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Bangkok Airways revises Koh Samui flights ahead of reopening
To prepare for the Samui+ reopening programme launching July 15, Bangkok Airways is revising its schedule to operate 3 inbound flights and 3 outbound flights daily between Koh Samui and Bangkok. The new schedule, released today and promoted by the Tourism Authority of Thailand in a press release this afternoon, will feature a morning, afternoon, and evening flight option beginning…
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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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Whispered but not proposed – could a lockdown be coming?
This week Thailand’s complicated relationship with Covid-19 finds the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration open to considering a lockdown. The CCSA indicated they would consider possible proposals from the Ministry of Public Health to stop the spread of Covid-19, up to and including a lockdown. National Security Council Secretary-General Natthapon Nakpanich clarified today that there are no official proposals currently,…
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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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Daily new Covid-19 cases could double in the next 2 weeks – CCSA
With the rapid-spreading Delta variant of the virus becoming more prevalent in Thailand, the CCSA says they expect the average number of daily new Covid-19 cases to double in the next few weeks. Health officials are now preparing for daily new cases to hit 10,000. With the emergence of the highly transmissible mutated strain in Thailand, not only has 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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Covid digest: Germany’s Spahn doubts outright restrictions lift
Even as Germany allows people from the UK, India, Nepal, Portugal and Russia to enter the country without restriction, Health Minister Jens Spahn said it is unlikely that coronavirus restrictions will be lifted soon. On public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk radio, Spahn noted that everything depends on the vaccination rate. Nearly 90% of the elderly will soon be vaccinated. However, he noted,…
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Phuket Sandbox over 2000 arrivals; 1 Covid-19 infection
On day 7 of the Phuket Sandbox, international arrivals have surpassed 2,000 people, the first Covid-19 infection from abroad has been found, and a few hiccups have been addressed. Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew says the reopening is definitely benefiting the economy, but plenty of improvements are to be made. Government officials have been pleased to announce that with their strict…
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Bangkok doctor in critical condition after being stabbed by patient, blood donations needed
A doctor at a Bangkok hospital is in critical condition after she was stabbed in the chest by a psychiatric patient. B positive blood donations are urgently needed to treat the Chulalongkorn Hospital doctor. Donations can be made directly at the hospital or through the Thai Red Cross Society. Police say a 24 year old psychiatric patient a the hospital…
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Phuket “Sandbox” traveller infected with Covid-19, tour group now in quarantine
A man who arrived in Thailand under the Phuket “Sandbox” reopening scheme has tested positive for Covid-19. The man is the first so-called “Sandboxer” to test positive for the virus since the island’s reopening last week under the scheme which allows travellers from overseas, who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, to enter the island province without undergoing quarantine. A Covid-19…
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Phuket Tourist Police announce taxi fares, ask travellers to report rip-offs
Following criticism and confusion over the notoriously high taxi prices in Phuket, particularly relating to those arriving in Thailand under the “Sandbox” reopening scheme, the Phuket Tourist Police have announced the maximum taxi fares from the Phuket International Airport to popular destinations on the island province. For a ride in a 4-seater taxi from the airport, the driver can charge…
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Calls for factories to be moved out of residential areas after blaze at plastics plant
The Federation of Thai Industries is calling on the government to move factories away from residential neighbourhoods, following the devastating blaze in Samut Prakan, outside Bangkok. According to a Bangkok Post report, FTI chairman Supant Mongkolsuthree suggests factory owners could be given incentives to relocate, such as a reduction in corporate income tax and land tax. “Factory relocation requires support…
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More than 80,000 people affected by chemical factory fire in Samut Prakan
The massive fire at the chemical factory on the outskirts of Bangkok, billowing toxic gas into the air, affected around 80,000 people. An explosion at the Ming Dih Chemical polystyrene factory in Samut Prakan, just outside the capital, led to a chemical fire that took more than 25 hours to put out. Those in Bangkok could see the smoke. A…
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Cabinet approves Pfizer purchase, plus another 10.9 million Sinovac doses
The Thai Cabinet has given the go-ahead for the purchase of 20 million doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine, along with another 10.9 million doses of Sinovac. According to a Bangkok Post report, the PM’s spokesman Anucha Burapachasri says the budget for the Sinovac purchase would come from the executive decree loan and would not exceed 6.1 billion baht. The…
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Growing calls for healthcare workers to get Pfizer booster
A leaked document, which details the minutes of a meeting in which officials discussed how they would allocate the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine, has caused uproar and led to calls for healthcare workers to be prioritised. The Bangkok Post reports that the meeting took place on June 30 and discussed the administration of 2 batches of the Pfizer vaccine. The first…
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Africalink 06.07.21 – 16 UTC – MP3-Stereo
Africa struggles under the new COVID-19 delta variant+++ Zambians prepare for the funeral of first president Kenneth Kaunda+++ +++Nigeria kidnappings+++ Ndikung: Someone to suit Berlin’s House of World Cultures SOURCE: DW News
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Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa on the defensive
Arriving in Strasbourg, Jansa was greeted with a protest sign demanding his government “protects the rule of law.” He has attacked independent journalists from his Twitter account and supported former President Donald Trump’s claims that last November’s elections in the United States were rigged. Inside the European Parliament chamber, MEPs listened to Jansa outline his priorities for Slovenia’s six-month EU…
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What is the future of democracy in the Philippines?
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has announced plans to run for vice president when his term ends in May 2022, raising concerns about how it could bypass presidential term limits and keep him in power, while granting immunity from criminal charges. “Consider me a candidate for the vice presidency at this time, maybe to maintain equilibrium for all,” Duterte told reporters…
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Cannes: Film spotlights one of Japan’s last WWII stragglers
An international production about a Japanese soldier who remained in the Philippine jungle for 29 years after the end of World War II, will make its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival this month. “Onoda — 10,000 Nights in the Jungle,” which is set to debut on Wednesday, is expected to receive glowing reviews from foreign audiences. The movie will…
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Dominating delta and an unexpected kiss
Struggling for oxygen in Indonesia, empty streets in Sydney, an unexpected kiss — have a look through the most dramatic photos of the day’s current events. SOURCE: DW News
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Embassy of Switzerland in Thailand helps Swiss expats get vaccinated
The Embassy of Switzerland in Bangkok announced that it has secured AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine appointments for 180 Swiss citizens living in Thailand who are at least 55 years old, or who have underlying health conditions. The embassy says Swiss expats living in other provinces in Thailand can also register for a vaccine, but they must travel to Bangkok and be…
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Nigerian kidnappings reach crisis point
Gunmen kidnapped 140 students from a boarding school in northwestern Nigeria on Monday. It was the latest in a wave of mass abductions targeting schoolchildren in Africa’s most populous nation. The assailants opened fire and overpowered security guards after storming the Bethel Baptist High School in Kaduna state before abducting most of the 165 pupils boarding there overnight. ‘Government failure’…
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“At risk” expats in Bangkok can pre-register for vaccines through designated hospitals
The Covid-19 vaccine registration method for expats in Bangkok has changed and foreign residents can now pre-register for vaccines at one of two designated hospitals in the capital. Pre-registration is open to foreigners who are over 60 years old or who have certain underlying health conditions. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration announced today that the government is shifting its…
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9 Hong Kongers arrested on terror charges, 6 out of 9 teenagers
Hong Kong police announced today that 6 of 9 Hong Kongers that were arrested on terror charges for allegedly trying to make a bomb were kids. Police say 5 males and 4 females between the ages of 15 and 39 were arrested on suspicion of “conspiracy to use explosives for terrorist activities”. 6 are teenage students and 3 are adults…
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