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TAT still pushing to launch Phuket 7+7 plan despite Covid-19
Many of the original Sandbox-style plans to reopen tourist destinations to international travellers have been delayed as Covid-19 outbreaks spread and domestic travel has been mostly shut down, but the Tourism Authority of Thailand is still hoping to launch its 7+7 model to allow Phuket Sandbox travellers to stay one week before continuing on to a handful of other destinations.…
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EU and Poland battle it out over the rule of law
This Monday (August 16) Poland faces yet another European Commission deadline in Warsaw’s years-long fight with Brussels over the restructuring of its national judicial system. This time, Warsaw could face stiff financial penalties if it fails to heed the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and immediately halt the work of a new Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court deemed illegal…
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Iran’s ‘hostage diplomacy’ traps foreign nationals
The 67-year-old German-Iranian activist Nahid Taghavi is still in detention after being arrested in the Iranian capital in October 2020. Last week, an Islamic Revolutionary Court sentenced her to 10 years and eight months detention on charges of engaging in political activity. Such courts are used to try people suspected of wanting to overthrow the government, the proceedings usually take…
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Phuket Covid-19 infections break 100 for the second time
The Phuket Sandbox originally planned to suspend or revise the programme if ever Covid-19 infections reached over 90 in a week, but that ideal has been abandoned as daily infections hit triple digits for the second time in a week. Local infections hit a new record today of 109, topping the August 11 record of 104 by 5 people as…
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Thai Youtuber killed by train in Pattaya
Yesterday, the body of a Thai “Youtuber” was discovered after he was hit by a train in Pattaya. Local police were notified of the accident that took place near the intersection of Soi Siam Country club just after midnight Rescue workers and local media got to the scene to find the body of the Thai man identified as “Beer Apache”.…
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Philippines finds its first Lambda infection
Thailand’s southeast Asia neighbour the Philippines has announced today that it has found its first case of the Lambda variant of Covid, says the Philippines’s health ministry. WHO has designated the Lambda variant as a “variant of interest”. The VOI was first found in Peru last December. Laboratory studies have shown the Lambda variant has mutations that resist vaccine-induced antibodies.…
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Opposition party suing government for Covid-19 failure
The Move Forward Party has announced that it is suing the government for its alleged mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic now ravaging Thailand. They plan on launching a class-action lawsuit in the coming week to demand compensation for the government’s failure to sufficiently address Covid-19 as the third wave causes record infections and deaths every day. The MFP is a…
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Haiti earthquake: 7.2 magnitude, over 300 reported dead so far
Devastation has hit Haiti as a catastrophic 7.2 magnitude earthquake rocked the struggling Caribbean nation at 8:30 am local time (7:30 pm last night in Thailand time). At least 300 people are dead but experts predict that number could rise to the tens of thousands. There is widespread destruction with homes and buildings collapsed, and Prime Minister Ariel Henry has…
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Tenacious Unicorn Ranch: Sanctuary and target
The Tenacious Unicorn Ranch has become a haven for transgender individuals but not everyone is a fan. Now, residents are arming themselves as death threats mount. SOURCE: DW News
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New poll suggests Thais get most of their news from social media or television
A recent Suan Dusit Poll suggests Thai people get most of their news about Covid from social media or television. The survey was conducted by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University. A total of 1,270 people were surveyed throughout the country from August 9 to August 12 to determine the public’s interest in “figures and statistics” associated with the Covid situation. On…
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Covid UPDATE: 21,882 new infections, provincial totals
The CCSA has confirmed 21,882 new infections of the Coronavirus and 209 Covid-related deaths around Thailand. 245 of today’s cases were detected in the Thai prison system. 21,106 patients have been released from hospitals and field hospitals. 210,943 patients are currently still under state care, 5,615 people are considered in a critical condition, and 1,172 patients are on artificial respiration…
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Today’s pro-democracy protests to interfere with traffic
Today’s pro-democracy rallies will likely result in traffic congestion at Ratchaprasong and Lat Prao intersections, 2 of the cities busiest junctions, says the Metropolitan Police Bureau. The police have expressed their concerns that the rallies might stop traffic in the region after rally organisers shared their “car park” protest plan. An armada of protesters’ cars are set to convene at…
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CCSA meets today to extend Covid measures, or ease restrictions
Today’s meeting of Thailand’s peak Covid organisations will decide the continuation, or the juggling, of restrictions as the CCSA and government departments grapple with country’s steady, but worrisome, increases in both new infections and deaths over the past month. Currently, 29 provinces are Dark Red Zones, classified as the maximum and strict controlled area designation. The CCSA will meet today…
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Covid UPDATE Sunday: 21,882 new infections, 209 deaths, new briefs
Today the Thai public health department has announced 21,882 new infections of the Coronavirus and 209 Covid-related deaths. 245 were detected in the Thai prison system. 21,106 patients have been released from hospitals and field hospitals. 210,943 patients are currently still under state care, 5,615 people are considered in a critical condition, whilst 1,172 patients are on artificial respiration –…
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Doctor whose family died of Covid-19 urges private import of vaccines
Dr Sitthiphong Lapanich has lost a lot to Covid-19 and now he’s calling for others besides the government to import vaccines. The doctor has seen the effects of Covid-19, and the lack of effective vaccines, after losing both his parents and his sister to the virus, and is fighting to push the government to allow independent groups to directly import…
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Police arrest woman jobless from Covid-19 for burglary
Police apprehended a woman in Nakhon Phanom who confessed to breaking into 8 homes in the area after the Covid-19 pandemic left her unemployed and broke. The 26 year old woman from Sri Songkhram district was caught with nearly 100 things she had stolen from the houses in the Muang municipal area where she lived in a rental house. Residents…
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Turkey: Anti-foreigner sentiment boils over in Ankara riots
It all began on Tuesday evening when a street fight erupted between two groups of youths in Altindag, a district of the Turkish capital, Ankara. In the violent confrontation between some Syrian migrants and a group of Turkish locals, two Turks were stabbed. A few hours later, one of them, 18-year-old Emirhan Yalcin, died in hospital. The event sparked a…
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Cancelling delay, GPO will buy 8.5 million Chinese antigen test kits
The Government Pharmaceutical Organisation has made 2 u-turns in as many days with plans to now go ahead and purchase 8.5 million antigen test kits from a Chinese manufacturer with questionable accuracy. The GPO had originally announced the plan to import Sars-CoV-2 Antigen and Leccurate Antibody Test products by Lepu Medical Technology before changing course and pausing the purchase after…
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Covid UPDATE: 22,086 new infections, provincial totals
The Thai public health department announced another 22,086 new infections to Thailand’s total. 270 of today’s cases stem from the Thai prison system. 217 Covid-related deaths were also announced. 23,672 people were released from hospital care. 60% of people who died in the past 24 hours were 60 years old plus. 18 of the total died at home. The median age…
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Widow of former Prime Minister dies of Covid-19
The widow of former Prime Minister Chatichai, Thanpuying Boonruen Choonhavan, has died early this morning of illness connected to Covid-19. Details around the death of the 101 year old widow are vague, but the announcement was made on Facebook today by her granddaughter. Thanpuying had one daughter who survived her, Vanee, and a son Kraisak who died last year in…
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Canada mandates domestic travellers must be vaccinated
A sweeping new announcement from Canada’s Transport Minister at a virtual press conference yesterday declared that most passengers travelling commercially in Canada will be required to be vaccinated by this fall. The new requirement will apply to anyone travelling by plane, interprovincial train, and cruise ships or other ” large marine vessels with overnight accommodations”. Canada has 71% of people…
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Covid UPDATE Saturday: 217 Covid-related deaths, news briefs
This morning the Thai public health department announced another 22,086 new infections to Thailand’s total. 270 of today’s cases stem from the Thai prison system. 217 Covid-related deaths were also announced. 23,672 people were released from hospital care. Provincial totals will be announced early this afternoon. • According to the Ministry of Public Health, Covid-19 patients in Thailand are taking…
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Almost 1 million Favipiravir pills are taken daily in Thailand
According to the Ministry of Public Health, Covid-19 patients in Thailand are taking almost a million Favipiravir pills each day as infection numbers surge around the country. The daily Covid-19 infection rates have now crossed over the 20,000 mark and with so many new cases, the demand for the antiviral tablets is skyrocketing. The Government Pharmaceutical Organisation has been called…
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India: Chhattisgarh conducts survey to map Maoist presence
Indian security forces this year have stepped up operations against ultra left-wing guerrillas deep in the forests of the mineral-rich central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, which has regularly seen clashes between the rebels and security forces in recent years. The Maoists, also known as Naxals, have waged an armed struggle against government forces for decades. They are considered India’s biggest…
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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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Confusing tweet implies New York Times launching porn service
A bit of corner-cutting shorthand in a tweet caused an uproar on Twitter and beyond yesterday with the announcement that the New York Times, the 3rd largest newspaper in the United States, was branching out into pornography. A former New York Times employee wrote a poorly phrased tweet about a new newsletter program the historic newspaper is launching. Mat Yurow,…
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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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