Thailand moves to recriminalise cannabis, shaking US$1 billion industry
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RTHK
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Wang Yi arrives in India to bolster ties
Wang Yi arrives in India to bolster ties Wang Yi will hold talks with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar during his visit to New Delhi. File photo: Reuters China's top diplomat landed in India on Monday, seeking to bolster long-fraught relations in the face of intense pressure and tariffs from the United States. Foreign Minister Wang Yi will hold talks with his counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and is also expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his three-day visit to New Delhi. Modi, according to Indian media, might also visit China this month. India's foreign ministry said in a social media post that "important engagements of the India-China Special Representatives and on bilateral relations" were scheduled over the next two days. Restarting border trade across their icy and high-altitude Himalayan border is expected to feature high on Wang's agenda. Its resumption would be significant for its symbolism, and follows agreements to return direct flights and issue tourist visas. (AFP)
South China Morning Post
10 hours ago
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Thailand to allow crypto-to-baht conversions for foreign visitors ‘to support tourism'
Thailand will launch an 18-month pilot programme to allow foreign visitors to convert cryptocurrencies into baht to make payments locally, officials have said, part of efforts to rejuvenate the country's critical tourist sector. Conversions will be capped at 550,000 baht (US$16,950) to test the system and prevent money laundering, Finance Ministry permanent secretary Lavaron Sangsnit told reporters on Monday, adding that the limit could be reassessed after the pilot period was over. The initiative comes amid a decline in foreign tourist arrivals in Southeast Asia's second-largest economy. The crypto-to-baht conversion pilot programme will last 18 months. Photo: Shutterstock Tourists would be able to make the conversions through Thai-based crypto exchange platforms, with the money then moving into online wallet applications so that payments could be made to local businesses, Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira said. 'This project will support tourism,' Pichai said, adding that it could also help increase tourist spending in the early stages. Thailand's state-planning agency on Monday lowered its forecast for foreign tourist arrivals in the whole of 2025 by 10 per cent to 33 million. The projected number of foreign tourists is significantly lower than the pre-pandemic peak in 2019, when Thailand registered a record 39.9 million arrivals, generating 1.91 trillion baht (US$58.86 billion) in revenue.
RTHK
18 hours ago
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Qantas fined A$90m for illegal Covid-crisis layoffs
Qantas fined A$90m for illegal Covid-crisis layoffs Qantas' fine is to be paid in two parts, with A$50 million going to the union and A$40 million for payments to the former workers. File photo: Reuters An Australian court fined Qantas A$90 million on Monday for illegally laying off 1,800 ground staff during the Covid-19 pandemic, ending a five-year legal battle over the workers' rights. Federal court justice Michael Lee said he wanted the penalty to be a "real deterrence" to firms that might be tempted by the financial rewards of breaching employment law. Qantas decided to sack the workers and outsource their jobs in August 2020, a period of lockdowns and border closures when no Covid-19 vaccine existed. Australia's federal court subsequently found that Qantas had acted illegally despite its stated "commercial imperatives" and later dismissed an appeal by the airline. It said the carrier had prevented staff from accessing their rights to collectively bargain or take industrial action. Long-dubbed the "Spirit of Australia", 104-year-old Qantas has been on a mission to repair its reputation, which was hit in recent years by the illegal sackings, soaring ticket prices, claims of sloppy service, and the selling of seats on already-cancelled flights. Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson took over in 2023, promising to improve customer satisfaction. She replaced Alan Joyce, who stepped down earlier than planned as Qantas endured heavy criticism over its treatment of workers and passengers, despite delivering bumper profits for shareholders. Qantas' fine is to be paid in two parts, the court said, with A$50 million going to the Transport Workers Union and A$40 million being held for future payments to the former workers. The penalty is in addition to a compensation payment of A$120 million for affected former employees that Qantas agreed to last year. "It has been five long years. Today is a victory, not just for our colleagues but for all Australian workers," said Anne Guirguis, who worked at Qantas for 27 years cleaning aircraft before being laid off. "We can close this chapter and move on now." Transport Workers' Union National Secretary Michael Kaine described Monday's decision as a "final win" for the Qantas workers. "Qantas was not sorry to workers when it illegally outsourced these workers, many finding out they'd lost their jobs over a loudspeaker in the lunch room," Kaine said. "Qantas is only sorry now that it has to pay the largest penalty fine of any employer in Australian corporate history." (AFP)
