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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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Belarus men holed up in Swedish embassy one year on
“If we had known it would take this long, we would have considered a different option, though you don’t know if that would have been an improvement,” says Vladislav Kusnetshik. For the past year, he and his father Vitalij have been hiding out in Sweden’s Minsk embassy to avoid persecution by Belarus authorities. The two men arrived at the embassy…
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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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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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Uncertainty still shrouds Haiti presidential killing
On July 7, 2021, Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry received a nighttime call from a secret service agent with the country’s interior ministry — mere hours before the assassination of President Jovenel Moise. Henry, a politician and trained neurosurgeon, had been appointed to the post by Moise only a few days prior. The details of said phone call are unknown…
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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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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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Greece tightens its border with Turkey amid ‘tough but fair migration policy’
The river Evros forms the land border between Greece and Turkey. The waters of this river and its tributaries have made the Evros region one of the most fertile in Greece. Here, on both sides of one of Europe’s most controversial external borders, rolling green hills lined with small deciduous forests stretch as far as the eye can see. “Refugees…
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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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Final arguments Tuesday on dual pricing suit against Health Ministry
Courts are preparing to hear final arguments on Tuesday in a case that a Dutchman has been fighting for several years to end the dual pricing system many foreigners experience at hospitals in Thailand. The anti-discrimination suit was filed two years ago by Erwin Buse, after being routinely charged extra fees for his cancer treatment at Hua Hin Hospital. The…
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Texas lawyer dressed as Halloween’s Michael Myers to spread hurricane cheer
As southeast Asia was recently battered by a super typhoon and a massive tropical storm, this story may serve as a reminder of exactly what not to do in order to weather a storm. A lawyer in Galveston, Texas thought he’d bring some cheer to the doom and gloom of Hurricane Nicholas barreling down on the coastal town by dressing…
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Lebanon: Influencers join together to fight hate speech
Lebanon has no shortage of thorny issues sparking controversies that are often carried out on social media. The country has a tech-savvy population: Internet penetration is close to 80% — which translates to 5.3 million people — 4.37 million of whom are active on social media, according to datareportal.com. Seeing as the small country has a population of just 6.8…
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No “October reopening” plan has been approved – CCSA
While there have been numerous reports on the proposed October 1 reopening date for 5 provinces, many quoting the tourism minister, a spokesperson for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration says nothing has been approved. No date on the potential reopening was announced. Natapanu Nopakun, who gives the CCSA report in English, says the current measures for a 14-day quarantine…
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Friday Covid Update: 14,555 new cases; provincial totals
171 new coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Since the start of the pandemic last year, 15,124 people infected with Covid-19 have died. 15,030 of those deaths were during the country’s latest and most severe wave of virus, which was first recorded on April 1. In the 24-hour period since the last count, 14,555 new cases…
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Torture and forced disappearances bills pass House vote 368-0
4 bills on torture and forced disappearances have now successfully passed the House of Representatives in a triumph for human rights in Thailand. One member of parliament abstained from voting while the rest voted unanimously in favour of the 4 bills in a vote of 368 to 0. The bills include 34 sections covering a wide range of facets of…
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Bangkok Governor: NO reopening October 15 despite PM plans
As any well-informed reader of the news in Thailand knows, Bangkok will definitely be reopening on October 1. Also, it won’t be. It will be pushed back 2 weeks to October 15, the definitive date of Bangkok’s reopening for sure. Or… not. The Governor of Bangkok avowed today that despite the national government’s ever-changing and lofty plans, Bangkok will NOT…
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Thai-Russian 4 year old girl drowns in Pattaya home pool
In Bang Lamung, a family is mourning the loss of a young girl who drowned in a small private swimming pool in a family friend’s home. The incident took place Wednesday evening while the family from Buri Ram was visiting their friend in the Pattaya area. The girl was half Thai and half Russian and 4 years old. The owner…
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Thailand Daily Covid Update | Thursday, September 17 |
Caitlin gives you the daily covid 19 figures while going through the upward and downward trends in Thailand as well as looking at the provincial totals across Thailand.
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Foreign Minister Don to US for meetings with UN, ASEAN, more
An anonymous source has reported that Thailand’s Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai will be in the United States next week for several high profile meetings. The trip will see Minister Don attending the United Nations General Assembly as well as meetings in Washington DC and New York related to ASEAN matters. Numerous bilateral meetings with US counterparts and Thailand’s friends are…
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Thai government officials offered special promotional fares on Air Asia
Thai Air Asia has launched a promotional deal targeting government officials, members of the Federation of Thai Industries and the Thai Chamber of Commerce, as well as employees of state enterprises. The perks will also apply to their travel companions. The thinking behind the deal is that government officials were some of the first to be vaccinated and are not…
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Phuket: 5 Covid-19 deaths, 2 Sandboxers, drop in hospital beds
Phuket experienced a record high of 5 new Covid-19 deaths yesterday as well as 2 new Sandbox infections, while the statistics show a big drop from yesterday’s figures in both occupied hospital beds and total available hospital beds, suggesting a restructuring of how the beds are counted or where patients are located. 15 deaths have occurred in Phuket in the…
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Thai FDA approves Moderna vaccine for ages 12 to 17
The Moderna vaccine has just won approval from the Thailand Food and Drug Administration to be given to teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17 years old. ZP Therapeutics, a division of Zuellig Pharma, distributor of the Moderna vaccine, made the announcement yesterday. In a statement, the company expressed gratitude to the Food and Drug Administration for approving the…
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Desperate hotel operators look to Bangkok re-opening for signs of hope
Even with plans still up in the air and nothing confirmed, Thai hotel operators are pinning their hopes on Bangkok’s proposed re-opening next month. The president of the Thai Hotels Association says that while hotels don’t expect a huge uptake in bookings immediately, they are hopeful that average occupancy might reach 15 – 20% in the last 3 months of…
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Friday Covid Update: 171 deaths and 14,555 new cases
171 coronavirus-related deaths and 14,555 new Covid-19 cases were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA has recorded 13,691 recoveries. Thailand now has 129,421 active Covid-19 cases. Out of the new cases, 1,156 were detected through proactive case finding and 790 were found in correctional facilities. Covid-19 infections at…
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Will it, won’t it? October re-opening in doubt as Anutin defers to medical experts
Thailand’s public health minister has responded to comments from top medics who have questioned the wisdom of re-opening the country next month. Anutin Charnvirakul says any re-opening will need the go-ahead from the Department of Disease Control, adding that nothing has been confirmed yet. “No one said the country will re-open on October 1.” The Bangkok Post reports how, back…
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Kenya’s shelter for suspected witches
These elderly people had to run away from home. Some have been brutally beaten. They are accused of practicing witchcraft. Many were persecuted by their own children. Kadzo Ngala has lived in this camp for two years. It’s a haven for those accused of sorcery in Kilifi County. Some in the region believe gray hair is a sign of witchcraft.…
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Ghana’s children scavenging on rubbish dumps
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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