Thailand

Dec 21 (Reuters) - Thailand will reinstate its mandatory COVID-19 quarantine for foreign visitors and scrap a quarantine waiver from Tuesday due to concerns over the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

The decision to halt Thailand's "Test and Go" waiver means visitors will have to undergo hotel quarantine, which ranges between 7 to 10 days.

MAE SOT, Thailand, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Thailand has sent over 600 Myanmar refugees who fled fighting between the military and ethnic rebels back across the border, according to a senior Thai official who said on Sunday clashes were continuing.

Some of the refugees who reached northwest Thailand's Tak province told Reuters before they went back over the frontier on Sunday morning that they had volunteered to return. On Sunday afternoon, Reuters reporters on the Thai side of the frontier were hearing continuous gunfire.

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar government troops raided a small northwestern village, rounding up civilians, binding their hands and then burning them alive in apparent retaliation for an attack on a military convoy, according to witnesses and other reports.

A video of the aftermath of Tuesday’s attack showed the charred bodies of 11 victims, some believed to be teenagers, lying in a circle amid what appeared to be the remains of a hut in Done Taw village in Sagaing region.

BANGKOK (AP) — Japanese beverage giant Kirin Holdings said Monday it is seeking commercial arbitration in a dispute over unwinding its joint venture brewery in Myanmar.

The company said it filed for arbitration in Singapore against Myanma Economic Holdings Plc, a military-controlled company, to end their venture Myanmar Brewery.

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares were mixed in Asia on Monday after troubled Chinese property developer Evergrande warned late Friday it may run out of money.

Hong Kong dropped 1.2% but the Shanghai Composite index rose. South Korea’s benchmark advanced but Tokyo and Sydney declined.

More broadly, investors are struggling with uncertainty about the newest coronavirus variant and about when the Federal Reserve will cut off its support for markets.

BANGKOK (AP) — An army vehicle barreled into a peaceful march of anti-government protesters in military-ruled Myanmar’s biggest city on Sunday, reportedly killing at least three people, witnesses and a protest organizer said.

Sunday’s march was one of at least three held in Yangon, and similar rallies were reported in other parts of the country a day ahead of an expected verdict in the first of about a dozen criminal cases against Myanmar civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was toppled in a military takeover Feb. 1.

BANGKOK, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Thai authorities intercepted nearly 900 kg (2,000 pounds) of crystal methamphetamine hidden in a cargo shipment at Bangkok's Port Custom Office and bound for Taiwan where it could be sold for up to $88 million, a customs official said on Saturday.

The drug was seized by customs officials late on Friday, hidden in powder form inside 161 white silicon slabs in packages destined for Taiwan.

BANGKOK, Dec 3 (Reuters) - The top U.S. diplomat for Asia on Friday said Washington is not asking its allies to choose between it and China, promoting instead a shared vision of a rules-based order "where large countries don't bully the weak".

Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink, speaking in Thailand as he wrapped up his swing through Southeast Asia, said he preferred to focus on an "affirmative agenda" of revitalising relationships in Asia.

BANGKOK (AP) — A court in Myanmar prepared to deliver its verdict Tuesday in the trial of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi on charges of spreading information that could disturb public order and violating coronavirus restrictions.

It is the first court verdict for the 76-year-old Nobel laureate since the army seized power on Feb. 1, arresting her and blocking her National League for Democracy party from starting a second term in office.

She also faces trials on a series of other charges, including corruption, that could send her to prison for dozens of years if convicted.

BANGKOK, Nov 27 (Reuters) - A French national who is known for mocking the Thai government was denied reentry to Thailand on Saturday for being "a danger to society," his lawyer said on Saturday.

Yan Marchal, who has lived in Thailand for nearly 20 years, arrived in Thailand on Saturday morning, but immigration handed him a notice barring him entry citing behaviour that was a danger to society, Nadthasiri Bergman told Reuters.

The notice did not give further details.

A government spokesman did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.