The president of the Airlines Association of Thailand says the government should permit the Test & Go entry scheme to renew as soon as attainable. The scheme was suspended on December 21 because the Omicron Covid variant was just starting to spread quickly across the globe. Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth, who can additionally be the boss of Bangkok Airways, says the scheme was working properly, attracting more overseas visitors to the dominion, and airlines are anxious to see it rebooted.Puttipong says the government must assess the severity of Omicron and resume Test & Go primarily based on the number of critical infections. Since the scheme’s suspension, international arrivals must choose between mandatory quarantine in Bangkok or one of many country’s sandbox schemes, all within the south. If they go for one of many sandbox entry schemes, they need to spend a minimal of 7 nights in Phuket, Krabi, Phang Nga or Koh Samui and then take a look at negative for Covid-19 earlier than being free to travel elsewhere in Thailand.Puttipong is urging the federal government to change its method to the Omicron variant due to the milder sickness in vaccinated people. He points out that airways already use stringent well being protection measures. Domestically, there’s additionally been a drop off in flights as some passengers resolve to play it secure right now.Meanwhile the boss of Thai Lion Air, says the government’s method to the Omicron variant – in particular, the choice to droop Test & Go – has created significant uncertainty for the aviation sector. He adds that TLA has no plans to restart worldwide flights at this time and is calling on the government to supply more help for domestic tourism, by introducing stimulus measures and subsidies that can encourage more individuals to journey in-country.—-The jury’s out on Thailand’s new 300 baht tourism payment, with foreigners expressing reservations about its introduction. The Thai authorities has confirmed that all overseas arrivals must pay the 300-baht levy from April 1…. Perfect day to launch anything I would have thought. If you take a look at plenty of the social media, many foreigners usually are not so fussed concerning the precise fee, simply how it will be spent.Last week a authorities spokesman beforehand acknowledged that the charge might be used to develop and upgrade vacationer sights, creating disabled entry and adding services similar to public toilets. He says folks flying into the dominion will have the fee included in their airfare, whereas those coming by land or sea should hand over the dosh at the border. The vacationer tax isn’t a primary and travellers have been paying quite a lot of arrival and departure taxes in Thailand for many years.——Thailand’s annual Cobra Gold army exercise, the place Thai troopers prepare the US and different foreign troops on jungle survival expertise, is being scaled down this 12 months as a outcome of current Covid scenario.The large, multinational army exercise has been identified for its snake decapitating demonstration the place troopers drink the fresh blood from the headless snake before cooking the meat… properly, the Thai media love covering that facet anyway. Last August, after calls to cease the snake demonstration and different ugly traditions that involved killing animals, PETA announced that not a single animal was killed within the 2021 Cobra Gold train.The Royal Thai Armed Forces say Cobra Gold, which is run in coordination with the US army for the explanation that Eighties, shall be downsized this yr to three,600 troops with 1,seven-hundred of them from the US and other participating international locations whereas the other 1,900 might be Thai soldiers. The occasion will run from February 20 to March 5.—-More than 400 bars, nightclubs, and leisure venues in Bangkok have utilized for permission to reopen as restaurants, sneaking through a loophole whereby eating places in Blue Zones are capable of serve alcohol, at least until 9pm as of today. The venues have been closed since final April because of strict illness control measures. The government delayed its plan to permit bars and nightclubs to reopen in mid-January as a outcome of newest outbreak in Thailand, but decided to allow the venues to use for permission to reopen as restaurants, as long as they made all the modifications required to meet standards for SHA+ accredited eating places at this time.A whole of 413 former bars and clubs have utilized for permission to reopen as restaurants and some are still being assessed by officers.All employees members will must be vaccinated and customers who are unvaccinated should show a adverse ATK test outcome earlier than entering. The area additionally has to be ethereal and spacious sufficient for social distancing. Restaurants serving booze after 9pm can face a fine of up to 7,000 baht for his or her first offence. But, as we’ve seen, the enforcement of these guidelines has been inconsistent… at best.—-Despite central authorities recommending schools transfer to home studying until January 31, faculties in Phuket have been told they’ll re-open, despite the high number of Covid infections on the island. The Ministry of Education had suggested Thailand’s colleges to suspend in-classroom studying due to the newest surge, but the Phuket governor has issued an order permitting faculties on the southern island to re-open.A copy of the order was posted on the Facebook page of the Phuket Information Centre yesterday, stating that colleges on the island can resume onsite learning for college kids of all ages. According to the submit, the governor issued the order with the approval of the Phuket Communicable Disease Committee. The newest order from the Phuket governor is in impact until the end of this month.—-The authorities has advised netizens to be cautious after the Revenue Department’s Twitter account was hacked by unknown cyber attackers. This time the hackers deleted almost all previous tweets on the account and adjusted its identify to Revenue/NFT. They then posted only one tweet, which learn, “I’m trying to collaborate with NFT initiatives. DM (direct message) me if you’re interested in paid promotion!”It’s not yet identified who was behind the attack however NFT stands for non-fungible token on the planet of cryptocurrencies. The attack comes because the Thai government confirms new tax measures focusing on the crypto market.Following the cyberattack, the Revenue Department advised the public to be cautious of any tweets appearing on its account. The department also notified the Anti-Fake News Centre. The account now seems to have been restored and the Revenue Department has instructed the Anti-Fake News Centre to search out those behind it. Approved ’s primary news outlet, the NBT, had their Twitter account hacked with a pornagraphic picture appearing… to the shock of many… possibly the delight of a few.—-And Thailand is now utilizing synthetic intelligence to spread Buddhist messages. Meet Phra Mana AI, Thailand’s first digital monk. He seems about 30 years old, but says he understands the “teenage world.” The AI abbot shares easy-to-understand doctrine in an effort to focus on the model new technology.He simply had his first interview with Thai media, telling reporters that his Thai creator and developent team had been inspired by virtual influencers in different international locations. His creation is aimed attg