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https://www.nationthailand.com/world/china/40023485

Thai tourism stocks soar as China scraps quarantine measure from Jan 8

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2022

China will scrap quarantine measures for overseas arrivals starting January 8, in what is seen as a gamechanger for Thailand’s tourism industry.

Chinese health authorities announced the move on Monday after nearly three years of strict pandemic border restrictions effectively prevented tourists from leaving the country. China was Thai tourism’s largest overseas market before the pandemic struck in 2020.

China’s National Health Commission (NHC) added that travellers would only need a PCR test taken 48 hours pre-flight to enter China.

“According to the national health quarantine law, infectious disease quarantine measures will no longer be taken against inbound travellers and goods,” the NHC said.

Restrictions limiting the number of international flights will also be abolished, it added.

The measures will take effect from January 8, when Covid-19 will be downgraded from a top-tier Class A infectious disease to Class B.

Monday’s announcement triggered a spike in China-related shares on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) while searches for Chinese international flights also soared seven times.

“This is good news for Thailand’s tourism industry, which relies heavily on Chinese tourists,” said a SET source. “In 2019, before the pandemic, around 11 million Chinese tourists visited Thailand, or 27% of nearly 40 million total foreign arrivals.”

Thailand can now expect an influx of tourists from China over Chinese New Year on January 22.

With reports from AFP, The Straits Times

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https://www.nationthailand.com/world/asia-pacific/40023481

North Korea’s Kim kicks off key party meeting ahead of New Year

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2022

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un kicked off a key meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party, state media reported on Tuesday, at a venue he has often used to announce major policy decisions marking the New Year.

The Sixth Enlarged Plenary Meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) was convened on Monday (December 26), the official KCNA news agency said.

The days-long gathering of party and government officials caps a year when the isolated country fired an unprecedented number of missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM).

A new round of tension flared on Monday as five North Korean drones crossed into South Korea, prompting Seoul to scramble fighter jets and attack helicopters, and open fire to try to shoot them down.

Kim also faces mounting economic challenges amid international sanctions over its weapons programs, the fallout from an anti-coronavirus lockdown and natural disasters.

At the meeting, the participants approved five big agenda items including a review of the implementation of major policies and the budget for 2022, as well as the work plan and a draft budget for 2023.

Reuters

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South Korean plane crashes while intercepting North Korean drones

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2022

Five North Korean drones crossed into South Korea on Monday and South Korea responded by scrambling jets and attack helicopters and opening fire to try to shoot down the North Korean aircraft, the South Korean military said.

South Korea tracked the drones crossing from North Korea over what is known as the Military Demarcation Line between the two countries after detecting them in the skies of the western city of Gimpo at around 10:25 a.m. (0125 GMT), the military said.

The border intrusion by North Korean drones is a clear act of provocation, a South Korean military official said. He did not say if any drones had been shot down but the Yonhap news agency later said South Korea’s military fired about 100 shots but failed to shoot any down. As part of its response, the South Korea military also sent surveillance aircraft into the North to photograph its military installations, the official added.

South Korea’s transport ministry said earlier that flights departing from its Incheon and Gimpo airports were suspended for about an hour following a request from the military.

While scrambling to counter the drones, a South Korean KA-1 light attack aircraft crashed shortly after departing its Wonju base in the country’s east, a defence ministry official said. Its two pilots were able to escape before the crash and are in the hospital.

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SK Customs agency allows imports of full-body sex dolls

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2022

South Korea’s customs agency said Monday it has started permitting imports of full-body sex dolls, three years after the country’s top court ruled they are not “obscene materials.”

The Korea Customs Service had been allowing imports of sex dolls that depict particular human body parts, but not life-size dolls, since July.

The agency, however, said dolls depicting minors — based on height, weight, and face — will still not be permitted. Those resembling a specific person will also be banned.

Dolls equipped with electronics that call for further safety inspections, such as heating and voice features, will also be regulated, it added.

In 2019, the Supreme Court allowed imports of certain types of life-size sex dolls on the ground they are sex toys used in private life, not obscene materials as defined by the customs authority. 

The Korea Herald

Asia News Network

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https://www.nationthailand.com/world/asean/40023455

KL restaurant shut for 14 days after video of rat nibbling on foods goes viral

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2022

The restaurant in which a rat was filmed enjoying a lavish meal of fried chicken in a food display, has been ordered to shut down for 14 days.

The order came after the health inspection team, sent to check on the premises in Pandan Indah here on Saturday (Dec 24) was dissatisfied with its hygiene levels.

Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the enforcement team was acting on a video clip, showing the rat munching on some fried chicken, that went viral on social media platforms.

“We ordered the restaurant to close for 14 days under Section 11 of the Food Act 1983,” he said in a statement on Sunday.

He added that six compounds had also been issued to the eatery for food safety and hygiene violations under the Food Hygiene Regulations 2009.

The 15-second video of a rat eating in a food warmer, which had been circulating like wildfire on various social media platforms, has garnered over 1.5mil views since it was posted online on Dec 23.

Dr Noor Hisham said the ministry took food hygiene and safety issues seriously.

“We call on the public, particularly food handlers and business owners to take the responsibility in ensuring food safety is maintained to avoid poisoning and food-borne diseases,” he added.

He also advised the consumers to visit only premises with the BeSS (Clean, Safe and Healthy) logo.

Dr Noor Hisham has urged consumers with food safety issues to contact the nearest regional health officers or state Health Department, or submit their concerns to the ministry’s public complaints site or reach out to Food Safety and Quality Division. 

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https://www.nationthailand.com/world/40023449

Show love and empathy, says Santa, as people mark Christmas worldwide

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2022

As Christmas celebrations were held around the world on Sunday, Santa Claus encouraged people to show love and empathy and to help those in need.

Speaking from his chamber in Rovaniemi, on the Arctic Circle, Santa said he was hoping Christmas would bring peace and happiness throughout the world.

Santa was also spotted scuba diving on Thursday (December 22) in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, enjoying some relaxation with an elfish helper before the upcoming holidays.

In Thailand, a group of mahouts, each dressed as Santa Claus, led a herd of elephants into a school on Friday (December 23) to distribute Christmas gifts to students.

Close to 2,000 thrilled students at the school in Ayutthaya province collected balloons, dolls, toys, and candies from the trunks of elephants, who later performed by dancing to music.

Meanwhile at the Vatican, Pope Francis on Saturday (December 24) led the world’s Catholics into Christmas, saying in an apparent reference to the war in Ukraine and other conflicts, that the level of greed and hunger for power was such that some wanted to “consume even their neighbours”.

Sitting at the side of the altar for most of the Mass, he wove his homily around the theme of greed and consumption on various levels, asking people to look beyond the consumerism that has “packaged” the feast, rediscover its meaning, and remember those suffering from war and poverty.

Christian worshippers packed a Christmas morning mass service on Sunday (December 25) in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, revered as the traditional birthplace of Jesus.

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa led the service attended by locals as well as Christian pilgrims from around the world.

Iraqis celebrating Christmas showed up for an eve mass at Baghdad’s St.George Chaldean Church. They had one hope for the new year – being reunited with their families and friends who over decades of conflict had fled Iraq and the wider Middle East region in droves.

In Mosul, once the seat of Islamic State which brutalised minorities and Muslims alike, churches in previous years had remained vacant except for a handful of worshippers who felt safe enough to attend mass.

But on Saturday (December 24) pews were filled with worshippers, and mass continued outside with a procession well into the night.

In war-torn Ukraine, military chaplain and actors from a Kharkiv theatre visited Ukrainian servicemen in their tranches on the frontline on Saturday (December 24) near the Russian border in Kharkiv region.

In England, members of Britain’s royal family attended a Christmas Day church service at Sandringham estate on Sunday (December 25).

This is the family’s first Christmas without the late monarch Queen Elizabeth, who passed away in September.

King Charles, accompanied by Queen Consort Camilla and other royals, including the Prince and Princess of Wales, left the church and greeted crowds gathered outside.

Squirrel monkeys and pandas received colourful treats for Christmas at Beauval Zoo in France, as zookeepers gave them wrapped presents and Christmas tree-shaped bamboo sculptures.

In Australia, people celebrated Christmas in the sun, gathering on Bondi Beach and Coogee Beach.

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26.5％ of female foreign technical interns In Japan harassed over pregnancy

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2022

More than a quarter of female foreign technical interns in Japan have been the subject of improper remarks about pregnancy, including being told they would lose their job if they became pregnant, according to a first-ever survey conducted by the Immigration Services Agency of Japan.

According to the agency, the remarks came from members of the Japanese companies that employ the women and the supervisory organizations tasked with overseeing the program, as well as from organizations in the interns’ home countries that dispatch trainees.

The agency has sent letters to the supervisory organizations and companies accepting foreign trainees, demanding that such remarks and actions not occur.

It also said it will notify the interns’ home governments and demand they take strict action against the organizations under their jurisdiction that dispatch trainees.

Starting in August, the agency surveyed foreign technical intern trainees about whether they had been treated inappropriately regarding pregnancy or giving birth.

It received replies from 650 female trainees from seven countries, including Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines.

A total of 172 respondents, or 26.5%, said remarks were made to them indicating that they would have to quit their job as a trainee and return to their home country if they became pregnant.

Among the offending entities, organizations that dispatch trainees made such remarks in the largest number of cases, or 73.8%, while 14.9% came from officials at supervisory organizations. Companies that employ trainees accounted for 11.3%.

Also, 5.2% of the female trainees said they signed documents with organizations that dispatch trainees or other related entities stating they would have to quit their job if they got pregnant.

Fewer than 60% were told by supervisory organizations or others that negative treatment for such reasons is prohibited.

As of the end of June, about 320,000 foreign technical intern trainees were working in Japan.

The government has received complaints from some trainees that they were urged to quit their jobs because of pregnancy or giving birth. Some cases have resulted in lawsuits.

A Philippine trainee who worked at a nursing home in Fukuoka Prefecture sued the facility’s operator for damages in October, claiming she was pressured to quit her job and return to her country because of her pregnancy.

In Kumamoto Prefecture, a former Vietnamese trainee was indicted in 2020 on a charge of abandoning the dead bodies of her newborn twins. The Fukuoka High Court concluded that she did so in an attempt to conceal her situation so she could continue working as a trainee.

The Japan News

Asia News Network

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King Charles speaks of grief, cost of living crisis in first Christmas message

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2022

Britain’s King Charles III delivered his first-ever Christmas message on Sunday, paying tribute to his late mother Queen Elizabeth II.

Echoing his mother’s words in her last Christmas message, where she spoke of her grief at losing her husband Prince Philip, Charles said Christmas was “a particularly poignant time for all of us who have lost loved ones.”

Thanking those who had sent “deeply touching” messages of condolence to him and the Queen Consort Camilla, he said the royal family had been shown “love and sympathy.”

He also drew upon the late queen’s “faith in God” and “faith in people,” saying he shared it “with my whole heart.”

Charles delivered his pre-recorded message standing in St George’s Chapel in Windsor, where the queen and Prince Philip are both buried. Footage of the royal family, including Prince William and Princess Kate of Wales, appeared on screen while he spoke.

In a separate pre-recorded message broadcast to the nation as part of a Westminster Abbey carol service, the Princess of Wales said the royal family’s first Christmas without the late monarch would “feel very different”.

In his message, the king also paid tribute to the public sector and healthcare workers, charities and religious institutions, praising the latter for their work during the UK’s ongoing cost of living crisis.

He ended his speech by referring to a previous visit to Bethlehem, the town where Jesus was born, and “the power of light overcoming darkness.”

“It is in this life-giving light and with the true humility that lies in our service to others that I believe we can find hope for the future,” Charles said. “Let us, therefore, celebrate it together and cherish it always.”

His message ended with a rendition of ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem,’ which Charles used to cite the late queen’s “belief in the power of that light,” performed by the choir of St George’s Chapel.

Reuters

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Seven dead in Buffalo as winter storm freezes eastern US on Christmas Day

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2022

A deadly blizzard paralyzed Buffalo, New York, on Christmas Day, trapping motorists in their cars, knocking out electricity to thousands of homes, and raising the death toll from a severe winter storm system that has chilled the United States for days.

At least 30 people have died in US weather-related incidents, according to an NBC News tally, since a deep freeze extended its grip over most of the nation coupled with snow, ice, and howling winds from a storm that roared out of the Great Lakes region last week.

CNN has reported a total of 26 weather fatalities.

Much of the toll has centred in and around Buffalo at the edge of Lake Erie in western New York, where a driving ban remained in effect as heavy “lake-effect” snow — the result of cold air moving over warmer lake waters — and numbing cold continued through the holiday weekend.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said the death toll from the storm had more than doubled to seven from three overnight in the Buffalo region. The four reported dead on Sunday morning included some found in cars and some in snow banks, Poloncarz said, adding that the death count might still rise.

Hundreds of Erie County motorists were stranded in their vehicles over the weekend, with National Guard troops called in to help with rescues, Poloncarz said.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul told reporters on Sunday that the Biden administration had agreed to support her request for a federal disaster declaration.

Some 200 National Guard troops were mobilized in western New York, providing relief to police and fire crews, conducting wellness checks, and bringing supplies to shelters, with more on the way, Hochul said.

Two days of white-out conditions in western New York had made rescue efforts nearly impossible at times, officials said.

The storm was moving east on Sunday after knocking out power to millions late last week and forcing thousands of commercial flight cancellations during the busy holiday travel period.

Reuters

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Hundreds evacuated in Malaysia after king tides wash away their homes

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2022

More than 100 houses in Sabah’s east coast Sandakan were damaged or destroyed during king tides on Christmas Eve.

Hundreds of residents were evacuated from their homes as the tides coupled with strong waves left more than 100 people homeless.

Civil Defence Force personnel were continuing to register victims on Sunday.

The seawater began rising at about 7pm and continued till midnight, forcing residents to flee their homes with their valuables and personal documents.

There were no reports of any casualties as a result of the tides.

The Civil Defence Force said that as of Sunday morning 284 families, comprising 1,194 people, were in relief shelters in Pitas, Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, and Kota Kinabalu.

The Star

Asia News Network