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Singapore approves Boeing 737 MAX for return to service
Singapore’s aviation regulator announced today it will approve the return to service for the Boeing 737 MAX. The aircraft had been grounded for 2 years following 2 fatal crashes. The approval is owed to operators, such as Singapore Airlines complying with airworthiness directives and extra flight crew training requirements, says the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore. The city state’s approval…
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Battling through Ghana’s lean season
The World Food Programme reports hunger has increased by 30% higher since year than last year and it is the highest level in a decade. But one man’s initiative is helping those struggling. Nanleeb Konlan farms large plantations of grains,which he distributes for free to poorer communities in the lean season. SOURCE: DW News
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Nakhon Si Thammarat doctor says teenager suffered from cyst, not black magic
Doctors at a southern Thai hospital in Nakhon Si Thammarat operated on a teenager to remove a cyst from her ovary. They want to reassure the public that the cyst just contained hair, bone, teeth, fingernails and an oily material, and the woman did not suffer from black magic, as some residents suspected. Sichon Hospital director, Dr Arak Wongworachat, posted…
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3 northeastern dams set to reach full capacity by November
3 major dams in the northeastern Thai province Nakhon Ratchasima will likely be completely full by November, as heavy rain is forecasted from late this month into October, says National Water Resources secretary general Somkiat Prajamwong, today. Somkiat adds that NWR is closely monitoring the situation. Today, the Lam Takong Dam holds 214 million cubic metres of water or about…
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Pathum Thani shopping centre apologises after overcrowded vaccination event goes viral
A shopping centre in Pathum Thani, a central Thai province, has apologised for a vaccination event that went awry after large crowds packed into the shopping centre in anticipation of receiving a vaccine. The large crowds resulted in people standing right next to each other with no social distancing being observed. The vaccination event happened over the weekend at Future…
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Couple shot to death in Nakhon Si Thammarat
A couple has been shot to death in their house in the southern province Nakhon Si Thammarat. The police found the couple’s bodies last night. The duty officer from the Chulabhorn police station says they received a call about the shooting at around 9:30pm. When police and a doctor rushed to the house, they discovered 48 year old Boontham Panarat…
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3 hunters arrested for allegedly possessing endangered species
National park officials in the western province Kanchanaburi arrested three hunters who were allegedly caught with bags containing wild animal carcasses, including black hornbills and monkeys. The arrests happened yesterday in the Khao Laem National Park. Khao Laem National Park chief Thewin Meesap says officials from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation were patrolling the forest when…
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25 arrested at Chiang Mai rooftop bar
A rooftop bar in Chiang Mai, a northern Thai province, was raided yesterday and 24 customers, plus the bar owner were arrested for allegedly gathering to drink alcoholic beverages, a violation of the emergency decree. Police say the 25 suspects were seen drinking alcohol and dancing to a band that was playing at the bar. The police add the suspects…
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Tourism ministry wants Thailand fully re-opened, without quarantine, by January
Thailand’s Tourism Minister wants the country to re-open fully, without quarantine, by January, but says this will depend on vaccination efforts. According to a Bangkok Post report, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn is citing herd immunity as a condition for the re-opening, pointing out that Bangkok’s re-opening has been delayed from October to November, as most residents are still waiting for their second…
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Monday Covid Update: 187 deaths and 13,988 new cases
187 coronavirus-related deaths and 13,988 new Covid-19 infections were reported today by Thailand’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA has recorded 17,284 recoveries. There are now 148,622 patients being treated for Covid-19. The number of active cases has been on a downward slope over the past several weeks. In the latest…
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More protests planned for Bangkok today as activists continue fight to remove PM
Anti-government protesters are planning another “car mob” rally in Bangkok today, as they continue their bid to remove the Thai PM from office. The Bangkok Post reports that yesterday, Red Shirt activist Nattawut Saikuar addressed a rally at the Asoke intersection in the capital, vowing to lead a bigger protest from the Ratchaprasong intersection to Asoke today. According to the…
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No more sandbox: Phuket private sector calls for full re-opening by December 1
The vice-president of the Phuket Tourism Association says businesses on the island need it to fully re-open by December 1 if they are to survive. According to a Bangkok Post report, Nanthida Atiset says fully re-opening the island could generate over 210 billion baht in revenue, adding that the sandbox scheme is simply not enough. “Only over 20,000 tourists have…
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Phuket Sandbox draws 28,000 travellers, 1.634 billion baht
The Phuket Sandbox has been lauded as a success and derided as a failure, but officials have released some raw data over the past few days that indicates the programme falls somewhere in between. Immigration and the Tourism Authority of Thailand have reported on total incoming travellers and their opinions, and the Economics Tourism and Sports Division of the Tourism and…
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Jetstar launches weekly flights between Phuket and Singapore
Now that flight restrictions are finally easing, Jetstar Asia Airways has launched a weekly flight between Singapore and Phuket. The first flight departed Singapore Friday evening and arrived at Phuket International Airport an hour and 40 minutes later. The inaugural Jetstar flight was greeted with fanfare by various airport staff including the Deputy Director of Phuket Airport Operations and Maintenance. The…
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17 protest leaders named in complaint with Lumpini police
Legal action is being pursued by a legal activist against 17 leaders of pro-democracy protests that took place on September 3 and 4. The complaint was filed with the Lumpini police, today. The protests in question took place at the Ratchaprasong intersection and were set up by the United Front of Thammasat, the Thalu Fa group, and the Re-Dem group.…
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GPO plans quality testing on arriving Chinese Lepu antigen kits
After a rollercoaster ride of okays, protests, pauses, confirmation, cancellation, and reinstatement, 8.5 million controversial Chinese-made Covid-19 antigen test kits are set to arrive in Thailand early next week. The Government Pharmaceutical Organisation now plans on conducting quality testing on the kits made by Lepu Medical Technology with the help of Ramathibodi Hospital to reassure people of their accuracy. The…
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Former Deputy Attorney General faces mild disciplinary violation for role in Red Bull heir case
A former deputy attorney general is facing disciplinary action for his decision not to indict the Red Bull hier, Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya, over the fatal hit-and-run incident in 2012 where the Boss sped his Ferrari through Bangkok’s Thong Lor district and struck a police officer, killing him. Boss managed to evade justice and fled the country. The deputy attorney general’s…
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Department stores follow strict Covid-19 safety to remain open
In Bangkok and other dark red provinces across Thailand, department stores have finally been allowed to reopen and it seems that many are bending over backwards to follow Covid-19 safety measures in an attempt to assure they remain open. Department stores have been closed or severely restricted for months due to the Emergency decree and protective measures the government has…
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Sunday afternoon Update: Provincial Covid-19 totals
224 Coronavirus-related deaths and 15,452 new Covid-19 infections were reported today by Thailand’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. The infection trend has declined over the past week, but the daily fatality count remains high. 4,682 patients remain in a serious condition and 1,008 are on artificial respiration as of last night. Nearly 187,000 people received their first vaccine yesterday and…
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Phuket Covid-19: 3 Sandbox infections, no deaths, 3,000+ recovered
Today marked 3 new Covid-19 infections identified in international travellers who arrived via the Phuket Sandbox programme but saw no new Covid-19 deaths on the island and 240 new infections, down 2 from yesterday’s daily total. Another milestone was hit, this time more positive than yesterday’s surpassing of 5,000 infections in Phuket, as today saw the number of people recovered…
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Samui Plus programme rakes in nearly 40 million baht
The Samui Plus Programme has raked in nearly 40 million baht in revenue following its launch in July, according to the governor of Surat Thani, Witchawut Jinto. Witchawut says the plan, which includes Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao, has brought in 918 visitors, 347 of which came through Phuket Sandbox. Despite the governor’s enthusiastic review, the programme has…
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Over 7,000 travellers fly following easing of restrictions
The Transport Ministry says thousands of travellers took to the nation’s airports to fly since the government eased lockdown measures. The ministry says that more than 7,000 flyers travelled using 14 reopened airports across 130 flights throughout the nation following the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s easing of the national lockdown that took place last week. The ministry went on…
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Sunday Covid update: 224 deaths, 15,452 new infections
224 coronavirus-related deaths and 15,452 new Covid-19 infections were reported today by Thailand’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. The infection trend has declined over the past week, but the daily fatality count remains high. 4,682 patients remain in a serious condition and 1,008 are on artificial respiration as of last night. In the past 24 hours, the CCSA recorded 18,257…
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Chinese Embassy condemns bad-mouthing of Sinovac vaccine
The Chinese Embassy in Bangkok has lashed out at those bad-mouthing the Sinovac vaccine and Chinese goodwill towards Thailand. In a post on Facebook yesterday, a spokesman for the embassy said that organisations and individuals in Thailand trying to discredit the vaccine are doing so without a scientific basis. The post implied that these detractors should feel some gratitude that…
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Another missing expat man found safe after being lost in forest
For the second time in as many days, an older expat man has been found after being lost in a forest for a few days. Yesterday a British man in Khon Kaen was found after being lost 3 days in a forest when he wandered off his motorbike for a stroll and couldn’t find his way back. Now today in…
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Facebook video recommendations disabled after labelling black men Primates
Facebook has disabled their topic recommendation features on videos today after the AI software appears to have mistaken black men in a video for monkeys. The video in question was from the British tabloid The Daily Mail and was title “White man calls cops on black men at marina.” But under the video where auto-generated suggestions are made to encourage…
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Navy rescued Cambodian man floating at sea for 2 days
While garbage in the sea is generally not a good thing, floating debris appears to have saved the life of a Cambodian man in the Gulf of Thailand off the coast of Rayong. The man was rescued today by the Royal Thai Navy after 2 days adrift at sea, clinging to debris, after falling off his fishing boat yesterday morning.…
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Why is Gambia’s President Adama Barrow scared of his military?
Gambian President Adama Barrow wants Senegal to send over 600 troops to his country ahead December elections. This is in addition to the Senegalese forces already there as part of the ECOWAS peace mission deployed in 2017. DW’s Jane Nyingi spoke to Omar Walle in Banjul and first wanted to know if the Gambian army is capable of handling its…
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Covid-19 deaths still high, infections falling, provincial totals
The daily numbers of Covid-19 infections in Thailand have remained steady around the 15,000 mark, a drop from the peak and recent daily totals well above 20,000 infections. Today’s 257 deaths still remains a high figure but is expected to ease over time. Out of 1.26 million people infected in Thailand since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, over 1…
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PM Prayut, 5 ministers win votes to beat no-confidence charge
After 4 days of intense debates in the censure proceedings that called for a vote of no-confidence for PM Prayut Chan-o-cha and 5 top ministers in his cabinet, the group all avoided the no-confidence votes. There was a lot of talk about secret political deals aligning the Palang Pracharath Party and the Pheu Thai party, along with a coalition of…
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