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Bangkok residents warned of flooding risk as torrential rain forecast this week
The Meteorological Department has warned of the risk of flooding in Bangkok as a result of torrential rainfall forecast for this week. The capital has been experiencing wet weather for 3 weeks in a row now, meaning the water level in eastern Bangkok canals is already high. Bangkok governor, Aswin Kwanmuang, says water pumps need to be deployed to drain…
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Government seeks to regulate infectious waste disposal charges
Government officials are seeking ways in which to regulate the fees being charged for the disposal of infectious waste. According to a Bangkok Post report, the Internal Trade Department will meet tomorrow with the National Municipal League of Thailand, the Health Department, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, and waste disposal companies. The rates for disposing of contaminated waste have jumped significantly…
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Manny Pacquiao to run for president of the Philippines
Manny Pacquiao, the Philippine boxer and politician, has announced that he will run for president in next year’s election. He has been nominated as a presidential candidate by a faction of the ruling party, PDP-Laban. The 42 year old boxer currently serves as a senator in the Philippine parliament. The incumbent, Rodrigo Duterte is prevented from running for another term…
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Phuket officials launch mass testing campaign in high-risk communities
Proactive mass testing is underway in Phuket communities with high infection rates, as officials attempt to curtail the spread of Covid-19 on the southern island. The Bangkok Post reports that 9 comprehensive Covid-19 response teams have been dispatched to the target areas. Provincial chief health officer Kusak Kukiattikun says the teams will use antigen test kits in an active case-finding…
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Coup anniversary marked by car mob with over 1000 vehicles
A massive car mob of protesters numbering well over 1,000 vehicles braved the heavy rain to call for the prime minister’s removal and to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the coup that began the trend of military control over Thailand. This latest in a continuous succession of protests against the current leaders of Thailand marks the anniversary of the coup…
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‘Hotel Rwanda’ hero awaits verdict on terrorism charges
The verdict on Paul Rusesabagina, a long-time critic of Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, is scheduled for Monday, September 20. His trial attracted international attention due to his role in rescuing hundreds of people during the 1994 Rwandan genocide against the Tutsis. President Kagame, in early September, defended the trial of Rusesabagina saying the 67-year-old former hotelier was in court not…
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Government speeds rollout with 152.9 million vaccines this year
A government spokesperson announced yesterday that between now and the end of October they intend to disperse 24 million Covid-19 vaccines as manufacturers are beginning to have more stock available for Thailand import. Thailand is now expected to receive total of 152.9 million vaccines by the end of this year to battle the Covid-19 pandemic, an amount that will cover…
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Phuket domestic travel rules need streamlining, officials discuss
Officials in Phuket met yesterday to consider ideas about how to ease travel restrictions for domestic travellers in hopes of enabling domestic tourism to grow. With current harsh restrictions, mostly people with an imminent need to travel in and out of Phuket can jump through the hoops to access the island. Many business owners say they have seen little benefit…
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Covid-19: Detailed info on vaccinations, hospitalisations, and provinces
Covid-19 numbers continue to slowly fall as today’s report from the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration saw 117 deaths and 13,576 new infections in the past 24 hours. 131,095 people remain under medical supervision while 12,492 people have been released from medical care in the last 24 hours, bring the total recovered from the virus to 1,330,238. 395 of the…
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Lack of migrant workers forces government to appeal to Thais to fill vacant jobs
A shortage of migrant workers has driven the Thai government to appeal to Thais to do the jobs that have been left vacant. The Phuket News says there are over 400,000 jobs that need to be filled after migrant workers were unable to fill them due to Covid restrictions, which prevented them from entering Thailand. Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin says…
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Songkhla motorcycle showroom catches on fire, no injuries reported
A motorcycle showroom, N.A. Minibike Company, caught on fire in the southern Thai province of Songkhla early this morning, around 7am. Police say no one was injured as a result of the fire. 7 fire trucks were sent from the Nakhon Hat Yai Municipality to tackle the fire at the N.A. Minibike Company on Supasan Rangsan road. It took firefighters…
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Covid-19 prison death yesterday the second this week in Phuket
Today’s Phuket Covid-19 updated reported one new death, and now details are emerging on it, the second death of an inmate in prison. Phuket Provincial Prison officials have confirmed that an inmate has died of a Covid-19 infection after an outbreak discovered 2 weeks ago. The death was a 24 year old man who had lived in Baan Bang Duk…
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Phuket Covid-19: 1 Phuket Prison death, 1 Sandbox infection
Phuket saw one new death and one new Covid-19 infection from an international traveller who entered the island as part of the Phuket Sandbox programme as daily numbers hold steady and hospital bed occupancy continues to worsen. The one death was of an inmate at Phuket Provincial Prison, the second death that the prison has seen after a Covid-19 outbreak…
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Bovine attack kills forest ranger in Khao Yai National Park
Over the weekend, a forest ranger was killed and another ranger sustained injuries after they were attacked by a gaur, an indigenous bovine also known as an Indian bison. The 2 rangers had been on patrol in the Khao Yai National Park at the time of the attack. There were 4 other rangers who had been conducting patrols with them…
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Korat Police allegedly use police van for trip to beach
Police in the northeastern Thai province of Nakhon Ratchasima are investigating the matter of a police van being allegedly used to take a group of police officers to the beach in Phetchaburi, a central Thai province. Footage of the officers getting out of the van and enjoying a meal on the beach circulated on the internet on Friday Panurat Lakboon,…
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Kalasin man allegedly robs convenience store and then a gold shop the next day before being arrested
A man in the northeastern Thai province of Kalasin allegedly went on a short-lived crime spree over the weekend. On Friday, the man allegedly robbed a convenience store and got 30,000 baht for his troubles. Then, on Saturday, the man allegedly robbed a gold shop. Police arrested the man yesterday as he exited the gold shop, but they found only…
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Ghana’s children scavenging for scrap
These children are eking out a living picking through rubbish. They are scavenging for plastic and metal. From tin containers to iron bars and zinc. Children are at the frontlines of the scrap business. Plastic is harder to sell than the scrap metal. They sell it to the dealers who roam the streets. Dealers melt down the tin and aluminum.…
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Local businesses say they aren’t profiting from Phuket Sandbox
While large resorts and big businesses in Phuket might be seeing revenue from the Phuket Sandbox, interviews with small local businesses suggest they are seeing little to no benefit from the reopening with its strong restrictions. Most business owners agree there won’t be any real income for most until there is a full reopening with fewer rules and more nightlife…
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Woman shot by stray gunfire during motorcycle shooting
A 58 year old woman in Nakhon Ratchasima was shot by stray gunfire while eating in front of her house as a motorbike shootout occurred in front of her. Her son-in-law in his pickup truck was being pursued by the two armed motorcyclists when she got caught in the crossfire during the incident that occurred on Thursday night in the…
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Saturday Covid-19 UPDATE: Select provincial totals
Aftern0on Update: 122 Coronavirus-related deaths and 14,109 new Covid-19 cases were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, down slightly from yesterday’s totals. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA has recorded 13,280 recoveries. Thailand now has 130,128 active Covid-19 infections. Since April 1, in the latest and most severe wave of Covid-19, the CCSA…
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Woman dresses as astronaut to show moon-like road condition
A Khon Kaen woman found a creative way to get the necessary attention from government officials to finally repair the terrible potholes on her road. Anyone who has driven around Thailand enough has encountered a road so rough and full of potholes that it resembles the surface of the moon. And if anyone wants to fake another moon landing, Khon…
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CCSA announces vaccination goals for October; 50% inoculated
Today the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration released a statement outlining the vaccination goals for Thailand in October in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. Some of their list items seem to contradict each other, with the CCSA vaccination plan calling to inoculate people 50% and then 70% and then “fully”. The main intention of Thailand’s vaccine efforts is to…
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Phuket Covid-19: 235 daily infections, 238 hospital beds available
Phuket Covid-19 numbers held steady today with no deaths and 235 new infections, though that’s only 3 less than the total available hospital beds as 39 more people were hospitalised. Hospital bed occupancy is just below 89% now, though Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew has insisted there is no shortage of beds. The number of “green” mild infections continues the drop…
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Saturday Covid Update: 122 Deaths 14,109 new infections
122 Coronavirus-related deaths and 14,109 new Covid-19 cases were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, down slightly from yesterday’s totals. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA has recorded 13,280 recoveries. Thailand now has 130,128 active Covid-19 infections. Out of the new cases, 1,357 were detected through proactive case finding and 854 were found…
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AfricaLink on Air — 17 September 2021
What next for Guinea after ECOWAS leaders imposed sanctions on coup leaders, among them holding elections in six months? +++ Gambia’s President Adama Barrow finally defends his alliance with former dictator Yahya Jammeh ahead of the December elections+++Zambians are divided on the fate of the expensive presidential jet. SOURCE: DW News
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South Korean students embrace ‘niche’ learning alternatives
As a teenager, Young-chae Song studied German at his South Korean high school and had to pass an exam in the language to enter university. During that time, in the early 1980s, most high school students in South Korea would study English, plus another foreign language, typically German, French or Japanese. But today, young Koreans are turning their backs on…
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Tanzania: First female defense minister ignites gender debate
“I have decided to break the longtime myth that in the defense ministry, there should be a man with muscles,” President Samia Suluhu Hassan said earlier this week as she administered the oath of office to Stergomena Tax. “The minister’s job in that office is not to carry guns or artillery,” Suluhu Hassan declared. Tax’s appointment was part of President…
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COVID: How is India tackling a surge in fake test reports?
Indian officials are reporting a surge in the use of fake negative COVID-19 test reports across the country. Last week, police from the eastern state of Odisha busted a racket in which fake PCR test reports were being provided to devotees who wanted to visit the auspicious Jagannath Puri temple. Police arrested 12 people, including the mastermind of the well-organized…
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African Swine Fever: China’s other pandemic
During a teleconference more than two years ago, Chinese Vice-Premier Hu Chunhua urged health authorities to step up efforts to rein in a growing pandemic despite initial “positive results,” and suggested that “enhancing quarantine and monitoring” measures would help prevent the spread of the virus. Hu’s comments came before the discovery of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Instead, he…
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Osmani: If Kosovo delivers, the European Union should also deliver
In an interview with DW, the president of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, confirms her commitment to EU integration and NATO. She also emphasizes the country’s full support of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers war crimes court. SOURCE: DW News
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