A-40-year-old woman and a 42-year-old man in Bangkok have become the country's first two fatalities linked to the type-A (H1N1) influenza virus, Public Health Minister Witthaya Kaewparadai announced Saturday.Witthaya told a press conference that the woman fell ill on June 8 and wa admitted to a private hospital seven days later with high fever and pneumonia.
She was given oseltamivir anti-viral drug for five days but she her condition worsened and she died on June 20.
The second victim fell ill on June 18 with fever and running nose.
He was admitted to a hospital on June 23 with high fever, coughing and pneumonia.
He was also given oseltamivir anti-viral drug but his condition worsened and he died on Friday.
Despite the deaths, Witthaya pleaded the public not to panic.
He said so far 1,209 type-A (H1N1) flu cases have been reported in Thailand. Of these, 1,190 patients have been cured and 16 are still inside hospitals.
He said 90 per cent of the cases recovered by themselves.
Witthaya said the type-A (H1N1) influenza has much lower fatality rate than normal influenza which killed about 30 to 40 per cent of patients.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Flu death toll rises to 2
Former K.Rouge foreign minister denied release
Judges on Friday rejected the former Khmer Rouge foreign minister's appeal for release from jail before his trial at Cambodia's UN-backed war crimes court.
Ieng Sary, 83, is charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes but asked to be released into house arrest on the grounds that his life in jail at the tribunal is making him ill.
"The request for release or modification of conditions of detention is rejected," said pre-trial chamber judge Prak Kimsan in a formal reading of the decision.
Detention was necessary to protect the former leader's safety, keep him from fleeing Cambodia and to preserve public order, Prak Kimsan told the court.
Ieng Sary, who has been rushed to hospital at least nine times since he was detained by the court in November 2007, shuffled in and out of the courtroom with the help of a cane.
His trial is expected to begin sometime next year.
Ieng Sary is one of five top regime cadres detained by the joint Cambodia-UN tribunal that was established in 2006, after nearly a decade of haggling over how to deliver justice for one of the 20th century's bloodiest episodes.
The court's long-awaited first trial has seen Kaing Guek Eav, better known by the alias Duch, accept responsibility for overseeing the execution of more than 15,000 people at the main Khmer Rouge prison.
Up to two million people died of starvation and overwork, or were executed, as the 1975-1979 regime emptied Cambodia's cities in its drive to create a communist utopia.
As the top Khmer Rouge diplomat, Ieng Sary was frequently the only point of contact between Cambodia's secretive communist rulers and the outside world.
He has denied any involvement in past atrocities but he was also one of the biggest public supporters of the regime's mass purges, researchers say.
Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot died in 1998 before facing justice, and fears over the health of ageing suspects hang over the court.
Ieng Sary, 83, is charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes but asked to be released into house arrest on the grounds that his life in jail at the tribunal is making him ill.
"The request for release or modification of conditions of detention is rejected," said pre-trial chamber judge Prak Kimsan in a formal reading of the decision.
Detention was necessary to protect the former leader's safety, keep him from fleeing Cambodia and to preserve public order, Prak Kimsan told the court.
Ieng Sary, who has been rushed to hospital at least nine times since he was detained by the court in November 2007, shuffled in and out of the courtroom with the help of a cane.
His trial is expected to begin sometime next year.
Ieng Sary is one of five top regime cadres detained by the joint Cambodia-UN tribunal that was established in 2006, after nearly a decade of haggling over how to deliver justice for one of the 20th century's bloodiest episodes.
The court's long-awaited first trial has seen Kaing Guek Eav, better known by the alias Duch, accept responsibility for overseeing the execution of more than 15,000 people at the main Khmer Rouge prison.
Up to two million people died of starvation and overwork, or were executed, as the 1975-1979 regime emptied Cambodia's cities in its drive to create a communist utopia.
As the top Khmer Rouge diplomat, Ieng Sary was frequently the only point of contact between Cambodia's secretive communist rulers and the outside world.
He has denied any involvement in past atrocities but he was also one of the biggest public supporters of the regime's mass purges, researchers say.
Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot died in 1998 before facing justice, and fears over the health of ageing suspects hang over the court.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
More Than 10,000 could catch swine flue
Thailand could expect more than 10,000 A(H1N1) infections nationwide as the swine flu had already spread across the country, Witthaya Kaewparadai, the public health minister, warned.
Authorities reported that the number of infections in Thailand rose to 89, with 43 new confirmed cases added yesterday.
Dr Prat Boonyawongvirot permanent secretary for public health, said the latest confirmed cases came for Bangkok, Songkla, Phuket and Pattaya.
The Health Ministry also sent officials to collect virus samples from 50 kindergarten students in a school in Pathum Thani for checking after they got high fever.
The lab test results were expected to released today.
Education Minister, Jurin Laksanavisit said the executives of each school in Bangkok can make their own decision whether to suspend classes during this period.
Mahidol University's Faculty of Public Health yesŕ¸terday suspended their classes after learning that one of the students, who recently returned from the US, had been infected with the influenza A (H1N1) and was undergoing treatment at hospital.
Meanwhile, the Thai Hotels Association (THA) has urged entertainment venues, pubs and restaurants in the tourist resort of Pattaya to close their outlets temporarily in order to help prevent the spread of A(H1N1) influenza.
THA president Chatchawal Supachayanont said bars and restaurants are usually overcrowded so they better suspend business to avoid widespread infections.
Earlier, two Taiwanese visitors and local staff were found to have been infected inside a Pattaya discoteque.
The World Health Organisation on Thursday raised the level of influenza pandemic alert from phase 5 to phase 6, the highest level, but it recommends no restrictions on travel and no border closures.
Phurit Maswongsa, Phuket Tourism Association's vice president for marketing, warned that the WHO should be careful that travellers and the general public could be frightened by the higher level of alert.
To inform the public of proper measures to cope with the flu, the public health ministry will distribute manuals to all department store and other public venues initially in Bangkok areas.
Individuals are also advised to keep themselves fit and if they develop mild symptom sof influenza virus, they should have immediate treatment.
Health minsiter Witthaya said the governmenty has ordered two million doses of vaccines from drug manufacturers.
The Disease Control Department also has a stock of antiviral Oseltamivir drug for 420,000 people, while Government Pharmaceutical Organisation is preparing to produce an additional 100,000 antiviral drugs for flu pandemic.
Oseltamivir will be prescribed only to children age under 5 yearold, people age over 65yearold and patient with chronic disease as they do not body immunity against flu virus.
Authorities reported that the number of infections in Thailand rose to 89, with 43 new confirmed cases added yesterday.
Dr Prat Boonyawongvirot permanent secretary for public health, said the latest confirmed cases came for Bangkok, Songkla, Phuket and Pattaya.
The Health Ministry also sent officials to collect virus samples from 50 kindergarten students in a school in Pathum Thani for checking after they got high fever.
The lab test results were expected to released today.
Education Minister, Jurin Laksanavisit said the executives of each school in Bangkok can make their own decision whether to suspend classes during this period.
Mahidol University's Faculty of Public Health yesŕ¸terday suspended their classes after learning that one of the students, who recently returned from the US, had been infected with the influenza A (H1N1) and was undergoing treatment at hospital.
Meanwhile, the Thai Hotels Association (THA) has urged entertainment venues, pubs and restaurants in the tourist resort of Pattaya to close their outlets temporarily in order to help prevent the spread of A(H1N1) influenza.
THA president Chatchawal Supachayanont said bars and restaurants are usually overcrowded so they better suspend business to avoid widespread infections.
Earlier, two Taiwanese visitors and local staff were found to have been infected inside a Pattaya discoteque.
The World Health Organisation on Thursday raised the level of influenza pandemic alert from phase 5 to phase 6, the highest level, but it recommends no restrictions on travel and no border closures.
Phurit Maswongsa, Phuket Tourism Association's vice president for marketing, warned that the WHO should be careful that travellers and the general public could be frightened by the higher level of alert.
To inform the public of proper measures to cope with the flu, the public health ministry will distribute manuals to all department store and other public venues initially in Bangkok areas.
Individuals are also advised to keep themselves fit and if they develop mild symptom sof influenza virus, they should have immediate treatment.
Health minsiter Witthaya said the governmenty has ordered two million doses of vaccines from drug manufacturers.
The Disease Control Department also has a stock of antiviral Oseltamivir drug for 420,000 people, while Government Pharmaceutical Organisation is preparing to produce an additional 100,000 antiviral drugs for flu pandemic.
Oseltamivir will be prescribed only to children age under 5 yearold, people age over 65yearold and patient with chronic disease as they do not body immunity against flu virus.
Cambodian PM expresses regret on Thai PM comment on Preah Vihear temple
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday expressed his regret with his Thai counterpart's comment who wanted the Preah Vihear temple to be jointly registered as the world heritage site.
"I think that his words on behalf of the Thai Prime Minister have disturbed the peace of another country," Hun Sen told reporters at the Cambodian foreign ministry.
Thai newspaper The Bangkok Post reported Wednesday that Prime Minister Abhisit would request that the temple be registered jointly as a World Heritage Site by Thailand and Cambodia.
"I am so regretful for his comment and his aim," he said, adding that "when he (Thai PM ) visited Cambodia (last Friday), he did not raise that issue with me. But I think his purpose is not successful."
The premier said that "first of all, we have to speak about the verdict from Hague Court (in 1962) which ruled that the Preah Vihear temple and land surrounding the temple belongs to Cambodia. And secondly, UNESCO's World Heritage Committee already registered the Preah Vihear temple as the World Heritage Site (in July 7, 2008 ) for Cambodia."
"I am so regretful for his comment and his aim," he said, adding that "when he (Thai PM ) visited Cambodia (last Friday), he did not raise that issue with me. But I think his purpose is not successful."
The premier said that "first of all, we have to speak about the verdict from Hague Court (in 1962) which ruled that the Preah Vihear temple and land surrounding the temple belongs to Cambodia. And secondly, UNESCO's World Heritage Committee already registered the Preah Vihear temple as the World Heritage Site (in July 7, 2008 ) for Cambodia."
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Critics slam Cambodia's rulers on free speech
An international rights group has criticised Cambodia's ruling party for allegedly stifling free speech through the use of legal action against government critics.
New York-based Human Rights Watch called on Premier Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party to stop "its threats, harassment and spurious legal action against members of parliament and lawyers defending free expression".
Cambodian authorities have lodged at least eight criminal defamation and disinformation complaints against government critics since April.
"These lawsuits are a clear attempt to intimidate the opposition and prevent members of parliament from exercising free expression," said Brad Adams, Asia director for Human Rights Watch.
"Even by Cambodian standards, the state of freedom of expression and democratic rights is growing more fragile by the day," he added.
The National Assembly is expected to decide next week whether to strip parliamentary immunity from Mu Sochua, a lawmaker from the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, so that a criminal defamation case against her can proceed.
The charges stem from a now dismissed lawsuit she filed against Hun Sen for allegedly making derogatory comments about her.
The UN's human rights office in Cambodia also issued a briefing Monday warning the spate of lawsuits against critics could nurture "fear, frustration and anger, with the risk of leading to further conflict and violence".
New UN rights envoy in Cambodia
The new UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Cambodia, Surya Subedi, is making his first visit to the country.
Professor Subedi has said he wants to establish fruitful and constructive dialogue with the Cambodian government.
But his predecessors struggled to do that, and Prof Subedi's visit comes as civil society groups have said they are concerned about the rights situation.
The government has consistently defended its human rights record, noting recent democratic elections.
This is a chance for a fresh start in the relationship between the Cambodian government and the UN's human rights organisation.
But that may require diplomacy and patience on both sides.
UN concern
Prof Subedi's predecessor resigned last year after enduring months of snubs and insults from the government.
Ministers declined requests for meetings, and one called the envoy a long-term tourist.
The new rapporteur is keen to avoid a repeat of that situation.
He has indicated that his first visit will concentrate on establishing contacts with key officials and it seems the government has been receptive.
But Prof Subedi will also be meeting the leaders of local organisations who say they are worried about recent developments in Cambodia.
The UN's human rights office in Phnom Penh has just issued a statement expressing concern about the use of defamation and disinformation laws to silence government critics.
Other organisations have criticised land grabs and corruption.
But the government has consistently defended its human rights record, pointing to the success of several democratic elections since the return of peace in the 1990s.
Professor Subedi has said he wants to establish fruitful and constructive dialogue with the Cambodian government.
But his predecessors struggled to do that, and Prof Subedi's visit comes as civil society groups have said they are concerned about the rights situation.
The government has consistently defended its human rights record, noting recent democratic elections.
This is a chance for a fresh start in the relationship between the Cambodian government and the UN's human rights organisation.
But that may require diplomacy and patience on both sides.
UN concern
Prof Subedi's predecessor resigned last year after enduring months of snubs and insults from the government.
Ministers declined requests for meetings, and one called the envoy a long-term tourist.
The new rapporteur is keen to avoid a repeat of that situation.
He has indicated that his first visit will concentrate on establishing contacts with key officials and it seems the government has been receptive.
But Prof Subedi will also be meeting the leaders of local organisations who say they are worried about recent developments in Cambodia.
The UN's human rights office in Phnom Penh has just issued a statement expressing concern about the use of defamation and disinformation laws to silence government critics.
Other organisations have criticised land grabs and corruption.
But the government has consistently defended its human rights record, pointing to the success of several democratic elections since the return of peace in the 1990s.
New face mask campaign launched
The Public Health Ministry will next week launch a massive campaign urging doctors, nurse, medical worker and patients to wear face masks and wash their hands frequently as more and more people get fearful of catching TypeA(H1N1) influenza.
"This is the best and easiest way of preventing infections," Deputy Public Health Minister Manit Nopamornbodi announced yesterday.
The ministry will distribute a million masks to cover staff at all 834 hospitals nationwide.
At the same time, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned manufacturers not to increase the price of face masks or hoard the product.
"Many more people need to buy the masks to protect themselves," FDA secretarygeneral Dr Pipat Yingseri said.
Citing a World Health Organisation study, Manit said wearing face masks could reduce the spread of diseases by 80 per cent, while washing hands frequently would prevent the spread of respiratory infections.
The Public Health Ministry's permanent secretary, Dr Prat Boonyawongvirot, said there were direct and indirect ways for infections to spread. For instance, people could get directly infected if they come in close contact with patients; while indirect infections could be caused by coming into contact with contaminated things.
The number of people who wear face masks at medical facilities has increased from 50 per cent in 2007 to 90 per cent last year since the Public Health Ministry first launched a campaign urging people to keep their faces covered.
About 86 per cent of patients think that wearing a face mask could prevent the spread of disease, while only 20 per cent said they found wearing face masks disgusting.
Thai pop star, Nicole Theriault has also joined the campaign saying it was each individual's responsibility to prevent the spread of disease.
"Good personal hygiene such as wearing a face mask and keeping your hands clean can protect you and your family from infectious diseases. This is your responsibility," she said.
Nicole was a presenter for the face mask campaign when it was first launched five years ago.
Meanwhile, Public Health Minister Witthaya Kaewparadai has also urged relevant agencies to clean public spaces, such as pubs, bars and cinemas, at least once a month to cut the risk of infections.
Doorknobs, tables, chairs, glasses, telephones, railing and toilet flush handles should also be sanitised, he advised.
"This is the best and easiest way of preventing infections," Deputy Public Health Minister Manit Nopamornbodi announced yesterday.
The ministry will distribute a million masks to cover staff at all 834 hospitals nationwide.
At the same time, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned manufacturers not to increase the price of face masks or hoard the product.
"Many more people need to buy the masks to protect themselves," FDA secretarygeneral Dr Pipat Yingseri said.
Citing a World Health Organisation study, Manit said wearing face masks could reduce the spread of diseases by 80 per cent, while washing hands frequently would prevent the spread of respiratory infections.
The Public Health Ministry's permanent secretary, Dr Prat Boonyawongvirot, said there were direct and indirect ways for infections to spread. For instance, people could get directly infected if they come in close contact with patients; while indirect infections could be caused by coming into contact with contaminated things.
The number of people who wear face masks at medical facilities has increased from 50 per cent in 2007 to 90 per cent last year since the Public Health Ministry first launched a campaign urging people to keep their faces covered.
About 86 per cent of patients think that wearing a face mask could prevent the spread of disease, while only 20 per cent said they found wearing face masks disgusting.
Thai pop star, Nicole Theriault has also joined the campaign saying it was each individual's responsibility to prevent the spread of disease.
"Good personal hygiene such as wearing a face mask and keeping your hands clean can protect you and your family from infectious diseases. This is your responsibility," she said.
Nicole was a presenter for the face mask campaign when it was first launched five years ago.
Meanwhile, Public Health Minister Witthaya Kaewparadai has also urged relevant agencies to clean public spaces, such as pubs, bars and cinemas, at least once a month to cut the risk of infections.
Doorknobs, tables, chairs, glasses, telephones, railing and toilet flush handles should also be sanitised, he advised.
Two Russians arrested for allegedly stealing info via e-bankin
Police Tuesday arrested one Thai and two Western men for allegedly stealing information via the e-banking system and pilfering money from a Krung Thai Bank branch in Chon Buri province.
Though Russian national Anton Soldatenkov and Ukraine's Vnuchenko Oleksandr denied any wrongdoing, Prakiat Bunmoh admitted to the crimes and implicated both of them. Police are expanding their investigation to determine whether they had stolen money from five clients of KTB and Siam Commercial Bank totalling around Bt10 million.
Acting on a complaint filed by the SCB that it had lost Bt1.5 million possibly to the three men, Crime Suppression Division detectives decided to monitor the three in a series of stakeouts. The suspects were positively identified through security-camera footage last week when Prakiat went to open an account at the Bang Lamung district branch of KTB.
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