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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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Friday Covid Update: 14,575 new cases; provincial totals
A record high of 14,575 new Covid-19 cases was reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, raising the total case count since the start of the pandemic last year to 467,707. The latest and most severe wave of the virus in Thailand, first recorded on April 1, has accounted for 438,844 of those infections. Thailand now has 143,744…
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Former Phuket tour guide suspected of drowning in Phuket
A former Phuket tour guide, who was previously denied entry onto the island, is believed to have drowned after he slipped and fell into the water next to the Sarasin Bridge, yesterday. Police were called to the scene at half-past 2. Then, police and rescue workers attempted to save the former tour guide, 42 year old Sutep Sae Man. By…
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Pro-choice women struggle against spiritual detractors
Starting in February, women who sought an abortion could legally get one, in the first trimester. However, pro-choice activist Supecha Baotip says women still encounter discrimination in the form of spiritual objections. Supecha says that many nurses and doctors do not want to assist women who want help, despite the procedure’s legality. She says it’s “more than just a feeling.…
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Man pilfers tip box from Bangkok cafe run by people with disabilities
Yesterday, a man stole a tip box out of a cafe that is run by people with disabilities in Bangkok Thai media says a well dressed man walked into “Yimsoo” and ordered a coffee. When the employee looked away, the man was filmed putting the tip box inside a plastic bag. He then swapped the tip box with an empty…
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Anonymous Thai artist creating works of satire from current events
An anonymous Thai artist is using the current crisis as inspiration for work that highlights what he sees as the government’s mismanagement of the pandemic. According to a Coconuts report, the artist, known only as Uninspired by Current Events, has produced images of lab rats being given random vaccines and armed police wearing panda masks and opening fire. A more…
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Samut Sakhon governor orders officials to break isolation regulations if it saves lives
As the number of Covid-19 patients at isolation centres grows, the governor of the central province of Samut Sakhon says officials can bend the rules if it saves lives. The current Public Health Ministry rules on isolating patients from their families are aimed at preventing the spread of infection, but governor Veerasak Vichitsangsri says a backlog of infected people at…
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Friday Covid Update: 14,575 new cases and 114 deaths
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration recorded another 14,575 new Covid-19 cases and 114 coronavirus-related deaths. In the latest and most severe wave of the virus in Thailand, first recorded on April 1, the CCSA has reported 438,844 confirmed infections. Over the past week, daily infections have exceeded 10,000. The uptick was expected by the CCSA due to the emergence…
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Tampons reclassified as cosmetics bringing regulation, tax
In a story that 50% of people may find insignificant while the other 50% find it infuriating, Thailand has officially reclassified tampons as cosmetics. The plan had been in the works since last month, with Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul signing the original plan June 29, but today’s publishing in the Royal Gazette makes the plan official. The move…
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Pegasus spyware: Mexico one of the biggest targets
It was Saturday afternoon when Marcela Turati discovered that she was one of the 25 journalists in Mexico who had been allegedly targeted by Pegasus spyware technology, just hours before an international network of researchers released information about the surveillance project that sent shockwaves around the world. At first, Turati was stunned and couldn’t believe it — but it soon…
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Yet another update to rules for entering Phuket, new exceptions
Perhaps feeling restless as it had been a day or two since any changes or additions to the constantly evolving rules to enter the Phuket Sandbox had been made, Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew issued a new provincial order granting special entry exceptions for certain people. The order would allow qualifying people passing through Phuket briefly to only present one of…
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Tokyo Olympic Games: 41 Thai athletes compete for gold
The pandemic-delayed 2020 Olympics are finally set to get underway in Tokyo on July 23, under heavy Covid-19 restrictions as Japan still battles the virus. But as the Olympic Games are gearing up to begin, Thailand has sent 41 hopeful athletes to compete for the gold medal in Tokyo. Thailand will be competing in 15 events in the Tokyo Olympics:…
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COVID, scandals and controversies taint Tokyo Olympics
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games stumbled into a new scandal on Thursday, just hours before the official opening event at the new National Stadium, with a senior organizer of the event dismissed for jokes he made in the past about the Holocaust. Kentaro Kobayashi, a comedian and one of the creative directors of Friday evening’s opening ceremony, was fired after…
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Nonthaburi security guard commits suicide waiting for bed
A septuagenarian security guard hanged himself in his room in Nonthaburi, a province to the north of Bangkok. The Covid infected man was waiting for a hospital bed when he killed himself. The man’s body was found this morning. A public health volunteer, 51 year old Parisa Phuwanartsupakit, found 73 year old Chao Singtordead on his 4th floor balcony in…
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Thailand: Critics fear crackdown under COVID emergency powers
Repeated extensions of Thailand’s emergency legislation have granted Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha sweeping powers to curb the spread of COVID-19, but critics have warned that these present a risk to civil liberties. “The emergency decree… has granted the prime minister broad powers… and has threatened the right to freedom of expression and access to information which is an integral component…
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Poland and Hungary lash back against EU rule of law report
Bad faith, blackmail, political attack, double standards: Such were the terms used in reactions from government politicians in Poland and Hungary after the European Union presented its second report on the state of the rule of law in EU member states in Brussels on Tuesday, July 20. The report describes the situation in Poland and Hungary in particular as highly…
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Vaccine Jai program aims to fight Covid-19 related suicide
A new campaign has been launched that puts a spotlight on the problem of people driven to suicide as a result of the devastating effects of Covid-19 on life in Thailand now. Vaccine Jai translates literally to a “vaccine for your heart” and is the name of a program created by the Thai Health Promotion Foundation to address Covid-19 related…
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Nestle’s “Negrita” cookie to get new, non race based name
The multinational food and drink giant Nestle announced yesterday it plans to change the name of a high-selling cookie in Chile, the country on South America’s western edge. The cookie formerly known as “Negrita” will henceforth be called “Chokita”. Negrita translates to “little black person” in Spanish. The packaging also used to include the image of a black woman. It…
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The EU declares war on money laundering
“The rules we have in place to prevent money laundering are among the toughest in the world,” said the vice president of the European Commission, Valdis Dombrovskis, “but they must also now be systematically applied.” There hasn’t been enough of this in recent years. In practice, many EU member states don’t actually implement the rules or are simply too lax…
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Monkey sneaks into Lop Buri home and steals food from the refrigerator – VIDEO
A monkey was caught sneaking into a home in Thailand’s Lop Buri province and stealing food from the refrigerator. Earlier this week, 59 year old Phimonthip Rungphant walked into her kitchen and found the monkey walking around the room eating her food. She says she had been wondering why her food seemed to be disappearing. Lop Buri is known for…
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Woman with high blood pressure died after mixing vaccines
A woman with high blood pressure was found dead by her family in her home after the controversial practice of mixing vaccines, receiving one Sinovac vaccine and one AstraZeneca vaccine Monday. The woman from Prachuap Khiri Khan was a 39 year old private tutor before her untimely death. An autopsy has been ordered to determine the exact cause of death.…
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Thursday Covid Update: 13,655 new cases and 87 deaths; provincial totals
Another record high of 13,655 new Covid-19 cases and 87 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. In the latest and most severe wave of Covid-19, first recorded on April 1, the CCSA has reported a total of 424,269 infections. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has reported 453,132 Covid-19 infections…
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Suphan Buri car accident kills 2, injures 4; all had Covid, 3 knew
Yesterday, 2 people died and 4 more were injured in a car accident in the central Thai province of Suphan Buri. Thai media says the people were on their way home to receive Covid treatment. A pickup truck carried the 6 relatives on their journey from Bangkok. However, for reasons unknown, it veered off the road and hit a tree…
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315 inmates at Khon Kaen prison test positive for Covid-19
In a recent Covid-19 outbreak among prison inmates, 315 people detained at Khon Kaen Provincial Prison in the Isaan region tested positive for the virus. The latest and most severe wave spread to many of Thailand’s overcrowded prisons, infecting more than 40,000 inmates over the past several months. Local disease control officials tested inmates at the Khon Kaen prison after…
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2 people infected with Covid-19 rally in Bangkok to demand medical care
A small group of people, including 2 who claimed they were infected with Covid-19, held a rally outside the Government House in Bangkok yesterday evening, calling for the Thai government to provide proper medical treatment for coronavirus patients. 25 police officers dressed in personal protective equipment, or PPE suits, were called to monitor the rally. Just 7 people attended the…
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Study finds 2 doses of Pfizer, AstraZeneca effective against Delta strain
A study published yesterday shows that 2 doses of the Pfizer vaccine or 2 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine are almost as effective against the rapid-spreading Delta variant as they are against the Alpha variant. In Thailand, the AstraZeneca vaccine is being produced locally and is the primary vaccine being used in the nationwide Covid-19 immunisation campaign. Thailand recently approved…
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3 bodies found in Bangkok streets, 2 positive for Covid-19, result pending for third
Netizens have slammed Bangkok police, claiming that the bodies of 3 men who died separately on the streets of the capital were left uncollected for hours. The Metropolitan Police Bureau has called for understanding, insisting that the claims on social media are untrue. According to a Bangkok Post report, spokesman Piya Tawichai says 2 of the 3 bodies have tested…
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UPDATE: Details from woman who escaped Phuket Sandbox
In an update to a story that broke yesterday, more details have emerged about the still-unnamed person who escaped from the Phuket Sandbox on Tuesday. Reports now state that it was an 18 year old woman who disappeared from the mandatory 14-day stay upon arrival in Phuket and was picked up Tuesday night in Chonburi after authorities were about to…
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Firefighter in this month’s factory fire dies suddenly of Covid-19
One of the brave firefighters who battled the recent factory fire in Samut Prakan July 5 was diagnosed today with Covid-19, just hours before he died from the virus. Naruphon Wongyaem was among the teams that responded to the explosion at the Ming Dih Chemical Co factory just south of Bangkok in Samut Prakan’s Bang Phli district. After putting out…
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New Phuket checkpoint rules see 392 people denied yesterday
New restrictions for entering Phuket announced Sunday went into effect yesterday, causing a rash of nearly 400 people to be turned away at the entrance checkpoint. While previous rules allowed unvaccinated people meeting certain criteria to enter, now everyone who enters Phuket needs to be fully vaccinated in addition to testing negative for Covid-19. This new strict requirement applies to…
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AfricaLink On Air – 21 July 2021
News+++Tanzania arrests opposition leader+++Fighting domestic violence in Niger+++Kidnapped Nigerians freed+++Slow Niger Delta clean up angers locals+++Sexual harassment on Rwanda’s mines+++Veritcal farming grows in Kenya SOURCE: DW News
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