Thailand

BANGKOK, Aug 31 (NNN-Bernama) — The Malaysian Embassy here will continue to work closely with the Thai government to ensure that Malaysians residing in the country receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

Malaysian Ambassador to Thailand Jojie Samuel said over the past few months, the embassy had shared and updated the information on immunisation programmes offered to foreign nationals residing in Thailand.

BANGKOK (AP) — Thai lawmakers on Tuesday began a no-confidence debate targeting Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and five of his Cabinet members, with the opposition focusing on charges the government bungled its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The debate is scheduled to last four days, with voting by the lower house set for Saturday. Organizers of ongoing anti-government street protests have vowed to step up their own separate efforts during the debate to force Prayuth out of office.

BANGKOK (AP) — A long line of cars, trucks and motorbikes wended its way Sunday through the Thai capital Bangkok in a mobile protest against the government of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha. The protesters on wheels hope their nonviolent action, dubbed a “car mob,” can help force the ouster of Prayuth, whom they accuse of botching the campaign against the coronavirus.

BANGKOK (AP) — A spokesman for Myanmar’s military-installed government said Friday that COVID-19 vaccines will be given to members of the country’s persecuted Rohingya ethnic group.

The Muslim minority was the target of a fierce counter-insurgency campaign in 2017 that some critics charged amounted to ethnic cleansing or genocide. The Rohingya face widespread discrimination and most are denied citizenship and other basic rights.

BANGKOK, Aug 25 (NNN-Bernama) — Thailand’s home-grown messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccine called ChulaCov19 is expected to be available by the end of this year or early next year.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ deputy spokesman Natapanu Nopakun said the vaccine candidate, developed by Chulalongkorn University, is at the third phase of clinical trials and has made significant progress.

“If proven successful, Thailand could possibly be first in ASEAN to produce COVID-19 vaccine.

BANGKOK, Aug 24 (NNN-Bernama) – The highly contagious Delta variant accounts for 93 per cent of COVID-19 cases in Thailand.

Director-General of Medical Sciences Department Dr Supakit Sirilak said latest survey from Aug 14 to Aug 20 showed 2,132 of 2,295 samples, or 92.9 per cent, were infected with the Delta variant which was first discovered in India.

“In Bangkok, the Delta variant accounts for 96.7 per cent of COVID-19 cases reported,” he said.

He added that the Alpha variant, first detected in the United Kingdom, accounted for 5.8 per cent of cases sampled.

Bangkok (AP) — The former longtime military ruler of Myanmar, Than Shwe, and his wife have been released from a capital city hospital after both being successfully treated for COVID-19, a hospital official said.

The 88-year-old and wife, Daw Kyaing Kyaing, were discharged from the Thaik Chaung military hospital in Naypyitaw on Friday, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with the press.

Bangkok, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's tourism hotspot Pattaya may delay its planned reopening to vaccinated travelers on Sept. 1, as the city is dealing with insufficient vaccinations among locals and a spike in new infections.

Local media on Monday quoted Apichai Chatchalermkit, deputy governor of digitalization research and development at the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) as saying, the authorities are still committed to reopening the resort city within October, in line with the government's plan to fully reopen the country in near future.

BANGKOK, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- The cumulative COVID-19 cases in Thailand surpassed 1 million on Friday, driven by a continued surge in infections, primarily attributed to the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.

On Friday, the number of daily cases dipped below 20,000 for the first time in 10 days. With 19,851 new cases reported, and the country's total tally now stands at 1,009,710, according to the data released by the Ministry of Public Health.

BANGKOK (AP) — Iran continues to produce uranium metal, which can be used in the production of a nuclear bomb, the United Nation’s atomic watchdog confirmed Tuesday, in a move that further complicates the possibility of reviving a landmark 2015 deal with world powers on the Iranian nuclear program.

In a report issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna to member nations, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said that his inspectors had confirmed on Saturday that Iran had now produced 200 grams of uranium metal enriched up to 20%.