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Russian President rejects invitation to APEC Summit in Thailand Thailand News

Thailand News Today | Paypal shuts out foreigners in Thailand | News by Thaiger
Russian President Vladimir Putin rejects invitation to APEC Summit in Thailand

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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

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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

Thailand News Today | Paypal shuts out foreigners in Thailand | News by Thaiger
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

Thailand News Today | Paypal shuts out foreigners in Thailand | News by Thaiger
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

Thailand News Today | Paypal shuts out foreigners in Thailand | News by Thaiger
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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