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Over 100 customers, bar manager charged in Bangkok pub raid
A police raid on a Bangkok bar on Saturday night has resulted in 116 customers and a manager being charged with violating Covid-19 restrictions. According to a Bangkok Post report, the raid occurred at around 10.45pm, at the XOXO bar and restaurant in Korea Town, in the district of Klong Toey. 27 foreigners were among those charged. Bars are currently…
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Man found dead, tangled in cables in Bang Lamung
An internet repairman in Bang Lamung had a morbid surprise when he was repairing internet cables in the evening and spotted a man standing by a tree. He called out to him in the dark, but the man did not reply. When he approached the still man, he discovered to his horror that the figure he saw was that of…
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Japan makes donation of another 385,000 AstraZeneca vaccines
In what seems like a frequent periodical occurrence, Japan has made yet another donation of AstraZeneca vaccines to Thailand this week. The Japanese government declared that they had sent another 385,210 vaccines that arrived late Friday night. A government spokesperson confirmed the donation and say that PM Prayut Chan-o-cha expressed his thankfulness to Japan for this donation and their continued…
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Rio de Janeiro’s famous Christ the Redeemer statue marks 90
Brazil’s iconic Cristo Redentor statue was inaugurated in 1931 at the top of Corcovado hill above Rio de Janeiro. It’s certainly the most famous statue of Christ in the world — but not the largest. SOURCE: DW News
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Golden Dawn is down, but far right rises again in Greece
The images from a vocational school in Stavroupoli, a suburb of Thessaloniki in northern Greece, were shocking. On September 27, hooded youths dressed in black used crowbars, knives and stones against peers who had distributed leaflets criticizing the right-wing government’s education policies. The attackers later gave the Nazi salute in the schoolyard. The attack was the first in a series…
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Burmese junta leader not invited to ASEAN summit
After many members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations expressed frustration at the Burmese junta seeming to brush off the actions agreed upon at a summit in April, the group is showing its ire by not inviting Burmese junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing to this month’s ASEAN summit. After an emergency meeting Friday, the decision was announced by…
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Covid-19 Sunday: 10,863 infections, 68 deaths, provincial data
Today, the CCSA reported 10,863 new Covid-19 infections, up 215 since yesterday, and 68 Coronavirus-related deaths, down 14 from yesterday. Since April 1, in the latest wave of the virus in Thailand, a total of 1,754,838 confirmed Covid-19 infections have been reported. In the 24 hour period since the last count, the CCSA has reported 10,383 recoveries, a change of…
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Moderna vaccine approved as a booster shot by US FDA
Moderna just got a boost as a booster as experts advising the US Food and Drug Administration recommended the vaccine for use as a booster shot even for those over the age of 65 and at higher medical risk to Covid-19. The unanimous vote will likely lead to the FDA approving the recommendation and passing it to the Centres for…
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Police say they know who cut the rope of dangling condo workers
If yesterday’s story about a worker who was rescued from the 26th floor of a condo in Nonthaburi after his safety rope was allegedly cut left you hanging, new information has been revealed. Police investigating the incident say they know who cut the rope that left the painters dangling high above the street on the side of the condo, unable…
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MEA says electrical wires seen in Crowe tweet are not theirs
While Russell Crowe’s tweets while filming his new movie in Thailand caused a stir on Thai social media, winning praise from PM Prayut Chan-o-cha and Phuket Sandbox authorities, one group was not nearly as enthused about his posts. The Metropolitan Electric Authority in Bangkok released a statement defending itself after Crowe posted a photo captioned “Bangkok Dreaming” that depicted Thailand’s…
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10 provinces on Ministry of Public Health Covid-19 watchlist
After surges in local Covid-19 infections, the Ministry of Public Health has added 10 provinces to its watchlist to be closely monitored. The 4 Deep South provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, Songkhla, and Yala were added to the list, as well as Chanthaburi, Nakhon Ratchasima, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Ratchaburi, Rayong, and Tak. While some provinces have already implemented their own tighter…
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Historians wanted Macron to call Paris massacre state crime
On October 17, 1961, supporters of the Algerian independence movement protested a curfew imposed by the Prefecture of Police on Paris and its suburbs that singled out “Algerian Muslim workers,” “French Muslims” and “French Muslims of Algeria.” When police reacted with brutality, the protest ended in carnage. “The police created a bloodbath, using everything they could get their hands on,…
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Krabi tourism businesses not thrilled about Thailand’s reopening
A prominent local tourism operator in Krabi is speaking out, saying the tourism businesses in Krabi don’t like or want the reopening Thailand has planned for November 1. He asserts that interest from tourists, businesses that can afford to reopen, and vaccinations among locals are all lacking. The operator said that despite the government’s rosy predictions, he fears that not…
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Thammasat University negotiates multiple deals for vaccines
A new deal has been struck between 2 private hospitals and Thammasat University to purchase and import 5 million Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines. This is an addition to a recently negotiated deal to procure 2 million modern vaccines, making a total of 7 million doses that the school will help bring into Thailand after recently being approved by the…
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Bangkok prepares swab hubs, rules easing for city reopening
As restrictions ease and Thailand attempts a November 1 reopening, Bangkok is hard at work preparing to welcome back international tourism to the city. Bangkok Governor Aswin Kwanmuang says he intends to follow along with official announcements as they are ratified in the Royal Gazette. The capital city is creating so-called swab hubs to be prepared to efficiently test mass…
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Fact check: How one man was wrongly accused in Kongsberg attack
Whenever an act of terrorism or mass murder takes place, there is a race on social media to be the first to publish information about both attack and attacker. However, these initial reports are often mere speculation. They may also be completely false. This is what happened following the recent attack in the Norwegian town of Kongsberg. When a man…
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Covid-19 Saturday Update: 10,648 cases, 82 deaths, provincial data
Today, the CCSA reported 10,648 new Covid-19 infections, a change of +162 since yesterday, and 82 Coronavirus-related deaths, a change of -12 from yesterday. Since April 1, in the latest wave of the virus in Thailand, a total of 1,743,975 confirmed Covid-19 infections have been reported. In the 24 hour period since the last count, the CCSA has reported 10,794…
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Why Saudi-Iran relations are thawing — for now
So far this year, regional arch-rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran have met more times than in the previous five years altogether. The four meetings in Baghdad, and one on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, indicate continuity in the warming of bilateral relations that had been frozen since 2016. Back then, protesters had attacked Saudi diplomatic…
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Nearly 70,000 foreigners register for vaccines on expatvac site
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, almost 70,000 expat and foreign residents have signed up for Covid-19 vaccines using the expatvac website. The website was created by the Foreign Affairs Ministry, along with the Ministry of Public Health, and open to the public on August 1. The website was set up to help all the expats and foreigners that…
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Worker rescued from outside 26th floor after alleged rope cut
At a 32 story condominium in Nonthaburi, a painter was rescued while dangling outside the 26th floor, alleging that someone cut his safety rope. The incident took place in Pak Kret district of the Bangkok suburb to the west of the capital earlier this week. According to reports in Thai media, two painters were doing work in the middle of…
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38 countries reportedly on short list for no-quarantine reopening
People were elated to hear that Thailand was launching a select reopening on November 1, but confusion exists over the Thai government’s statement that they would open 17 provinces to 10 low-risk countries, with the list of provinces and countries as yet unspecified just 2 weeks before the launch date. Then again, that’s been the way throughout the pandemic as…
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Tourism operators: Russians and others need clear entry rules
Fed up tourism operators in Thailand are calling on the government to stop flip-flopping and announce clear entry rules for international travellers right away before the high season is here, especially for the lucrative Russian market. Things like the Thailand Pass, set to replace the hated certificate of entry, are often announced but not fleshed out or confirmed, leading to…
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Australian suspected gas leak is actually familiar smell for Thais
In Australia’s capital city, an emergency was quickly diffused to a misunderstanding due to an unrecognised smell that’s all too familiar to the people of Thailand. Canberra firefighters raced to a store that was evacuated after people smelled a strong odour and warned of a gas leak. The incident took place in the Dickson shopping precinct and the public were…
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Soi Dog Foundation provides food relief for animals in flood-hit central Thailand
Thailand’s Soi Dog Foundation has this week provided over 40 tons of dog and cat food for 3,000+ animals affected by severe flooding in the central Thai provinces of Ayutthaya and Sing Buri. The food was distributed to stray and domestic animals in five districts… Bang Ban, Sena, Bang Pahan and Tha Ruea in Ayutthaya, and in Buri in Sing…
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AfricaLink on Air – 15 October 2021
Nigeria’s military says Abu Musab al-Barnawi leader of ISWAP dead+++Zimbabwe: Mandatory COVID-19 jabs for civil servants SOURCE: DW News
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COVID: Pandemic anxiety on the rise in India
The coronavirus health crisis and the restrictions imposed on public life to combat the spread of the virus have had a terrible effect on people’s mental health and well-being in India. A range of factors, including restrictions on social contact, lockdowns, economic insecurity and school and business closures, have contributed to a steep rise in cases of depression and anxiety.…
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Thai Twitter goes crazy as Russell Crowe tweets Sandbox visit
That Thai woman who escaped Phuket and snuck to her hometown in Chon Buri is no longer the most famous person in the Phuket Sandbox. Movie star Russell Crowe blew up Thai media when he posted his positive experience coming to Thailand through the Phuket Sandbox to film his newest movie. The star of such Hollywood hits as Gladiator and…
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Pakistan: New religious body draws ire from rights activists
The Pakistani government has signed an ordinance for the establishment of the religious body — Rehmatul-lil-Alameen Authority (RAA), triggering fears it would further empower the country’s influential clerics and undermine the rights of women and religious minorities. President Arif Alvi on Thursday issued the ordinance related to the establishment of the RAA. The body will be comprised of a chairman…
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Transgender woman arrested for selling live sex show on LINE
A transgender woman was arrested in Tak province, accused of selling access to live stream sex shows via a group chat on the LINE app. The 30 year old woman known as Nong Phrai was tracked down and arrested by the Crime Suppression Division in her home town after the Wang Thong Lang Police in Bangkok also issued a warrant…
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Thai woman charged with trafficking women to Bahrain for sex
A Thai woman was arrested today and charged with human trafficking for her part in tricking unwitting women into going to Bahrain under false pretences before being forced into prostitution. The woman is accused of helping to funnel dozens of young women to Bahrain and another unnamed country over the last year or two. Police officers working with the Crime…
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