https://aseannow.com/rss/44-thailand-news.xml/National and regional news from all around ThailandenFor those interested, the 93 counties are listed in an article from The Nation, on May 20 at https://www.nationthailand.com/news/tourism/40066453 While many are critical of this decision, it must be remembered that it is merely a return to pre-extension visa conditions. You still get 30-day Visa-Free Entry, and if you do want to stay longer you can apply online for a 60-day Visa (that can be extended to 90-days). If it's any consolation, just remember that there are a further 102 countries whose citizens must apply for a visa regardless of how long they wish to visit Thailand!Wed, 20 May 2026 19:31:53 +0000I believe you are mistaken. Money is of central importance to all this administration does. The enrichment of Mr Trump and his cabal "trumps" every other consideration. One only has to look at the constant grifting, from comparatively low level merchandising (watches, phones, clothing and bibles(!), to the active soliciting of massive donations from overseas disguised as investment in "family businesses" to the shady (and largely misunderstood by the public- myself included) cash mining operations with various virtual currencies, to the very obvious but unregulated insider trading linked to many sudden decisions. It is all about money. The very small number who make very large amounts are the effective drivers of the administration's economic, fiscal, and much of it's foreign policy, to the detriment of the American public. It is all about money. Now the same allegations, generally speaking, can be levelled at all administrations; however Trump takes it to a new level, and hss no interest in benefitting anyone outside his immediate circle. Farmers can go bankrupt, the poorest can be stripped of education provision, healthcare, any social assistance; the worlds poorest can frankly die, in millions, from easily preventable disease. Yet his wealthy backers, his oligarchs get richer and richer. Now personally I have no particjlar political distaste for individual wealth, but I don't think that it's accumulation, either personal or for a favoured few should be an aspect, let alone the central aim, of a Presidency.Wed, 20 May 2026 19:14:47 +0000Wed, 20 May 2026 19:13:57 +0000You are missing one crucial point here: Those soldiers or policemen were US citizens, who may or may not have shared the same opinion with those more than 100.000 US protesters but at the end of the day, none of them would see the other side as lesser human, which explains that no one died and only 47 were injured. Now compare that to the IDF. The Israelis do not see the Palestinians or Lebanese as humans. Same goes for anyone they think is helping their enemy. They have said it and acted on it. Palestinians have not massacred Hundreds of aid workers, medics, journalists, UN staff and more than 20.000 kids. The Israelis would massacre each and every peace activist and later deny it or blame Hamas like they have always done and only in the few cases when their crimes are undeniable they would claim, it was a mistake. They executed a 5 year old girl who was begging for her life. What makes you think they would spare some peace activist?Wed, 20 May 2026 19:01:51 +0000"...posed a serious risk of prejudicing the trial and derailing the entire case, potentially forcing a costly retrial..." The defendants in the 2018 Leeds Crown Court case had already been found guilty and were coming in for sentencing when confronted by Robinson in his live stream. So the trial couldn't be prejudiced, they had already been found guilty! Additionally, filming outside a trial isn't contempt of court. How many times have you seen MSM journalists scrum a defendant when entering court and asking them questions. The most recent was Russell Brand who was greeted by a phalanx of reporters outside court. "...Tommy Robinson is not a journalist..." He worked for Rebel Media in 2017-18 as a journalist after winning a Shillman fellowship there. In January 2020, Robinson was given the Sappho Award (also known as the International Free Press award) by the Danish Free Press Society at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen.Wed, 20 May 2026 18:58:50 +0000Will the Iranian opposition take note of this; essentially another US sell out of liberal forces.Wed, 20 May 2026 18:58:40 +0000As I pointed in another thread on an identical topic (too many threads need merging by Moderators), Lavan Island was the subject of a 1969 dispute between Iran and Qatar. For that treaty to be abrogated by the UAE, risks inflaming a situation arising between Qatar and Bahrain over islands that was also originally settled by the same maritime agreement. This agreement is of importance for a number of reasons. It governs drilling rights. It was also important for Bahrain to assert sovereignty; Iran, under the Shah, always laid claim to bahrain, as a"lost" Iranian province, with a majority of the population being Shia (and the ruling family being sunni Saudi bedu). There is naturally a history of tension on the island, not least because of the late Amir of Bahrain, Sheikh Isa Bin Salman Al Khaifa's decision, likely at the behest of his brother, to appoint Ian Henderson ("Butcher of Bahrain") to head the Bahraini Special branch (Mukhabarat, secret police). Torture became a thing on the island, presumably as Henderson practiced lessons learned from the Kenyan Mau Mau uprising. Pushing the UAE to seize settled Iranian territory is likely to further inflame tensions in the Gulf, and contribute to even more discord between the previously united GCC states (Qata and the UAE have been on opposing sides in proxy conflicts). That won't benefit the US and the Western states. It benefits Israel though, who derives virtually all of its oil from the former Soviet Republic of Kazakhstan, via Russia.Wed, 20 May 2026 18:56:57 +0000Wed, 20 May 2026 18:53:20 +0000Isn`t that what you always do? Never really address the subject of a debate but start throwing insults or accusations instead if someone dares to critizice you? You live on stolen land, in stolen houses and eat stolen food and the earth beneath your feet is soaked with the blood of the indigenous people and legal owners you murdered. I am not sure if "super survivor" is an apt description. After Milenia of being hated, shunned, expelled, and sometimes even murdered has this thought never crossed your mind? "Maybe it´s us?"Wed, 20 May 2026 18:42:34 +0000Recent case from just yesterday: Tuesday 19th May 2026 from the West Yorkshire Police website Twenty people have been jailed for a total of 277 years in a major investigation into sexual abuse committed against young girls in Kirklees. https://www.westyorkshire.police.uk/news-appeals/twenty-people-jailed-sexual-abuse-committed-decades-ago-kirklees jWed, 20 May 2026 18:38:17 +0000Maybe you would like to ask Donnie Peverly to explain this as you sad Donnie has not seen active grooming gangs for the last 20-25 years. I blocked him for constantly fot being a disruptor so i don't see his rubbish but for you this was a case where a group of Pakistani origin was sentanced this report was 7 Months ago.Wed, 20 May 2026 18:35:34 +0000The video clips below illustrate the idea that hatred of Jews and Israel has become fashionable, or a fad or trend, whatever word you prefer. The people at these demonstrations often don't understand the chants they are repeating or the signs they are carrying. The hard-core activists do, but some of the "ordinary" protestors don't.Wed, 20 May 2026 18:31:17 +0000Wed, 20 May 2026 18:29:01 +0000Yes not the old age pension.... but the massive Superannuation he got from years attending 4 days a week as a government employee ( he had every Friday off as a sick day ) Probably a former pompous judge or politician with his free Air travel passWed, 20 May 2026 18:26:55 +0000All supported by the hardworking taxpayers of AustraliaWed, 20 May 2026 18:25:35 +0000Upset for being stereotyped? Well, too bad, there are simply too many news about farangs crashing their motorbikes and ended up asking for help. So many farangs got involved in motorcycle crashes in Thailand until you guys coin a term "Thai tattoo" for road rash.Wed, 20 May 2026 18:21:16 +0000Signifying seeing what you're doing a mile away.Wed, 20 May 2026 18:07:31 +0000Wed, 20 May 2026 18:07:15 +0000Agreed - a couple of years ago the immigration queues could be brutal. These days it’s usually much faster, but there are still occasional horror-show anomalies. My wife flew out (departure) in March and the queue for the immigration escalator was snaking all the way back through the check-in counters. Absolutely grim. So I completely understand why people, especially older travellers or anyone who struggles standing for long periods, want to remove that uncertainty. Personally, I think fast track on departure is far more valuable. Online check-in, automated bag drop, improved scanners and e-gates mean passengers now move through landside much faster than before. Years ago, people spent 30 minutes queuing at check-in, another 30 at security and another 30 at immigration. Now you can sometimes get through the entire process in 20 minutes. The problem is consistency. Airlines still tell people to arrive three hours early, so instead of queues landside, the crowds are now airside sitting around for two hours waiting to board. The gamble becomes whether you arrive at the airport later give yourself a short wait at the gate, or risk missing the flight because security and immigration suddenly melt down on a busy day. That’s where fast track offers value - not necessarily saving huge amounts of time every trip, but giving you predictable timing and removing uncertainty.Wed, 20 May 2026 18:01:45 +0000Generally it is, but not always, so it is mitigating against the "not always". I came through last week in under five minutes (not Fast Track). My brother came through on the same flight a month earlier and the queue went all the way down the ramp and up parallel to the travellators, it took him an hour. So yes, generally it's not too bad, but if you're unlucky with a couple of delayed flights turning up together and it can be chaos.Wed, 20 May 2026 17:38:49 +0000I appreciate the advice and will be applying for a setv, but I'll maybe wait a couple of weeks until more news comes out. The old 60 day visa free rules may still be in place? I still have around 3 months before I go, which I assume is plenty of time to apply if I wait two more weeks? Sorry I made a mistake, I just checked, the nearby station to where I'm staying is Si Iam but if worst came to it, would it still be IT Mall LakSi as the immigration office to visit? Is there not the risk of getting banned? I would be too scared to overstay. So that is deffo not happening 😅 Thank you for all your advice.Wed, 20 May 2026 17:32:06 +0000They should be worried, Trump is more unpopular than he's ever been, the American people are getting sick and tired of his policies, his senility, his insanity, his hatred, and his completely ridiculous clown personality. The Republicans that are sticking with Trump are in great danger of losing their positions, and losing their influence, as well as their reputations. The Fallout after the garbage man is gone is going to be intense.Wed, 20 May 2026 17:28:34 +0000This means that we will spend the same amount of time going through immigration.Wed, 20 May 2026 17:27:59 +0000Why does anyone need a fast-track service when the process is quite efficient these days?Wed, 20 May 2026 17:26:11 +0000This is an absolutely brilliant development, and it shows that Trump's influence continues to wane, even amongst his Republican lackeys. This ridiculous forever war is going nowhere, he's put Iran into a much stronger position than they were before the war, the world economy continues to get demolished by his policies and the American people are starting to say ENOUGH! Nearly three months into the conflict, the Iranian regime has succeeded in confounding U.S. and Israeli expectations for a speedy victory. The regime survived a wave of targeted killings early in the war. It then managed to turn the tables on its more powerful adversaries, introducing something of a stalemate. Since mid-March, Iran has maintained control over the Strait of Hormuz, an international waterway crucial to the world’s oil and gas trade. It has been able to limit U.S. and Israeli attacks on its energy industry. It even got President Trump to rein in Israel’s war in Lebanon against Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militia. “Iran definitely has the advantage here,” said Nicole Grajewski, who teaches at the Center for International Studies at Sciences Po in France and studies Iran’s foreign policy. “The U.S. is just kind of flailing at the moment.” On May 3, Mr. Trump announced “Project Freedom,” a U.S. operation to guide ships stranded in the strait. He backed down a few days later, leaving over a thousand vessels still trapped. “That, I think, speaks volumes of Iran’s capacity to restrain and deter the United States,” Mr. Sobelman said. Iran’s ability to shut down the strait again will serve as an “insurance policy” against future attacks, Ms. Grajewski said. That scenario points to a broader and potentially more permanent weakness in Mr. Trump’s foreign policy: The United States, while powerful, may not be as insulated against retaliation as Mr. Trump’s team has often seemed to assume. Not all countries will be willing or able to use triangular coercion against a hostile superpower in the same way. But after Iran’s example, more may try. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/20/world/middleeast/iran-strait-of-hormuz-triang.html?smid=nytcore-android-shareWed, 20 May 2026 17:25:54 +0000