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A Myanmar news editor has been jailed for two years after his agency reported a coronavirus death that turned out to be false, his lawyer said Friday. The country has only 199 confirmed cases of coronavirus and seen six deaths, although the low numbers tested mean experts fear the true figures are far higher.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits in the two months since the coronavirus took hold in the U.S. has swelled to nearly 39 million, the government reported Thursday, even as states from coast to coast gradually reopen their economies and let people go back to work. More than 2.4
The Thai Ministry of Public Health has been coordinating with the Education Ministry to make preparations for the reopening of schools nation-wide on July 1st, to ensure the safety of students during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Panpimon Wipulakorn, director-general of Health Department, said today that students are at a greater risk of infection in
China’s parliament said it will introduce a proposal Friday for a national security law in Hong Kong at its annual session, in a move the US warned would “highly destabilising” for the financial hub. The announcement late Thursday was quickly decried by pro-democracy lawmakers and activists as “the end of Hong Kong”, with fears
The message is loud and clear and global: When a COVID-19 vaccine is developed, it must be easily accessible virtually free of charge to all the world’s population. The calls are growing amid the superpowers’ “vaccination race” that seems to have political agendas and monetization motives written all over it. More than 140 world leaders
Thailand’s National Security Council is to recommend, to the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), an extension of the state of emergency until the end of June, as Thailand records three new coronavirus infections today. To justify the extension, NSC secretary-general General Somsak Rungsita said today that the global COVID-19 situation is still a matter
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of Thailand has cut the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points, to a new record low of 0.50%, with immediate effect. This is the fifth cut since August 2019. MPC secretary Titanun Mallikamas said the committee voted 4-3 to cut the policy rate after having concluded
GENEVA (Reuters) – The World Health Organization expressed concern on Wednesday about the rising number of new coronavirus cases in poor countries, even as many rich nations have begun emerging from lockdown. The global health body said 106,000 new cases of infections of the novel coronavirus had been recorded in the past 24 hours,
A leadership battle is simmering in the core coalition Palang Pracharath Party, with its influential chief strategist General Prawit Wongsuwan being pushed by his supporters in the party to replace current leader Uttama Savanayana. Key party figures are playing down reports of a power struggle, but they are also refusing to rule out the possibility
WASHINGTON (AFP) – US President Donald Trump on Wednesday again lashed out at China over the coronavirus pandemic, blaming Beijing for “mass worldwide killing”. His early morning tweet, which also referred to an unidentified “wacko in China”, was the latest heated rhetoric from the White House, where Trump is making attacks on Beijing a
A man has been sentenced to death in Singapore via a Zoom video-call for his role in a drug deal, the city-state’s first case where capital punishment has been delivered remotely. Punithan Genasan, a 37-year-old Malaysian, received the sentence for his role in a 2011 heroin transaction on Friday, court documents showed, with the country
Former director of the National Office of Buddhism (NoB), Panom Sornsilp, and three other former senior officials were yesterday handed heavy prison sentences, after they were found guilty of corruption in connection with temple funds by the Criminal Court for Corruption Cases. 61-year old Mr. Panom was given 35 years, commuted to 23 years and
As coronavirus-related restrictions ease and people gradually resume their normal lives, Thai politics is all set to heat up again. Politicians will resume business as usual when Parliament opens for a new session on Friday. Observers, however, predict that political tension is likely to spring from internal conflicts in the ruling coalition rather than from
The Opposition has voiced objection to the duration of the three-day parliamentary debate on the Government’s three executive decrees, to seek 1.9 trillion baht in loans, claiming that they need more time because of the huge amount of indebtedness the loans create. Pheu Thai party secretary-general Anudit Nakorntap explained today that the debate, scheduled for
