Author: Kantsom Sutabuhr

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) launched a campaign on Monday to bolster market confidence among Chinese tourists, while emphasizing safety measures. Under the theme of “Trusted Thailand,” TAT aims to raise awareness of safety measures for Chinese tourists and promote enriched travel experiences in Thailand. As part of the campaign, some 60 Chinese key opinion leaders (KOLs) were invited to explore popular Thai destinations from May 18-28 and experience community-based, gastronomy, wellness and beach tourism, along with the China-Laos-Thailand high-speed railway. Tanes Petsuwan, TAT Deputy Governor for International Marketing in Asia and South Pacific, told Xinhua that TAT is…

The plan, known as PDP8, is aimed at ensuring energy security for the Southeast Asian country while it begins the transition from its current heavy reliance on coal to becoming carbon-neutral by midcentury. Amid internal squabbles and work on complex reforms, the plan has been delayed for more than two years, and has seen a dozen of draft versions before the approval by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, which now needs the formal green light from the rubber-stamp parliament, possibly this month, before its final adoption. The plan is important to unlock an initial investment of $15.5 billion in green-transition…

The possibility of Thailand getting a new, democratically-elected government which is not a military proxy has raised hopes of a fresh and more sympathetic policy towards the forces in Myanmar that are fighting against the junta in Naypyitaw. Pita Limjaroenrat, the leader of the Move Forward Party which gained the most votes, has been a consistent critic of Bangkok’s policy towards its western neighbour. He said only two days after the May 14 Thai general election that Thailand should make sure that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Five-Point Consensus peace plan is implemented, with the first and most…

A Vietnam War pilot from Eastern Washington was laid to rest, some 56 years after he disappeared. The Grandview native and Gonzaga graduate was back home at last. Paul Charvet was just 26 years old when he vanished without a trace, over North Vietnam in 1967. His remains were found in 2021 and were identified as belonging to him the next year. On this Memorial Day, for his family, it was the closing of the circle. By all accounts, Charvet was an easy-to-like 20-something, who loved to fly. “Paul was very outgoing and very gregarious, and didn’t know a stranger,”…

Graduating from Dunkirk High School in 1966, Adamczak was drafted into the Army that November and returned home two years later after being wounded in Vietnam. While he said his injuries were “not enough to get a medal,” Adamczak said he did his job. On returning home Adamczak spent 10 years as a fireman and some time working for a local food company before it closed. He married and had three children, became a member of the firemen’s club and retired at 69 years old. Adamczak now qualifies as a VA 100% disabled vet, and the VA takes care of…

London, Manchester, Liverpool (25/5 – 54) Pep Guardiola’s declaration that he will not leave Manchester City this summer is bad news for other clubs in the English Premier League. On 20 May, Manchester City secured their fifth Premier League title under Pep Guardiola. With the commanding Spaniard managing the team for seven seasons straight, since 2016, Manchester City only failed to become the champion on two occasions: 2016-2017 and 2019-2020. During those seven seasons in the Premier League, The Citizens collected an impressive 624 points from a possible maximum of 798. There seem to be no more challenges for Guardiola in…

Anthony Albanese will travel to Singapore for trade talks and make a key speech at an international security summit. The prime minister will fly to the Asian city state on Thursday and deliver a keynote speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue, where the state of the Indo-Pacific region will feature. The two-day visit will include bilateral talks with Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Mr Albanese said the talks would focus on the Singapore-Australia Green Economy Agreement, along with trade and defence. “Australia is committed to expanding and deepening ties with our partners in southeast Asia to address shared challenges and…

Until last summer, Thailand had some of the world’s harshest drug laws, with possession of cannabis then punishable by up to 15 years in prison. But on June 9, marijuana was decriminalized and a resurgent cannabis culture has seen dispensaries popping up across the Southeast Asian nation of 70 million. The move was the brainchild of Anutin Charnvirakul, Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister, whose Bhumjaithai Party is today the junior partner in a military-backed ruling coalition. Anutin’s pitch was that legalizing cannabis could reduce prison overcrowding—more than 80% of inmates in Thai prisons were incarcerated on drug-related charges—while spurring a hemp industry…

Myanmar junta soldiers killed a PDF commander and his assistant on Wednesday in the resistance stronghold of Sagaing Region, according to local sources. The fighters from Kawlin People’s Defense Force (PDF) Battalion 1 were killed in Kawlin Township. Eight members of Kawlin’s People’s Administration Team and Public Security Group were also killed by junta soldiers at around 6.00am on Thursday. The charred bodies of the commander of Kawlin PDF Battalion 1 and his assistant were found on Thursday near Thea Kaw Village, according to a member of Kawlin’s People’s Administration Team. “They were reportedly arrested at around 10.00am on Wednesday.…

The world will be watching as King Charles III is crowned in a ceremony steeped in ancient tradition on 6 May. But in other monarchies around the globe there are equally extraordinary coronation moments. From a crawling Queen to a throne so sacred it can never be sat on, here’s a look at how some of the world’s remaining monarchies celebrate their kings and queens. “Monarchy runs on ritual and ceremony”, says Dr Elena Woodacre, a reader in renaissance history at the University of Winchester. “There are elements you tend to see in different coronations”, she explains, “there’s always some…