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THAILAND NEWS TODAY | PM gets his vaccine, consumer group suing over CP/Tesco merger | March 16
Watch Thailand News Today here (we are unable to load on YouTube today) https://fb.watch/4gj8DOKiYp/ After a few false starts, the Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha got the first AstraZeneca vaccine in Thailand this morning. The week of delays were apparently due to safety concerns about the AstraZeneca and considerations for the PM’s age. A government spokesperson called the prime minister’s inoculation…
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6,000 people to be vaccinated in Bangkok’s Bang Khae after cluster of infections
Following the recent cluster of Covid-19 infections in Bangkok’s Bang Khae district, city officials plan to vaccinate 6,000 people in the area who are at risk of infection. Starting tomorrow, 500 to 600 people in the district will be vaccinated against the coronavirus each day, according to Bangkok Metropolitan Administration spokesperson Pongsakorn Kwanmuang. Inoculations will take place at hospitals and…
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China to facilitate visas for foreigners inoculated with Chinese-made Covid-19 vaccine
China will issue visas to foreigners who have been inoculated with Chinese-made Covid-19 vaccines. Chinese embassies in various countries including the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom released a statement yesterday saying they would facilitate visas for applicants who have been vaccinated with Chinese-made jabs. Only those who are travelling to China for work, or those who have family…
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Got a good “Thailand” story? Write for The Thaiger as a guest blogger
The Thaiger is looking for story submissions from guest bloggers. We want to hear anything and everything Thailand-related. What’s that “Thailand” story you always tell at the pub, or to your friends overseas? Everyone has at least one. Have you been bitten by a poisonous centipede? Been to Thai jail? Spent time at a Buddhist monastery? Fallen in love? We’re…
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149 new cases of Covid today- Covid-19 Update
Thailand is reporting 149 new cases of Covid-19 today, with 144 being locally-transmitted. 90 of the cases were found during proactive screening of people related to the recent Bang Khae market cluster in Bangkok. Samut Sakhon recorded 31 new caes and Pathum Thani recorded 2, with all being found during proactive screening in communities. 1 new case was recorded among…
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Human skull and bones found in Buri Ram
A man in the Isaan province Buri Ram found a human skull while he was digging in the mud of a nearly dried up pond, collecting fish and frogs to eat. He then saw other bones scattered in the mud and reported it to the chief of tambon Sam Waeng. Forensic investigators and rescuers from a local charity searched the…
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Government opening up another round of welfare registration to include more recipients
The Thai government is opening up another round of welfare card registration, with the possibility of more people being eligible for financial help. The Finance Ministry says it expects the latest round of recipients will outnumber the previous round, due to increasing unemployment rates. An unnamed source told Bangkok Post that the inclusion of more recipients is due to the…
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Bangkok Bank customers can now withdraw cash from 7/11 stores
Bangkok Bank is now offering its customers the option to withdraw money at 7/11 convenience stores after teaming up with the retail giant. The move to allow customers greater access to transactional services is to help those in rural areas get cash quickly without needing to go to the actual bank. So far, 12,500 7/11 stores nationwide are offering the…
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Watch your step, hundreds of red sea urchins wash up on Patong Beach
Hundreds of red sea urchins washed up on Phuket’s Patong Beach yesterday, prompting marine life experts to investigate and lifeguards to warn beachgoers to watch out their steps to avoid the sharp spines. Marine experts say the sea urchins are the same species that washed up on Patong beach earlier this month. On March 2, hundreds of the red sea…
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Consumer groups sue Trade Competition Commission for approving CP-Tesco merger
Thailand’s Trade Competition Commission has been served with a lawsuit courtesy of the Foundation for Consumers and 37 other consumer groups, as a result of a merger between the conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group and Lotus (formerly Tesco Lotus). “The Charoen Pokphand Group is a Thai conglomerate based in Bangkok. It is Thailand’s largest private company and one of the world’s…
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6 markets shut in Bangkok’s Bang Khae district as infections rise to 224
6 markets in the Bang Khae district of Bangkok, scene of a new cluster of Covid-19 infections, have been closed for 3 days. They are Siriseththanon (previously known as Saeng Fah), Soon Karnkha Bang Khae, Kitti, Pasom, and Talad Mai Bang Khae markets. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has ordered them all to close for deep cleaning and disinfection, adding that…
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Transport Ministry to decide location of new southern land bridge by June
Thailand’s Transport Minister says the location of the much-discussed southern land bridge will be confirmed by June. Saksayam Chidchob says the bridge will provide a more convenient option for shipping goods between the Middle East and the Pacific region. According to a Bangkok Post report, the government is reviewing various locations in the province of Chumphon on the Gulf of…
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PM Prayut Chan-o-cha gets the first AstraZeneca jab in Thailand
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha got the first AstraZeneca jab in Thailand this morning after a short delay due to safety concerns. A government spokesperson called the prime minister’s inoculation “historic.” The jab kicks off Thailand’s AstraZeneca vaccination programme. Prayut’s vaccination plans were suddenly postponed last Friday and the country’s rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine was put on pause due to concerns…
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Parit threatens hunger strike if activists charged with lèse majesté are not released
Protest leader and co-founder of the Ratsadon pro-democracy group, Parit Chiwarak, has threatened to go on hunger strike if fellow activists charged with lèse majesté offences are not released. Thailand’s lèse majesté law, officially known as section 112 of the Criminal Code, prohibits criticising, insulting, or otherwise defaming the monarchy. A number of activists have been hit with the charge…
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Thai Visa Centre says former employee has been arrested for stealing
Thai Visa Centre says a former employee has been arrested for stealing money from staff and clients, including a family who were planning to travel to Thailand. They say the former employee, Asim Muhummad Mehran, was caught while “attempting to flee the country in Hat Yai with our clients’ money, staffs’ money, and a lot of records of transactions.” The…
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Thailand News Today | Cluster breaks out west of Bangkok, Phuket resort owner in bad crash | March 15
On The Thaiger today, another cluster breaks out in the west of Bangkok, more deaths in Myanmar as the Burmese Army turns against its citizens, and the PM apologises for spraying journalists with hand-sanitiser last week. Thailand recorded 170 new infections of Covid yesterday, most of them in Bangkok. It pushes the country’s accumulated total infections to nearly 27,000. The…
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Cats seized in suspected drug network raid in Rayong to be auctioned off
Assets seized by police from criminal networks, which are then auctioned off to the public, usually include furniture, cars and sometimes land and property. Today, police seized 6 cats along with 35 million baht worth of assets suspected to be related to a major drug network in Rayong. The cats are set to be auctioned off by Thai police. One…
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CCSA Update: New Covid-19 death, rise of cases in Bangkok
78 new Covid-19 cases and 1 death were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. Thailand now has 684 active Covid-19 cases. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has reported a total of 27,005 coronavirus infections and 87 deaths. An 88 year old Thai man died after testing positive for Covid-19. The…
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UPDATE: Health Minister says AstraZeneca jabs will start next week after slight delay
Covid-19 immunisations using the AstraZeneca vaccine will start next week, Thailand’s public health minister Anutin Charnvirakul wrote on a Facebook post with a photo of him holding a box of vials containing the vaccine. The update, without any explanation, comes just 3 days after PM Prayut Chan-o-cha cancelled his plans to get jabbed with the vaccine and the Thai government…
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Royal Thai Army to set up refugee camps for those fleeing Myanmar
With 100 people thought to be dead in Myanmar since the military took power last month, the Royal Thai Army plans to set up temporary camps for Burmese nationals fleeing the neighbouring country to escape political violence. Some say the actual death toll is much higher. Refugee camps will be set up in Ranong and Chumphon which border Myanmar’s southern-most…
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Sri Panwa luxury resort owner injured in car accident in Phuket
The owner of the luxury resort Sri Panwa in Phuket, which offers the new “villa quarantine” for travellers from overseas, was injured in a car accident last night. Police say 40 year old Vorasit “Pla Wan” Issara drove into a power pole on Sakdidet Road in the Wichit district. Officers suspect Vorasit lost control of the car while driving around…
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Thailand in negotiations to purchase another 5 million doses of Chinese vaccine
Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul says Thailand is in talks about purchasing an additional 5 million doses of China’s Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine. The announcement comes as the government postpones administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine over blood clotting concerns. However, without further explanation, Anutin also states on his Facebook page that inoculation using the AstraZeneca jab will begin next week. According…
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Suspension of AstraZeneca jab delays Thailand’s planned vaccination drive
With Thailand joining several European countries in suspending use of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine amid blood clot concerns, the Kingdom’s vaccine rollout now faces more delays. Thailand only has a limited supply of 1 other vaccine – China’s Sinovac. Thailand had chosen AstraZeneca as the primary vaccine for those over the age of 60 (including the PM), signing a deal…
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Martial law declared in Yangon in deadliest day since junta power grab
The Burmese military has imposed martial law in the townships of Hlaing Tharyar and Shwepyitha in Yangon, following a bloody crackdown in which at least 18 protesters died. Around 100 people are now thought to have died since the army deposed of leader Aung San Suu Kyi, claiming the landslide election victory of her National League for Democracy party was…
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8 Thai Airlines must provide a business recovery plan or lose out on additional routes
Commercial Airlines Registered in Thailand must provide a business recovery plan or run the risk of the civil aviation authority of Thailand (CAAT) halting the allocation of additional routes. According to reports, eight airlines have been targeted. The 8 airlines on the list from the Civil Aviation Commission (CAC) are Thai Airways, Thai Smile Airways, Nok Air, AirAsia X, VietJet…
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A woman has been arrested for allegedly selling fake medical certificates online
A woman has been arrested for allegedly selling fake medical certificates online. The raid followed a tip-off that fake medical certificates were available to buy online via a Facebook page. The suspect said she earned between 250,000 to 500,000 baht a month from the sale of fake medical certificates. Niphaporn Ponghiran aged 33 was arrested at a house on Phetkasem…
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Thai-language teacher suspended for throwing books at her students
A Thai-language teacher was suspended after she was caught on video throwing textbooks at her students and even hitting a teenage student in the head with a book. Khun Sudawan, a teacher at the Manchasuksa State Secondary School in the Isaan province Khon Kaen, had been checking over class assignments and noticed many students had not finished. As Sudawan started…
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3 protesters die overnight in Yangon, Myanmar
The latest tragic loss of life in Myanmar occurred in Yangon overnight. 3 protesters died at vigils in honor of those who have died since the military coup on February 1st, 2021. The military has been using more force against all protests with over 70 lives now lost. The vast majority of demonstrations and arrests happen during the daytime and…
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Hospital allegedly offers a meager 5,000 baht initially to dead patient’s family after neglecting him for hours
A northeastern Thai hospital is allegedly offering a meager 5,000 baht to a patient’s family after he died while waiting to be treated. The Bua Yai Hospital director, Charnchai Boonyusays, says he feels “regret” over the 46 year old’s death after hospital staff allegedly neglected to treat him for hours. Sompong Sammor, was admitted to the hospital with a swollen…
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Thailand’s private hospitals planning to profit off Covid-19 vaccine
Thailand’s private hospitals are planning to profit off of offering Covid-19 vaccines for paying customers. The hospitals have allegedly been procuring doses of vaccines after negotiating with different manufacturers. The news comes after Thailand’s Public Health Ministry has stopped the rollout of the AstrasZeneca vaccine after some countries in the EU banned its use over blood clot concerns. The hospitals…
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