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Despite struggles, Phuket tourists are happy to be here
One thing many forget when they’re considering the condition of Phuket for the returning international tourists is that, while we are comparing it to the pre-Covid-19 glory days of Phuket, those travelling in the first days of the Sandbox are comparing it to their life at home now. While Covid-19 has wreaked havoc on the Thai economy and tourists are…
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Covid UPDATE Saturday: 6,230 new infections, news briefs
(Provincial totals will be published after lunchtime) This morning the public health department reported 6,230 few infections and 41 Covid-deaths. 294 of today’s total were from the Thai prison system. The average number of deaths each day, over the past 5 days, has been 50 people. Yesterday, there were 6,087 new cases reported as the week displayed a steady growth…
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Caregivers face difficult labor conditions in Germany
“Polish nurses are desperate to leave Germany for Switzerland,” the caregiver Izabela Marcinek told DW. She herself spent years working as a caregiver after arriving in Germany and has since found work in Switzerland. “The differences are immense,” said Marcinek, who is 58, “especially when it comes to regulated working hours.” In the German domestic-nursing sector, she added, overextended caregivers…
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As Lebanon nears collapse, EU debates sanctions
Lebanon continues to unravel as its economic and political crisis worsens. The country has not had a government for almost a year now and its economy is in the process of collapsing after decades of mismanagement and corruption. Over the past month, there have been stories both absurd and horrifying coming out of the small Mediterranean nation. For instance, at…
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Last-minute announcement: Colourful Phuket month-long festival
Never one for last-minute planning, the Thai government has announced just this afternoon plans for a month-long Colourful Phuket Festival launching tomorrow to welcome tourists back in the Phuket Sandbox that has been planned for months. Perhaps they sensed that international tourists who return to Phuket may be disappointed with the lack of activities while all bar and nightlife venues…
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Myanmar trapped in a vicious cycle of violence
Since the military coup in Myanmar and the army’s violent suppression of pro-democracy protests, new armed resistance groups and conflict regions have been emerging in the Southeast Asian country. While a kind of urban guerilla has begun in major cities such as Yangon and Mandalay, the ousted democratically elected government has been trying to form a federal army underground, the…
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Palestinians’ rage grows — against their own governing authority
The Israeli-occupied West Bank is no stranger to political upheaval. But in the past week, Palestinian protesters have directed rising anger against their own government, the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in parts of the territory. Hundreds took to the streets in several towns over the past weekend to protest the violent death in Palestinian custody of Nizar Banat,…
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Eying upgrade, Thailand downgraded in human trafficking report
Against Thailand’s expectations, the country has just been downgraded in the United States’ report on human trafficking. the US Trafficking in Persons Report has downgraded Thailand’s status from Tier 2 to Tier 2 Watchlist, contrary to the Thai government expected to be upgraded to Tier 1. Citing worries about forced labour in Thailand the decision was made to lower the…
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Harmful chemicals used on protesters at last year’s rallies – Amnesty International
Harmful chemicals were shot from high-pressure water cannons to break up crowds of protests at Bangkok’s pro-democracy rallies in late-2020, according to Amnesty International Thailand. The organisation’s recent report “My face burned as if on fire,” outlines what they call “excessive and unlawful use of force against largely peaceful protesters.” At the time police strenuously denied the use of any…
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Father commits suicide after daughter dies of Covid
An octogenarian father jumped off his condominium in Bangkok not long after his daughter had died of Covid. He jumped either last night or early this morning. Early this morning, police discovered 84 year old Peng Ki’s body in Bangkok’s Ratchathewi district after he jumped to his death. His daughter’s body, 57 year old Pranee was found in a bed…
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Taxi explodes after hitting truck, driver burns to death
Early this morning, a taxi cab in Bangkok hit a freight truck. The taxi then exploded, trapping the driver inside who burned to death. The incident happened on “On Nut Road”, says Pornprasit Malamai, investigation chief at Prawet police station The fire ripped through the cab taking fire crews over 20 minutes to extinguish the blaze. The fire was so…
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CCSA says no new restrictions are needed to fight Covid-19
With Covid-19 infections surging and spreading throughout the country, and daily infection numbers rising along with an increasing death toll, officials have decided what additional measures need to be taken to cope with the situation: none. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration has announced that the rules and restrictions in place now are adequate in the fight against the increasing…
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Vietjet urges testing after Phuket passenger gets Covid-19
Budget airline operator Vietjet Air put out a statement addressing an incident involving one of their passengers being diagnosed with Covid-19. The passenger travelled last week, and 2 days ago the airline put out a call for those seated near the infected passenger to come forward and seek testing and treatment. The flight in question was Vietjet Air flight VZ314…
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Thailand still plans to fully reopen on October 15, despite Covid-19 uptick
Despite the recent and most severe wave of Covid-19 infections still peaking, Thailand is on track to reopen on October 15 to those travelling from overseas who have been vaccinated against the coronavirus. The “Phuket Sandbox” model, which launched yesterday, will serve as a pilot project for the nationwide reopening plan. The “Samui Plus” travel model next on the list,…
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Crepe seller alleges he was abducted, threatened by Nonthaburi police officer
A Myanmar crepe seller and his step-mother are seeking legal help after he alleges he was abducted and threatened by a man he claims was a policeman from Nonthaburi, a province to the north of Bangkok. The crepe seller, 32 year old “Mack”, and his step-mother, identified as 50 year old Jamlong, sought a lawyer named “Pong” for help. Jamlong…
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Phuket Sandbox: European flights have 400 people arriving Saturday
As flights roll into Phuket International Airport today, the Sandbox scheme is slowly coming alive. Tomorrow (July 3) should see the arrival of the first European flights into the Phuket Sandbox reopening as Thai Airways welcomes 3 arriving flights. Overnight flights from Copenhagen and Frankfurt departing now should arrive in the early hours of the morning followed an hour later…
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Friday Covid Update: 6,087 new cases and 61 deaths; provincial totals
An uptick of 6,087 new Covid-19 cases and a record high of 61 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has reported a total of 270,921 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 2,141 fatalities. The recent and most severe wave of infections has accounted for the majority…
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NACC to establish 5 panels looking into pricey lamp controversy
The saga of the pricey lamps continues with the news that Thailand’s National Anti-Corruption Commission is establishing 5 panels to investigate the matter in Samut Prakan. The NACC Deputy Secretary-General Niwatchai Kasemmongko realized the TAO’s budgetary spending for the fiscal years 2013 and 2014, then 2018-2021 for the lamp posts fell out of the scope of the Interior Ministry’s regulations…
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More than 100 doctors sent to Bangkok as Covid-19 deaths hit a record high
While PM Prayut Chan-o-cha attends the welcoming of foreign tourists under the “Phuket Sandbox” reopening scheme, more doctors have been sent to Bangkok following a spike in Covid-19 cases and a record high in coronavirus deaths. Hospitals in the capital, the epicentre in the latest and most severe wave, are experiencing a shortage of beds in intensive care units to…
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Khon Kaen schools closed until July 16 as Covid continues to spread
Khon Kaen, a northeastern province and part of the Isan region, is closing its schools closed until July 16 as Covid continues to spread throughout the province and nearby areas. Further, students that attend boarding schools have been closed off and parents are not allowed to visit until July 16. In the Khon Kaen province, there have been 667 reported…
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Emergency restrictions to be imposed in Indonesia as Covid infections surge
The Indonesian government is introducing emergency measures aimed at curbing the spread of Covid-19 as infection rates rise steeply. President Joko Widodo says the restrictions are aimed at reducing new daily cases to below 10,000 and avoiding a collapse of the country’s healthcare system. “This situation has forced us to take stricter steps. I have decided to impose emergency restrictions.”…
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Police warn of Covid-19 vaccine booking scam by fake insurance company
Police are warning people about a Covid-19 vaccine booking scam after 20 people in the Isaan province Udon Thani were defrauded by a fake life insurance company promising Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccines. A spokesperson for the Royal Thai Police says the fraudulent group claimed they could obtain the Chinese-made vaccines from the Federation of Thai Industries, which had ordered the doses…
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PM in Phuket visit calls for cooperation in making re-opening a success
Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has called on all sectors on Phuket to work together to make the sandbox re-opening a success. The PM was speaking while on a visit to the southern island, which re-opened to vaccinated foreign tourists yesterday. The first international arrivals in over a year jetted in on Etihad Airways, which had 25 passengers from Abu Dhabi…
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Volcano eruption in the Philippines, thousands evacuated
The public is reminded that the entire volcano island is a Permanent Danger Zone One of the world’s smallest active volcanoes, the Taal Volcano in the Philippines, is forcing tens of thousands of residents to evacuate after it started blasting out a kilometre high plume of gas and steam yesterday. The alert went out that that the volcano, which is…
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Friday Covid Update: Another record high, 61 deaths and 6,087 new cases
Another record high in Covid-related deaths and an uptick in new coronavirus cases were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. The CCSA recorded 61 more deaths involving Covid-19 patients, the highest daily death count in Thailand since the start of the pandemic last year. 6,087 new Covid-19 cases were also reported, an uptick in cases over the…
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Pro-democracy activists to march in support of restaurant operators
The pro-democracy Ratsadon group is planning another march today, calling once again for the resignation of PM Prayut Chan-o-cha. Activists are also organising a flea market to shows its opposition to the current ban on dining-in at restaurants in Bangkok and a number of other provinces. The controversial restrictions were introduced at short notice on Monday, taking restaurant operators by…
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Next 2 weeks in Phuket will decide the fate of other sandbox areas: Tourism Ministry
Thailand’s Tourism Minister says the first 14 days of the Phuket sandbox will determine if other tourist destinations can re-open as planned from July 15. Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn acknowledges there were some hiccups with the re-opening: some of the 500 tourists expected to arrive yesterday ended up postponing because of delays getting a Certificate of Entry. The Bangkok Post reports that…
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Belarus tells Germany’s Goethe Institute, DAAD to shut down
On Thursday, Germany’s cultural Goethe Institute issued a short press statement announcing that it had been asked to cease its Belarus activities. It was clear that they were taken by surprise. “This is an unprecedented step for the Goethe Institute, which can freely work in its 157 institutes across the world,” the organization’s secretary-general, Johannes Ebert, said on Thursday. He…
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Entertainment and nightlife reps submit petition for aid, reopening
At 10 o’clock this morning a rally of owners, staff, musicians and entertainment sector workers gathered at the House of Representatives to submit a petition for support after long-term Covid-19 closures or permission to reopen August 1. Dozens of representatives from the entertainment industry took part in the demonstration after 3 continuous months of shuttered businesses due to the pandemic…
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COVID: Vaccination workers come under attack in Kashmir
Zareena Bano, a health care worker from Srinagar city, has not been to her home for almost two months. She’s currently on duty in India-administered Kashmir’s northern Bandipora district, where she’s carrying out a door-to-door COVID vaccination campaign. Last week, Zareena and her co-workers visited Zaban village, located 8 kilometers (5 miles) away from Bandipora town. In the village, Zareena…
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