Farangland News

Australian gambling venues are planning to install facial recognition technology in all pubs and clubs in the state of New South Wales. The technology is supposedly aimed at keeping people with self-imposed gambling bans from gambling.

The ClubsNSW and the Australian Hotels Association NSW said a facial recognition surveillance system will be installed in all hotels and clubs in NSW next year. The system will scan the faces of everyone entering the gaming area and check them against a list of people who have registered in the self-exclusion system.

Close to 100 clubs are already using this technology and the feedback is that it works, said ClubsNSW CEO Josh Landis.

Greens MP Cate Faehrmann criticized the move:

The NSW government has lost its mind if it thinks people want pubs and clubs to have self-managed facial recognition tech. This is as terrifying as it is absurd.

News emerged on social media to the effect that British Airways would be extending its longstanding suspension of its London-Bangkok route until 2023.

Until now the official suspension date had been until October 2022. This seemed logical as the peak season for travel to Thailand is during the winter months.

The only direct option from London Heathrow is currently Thai Airways. Eva Air's fifth-freedom service remains suspended according to its website display.

The UK has removed Thailand from its red list of highly restricted countries. The red listing meant that returning British travellers had to quarantine in hotels on arrival and foreign travellers were banned totally.

In addition the UK has also announced that it will recognise Thai state issued vaccine certificates showing that people have been double vaccinated in Thailand. Only European and US vaccines brands will be allowable, with others, notably Chinese alternative will not being acceptable.

The relaxed entry laws apply from 11th October.

Singapore is testing the use of patrol robots as the new addition to its mass surveillance infrastructure and the pair of machines, named "Xavier," will have the task of making sure the country's residents behave themselves in public spaces.

Singapore's Home Team Science and Technology Agency announced a 3 week trial of the technology before it is handed over to the local police. The intent is to use the robots as supplementary workforce to help out Singapore's public officers.

The "Xaviers" are fitted with cameras and networked with a command and control center, and report back on people's "bad behavior" in real time.

And what qualifies for bad social behavior in Singapore right now is falling afoul of COVID restrictions, but also things like parking your bike where you're not supposed to, or smoking in public areas.

There is also a re-educational element, as the robots will show messages instructing humans on what the expected, "proper" social behavior should be.