Coronavirus Update for Phuket & Thailand
Thursday 13th of January, 2022: As of January 12th Phuket has had 452 new local infections confirmed across the island, but no new deaths, bringing the total number of people recognised as infected with COVID-19 in Phuket since Apr 3 to 24,968. Phuket is still open to...
Thai woman arriving from Dubai confirmed as Thailand’s 5th monkeypox case
The Ministry of Public Health confirmed Thailand’s fifth monkeypox case today (Monday), in a Thai woman who has recently returned to the country from Dubai. Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said that the 25-year-old was found to have blisters on her body...
Ex-Malaysian PM Najib Begins Final Appeal Against 1MDB Conviction
AdvertisementMalaysia’s top court today began hearing a final appeal by former Prime Minister Najib Razak against his conviction in a corruption case linked to the wholesale looting of the state investment fund 1MDB.In July 2020, the former leader was sentenced to 12...
South Korea president Yoon repeats offer of large-scale aid package for North’s nukes
SEOUL (AFP, REUTERS) - South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said on Monday (Aug 15) he will offer a wide-ranging aid package to the North in return for denuclearisation, a deal long seen as a non-starter for Pyongyang. The proposal comes days after the North...
Pheu Thai Party will not attend special joint sitting of parliament to deliberate electoral bill
Thailand’s core opposition party, Pheu Thai, will stay away from the joint special sitting of the House and Senate tomorrow (Monday), being convened to deliberate the final reading of the bill to amend the method used for thecalculation of party-list seats, the...
Applications for Phase 5 of Thailand’s co-payment scheme open this Friday
Old and new subscribers to the government’s 50:50 co-payment scheme will be able to reconfirm or apply for their subscription this Friday under Phase 5 of the scheme, via the co-payment scheme website, from 6am until 10pm until further notice, according to the...
Australian police say man detained over shots fired at Canberra airport
SYDNEY (AFP, REUTERS) - Australian police said a man was arrested on Sunday (Aug 14) after shots were reportedly fired inside Canberra airport’s main terminal. “The Canberra Airport terminal was evacuated as a precaution and the situation at the airport is...
Salman Rushdie attack recalls 1991 killing of his Japanese translator
TOKYO (NYTIMES) - The attack on Salman Rushdie in western New York state on Friday (Aug 12) prompted renewed interest in previous attacks on people connected to his 1988 novel, "The Satanic Verses", including its Japanese translator, who was killed in 1991. The...
Second Indonesian political alliance formed amid jockeying for 2024 elections
JAKARTA - Indonesia's second largest party Gerindra and largest Islamic party National Awakening Party (PKB) declared a political alliance on Saturday (Aug 13), the second such coalition formed for the 2024 election. The two parties, whose alliance was named the...
Thai opposition to petition Charter Court next week for ruling on PM’s term in office
Somkid Chueakong, Pheu Thai MP and opposition deputy chief whip Thailand’s opposition parties have decided to submit a petition, through House Speaker Chuan Leekpai, to the Constitutional Court this Wednesday to seek a ruling on Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s...
Thai King and Queen join the Queen Mother in merit-making ritual
Their Majesties the King and Queen joined Her Majesty the Queen Mother in a merit-making ceremony held in the reception room on the 29th floor of King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital on the occasion of the Queen Mother’s 90th birthday yesterday (Friday). Also present...
Thailand has strong fire-safety laws, so why do deadly nightclub blazes keep happening?
Mountain B nightclub after a deadly fire in Sattahip district in Thailand’s Chonburi province on August 5, 2022. The Mountain B pub blaze that killed 16 people and injured dozens shows Thailand has failed to learn lessons from its history of deadly infernos. Although...
Poverty and despair in Afghanistan after one year of Taliban rule
India has cautiously responded to an outreach by the Taliban, re-establishing diplomatic presence in Afghanistan in a limited way two months ago in what was a major policy shift for the country. But the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in...