foreigners refused entry to Thailand

SONGKHLA --  Thailand despite having valid tourist visas, according to a senior Immigration official at the Sadao border checkpoint refused foregners from entry from Malaysia border.

deputy superintendent Lt. Col Banphot Kittivarathe of Sadao Immigration has confirmed that if an individual can not prove they are a genuine tourist they will be refused entry to Thailand.

More than 100 foreigners are being denied entry on the basis they could be using a tourist visa to enter the country and work illegally.

Genuine tourists who wish to enter Thailand are advised to show officials hotel bookings or some kind of travel itinerary. 

Sadao is located in Songkhla province and is one of the major border checkpoints on the Thai/Malaysian border. 

Foreigners urged to carry out 'better understanding' of Thai politics

BANGKOK  -   Thai  Foreign Ministry  urged foreign business representatives to help give  respective governments a better understanding of the political developments in Thailand.

Thai  ministry's permanent secretary, Sihasak Phuangketkeow, had  lunched with representatives of foreign chambers of commerce to ensure them that the junta really cares about foreign trade and investment.


As  many  have been living and working in Thailand for years, so they understand the situation better than most and could help convey correct information to their countries, he said.

Stanley Kang, chairman of the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce in Thailand (JFCCT), said there was more stability in the country from the increased rule of law, which helped facilitate investment. The JFCCT is preparing proposals to be presented to the NCPO within the next two weeks, he said.

"The things that the private sector has been giving importance to are Thailand's readiness to enter the Asean Economic Community, because the country has the potential and ability to be one of the leaders in the region. What is needed is the increase of skilled workers that is needed for the expected increase of investment opportunities from the launching of the AEC," he said.

Kang said the private sector had a role to play in terms of creating skilled labour for the country via the promotion of education and vocational studies for workers who lack certain skills that are needed. The JFCCT also welcomed the NCPO policy to legally register unskilled migrant workers.

Malaysian airline crashes in eastern Ukraine, 295 reported dead

UKRAINE   —  A Malaysian Airlines with 295 passenger onboard flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed in eastern Ukraine on Thursday afternoon, reportedly killing all 295 passengers and crew members on board, Ukrainian officials said, adding that the aircraft may have been shot down.

The incident happened at approximately 4:20 p.m. local time when Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 disappeared from radar screens while flying over eastern Ukraine near the border with Russia. Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister, said 280 passengers and 15 crew members were believed to be on board.

Malaysia Airlines has lost contact with MH17 from Amsterdam. The last known position was over Ukrainian airspace. More details to follow,” the airline said in a brief statement. It did not confirm Flight MH17 had crashed, but aviation monitors said data showed the Boeing 777 stopped transmitting while over eastern Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko immediately ordered the establishment of a National Commission to investigate the cause of the disaster. “We do not exclude the possibility that the aircraft was shot down,” the presidency said in a statement, adding that the country’s armed forces had not taken any action against the aircraft.

Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said he has directed the countrys Ministry of Defense to investigate the incident, according to a message on his Twitter account. He said he could not confirm that the plane was shot down.

But multiple reports, including from Russia's Interfax news agency, said the plane was shot down at cruising altitude. Anton Gerashenko, an adviser to Ukraine's Interior Minister told The Associated press that the plane, carrying 280 passengers and 15 crew people onboard, was shot down.

The plane apparently went down, near the city of Kremenchuk, has been embroiled in the larger dispute between Ukraine and ethnic Russian separatists. Fighting has intensified in recent months in the region. A day before, according to the Ukrainian government, a Russian military plane shot down a Ukrainian fighter jet in Ukrainian airspace.

The Boeing jets are equipped with twin Rolls-Royce Trent engines, typically cruises at 35,000 feet at speeds up to 639 miles per hour.

On March 8, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, also a Boeing 777 and carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew on a route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, disappeared somewhere over the ocean. It has not been found.

Myanmar refugees criticize Thailand

MYANMAR  :    Myanmar refugees criticized the Thai junta’s plan to send them home within the next year, saying they have been left in the dark about the repatriation process and are not yet ready to return.

NCPO  leader Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha said on Monday that Thailand and Myanmar would work together to repatriate more than 120,000 Burmese refugees who live in camps along the border.

It can happen if they do not consider how our human rights will be affected, said deputy secretary of the Mae La refugee camp, which is the largest Myanmar refugee camp in Thailand with about 40,000 residents. “There are still on-and-off conflicts in Burma. It’s not safe  for the refugees to return home he said.

Gen Prayuth met with  Burmese counterpart Gen Min Aung Hlaing last week to discuss a timetable for returning the refugees to their homeland.

Thai officials will likely start counting the populations in the camps  this week, to verify their nationality and ages of residents, and to ensure that everyone is a registered refugee.

Plane hits aerobridge at Manila airport

MANILA  :  A Singapore Airlines (SIA) plane has been grounded at Manila's international airport after it hit an aerobridge due to strong winds from the worst typhoon that has hit the country this year.

No passengers or crew on board at that time and our engineers will assess the aircraft when weather conditions permit,” SIA said on Wednesday.

Passengers who  booked to fly out on the damaged aircraft will be offered alternative arrangements.

Typhoon Rammasun has so far not affected the airline’s flight schedules.

The strong winds from the worst typhoon  has cause damaged to the left wing and engine of the Singaporean  Airlines.

US keep waiting Thai Junta over Cobra Gold

THAILAND  :   Thai military are yet to  respond to an appeal from the United States asking  to rejoin the annual Cobra Gold military exercises, since Washington earlier threatened to relocate the long-standing joint operation to Australia next year in response to the coup in May.

Thailand  asked the US to explain  why they wanted to resume the Cobra Gold exercises with Thailand, after previously suggesting it might shift them elsewhere. The threat was an apparent gesture of opposition to the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO)'s seizure of power on May 22.

The US has submitted a written letter saying they will resume Cobra Gold jointly with Thailand, but Thai military have not responded to it.  And  have asked the US to explain in a statement why it wants to resume the exercises.

NCPO had categorised foreign countries into three groups based on their stance towards its coup: Asean countries, which he said were 100 per cent supportive of the NCPO; countries that had not expressed a strong stance, with which the NCPO was currently creating an understanding; and countries that had openly opposed the coup.

Thai stock market sloping upward

THAILAND  :   The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) is expected to slop upward from next week on continued buying by foreign investors after Thursday’s recorded a higher  level in more than a year, according to Kasikorn Research Centre and Kasikorn Securities.

The SET index closed at 1,518.01 points, up 10.09 points from Wednesday, on  turnover of about Bt45.3 billion as investors bought following signs that the US Federal Reserve would maintain its policy interest rate longer than earlier anticipated.

Daily turnover this week round up at about 38.9 billion baht, a decline of 7.04 per cent from last week.

The market  closed on Friday for Asalha Puja, a Buddhist religious public holiday.

On Thursday, the baht closed at 32.17 against the dollar, slipping from 32.12 which was at its strongest level in the past three months

Thai baht,  against the US dollar in the past three months as it neared Bt32.10.