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Sponsored Why long-term expats in Thailand say insurance is worth every baht
Thailand’s warm weather, low cost of living, and good healthcare attract many long-term expats, including retirees and remote workers. Life here feels easy and affordable, but medical costs can be high if something goes wrong. Private hospitals are popular because...
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Teenager stabbed to death at Phuket home
An 18 year old was stabbed to death in a fight last night in the Rawai neighborhood of Phuket and officers are now looking for those involved. When emergency responders arrived to the home at around 7pm and found Nakarin Somboon unconscious on the floor and severely bleeding from 10 stab wounds, including a deep cut to his right chest.…
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Thursday Covid Update: 7,496 new cases; provincial totals
57 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 19,883 with 19,789 of those fatalities during the latest wave, which was first recorded on April 1. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 7,496 new Covid-19 cases and 7,452 recoveries. There are now 96,450 people in Thailand being…
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50 year old man arrested accused of sexual abuse of 9 year old girl
Accused of sexually abusing a 9 year old girl, police in Bang Lamung arrested a 50 year old man working at a wood factory. The Huayyai Police responded to a complaint in the Pattaya area from a man and his 9 year old niece alleging the sexual abuse on Tuesday. The man reported to police that, in speaking with the…
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Hackers seized Constitutional Court website after protester ruling
In response to the Constitutional Court making a controversial decision that pro-democracy demonstrations, and the speeches leaders gave at them, were considered an illegal attempt to overthrow the government and monarchy, computer hackers took over the Court’s website homepage and did some redecorating. The website was hacked and text was changed to display the phrase “kangaroo court” – a slang…
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Singapore-Malaysia vaccinated travel lane to open November 29
A Singapore-Malaysia vaccinated travel lane is set to open on November 29 after all issues are resolved. The move is the first step in reopening travel between the 2 countries. Malaysian High Commissioner to Singapore, Datuk Azfar Mohamad Mustafar, says issues including testing regimes, cross-border processes, and health are now being ironed out before its opening. But he says the…
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Motorbike law breakers: report them and win up to 20,000 baht
In an effort to increase traffic safety, or perhaps the fines that come with it, police are enlisting a new weapon in enforcement: you. A new program would offer the chance to win prizes of up to 20,00 baht from the Thai National Police for citizens who record and report motorbike drivers breaking traffic laws. The new programme, announced by…
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Things to know about the Thailand Pass. And some rumours.
Ah, the Thailand Pass. Like it or hate it, it is what it is, and you’ll need to wade through it if you want to come to Thailand in the foreseeable future, both foreigners and Thais. For a start, here’s the link to the application page for the Thailand Pass. There’s a list of the 63 countries that are currently…
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Flooding in Chon Buri from rising sea level
Many roads in Chon Buri have flooded this week because of the rising sea levels. On Monday, water from the ocean poured onto beach roads in the Bang Plasoi sub-district, flooding them with seawater as much as 30 centimetres deep. The flooding on the road caused significant traffic delays, and even caused some smaller vehicles to get stuck. Duangduan Pantumaopas,…
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Thailand to face Timor in first round of Suzuki Cup
Thailand’s mens national football team will face Timor Leste in the opening match of the AFF Suzuki Cup next month in Singapore. The Timor Leste team was originally set to face Brunei, but the Brunei team had to pull out as Covid-19 made them unable to prepare for the tournament. The AFF Suzuki Cup is a contest amongst the ASEAN…
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Pattaya Loy Krathong festival is a go, despite cancellation rumours
Contrary to rumours of cancellation, Pattaya Public Relations officials have confirmed again that the city will hold a Loy Krathong festival on November 19. Rumours have been seen spreading on social media and even some Thai language news outlets ran stories earlier this week suggesting the event would not take place. But Pattaya PR firmly denied the rumours and say…
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Road safety campaign aimed at Thailand’s motorbike riders
Thailand’s road safety record is once again up for discussion, with the launch of yet another safety campaign. In this instance, officials are focusing on motorbikes, which account for the vast majority of road traffic accidents in the kingdom. According to a Bangkok Post report, around 80% of bike accidents result in deaths. From Monday, a new campaign in the…
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Government defends lèse majesté law against UN criticism
Following criticism from a number of United Nations member states, the Thai government has defended the country’s controversial lèse majesté law. The law, or section 112 of the Criminal Code, prohibits insulting, defaming, or criticising the Thai monarchy and carries a penalty of up to 15 years in jail. Reuters reports that yesterday, a number of UN member countries voiced…
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Air Asia boss: Recovery in 3 months if countries ditch quarantine, testing
The chief executive of the Air Asia Group says the aviation sector could return to normal in about 3 months, if governments ditch quarantine and PCR testing. Tony Fernandes says if countries can re-open without such requirements, demand will rise significantly. According to a Bangkok Post report, Air Asia has sold over 300,000 tickets to Langkawi since the island re-opened.…
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US parents split over COVID vaccines for young children
Louise*, mother of a first-grader in Washington DC, was so keen on getting her daughter vaccinated against COVID-19 that she didn’t mind going a bit out of her way. Friday around lunchtime she found out that a rec center across town had around 300 open spots for kids aged 5 to 11 the following day. She immediately signed up ―…
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AfricaLink on Air – 10 November 2021
Nnamdi Kanu-Nigerian separatist leader’s trial adjourned after lawyer walks out++Ethiopia detains 72 World Food Programme truck drivers in war-hit north++Zambia plans to abolish dowry. SOURCE: DW News
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Belarus border residents rattled by migrant crisis on their doorstep
The Kamenets district near the well-known national park Belovezhskaya Pushcha is a rather deserted area on the Belarusian-Polish border. There’s only one border crossing here to get to neighboring Poland legally. But, the Pestschatka checkpoint hardly sees any traffic nowadays due to coronavirus restrictions in Belarus. Residents of the surrounding Belarusian villages, however, have been watching their country’s western border…
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Court: activists’ speeches illegally advocated government overthrow
Today the Constitutional Court ruled that activists and the speeches of 3 activist leaders are advocating for the overthrow of the government and the monarchy. They ordered Arnon Nampa, Panupong “Mike” Jadnok, and Panusaya “Rung” Sithijirawattanakul and all their followers to cease all action against the kingdom and state. According to the court, the demands in speeches by the 3…
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What does India want to achieve through Afghanistan talks?
India on Wednesday hosted senior diplomats and security officials from Afghanistan’s neighbors, with the notable exceptions of China and Pakistan, to discuss how to deal with the Taliban. The Delhi Regional Security Dialogue for Afghanistan was attended by representatives from India, Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Afghan representatives were not invited. Officials from Pakistan and China declined…
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Thailand focuses tourism on first-time visitors and India
The Tourism Authority of Thailand has expanded its target demographic a bit in its plan to reinvigorate the tourist economy in the country. The new plan the TAT is embracing is to focus not just on the so-called “high quality” tourists, but also to chase first-time visitors to Thailand. Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Yuthasak Supasorn is confident and hopeful,…
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North Korea teeters on the brink of famine as winter approaches
The last of the harvest was gathered shortly before the first snow fell in North Korea this year, but the yield was significantly less than the amount needed to feed the isolated nation’s 26 million people. This June, a report issued by the South Korea-based Korea Development Institute estimated that the North gathered just over 4.4 million tons of crops…
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Palang Pracharath MP fights to keep seat on panel
An MP accused of committing a serious ethical violation said that she will fight to keep her committee seat, even if she’s asked to give it up. The lawyer for MP Pareena Kraikupt of the ruling Palang Pracharath Party told the Bangkok Post that if the National Anti-Corruption Commission tells Pareena to vacate her seat, she will seek an official ruling…
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Wednesday Covid Update: 6,978 new cases; provincial totals
62 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 19,826 with 19,732 of those fatalities during the latest wave, which was first recorded on April 1. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 6,978 new Covid-19 cases and 7,697 recoveries. There are now 96,463 people in Thailand being…
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Government wants 76 billion baht to support rice farmers
The Finance Ministry has announced a plan to use a 76 billion baht package to support Thai rice farmers. The ministry is working with the Budget Bureau to create a scheme that ensures a guaranteed income for the farmers, which would offer some cushion against the unpredictable issues that plague farming such as floods, droughts and pestilence. There is already…
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US journalist Fenster faces charges of terrorism and sedition
Danny Fenster, the American journalist that was taken into custody as he attempted to leave Myanmar in May, has had additional charges of terrorism and sedition levied against him today. He is now facing a maximum sentence of life in prison for those charges, a grave turn from the original 6 years he was facing for the accusation of promoting…
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Germans launch fundraiser to rescue stranded Afghans
The German civil society organization Mission Lifeline — known for its role in helping rescue refugees from drowning in the Mediterranean — has launched a fundraiser aimed at assisting vulnerable Afghans obtain passports to facilitate their emigration. Citing German government sources, the German Press Agency (dpa) reported that in early October about 25,000 people in possession of German visas were…
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AirAsia flights from Kuala Lumpur to Phuket return for Sandbox scheme
AirAsia has announced that it will resume its flight from Kuala Lumpur to Phuket. This comes in the wake of Thailand’s reopening to international travelers on November 1. This flight will allow visitors to enter the country through the Phuket sandbox programme. The first flight was an Airbus A320 that took off from Kuala Lumpur at 11:15am. The route is currently…
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British Foreign Secretary arrives in Thailand for talks with government officials
The UK’s Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, has arrived in Thailand, where she will meet with PM Prayut Chan-o-cha and other government officials. Thailand is her second Southeast Asia stop, following a visit to Malaysia in which she met with PM Ismail Sabri and Foreign Affairs Minister Saifuddin Abdullah. The UK is seeking to strengthen its ties with Southeast Asia and other…
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Pattaya Beach fight over an affair on TikTok results in 5 arrests
A fistfight that broke out and gathered a crowd on Central Pattaya Beach near the mall resulted in 5 people being arrested. Pattaya City Police were alerted of a fight at around 10:30 in the evening on Monday night and went to the scene to investigate. In the patrol unit arrived, they found a few fights on and around the…
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FDA warns against smuggled Johnson & Johnson vaccines
In Sa Kaeo province in Eastern Thailand, the Food and Drug Administration is warning people to avoid offers of Johnson & Johnson vaccines that were illegally smuggled into Thailand after a patient apparently brought in a vaccine to a private clinic and paid to have medical staff administer it. The single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been approved for use…
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Thai government defends sale of antigen test kits banned in the EU
They’ve been banned in the EU, but the Thai government says the cheap antigen test kits from NovaGen can be used here because they’ve been approved by the Thai Food and Drug Administration. Sirikul Methivirangsan from the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation says the reason they’re banned in the EU is due to the bloc requiring some additional paperwork. According to a…
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