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Sponsored Why retirees in Thailand are choosing long-term health insurance over quick fixes
Retirees in Thailand are increasingly seeing the importance of health insurance in protecting their well-being during retirement. With insurance requirements for retirement visas and rising healthcare costs, many are moving away from short-term plans and choosing long-term coverage. Long-term health...
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Laos Covid-19 cases rise as migrant workers return from Thailand
Covid-19 cases in Laos has spiked, reportedly due to migrant workers returning home from Thailand, bringing the virus with them. In Thailand’s latest wave of infections over the past several months, many of the workers had lost their jobs while others returned to their home country to flee from lockdown restrictions at construction camps and factories, primarily in Bangkok. Covid-19…
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Pathum Thani governor donates 3 months’ salary to help residents during pandemic
The governor of Pathum Thani, just north of Bangkok, is donating 3 months of his salary to support the community as Covid-19 cases rise. An announcement was recently made on a Facebook page run by the provincial government saying governor Chaiwat Chuenkosum donated his salary to help Pathum Thani residents. A Covid-19 hotline has been set up to help those…
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Foreign Covid-19 case had Sinopharm, domestic infections bigger concern
More information is coming out now about the first Phuket Sandbox traveller to be infected with Covid-19 yesterday. The man from the United Arab Emirates was fully vaccinated with the Sinopharm vaccine more than 7 months ago and had tested negative before boarding his flight to Phuket. But while infections from abroad make headlines, the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office…
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CCSA to consider travel restrictions, other disease control measures
Travel restrictions are likely to be imposed over the next few days. The Public Health Ministry is proposing stricter measures, including limits on interprovincial travel, to control the spread of the Covid-19 following the emergence of the highly transmissible Delta variant. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration is set to meet tomorrow morning and discuss disease control measures. Along with limits…
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Woman infected with Covid-19 dies at home after waiting 6 days for hospital treatment
A 50 year old woman infected with Covid-19 died at her home in Bangkok’s Huai Khwang district after waiting for nearly a week for a hospital bed to become available. She died at 3am yesterday morning, just hours before an ambulance was scheduled to take her and her infected family members to the hospital, a source told the Bangkok Post.…
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Phuket Sandbox growing with 33 airlines requesting flights
The Phuket Sandbox is slowly bringing international travellers back to Thailand, and while it’s had a few problems, signs indicate that confidence is growing in the scheme. With El Al, Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airways bringing in flights from the Middle East, Singapore Airlines connecting people in Southeast Asia, and Thai Airways operating 5 flights from Europe, international flights are…
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Pair arrested in Pattaya for allegedly running “romance scam”
More people have been arrested for involvement in an alleged “romance scam”. This time the suspects were busted in the Pattaya area. The man, Robinson Ibuka Ade, from Nigeria, and Thidarat Biraban, a Thai national, were arrested recently on charges of joining to commit fraud and importing forged data into a computer system. Police seized 148,00 baht and $2,000 US…
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Machinist in Nonthaburi arrested for allegedly making, selling guns
Today, a factory machinist in Nonthaburi, a province north of Bangkok, was arrested for allegedly, illegally making, modifying, and selling guns out of a worker’s dormitory. Prajak Phoonphian, a 39 year old factory machinist was arrested early this morning after CSD police, acting on a warrant searched his dormitory at a lathe plant in the Pak Kret district in Nonthaburi.…
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UPDATE: PM calls for urgent meeting, expected to discuss “lockdown” measures
UPDATE: The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration meeting set for 10am tomorrow will address the “worsening situation” in Thailand, according to spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Natapanu Nopakun, who gives the daily CCSA meeting in English. Natapanu says the media has been “predicting the results” of the meeting, but he assures the public that there will not be…
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Hundreds wait outside Bangkok temple overnight for Covid test
Use the rapid antigen test to speed up testing. Last night, hundreds of people waited outside a Bangkok temple for a free Covid test that began this morning. Like an anxiety-ridden new shoe launch, crowds of people were photographed outside the Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat temple in Bangkok’s Bang Khen district. Testing began at 8 am and the queuestarted…
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Man believes prostitute pickpocketed him in Pattaya
Last night, a German man lodged a complaint with police about his suspicion that a prostitute pickpocketed him. 68 year old Thomas Hatesaul alerted police at 11:30 pm that he was robbed on Soi 13/1 Pattaya Beach Road in Nongprue. He told police that he was walking by himself, to relax when he was approached by a woman. Thomas says…
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“Mastermind” arrested for posing as doctor, “selling” vaccines
A man, and what some media reports are calling a “mastermind”, has been arrested for allegedly selling (or not selling) vaccines through a Line App. The man was apprehended yesterday in the central Thai province of Saraburi. Police arrested 26 year old Weerasak Suksamdang near the TPI Polene building. They charged Weerasak with fraud and computer crimes. The suspect denied…
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Over 200,000 sign petition calling for mRNA vaccines
Over 200,000 people, including prominent Thai doctors and medical practitioners, have signed a petition demanding the government purchase more effective vaccines and administer them for free. A petition from the Mor Mai Thon (Doctors Won’t Tolerate It) group has been signed by 215,409 medical practitioners, calling on the government to purchase mRNA vaccines. The Bangkok Post reports that the campaign was run…
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Thursday Covid-19 update: 7,058 new infections, 75 deaths
Thailand records a depressing new high today, with a record 7,058 new infections and 75 Covid-related deaths. 68 infections are from Thai prisons. This is the highest number of new cases and deaths this month, as concern grows over the highly contagious Delta variant, which is expected to become the dominant strain in the Kingdom by the end of the…
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Koh Samui hopes to attract 2,000 tourists in first month of re-opening
The president of the Tourism Association of Koh Samui is paying great attention to how the Phuket sandbox scheme unfolds and hoping it succeeds. According to a Bangkok Post report, Ratchaporn Poolsawadee says the Samui Plus scheme could attract 2,000 guests in its first month if some rules can be eased. “Besides the virus situation on our islands and the…
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Residents near burned-out factory return home, environmental concerns remain
The Pollution Control Department has confirmed that residents within 2 – 5 kilometres of a factory that burnt down in the central province of Samut Prakan can now return home. The air quality in the surrounding area has been tested and deemed safe. However, a number of environmental concerns remain. According to a Bangkok Post report, governor Wanchai Kongkasem says…
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Coronavirus digest: WHO puts death toll at 4 million
The global death toll from the coronavirus had reached 4 million, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday. The UN’s health agency called on governments to be cautious in lifting measures aimed at combating the pandemic. “The world is at a perilous point in this pandemic,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, saying the latest toll was an underestimate…
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Anger and tears over shooting of Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries
“Your work is not finished, Peter R. de Vries. Keep fighting,” says 61-year-old Renate Tjon-Fo who is standing in front of the rows of flowers placed where Dutch crime journalist Peter R. de Vries was shot on Tuesday night. Television crews and journalists from across the world gather outside the studio of RTL Boulevard, a popular Dutch daily television program.…
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Anger and tears over shooting of Dutch crime reporter Robert R. de Vries
“Your work is not finished, Peter R. de Vries. Keep fighting,” says 61-year-old Renate Tjon-Fo who is standing in front of the rows of flowers placed where Dutch crime journalist Peter R. de Vries was shot on Tuesday night. Television crews and journalists from across the world gather outside the studio of RTL Boulevard, a popular Dutch daily television program.…
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Africalink 07.07.21 – 16 UTC – MP3-Stereo
U.N. urges Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan to recommit to dam talks+++ Zambia lays founding father Kenneth Kaunda to rest +++ Zimbabwe tightens COVID restrictions +++ Cameroon’s missing COVID relief funds SOURCE: DW News
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World in Progress: Lake Kivu, a ticking time bomb?
This in-depth feature by Thomas Kruchem is presented by Neil King. SOURCE: DW News
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New terminal at Suvarnabhumi Airport to be field hospital
A new plan will have Bangkok residents heading to the airport, but not in a good way, as authorities have decided to convert Suvarnabhumi Airport’s new terminal into a field hospital. The recently built Satellite 1 facilities are large enough to house a minimum of 5,000 beds for Covid-19 infected patients as outbreaks surge in the capital city. With 216,000…
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European Parliament demands action over Hungary’s anti-LGBTQ law
Members of the European Parliament are set to vote overwhelmingly in favor of a resolution demanding the EU fast-tracks legal action against Hungary over its new anti-LGBTQ law. During a debate on the issue in Strasbourg, German Green MEP Terry Reintke said “democracy, fundamental rights and the rule of law are dismantled inside the EU before our very eyes.” The…
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Taliban advances: Why are Afghans so skeptical about Pakistan?
Most media outlets and political commentators in Afghanistan are blaming Islamabad for the current turmoil in their country, alleging that the Pakistani military and its intelligence agencies are backing the Taliban amid the withdrawal of foreign troops, helping militants capture more territories. These are not new accusations; Afghan officials have long maintained that Pakistan provides shelter and military support to…
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COVID: Indonesian hospitals grapple with shortages as cases surge
Indonesia’s health care system and hospitals are struggling to keep up with an influx of new COVID patients. One of the largest hospitals in Indonesia’s Yogyakarta province reported last week that dozens of patients died after the hospital ran out of oxygen due to the large numbers of COVID-19 patients coming in. Meanwhile, in the capital Jakarta, the daily funeral…
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Phuket governor orders investigation into complaints of taxi drivers overcharging
Taxi fares charged from the Phuket International Airport are now being investigated by provincial authorities. The Phuket governor ordered the probe after criticism over a Facebook post asking if the 900 baht fare from the airport, quoted by a hotel in Patong, seemed too expensive. Taxi prices in Phuket are notoriously high compared to other provinces. On the social media…
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Vaccine Update: With limited doses, Thai government focuses on “at-risk” groups
With limited doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, along with the rapid spread of the Delta Covid-19 variant, the Thai government’s mass immunisation campaign will first focus on using those doses to inculcate “at-risk” groups, starting with those in Bangkok, the epicentre of the latest wave. This month’s order of AstraZeneca vaccine doses was cut in half from 10 million to…
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Officials: Don’t believe viral video, Phuket bridge checking all entries
When the Phuket Sandbox launched, restrictions to enter the island by land were tightened to match, requiring any overland traveller to provide proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test within 72 hours of arrival or be denied entry. Authorities are once again reinforcing that messaging after a video has gone viral appearing to show vehicles passing freely through the…
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Hua Hin joins growing list of bar workers demanding aid
The girls in Hua Hin bars are revolting! They’re revolting in the streets against the government’s handling of Covid-19. Like their counterparts in Bangkok and Pattaya, bar owners and employees along with local musicians staged a demonstration to protest against the continued closures of nightlife and entertainment venues in Hua Hin. The fed-up nightlife workers carried signs calling on the…
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Wednesday Covid-19 Update: 6,519 new cases; provincial totals
6,519 new Covid-19 cases and 54 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 301,172 total cases. The latest and most severe wave of the virus has accounted for 272,309 of those infections. Thailand now has 67,614 active Covid-19 cases. Of the patients being…
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