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5 best wine bars in Bangkok offering rich and quality wine
It’s wine o’clock! Whether you’re all about fruity reds, sweet whites, or funky naturals, Bangkok has many great spots to sip your favourite varieties. But with an array of options to choose from, and the constant rise and fall of...
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The dying art of papier-mache in Kashmir
His family has been in the business of papier-mache art for well over a century, but for Akhtar Hussain Mir, his trade is gradually disappearing before his eyes. Mir learnt the art at the age of 10 but now, five decades later, he feels disheartened as the craft is slowly vanishing from the Himalayan Valley of India-administered Kashmir and little…
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Meet India’s last maker of hand-made national flags
Mohammad Arif, a 70-year-old flag maker, told DW about how plastic flags are harmful for the environment and it’s better to use cotton flags in their stead. SOURCE: DW News
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Thai-made subunit Covid-19 vaccine gets ok for human trials
Approval was received to begin testing on human subjects in September for a Covid-19 subunit vaccine created in Thailand by the Vaccine Research Centre of Chulalongkorn University and Baiya Phytopharm Company. The vaccine is the second to be racing to clear testing phases and be used to fight Covid-19 in Thailand. The other, an mRNA vaccine, is being developed by…
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Man allegedly steal employer’s Mercedes in retaliation for mistreatment; family returns car later, Ayutthaya arrest still follows
Yesterday morning in central Thailand, Ayutthaya Railway Police arrested a young man for allegedly stealing his employer’s Mercedes-Benz and driving off to Hat Yai to have it pawned for 40,000 Baht. However, the man’s family had second thoughts about the alleged theft and returned the car a few months later. Around 10:15 am yesterday, Channarong Zainid, the Commander in Chief…
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As migration is rising, so are border barriers
Although thousands of miles apart, Lithuania and the Dominican Republic have something very specific in common: Due to increasing migration from their respective neighboring countries, both recently decided to tightened their borders. Both countries are showcases of an ongoing trend: The world today is seeing ever more refugees and asylum-seekers than two decades ago. Political conflicts and the effects of…
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Bangkok Hospital in Pattaya announces vaccines for foreigners
Bangkok Hospital just announced a new scheme to offer Covid-19 vaccines to foreigners in Pattaya meeting certain qualifications. The hospital chain posted on their social media announcements a plan to offer free Covid-19 vaccines on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. After months of outcry, Thailand has finally begun to make vaccines more available to foreigners. The plan is a bit strange…
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Lebanon: Dollars shield some from hyperinflation crisis
Long queues outside gas stations, empty shelves in pharmacies and often more than 20 hours of power outages a day — the situation in Lebanon was grim even before the Central Bank decided to lift the subsidies for fuel imports this week. Signs of the crisis are easy to spot everywhere in Lebanon: The elderly woman who asks for money…
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Former Burmese junta leader Than Shwe infected with Covid-19
As the current Burmese military junta, mired with mass civil unrest stemming from their coup February 1, struggles with the increasingly rampant Covid-19 pandemic, Than Shwe, leader of the previous military junta has been hospitalised with Covid-19. The former strongman leader, now 88 years old, is said to be in stable condition after being diagnosed with the virus. Than Shwe…
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Red Shirt leader urges pro-democracy protesters not to resort to violence
Nattawut Saikuar, the Red Shirt leader, is cautioning young protesters that violent interactions with authority figures may play right into the authorities’ hands. Earlier today, Nattawut broadcasted live on Facebook to share his message of non-violence. He urged the protesters to think through their behaviour carefully. He also announced a car rally demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.…
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Thai Hotels Association urges attention for domestic tourism
Doubting PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s pledge to reopen Thailand fully to international tourists by mid-October, the Thai Hotels Association is calling on the government to focus on plans to boost domestic tourism. The association says that the Thai government is laser-focused on international tourism and on achieving the reopening goal, but a backup plan is needed to encourage domestic tourism if…
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Victims of Belarus police violence: ‘they said we should just die’
At a press conference earlier this week, broadcast by state television, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko rejected allegations that those who were arrested for protesting the outcome of the presidential election in August 2020 had been tortured. Only 47 people work in Minsk’s Okrestina prison, Lukashenko said during his exchange with journalists and handpicked citizens. “And they are supposed to have…
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How peanut shredders changed this Mozambican’s life
Almeida Jorge has been dealing with machines since he was a child. In 2017, he had an idea that changed his life. The 25-year-old Mozambican invented a machine. The equipment grinds groundnuts and coconuts.The machine is based on a similar one from China. The workshop is in his house on the outskirts of Maputo. His team sets up three to…
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Covid UPDATE: New high of 23,418 infections, provincial totals
Thailand logged 147 new Covid-related deaths and a record high of 23,418 new infections over the past 24 hours. Today’s numbers include 375 prison inmates. Some good news…. 23,649 patients were discharged from hospitals and field hospitals. Today’s 147 new fatalities ranged from 23 years to 108 years of age, made up of 142 Thais and five Burmese nationals. 69% of the…
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Orphaned girls recover from Covid, enter Samut Prakan orphanage
Last month, the tragic story of the 2 young girls who lost their mother to Covid, and how before dying the mother said it was her hope the girls would go to an orphanage, rattled Thailand. Then came the news that the girls had contracted Covid. Now, it is being reported that both girls have made a full recovery and…
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Philippines extends travel ban from Thailand, 9 other countries
The Philippines is planning to extend its ban on travellers from Thailand and 9 more countries. The extension will go the end of this month out of Delta/Covid concerns, the presidential spokesperson said today. Philippine officials are rushing to control a spike in Covid cases that have stayed constant at around 12,000 infections for the second day in a row…
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Infestation of Mealybugs leads to China banning Thai longan
China has banned the Thai longan, a fruit that comes in small yellow orbs and when peeled resembles an eyeball, minus the iris or pupil thus its Cantonese name which translates to “dragon eye”, although it could also be argued the fruit looks like a skinless testicle. The anatomically questionable fruit has been banned because of an infestation of mealybugs.…
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Lost man reunited with family after going viral falling in well
They say all’s well that ends well, but sometimes all’s well that begins [in a] well. The bizarre story of a man missing for 15 years being found after going viral because he fell in a well now has come to a happy resolution as he was reunited with his long-lost family. 15 years ago Lamead Mueanmai was 40 years…
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Is Morocco’s ‘Arab Spring’ moment finally here?
Earlier this week, hundreds of Moroccans protested the death of Yassine Lekhmidi, a 25-year-old man in the city of Sidi Bennour. In July, local police confiscated a food cart Lekhmidi was driving because he wasn’t wearing a face mask to protect against COVID-19. Despite paying a fine for the infraction, police refused to return his cart. Distraught over the loss…
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Covid-19 plan recruits 2,000 pharmacies in Bangkok to assist
A new plan has recruited 2,000 pharmacies to aid in Bangkok’s home isolation programme in order to assist in Covid-19 diagnosis and treatment. The Pharmacy Council of Thailand brought in pharmacies across the city to provide service for people isolating at home due to Covid-19 infections. The plan was put in place hinging on the purchase of 8.5 million antigen…
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Algeria and Tunisia wildfires reinforce the tone of IPCC findings on Africa
The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report outlines the severity of the global climate crisis. According to the UN body, the crisis poses not only a policy problem but a global political challenge. Some analysts have been quick to question the difference between the latest IPCC assessment and those over three decades, But experts in Africa see a…
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Afghanistan: Taliban offensive puts Iran in a bind
Iran has been beefing up its military presence along its border with Afghanistan since early May when US-led foreign troops began their total withdrawal from the war-torn nation and the Taliban started an aggressive offensive against Afghan government forces. Since last weekend, Iranian border guards have been on constant alert as Taliban fighters stand guard on the other side of…
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GPO pauses antigen test kits deal after skimping accusations
After a scathing letter from the Rural Doctors Society accusing the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation of basing their decision solely on price with no concern for quality or accuracy, the GPO walked back their plan to buy 8.5 million antigen test kits from Lepu Medical Technology of China. The purchase will be delayed in order to test the quality of the…
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Tanzania’s famous female firefighter
She needs special equipment to work. Pili Kaku loves what she does. She’s a member of the Tanzania Fire and Rescue Service. Kaku is trained to save lives. She pays attention to the grievances of people. This gives her more motivation. Fighting fires is a challenging job. Many women are not interested in it. Kaku is drawing the attention. She…
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Expert: Half of Thailand infected in 100 days without vaccines
Amid the growing outcry from the scientific community to reroute AstraZeneca vaccines set for export to urgently vaccinate people in Thailand, one expert warns of the harrowing possibility that half of Thailand’s 70 million people could get Covid-19 if we don’t vaccinate at least 40 million people within the next 100 days. Dr Manoon Leechawengwongs, a leading expert and specialist…
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Government delays purchase of antigen tests following quality concerns
The planned purchase by the Government Pharmaceutical Organization of 8.5 million antigen test kits, which cost 70 baht each, has been delayed as the quality of the tests has come into question. The permanent secretary for health and GPO chairperson, Dr Kiatiphum Wongrajit, said today that “an organisation” had mentioned concerns about the quality of the tests in the media.…
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Phuket man shot in leg and hit with baseball bat, police investigate
Phuket police are investigating an assault in Patong where a man was shot in the leg and smashed in the head with a baseball bat. The Patong Police learned of the assault through a 191 national police hotline just before 6 pm yesterday following a report from rescue workers where they took a wounded man to the Patong hospital The…
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Charter flights from Phuket approved by CAAT for Sandboxers
A new chance for travel out of the Phuket Sandbox was just approved as the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand announced they will allow airlines to schedule charter flights between Phuket to Bangkok. The permission granted comes after Thai Smile petitioned the government to allow a flight on August 14 to assist people who travelled into the Phuket Sandbox, but…
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Covid UPDATE: 147 deaths, 22,782 infections, provincial totals
Today the Thai public health department has announced 22,782 new infections, 375 of those from Thai prisons, along with 147 new Covid-related deaths in the past 24 hours. 23,649 patients have been released from hospitals or field hospitals as well. 209,028 patients remain under state care, but 68,335 infected people are in home or community isolation. 5,495 patients are listed…
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Possible charges for parents of vandals may be coming, police silent on use of rubber bullets/tear gas
Police are contemplating pursuing legal action against the parents of young protesters that allegedly vandalised public property while attending the recent pro-democracy protests in Bangkok. The police kept silent on their use of rubber bullets and tear gas. Piya Tavichai, the Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner, announced at a press briefing today that multiple suspected vandals are teenagers that have been…
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Bangkok mother and son arrested for fraud
Yesterday, a mother and son were arrested in Bangkok after the son allegedly pretended to sell discounted AirPods online while using his mother’s account for transferring funds. The unnamed 33 year old son had posted on Facebook that he had AirPods for sale at 5,500 baht a pop, a sale from their “normal” retail price of 8,900 baht. However, the…
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