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From Channel News Asia TAIPEI: Taiwan will quarantine all pilots for its largest carrier China Airlines for 14 days as it tries to stop an outbreak of COVID-19 among its crew, effectively grounding the airline, the health minister said on Monday (May 10). While Taiwan has generally kept the pandemic well under control due to early prevention with only sporadic domestic cases, since last month it has been dealing with an outbreak linked to China Airlines pilots and an airport hotel where many of them stayed. There have been 35 confirmed infections so far in the outbreak. Health Minister Chen Shih-chung told reporters the only way to break what they believe is a chain of transmission at the carrier is to quarantine all China Airlines pilots currently in Taiwan, and send into quarantine those who return to Taiwan. "This will have a big impact on China Airlines, on its passenger and freighter flights, and for the crew too. But for the safety of the whole community we cannot but make this decision," he said. The move effectively amounted to a 14-day grounding for the airline, Chen added, and the pilots will only be allowed out of quarantine once they have tested negative. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/taiwan-quarantine-all-pilots-china-airlines-grounded-covid-19-14780524

From The Thaiger Elastic waistband and fitted baseball caps – the new height of Thai constabulary haute couture to grace the streets of Thailand. Some law-enforcing super models are currently strutting the streets parading some of the ‘nouveau’ look police uniforms. The boys in brown are morphing into the boys in 2-tone khaki with black accessories and utility accents. 10 officers from 3 police stations – Chakkrawat, Bang Yi Khan and Bukhalo district stations – have been modelling the new look for the past week to see if the changes make their law enforcement more comfortable and agile. And, more importantly, if the elastic waistband will stop their pants from falling down. In the past the BIB (Boys In Brown) were famous for wearing uniforms, in a fetching shade of pooh-beige, at least 2 sizes smaller than actually required. Whilst it was a ‘good look’ for the few who had maintained a body worth showing off, the vast majority looked like a walnut that had exploded in all the wrong places. The new shirts have an upper cotton ‘traditional’ brown with a lower section of ‘more breathable’ fabric. Just as well because the new uniform still accessorises with the bulky bullet-proof vest or traffic-cop bib (which look more ‘useful’ than breathable). The fitted baseball cap and sleeve pockets give them a ’90s rapper video clip on a budget’ look. And, just in case you weren’t sure, there is a huge sign POLICE on the back of the shirt. It’s hard to look past the ‘very useful’ utility belt that turns an ordinary Bruce Wayne BIB into a veritable Batman. It’s got everything from the matching black truncheon and gun holster, plus a clip for the handcuffs and other slots for future Covid zappers and ‘farang’ detectors. The metal badges, the only police ID in the world large enough to be seen from the Moon, are being replaced with a fabric equivalent. A number of injuries in the past have been inflicted on police, not by ne’er-do-wells but from the jagged edges of the metal badges. For shoes the heavy army-style thick leather is being replaced by slightly less heavy “easier to run with” boots. https://thethaiger.com/news/national/from-bib-to-boys-in-2-tone-khaki-thailands-new-police-uniform-on-trial

From NY Times The engine of an Airbus 350, one of the planes in Virgin Atlantic’s fleet that pilots are being trained again to fly. One returning pilot lost control of an aircraft during landing and skidded off the runway into a ditch. Another just returning from furlough forgot to activate a critical anti-icing system designed to prevent hazards in cold weather. Several others flew at the wrong altitudes, which they attributed to distractions and lapses in communication. In all of these incidents, which were recorded on NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System, a database of commercial aviation mistakes that are anonymously reported by pilots and other airline crew, the pilots involved blamed their mistakes on the same thing: a lack of practice flying during the pandemic. “It’s not quite like riding a bike,” said Joe Townshend, a former pilot for Titan Airways, a British charter airline, who was laid off when the pandemic hit in March last year. “You can probably go 10 years without flying a plane and still get it off the ground, but what fades is the operational side of things,” he said. “There is a multitude of information being thrown at you in a real working environment, and the only way to stay sharp and constant is to keep doing it.” In 2020, global air passenger traffic saw the largest year-on-year decline in aviation history, falling by 65.9 percent compared to 2019, according to the International Air Transport Association. Flights were grounded, schedules reduced and thousands of pilots were either laid off or put on furlough for extended periods of up to 12 months. Now, as vaccination programs pick up speed across some parts of the world and travel starts to rebound, airlines are beginning to reactivate their fleets and are summoning pilots back as they prepare to boost their schedules for the summer. But returning pilots can’t just pick up where they left off. They must undergo rigorous training programs that involve classes, exams and simulator sessions, which are determined by proficiency levels and the length of time since they have flown. The process of retraining a large volume of pilots, who have been idle for different periods of time over the past year is complex and challenging. There is no “one size fits all” training model aviation experts say. Typically, pilots receive variations of training based on how long they have been idle. In simulator sessions they will be required to perform different types of landings and takeoffs, including those in adverse weather conditions, and practice for emergency events. Airlines are also adding additional layers to their traditional training programs and requiring some pilots to go back to ground school to help them get back into the aviation mind-set. “There’s certainly an aspect of rustiness that comes with not flying regularly,” said Hassan Shahidi, the president of the Flight Safety Foundation, an independent organization specializing in aviation safety. “As travel recovers and demand increases, we must make sure that our pilots feel fully comfortable and confident when they get back into the cockpit.” The same considerations apply to pilots who have continued to fly throughout the pandemic on reduced schedules, Mr. Shahidi added. “Before the pandemic these pilots were practicing the same procedures day in and day out flying over and over again. When you’re not flying as often your cognitive motor skills are degraded,” he said. At Virgin Atlantic, the airline founded by the British billionaire Richard Branson, 400 pilots were laid off last year, but as international travel resumes the airline anticipates gradually bringing them back, starting with 50 currently waiting in a “holding pool.” The returning pilots are sent a digital study pack to help them get back up to speed with technical and operational procedures and are required to pass exams based on that syllabus before starting the training program. “We have added a lot of enhancements to our usual recurrent training and are covering a lot more ground to make sure we get them back up to where their knowledge sat before and to a level that we are happy with,” said Ken Gillespie, the head of training and standards at Virgin Atlantic. One area where some of the pilots have struggled is keeping up to speed with communications, particularly with air traffic control in busy environments. “On a real aircraft you may have 30 to 40 planes on the same frequency with one controller, so you have to keep your ears really tuned for your call sign and instructions to come out,” Mr. Gillespie explained. A pilot who anonymously reported an “altitude deviation” — meaning they flew at the wrong height — on NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System last year, said they’d misheard instructions for the initial climb after takeoff and blamed the error on being “rusty.” “Due to Covid-19 slowdown I had not flown in four weeks and my last flight was five weeks before that,” they wrote. “Clearly flight discipline suffered from lack of recent experience and teamwork.” Continues at https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/07/travel/pilots-retraining.html

From USA Today By Lawrence Ferber, National LGBT Media Association As travel rebounds, and some international borders open to U.S. residents – especially, or exclusively, if you're fully vaccinated – you'll need to pack more than a suitcase to ensure safe trips during the pandemic's latter days, and far beyond. After all, it's not quite a COVID-free world yet, nor will it be for a while. (And yes, I'm staring at those who traveled to dance parties and other superspreader events during the height of the pandemic.) Since the world packs travel hazards besides COVID-19, from accidents to dangerous individuals and villainy targeting queer tourists, the National LGBT Media Association compiled some advice and resources for LGBTQ travelers to take into consideration. Bon (safe) voyage! Before booking that flight, cruise, hotel or car rental, secure a travel insurance policy. Make sure it covers COVID-19 related calamities, including hospitalization and cancellations on either your end or that of the airline, cruise line, hotel, tour company, etc. – as many learned since March 2020, most policies did not cover everything. For several years before the pandemic hit, I took out an annual individual policy with Allianz (they've added COVID-19 benefits to some policies), which I made one claim on during early 2019 for a doctor's visit in Singapore. The claims process was easy and paid out in a timely manner – a simple urgent-care illness situation that included medication. When my husband joined me in Bangkok for just a week, I purchased a single trip policy from Travel Guard for him (which does not appear to cover COVID-19, as of now). LGBTQ-friendly insurance company Seven Corners offers policies for both singles and same-sex couples, and can even ensure you stay together if a medical evacuation is required for one partner – check out the video about clients Daniel and Felipe on their LGBTQ landing page. Seven Corners also offers policies covering COVID-19. Be sure to activate your phone, iPad and laptop's geolocation features. Worst-case scenario, you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that your iPhone's been stolen if it's suddenly five miles away from where you last left it and can deactivate the device (also, though: Don't leave your phone unattended). I've learned it's an all-too-common practice for airlines to take bags off planes pre-departure if the vessel's too weight-heavy or may excessively tax its fuel supply. They won't always confess yours lost the lottery and where it's chilling, but Apple's new tracking device, AirTag, could spill the tea. Homosexuality is still illegal and even punishable by death in parts of the world. Some of these anti-LGBTQ laws entail toothless legislative holdovers, like Singapore's Penal Code Section 377A, which remains on the books despite ongoing legal challenges and an open, even thriving local gay scene (and entertainers like “Drag Race Thailand” queen Vanda Miss Joaquim). Continues at https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/2021/05/07/gay-travel-safe-covid-travel-lgbt/4970195001/

Reuters seems to have broken this story before the Thai media. I scanned the the leading local news outlets and couldn't find any mention of it as of as of 6:50 p.m. BKK time.

From VN Express News Bamboo Airways has acquired slots to operate regular direct flights from HCMC to San Francisco and Los Angeles starting September 1. At the San Francisco International Airport, the daily flights are expected to land at 10 a.m. (U.S. time) and depart at 1 p.m.; and the landing and takeoff times at the Los Angeles International Airport flights are 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., respectively, the carrier said in a press release Friday. The flights would be operated using the long-haul Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. Bamboo Airways is rushing to complete the final steps in the process of building its personnel apparatus, including pilot and flight crew training, to get ready for operating the direct flights to the U.S., it said. There are currently no non-stop routes between the two countries, and passengers have to transit through Hong Kong, South Korea or Taiwan, taking 18-21 hours in all. A direct flight would shorten the travel time to 15-17 hours. Bamboo Airways had received a permit from the U.S. Department of Transportation to carry passengers and cargo to that country last year. Vietnam's Ministry of Transport is also finalizing procedures to designate Bamboo Airways to operate charter flights between Vietnam and the U.S. following a proposal made by the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam at the end of April. It will allow the private airline to carry passengers and goods from Vietnam to the U.S. and vice versa on charter flights upon approval by the prime minister and relevant agencies. Passengers on these flights could be experts, foreign investors and Vietnamese citizens in the U.S. wishing to return home. Bamboo Airways chairman Trinh Van Quyet said the airline expects to operate charter flights to the U.S. from July. Americans are among the top foreign visitors to Vietnam, with 687,226 arrivals in 2019, and an ethnic Vietnamese population of over 2.1 million in the U.S. is also expected to be a steady source of travel demand.

Thaksin Shinawatta agrees: From Chaing Rai Times Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has dismissed claims that a small supply of Pfizer vaccine was already in Thailand. The denial comes after former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra made the claim online. Thaksin claimed the Pfizer vaccine was already in Thailand for emergency and exclusive use among an elite group of people. Thaksin also said the wealthy elite in Thailand have extreme power over the present administration. On Wednesday Food and Drug Administration (FDA) secretary-general Paisarn Dankum, said via a Facebook Live press briefing that “the Pfizer vaccine is not yet in this country because Pfizer has yet to register its Covid-19 vaccine.

From the BBC What Myanmar's military does not want the world to see More than 750 people have been killed since the Myanmar military seized power three months ago. Thousands of people have been detained, including elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The borders are closed and the internet effectively blocked, but people are documenting their ongoing resistance to the coup. In Yangon, a musician and his sister have, for the last two months, been filming for the BBC. They take us inside their fight. Continues with video https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-57016528

From Pattaya Mail The Bank of Thailand expects the country’s third coronavirus wave to reduce the occupancy rate at the country’s hotels to only 9 percent this month. The BOT said May 2 that a survey of hotels found occupancy rates of 18 percent in April and only 9 percent in May. At that rate, 47 percent of hotels would go out of business within three months. Because more than 51 percent of reservations were canceled in April, Songkran proved much less successful than anticipated, the joint BOT-Thai Hotels Association survey concluded. Eighty percent of operators consider the current third wave more damaging than the second, which ran from Christmas until the end of January. Only 46 percent of the country’s hotels currently are open normally, with 13 percent shut temporarily and the others with curtailed hours or capacity. https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/news/half-of-thailands-hotels-may-close-within-3-months-bot-354414

From Pattaya Mail The Special Tourist Visa (STV) is being completely withdrawn and the final end-date for flyers is July 2. Extensions once here are possible up to September 30 but not afterwards. The STV was introduced last year to cater for “snowbirds” and other tourists wanting a Thai vacation lasting up to nine months. It was never popular numerically and was heavily bureaucratic, requiring for example general medical insurance on top of Covid-19 cover. It might have proved more popular if travel bubbles and charter flights had been introduced, but frequent coronavirus flare-ups in Thailand and other Pacific-rim countries prevented that. According to the Thai embassy in Bern, visas for medical tourists have now been suspended until further notice. Some other embassies, but not all, have quietly dropped medical tourism as a valid reason to request entry to Thailand. In normal times, about one million tourists a year have come under this category, the biggest single catchment being gender-reassignment and plastic surgery. No formal announcement has been made about this apparent visa cancellation, but is likely linked to the latest Covid-virus clusters plaguing Bangkok in particular. Another cancellation is the visa-on-arrival which has been suspended until September 30. This visa covers 18 countries, China and India being the main sources, who were entitled to a stay of 14 days (plus 7 days extension) in pre-Covid times on payment of 2,000 baht on arrival in Thailand. Instead they have been told to apply for visas in their own country. There were only four European countries included in the visa-on-arrival arrangement: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Malta and Romania. The visa exempt category – 58 countries including the UK, the US and most of Europe – traditionally entitled to 30 days on arrival has survived the axe in this time zone. But their stay has been extended to 45 days because of the recent re-introduction of a two weeks’ mandatory hotel quarantine on all arrivals (whether vaccinated or not) required by the Thai authorities. The visa-exempt category was formerly very popular with short-stay tourists, but is now expensive because costs include health checks prior to departure, compulsory Covid-19 insurance and an isolated two weeks’ sojourn in a Thai hotel. All other visa categories remain more or less the same in the period before the end of September. Tourists, students, retirees, foreigners with Thai families, permanent residents, business people, Elite visa holders and condominium owners are all eligible to apply for a certificate of entry from the Thai embassy in the country of departure. The documentation required varies according to the specific visa required. The termination of the STV (see above) means that general medical insurance – as opposed to specific coronavirus cover – will mostly have disappeared from embassy visa requirements. The one exception will be those applying for any kind of visa based on retirement, whether type “O” or “OA” or “X”. Unless the issue is addressed, they will continue to need general medical cover to the tune of 400,000 baht (inpatient) and 40,000 baht (outpatient) on top of Covid-19 cover. Whether this idiosyncratic logic is a deliberate attempt to squash retiree applications (but no others), or a simple oversight, remains to be seen. The unpopular three months’ address reporting for expats and long-term visa holders is likely to be cancelled. It might be replaced by a computer app. which will record the relevant details and require updating only if the foreigner moves house. Such a system seems to work well in Cambodia. https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/news/overseas-thai-embassies-update-visa-guidance-for-foreigners-354372

From Channel News Asia MANILA: Travellers entering the Philippines will be required to undergo 14 days of quarantine, up from a week previously, as authorities try to contain more infectious coronavirus variants, the presidential spokesman said on Friday (May 7). The new controls will apply regardless of whether a visitor has been vaccinated and the first 10 days of quarantine will be in a government-accredited facility and the remainder at home, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in a briefing. Visitors will get a COVID-19 test on the seventh day after arrival, but will still be required to complete a 10-day stay in a facility even if they test negative, Roque said. The Southeast Asian country is battling one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in Asia with more than a million infections, including those caused by variants first detected in Britain and South Africa, and more than 18,000 deaths. In a bid to prevent the entry of a variant first identified in India, the Philippines has temporarily barred travellers coming from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh from entering the country. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/covid-19-philippines-tightens-controls-travellers-variants-14762834

From Channel News Asia KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani said that he would issue a directive to prevent police officers and personnel from conducting random checks on foreigners without valid reason. He said that this was to prevent a handful of police officers and personnel from abusing their powers at will. Mr Acryl Sani was speaking at a special press conference at the Bukit Aman police headquarters on Thursday (May 6), his first since taking over as the new police chief on Tuesday. “I will issue a directive to stop the act immediately, which is to inspect them (foreigners) randomly without a reasonable or valid reason,” he said, as quoted by Bernama. “Besides that, the police cannot detain them at will, to be remanded for two weeks, on the grounds of confirming whether their Immigration Department-stamped passport or document is genuine or otherwise,” he added. The IGP said such practices and culture were one of the spaces that would lead to abuse of power by the police. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/malaysia-police-stop-inspect-foreigners-random-igp-acryl-sani-14762108

From Thai Enquirer Vaccines to be extended to resident foreigners from June The Thai government will provide Covid-19 vaccines for foreigners living and working in Thailand by June, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday. “The policy is to provide the vaccines to every group, regardless of nationality, but since there are a limited number of vaccines at the beginning, there is a need to allocate them to the people who needed them the most first,” said Thanee Saengrat, the ministry’s spokesman. He said these first priority groups include medical workers, elderly people, those who have any of seven chronic diseases, people living in known clusters, people living in the border areas and foreign health volunteers. However, the “Mor Prom” (Doctors Ready) platform for people to register for a jab still cannot register foreigners. The government is working on other channels for non-citizens. Thanee said that once the locally made AstraZeneca’s vaccines started to roll out in June, the vaccination programme will start to cover foreigners that are working at embassies, international institutions and foreigners legally resident in Thailand, based on their health and willingness to be vaccinated. For Thai people looking to travel abroad to get a Covid vaccine in the United States, the ministry had warned that they should double check the vaccination programme in each location before travelling. “The vaccination policy in each state is different,” Thanee said. “Thai people travelling to be vaccinated in the Unites States should study the vaccination program of each state carefully,” he added. He said most US states only provide vaccines to foreigners studying or working there. Only some states are providing vaccines for visitors. https://www.thaienquirer.com/27237/vaccines-to-be-extended-to-resident-foreigners-from-june/

From Channel News Asia Myanmar's military taking away young men to crush uprising YANGON: Myanmar’s security forces moved in and the street lamps went black. In house after house, people shut off their lights. Darkness swallowed the block. Huddled inside her home  in this neighbourhood of Yangon, 19-year-old Shwe dared to peek out her window into the inky night. A flashlight shone back, and a man’s voice ordered her not to look. Two gunshots rang out. Then a man’s scream: “HELP!” When the military’s trucks finally rolled away, Shwe and her family emerged to look for her 15-year-old brother, worried about frequent abductions by security forces. “I could feel my blood thumping,” she says. “I had a feeling that he might be taken.” Across the country, Myanmar’s security forces are arresting and forcibly disappearing thousands of people, especially boys and young men, in a sweeping bid to break the back of a three-month uprising against a military takeover. In most cases, the families of those taken do not know where they are, according to an Associated Press analysis of more than 3,500 arrests since February. UNICEF, the UN children’s agency, is aware of around 1,000 cases of children or young people who have been arbitrarily arrested and detained, many without access to lawyers or their families. Though it is difficult to get exact data, UNICEF says the majority are boys. It is a technique the military has long used to instil fear and to crush pro-democracy movements. The boys and young men are taken from homes, businesses and streets, under the cover of night and sometimes in the brightness of day. Some end up dead. Many are imprisoned and sometimes tortured. Many more are missing. “We’ve definitely moved into a situation of mass enforced disappearances,” says Matthew Smith, cofounder of the human rights group Fortify Rights, which has collected evidence of detainees being killed in custody. “We’re documenting and seeing widespread and systematic arbitrary arrests.” Continues at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/myanmar-s-military-taking-away-young-men-to-crush-uprising-14750416

It's clear from Oz's post today that Thailand will--at some yet undetermined time--allow expats to be administered vaccine. The government is still working on a policy, according to press reports. That is discrimination based on national origin and limited vaccine supply. Since the expats (resident foreign nationals) represent many different races, as does the citizenry of Thailand itself, it's not "racially" based discrimination. Malaysia is to be lauded for it's policy of inclusion. Lets hope that pressure continue to build toward the waiver of intellectual property protection for COVID vaccines. The Biden administration Wednesday got on board that proposal, drafted by India and South Africa, but many holdouts remain. Nevertheless, it's an encouraging step that could allow developing nations to produce their own supplies of the most successful vaccines.

How exactly does not providing inoculations to foreign nationals automatically amount to racial discrimination? If you accept that premise, you're claiming that Thailand is racially discriminating against expats because they won't allow them to be inoculated before its own citizens.

You're absolutely right, Anddy, about the Pfizer and Moderna jabs. They could get the J&J with normal refrigerated shipping (it's good for at least three months if kept between 35-46F). But I agree that the the easiest solution would be to allow select hospitals to receive it on the behalf of foreign embassies and their citizens pay for the cost of injection. It may not fall under normal consular services, but these aren't normal times. Given the exports that Thailand sends to the US, EU and UK, it shouldn't take a lot of persuasion to get it done.

Don't think there's any other way to see it. But as Anddy points out, this comes as no surprise. What puzzles me is that the embassies that represent expats in large numbers residing in Thailand aren't stepping up to the plate to inoculate their own citizens. Countries like the UK, US, Australia and Japan (and others) have access to vaccines and the ability to import them. Although I'm no expert on expert on diplomatic immunity, it would appear that embassies would be in a perfect position to offer vaccinations to their own citizens abroad, particularly if they were done on embassy grounds. They have most likely inoculated their own staffs by now. I believe that all of the governments mentioned above are already sending COVID aid to distressed nations in one form or another. It seems unreasonable to expect expats to have to travel outside Thailand to obtain something that their government is in a position to provide.

Having been there 50+ times over several years, it was anything but a disaster for me. You're right about there being a lot of straight looking Viet guys there but I like straight-looking guys. Guess I'm just funny that way. Also found them--and their Lao colleagues--more than capable of providing satisfactory service. I found that it has as much to do with how I treated them as how they treated me. It's also been my experience that judging a massage shop based on a single visit with one guy isn't a good basis for making such a sweeping assessment. Longer than you think. The shop is permanently closed and owner has moved back to Isan where he's opened a shop..

From The Thaiger ull steam ahead. The Tourism Authority of Thailand’s insists that the sandbox re-opening plans for 6 of Thailand’s most economically sensitive tourist magnets will start on July 1… July 2021. Phuket, Krabi, Phang Nga, Koh Samui, Pattaya and Chiang Mai will, according to the TAT, be open to foreign tourists who have received 2 doses of Covid-19 vaccine (or 1 if that’s the vaccine dose of a registered vaccine in Thailand). Phuket will be the first destination to lift quarantine requirements for vaccinated foreign tourists under the ‘Phuket Sandbox’ program. And the TAT say the date WILL be July 1, 2021. “Tourists will be required to spend the first seven days on the island, before travelling to other Thai destinations.” The media release doesn’t specify any of the paperwork or travel restrictions that may still be imposed on international travellers to the 6 targeted areas. The TAT says that authorities continue to work on vaccination programs on the island “to safely achieve herd immunity against Covid-19 for 70% of Phuket’s population, including residents, workers in tourism-related businesses, and migrant workers.” So far, the best intentions of Phuket officials have only vaccinated around 90-100,000 residents, less than 25% of the island’s resident population but well ahead of other parts of the country. The Thai government are trying to acquire additional vaccines to reach the target of 100 million doses to vaccinate 50 million people across Thailand by the end of the year, according to the TAT. “Bangkok, Phuket, Chon Buri which includes Pattaya, Chiang Mai, and Surat Thani which includes Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao, as well as 8 other high-risk provinces were being prioritised in the rollout of the first vaccine doses.” The Thaiger keeps receiving complaints from foreigners who are trying to register with the app but, like many Thai people at the moment, the app and Line registration have been crumbling under the initial high levels of registrations since it opened last Saturday. Foreigners will currently need a Pink ID card to register but many foreigners with even a Pink Thai ID card are reporting problems getting a receipt of their registration. https://thethaiger.com/coronavirus/6-of-thailands-top-tourist-zones-will-start-opening-for-quarantine-free-travel-in-july-tat

From Bangkok Post Vaccine tourism to US Thais seeking to get free Covid-19 vaccines as part of tour packages to the United States should contact the Foreign Ministry first before paying since not all states offer the service, according to the Foreign Ministry. Spokesman Tanee Sangrat said on Tuesday before making the decisions, buyers should check the regulations in the states they plan to to go since the situation is still fluid. In general, people aged 16 and more who live in or have legally entered the US can seek Covid vaccination free of charge. However, the criteria and procedures differ in each state. For example, he said, vaccine recipients are required to have permanent residences or jobs in some states. But in others, tourists may be able to get vaccinated by simply showing their passports. Mr Tanee urged them to first check with the following Thai government agencies before paying for such a trip. In Thailand, they can cantact the Consular Affairs Department, Foreign Ministry, by calling 02-572-8442 or through the Thai Consular mobile app. In the US, they can contact: - Thai Embassy in Washington DC, (+1 202-684-8493); - Thai Consulate in Los Angeles (+1 323-962-9574); - Thai Consulate in Chicago (+1 312-664-3129); - Thai Consulate in New York (+1 212-754-1770, ext 304, 311 and 313) According to ads seen by the Bangkok Post, a package to San Francisco, Monterey and Los Angeles of 10 days or seven nights including boarding and breakfast offers a vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson. The prices range from 175,000 baht each for two persons to 76,000 baht each for a group of 8-10, excluding air fares. The popularity of such packages is an indicator how desperate some Thais have been to get vaccinated in the wake of the third wave. The government on Saturday kicked off vaccination registration for the first group who are not health workers — people aged 60 or more and those with seven existing conditions, but vaccination won't begin until June. Younger people can then register in July. Apart from the slow speed of vaccination, many are upset about the lack of vaccine choice. Although the government aims to administer 100 million shots by the end of this year, more than half of them will be made by AstraZeneca and Sinovac, which are perceived to have lower efficacy rates than other brands widely used in the US. While the government agreed to buy 35 million shots from US-based Pfizer and J&J and Russia-based Gamaleya, people are not allowed to choose the vaccine they will get. People who can afford it therefore start looking to get immunised at private hospitals. However, it will take months for the alternative vaccines to be approved by Thailand's Food and Drug Administration and imported by the Government Pharmaceutical Organization for them. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2110171/thai-warned-about-vaccine-tourism-to-us

Narita appears to have daily fights to Guam. The RT fares (BKK-NRT-GUM) are about $1100 on flights operated by Al Nippon. Total flight time 11:45. Sounds like a good alternative. Good luck!

In addition to the avenues mentioned above, many foreign nationals gain legal entry to select countries by becoming the spouse of a citizen. Some may grant citizenship expeditiously while others have a meticulous process that my take years. Others may not grant citizenship but allow the foreign national to remain legally so long as they remain married.c Countries that recognize same sex marriage or civil unions present options for LBGTQ individuals. 15 COUNTRIES THAT GRANT CITIZENSHIP BY MARRIAGE https://facts36.com/15-countries-that-grant-citizenship-by-marriage/

From The Nation The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) on Monday launched an official Line account for residents seeking emergency Covid-19 treatment. The Line account is @bkkcovid19connect. Governor Aswin Kwanmuang said the account would speed up the emergency response for Covid-19 patients, providing an alternative to the Erawan Emergency Medical Service Centre's 1669 hotline. "A strength of this account is that it enables the BMA to manage Covid-19 patients effectively," he said. "Once officials finish checking a person's information submitted via the account, they will contact the person within an hour." He also asked people who contacted the account to prepare their information and self-isolate at their residence until officials arrive.

From CNN World 'I thought I would die.' Myanmar protesters describe torture they suffered in detention The 19-year-old's eyes are so swollen he cannot open them properly. His face is marked with big purple welts and bruises. Etched into his shoulders and back are long, dark lacerations that have yet to heal over -- wounds, he said, that were inflicted when Myanmar military officers who had detained him whipped him repeatedly with cable wires. "I thought I would die," the teenager, who did not want to be named for safety reasons, said of his three-day stint in a military detention camp, while showing a photo of his wounds. He is one of more than 4,400 people detained by Myanmar's security forces since the military seized power in a coup on February 1, according to advocacy group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. The round-up, part of a systematic and bloody crackdown on any perceived opposition to the takeover, has ensnared politicians, protesters, journalists, striking workers, celebrities, and even children and bystanders. Many people have been taken in terrifying nighttime raids or abducted off the streets and held in secretive facilities out of contact from their families. Little is known about the conditions they are kept in. The 19-year-old said he was repeatedly beaten while held in military detention. But the accounts of those who have been released, as well as from defectors from the military and family members, detail brutal acts of violence and torture. The teen was traveling back to Yangon from Bago on his moped when he said he was stopped at a military checkpoint on April 9. It was a long drive, and it was already getting late. That day had seen one of the deadliest crackdowns on protesters, with more than 80 killed by security forces in the town, according to AAPP. Searching his bag and phone, soldiers found images of him with a shield at protests. The 19-year-old said he was taken to a military compound, where his hands were tied and he was repeatedly beaten by the guards, who used cables, the butts of guns, and glass bottles. His back shows the scars from being whipped with cable wires, after he was released from military detention. "The commander tied my hands from the back and used small scissors to cut my ears, the tip of my nose, my neck and my throat. (He) hit my head with a glass bottle, beat me up, pointed at me with guns but the bullets did not come out. He used the gun to threaten me as soon as I got to their station. Then he let his fellow soldiers beat me up that night," he said. Continues with photos https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/27/asia/myanmar-coup-detainees-torture-intl-hnk/index.html