Thailand News Today | Paypal shuts out foreigners in Thailand
Russian President rejects invitation to APEC Summit in Thailand Thailand News
Russian President Vladimir Putin rejects invitation to APEC Summit in Thailand
Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be attending the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Bangkok next week, despite Thailand’s Minister
of Foreign Affairs confirming the Russian leader’s attendance last month.
Yesterday, the Russian Embassy informed Thailand’s foreign ministry that Putin
would no longer be attending the meeting on November 18-19. Instead, he is
sending First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov in his place.
Putin earlier expressed his intention to attend the APEC Summit himself but has
since changed his mind, citing that he is too busy with the war he launched in
Ukraine.
The Russian President will virtually attend the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia, via
video call from November 15-16. Although, Putin is also sending Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov to the G20 Summit as well, who will also represent Russia at
ASEAN meetings in Cambodia this month in lieu of Putin.
Western countries put pressure on Indonesia to withdraw Putin’s invitation due to
his ongoing unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, but Indonesia refused. Ukrainian
President Volodymyr Zelensky said he will not attend the summit if Putin does.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, French President Emmanuel Macron, and
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen have all confirmed their attendance at the
APEC meeting in Bangkok.
Mexico, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan – four of the world’s 21 APEC
member states – are sending delegations to the summit.
President of America Joe Biden cannot make it to Bangkok but is sending Vice
President Kamala Harris to the summit in his place.
Despite not being APEC members, the UK and India were invited to the APEC
Summit due to their strong trade ties with Thailand. However, officials from both
countries cannot make it.
AOT turns to Grab to fill shortage of airport taxis in Thailand Thailand News
Airports of Thailand (AOT) is negotiating with Grab about using their services to
fill taxi shortages at two airports in the kingdom. Airports have always been a strict
no-go zone for Grab taxis, but waiting times for passengers are getting out of hand.
Now that High Season is in full swing, there are not enough airport taxis to
facilitate the uptick in arrivals at Suvarnabhumi Airport and Don Mueang Airport,
two international airports servicing the capital.
According to the President of AOT Nitinai Sirisatthakarn, only 500 of the 2,500 taxis
registered at Don Mueang Airport are actually in service. At Suvarnabhumi
Airport, only half of the 5,000 registered taxis are back in service, creating long
waiting times for passengers.
Nitinai said…
“There is a shortage of taxis right now. It’s clear to see at Don Mueang Airport.
Some days, we need 700 taxis, but only 500 are in service. With bad traffic
in the city, taxis can’t make it back to the airport quickly. We cannot meet the
demand.”
Nitinai said that AOT will propose testing out using Grab taxis to fill the shortage.
Taxi drivers currently registered at the airports would be involved in the
discussions to find a solution to the problem together, added the president.
‘Sawasdee by AOT’ app, promises range of useful functions for air travelers
With Covid restrictions having been mostly lifted in many parts of the world, the
number of passengers using airports in Thailand has noticeably increased. The
Airports of Thailand (AOT) now expects Thailand’s top 6 airports to service 96
million passengers next year. To better accommodate travelers, the company is
now making the ‘Sawasdee by AOT’ app available.
AOT President Nitinai Sirismatthakarn expects the combined passenger handling
figure at 6 airports to rise to 96 million next year. The 6 airports include
Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phuket, and Hat Yai
airports. The AOT predicts there will be 142 million passengers in 2024 when air
travel is expected to recover to pre-pandemic levels.
To best serve tourists, the AOT has been bringing in digital technology to improve
services. The AOT and partners have developed the ‘Sawasdee by AOT’ mobile
application that it hopes will become a travel ‘super app’ in Thailand. Users are
now able to check flight schedules, find the statuses of arrival and departure flights
and get alerts for flight changes. Users can also get information on wait times at
check-in counters, security checkpoints, and passport control points. This
information will make it less likely for travelers to miss their flights. The app also
comes with a taxi booking function. It is available in Thai, English, Chinese,
Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, and Russian.
Sawasdee by AOT is available on the App Store and Play Store. Thailand News
Paypal shuts out foreigners in Thailand
Foreigners in Thailand will no longer be able to use Paypal from December 15.
The service will also be unavailable to most Thais unless they change their
accounts to registered business accounts.
Paypal is making big changes to comply with Thailand’s crackdown on money
laundering.
Only users with registered business accounts are eligible to use Paypal to send and
receive money and pay for goods online, commencing December 15, 2022. All
personal accounts will be cut off.
To get a registered business account, you need a 13-digit Thai national ID card,
ruling out most foreigners. Users must also register with the government’s
National Digital ID programme, an identification verification system that is
required to use services at banks in Thailand, too.
Alternatives to Paypal include ‘Skrill,’ which has lower transaction costs than
Paypal, and ‘Payoneer’, which works well for freelancers and small businesses.
For those who wish to make regular international transactions, ‘Wise’ is a cheap
and easy service to use with lower fees than Paypal. Thailand News
A woman has contacted police after she says a couple forced her to have a threesome
A woman has contacted police after she says a couple forced her to have a
threesome with them in exchange for forgiving a 500,000 baht debt. But, the
husband of the couple says the woman was actually having an affair with his wife.
The 32-year-old woman’s lawyer took her to the complaint centre at the Central
Investigation Bureau to seek legal action.
Her lawyer, Phaisarn Ruangrit, says she worked at a logistics firm, later meeting
the wife of the company’s owner. They eventually developed a relationship with
the wife helping the victim whenever she had financial trouble. Eventually, her
help totalled 500,000 baht in loans. Then things turned ugly as the woman says the
couple allegedly threatened to sue her for 10 million baht if she didn’t sleep with
them.
Phaisarn likened such a contract to slavery and said the woman feared for her
future. She then agreed to the request, but several threesomes later, she tried to end
the arrangement, only to be met with threats and intimidation. The wealthy couple
used their connections as a threat to the woman, which pushed her to seek legal
help. Her lawyer examined the contract and said it went against morality and the
law and held no legal obligation for her to fulfill.
He then went on to say that the contact could be used as evidence against the
couple for colluding in sexual abuse and coercing a person to do something against
their will.
“Even though the damaged party is a woman, her mind presents herself as a man.
In any case, it’s wrong to do something like this to the victim.”
The unnamed woman said she tried many times to resist the couple’s advances and
also tried to flee the situation but was forced back with the couple using the
contract as a threat. She claims that the repeated sexual abuse made her feel as if
she was in hell and even considered committing suicide.
The deputy commander of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division has reportedly
received her complaint. But, no further information has been issued. Thailand News
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