Thaiger
- Covid-19 News
Covid-19 UPDATE: 14 new cases found in quarantine; biggest increase in weeks
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration reported 14 new cases of Covid-19 this morning, the biggest jump in several weeks. All were found in state quarantine and were imported cases by repatriated Thais; Thailand has not reported a domestically transmitted case in 47 days. Among the 14 new cases is a 9 year old who travelled with her family. •…
- Central Thailand News
Ratchaburi explosion injures 4
4 people are injured in the western border province of Ratchaburi, 1 seriously, after an explosion caused by a gas leak at a food shop in the central city district this morning. The blast occurred on the ground floor of a 3 storey commercial building opposite Boromrajonani College of Nursing, according to police, who were notified at around 6:30am. Firefighters…
- Covid-19 News
“Travel bubbles” to require minimum 2 week stay
“Travel bubble” tourists who visit Thailand during its soft and timid reopening phase, tentatively scheduled for August, may have to spend 14 days in designated areas. Then, a negative test for Covid-19 after 2 weeks would free them up to go anywhere in the Kingdom. Thailand’s tourism and sports minister says he’s met with PM Prayut Chan-o-cha about creating travel…
- Crime News
Bangkok clinics in 72 million baht fraud scandal
The National Health Security Office has registered a complaint against 18 clinics in Bangkok, and thousands of patients will be questioned by police investigating an alleged 72 million baht in fraudulent claims under the government’s 30 baht scheme, also known as the “gold card” scheme. Police said yesterday that as many as 10,000 patients of the rogue clinics may be…
- Northern Thailand News
Posters of missing persons removed by Ubon University security
Prompted by the abduction of Thai activist Wanchalearm Satisakit in Cambodia, a student group called “Kob Plerng” (คบแพลิง) at Isaan’s Ubon Ratchatani University put up a string of posters of people assumed to be abducted by the Thai state. They were removed by university security this week. Ubon Ratchatani is one of the four major city centres in Isaan, north…
- Covid-19 News
Quotas for returning Australians to be halved amid Melbourne outbreak
As Australia struggles with a new Covid-19 outbreak in Melbourne, Australian PM Scott Morrison has announced that from this Monday he’s cutting the number of Australians allowed to reenter the country by half – from 8,000 to only 4,000 daily. He says the move is needed to devote resources to countering the “very concerning” domestic virus surge. Authorities there have…
- World News
Combined force arrests 107 illegal Cambodian migrants within a day
Immigration officials in Sa Kaeo province, together with border police and the Thai military, have arrested 107 illegal immigrants since yesterday. Sa Kaeo lies about 200 kilometres east of Bangkok at the Cambodian border. The commander of the Burapha Armed Forces (Tigers of the East) – the nickname of the military clique attached to the 2nd Infantry Division, the Queen’s…
- Crime News
Over 1,400 arrested, fined for illegal motorbike races in Udon Thani
In a move reminiscent of last week’s public shaming in Chon Buri, police in the northern province of Udon Thani have hired a local steamroller to destroy hundreds of illegally modified motorcycle mufflers. More than 1,400 alleged street racers were arrested and almost 370 motorcycles seized in a week long crackdown on illegal racing in the province. Udon Thani’s police…
- Politics News
Cabinet reshuffle coming as 4 economic ministers resign
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says he’ll reshuffle the Cabinet following the resignations of 4 economic ministers from the ruling Palang Pracharat Party. The finance minister, energy minister, the minister of higher education, science, research and innovation and the deputy secretary-general to the PM and secretary to the Council of Economic Ministers held a joint press conference to announce their resignations. Political…
- World News
Mayor of Seoul dead in apparent suicide after harassment allegations
Seoul’s mayor has died in an apparent suicide the day after a former assistant made allegations of sexual harassment against him. Park Won-soon, a former human rights lawyer and potential presidential candidate, was found dead earlier yesterday on a mountain in the South Korean capital. The death is by far the most dramatic end to a #MeToo case in the…
- Environment News
Rescuers remove 4 metre python from Chon Buri car
A 4 metre long python has been carefully extracted from a car in Chon Buri’s central city district. It took rescue workers around 2 hours to locate and remove the reluctant reptile. Earlier, the snake was spotted by an unnamed local motorist, who stopped traffic to let the python safely cross Bypass Road in the Huay Kapi area. Afterwards it made…
- Politics News
US ambassador vows to help Thailand combat human trafficking
The US ambassador to Thailand is pledging to help Thailand achieve its goal to be upgraded from Tier 2 to Tier 1 in the annual US Trafficking in Persons Report. The report divides countries into tiers based on their compliance with standards outlined in the US Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. Tier 1 comprises countries whose governments fully comply…
- Thai Life
Not bowing to tradition – School group demands end of prostration
More than 1,000 members of Bangkok’s Bodindecha School community have signed a petition asking the principal to abolish mandatory prostration – the act of submissively kneeling or grovelling as a sign of respect. On July 2, the Bodin Democracy group launched a campaign to demand an end to the practice by encouraging netizens who agree with the cause to use…
- World News
Amnesty International says Myanmar bombing civilians
Myanmar is bombing its own people, according to Amnesty International. The human rights watchdog says it has evidence that indiscriminate airstrikes by Myanmar’s military, also known as the Tatmadaw, are killing civilians, including children, amid a worsening armed conflict in the country’s Rakhine and Chin States. The attacks, and other serious human rights violations, are taking place in towns and…
- World News
State quarantine for Thais entering Singapore, while harder hit nations get a pass
Singapore’s government will continue to require that all Thai arrivals to the city-state undergo a 14 day mandatory state quarantine before being allowed to enter the country and mingle with the general population. Singapore, which has 45,298 total cases, says that Thais must serve their “Stay Home Notice” at dedicated government quarantine facilities. Arrivals from China, which has seen a total…
- Covid-19 News
US delegation arrives, submits to Covid-19 screening
The chief of staff of the US army, General James C. McConville, arrived in Thailand today with an entourage for a 2 day trip, at the invitation of the Royal Thai Army. He has also granted permission for the publication of the results of his Covid-19 swab test. McConville and his entourage landed at Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport at 10:15am…
- Thailand News
Separate tragedies across the nation
Tragedy has struck around the nation in separate incidents. In the Hat Yai district of the southern Songkhla province, the bodies of the owners of the locally well known Nattharika Furniture were discovered this morning by a relative who had been instructed to show up at the shop at 6am. In an apparent suicide pact, 55 year old Somsak, and…
- Thai Life
Blaze destroys part of historic Si Ayutthaya temple
Wat Chang Thong, built in the Ayutthaya period, has suffered severe fire damage last night as a blaze gutted one of its teak pavilions. Damage is estimated at 20 million baht. Police say the inferno at the temple in tambon Ko Rian, Si Ayutthaya district was reported about 9pm. The area is about 2 hours north of Bangkok city. Some…
- Crime News
Guinean man held for alleged rape of a minor in Bangkok
A man from the western African nation of Guinea was arrested at a McDonald’s in Bangkok’s Bang Rak area for allegedly raping a 17 year old girl. 58 year old Mamady Keita, reportedly a ruby trader, is accused of luring the girl to a hotel in the Phya Thai area and assaulting her. The girl told police that she’d been…
- Thailand News
Activists want Thailand to lead total ban on wildlife trade
With the Covid-19 pandemic continuing to sweep the globe and the World Health Organisation saying 75% of all emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic, campaigners against wildlife crime say Thailand could become a global leader in helping to prevent pandemics by cracking down on poaching and ceasing to be a gateway for illegal wildlife trade. Activists believe this could help stop…
- South Thailand News
Yala ramps up security after fatal shooting of volunteer ranger
Following yesterday’s fatal shooting of a volunteer ranger in Thailand’s southern Yala province, security in the province’s Muang district has been stepped up. Buddhist communities are being warned to exercise “increased caution” and to be careful of strangers, as authorities are bracing for potential attacks by southern insurgents. The volunteer ranger was identified as 43 year old Nikorn Sombatthong, who…
- Covid-19 News
Doctors say Covid-19 first wave may be over, but warn against complacency
A spokesman for the Department of Disease Control says the “first wave” of the Covid-19 outbreak in Thailand is over after the country seeing no cases of community transmissions for 44 straight days. Dr Anupong Sujariyakul warned, however, that the kingdom must be prepared for the possibility of a second wave, as the contagion is still spreading in many parts…
- Northern Thailand News
Chiang Mai-Chiang Rai highway closed by flooding again – VIDEO
There seems no end in sight for the construction of the Chiang Mai-Chiang Rai highway as yet another night of severe rains caused massive flooding in the Doi Saket district. The bypass and the road were underwater, creating a traffic pandemonium. The police came to the scene and began suggesting alternative routes. As the waters subsided the road was opened again,…
- Thailand News
UPDATE: Thai Cabinet approves civil partnership bill
The Thai cabinet has today endorsed a bill allowing registration of same-sex couples, as well as legal amendments to ensure same-sex couples have the same rights and privileges as opposite-sex couples. The bill and the amendment will now be put to a vote in the Thai parliament. The government’s deputy spokeswoman says the new Civil Partnership Bill and the amendment…
- World News
AirAsia’s wings may be clipped permanently
Malaysia’s budget airline AirAsia could become the next casualty of the Covid19 pandemic, which has grounded fleets around the world and already forced the demise of NokScoot, another regional budget carrier. AirAsia’s auditor is warning that the airline’s future is in “significant doubt” due to the collapse in demand for air travel caused by the coronavirus and regional governments closing borders.…
- Covid-19 News
Thai activist cries foul on government over US diplomat skirting quarantine
A transparency campaigner dubbed ” Thailand’s complainer-in-chief ” is accusing the government of negligence for allowing the chief of the US army to enter the country without having to go through a mandatory quarantine upon arriving. Activist Srisuwan Janya says he fears the visit of a delegation from the country with by far the most Covid-19 cases (not to mention…
- South Thailand News
Volunteer ranger shot dead in Yala
Police report that a volunteer ranger has been shot dead by a gunman on a motorcycle in the Raman district of the southern border province of Yala this morning. According to a radio report called into the Thathong police station, the attack occurred about 8:45am in front of Prachanukroh 41 School on the Kotabaru-Thung Yang Daeng road. Witnesses say 43…
- Northern Thailand News
Millions of meth pills, tonnes of marijuana seized in 3 major drug hauls
In what is becoming an increasingly common story, police have announced the seizure of millions of methamphetamine pills (ya ba) and more than 2 tonnes of marijuana, among other types of illicit drugs, in 3 major anti-drug operations last week. The head of the Narcotics Suppression Bureau told a press briefing that drug agencies confiscated nearly 1.5 million methamphetamine pills,…
- Crime News
Man arrested for repeatedly raping stepdaughter in Nakhon Si Thammarat
Police in southern Thailand have arrested a 38 year old man and charged him with the repeated rape of his young stepdaughter, along with illegal drug use. Officers of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division and local police arrested the man at his house in Nakhon Si Thammarat province yesterday. The arrest follows a complaint filed by the girl’s grandmother. She…
- Covid-19 News
Trump announces withdrawal from WHO over China claims
The UN has announced that the US is leaving the World Health Organisation effective July 6, 2021, after official notice from US President Donald Trump, who has been sharply critical of the agency’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. He had accused the WHO of being “a puppet of China”. The WHO has denied assertions by President Trump that it promoted…
