FRESH NEWS
Thai Chain’s Cannabis Pizza: Trendy but Won’t Get You High
BANGKOK (AP) — One of Thailand’s major fast food chains has been promoting its “Crazy Happy Pizza” this month, an under-the-radar product topped with a cannabis leaf. It’s legal but won’t get you high.
POLITICS
Cops to Spend 30 Mil. Baht Buying Tear Gas, Sound Cannons
BANGKOK — An opposition lawmaker challenged a proposal by the Royal Thai Police to buy more anti-riot equipment at the price tag of 30 million baht.
Photo Exhibit Honors Myanmar Women’s Fights for Democracy
BANGKOK — Sixty photos taken by various photographers showing Burmese women's struggle against military junta are on display at Bangkok Arts and Culture Center until Sunday.
Man Arrested for Beating, Robbing Russian Tourist in Pattaya
PATTAYA — Police said they arrested a 42-year-old man who assaulted a Russian woman in the resort town of Pattaya and stole from her back in May.
Omicron Fears: Reopening, Lockdown to be Evaluated by PM
BANGKOK — Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha will decide whether a lockdown will be introduced if the mutant variant of the coronavirus is detected in Thailand, the Ministry of Public Health said.
MFA to Evac Thais in Africa as ‘Omicron’ Concern Grows
BANGKOK — The government moved to ban travel from 8 African nations where a new variant of the coronavirus was reported. Flights will also be arranged to bring back Thai nationals living in those countries.
UN Decries Thailand’s Deportation of Cambodian Activists
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — The U.N. refugee agency has condemned Thailand's deportation of three Cambodian political activists back to their home country, describing it as part of a “trend” of returning Cambodian refugees across the border where they face the risk of persecution.
Gov’t Threatens to Fine Foreigners Who Don’t Wear Facemask
BANGKOK — The government’s pandemic response center said the country is at the risk of another coronavirus outbreak because some foreign visitors are failing to follow disease control measures, like wearing facemasks in public.
Gov’t: 50,000 Travelers Entered Thailand Since Reopening
BANGKOK — More than 50,000 international arrivals have been logged since the country formally reopened to tourists on Nov. 1 -- making up half of all reported arrivals throughout the year 2021.
ASEAN & WORLD
China, US Tussle Over Biden’s ‘Summit for Democracy’
BEIJING (AP) — China and the United States are tussling over President Joe Biden’s upcoming democracy summit, which the ruling Communist Party sees as a challenge to its authoritarian ways.
Laos-China Railway to Launch as Debt To Beijing Mounts
BEIJING (AP) — Laos, a nation of 7 million people wedged between China, Vietnam and Thailand, is opening a $5.9 billion Chinese-built railway that links China’s poor southwest to foreign markets but piles on potentially risky debt.
US Reports 1st Case of Omicron Variant in Returning Traveler
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The U.S. recorded its first confirmed case of the omicron variant Wednesday — in a vaccinated traveler who returned to California after a trip to South Africa — as scientists around the world race to establish whether the new, mutant version of the coronavirus is more dangerous than previous ones.
Brazil and Japan Report First Cases of the Omicron Variant
Brazil and Japan joined the rapidly widening circle of countries to report cases of the omicron variant Tuesday, while new findings indicate the mutant coronavirus was already in Europe close to a week before South Africa sounded the alarm.
Barbados Says Goodbye to Queen, Transforms Into Republic
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Barbados stopped pledging allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday as it shed another vestige of its colonial past and became a republic for the first time in history.
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