Here is a look at the top NATIONAL stories, chosen by our Pattaya News/TPN National team, from last week, November 8th to the 14th, with some commentary. They are not in any particular level of importance but are listed in the order of date of publication.
1. 20 international travelers reportedly found with Covid-19 infections, out of over 22,000, on the first seven days of reopening Thailand, CCSA announces
The number of infections found since the reopening of Thailand to vaccinated foreign travelers from selected countries is still considerably low compared to the total number of visitors. The CCSA stated that 20 out of 22,832 tourists were found positive for the disease with an RT-PCR test upon arrival, as of November 7th, accountable for a 0.09 percent infection rate. They also reported that most tourists were from Germany at number one, followed by the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and South Korea.
2. Residents in Greater Bangkok still facing flooding due to high seawater level rise in the Chao Praya river
Residents in several areas of the capital encountered a surprising flood and a high rise of water level from the Chaopraya river since the start of the week as the seawater level in the river had reached 2.30 meters. Without proper protection, the constantly-rising water then flooded into five areas near the embankment and had affected the lives of passerby and local residents. About 11 communities in seven districts of Bangkok were reportedly flooded.
3. US government is planning to donate 1 million doses of Moderna Covid-19 vaccines to Thai government, Thai Foreign Affairs Ministry reveals
Though it is not stated by the officials when and why the US government would donate the mRNA vaccines to the Thai government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had informed and discussed to related departments last week for a possible acquisition period. According to Public Health Minister Anutin, the vaccines will be allocated to people who are required to travel abroad under the requirement of their country’s destination. The vaccines are likely to be delivered to Thailand within this month.
4. Thailand’s Constitutional Court rules against three prominent pro-democracy protest leaders, stating their actions could lead to overthrowing Thailand’s highest institution
Three prominent pro-democracy protest leaders – Arnon Nampa, Panusaya “Rung” Sithijirawattanakul, and Panupong “Mike” Jadnok – were ruled by the Constitutional Court last week that they have acted in an attempt to overthrow the democratic institution with the monarch as the head of state, violating phrase 1 of Section 49 of the Constitution. Although they are not facing any penalties, the verdict could lead to harsher action against the leaders and any oppositional political gathering, which had sparked anger among pro-democracy supporters. Wednesday’s ruling, therefore, had led to the hacking of the Constitutional Court homepage, with its website name changed to “Kangaroo Court”, and the major gathering of the protesters on Sunday. All three protest leaders are now in jail without bail, with Rung having been arrested yesterday. The hacker was also caught, according to Thai police.
And, that is all for this week. Thank you as always for reading the Pattaya News/TPN News!
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