Neill Fronde
- Covid-19 News
US pushed to join call for patent-free Covid vaccines
The United States is being pushed to join a scheme to persuade all manufacturers of Covid-19 vaccines worldwide to give up their intellectual property rights. This would make all Covid-19 medications, treatments and vaccines patent-free, allowing manufacturers around the world to produce them locally. India and South Africa proposed this plan at the World Trade Organization. As Covid-19 still spreads…
- Covid-19 News
Nowhere to hide: Face masks required in all 77 Thai provinces
You hate them. We hate them. We all hate wearing them. You hate endless reporting on them. We hate writing over and over about it. But… Face masks. They are no longer optional anywhere in Thailand. First face masks became compulsory in a few places, then 31 provinces. Phuket even singled out “problem foreigners” refusing to wear masks. Soon 54 provinces…
- Crime News
Japanese man who ran 12 million baht scam arrested in Pattaya
A Japanese man, now arrested in Pattaya by immigration police, ran a scam netting over 12 million baht from 46 victims before fleeing to Japan. The 46 year old man identified as Michuma had been living in Thailand for 2 years after arriving on a visitor visa. Suspicion was aroused after an informant told immigration officials that the man was…
- Covid-19 News
URGENT: Call for testing, Covid-19 on 7 Phuket flights
Authorities are calling for immediate quarantine and Covid-19 testing for 157 passengers of 7 flights to and from Phuket in the last few weeks. Passengers on these 7 domestic flights, mostly between Phuket and Bangkok, are considered at risk after Covid-19 infections were found on each flight. Seating charts were released with seat numbers and rows where Covid-19 infections and…
- Covid-19 News
Medical, business sectors blame government over Covid-19
Corporations are losing faith in Thailand’s political leaders as many in the medical, financial and business sector are placing the blame on the Prayut government for the current Covid-19 situation. They claim that corruption and cronyism is hindering and dampening a more decisive and productive course of action. The Chamber of Commerce has already offered logistical support to expedite vaccinations…
- Covid-19 News
Returning Thais tested for Indian variant of Covid-19
A group of Thais just back from India who tested positive for Covid-19 are feared to have the very dangerous Indian variant. Health officials are rushing to confirm what strain of Covid-19 the returning travellers have. The Public Health Ministry already had labs analyzing samples to identify if it is indeed the Indian variant. India is currently deep in a…
- Covid-19 News
Vaccine appointments from today via Mor Prom LINE account
Thailand has launched the Mor Prom account on the Line app today where locals can register to get their vaccine appointments. While 16 million people earmarked as vulnerable will get top priority for the free vaccines, everyone can sign up now, though it appears to be for Thai citizens only. Starting today, people can register for vaccination using the Line…
- Covid-19 News
Thai people not given choice which Covid-19 vaccine they receive
It’s free but you don’t get a choice. Thai Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul announced that people will not be given a choice of which Covid-19 vaccine they receive. Amid widespread criticism of the slow rollout of vaccination in Thailand, the health minister discussed the process of vaccines being approved for distribution within Thailand. Many are concerned about possible side…
- Covid-19 News
Deja Vu: Cruise ship in Japan finds Covid-19 infection
In an unfortunate case of life coming full circle, Covid-19 has infected a passenger aboard a cruise ship off the coast of Japan. One infamous early outbreak of what at the time was a new and mysterious virus we hoped wouldn’t manage to spread worldwide was the case of Carnival Cruise Line’s Diamond Princess cruise ship. 3,700 people were quarantined…
- World News
Covid-19 and the coup may push half of Myanmar into poverty
With the devastating double whammy of a global pandemic and the military coup descending into civil war, the UN fears that nearly half the people of Myanmar could be living in poverty by next year. The United Nations Development Program predicted that up to 25 million Burmese people could suffer below the poverty line by the beginning of 2022. The…
- Covid-19 News
New Covid-19 infections fall, but critical cases rise
Don’t let the decrease in new daily Coronavirus cases mislead you. The number of critical Covid-19 cases and deaths are on the rise and Thailand is far from over the Coronavirus pandemic. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration put out a notice today reminding people that vigilance is still imperative and that people need to follow safety measures and should…
- Pattaya News
Pickup truck driver swerves into water off Pattaya
The driver of a pickup truck claims that he swerved to avoid an out-of-nowhere motorbike when his vehicle flew off the road and into the ocean of Jomtien, south of Pattaya, last night. Na Jomtien Police received an accident report around 8 pm last night and went to investigate. The blue pickup truck was asea and taking on water when…
- Politics News
Draft law on NGOs still cause for concern for activism groups
Tension continues to build over Thailand’s proposed draft law that broadly defines and strictly regulates NGOs that government officials tout as bringing transparency, but critics say stifle activism and freedom. The Draft Act on the Operations of Not-For-Profit Organisations would broadly define what constitutes an NGO and require many activism organisations and groups that may speak out in opposition to…
- Covid-19 News
Phuket businesses beg to allow import of private vaccines
With the July 1 deadline for reopening to internationals travellers approaching and Covid-19 spreading rapidly, Phuket industry leaders are begging the Thai government to allow private importing of vaccines. Phuket’s sandbox plan required a 70% vaccinated resident policy, which looks unattainable, in order to allow tourism without quarantine again. With the pandemic spread across all 77 provinces now, vaccines that…
- Crime News
Taxi driver relieves stress by shooting slingshot at cars and shops
Life is pretty stressful lately, but there are right and wrong ways to relieve that stress. A taxi driver in Bangkok chose the wrong way to blow off steam: shooting at cars, buses and restaurants with a slingshot. The 48 year old driver Phaiwan Aechaiyaphum was arrested by the Metropolitan Police Bureau last night at his Suksawat-area room. He is…
- Covid-19 News
Historical sites in Thailand closed until May 9 for Covid-19
In another step to help curb the rampant third wave of Covid-19 throughout Thailand, all ancient and historical sites will be closed until May 9. Director-general Prateep Pengtako, leader of the Fine Arts Department in Thailand, announced the closure, ongoing since April 26th and currently scheduled until May 9 depending on pandemic developments. The decree included national museums, national archives,…
- Crime News
Opium and Heroin seized at Chiang Mai checkpoint
500 grams of heroin and 50 kilograms of raw opium were seized at a Chiang Mai checkpoint by Pha Muang Force soldiers. The cache was confiscated Tuesday evening in the Chai Prakan district’s Pha Hong checkpoint in Tambun Si Dong Yen. The soldiers stopped 2 drivers who aroused suspicion and who promptly fled when stopped. The motorcycle was left with…
- Thailand Protest News
Health declining for jailed protestors on hunger strike
Continuing their hunger strike, 2 leaders in the pro-democracy demonstrations that were jailed for speaking out against the king’s power are experiencing declining health. Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak and Panusaya “Rung” Sithijirawattanakul stopped eating over the last few weeks in protest against the denial of bail as they sit in jail waiting to be tried using Thailand’s harsh lese majeste laws…
- Covid-19 News
Locals threaten to burn hall if converted to field hospital
Citing fears of Covid-19 spreading, terrified locals threatened to burn down a Nakhon Si Thammarat conference hall authorities were preparing as a possible field hospital. The hall in the Muang district was one of several locations provincial authorities were readying as potential makeshift medical care facilities if the Covid-19 outbreak worsens. As of now, the governor chose 3 sites at…
- Covid-19 News
PM Prayut proposes private sector partnerships for vaccinations
In an effort to speed up Covid-19 vaccinations, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha plans to work closely with the private sector to vaccinate 50 million people by the end of the year. The Federation of Thai Industries and the Thai Chamber of Commerce will work alongside the government to help import and distribute vaccines after Thailand is off to a particularly slow…
- World News
Balding, once a Caucasian problem, grows in Asian men
While around half of Caucasian men will experience hair loss by middle age, Asian men had largely escaped balding, until now. In Korea only 14% of men experience hair loss, in China, 13% of 30-something men will lose hair, and Japanese men start losing their hair 10 years later than Europeans. But these figures are changing, not due to genetics,…
- Covid-19 News
Miss Grand helps “inefficient” government find Covid-19 beds
Miss Grand International Thailand has jumped in to help find hospital beds, citing an inefficient government response to the newest Covid-19 outbreak. The beauty pageant has launched the “Covid Patients Must Be Treated” campaign, pledging to use their resources to connect Covid-19 infected patients with available hospital beds for treatment. Miss Grand International president Nawat Itsaragrisil was moved by the…
- Covid-19 News
MRT train station employee diagnosed with Covid-19
Despite strict adherence to Covid-19 safety measures, a staff member of the Metropolitan Rapid Transit Authority in Bangkok has tested positive for the virus. The MRT made an announcement today about the employee, whose gender was not revealed. They confirmed that the Covid-19 infected staff member worked on the MRT Chalong Ratchadham line – the purple line – at the…
- Thailand News
Thai Airways employee union push against forming a new airline
Plans to create a new national airline to replace the struggling Thai Airways are meeting oppositions from the employee union. The union insists that Thai Airways is a known brand worldwide and has contributed significantly to the economy of Thailand and deserves aid and rehabilitation. In the past, Thailand’s flagship international airline spent years as a state-owned property until the…
- Tourism News
Top 10 busiest airports: Atlanta bumped as China dominates list
After 22 consecutive years as the busiest airport in the world, Atlanta slips to number 2 while China and the United States dominated the entire top 10 list of the 2020 world’s busiest airports. With the covid-19 pandemic stifling travel around the world all the airports on the list saw massive drops in passengers and rankings climbed and fell and…
- World News
Double truck driver bust yields 2.2 million meth pills, 165 grams of marijuana
Two truck drivers were arrested in a massive double bust where police seized a total of 2.2 million methamphetamine pills and 165 grams of dried marijuana. One truck full of meth was caught in the Nong Khai province on the Laos border, while the other driver was apprehended in Chon Buri province. Banglamung Police announced the arrest yesterday while working…
- Covid-19 News
Phuket: even “problem foreigners” must mask up or 20k fine
Phuket government officials have threatened to strictly enforce the 20,000 baht face mask fine and contact consular officials for foreigners that refuse to mask up. The vice governor of Phuket has issued a stern warning that all people are required to wear face masks in public at all times. As Covid-19’s third wave sweeps the country, and Phuket has begun…
- World News
Burmese military in a shootout near Thai border
Burmese military exchanged gunfire with unknown opposition last night opposite the Three Pagodas Pass near the Myanmar-Thailand border. Local media reports that gunshots broke out around 10:30 pm when members of the 32nd Infantry Battalion of the Burmese army fired at as-yet-unidentified armed fighters. The exchange took place in Payathonzu, a town near the Thai border in the Burmese Karen…
- Technology News
Clubhouse app a new platform for political debate
Clubhouse, a popular audio social media app, is attracting political debates, despite the Thai government threatening prosecution under the Computer Crime Act. The law forbids posting against the monarchy or government, but the app creates a perfect channel for government and politicians to directly connect to targeted social groups. The appeal of the Clubhouse app comes in its exclusivity, as…
- Covid-19 News
500,000 Sinovac doses arrive in Thailand
Half a million more Sinovac vaccines have arrived in Thailand, while tomorrow another 2 million Favipiravir antiviral pills arrive. Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has been pushing to increase Thailand’s supply of both vaccines and medicine to treat patients already infected with Covid-19. This brings Thailand up to 2.5 million Sinovac jabs in the race to vaccinate the population amid…
