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.

Thailand downgraded its economic growth forecast for 2021 on Monday as it battles its worst COVID-19 wave, which has brought record numbers of new infections and deaths. The kingdom last year suffered its worst full-year performance since the Asian financial crisis of 1997 with a 6.1 percent economic contraction.The Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) had initially given a cool forecast for recovery during the first quarter, estimating growth of 1.5

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

Authorities in Thailand are facing allegations of using lawsuits and new emergency decrees to fend off a rising tide of public anger about their handling of the COVID-19 pandemic as the country’s infection rate and death toll continue to hit record highs.Officials insist the moves are aimed strictly at those spreading false and misleading information, but their latest decree could let authorities block online reports that may “instigate fear” even if true, lawyers and rights groups said.&

The number of COVID-19 infections recorded worldwide passed 200 million on Thursday, an AFP count showed, as the pandemic surges around the world, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region where the Australian city of Melbourne locked down again.The highly contagious Delta variant has driven the virus to return with a vengeance, the number of daily cases recorded worldwide rising by 68 percent since mid-June.But as more of the world gets vaccinated against the coronavirus – particularly in weal

The Thai government has hinted strict curbs could be extended until the end of August amid surging cases. Thailand has reported 20,200 new coronavirus cases and 188 additional deaths – both records since the start of the pandemic last year – increasing the likelihood that virus-related restrictions will be extended.The new cases and fatalities reported on Wednesday brought total cases to 672,385 and deaths to 5,503, data from the health ministry’s website showed.

The Delta variant, first identified in India, poses a threat to us all – not just those countries with larger numbers of unvaccinated people.