Canada loosens visa ruleFile photoThailand is among 13 countries newly added to Canada's electronic travel authorisation (eTA) programme by its Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Sean Fraser, the North American country announced on Wednesday. Travellers who have either held a Canadian visa in the last 10 years or who currently hold a valid United States non-immigrant visa can now apply for an eTA instead of a visa when travelling to Canada by air, according to the website canada.ca. Effective from Tuesday, eligible travellers from Thailand and the following countries can now benefit from the programme: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Costa Rica, Morocco, Panama, Philippines, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Seychelles, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay. "By making travel to Canada more accessible, we are enhancing opportunities for collaboration, trade and investment, thus invigorating our economy," said Kevin Lamoureux, Canada's MP for Winnipeg North.

Telehouse's first data centre in Thailand on Rama IX Road, which covers an area of 9,000 square metres. Two Japan-based data centre providers have invested US$164 million (5.5 billion baht) in Thailand to build and expand data centres, cashing in on the trend of digital transformation and the exponential growth of cloud computing. Telehouse recently opened its first data centre in Thailand with an investment of $74 million, while NTT invested 3 billion baht through NTT Global Data Centers Corporation to develop its newest and largest data centre in Thailand. Thailand has attracted investment from global cloud and data centre providers to expand their footprints. The new Bangkok data centre follows the Jakarta 3 Data Center in Indonesia, which was completed in April 2022, and the Cyberjaya 6 Data Center in Malaysia, scheduled for completion around mid-2023.

The ban on the sales of alcoholic beverages during Buddhist holidays has sparked a heated debate between advocates and critics of the law -- including the Move Forward Party, which is campaigning for the end of the ban. According to Ms Amarat, banning the sale of alcoholic beverages on Buddhist holidays goes against the nation's constitution, which also guarantees the people's right to belong to religions other than Buddhism. Since many other religions do not frown upon the consumption of alcoholic beverages the way Buddhism does, the ban encroaches on their freedom to choose what's best for themselves, she said. There are five Buddhist holidays in every calendar year during which the sale of alcoholic beverages are prohibited, namely Makha Bucha Day, Visakha Bucha Day, Asarnha Bucha Day, as well as the start and end of Buddhist Lent. The party lambasted the rules for posing stiffer barriers to small makers of alcoholic beverages and attempting to protect the interests of large brewers.

Thai Airways plans jet orders as carrier rebounds from pandemicIn this file photo taken on April 8, 2016 a Thai Airways Boeing 747 plane prepares to land at Changi International Airport in Singapore. (AFP)Thai Airways International Plc said it will begin talks with aircraft manufacturers to purchase 30 new widebody jets as tourists return to Thailand and the carrier looks to rebound from the pandemic. The airline is also looking to add several more A321neos for its regional Thai Smile unit, the CEO said. With order books filling up, airlines around the world are moving quickly to lock in delivery slots with aircraft manufacturers. Demand is being fuelled by strong long-haul demand from Europe and Australia, despite operating at less than 2019 levels of capacity, Chai said.

After selling the seedy side of his business empire, Mr Chuvit began a career in politics as an anti-corruption campaigner, twice serving as a member of parliament. "There is 5,000 websites about the gambling in Thai," Mr Chuvit said on "Deeper Dive". Ignorance of the law, Mr Chuvit pointed out, is no defence -- and enforcement can be lucrative. Mr Chuvit said the amounts were so large because police knew they had caught some big fish. Many of the Chinese, Mr Chuvit discovered, were on visas issued fraudulently in the Northeast.

Most foresee problems forming new govt coalition: pollLeaders of eight parties led by the Move Forward Party signed a memorandum of understanding to serve as a guideline for collaboration between the coalition partners as they stepped closer to forming a new government on May 22. Asked whether they were had doubts that the new government could be formed, 67.83% of the respondents said "yes", citing many factors, including disagreements among them. On the other side, 32.17% said they were not worried. They believed the eight parties, with Move Forward as the core, would be able to reach a settlement in a democratic process, with all showing respect to one another. Asked whether they were confident the process of forming a new government would be smooth, 58.33% said they were not sure, while 41.67% said they were.

(Photo: Chanat Katanyu)Siriraj Piyamaharajkarun Hospital has announced that it cannot accept any more Covid-19 patients because all beds for critical coronavirus patients are fully occupied. We apologise for this inconvenience.”The 345-bed hospital is the private offshoot of the adjacent Siriraj Hospital, the country’s best-known public hospital, located on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River. Up until early April, about 20 Covid patients a day were seeking treatment at Siriraj Hospital. That prompted Siriraj Hospital to issue a clarification that the bed situation for Covid-19 patients there was still controllable and normal. The hospital was treating both patients with mild Covid symptoms and those with severe symptoms, said Dr Apichart Asavamongkolkul, dean of the Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University.

OR prepares for oil price volatility later this yearOR is closely monitoring a possibility that major economies will enter a recession this year, which will weaken people's purchasing power. PTT Oil and Retail Business Plc (OR) is bracing for possible challenges caused by oil price fluctuations and a global economic slowdown that could affect the company in the second half of this year. "Global oil price fluctuations are calming down, but we are not complacent about the situation and are aware of risk factors that may affect our businesses," said Ms Wilaiwan. The lower volatility of global oil prices reduces the risk of oil stock losses or gains for the company. PTT estimates the Dubai oil reference price will range from US$80-86 per barrel through to the end of 2023.

Builder of high-speed railway to get more landMr Chula says the EEC Office is in talks with the contractor to jointly deal with their concerns in relation to the impacts of the Russia-Ukraine war and the Covid-19 pandemic, which dealt a blow to the business sector. The State Railway of Thailand will provide additional land to the builder of the high-speed rail system linking three airports by October, in a bid to speed up construction of this key transport infrastructure in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC). The State Railway of Thailand earlier provided the contractor with land stretching from Suvarnabhumi airport in Samut Prakan to U-tapao airport in Rayong. There is a 21-kilometre section from Don Mueang airport in northern Bangkok to Phaya Thai, a 29km section from Phaya Thai to Suvarnabhumi airport, and a 170km section from Suvarnabhumi airport to U-tapao airport. The construction of the high-speed rail system earlier faced delays in giving some areas to the builder as authorities needed to deal with a land appropriation issue and the removal of electricity poles and tap water pipelines along the rail route.

Group urges ministry unity to reform supply chainsTourism and Sports Ministry officials scan the QR code of a Thailand Tourist Safety project launched on Feb 24 at Suvarnabhumi airport to help solve tourism-related problems, handle tourists’ complaints and promote tourist safety. (Photo: Somchai Poomlard)The Association of Thai Travel Agents (Atta) expects the new government to strengthen collaboration between six ministries related to the tourism industry to improve supply chains. For instance, he said the Higher Education Ministry could help with studies and research on tourism development. However, Mr Adith said it is disappointing the two leading parties in the coalition government seem to be ignoring the Tourism and Sports Ministry. Mr Adith says several ministries need to collaborate to help the tourism industry.

Democrats defer electing new party leaderDemocrat Party key members attend a meeting to map out the party’s communication strategy at the party’s headquarters on March 27. At Wednesday's meeting of the party's caretaker board, the board was notified of Mr Jurin's resignation as party leader. In the new party leader election, the party has resolved to skip the standard process of sounding out the popularity of each nominated candidate before voting to select the winner, to avoid creating conflicts inside the party, said Mr Ramet. The rest of the party's board will include former party leaders and cabinet ministers, he said. It was also reported at Wednesday's meeting that over 89,000 Thais have applied for party membership.

Prayut allays fears over transfer of powerCurtain call: Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha leaves a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, where he promised a smooth transition to a new government. "As the country will have to move forward, we have to continue working to take care of people while still waiting for the new government to come," Gen Prayut said. However, Gen Prayut said that Thailand still has a good financial status despite some political uncertainties, and all sides should join hands in preventing them from developing into more serious problems. Gen Prayut also said the only thing he expects to see happening is peace in the country, and as he is the caretaker prime minister, he will try his best to perform his duty until the new government takes over. Asked if he had ever recently discussed with Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon their political future, Gen Prayut said he had not talked to Gen Prawit about anything other than their remaining responsibilities as the caretaker cabinet.

Ukrainian leader expects talks in Japan to bring 'increased cooperation for our victory'British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky meet during the G7 leaders’ summit in Hiroshima on Saturday. (Photo: AFP)HIROSHIMA, Japan: President Volodymyr Zelensky made a landmark visit to Hiroshima for talks with G7 leaders Saturday, after securing long-sought access to advanced US fighter jets for Ukraine’s war effort. But it was Zelensky’s arrival, and debate about the future of the war in Ukraine, that has dominated the summit. They are also a potent symbol of Western support for Ukraine, forestalling any talk of waning interest as the conflict grinds on. Zelensky also met separately with the Italian and British prime ministers, and talks with the French and US presidents are expected.

Mr Sanga says he hopes the new tourism and sports minister has a background in tourism and a clear vision to develop the sector. He said the sector hopes the new government will pay more attention to it as it is key driver of the economy. Mr Sanga said he hopes the new tourism and sports minister has a background in tourism and a clear vision to develop the sector. "The Tourism and Sports Ministry should not be a leftover quota choice after political parties finish picking up what they want." With the MFP pushing its Progressive Liquor Bill, he said tourism operators are hopeful it can change outdated regulations such as the prohibition against alcohol sales during the afternoon.

Vietnam PM issues power shortage warningA man carries an umbrella to shade from the sun along a street in Hanoi. (Photo: AFP)HANOI: Vietnam faces power shortages in some areas through late this month as electricity use rises due to a heat wave, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh warned. The premier asked state utility Vietnam Electricity Group to negotiate temporary purchase prices with investors of completed wind and power projects that are ready to link to national grid. The ongoing drought has reduced water levels in hydropower reservoirs, raising the possibility of power shortage through May 25, Chinh said. Power plants using imported coals also face fuel shortages because of slow imports from Indonesia, requiring them to borrow fuel from other facilities.