Saudi Arabia
- Thailand News
First direct flight from Saudi Arabia to land in Thailand after mending diplomatic relations
The first direct flight from Saudi Arabia to Thailand will land at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, a significant step after bilateral ties between the two countries were patched up. Saudi Arabian Airlines flight SV846 from Riyadh will arrive at Suvarnabhumi Airport at 6:05pm today. The airline will operate three flights per week between Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Bangkok, with more flights…
- Tourism News
Thailand expecting a million Middle Eastern tourists following restoration of Saudi ties
Thailand hopes to restore its battered tourism sector by welcoming around a million Middle Eastern tourists by the end of this year. Government spokesperson Traisulee Traisornkul says the restoration of ties with Saudi Arabia, after a 30-year freeze, will help revive the tourism industry in the kingdom. “Restoring relations between Thailand and Saudi Arabia would play a crucial role in…
- Thailand video news
Thailand News Update | Reducing paperwork for incoming travellers
This Wednesday the CCSA convene for yet another meeting to consider both lifting persistent local restrictions, as well as reducing some of the paperwork and hassles for incoming travellers. For travellers, they will be looking for the scrapping of one or both the pre-paid PCR tests and accommodation when they arrive. New applications for the Thailand Pas have remained lack-lustre…
- Thailand News
Saudi Arabia will have flights to Thailand available starting February 28
After Thailand and Saudi Arabia patched things up last month after decades of cold relations, flights from Saudi Arabia to Thailand will be available starting on February 28. Thai International Airways also plans to have direct flights between Bangkok and Riyadh in May. Thai tourism authorities have set a lofty goal of 20 billion baht from an expected 200,000 Saudi…
- Pattaya News
Pattaya travel roadshow to visit Saudi Arabia with PM
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has instructed tourism businesses in Pattaya to prepare a travel roadshow for upcoming ministerial visits to Saudi Arabia in order to promote tourism and develop relations between the two nations. Following the directive, governor Yuthasak Supasorn of The Tourism Authority Thailand met with the local entrepreneurs group “One Voice” to reveal the PM’s trip to Saudi Arabia…
- Thailand News
Thailand and Saudi Arabia patch things up 33 years after Blue Diamond Affair
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha visited Saudi Arabia earlier this week, and Thailand and Saudi mended relations they broke 33 years ago following the Blue Diamond Affair in 1989 where a Thai cleaner in Saudi’s royal palace stole diamonds worth US$20 million from the prince. The next year, three Saudi diplomats and a businessman trying to recover the gems were killed. According…
- World News
Thailand and Saudi Arabia to exchange ambassadors, resume full diplomatic ties
Following a meeting yesterday between Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha and the Saudi leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, both countries have agreed to restore diplomatic ties in the near future. The Bangkok Post reports that Thailand and Saudi Arabia will exchange ambassadors as part of the agreement. Things have been frosty between the two countries since a diplomatic spat over…
- Thailand News
Prayut’s Saudi Arabia trip a ‘breakthrough’ after 30 years of tense relations
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is currently in Saudi Arabia in an effort to restore Thai-Saudi economic and diplomatic relations. Experts say the trip, which is the first government trip between the two countries after 30 years, is a huge breakthrough after three decades of tense relations between the two countries. Relations first turned cold in 1989 after the Blue Diamond Affair…
- Covid-19 News
25 Thais returning from Mecca pilgrimage infected with Omicron variant
25 of 31 Thai pilgrims recently returned from a pilgrimage to Mecca have tested positive for the Omicron variant. The Bangkok Post reports that the group landed at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport from Saudi Arabia on December 15. According to the report, most of the passengers are from central Thailand, with 14 from Nonthaburi, 4 are from Pathum Thani, 4 from…
- World News
FBI releases 9/11 file documenting probe into Saudi Arabia’s possible role
The FBI has released a document pertaining to its investigation into any involvement by the Saudi Arabian government in the 9/11 terror attacks. The release was ordered by US President Joe Biden following demands from the victims’ families, but does not provide any proof of official Saudi involvement. According to a Nation Thailand report, in 2019, the Trump administration responded…
- Covid-19 News
US Air Force lands in India with much-needed Covid-19 supplies, other foreign aid on the way
As India has recently requested foreign aid to help with its severe Covid-19 situation, a US Air Force aircraft has landed in the South Asian country, answering that call with Covid-19 relief supplies. The aircraft departed from California and, according to a statement by the US Department of Defense, was packed with cargo pallets containing more than 400 oxygen cylinders…
- Covid-19 News
1 new Covid-19 death, 7 new cases in quarantine
Thailand reported its first Covid-19 death since June, tallying up the death toll to 59. Health officials also report 7 new Covid-19 cases detected in quarantine. They say 1 person had the virus before. The 54 year old Mhad Mamin worked as a Thai translator at an embassy in Saudi Arabia. He came back to Thailand last month and tested positive…
- World News
Saudi Arabia holds limited Hajj due to Covid-19
Saudi Arabia is holding a very limited Hajj this year, due to the current Covid-19 pandemic. Pilgrims who are already in the Kingdom will be permitted to conduct the annual Muslim rite, which usually draws millions to religious sites. The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and is a must for Muslims at least once in their lives. …
- Covid-19 News
5 Thai students test positive for Covid-19 after returning from Saudi Arabia
5 students, who returned to Thailand from Saudi Arabia via Malaysia, have now been confirmed as being infected with the Covid-19 virus. The students are part of a group of 39 returning citizens who arrived back in the country via the Padang Besar road checkpoint at the Malaysian border. All 39 are reported to be in mandatory state quarantine at…
- Covid-19 News
Oil prices tank, as crisis fuels calls to re-open economies
And now a global oil crisis hits home as well. Oil prices have crashed into negative territory after global coronavirus-related travel restrictions impacted demand. After addressing the early crisis with ‘lockdowns’ and social distancing, now the narrative pivots to lifting stay-at-home orders and re-opening economies. Some European countries have taken tentative steps to ease restrictions as coronavirus death rates start to…
- Covid-19 News
Korean virus cases skyrocket; Japanese passenger turns positive
The number of COVID-19 coronavirus cases in Korea has increased tenfold in just four days to 556, and a passenger on the virus-stricken Diamond Princess tested positive after arriving home in Japan, despite a negative result during the ship’s 14-day quarantine. Yesterday, China’s Hubei province, where the outbreak began, saw 96 deaths, another decrease, in line with the toll reported…
- Opinion
Opinion: Sovereignty, rights ignored in airport debacle – The Nation
Thailand could have blood on its hands if it fails to protect a Saudi traveller on her journey to freedom. The fate of a Saudi woman on her way to Australia, where she has a visa and seeks to obtain asylum, teetered in the balance in Bangkok at press time yesterday. Amid Thailand’s apparent willingness to deport her back to…
- Bangkok News
UPDATE: Standoff at Suvarnabhumi – Thai Immigration reverse decision
Speaking at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport where Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun is refusing to board a flight back to her family that she fled in Saudi Arabi, Lt. Gen. Surachate Hakparn says now that Thailand has reversed it’s thinking on the matter and will not deport her against her will. “If deporting would result in her death we definitely won’t do…
- Bangkok News
Saudi teen fleeing family abuse seeking asylum in Australia, detained in Bangkok airport.
PHOTO: Sophie McNeill (Twitter) A young Saudi woman is being held at Bangkok’s main international airport after she fled from her family and attempted to make it to Australia. The girl, 18 year old Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun, was on a family holiday in Kuwait when she decided to run away. She was on her way to Australia but has been…
