Latest news with #BRN
Nikkei Asia
5 days ago
- Politics
- Nikkei Asia
Violence in Thailand's deep south likely to escalate, separatist warns
Soldiers patrol Tak Bai town in Narathiwat province in Thailand's deep south region. Independent monitors say over 7,700 people have been killed in separatist-related violence since 2004. (Photo by Getty Images) AMY CHEW KUALA LUMPUR -- Violence in Thailand's troubled deep south is expected to escalate following the suspension of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra as peace talks are now "extremely difficult" to convene, a senior member of the separatist Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) has warned. The deep south, which refers to the Muslim-majority southern provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat in predominantly Buddhist Thailand, has experienced a marked increase in violent incidents since early 2025 following stalled peace talks between the government and the BRN.
Miami Herald
6 days ago
- Sport
- Miami Herald
BRN: The impact of sports betting is complicated
Transcript: Jeffrey Snyder: This morning on BRN, sports betting has yielded considerable revenue for states, but what's the impact on addiction? Joining me now to help break it all down is Dr. Michelle Malkin of East Carolina University. Michelle, great to see you again. Thanks for joining us in the program this morning. Michelle Malkin: It's great to be here. Thanks for having me back. Snyder: And since you're in an academic setting at a prominent university, tonight is the NCAA men's championship game. And I thought we would talk about sports betting, not betting that you and I will do, but the betting in general that goes on during March Madness. And by all accounts, Michelle, I think I read somewhere $3 billion will be bet online, or I could be wrong on that number, but it's still a significant amount of money that's changing hands. Malkin: Yeah. And I think there's a lot of losses out there because when you have the four first-seeded teams all making it to the final, it means that all the favorites that were probably not being bet on because everybody wanted the long shots and to make more money, those didn't win. And so people lost a lot of money this season for sure. But there's a lot of money exchanging hands, a lot of people able to do it very healthy within their own limitations. And some people probably are suffering from some substantial losses. Snyder: Yeah. So they're suffering from substantial launches. And we're going to talk about addiction in a few minutes, but, and you're right, I think, and I'm not a basketball guy. I wrestled in high school because I'm short statured, but they're all number ones, as you said. So probably, you know, if you're going to bet, you don't bet on the number one, you bet on the number one to lose. But my understanding in, well, let me take a step back and ask, since we last spoke, and I think it's been since probably January when we last had you on the program, how has the expansion of sports betting gone across the United States? I think it was in 30 or some odd states. Has it been taken up by other legislatures and other states indulging in sports betting? Malkin: There are several states looking at more expansion. We're still at about 38 states that have legalized. There's still a lot of issues going on and even in courtrooms and things like that to figure things out. But for the most part, about two thirds of our country can bet legally in their state, usually from the palm of their hand. And even if they can't, they're accessing it through offshore illegal ways. So pretty much anybody in the is able to. Snyder: So why wouldn't a state, I'm thinking about the revenue implications, three billion dollars changes hands or more, it's probably going to be more by the time the final is over. And that's just the NCAA men's, there's going to be sports betting on NBA, on NHL, Major League Baseball just started. So why, what would the hang up be for a state when they look and say, all that money's changing hands, I want a bit of that tax revenue? Malkin: Yeah, I just want to put out that we also see growing demand of people sports betting on the NCAA women's and on the women's sports as well. So I just want to say it's not just the men's, even though we're seeing the more substantial wagers put down for that. But states have to kind of decide. They have the state revenue side of things, which always looks good. But depending on the state you're in, they have the idea of protecting the consumer. And some states just feel either ethically, morally, or because they don't feel like there's enough protection out there that gambling is not right. So, for example, the state of Utah and the state of Hawaii don't yet have most legalized forms of gambling. I say most because there is fantasy sports in Utah, but there's no legalized gambling right now in Hawaii, but Hawaii is actually considering it. So even the states that have traditionally not allowed for most forms of gambling or claim to only have something like the lottery are now looking at least at it. We see bills being introduced, but it all depends on if it's going to be a priority for that state. And part of the priority comes from, are they having shortfalls from other funding sources? Is this money going to help? And most states say yes. What they don't necessarily consider is what are the costs going to be on the state and how much are they going to put from that revenue back into the community to ensure that people can gamble in a healthy way and the resources are there for those who can't. Snyder: And, you know, let's talk a little bit about the addiction side. Let's talk a lot about it, though, because I think you bring up a good point, a very good point, obviously. I mean, it's a balancing act. You've got a pension. If you have a state pension for public sector workers, as an example, it might be underfunded. You might want revenue to do that. You might want revenue, for example, to fix roads that are not federal roads. But let's talk about the addiction side, because as more and more people get involved with this, look, I've seen the ads for Candy Crush, never play the game. That looks pretty addictive. Gambling, sports gambling has got to be addictive as well. Malkin: Well, yeah. And actually you brought up Candy Crush. Social games are actually one of the emerging forms of gambling or addiction type behavior that we're seeing in mobile apps. People are putting thousands of dollars into these social apps that have gambling-like behavior to them, even though all it does is stay in the game. You're never going to get anything back from it. But when we talk about sports wagering and addiction, what we have learned up to now, I mean, a lot of the research is still very young, is that it's the type of gambling that can lead to gambling-related harms faster. And the faster that it can lead to gambling-related harms, the more likely somebody can go down the pathway towards gambling disorder, which is the medical term for gambling addiction. And that is because people don't know what it looks like to experience a gambling-related harm. And therefore they don't know if they themselves or somebody they care about has that. If you have a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER. What does it mean to have a gambling problem? They don't know. We haven't done the outreach. We haven't done the education. And so people experience multiple types of gambling-related harms. Is it the first time they gamble more than they can afford to lose? Is it when they have a relationship issue because they're paying too much attention to the game or their phone? All these things are types of gambling-related harms that people don't know to recognize. Snyder: And Michelle, you talk about education. I just recall watching the NFL pregame. Like most sports now, they have a gambling segment. But this gambling segment is always led by some type of, I don't know, disclaimer or some type of education. That to me always felt like tongue-in-cheek, like talking out of both sides of your mouth maybe is the way I would phrase it. Hey, before you do this, think about this. But that's probably not enough education for somebody. They're going to be like, OK, well, fine. But I'm going to bet on Derrick Henry of the Baltimore Ravens running for 200 yards. It's a sure thing, right? Malkin: I have the inside info, right? The reality is that gambling is always a risk. And people need to look at it as a form of entertainment that they would put the same money they can afford to lose by going out to dinner or going to a movie theater towards what they're wagering on. And when they lose, they have to be OK with that loss because that was part of the risk. Unfortunately, people don't see gambling funds as the same as their other entertainment funds. They see it as a way to gain more money and to get out of whatever financial stuff that they're in. And so there is just this overarching belief that, you know, it's going to be my turn. I'm going to be lucky and I'm going to win. And so people will chase that dream. And the worst thing is, is if they win really early, especially some of these long shot bets, maybe somebody had something that was like a huge win. Now they think I can do it again. And so they chase it. And so they lose everything they just won by trying to chase back that great feeling. But actually what they're doing is going down a really dangerous pathway because our brains are actually impacted by that. Our reward center, our neurotransmitters. And we can't reconfigure all that on our own. We need to actually get help for that. Snyder: No different, Michelle, than if you go to a casino and pull the slot machine, although you probably don't, they probably don't have the. Malkin: No, they just touch a button. Snyder: You just touch a button. It's probably easier now. Malkin: But it's actually the same technology. So a lot of psychology went into how to make the best experience for the slot machine player so that they will stay. So how often does it have to win? What does a win have to look like? How much, what percentage, what does it, what colors does it have? What, what tune does it do? What active is it in? Like all of that was done. And then they turned around and made that same technology, all that same stuff into these sports, mobile apps, and also the social games, as you mentioned before. And so that's what keeps you engaged an opportunity to totally zone out while also trying to win a lot. So you have both the potential for that big win, that excitement, but you also have this opportunity to just keep betting every second and constantly be looking and saying, did I have that bet? Did I not have that bet? In when it comes to the mobile apps, individuals are constantly just checking and checking and checking. And sometimes they have bets on so many different games. So they're just so into their phone. They're not even watching the game they used to love. Snyder: And Michelle, last question. How do we know, like the slot machine, I would think the slot machine is favored in the house favor. They're the ones that manage it. They're the ones that program it. Likewise, the sports app, how do we know that that is fairly adjudicated in terms of the odds and the rewarding of if you win? I mean, there's a lot of questions that I have. I mean, would that be a concern? Malkin: Well, the legal apps that we have that the state authorizes, those industry partners are upheld to very high standards. But they do do things that they're allowed to do, like betting boosts and parlays and things that are kind of really, really difficult to win. And that's where they make their edge. They're not making their edge on, you know, a plus minus 110 kind of bet. They're making their edge on the people going for the long shots. And they're getting people to do that by giving them free money to play with, which is not free money. It's only free money if you win. But to keep somebody engaged. And the more you play, the more bonuses and things like that you will get. So keeping you engaged, giving you these opportunities for a big win that if you get one, keeps you totally into that app or that activity for a much longer period of time. Snyder: Yeah, it almost sounds very analogous to the social media craze, too. You know, just keep pulling down, you get the next TikTok. Michelle, we're going to have to leave it there. I don't know if you'll be tuning into the basketball game. I know I will not. I'll be sleeping. But I guess we'll have to pick up the conversation next month to see the end result. And sure, we'll have baseball and other things to talk about as well. Great to see you. Enjoy the rest of your day. And we look forward to having you back on the program again very soon. Malkin: Sounds good. Thank you so much. Snyder: And don't forget to subscribe to our daily newsletter, The Warning Pulse, for all the news in one place. Details, of course, at our website. And your subscription helps support all this great BRN content. And don't forget, we're back again tomorrow for another edition of BRN. Until then, I'm Jeff Snyder. Stay safe, keep on saving, and don't forget, roll with the changes. The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Crypto Daybook Americas: Bitcoin Posts Record Monthly Close, but Euro Steals the Show
By Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless indicated otherwise) Bitcoin (BTC) ended June above $107,000 at a record monthly close. Still, the largest crypto's 2.5% monthly gain failed to match the euro's advance against the dollar, the most liquid FX pair in the world. The eurozone currency rose nearly 4% against the greenback last month, hitting its highest since September 2021. That prompted some traders to switch to euro-pegged stablecoins, resulting in a notable increase in their market values. The euro's momentum highlights the continued broad-based decline in the U.S. currency, which means financial conditions will likely remain easy, even though the weakness hasn't done much to lift a directionless BTC. The prolonged range play has been widely attributed to selling by wallets with a history of holdings coins for over a year. The profit-taking continued on Monday, with on-chain realized gains hitting the $2.4 billion mark. BTC was recently trading 0.6% lower over 24 hours at $106,500. Other tokens, including XRP, DOGE, SOL and ETH, followed suit, while BCH, ALGO, and PAXG stood out. Some analysts called for patience in the wake of continued institutional adoption. On Monday, Germany's savings bank network said it will enable crypto trading for clients within a year. Strategy disclosed another major BTC purchase last week, acquiring $531 million worth of BTC. "While short-term momentum has faded, medium-term signals remain bullish, especially with corporate treasuries accelerating their accumulation pace. We slightly reduced exposure to protect capital but remain constructive — especially on altcoins with room to catch up," Valentin Fournier, lead research analyst at BRN. That said, the third quarter has historically been bitcoin's weakest. Moreover, liquidity tends to be weaker as well due to summer holidays, which raises the likelihood of exaggerated price moves. Remember the yen-led crash in BTC from $70,000 to $50,000 in late July to early August last year? This calls for caution even as analysts maintain the long-term constructive outlook. In other news, American Bitcoin, a crypto firm backed by Eric Trump, raised $220 million to buy bitcoin and mining equipment. An FTX creditor posted on X that claims under $50,000 received 120% payouts in February and May 2025. Bloomberg ETF analysts James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas said that there's a 95% chance the U.S. SEC will approve spot ETFs for LTC and XRP this year. In traditional markets, analysts awaited the Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's speech later Tuesday and Friday's nonfarm payrolls. Stay alert! Crypto July 2: Shares of the REX-Osprey Solana Staking ETF (tSSK) are expected to begin trading on the Cboe BZX Exchange, making this the first U.S.-listed ETF to combine SOL price exposure with on-chain staking rewards. Macro Day 2 of 3: ECB Forum on Central Banking (Sintra, Portugal) July 1, 9 a.m.: S&P Global releases June Brazil data on manufacturing and services activity. Manufacturing PMI Prev. 49.4 July 1, 9:30 a.m.: 'High Level Policy Panel' discussion chaired by Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell at the ECB Forum on Central Banking in Sintra, Portugal. Livestream link. July 1, 9:45 a.m.: S&P Global releases (final) June U.S. data on manufacturing and services activity. Manufacturing PMI Est. 52 vs. Prev. 52 July 1, 10 a.m.: The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) releases June U.S. services sector data. Manufacturing PMI Est. Est. 48.8 vs. Prev. 48.5 July 1, 10 a.m.: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases April U.S. labor market data (i.e. the JOLTS report). Job Openings Est. 7.3M vs. Prev. 7.391M Job Quits Prev. 3.194M July 2, 9:30 a.m.: S&P Global releases June Canada data on manufacturing and services activity. Manufacturing PMI Prev. 46.1 July 3, 8:30 a.m.: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases June employment data. Non Farm Payrolls Est. 110K vs. Prev. 139K Unemployment Rate Est. 4.3% vs. Prev. 4.2% Government Payrolls Prev. -1K Manufacturing Payrolls Est. -6K vs. Prev. -8K July 3, 8:30 a.m.: The U.S. Department of Labor releases unemployment insurance data for the week ended June 28. Initial Jobless Claims Est. 240K vs. Prev. 236K Continuing Jobless Claims Est. 1960K vs. Prev. 1974K July 3, 9 a.m.: S&P Global releases June Brazil data on manufacturing and services activity. Composite PMI Prev. 49.1 Services PMI Prev. 49.6 July 3, 9:45 a.m.: S&P Global releases (final) June U.S. data on manufacturing and services activity. Composite PMI Est. 52.8 vs. Prev. 53 Services PMI Est. 53.1 vs. Prev. 53.7 July 3, 10 a.m.: The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) releases June U.S. services sector data. Services PMI Est. 50.5 vs. Prev. 49.9 Earnings (Estimates based on FactSet data) None in the near future. Governance votes & calls GnosisDAO is voting on renewing its partnership with Nethermind for Gnosis Chain maintenance and development, proposing 750,000 DAI funding for the first year from June, with 4% annual increases. Voting ends July 2. Radiant DAO is voting on potentially compensating users whose wallets were drained via unlimited token approvals in the October 2024 hack. If passed, a follow-up plan would outline stablecoin conversions, claim contracts on Arbitrum, and phased repayments. Voting ends July 2. Arbitrum DAO is voting on lowering the constitutional quorum threshold from 5% to 4.5% of votable tokens. This aims to match decreased voter participation and help well-supported proposals pass more easily, without affecting non-constitutional proposals, which remain at a 3% quorum. Voting ends July 4. Polkadot Community is voting on launching a non-custodial Polkadot branded payment card to 'to bridge the gap between digital assets in the Polkadot ecosystem and everyday spending.' Voting ends July 9. Unlocks July 1: Sui (SUI) to unlock 1.3% of its circulating supply worth $122.75 million. July 2: Ethena (ENA) to unlock 0.67% of its circulating supply worth $10.59 million. July 11: Immutable (IMX) to unlock 1.31% of its circulating supply worth $10.65 million. July 12: Aptos (APT) to unlock 1.76% of its circulating supply worth $52.7 million. July 15: Starknet (STRK) to unlock 3.79% of its circulating supply worth $14.42 million. July 15: Sei (SEI) to unlock 1% of its circulating supply worth $15.73 million. July 16: Arbitrum (ARB) to unlock 1.87% of its circulating supply worth $30.33 million. Token Launches July 4: Biswap (BSW), Stella (ALPHA), Komodo (KMD), LeverFi (LEVER), and LTO Network (LTO) to be delisted from Binance. The CoinDesk Policy & Regulation conference (formerly known as State of Crypto) is a one-day boutique event held in Washington on Sept. 10 that allows general counsels, compliance officers and regulatory executives to meet with public officials responsible for crypto legislation and regulatory oversight. Space is limited. Use code CDB10 for 10% off your registration through July 17. Day 2 of 4: Ethereum Community Conference (Cannes, France) Day 2 of 6: World Venture Forum 2025 (Kitzbühel, Austria) Day 1 of 6: Bitcoin Alaska (Juneau, Alaska) July 4-5: The Bitcoin Paradigm 2025 (Neuchâtel, Switzerland) July 4–6: ETHGlobal Cannes (Cannes, France) July 10-13: Mallorca Blockchain Days (Palma, Spain) July 16: Invest Web3 Forum (Dubai) July 20: Crypto Coin Day 7/20 (Atlanta) July 24: Decasonic's Web3 Investor Day 2025 (Chicago) July 25: Blockchain Summit Global (Montevideo, Uruguay) July 28-29: TWS Conference 2025 (Singapore) By Francisco Rodrigues While all eyes were on the introduction of Robinhood's tokenized stocks and on Kraken and Bybit's xStocks debut, a layer-2 network built to streamline DeFi quietly launched its mainnet yesterday. Katana's mainnet went live after it saw pre-deposits near $250 million, according to DeFiLlama data. The blockchain is backed by GSR and Polygon Labs. The non-profit Katana Foundation says the chain attacks three chronic pain points: thin liquidity, erratic yields and capital flight. It does so by folding yield generation into the base layer. When users bridge USDC, ETH, WBTC, AUSD or USDT, Katana's VaultBridge pushes those funds into lending pools such as those on Morpho and Sushi, then sends the earnings back to depositors and app builders. A separate mechanism called chain-owned liquidity captures transaction fees to bankroll the network over time. Katana is distributing its native token, KAT, through liquidity mining. KAT is non-transferable for now, but the team expects an exchange listing by next year. Holders will be able to lock tokens for vKAT and share in staking rewards. Perpetual funding rates for most tokens major tokens, including BTC and ETH, held marginally positive. XRP led with near 10% rates while XLM and ADA showed bias for shorts with sub-zero readings. On the CME, BTC and ETH futures basis remained locked in the annualized 7% to 10% range. On Deribit, risk reversals out to August-end expiry showed a bias for protective puts, with subsequent tenors showing a mild bias for calls. In ETH's case, bearishness in the short-term tenors was more pronounced. Block flows over the OTC desk Paradigm showed demand for the September expiry BTC $180K call option. BTC is down 0.91% from 4 p.m. ET Monday at $106,629.81 (24hrs: -0.96%) ETH is down 1.81% at $2,458.53 (24hrs: +0.15%) CoinDesk 20 is down 2.37% at 3,010.77 (24hrs: -0.17%) Ether CESR Composite Staking Rate is up 7 bps at 2.96% BTC funding rate is at 0.0048% (5.3042% annualized) on Binance DXY is down 0.47% at 96.42 Gold futures are up 1.49% at $3,357.10 Silver futures are up 1.81% at $36.50 Nikkei 225 closed down 1.24% at 39,986.33 Hang Seng closed down 0.87% at 24,072.28 FTSE is down 0.17% at 8,745.89 Euro Stoxx 50 is down 0.30% at 5,287.47 DJIA closed on Monday up 0.63% at 44,094.77 S&P 500 closed up 0.52% at 6,204.95 Nasdaq Composite closed up 0.47% at 20,369.73 S&P/TSX Composite closed up 0.62% at 26,857.11 S&P 40 Latin America closed up 1.41% at 2,694.58 U.S. 10-Year Treasury rate is down 2.9 bps at 4.197% E-mini S&P 500 futures are down 0.26% at 6,237.50 E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures are down 0.33% at 22,817.75 E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average Index are down 0.13% at 44,331.00 BTC Dominance: 65.34% (0.19%) Ethereum to bitcoin ratio: 0.02307 (-0.6%) Hashrate (seven-day moving average): 869 EH/s Hashprice (spot): $57.97 Total Fees: 4.22 BTC / $455,433 CME Futures Open Interest: 147,470 BTC BTC priced in gold: 32.2 oz BTC vs gold market cap: 9.12% BTC fell 1% Monday, narrowly missing the bull flag breakout. The decline produced a bearish outside day candle, with a price range wider than the preceding day's candle. Bearish outside day candles appearing after notable price gains, as in BTC's case, signal renewed bearish trends. Strategy (MSTR): closed on Monday at $404.23 (+5.3%), -1.64% at $397.59 in pre-market Coinbase Global (COIN): closed at $350.49 (-0.83%), -1.53% at $345.12 Circle (CRCL): closed at $181.29 (+0.48%), +1.98% at $184.88 Galaxy Digital (GLXY): closed at $21.90 (+9.66%), +3.47% at $22.66 MARA Holdings (MARA): closed at $15.68 (+4.32%), -1.85% at $15.39 Riot Platforms (RIOT): closed at $11.3 (+7.11%), -1.59% at $11.12 Core Scientific (CORZ): closed at $17.07 (+2.52%), -1.52% at $16.81 CleanSpark (CLSK): closed at $11.03 (+3.37%), -1.81% at $10.83 CoinShares Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI): closed at $22.74 (+4.74%) Semler Scientific (SMLR): closed at $38.74 (+0.62%), +0.15% at $38.80 Exodus Movement (EXOD): closed at $28.83 (-3.42%), +1.14% at $29.16 Spot BTC ETFs Daily net flows: $102.1 million Cumulative net flows: $48.95 billion Total BTC holdings ~1.25 million Spot ETH ETFs Daily net flows: $31.8 million Cumulative net flows: $4.23 billion Total ETH holdings ~4.1 million Source: Farside Investors The dollar value of the total stablecoin transactions crossed above the $4 trillion mark in June, the most since January, according to data source Artemis. The data shows that while BTC's price didn't do much in the month, adoption of stablecoin continued unabated. Mexico and Brazil Seek Deeper Trade Ties to Expand Beyond US and China (Financial Times): Trump-era tariffs and new leftist governments have created a rare opening for Latin America's two largest economies to revisit a limited trade pact and explore deeper commercial integration. Trump Crypto Venture Raises $220 Million for Bitcoin Mining (Bloomberg): American Bitcoin raised $220 million from private investors including $10 million in bitcoin. Majority owner Hut 8 Corp. plans to take it public through a merger with Gryphon Digital Mining. XRP, TRX, DOGE Lead Majors With Positive Funding Rates as Bitcoin's Traditionally Weak Quarter Begins (CoinDesk): Perpetual funding rates indicate a bullish sentiment for top altcoins, with XRP showing the strongest demand, while rates for market leaders bitcoin and ether are marginally positive. Robinhood, Kraken-Backed Global Dollar (USDG) Comes to Europe (CoinDesk): USDG is regulated by the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, Finland's Financial Supervisory Authority and Singapore's Monetary Authority. MiCA requires issuer Paxos to hold reserves with European banking partners. The Dollar Has Its Worst Start to a Year Since 1973 (The New York Times): Trump's tariff policy, rising national debt, and the moves toward de-dollarization have reduced the dollar's appeal, even amid high interest rates and a booming stock market. ARK Invest Sold $95M of Coinbase Shares After COIN's Surge to Record Highs (CoinDesk): Monday's $43.8 million sale brings ARK's total to 270,984 COIN shares offloaded over three sessions, as the stock's surge above $380 triggered sales to keep COIN under 10% in its ETFs.
7NEWS
01-07-2025
- 7NEWS
Smartraveller issues terror warning for Australians heading to Thailand after seizure of explosives
The discovery of explosive devices in Thailand tourist areas has sparked a warning about the 'ongoing' terror risks in one of Australia's most popular travel destinations. Security has been tightened at several sites including Phuket International Airport following the alarming finds last week. 'There's an ongoing risk of terrorism in Thailand,' a warning from Smartraveller said. 'Popular tourist areas may be the target of terrorist attacks anywhere across Thailand, including Bangkok and Phuket. 'Phuket International Airport has increased security measures and passengers should arrive early for their flight. 'This follows the recent discovery of an explosive device near the airport. 'Thai authorities also defused devices in Phuket, Krabi and Phang Nga and made arrests.' Local police have made a number of arrests and raided several locations where bomb-making materials were allegedly found, local media report. The suspects were reportedly from rebel movement Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN). Authorities said the explosive devices were not powerful enough to cause serious injury or kill, and were allegedly part of a plan to spark public panic and disrupt the economy in tourist hotspots. Australian travellers should 'exercise a high degree of caution' right throughout the Southeast Asian country, and reconsider travel to Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat provinces in the country's south because of 'low-level insurgent activity, including terrorism'. 'Coordinated attacks have occurred in the southern provinces,' Smartraveller said. It said the Middle East conflict could also spark attacks against Israeli interests in other regions. 'Be alert to possible threats. Take official warnings seriously and follow the advice of local authorities,' Smartraveller said. 'Border crossing points along the Thailand-Cambodia border continue to be closed at short notice. 'Border areas near Cambodia, Myanmar and Malaysia are dangerous due to violence, armed conflict and landmines. Pay close attention to your personal security.' Greg Raymond, a Thailand expert from the Australian National University, said the explosives were 'certainly concerning' but did not believe the country was necessarily becoming more dangerous. He was unsure if BRN was involved in planting the devices, saying there were a number of movements in the country. 'There is speculation about who is behind it, and there is precedence for violence in the south to spread to the northern regions, but it's very rare,' he told Thailand, where more than 800,000 Australians headed every year before the pandemic, is also in the middle of a political storm following a leaked call involving its PM and Cambodia's ex-leader over a border dispute. Stream free on
ABC News
01-07-2025
- ABC News
Australia issues Thailand terrorism travel warning after explosives allegedly seized
The Australian government has warned travellers of an "ongoing risk of terrorism" across Thailand after police reported finding improvised explosives in tourist areas around Phuket and Krabi. "Popular tourist areas may be the target of terrorist attacks anywhere across Thailand, including Bangkok and Phuket," said a statement posted to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's Smartraveller website. "Phuket International Airport has increased security measures and passengers should arrive early for their flight. This follows the recent discovery of an explosive device near the airport. "Thai authorities also defused devices in Phuket, Krabi and Phang Nga and made arrests." Thai officials said on Friday they had arrested two suspects allegedly connected to the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), the leading group in a decades-long separatist movement which seeks independence for Thailand's southernmost provinces which are majority ethnic Malay and Muslim. In comments carried by Thai PBS, a spokesperson for the Thai military said two men in their 20s were alleged to have planted some 11 improvised explosive devices in Phuket, Krabi and Phang Nga. Army commander Lieutenant General Paisal Nusang said the devices were not powerful enough to cause serious damage or kill, but rather appeared intended to disrupt economic activity in tourist-heavy areas. Phuket Governor Sophon Suwannarat last week sought to downplay the threat to tourists in his province. "Based on current evidence, none of the suspicious items found so far are explosive or destructive," he said as quoted by the Bangkok Post. BRN's attacks have historically been focused in Thailand's deep southern provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narthiwat — not tourist areas further north like Phuket. Greg Raymond, an expert on Thailand at the Australian National University Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, was sceptical that BRN would be behind an explosives plot so far north. "There hasn't been any real evidence of movement of the insurgency outside the three border provinces for quite some years," he said. "This looks like perhaps a couple of amateurs [who] don't seem to have the skills that the Barisan Revolusi Nasional, the main insurgency group, have down in those three border provinces." Deep South Watch, a non-profit organisation which monitors the conflict in Thailand's south, says more than 7,700 people have died as a result since 2004. DFAT has long warned against travel to the southern three provinces, which border Malaysia, "due to ongoing risks of low-level insurgent activity, including terrorism". The alleged bomb plot against tourism sites in Phuket and Krabi comes after BRN in May publicly disavowed violence against civilian targets. "We insist that we will conduct our activities under the framework of international human rights principles and laws," the militant group said a statement in Malay translated by Thai PBS. Human Rights Watch's Asia director Elaine Pearson said the public pledge not to target civilians was an "unprecedented step ... after terrorising people in Thailand's deep south for more than two decades". Deep South Watch reports at least 245 people have been injured in violent incidents involving insurgents this year. Thai Police did not respond to ABC questions on the nature of the devices or the ongoing risk posed to tourists. Pravit Rojanaphruk, a prominent Thai journalist with Khaosod English, said little was known about the devices or the suspects. "Since the case has yet to be brought up before a court of law, all we have at the moment is what the police said was a confession," he told the ABC. In its travel warning, DFAT added that the "security situation in Thailand can be unpredictable". "Large protests have occurred in Bangkok and other areas," they said. "In previous years, large political protests and government crowd control operations have resulted in violence." Thousands of protesters last weekend gathered in Bangkok to call for the resignation of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, whose government is at risk of collapse over a border dispute with Cambodia. Rojanaphruk said Australians who were worried could postpone their trip to Phuket by a week or two "just to see how things pan out." "I do not think that it's as dangerous as some countries in South-East Asia, but it's good to be vigilant," he said. "I would be more concerned about swimming on the beach and being sucked down by a rip curl, which has actually killed a few people over the past month or two in Phuket alone."
