stage, different provinces will be added to the so-called Blue Zone, where travel is not restricted and various social activities as well as gatherings of no more than 500 people are allowed. The initial pilot phase is from Oct 1 to Oct 31. It covers Phuket and parts of Krabi, Phang Nga and Surat Thani such as the popular islands of Phi Phi, Samui and Pha-ngan. While parts of these provinces have reopened to international travellers since July, others still need to speed up their vaccination programmes and ensure the COVID-19 situation remains under control for the full reopening next month. The second phase is from Nov 1 to Nov 30. It covers ten provinces where income from international visitors usually makes up at least 15 per cent of their tourism revenue. They include Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Chonburi, among others. CCSA's announcement confirmed a change of plan for the Thai capital, where reopening to international tourism was initially scheduled for mid-October. “We are confident that on Oct 15, Bangkok will be able to reopen to international tourists,” said Tourism and Sports Minister Pipat Ratchakitprakan on Sep 15 after a discussion with Bangkok governor Aswin Kwanmuang. At least 70 per cent of Bangkok residents were expected to have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by that time. However, based on CCSA’s Monday announcement, its reopening has been postponed to November. The third phase is from Dec 1 to Dec 31 and the last phase takes effect from January 2022 onwards. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/thailand-reduce-covid-19-quarantine-reopen-international-tourists-bangkok-2204921 ============================================== From Bangkok Post More reopening, shorter curfew More businesses will be allowed to reopen from Friday, the night curfew and quarantine periods will be shortened and pilot reopening areas expanded, but the state of emergency will remain in force. The government's Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) chaired by the prime minister passed resolutions to this effect at its meeting on Monday. The eased disease control measures apply to the 29 provinces declared dark-red zones of maximum and strict disease control, and would take effect this coming Friday. Government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said the CCSA extended the state of emergency to cope with Covid-19 until Nov 30 and shortened the night curfew in dark-red zoned areas by one hour, from 10pm to 4am. The curfew will continue for at least another 15 days and shopping centres and convenience stores will close at 9pm. The CCSA approved the reopening of beauty salons, beauty clinics, massage and spa parlours and movie theatres and permitted music performances at restaurants. Also to reopen are nurseries, libraries, museums, learning centres and manicure and tattoo shops. Exhibition and convention centres will remain closed. Closed stadiums can open until 9pm and competitions can be organised, but without spectators. Open-air stadiums can allow spectators to a maximum 25% of seating capacity. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2188415/more-reopening-shorter-curfew

From The Thaiger / National News Bureau Thailand set a domestic record yesterday with more than one million Covid-19 vaccines administered in one day. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha thanked the public and everyone involved in making yesterday Thailand’s most successful vaccination day and expressed confidence that Thailand will reach its inoculation goals by the end of 2021. The massive campaign of 1 million vaccines was launched as a celebration of Mahidol Day, the holiday that commemorates the death of Prince Mahidol Adulyadej in 1929, who is widely considered the father of modern medicine and public health. Government officials stated they chose this day as a nod appreciation to the monarchy. Aside from first and second vaccines, yesterday kicked off the government’s booster shot program, giving a third vaccine to those who had previously received 2 Sinovac vaccines. Previously, booster shots had mainly been administered to medical personnel and frontline workers. At Bang Sue Grand Station, a campaign was launched yesterday to give booster shot vaccines to 15,000 people per day over the weekend and 10,000 a day for several weeks after. https://thethaiger.com/news/national/record-breaking-1-million-covid-19-vaccines-given-yesterday

There are scores of reasons why Pattaya's plans to reopen can go awry. Who, what, when where and how? But at least efforts are being made by the private sector to innovate despite a seemingly conflicted public sector. Today's Pattaya Mail detailed all the possible roadblocks, all of which we've been discussing on the forums for more than a year. It was overwhelmingly depressing--but only if you took to heart everything it said. Nevertheless I continue to believe that Thailand has no other reasonable alternative to reopening to the fully vaccinated. If vaccination remains the single metric that the country applies to its own population, then it needs to be the same, single metric that applies to tourists. All of the other issues will gradually fall away if the powers that be acknowledge the realities of jump startling the economy.

From Channel News Asia TAIPEI: The situation in the Taiwan Strait is "complex and grim", Chinese President Xi Jinping wrote in a congratulatory letter on Sunday (Sep 26) to the newly elected leader of Taiwan's main opposition party, who has pledged to renew talks with Beijing. Taiwan's Kuomintang (KMT) elected as their leader on Saturday former New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu, who said he would rekindle stalled high-level contacts with China's ruling Communist Party. China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has stepped up military and political pressure to force the island to accept Chinese sovereignty, even though most Taiwanese have shown no interest in being governed by Beijing. In Xi's letter, a copy of which was released by the KMT, he said both parties had had "good interactions" based on their joint opposition to Taiwan independence. "At present, the situation in the Taiwan Strait is complex and grim. All the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation must work together with one heart and go forward together," wrote Xi, who is also head of the Communist Party. He expressed hope that both parties could cooperate on "seeking peace in the Taiwan Strait, seeking national reunification and seeking national revitalisation". Chu, who badly lost the 2016 presidential election to current President Tsai Ing-wen, responded to Xi that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait were "all the children of the Yellow Emperor" - in other words, all Han Chinese. Chu blamed Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for tensions with Beijing after pursuing anti-China policies. Chu, who met Xi in China in 2015, said he hoped to "seek common ground and respect differences, increase mutual trust and geniality, strengthen exchanges and cooperation so as to allow the continued peaceful development of cross-strait relations". Under outgoing KMT leader Johnny Chiang's 17-month tenure, high-level contacts with China stalled amid military tensions and suspicion in Beijing the party was not sufficiently committed to the idea Taiwan was part of "one China". Continues at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/taiwan-kuomintang-eric-chu-xi-jinping-china-2202881

From Pattaya Mail Large swathes of Pattaya’s main districts are being demolished by bulldozers and replaced by high screens and metal walls. New condos, hotels and entertainment parks await only the go ahead from the civic authorities. Runway 88 on Second Road will specialize in street food from various continents. There is already a Pakistani Airlines 747 parked as the main attraction and enough space for 200 eateries, market stalls and kids’ play areas. If you don’t believe that Pattaya is changing fast and preparing for a very different future, here’s the evidence.

From Phuket News A local villager in Phuket was on a jog Thursday morning when he stumbled on a substance that he believes may be worth up to 30 million baht. the man didn’t find gold, or diamonds, or even birds’ nest. The treasure that the 66 year old Mai Khao resident discovered? Whale poop. Ambergris is a waxy, solid substance that sperm whales create in their intestines, which is then passed out of the whale with its faeces, hence often being referred to as “whale poop”. The material is surprisingly valuable, revered in Asian cultures for use in medicine and traditional treatments as well as being used as a spice. In Western culture, the substance is also prized for its usefulness in stabilizing perfume scents. https://thethaiger.com/news/phuket/phuket-man-finds-30-million-baht-surprise-on-beach-whale-poop

From The Thaiger / Pattaya News Police warn against OnlyFans creators dressing as sexy police After police arrested a popular Thai OnlyFans creator a few days ago and subsequently warned the people of Thailand that posting explicit content on OnlyFans or similar sites is illegal in Thailand, the Royal Thai Police have issued an additional warning for a specific subset of adult content creators they intend to crack down on. The police threatened that they are seeking out those who use sexy police uniforms or similar in their content. The Royal Thai Police call much of the content created on OnlyFans obscene and pornographic. The popular site where users can create pay per view accounts for their fans to purchase content such as workouts or cooking videos was quickly adopted as a convenient way to make and sell adult explicit materials for amateurs. But now the deputy spokesman for the Royal Thai Police issued a warning specifying that cosplay involving dressing in the uniform of the police, the Thai Army, or any other similar uniform violates Thai law and could cost those who don these costumes substantial fines and possibly jail time. The deputy spokesman said that those who dress in these sexy versions of the uniforms on their OnlyFans account would be violating both the Police Act B.E. 2547 for impersonating an officer and the Computer Crime Act B.E. 2560 for posting the images online. The Royal Thai Police say that they have found Thai accounts already that depicted girls dressed as sexy police officers and were already investigating them and wanted to warn the public that this is a crime. https://thethaiger.com/news/national/police-warn-against-onlyfans-creators-dressing-as-sexy-police

From Bangkok Post Firms rip reopening delay to Nov 1 Confusion over reopening timelines has spoiled the chance for the tourism industry to rebound during the coming high season as inconsistent policies damage the country's credibility and international tour operators refrain from planning packages until policies are confirmed. The reopening plan for five areas -- Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, Hua Hin and Phetchaburi -- faced another setback after the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) decided to put off the starting date from Oct 1 to Nov 1. For Pattaya, Hua Hin and Chiang Mai, this was the third postponement from an initial reopening schedule of mid-September, all attributed to a vaccine shortage. Tassapon Bijleveld, executive chairman of Asia Aviation, the largest shareholder of Thai AirAsia, said the move affects both the private sector and nation's tourism image because a reopening timeline of October was already set, with people and companies adjusting their plans. "Airlines had started to invest in service maintenance and recruit staff to prepare for new flow of tourists," said Mr Tassapon. "It costs a lot for any business to restart, particularly during a liquidity crisis when every baht counts." He said the government should have evaluated the infection curve in Thailand, assuring residents of reopening areas a sufficient vaccination rate and having a risk management plan in place before nailing down a timeline for each destination. "If the government announced earlier the country would be ready for inbound tourists in December or even January, we would have no objection. We would have shifted our focus to the domestic market in the final quarter with full force," said Mr Tassapon. "The flip-flop worsens a situation which is already somehow at its worst, particularly regarding our financial stability." Thanet Supornsahasrungsi, acting president of the Chon Buri Tourism Council, said companies in Pattaya have worked hard for the past 3-4 months to complete all the tasks the government asked them to prepare. The only action companies cannot take is procure vaccines, said Mr Thanet. In the past few months, authorities could not provide a realistic vaccination plan to provide local communities proper protection. "In addition to the vaccine shortage, some rules don't match our situation. For example, people who work here but don't have a household registration in Chon Buri as well as foreign workers cannot receive a jab here, which is impractical," he said. The postponement mars the country's reputation as local tourism operators have already settled agreement with agents overseas that have the potential to bring in tour groups from Russia and India, said Mr Thanet. "Nobody will listen to us again. They will wait for an official announcement, which may occur in November at the earliest, too late to capture high-season traffic as international flights often need 2-3 months notice for air traffic permission," he said. "It also takes that long to promote those packages." https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2186723/firms-rip-reopening-delay-to-nov-1 =========================== From The Thaiger Contrary to Anutin, US says delivery of vaccines awaits Thailand In a meeting with Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan, founder of the new Thai Sang Thai Party, US Senator Tammy Duckworth stated that she is pushing for more vaccine donations from the US to Thailand, but that Thailand has yet to collect 1 million Pfizer vaccines waiting for them now. The conversation took place in Washington DC on Wednesday. Duckworth was born in Thailand and has frequently advocated for her home country, including being instrumental in the donation of 2.5 million Pfizer vaccines agreed upon earlier this year. At the end of July Thailand received 1.5 million Pfizer vaccines from the US with a second delivery of 1 million pending. Duckworth said she planned on advocating for more vaccines to be donated but her hands are tied as Thai officials have not responded to confirm the pending donation. “All I can tell you is that I’ve been advocating for Thailand to get more vaccines … and Thailand has a million doses waiting to go. But because Thailand has not finished the paperwork … I know I told the ambassador a month ago that it needs to be completed. They said OK, they’re going to work on it.” The US government has apparently been sitting on the 1 million vaccines awaiting Thailand’s response. Thailand needs to send official documents declaring their intention to accept the vaccine donation from the US, and until those papers are received the Pfizer vaccines from the United States cannot be delivered. Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul has disputed these claims, saying that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs handles the paperwork protocol and responds to notifications from the US Embassy in Bangkok. Anutin claims that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not received any documentation from the United States. They say that it is in fact Thailand that is waiting on the United States to submit paperwork and not, as Senator Duckworth claims, the United States waiting on Thailand to respond with confirmation documents. https://thethaiger.com/coronavirus/contrary-to-anutin-us-says-delivery-of-vaccines-awaits-thailand

From Channel News Asia SEOUL: South Korea has set a record for daily COVID-19 cases at 2,434, breaking the previous record set last month, as the country grapples with a wave of infections that began in early July, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said on Friday (Sep 24). The mortality rate and number of severe cases remain relatively low and steady at 0.82 per cent and 309, respectively, helped largely by vaccinations that prioritised older people at high risk of severe COVID-19, KDCA said when reporting figures for Thursday. Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum stressed the need for virus-prevention rules to be stricter as adherence could have been lax during this week's three-day holiday. "If prevention measures are not managed stably, the gradual recovery to normal life will inevitably be delayed," Kim told Friday's COVID-19 response meeting. Authorities have advised people returning from holidays to be tested even for the mildest COVID-19-type symptoms, especially before going to work. The daily caseloads may continue to surge and peak by next week as more people get tested after the break, Lee Ki-il, deputy minister of healthcare policy, told a briefing.

From Coconuts Bangkok Bangkok’s got a new little green spot open to the public just a few blocks from Lumphini Park near Chamchuri Square. What had been an empty lot near Wat Hua Lamphong in the Bang Rak district is now a “pocket park” as of earlier this week. Perhaps feeling inadequate, the micro park’s got a name that’s a real mouthful: Wat Hua Lamphong Rukkaniwet Park. The park sits on 2 rai of land (3,200sqm) and features a playground, a few fitness bars, exercise machines, running track and some tables. A lot of hands collaborated on the park: City Hall’s environment department, the We!Park group, Shma Soen landscape architecture firm, Chulalongkorn University’s Architecture Faculty and the Thai Association of Landscape Architects. It is a pilot project developed under City Hall’s Green Bangkok 2030 project aiming to create more green spaces in the capital city. It’s just one small sliver of the extreme makeover redeveloping shabby but authentic areas lining Rama IV Road into a real estate portfolio dream. Less Dusit Thani; more mixed-use commercial zoning synergy. Wat Hua Lamphong Rukkhaniwet Park is located in Soi Na Wat Hua Lamphong and is open 5am to 8pm daily. The nearest transpo is MRT Sam Yan. Continues with photos and map https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/bangkok-unveils-pocket-park-off-rama-iv-road/

From Bangkok Post Shorter quarantine for some visitors NONTHABURI: The National Communicable Disease Committee will propose shorter quarantine periods for some groups of visitors, from 14 days to 7-10 days, to stimulate the economy. After chairing the meeting of the committee at the Public Health Ministry on Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the committee resolved to propose to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration that the 14-day quarantine for foreign tourists visiting Thailand should be shortened to stimulate the economy. The shorter quarantine would be implemented in some tourist areas and concerned officials were considering their readiness regarding vaccination coverage, local Covid-19 situations and hospital bed occupancy rates. Such areas would first welcome Thai tourists next month to evaluate their readiness before receiving foreign tourists in November, Mr Anutin said. Dr Opas Karnkawinpong, director-general of the Department of Disease Control, said the quarantine would be reduced to either seven or 10 days on a case-by-case basis. The quarantine would be seven days for the visitors who had been fully vaccinated and they would be tested with the RT-PCR method for Covid-19 upon arrival and again on day 7 after arrival, he said. The quarantine would last 10 days for the visitors who do not have a vaccination certificate. They will undergo two RT-PCR tests, first upon arrival and second before finishing the quarantine. Visitors in this category must arrive by air only. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2186579/shorter-quarantine-for-some-visitors ============================== 3,000 taxis to be fitted with partitions Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob sits in a taxi fitted with an acrylic partition as he opens a ceremony to launch the pilot project targeting 3,000 taxis by October this year. (Photo: Department of Land Transport) The Department of Land Transport has begun installing acrylic partitions inside taxis to prevent the spread of droplets during the Covid-19 pandemic under a pilot project to install this device in 3,000 taxis within October. Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob on Thursday chaired the opening ceremony to launch the first group of taxis installed with partitions under the ministry’s new-normal initiative to boost public safety and confidence in using hired passenger vehicles. he installation of partitions started on Sept 16 and all 3,000 participating taxis will be fitted with them by October, he said. Taxis with partitions will have a sign on windshields to let passengers know. Passengers can rate their experiences by scanning the QR Code on the partitions of all participating taxis, he said. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2186583/3-000-taxis-to-be-fitted-with-partitions

From Pattaya News By Goong Nang(GN) The Pattaya Business and Tourism Association (PBTA) plans to focus on Indian and Russian tourists first when the city is open to vaccinated foreign tourists. Mr. Boonanan Pattanasin, the president of the Pattaya Business and Tourism Association, (PBTA) told The Pattaya News yesterday afternoon, September 21st, “Many cities might have postponed the plan to open for foreign tourists. However, Pattaya is ready to open as early as October 1st, if given permission by the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).” “Our largest number of tourists used to be Chinese, however, the Chinese government still has not allowed their citizens to go out from the country in tour groups. Additionally, China has a major mandatory quarantine of three weeks for the majority of any citizens who can leave to return home at this time which is not conducive to tourism. As China continues to pursue a “Zero Covid” strategy, it is unlikely that this will change anytime in the near future, whereas Thailand and Pattaya are moving to a “living with Covid-19” strategy.” Boonanon explained to TPN media. “Therefore, we are now focusing on Indian and Russian tourists which are allowed to travel from their countries. They are still interested in Pattaya and our business and tourism industry partners report regular, intense interest from citizens from both countries on visiting Pattaya.” Boonanan added. “In addition, India and Russia have no to very limited/loose rules about quarantine when citizens go back to their countries while some of our other previous tourist hotspots like Korea and Taiwan still have mandatory quarantine upon return.” Boonanon continued. “This is another factor that is a major roadblock for tourists who wish to go traveling abroad. Western countries like the UK and Australia also have extensive quarantine measures upon return, which will limit those markets. The USA, however, has been a major provider of tourists for the Sandbox and has no quarantine rules upon return or ban on leaving and will likely also provide some level of visitors when restrictions are eased in Thailand, although due to distance and price will be nowhere near the level of Russian and Indian visitors.” Boonanon stated. “Many residents and business owners are still afraid of another wave of the pandemic when Pattaya truly opens to foreign tourists without quarantine but the business community wants to stress to the government that lockdown measures, such as closing businesses, restricting popular tourist activities like drinking alcohol, nightlife, curfews, etc. are not a longterm solution. Once Pattaya is open, we cannot keep having kneejerk reactions the moment there are a few Covid-19 cases, especially in vaccinated people and asymptomatic, and closing business sectors. Pattaya is sitting around 70% vaccinated and will reach the goals set by the CCSA for reopening this month, being fully ready to welcome tourists.” Boonanon said. https://thepattayanews.com/2021/09/22/when-pattaya-opens-to-foreign-tourists-city-plans-to-focus-on-indians-and-russian-visitors-first/

From Pattaya Mail Sigh of relief for Thailand Covid visa extenders By Barry Kenyon The immigration authorities have confirmed that the final date of applications for the 60 days special Covid visa extension is now November 26. This replaces the former last date of September 27 and effectively prolongs the right to remain until well into the new year. The Covid extensions were introduced 18 months ago and have allowed short-stay tourists to remain here, even though their initial permission had expired, on application to the immigration bureau. The reason has always been dislocation of air travel schedules and the closure of land borders because of the pandemic. The numbers in the Pattaya areas have shrunk as most Covid extenders have already departed. But there are groups of long-holiday Europeans and even tourists from neighboring countries still holding out. Immigration authorities declined to give the local numbers but said they were “hundreds rather than thousands”. Most Pattaya expats are holders of non-immigrant visas, such as retirement or marriage, or have work permits or permanent residence status. There are separately labourers from Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia with authorized permits. None of these groups are covered by the Covid extension discretion which was devised strictly with trapped tourists in mind. https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/news/sigh-of-relief-for-thailand-covid-visa-extenders-372825

Once considered the queen of the east Asian skies, Cathay Pacific has been battered by civil unrest in Hong Kong and more recently by the Covid crisis. But according to the current edition of Aviation Week, the carrier plans to get into the low cost carrier (LCC) business with the launch of Greater Bay Airlines. LLC's reportedly haven't made serious penetration into the HK market and CP sees an opportunity. Details, however, are sketchy at the moment. In addition, CP plans to continue to operate HK Express with 28 A320 aircraft.

From Bangkok Post / Reuters Govt delays plan to re-open cities to tourists until Nov The government has pushed back plans to re-open Bangkok and some other major cities to foreign arrivals until November, due to vaccination rates falling short of targets, a senior official said on Wednesday. Officials earlier this month said they planned to welcome vaccinated tourists without quarantine to major cities including Bangkok, Hua Hin, Pattaya and Chiang Mai in October to revive the country’s crucial tourism sector. "Cities we've targeted have not reached 70% vaccination rates and so we have to push out the date to November," Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) governor Yuthasak Supasorn told Reuters. So far, 44% of residents in Bangkok have received two doses, government data shows. Overall, the country has vaccinated 22% of the estimated 72 million people living in the country. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2186023/govt-delays-plan-to-re-open-cities-to-tourists-until-nov

The 747-400 was the best-selling model of the 747 series with 694 deliveries over its 20-year production span. Because of its high cargo-carrying capacity, I'd imagine some are being repurposed to answer that need. The more recent 747-800 series was launched in 2005 and has logged 145 deliveries and 10 pending (48 in the freighter configuration). UPS (23) and Lufthansa (19) are the biggest buyers.

From CNBC Climate change will bring flooding to the world’s coasts, and it’s becoming clearer which cities are most threatened. Cities with the worst exposure to coastal flooding in the coming decades are overwhelmingly located in Asia, according to a comprehensive analysis by leading climate scientists, with port cities in India and China particularly vulnerable. Researchers at the OECD, climate risk modeling firm RMS and Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, among others, cited four major factors creating the threat: the deepening climate emergency, the gradual cave-ins of land, rising populations, and the migration of people from the countryside to urban areas. The threat comes as the United Nations’ climate panel warns of increasingly extreme weather events, with some of the changes that are already in motion — such as continued sea level rise — thought to be “irreversible” for millennia to come. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres described the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s landmark report as “a code red for humanity.” He added: “There is a clear moral and economic imperative to protect the lives and livelihoods of those on the front lines of the climate crisis.” Here, CNBC takes a look at the 10 Asian cities most exposed to coastal flooding through to 2070: Continues with interactive mapping https://www.cnbc.com/the-10-asian-cities-most-threatened-by-climate-change-flooding/

From Bangkok Post The Advance Passenger Processing System (APPS) is being upgraded to check incoming air passengers for their health documentation ahead of their arrival as the country is set to reopen to international tourism starting next month, according to the Airports of Thailand (AoT). AoT president Nitinai Sirismatthakarn told a talk programme on Tuesday a similar system has been in place to single out people with criminal records as a means of heightening border security. The APPS allows customs officials, airport and airline staff and immigration police to obtain the profiles of passengers from their countries of origin. They are able to check if passengers are blacklisted or banned from leaving a country. Authorities share passenger information and passengers whose profiles are clean will be able to pass immigration checks faster, according to the AoT. Now, the system is being used to run checks on incoming passengers for their health certification and whether they meet vaccination requirements. The APPS meets global standards in its capability to verify the authenticity of vaccination certificates. The AoT expects passenger traffic across six airports it supervises nationwide to pick up from next month when key tourist destinations open their doors again. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2185459/passenger-processing-system-to-check-arrivals-health-info

From Bangkok Post Cash-strapped Thai Airways International (THAI) is putting three aircraft along with a flight simulator up for sale, as a part of its financial rehabilitation plan and the ongoing push to modernise its ageing fleet, a source in the company said. According to the source, the ailing carrier has listed three of its Airbus A330-300s -- aged 12.2, 12.5 and 12.6 years, respectively, for sale -- along with a flight simulator for the aircraft model. THAI has 15 A330-300s in its fleet, but they wide-bodied jets are currently grounded because of the minimal demand for air travel amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. In total, the flag-carrier has put up 34 of its aircraft for sale since November last year, including 10 Boeing 747-400s, six Boeing 777-200s, and six Boeing 777-300s. It has also let go of its six Airbus A340-600ds, three A340-500s, two Boeing 737-400s and an Airbus A300-600. THAI had been haemorrhaging money for years, and last year it sought the help of the Central Bankruptcy Court, after the Covid-19 pandemic forced the grounding of its entire fleet. The airline's independent director, Piyasvasti Amranand, who is one of the airline's rehabilitation plan administrators, went on Facebook saying that THAI can sell 10 Boeing 747s if the Transport Ministry approves their sale. However, Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob said the ministry has not received any request of that nature. https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2184979/thai-sells-more-planes

From Thai Enquirer / Bangkok Post Popular adult content creator and OnlyFans model known as Kainaoa (“rotten egg”) and her boyfriend were arrested in Samut Prakan Monday for allegedly violating decency laws by sharing sexual content on the subscription-based service. According to police, Kainaoa, 19, and her boyfriend, 20, have violated two criminal laws by sharing what they consider to be “obscene” images on the website, and for allegedly enticing others to engage in sexual activity for financial gain. Police said they would not take legal action against the owner of the website, which only allowed creators to share content. The arrests were the result of the website being abused by content creators. Thai netizens have called out the state for double standards and abuse of power, and indicated their support for the young woman and her boyfriend. Additionally, netizens are using the hashtag #น้องไข่เน่า on social media to highlight how sexual work still carries a severe stigma in Thailand and is prosecuted over real crimes like corruption and murder. “Her body, her choice,” one Twitter user wrote. “So I live in a country that criminalizes and arrests people for filming their sexual content online to make money, but not those who commit real corruption and actual murders,” another user fired. “Other countries [in the world] even make porn as their main income. Are you [the government] still claiming for the validity of your morals here?” The content creator and her boyfriend are alleged to have earned “millions” of baht through sharing their content on OnlyFans, which has drawn many subscribers and viewers. On her YouTube channel, Kainaoa, or Tawan, spoke to her fans about her journey towards her newfound fame and popularity, emphasizing that she wanted the Thai law to recognize sex work as a legitimate industry and a means of making money for those who freely desire it. The 19-year-old admitted that she has constantly been harassed by both state officials and private individuals for being so open about sharing such content online in a conservative country like Thailand, and said that she wanted to normalize sexual activity and sex work. Kainaoa and her boyfriend were subsequently called into the police station over the weekend for questioning about their allegedly “illegal” activities online, in which she reportedly admitted to her actions. According to the police, the couple would be persecuted. The Thai Royal Police warned Monday that those involved in releasing “obscene” content online in Thailand will undergo scrutiny and face up to 60,000 baht in fines or up to three years in prison if found guilty. The same day, Kainaoa, announced that she was going to quit the platform due to “police pressure.” On Monday night, Kainaoa and her boyfriend were arrested. https://www.thaienquirer.com/32975/onlyfans-star-arrested-over-explicit-web-videos/ https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2185363/young-couple-arrested-for-online-sex-show

From Channel News Asia HANOI: Vietnam's capital Hanoi will further ease its coronavirus restrictions from this week, the government said, with new cases on the decline and the majority of its adult population partially vaccinated. Most construction projects can resume from Wednesday (Sep 22), authorities said late on Sunday, adding further easing would follow, with average new daily cases down to just 20. So far, 94 per cent of Hanoi's adult population of 5.75 million has received one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine, with the aim of completing second doses by the end of November, said deputy chairman of Hanoi's ruling People's Committee, Duong Duc Tuan. "We can't maintain the social distancing measures indefinitely," Tuan said in a statement. Hanoi has escaped the brunt of a fierce wave of coronavirus infections in Vietnam since late April, recording less than 50 of the more than 17,000 COVID-19 deaths nationwide, and just 4,414 of the country's total 687,000 cases. Epicentre and business hub Ho Chi Minh City, more than 1,500km away by road, has been the hardest hit, with 49 per cent of the country's cases and 78 per cent of its fatalities. Hanoi became busier last week after authorities removed dozens of checkpoints and allowed restaurants to offer takeaway services. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/vietnam-covid-19-hanoi-ease-restrictions-vaccination-2189551

From The Thaiger An Australian and Thai married couple, and an American man, who were on death row in Bangkok on charges for trafficking crystal methamphetamine have all been released from prison. A report from the Sydney Morning Herald says they had been accused of smuggling half a tonne of crystal methamphetamine for the Hells Angels motorcycle gang in Thailand. After being cleared by the Supreme Court last week, 37 year old Luke Cook from Western Australia arrived in Sydney and Tyler Gerard, who is from California, flew back to the United States. The Sydney Morning Herald says Luke Cook, who used to run a bar and guest house in Pattaya, has been pleading his innocence since he was jailed in 2017 and his father has campaigned for his release. According to the report, they had been arrested following accusations that Luke Cook had been paid $US10 million by the Hells Angels to smuggle 500 kilograms of methamphetamine aboard his yacht where Tyler Gerard was said to be a crew hand. Police had alleged that Cook dumped the drugs overboard when a Thai navy vessel approached and a package with just over 50 kilograms of meth was found on a beach in Chon Buri. The Melbourne-based Capital Punishment Justice Project have supported the defence lawyers and argued it was a set up and the men are innocent. In a press release published on the Pattaya News, Thailand Bail Legal Services announced that the case has been completely dismissed by the Supreme Court and both Luke Cook and Tyler Gerard are out of prison, out of Thailand, and back home. https://thethaiger.com/news/national/australian-and-american-on-thai-death-row-released-from-thai-death-row-supreme-court-clears-drug-trafficking-case

Photo by Malay Mail From Thai Enquirer Malaysian transgender icon Muhammad Sajjad Kamaruz Zaman, better known as Nur Sajat, was reportedly arrested in Bangkok and out on bail, local reports said on Monday. Nur Sajat has been on the run from Malaysian authorities since February this year after she was charged by religious high courts for violating the country’s Shariah Laws by dressing up as a woman. Nur Sajat said that she also faced death threats in her native Malaysia after announcing that she would be leaving Islam. She was reportedly arrested in Bangkok on September 8 and is out on bail, according to Malaysia’s The Star Newspaper. The Star is also reporting that she is waiting to be resettled in a third country having applied for and being granted refugee status with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). She is reportedly waiting to be processed and resettled in Australia. Nur Sajat is known in Malaysia as a cosmetics entrepreneur. Thai police told Thai Enquirer on Monday that they could not respond to queries about the case as it was a sensitive international matter. It is believed that the Malaysian government are currently requesting her repatriation so that she could stand trial in a religious court where she could be jailed up to three years. https://www.thaienquirer.com/32906/malaysian-transgender-icon-on-the-run-from-shariah-law-reportedly-arrested-in-bangkok/

Planners of this scheme seem to believe that if you are a wealthy foreigner then you must automatically be a cigar-smoking alcoholic who'll move to Thailand so you can buy a bottle of Scotch at almost the same price you can at home. From Bangkok Post The Customs Department is preparing to lower duty on the import of alcoholic beverages and cigars by 50% for five years in line with the government's economic stimulus and investment promotion package. Patchara Anuntasilpa, director-general of the department, said the cuts are in accordance with the Sept 14 cabinet resolution involving plans to revive the post-Covid-19 economy by encouraging wealthy foreigners and highly skilled professionals to stay and work in the country. The scheme is hoped to draw more than a million qualified people to Thailand over the next five years and generate about a trillion baht over the period. Cuts in import duties will be part of the mix. The group is expected to spend on average 1 million baht per person per year while staying and working here. Benefits in the package also include a 10-year Thai visa for approved special visitors along with their spouses and children, the same rates of income tax as Thai citizens, a tax exemption for income earned abroad, and the right to ownership of property and land. Mr Patchara said that about 30% of products are likely to be covered by the planned cuts and ministerial regulations will be announced after the changes are made. He said the department is also preparing to revise custom procedures for personal items for arriving and departing passengers. Meanwhile, Roengrudee Patanavanicha, a researcher on tobacco control, said the Customs Department's move caught her off guard because the new excise tax structure for cigarettes is expected to take effect next month. Under the new system, a flat tax rate of 40% will be applied to cigarettes, regardless of the retail price. She said the new tax could help reduce smoking among teenagers and generate revenue for the state. She dismissed claims that maintaining high cigarette prices will result in an increase in the smuggling of contraband cigarettes. https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2184367/alcohol-cigar-duty-cuts-dangled-to-lure-foreigners

That's the closing sentence in a highly personal profile of writer Colm Toibin that appears in the current issue of The New Yorker. The author of many gay themed novels, Toibin didn't learn to read until he was nine. But once he found his groove, he began to make up for lost time. If your tempted by this piece, you can read Toibin describing an orgy in Barcelona at this link: https://www.scribd.com/document/93681837/Barcelona-1975-a-story-from-Colm-Toibin-s-THE-EMPTY-FAMILY "Secrets and Lies" by D.T. Max he Irish writer Colm Tóibín is a busy man. Since he published his first novel, “The South,” at thirty-five, in 1990, he has written eleven more books of fiction. He has also published three reported books, three collections of essays, dozens of introductions to other writers’ work, prefaces to art catalogues, an opera libretto, plays, poems, and so many reviews that it’s surprising when a week goes by and he hasn’t been in at least one of the New York, London, or Dublin papers. When I asked Tóibín—the name is pronounced “cuh-lem toe-bean”—how many articles he had written, he could only guess. “I suppose thousands might be accurate,” he said, adding that his level of output used to be more common among writers: “Anthony Burgess, whom I knew slightly, used to write a thousand words a day. He produced a great amount of literary journalism, as well as the novels.” But, unlike Burgess, Tóibín gravitates to assignments demanding considerable diligence. Reviewing a recent biography of Fernando Pessoa, by Richard Zenith, Tóibín read the eleven-hundred-page text and three translations of Pessoa’s “The Book of Disquiet.” Tóibín sometimes assimilates his subject to the point that the writer in question begins to sound like one of his own characters. His Pessoa essay, published in August in the London Review of Books, begins, “As he grew older, Fernando Pessoa became less visible, as though he were inexorably being subsumed by dreams and shadows.” “I have absolute curiosity and total commitment,” Tóibín, who is sixty-six, told me. He described his appetite for pickup work to me as a form of intellectual fomo. “You learn a huge amount by opening yourself to things that are going on,” he explained, offering as a case in point his new novel, “The Magician,” a fictionalization of Thomas Mann’s life. “I could not have done the book had I not foolishly taken on three biographies of Mann in 1995 that were all this size,” he said, spreading his hands far apart. There are many other demands on Tóibín’s time: he is a literature professor at Columbia University and the chancellor of the University of Liverpool (“You have no idea how beautiful the robes are”). He occasionally helps curate exhibits for the Morgan Library & Museum, in Manhattan, and, with his agent, Peter Straus, he runs a small publishing imprint in Dublin, Tuskar Rock Press. “I really enjoy anything that’s going on,” he told me, adding, “If there was a circus, I’d join it.” When many novelists are done writing for the day, they want to be alone. Tóibín wants company. At literary festivals, he is a charming presence—modest, attentive, and eager to entertain the audience. “A novel is a thousand details,” he likes to say. “A long novel is two thousand details.” He has distanced himself from the trend for autofiction by declaring, “The page you face is not a mirror. It is blank.” Richard Ford told me, “Colm’s the best on his feet of any writer I know.” Once the panels end, Tóibín is up for an escapade. Ford went on, “He’s great fun and naughty, not constantly watching his back.” Last year, Tóibín and Damon Galgut, the South African writer, attended a festival in Cape Town. When Tóibín asked him what would be fun to see, Galgut suggested that they visit the Owl House, a work of outsider art ten hours away, in the Eastern Cape. Off they went on an almost nine-hundred-mile round trip, completed in four or five days. Tóibín was not much impressed by the art, but along the way he did a mischievous imitation of a novelist they both know, played with the idea of a foreign-language film with subtitles that told a completely unrelated story, and discussed why baboons have red buttocks. “It was an absolute lark,” Tóibín told me. Michael Ondaatje recalls running into Tóibín in 2005, after a five-day literary festival in Toronto. Tóibín told him that, during the event, he’d written a short story in his hotel room. Ondaatje exclaimed, “But . . . you were everywhere! ” Tóibín’s appetite for social life is reminiscent of one of his idols, Henry James, who accepted a hundred and seven invitations to dinner in London during the winter season of 1878-79. Tóibín thinks that his own record occurred in 1981, during his years as a journalist in Dublin: almost every night, he said, he was “out drinking with friends and hanging out in every pub, going to every art thing.” In part, Tóibín is searching, like James, for an anecdote that will grow into a story. The germ can lie fallow in his mind for a long time. His best-known novel, “Brooklyn”—which was published in 2009, and later was adapted into a film starring Saoirse Ronan—took its inspiration from a chance comment made by a visitor paying a condolence call after the death of his father, more than forty years earlier, when Tóibín was twelve and growing up near the Irish coast, south of Dublin. “One evening, a woman came and said her daughter had gone to Brooklyn and showed us all these letters,” he recalled. “When she was gone, I heard people saying that the daughter had come back from America and not told anyone she’d married there.” I asked Tóibín several times why he enjoyed being so busy—was it a way to escape “the dark side of his soul,” as his Mann character muses in the new novel? Tóibín resists analysis in general. Once, when I inquired if he was happy, he answered, “I don’t know what you mean by ‘happy.’ ” This time, he initially quoted the musical “Oklahoma!”: “ ‘I’m just a girl who can’t say no.’ ” But I pressed him, and eventually he said, “I think I’m sort of sad, and I’m not sad when I’m out with people—the sadness just sort of goes, departs, leaves me.” I wasn’t sure if I’d achieved a breakthrough or been rewarded for my persistence. Tóibín tries to please, if he can. Continues at https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/09/20/how-colm-toibin-burrowed-inside-thomas-manns-head