Year: 2021
- Crime News
Hong Kong officials seize 61 kilograms of heroin shipped from Bangkok
Hong Kong customs officials seized 61 kilograms of heroin found hidden in instant rice vermicelli seasoning packets in a shipment from Bangkok. Following up on orders to work with foreign agencies on drug trafficking, the Office of the Narcotics Control Board is requesting more information from Hong Kong authorities on the case. Customs officials in Hong Kong seized the drugs…
Read More » - Northern Thailand News
Couple “drops off” Covid infected 80 year old father at Korat temple, drive off
A husband and wife dropped off an 80 year old man they referred to as father, at a temple in Nakhon Ratchasima/Korat in northeastern Thailand. After they dropped off their patriarch with nothing but a cloth bag, they drove off. The man was later found to have Covid. One Facebook user who claims to be a medical worker at the…
Read More » - Covid-19 News
Phuket officials add new layers of restrictions, Central closed for 7 days
It’s starting to get real in Phuket. New measures have been announced to further restrict the gathering places for people. Meanwhile, for now, the Sandbox continues unabated. The new restrictions are effective until at least August 2. The province has already surpassed its threshold of 90 cases in a week, earlier cited as the upper limit before the government would…
Read More » - Thailand News
Korat construction camp closed following Covid outbreak
Another construction camp has been ordered to close after workers were discovered to be infected with Covid. This time it is in Nakhon Ratchasima/Korat, the northeastern Thai province. The closure order came yesterday. 90 workers from the BSY construction Co. tested positive for Covid. Thus, the construction camp and future factory has been ordered to be sealed off for 1…
Read More » - Covid-19 News
Tuesday Covid Update: 14,150 new cases; provincial totals
CAPTION: Bang Sue railway station yesterday, the main vaccination centre in Bangkok. The photographer said that it was “chaos”. PHOTO: Facebook/Akbar Senior Motani 14,150 new Covid-19 cases were reported today by the CCSA this morning, raising the total since the start of the pandemic last year to 526,828. The latest and most severe wave of Covid-19 infections, first recorded in…
Read More » - Crime News
Attorney General still plans to indict Red Bull Heir, cites new ‘evidence’
Today, The Office of Attorney General reaffirmed the long-gestating indictment against Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya, heir to the Redbull empire. The OAG cites new evidence against Vorayuth for allegedly killing a police officer in a hit and run incident. The “new evidence” was not specified. The plans to still indict Vorayuth were announced by the deputy spokesperson for the OAG, Prayut…
Read More » - Bangkok News
Bang Sue walk-in vaccinations for elderly expats to end Saturday
Walk-in vaccination services for elderly expats at Bangkok’s Bang Sue Grand Station is ending on Saturday. The government is preparing to roll out the next phase in its Covid-19 immunisation plan. Starting Sunday, August 1, registration in Bangkok will open up to those 18 and older, but there will be no walk-in services. Until Saturday, foreign residents who are 75…
Read More » - Northern Thailand News
Special train takes Covid patients home to northeastern Thailand
Today, “Special” train No. 971 took 137 Covid patients to various northeastern Thai provinces. The Special train left from the Rangsit railway station. A cabinet resolution earlier in the month decreed that the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Public health were to arrange transportation to bring Covid patients back to their home provinces. Both ministries were ordered to…
Read More » - Covid-19 News
Dying Samut Prakan mother tells daughters to go to orphanage
Yesterday, 2 young girls had to be rescued from their home in Samut Prakan, a province south of Bangkok. They had watched their mother die of Covid and would later test positive for Covid themselves. The dying mother told her daughters to go to an orphanage. The 2 young girls were ages 7 and 9. The unnamed 9 year old…
Read More » - Pattaya News
American charged after not wearing a face mask at a Taco Bell in Pattaya
A 33 year old American man was recently charged for not wearing a face mask at a Taco Bell in Pattaya. Earlier this month, the expat and another foreign resident got into a heated argument at the soft opening of Taco Bell over whether to wear face masks while in line to order at the fast-food restaurant. After being confronted…
Read More » - Thailand video news
GMT | Covid update, monkey business, Thai gold | July 27
GOOD MORNING THAILAND Tim and Jay go through the news in Thailand from the past 24 hours. It was a public holiday yesterday, so no program. Today we check out the monkey invasion, the drop of the Thai baht, the Sandbox Paradox and a South Korean TV station gaff at the opening of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. We…
Read More » - Covid-19 News
Travel bubble plans abandoned amid global spread of Delta variant
Plans for travel pacts between countries are being dropped, as the Covid-19 pandemic shows no sign of abating. The so-called “travel bubbles” were designed to revive international travel between low-risk countries but have had a number of false starts and now look to be shelved. TTR Weekly reports that an arrangement between Australia and New Zealand, allowing for quarantine-free travel…
Read More » - Pattaya News
Over 66 people arrested in police raid at Pattaya beach club
Police in Pattaya have raided a beach club and arrested at least 66 people accused of violating the emergency decree. According to a Pattaya News report, the raid took place at around 8.30pm last night and those arrested were a mixture of foreign and Thai nationals. 37 Thais and 29 foreigners are accused of drinking, partying, and mingling, in violation…
Read More » - Covid-19 News
Government under increasing pressure to share details of vaccine procurement deals
As Thailand battles its worst Covid-19 wave since the start of the pandemic, the government is coming under increasing pressure to divulge details of its vaccine procurement decisions. The Bangkok Post reports that at least 333 academics, media representatives, and individuals have signed a statement calling for full disclosure of everything related to the country’s vaccine procurement deals. The statement…
Read More » - Covid-19 News
Covid patients with positive antigen test no longer need PCR test prior to treatment
The government’s Covid-19 task force says people who’ve taken an antigen test while at community isolation venues do not need to submit to a PCR test before getting medical treatment. The Bangkok Post reports that the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration has made the announcement in an effort to accelerate treatment for patients waiting in community isolation. CCSA spokesperson Apisamai…
Read More » - Tourism News
Thai tourism likely to hit rock bottom this year
The Tourism Authority of Thailand says both international and domestic tourism are likely to drop to an all-time low this year. The Bangkok Post reports that the TAT predicts international arrivals may only number 1 million, with domestic tourism dropping to just 50 – 60 million trips. Yuthasak Supasorn from the TAT says the target of 3 million foreign arrivals…
Read More » - Covid-19 News
Tuesday Covid Update: 14,150 new cases and 118 deaths
Today, Thailand’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration reported 14,150 cases and 118 coronavirus-related deaths. In the latest and most severe wave in Thailand, first recorded on April 1, the CCSA has recorded 497,965 Covid-19 cases. Out of the new cases, 245 cases were found in correctional facilities. Over the past several months, more than 40,000 inmates have been infected with…
Read More » - World News
Iran: Drought, water shortages spark protests
People in Iran’s southwestern Khuzestan province are desperate. Suffering from drought and water shortages since March, they’ve taken to the streets in the last couple of weeks to express their anger with the government and its poor management of water resources. According to official sources, at least four men, including one policeman, have died in the protests. Authorities claim they…
Read More » - World News
Ivory Coast heavyweights meet in bid for reconciliation
Tuesday’s meeting between Ivory Coast’s current president, Alassane Ouattara, and his rival, the recently returned Laurent Gbagbo after he was acquitted of committing war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC), has raised tensions in the Ivorian capital Abidjan. But amid the uneasiness, there seems to be a sense of optimism among many citizens. “President Gbagbo and President Alassane, they…
Read More » - World News
Myanmar’s economy to shrink by 18% due to military coup and Covid-19
The civil unrest following the February military coup, paired with the a spike in Covid-19 infections, is expected to cause Myanmar’s economy to contract by 18% this year, according to the World Bank. Since the military takeover, ousting the country’s elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi of the National League for Democracy, it’s estimated that more than 900 people have been killed…
Read More » - World News
Noor Mukadam and the brutalization of women in Pakistan
Noor Mukadam, a 27-year-old woman and daughter of Pakistan’s former ambassador to South Korea, was killed in Islamabad on July 20 in a brutal manner. The alleged killer, Zahir Zamir Jaffer, was reportedly her acquaintance, and according to police reports, beheaded Mukadam after shooting her. Violence against women is widespread in Pakistan, but the recent spate of women killings has…
Read More » - World News
Singapore plans to vaccinate 80%, reopen with quarantine-free travel by September
Singapore plans to fully vaccinate 80% of the population and reopen with quarantine-free travel in September. As the Southeast Asian country accelerates its vaccination campaign to hit its target within the next month, officials are preparing to reopen the country and are working to establish travel corridors with countries that have low Covid-19 infection rates. Finance Minister Lawrence Wong told…
Read More » - Pattaya News
Pattaya suspects arrested for live streaming breaking curfew
Last night a couple in Pattaya was arrested for allegedly live streaminging themselves singing while driving a motorbike past the mandatory curfew time. Administrative Chief Officer Phochai Sangeiad says a team from the Bang Lamung district set up a night-time checkpoint in front of Pattaya’s walking street. Phochai tells Thai media that they arrested 44 year old Paiboon Butwong, who…
Read More » - Thailand News
Sinovac/AstraZeneca highly effective, according to Thai research
Today, Thailand’s Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology from the Faculty of Medicine of Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, says a vaccine cocktail of Sinovac/AstraZeneca is “highly effective”. Controversial doctor Yong Poovorawan says 2 doses of the inactivated virus vaccine can help “immunity rise to an average level of 100 units”. Further, if 2 doses of the vector vaccine are administered…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket vice governor says “Sandbox” tourists aren’t scared off by Covid situation
Thailand’s latest and most severe wave of Covid-19 isn’t scaring away potential “Phuket Sandbox” tourists… at least that’s what the island province’s vice governor says. The official recently shot back claims that around a third of tourists who entered under the new reopening scheme decided to return home because of the continuous rise of Covid-19 infections and deaths. Under the…
Read More » - Thailand News
Ministry of Education seeks 21.6 billion education subsidy
Tomorrow, Thailand’s Ministry of Education will submit a proposal to Cabinet for approval of a 21.6 billion baht to subsidise education costs. The figure comes from 2,000 baht a student in elementary/vocations education systems. The education subsidy is to help reduce the financial strain on parents that have developed as a result of Covid. The proposal came up yesterday in…
Read More » - Covid-19 News
The ‘infodemic’ – interview with Helen Petousis-Harris about Covid misinformation
Helen Petousis-Harris is a NZ vaccinologist and associate professor in the Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care at the University of Auckland. She’s been at the forefront of the dis-information ‘infodemic’ since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic last year and a voice of reason in Ted Talks, worldwide interviews and lectures. Today she speaks to Tim Newton…
Read More » - Covid-19 News
Ayutthaya logs 255 new infections, hospital beds full
Today, Ayutthaya, the province a few hours north of Bangkok, revealed they had 255 new Covid infections and 3 deaths. Also, all their main hospitals and field hospitals have run out of beds, says the governor Panu Yaemsri. The total cases for the province are now just shy of 7,000 people. The death stands at 52. The governor says of…
Read More » - Thailand News
Another “monkey war” in Lop Buri, hundreds fight in the street- VIDEO
Hundreds of monkeys swarmed the streets in the Lop Buri in a massive fight, disrupting traffic on a busy intersection. It was another battle in what the Thai media dubs a “monkey war” believed to be between two rival groups of monkeys… the street monkeys and the temple monkeys. Back in March of last year, hundreds of monkeys from the…
Read More » - Pattaya News
Plantations International provides Pattaya with provisions
Over 1,000 lunchbox sets were distributed yesterday at the Bali Hai Pier in Pattaya. The food was for local residents who had been adversely affected by recent business closures and restrictions. The food was distributed by Plantations International Co., Ltd. Plantations International provided lunchboxes and water bottles with the cooperation of Chon Buri provincial authorities to ensure the operation was…
Read More » - Covid-19 News
Monday UPDATE: 15,376 new infections, Provincial report
Thailand’s public health department has confirmed another 15,376 new infections and 87 Covid-related deaths over the past 24 hours. 1,041 of the new cases are from the Thai prison system. Thailand has now reached half a million reported Covid infections since the start of 2020. Just 4 months ago, when the so-called 3rd wave kicked off, there were 1,247 patients in…
Read More » - Thailand News
Thai baht goes from top-performing to worst-hit currency in Asia
Before the pandemic, the Thai baht was the strongest-performing currency in Asia. Now, it’s the worst-hit currency in the region, according to Japan-based Mizuho Bank. The Thai economy has been shrinking over the past year, hitting lows which some compare to the contraction during the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The Japanese bank says the under-performance of the Thai baht is…
Read More » - Northern Thailand News
Covid train cancelled, SRT cites lack of passengers
A “special” Covid train that was bound for northeastern Thailand from Bangkok, today, has been cancelled. The State Railway of Thailand says there weren’t enough passengers. Previously, the government had told the SRT to provide a train with 14 carriages to transport Covid patients from Bangkok back to their home provinces for Covid treatment. The Covid train was supposed to leave…
Read More » - Covid-19 News
Government submits proposal to allow department store restaurants to sell food online
Department store restaurants may be allowed to sell food online through a proposal that will be submitted to the CCSA today for approval, says deputy government spokeswoman Traisuree Taisaranakul, today. The spokeswoman says the CCSA’s operation centre decided on July 22 that the Ministry of Public Health should decide on criteria to allow department store restaurants to sell their food…
Read More » - Covid-19 News
Thai Red Cross denies its order of Moderna led to hospitals receiving fewer doses
The Thai Red Cross Society is denying claims that its order of 1 million doses of the Moderna vaccine affected the number of doses allocated to private hospitals. The Government Pharmaceutical Organisation is processing the order on behalf of the society. According to a Bangkok Post report, several hospitals have cancelled appointments for the Moderna vaccine saying they’ve been allocated…
Read More » - Covid-19 News
Free transport for Covid-19 patients returning to home provinces for treatment
Thailand’s Health Ministry says Covid-19 patients who want to return to their home provinces for treatment can avail of a dedicated transport service for free. Officials say patients should contact the National Health Security Office, adding that the service is for those with mild symptoms only. The Bangkok Post reports that at least 31,175 of the capital’s infected people left…
Read More » - Environment News
Indian landslide kills 9, injures 3
Yesterday, 9 people died and 3 were injured after their car was struck by falling boulders in Himachal Pradesh, a northern Indian state. The landslide also sent rocks crashing down on a bridge that crossed the Bapsa river Jairam Thakur, the chief minister of Himachal Pradesh characterised the incident as “heart wrenching”. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi offers his “heartfelt…
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