Thai curfew could start today

The future of Thailand’s tourism industry could be threatened by a strict clampdown on its seedier side, which could come into effect as from midnight tonight. The country’s government will today decide whether to go ahead with plans to force all bars and clubs to close at midnight, as proposed by the prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. According to the Thai newspaper The Nation, opponents of the proposals say such a move would massively damage the country’s tourism industry and leave more than a million people out of work. Somyos Suthangkura, president of the Entertainment Places Opera-tors’ Association of Thailand, told the Thai newspaper that the move would “spell the death knell for nightspots”. He added: “We are already suffering for having to close at 2am. People come to a cafe at 11pm and if we have to close at midnight, we will be out of business.”