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- With 118 dead from Hurricane Helene, Biden defends US government response
- Breeder who tried to create enormous trophy sheep jailed in US
- Qatar Airways seeking 25% stake in Virgin Australia
- US port officials gird for strike as labor talks stay stuck
- As toll crosses 100, Trump puts Hurricane Helene at election center stage
- US Fed Chair sees 'further disinflation' in economy
- Epic Games sues Google and Samsung over app store
- Officials see no shortages from likely US port strike
- UK families of Gaza hostages warn Lebanon attack 'takes focus away'
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- ECB chief backs bank mergers amid UniCredit, Commerzbank talk
- China stocks soar on stimulus, but US and Europe retreat
- 100 dead in storm Helene damage, flooding across US southeast
- China stocks soar on stimulus, Europe slides on automaker woes
- German antitrust watchdog steps up monitoring of Microsoft
- Nepal's urban poor count cost of 'nightmare' floods
- E.Guinea, Gabon clash at ICJ over oil-rich islands
- New blow for UK's Starmer as growth data disappoints
- China's top banks to tweak mortgage rates to boost housing market
- Muslim women break taboos navigating east London's waterways
- Nepal dam-building spree powers electric vehicle boom
- More than 60 dead from storm Helene as rescue, cleanup efforts grow
- Dozens missing, 9 dead in migrant boat wreck off Spanish Canaries
- Death toll from Hurricane John hits eight in Mexico
- Storm Helene's toll rises as rescue and cleanup efforts gain pace
- SpaceX launches mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding as cleanup begins
- SpaceX set to launch mission to return stranded astronauts
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- Boeing strike grinds on as latest talks fail to reach agreement
- Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election
- US ports brace for potential dockworkers strike
- Japan's speedy, spotless Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60
- US hurricane deaths rise to 44, fears of more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Global stocks mostly rise, cheering Beijing stimulus
- Europe en route for Moon with new simulator, says astronaut Pesquet
- Fireworks forecast if comet survives risky Sun flypast
- Argentina judge orders dictionary to delete pejorative definition of 'Jewish'
- Global stocks rise on rate hopes, Beijing stimulus
- S.African woman turns 118, among the oldest in the world
- UK clears $4 bn AI partnership between Amazon, Anthropic
- Barca fans barred from Champions League away game over racist banner
- Chinese stocks extend surge, Europe higher on Beijing stimulus
- Pope says Church must 'seek forgiveness' for child sexual abuse
- China caps week of 'bazooka' stimulus for ailing economy with rate cut
- Cuts, cash, credit: China bids to jumpstart flagging economy
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- Iran treads carefully, backing Hezbollah while avoiding war
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Thailand drops on-arrival Covid-19 tests for vaccinated visitors
Thailand on Friday announced the end of compulsory Covid-19 tests for vaccinated travellers, as the country steps up efforts to revive its pandemic-thumped tourism industry.
Tight border restrictions helped the kingdom limit infections and deaths in 2020 but brought the tourism sector -- which had accounted for about a fifth of the country's economy -- to its knees.
Thailand's Covid-19 taskforce said that from May 1, fully vaccinated visitors would no longer have to take a test on arrival and wait in a hotel room for the result.
Taskforce spokesperson Taweesin Visanuyothin said authorities will now only require arrivals to show proof of vaccination and health insurance coverage of at least $10,000.
"This will propel the economic (recovery) momentum since we are a country that relies quite heavily on tourism," said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha.
Unvaccinated travellers will either need to show a negative test result taken within 72 hours of departure for Thailand or undergo five days of hotel quarantine and a test.
Earlier this month, Thailand dropped the requirement for mandatory pre-arrival Covid tests.
Hotels, resorts and tour operators have long been pushing for hassle-free entry rules in an effort to lure more foreign tourists.
The kingdom faces an uphill battle to bounce back from its worst economic performance since the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
Experts estimate around five million international visitors will come to Thailand this year, down from nearly 40 million in 2019.
The country has a seven-day average of about 20,000 new daily infections, and the daily death rate has hovered above 100 for almost a fortnight.
Out of some 260,000 foreign tourists arriving under the Test and Go scheme, only 1,195 (0.46 percent) tested positive for the virus in April, according to government data.
L.Peeters--CPN