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More than 20 tourist souvenir shops in Singapore, several of which have been in operation for decades, have closed for good - casualties of Covid-19 travel restrictions here and around the world. With no end to the pandemic in sight, other shops are seeing this as their inevitable end as well in the months to come, The Sunday Times has found. On bad days, some gift stores in popular tourist spots such as Chinatown and Bugis Street do not see even a single customer. Mr Joe Chen, founder of the Singapore Souvenir Centre, one of the bigger players with 10 outlets under different brands, said there could well be a situation where tourism speciality shops all but disappear when travel eventually resumes. "It would be a pity. After all, we too help to market Singapore to tourists," noted Mr Chen, 29, who believes that 90 per cent of souvenir shops will fold within the next six months if more help does not come in soon. The pandemic has decimated the tourism industry, with air ... » Learn More about Over 20 tourist souvenir shops in Singapore shut, more to follow amid Covid-19 travel restrictions

Thailand is reporting 130 new cases today of Covid-19 with 116 of those cases being locally-transmitted. 61 cases were confirmed at hospitals and 55 were found in communities, bringing the current total of cases to 25,241 since the pandemic began with 83 deaths. The most recent death marked the first physician in Thailand to succumb from the virus, in central Maha Sarakham province. The doctor allegedly caught the virus from patients who visited his clinic and subsequently tested positive for the virus after arriving. Samut Sakhon reported 71 cases out of the 130, with Pathum Thani reporting 22, Bangkok (7), Nonthaburi (2), Nakhon Pathom (10), and Ayutthaya (4). The 14 imported cases were quarantined arrivals from abroad. The number of Covid-19 cases worldwide rose by 397,806 to 110.82 million. The global death toll rose to 2.45 million. The US still has the most cases of Covid at 28.52 million and the most deaths at 505,309. Meanwhile, the first group of foreign ... » Learn More about 130 new Covid infections today while first group of foreign tourists arrive tonight

Traffic is heavy on the road leading to the Ao Thammachart ferry pier in Laem Ngop district of Trat as tourists flock to Koh Chang on Saturday. (Photo: Jakkrit Waewkhraihong) TRAT: Tourists flocked to Koh Chang on Saturday, on the first day of the Songkran holiday despite the sharp rise in Covid-19 infections that has dampened the festive mood across the country. A heavy build-up of traffic was seen on the road leading to the Ao Thammachart ferry pier in Laem Ngop district on Saturday morning. More than 300 vehicles were waiting in the car park to take ferries to Koh Chang as of 11.30am. Traffic was backed up more than 200 metres from the Laem Ngop district office to the pier. Traffic was also heavy on another route from Khao Saming district to the pier, with tailbacks of more than 500 metres. By noon, it was estimated that the waiting time to board a ferry had reached two hours. More than 3,500 vehicles were expected to take ferries to the island on Saturday. Somsak ... » Learn More about Tourists flock to Koh Chang

REUTERS: Centre Emily Scarratt scored 24 points as champions England sealed a place in the final of the Women’s Six Nations with a nine-try 67-3 bonus-point victory over Italy at the Stadio Lanfranchi in Parma on Saturday. The massive win was a second in succession for the visitors and ensures they will finish top of Pool A as the postponed tournament is played in a condensed format with two groups of three teams, the winners of each meeting in the final. England were under heavy home pressure in the opening period but led 17-3 at the break, before the floodgates opened after halftime and they romped to victory. Italy dominated the opening 20 minutes in terms of possession, forcing their visitors into some brave defence but without being able to make that supremacy felt on the scoreboard. England took the lead when centre Michela Sillari’s offload on the halfway line did not go to hand and her opposite number Scarratt was able to scoop up the loose ball and race clear for ... » Learn More about Rugby-England seal Women’s Six Nations final spot with big Italy win

SINGAPORE - Multi-label retailer Naiise may wind up, after years of payment delays to its vendors. It said on Friday (April 9) that it is closing its last store at Jewel Changi Airport. Jewel Changi Airport confirmed to The Straits Times on Saturday that the retailer will be closing its outlet at the mall. "A tenant has been found to take over the space and this will be shared when the store is ready to open," its spokesman said. In a video posted on Facebook on Friday by debt collectors, Naiise founder Dennis Tay could be seen explaining that he is unable to pay back their client Bespoke Parfums Artisanaux, which said it is owed about $10,000. Citing factors such as the Covid-19 pandemic and weak retail sales, Mr Tay explained that he was unable to honour the debt repayment plan he had promised some vendors due to a lack of funds. Another man in the video who identified himself as Mr Tay's financial adviser added: "When a private limited (company) closes, the liquidator ... » Learn More about S’pore retailer Naiise closes last store at Jewel Changi, may wind up operations

SINGAPORE - Home-grown department store Robinsons has become the latest high-profile casualty in a growing list of retailers that the Covid-19 pandemic has claimed. Business cessations in the retail trade sector hit a 10-month high in September, with 457 companies calling it quits, according to figures from the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority. Topshop, Esprit and Sportslink are among those that have bowed out or moved their operations online as safety restrictions and tighter purse strings dent store sales. Another wave of closures is expected after relief to protect qualifying commercial tenants unable to pay rent from eviction and hiked up interest rates ends on Nov 19, said retailers and observers. Winter wear retailer Universal Traveller, for example, is facing the possibility of folding if it is unable to work out a rental payment plan with landlords for its five outlets. With travel off the cards for most Singaporeans this year and few tourists in sight, ... » Learn More about Robinsons’ closure: Retailers in Singapore struggle amid 10-month high in closures for sector, more expected to shutter

After the recent outbreak of Covid-19 across Thailand, in a large part due to entertainment activities, Thailand’s former capital city of Ayutthaya has now officially cancelled all Songkran festival activities for the upcoming holiday. All events previously planned to mark the Thai New Year’s holiday between April 13 and 15 have now been called off. An urgent declaration by the provincial governor today informed the public of the decision. Many people across the country are cancelling Songkran events or any observance of the holiday at all. The decision by the province’s Songkran committee and the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s Ayutthaya office was directed especially at tourists who may be planning to travel to the area for traditional festivities. Complex and ornate events had been planned, scheduled to be held on Si Sanphet road, with the sudden cancellation announcement abruptly ending the preparations for holiday merriment. TAT and the local government agreed that the ... » Learn More about Songkran activities cancelled in Ayutthaya due to Covid-19

Only 7,121 residents in Bangkok have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 since the Thai government rolled out its immunisation campaign in late-February, according to a report from Nation Thailand. Bangkok has more than 10 million residents. To reach herd immunity against Covid-19, 70% of the population needs to be vaccinated. More than 100,000 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have been administered, but most people have only been injected with the first dose of either the Sinovac or AstraZeneca jab. Both require 2 doses to be effective. AstraZeneca is said to have a 4 to up to 12 week interval between jabs while the second dose of Sinovac is taken 2 to 4 weeks after the first shot. In Bangkok, those included in the first phase of inoculations are residents who are at high risk of infection, are over 60 years old or work in the healthcare field. In Phuket and Koh Samui, vaccines are being distributed to the general population in an effort to reach herd immunity by July and reopen ... » Learn More about Around 7,000 people in Bangkok have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19

HARTFORD, Connecticut: Spring has sprung, and there is a sense of relief in the air. After one year of lockdowns and social distancing, more than 171 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the US and about 19.4 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated. But there is something else in the air: Ominous SARS-CoV-2 variants. READ: UK variant of COVID-19 is now most common strain in United States: CDC We humans are in a race to become immune against this cagey virus, whose ability to mutate and adapt seems to be a step ahead of our capacity to gain herd immunity. Because of the variants that are emerging, it could be a race to the wire. FIVE VARIANTS TO WATCH RNA viruses like SARS-CoV-2 constantly mutate as they make more copies of themselves. Most of these mutations end up being disadvantageous to the virus and therefore disappear through natural selection. Occasionally, though, they offer a benefit to the mutated or so-called genetic-variant ... » Learn More about Commentary: Those new coronavirus variants sure are worrisome

SINGAPORE: Mario Draghi, the Prime Minister of Italy, recently blocked the export of 250,000 AstraZeneca vaccine doses from his country to Australia. To many in the international community, this was an act of “vaccine nationalism”. In fact, Mr Draghi’s decision reflected different variants of nationalistic behaviour, spurred on by geopolitical forces and compounded by COVID-19. At the outbreak of the pandemic in early 2020, for example, China, the US, the EU, India and the UK all imposed export restrictions on personal protective equipment (PPE). Shipments of ventilators and antiseptic chemicals were also blocked as national health services competed for scarce supplies. This behaviour contradicted the norms of international commerce, science and social exchange, which, for decades, have benefitted from a highly interconnected and interdependent global system. Worse, vaccine nationalism may be the precursor to “vaccine diplomacy,” a form of realpolitik that compels nations ... » Learn More about Commentary: How COVID-19 vaccines are being weaponised as countries jostle for influence