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BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called on Russia on Tuesday to withdraw troops from Ukraine's eastern border in what the alliance says is Moscow's biggest build-up since 2014, ahead of an emergency meeting of allied foreign and defence ministers. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba flew to Brussels for talks with Stoltenberg a day after Kyiv accused the Kremlin of ignoring its request for talks between the two countries' presidents over a build-up of Russian troops near its border. "In recent weeks Russia has moved thousands of combat-ready troops to Ukraine's borders, the largest massing of Russian troops since the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014," Stoltenberg said. Russia has said it moves its forces around as it sees fit, including for defensive purposes, and has regularly accused NATO of destabilising Europe with its troop reinforcements in the Baltics and Poland since the annexation of Ukraine's Crimea. "Russia must end this ... » Learn More about NATO demands Russia end Ukraine build-up, West examines options

Thailand- Leading financial analysis firm and bank Kasikorn Research Center, also known as K-research, cut their estimate for tourism revenue for Thailand from 267 billion baht for the first half of 2021 to 137 billion baht earlier this week. K-research was basing their major cut, which covers the first half of this year, due to both an outbreak of Covid-19 in January and a current outbreak of Covid-19 that saw well over a thousand cases today, April 14th, 2021 . The cut is primarily based around domestic tourism although K-research believes that if the current round of infections is not brought under control either through vaccines, test, and trace, or restrictive measures that foreign tourism, which has largely been shut down for a year due to mandatory quarantine, will also be affected. Thailand was previously planning to start cautiously opening up tourism without quarantine later this year to selected tourists. K-research stated that they support procurement of ... » Learn More about Top financial analyst cuts Thailand tourism revenue estimate for first half of 2021 by 130 billion baht

A hotel information blog is claiming that, despite growing Covid-19 numbers, Phuket should stick to its schedule in reopening to travellers without quarantine in July. That’s only 2 and a half months away. In an interview with the Director of Travel and Tourism Consulting at GlobalData, they stressed that while it is crucial to reign in the spread of Covid-19 and the B117 strain now manacing Thailand, the risk must not overshadow the need teo push forward with vaccinations and the march towards eliminating the quarantine by July in order to save the tourism industry and all those dependent on it. “The Phuket pilot program is essential in creating a path towards economic recovery for Thailand, a country heavily dependent on tourism. More than 17% of Thailand’s gross domestic product is attributed to tourism and the Covid-19 pandemic has lead to the worst economic free-fall in over 20 years” The blog acknowledges the inherent risk and possible appearance of foolishness to ... » Learn More about Hotel blog suggests Phuket should push ahead with July reopening despite Covid surge

SAN VICENTE DEL CAGUAN, Caqueta, Colombia (Reuters) - The dirt tracks winding through southern Colombia's tangled jungle often mark the beginning of the end for besieged patches of rainforest in this part of the Amazon. Across San Vicente del Caguan, one of the country's most deforested regions, illegal and informal roads fan out in an ever-expanding network, bringing visitors, commercial interests and farmers and ranchers who clear and burn the land. The result is the steady decay of Colombia's Amazon. A Reuters map of the region shows a lattice of lines that crisscross one another and creep southward into the forest and fan out on all sides. (Graphic: https://tmsnrt.rs/329ehRE) The destruction, which is striking on the ground, is significant enough to be visible from the sky. Patches of deforestation appear at the furthest extent of the roads, according to the map, which underlines the impact of unplanned roadbuilding by combining satellite imagery and local ... » Learn More about Road to ruin: informal byways sow seeds of destruction in Colombia’s Amazon

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Ukraine's defence minister accused Russia on Wednesday of preparing to potentially store nuclear weapons in Crimea and warned that Moscow could attack Ukraine to ensure water supplies for the annexed peninsula. Andrii Taran, speaking just before an emergency NATO meeting with allied defence and foreign ministers, also said he could not rule out a possibility that Russian forces in Crimea could "undertake substantive military provocations" this year. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014, in a move that triggered Western sanctions against Moscow. "Crimea's infrastructure is being prepared for potentially storing nuclear weapons," Taran told the European Parliament's sub-committee on defence. "The very presence of nuclear munitions in the peninsula may spark a whole array of complex political, legal and moral problems." Taran provided no evidence for his assertion but said Russia was massing 110,000 troops on Ukraine's border in 56 battalion-sized ... » Learn More about As NATO meets, Ukraine says Russia could store nuclear weapons in Crimea

Phuket’s provincial government has issued a 48 page order for non-tourists entering Thailand, via Phuket. The order covers everyone from repatriating Thais, foreigners who are permanent residents or on long-term visas, students, workers passing through and consular visits. In real terms, as it says, anyone who isn’t visiting, or travelling through, Phuket as a tourist. If you were looking for some easing of general restrictions for non-tourist arrivals on the island, you won’t find it here. The order is NOT related to tourists arriving in Phuket or the proposal to open up Phuket for non-quarantine tourism after July. The long-winded order goes through all the requirements of non-tourists in excruciating detail. Nearly all conditions of entry for these non-tourist groups are identical… • Documents must be issued no more than 72 hours prior to arrival • A Covid-19 test shows the traveller is not infected • A Certificate of Entry • Travellers must have a Thai tracking app ... » Learn More about Latest guidelines for all non-tourist visitors to Thailand, through Phuket

“Federalism should be able to maintain unity among all. But this does not mean that we should boycott regional voices and the voices of ethnic groups.” – Khil Raj Regmi PRESENTED during the Hanns Seidel Foundation-initiated Asia Federalism Dialogues was how functional a specific country’s devolution structure responds to a major crisis such as the coronavirus. Country-specific federal governance structures had two countries employing horizontal devolution: Myanmar governs through local to local governments, while Pakistan, provincial to provincial. Nepal’s structure is through collaboration among central, provincial and local governments while Sri Lanka is through collaboration of central, provincial and local with public and private organizations. A sixth structure — the Philippines — governs through its quasi-federal structure which rests on a powerful center. This country specific contexts enabled participants to appreciate the pros and cons of a country’s mode of devolved ... » Learn More about Federalism: Ethnic voices local to local, central to local

BRUSSELS: European Union countries formally agreed on Wednesday (Apr 14) to launch COVID-19 travel passes as a step towards reopening to tourism this summer and will negotiate details with the bloc's lawmakers in May, two diplomatic sources said. The certificates would allow those vaccinated, recovered from COVID-19 or with negative test results to travel more easily in the EU, where restrictions on movement have weighed heavily on the travel and tourist industry for more than a year. The 27 EU member states "underlined their commitment to have the framework ready by the summer of 2021", said a document endorsed by national envoys and seen by Reuters. The European Parliament, which must also agree to the proposal for it to take effect, is due to agree its own position later this month and final talks between the lawmakers, national envoys and the bloc's executive are expected to start in May. READ: WHO does not back COVID-19 vaccination passports for now READ: White ... » Learn More about EU countries move towards COVID-19 passes to reopen summer travel