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Sponsored How to reduce out-of-pocket medical expenses in Thailand?
Managing medical expenses in Thailand is important as healthcare costs continue to rise. The country’s healthcare system includes both public and private options, but even with the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) for citizens, many still face high out-of-pocket medical expenses....
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Thai government happy with results of economic stimulus measures
A spokesman says officials are pleased with the results of 4 economic stimulus measures introduced by the government. Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana says over 41.3 million citizens have spent over 223.82 billion baht, thanks to the 4 schemes, describing the results as satisfactory. The stimulus campaigns were introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic in an attempt to boost the economy and help those…
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Methamphetamine, cannabis seized near Mekong River
Narcotics rangers seized smuggling convey of 104,000 methamphetamine tablets and 50 kilograms of what the Bangkok Post says was “premium-grade” dried cannabis (street name “brick weed”) from Laos across the Mekong River into Thailand’s Ban Phaeng area in Nakhon Phanom last Saturday night. The Ranger Company 2108 patrolling squads were on duty when the drugs were seized on Highway 212…
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CCSA meets today to decide if New Year countdown can go ahead
The fate of the main New Year’s Eve countdown event will be decided at a CCSA meeting today, according to government spokesman, Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana. Thai PBS World reports that officials will also discuss the potential re-opening of the land border with Malaysia and whether or not that should be postponed. According to Thanakorn, officials will also decide if disease prevention…
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Pro-democracy activists rally in Bangkok, call for lèse-majesté law to be abolished
An anti-establishment protest in Bangkok passed off without incident yesterday, as activists called for Thailand’s lèse-majesté law to be revoked. The law, also known as section 112 of the Criminal Code, prohibits defaming, criticising, or otherwise insulting the monarchy. Pro-democracy protesters gathered at the Ratchaprasong intersection in the capital yesterday afternoon, with the protest organised by a group called the…
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Geminid meteor shower: 100s of shooting stars visible late Monday night
For those up late tomorrow night, the Geminid meteor shower will be visible in the night sky late on Monday night. The heavenly display happens each year, usually between December 4 and December 17 each year and is one of the best opportunities to see dozens of shooting stars with the naked eye. In a post on Facebook, the National…
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Pattaya restaurant busted operating after curfew as a nightclub
In a familiar scene lately as Thailand toes the line between Covid-19 safety and restarting the tourism economy by relaxing alcohol bans in select areas around the country, a restaurant essentially operating as a bar on South Pattaya Road was shut down last night for violating the Chon Buri Communicable Disease Control order. Dripoly restaurant in Pattaya was raided just…
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What vaccines and mixing is accepted to enter Thailand now?
The Ministry of Interior has laid out the most current rules for what Covid-19 vaccines and infection recoveries qualify people to enter Thailand. They included the most up-to-date list of which brands of vaccines are excepted and what stipulations Thailand has for international travellers to enter the kingdom, current as of December 11. With the exception of the Janssen vaccine…
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NIDA Poll: majority oppose legalising gambling and casinos
The National Institute of Development Administration released a poll recently that showed that the majority of Thai people are opposed to the legalisation of casinos and gambling. The NIDA poll showed that most people think that online gambling and video games with betting should also remain illegal. 1,318 people were surveyed by telephone between December 6 and December 8 for…
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COVID-19 SUNDAY: Positive numbers all around, lowest deaths since third wave
Today was a great day for Covid-19 news as the numbers have improved from yesterday for every single metric except for infections brought in from abroad which jumped from 16 yesterday to 24 today. Daily infections and deaths are down, with deaths hitting the lowest number since the third wave of Covid-19 began in April. The total number of hospitalisations…
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Restaurants reminded to follow Covid-19 safety for holidays
Though many people are not planning on travelling during the upcoming holiday season, the Department of Health has issued a reminder for restaurants the follow Covid-19 prevention regulations, especially with the increasing number of tourists for the holidays. The director-general of the department said with the upcoming long holiday weekends, more travellers can be expected to be patronizing restaurants, especially…
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Holiday travel: Poll finds most don’t have New Year’s plans
A new survey by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University finds that most people do not have plans to travel over the New Year’s holiday, citing costs and worries of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 as the main reason to stay put. The Suan Dusit Poll was conducted from December 6 to December 9 and interviewed 1,304 people across all locations, ages,…
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2023 healthcare budget of 207 billion baht proposed including Covid-19
In order to add Covid-19 testing and treatment to the benefits of universal healthcare in Thailand for 2023, the National Health Security Office is requesting a 207 billion baht budget. Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul chaired a meeting on Thursday of the NHSO which came up with the figure to request to include funding for Covid-19. The budget for…
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Monday’s CCSA meeting to announce further easing of restrictions
New Year is looming and Thailand still plods along under a long list of restrictions, both for daily life in the Kingdom but also for travellers trying to enter Thailand. Tomorrow the CCSA will meet to debate an easing of guidelines at a time when the number of new Covid infections and deaths continue to drop, not swiftly but certainly…
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“All Thais are equal but some are more equal than others”
OPINION “We decided to adopt this system, so we must have confidence in the democratic system.” Words from the Thai Parliamentary president Chuan Leekpai urging, or willing, the Thai voters not to “become disheartened with the current state of Thai politics” and to have “confidence in the democratic system”. The democratic system? Constitution Day was on Friday as Thais commemorate…
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40 year old arrested for sexually harassing 12 year old girl
In Bang Lamung, a 40 year old man identified as Mr Fai was arrested, accused of sexually harassing a 12 year old girl after breaking into her house. The Nong Prue Police received notice of the break-in that took place on Wednesday in the Pong sub-district. The father of the 12 year old girl called the police after catching the…
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9 inmates escape temporary prison facility, 4 captured
After a group of 9 prison inmates made a daring escape from a detention facility in Nakhon Pathom, 4 have now been rounded up while a manhunt is on for the remaining 5. The group of men – 6 drug offenders, 2 charged with theft, and 1 charged with physical abuse – broke free from a temporary prison in the…
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Thai officials watching bird flu after a woman’s death in China
While Covid-19 and Omicron are on everyone’s mind, the Department of Livestock Development has gone on high alert after a woman died from the bird flu last month. The woman died in China of the H5N6 strain of avian influenza and officials in Thailand are focused on making sure the virus doesn’t make it across the border and into the…
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Political rows blemish Israel’s Miss Universe 2021 beauty pageant
The jury will face a tough decision on Sunday in Israel’s most southern city Eilat when it’s called on to decide the winner of the 70th “Miss Universe” beauty pageant. The event to crown the successor of Andrea Maza from Mexico in a three-hour live show that includes contestants giving personal statements as well as modeling in swimsuits and evening…
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Army denies photo with masturbation caption joke that went viral
While it was probably a press release they never expected to have to make, the army has put out a statement saying they do not force their soldiers to masturbate. The strange accusation comes after a photo and story went viral on the internet suggesting that army soldiers were ordered to masturbate before showering. The army has emphatically denied any…
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500 cannabis clinics successful, Health Ministry plans to expand
The Ministry of Public Health has opened more than 500 cannabis clinics throughout Thailand since the first one opened its doors in August of 2019. 60% of public hospitals now have cannabis clinics in 878 districts, and can be found in every single province in Thailand. More than 40,000 patients have now been treated with the use of cannabis. The…
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COVID-19 SATURDAY: 4,079 infections, 39 deaths, provincial totals
Today, the CCSA reported 4,079 new Covid-19 infections, down 114 since yesterday, and 39 Coronavirus-related deaths, up 11 from yesterday. Since April 1, in the latest wave of the virus in Thailand, a total of 2,135,986 confirmed Covid-19 infections have been reported. In the 24 hour period since the last count, the CCSA has reported 7,302 recoveries, up 561…
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Finance Minister: economy of Thailand will recover in 2023
Minister of Finance Arkhom Termpittayapaisith says that the economy of Thailand should see a full recovery, not next year, but by 2023. The economy is expected to grow by about 4% next year so 2022 would begin economic recovery, but it will take longer for Thailand definitely bounce back after the devastation of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Finance Minister believes…
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Thailand: 1st in Asia, 5th worldwide in Global Health Security Index
Out of 195 countries, Thailand was ranked fifth in the world – and first in Asia – on the Global Health Security Index this year. The list is compiled by John Hopkins Centre for Health Security at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and other health experts worldwide. The index evaluates the health security of countries by analysing…
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EU devises new measures against ‘economic coercion’
China last week put a ban on imports from Lithuania, an EU member state. It had nothing to do with a trade conflict: Beijing simply wants to persuade Vilnius to change its friendly policies toward Taiwan. Lithuania has allowed Taiwan to open a kind of embassy but China sees Taiwan as a renegade province awaiting reunification with the mainland. Now,…
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Plant-based Baiya vaccine can be adjusted for Omicron variant
Baiya Phytopharm says that the plant-based Covid-19 vaccine they have been developing in Thailand can be adjusted to be effective against the Omicron variant. The vaccine is currently in the middle of the human trials phase of testing and the Chief Technology Officer says the vaccine formula can be modified to fight Omicron. Baiya has developed a genetically engineered tobacco…
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AfricaLink On Air — 10 December 2021
Odinga’s bid for the Kenya presidency+++Ghana introduces Mandatory vaccinations +++Tackling COVID surge in Johannesburg+++Zambia’s domestic workers fight for their rights+++Qatari sportswashing SOURCE: DW News
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Pakistan: Where did billions of rupees in COVID aid go?
The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has recently hit back at claims that corruption is behind the billions of rupees in financial irregularities, following an audit of cash intended for Pakistan’s coronavirus response. The report released last month by the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) claimed that irregularities amounted to 40 billion Pakistani rupees ($226 million, €200 million). The almost…
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GirlZ Off Mute celebrates one year of stories told by African girl reporters
Chelsea Boakye vividly recalls her first time working in front of the camera for GirlZ Off Mute. “I still remember it like it was yesterday,” 16-year old Chelsea said. “The documentary was about a young female footballer whose family neglected her because she wanted to pursue football as a future career.” Boakye was amazed by how determined the girl was…
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Afghanistan opium trade booms since Taliban takeover
The cultivation of opium poppy as a medicinal plant has a long tradition in Afghanistan. The milky sap extracted from the seed pods is dried to produce raw opium, an effective remedy for severe pain. Today, opium is used primarily as an intoxicant and as a raw material for the production of stronger drugs like heroin. In the last harvest…
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200 funeral attendees quarantined after deceased diagnosed with Covid-19
Attendees to a large funeral in Phetchabun province have now been isolated after it was discovered that the person who died was infected with Covid-19. The funeral took place in the Nong Phai district of the northern province and was attended by over 200 people who then had to be quarantined. The Nong Phai District Hospital said that they were…
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