Overseas tourists poured into Bangkok and the holiday island of Phuket on Monday as Thailand kickstarted its tourism industry after 18 months of COVID curbs.The coronavirus pandemic hammered the kingdom's tourism-reliant economy, which last year saw its worst performance since the 1997 Asian financial crisis as arrivals dwindled more than 80 percent.Thai authorities have given the green light to vaccinated tourists from over 60 "low-risk" countries to skip hotel quarantine – pr

Hotels, street food carts and tuk-tuks are gearing up for the return of tourists to Bangkok as Thailand prepares to re-open on 1 November to fully vaccinated visitors after 18 months of COVID travel curbs.But the steamy metropolis, the world's most-visited city before the pandemic, will take some time to get back to its pulsating, intoxicating old self, industry experts say.The coronavirus pandemic sent visitor numbers plummeting from 40 million in 2019 to just 73,000 in the first eight

A Thai restaurant has taken dining with a water view to the next level – its customers perch precariously on wooden stools as murky brown floodwater laps at their tables.Tropical storm Dianmu and heavy monsoon rains have caused flooding in 33 Thai provinces, inundating more than 300,000 households and claiming nine lives.Riverside areas of Bangkok are bracing for flooding in the coming days and more storms are expected to hit the kingdom next week.But the crisis has been a boon for the Chaopr

Thai authorities on Tuesday rushed to protect parts of Bangkok from floodwaters that have already inundated 70,000 homes and killed six people in the country's northern and central provinces.Tropical storm Dianmu has caused flooding in 30 provinces, with the kingdom's central region the worst hit, the Thai Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department said.The level of the Chao Phraya River – which snakes through Bangkok after winding almost 400 kilometres from the north – is steadi

Hundreds of protesters drove through Bangkok's streets on Sunday to mark the 15th anniversary of a military coup that ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.The billionaire ex-premier – now living in self-exile – has remained a prominent figure in the country's politics since the military deposed his government on 19 September, 2006.Unloading a massive cardboard model of a tank for their "cars against tanks" protest, rallygoers honked car horns to call for the resignatio

Thailand plans to reopen Bangkok to fully vaccinated visitors in October, officials said Friday, as the kingdom seeks to salvage a tourism industry hammered by the pandemic.Before COVID, tourism made up a fifth of Thailand's national income but severe travel curbs imposed to fight the virus saw the usual flood of foreign visitors dwindle to almost nothing, contributing to the economy's worst performance in over 20 years.The kingdom is pressing ahead with plans to reopen despite a de

For Bangkok market sellers, the armpit sweat soaking their T-shirts during the humid monsoon season may contain subtle signs of coronavirus infection, local scientists have said.Thai researchers are developing a sweat-based mobile virus detector, and road-tested it on shopkeepers at a Bangkok food market this week."From the samples, we found that people infected with COVID-19 secrete very distinct chemicals," said Chadin Kulsing from Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University."We

Pro-democracy protesters vented their anger in Bangkok's heavy rain Saturday after Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha survived a no-confidence vote in parliament.More than 300 demonstrators marched in central Bangkok's main shopping mall district carrying red flags and wearing ponchos in the downpour."The government should be gone.

Thousands of protesters in cars and on bikes massed in Bangkok's central shopping district Sunday, one of several mobile rallies across Thailand demanding Premier Prayut Chan-o-cha resign over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.The kingdom is grappling with its worst outbreak so far, registering record numbers of daily infections each week as hospitals struggle to cope.

Thai police fired tear gas and rubber bullets Saturday at hundreds of protesters in Bangkok demanding political reform and calling for a change to the country's coronavirus vaccination programme.Demonstrators defied restrictions on public gatherings introduced as Thailand battles its worst outbreak of the virus to call for Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to quit.The Thai government has come under fire for the sluggish rollout of its covid vaccination programme, and the protesters also d