Thailand News Today | Tour bus disaster, Covid infections drop slightly | April 13

A sad start to Songkran day after 5 people have perished, including 2 children, and another 12 seriously injured after a double-decker interprovincial bus caught fire near Khon Kaen. It was heading to Bangkok. The bus erupted into flames just after midnight on the Mitrapap highway. There were 33 passengers on board. The bus driver was also injured.

965 people have been detected as infected with Covid-19 in the past 24 hours. The daily total is the first drop in daily numbers for 13 days. 28,288 people have fully recovered. The total deaths remains at 97 people since the start of the pandemic in Thailand. 6,190 people remain under hospital care or are being monitored.

2 senior police officers in Bangkok’s trendy Thonglor district have been transferred pending an investigation into a Covid-19 cluster linked to pubs and clubs in the area. The superintendent of Thonglor police station and the inspector for suppression affairs were side-lined to the operations centre of the Metropolitan Police Bureau’s 5th Division yesterday.

Despite vaccines being rolled out, the world health organisation is warning that the Covid-19 pandemic has reached a “critical level” in South Asia as infections keep rising. The virus has already taken 2.9 million lives worldwide, infecting 137 million and the WHO says the “trajectory of this pandemic is now growing…exponentially.”

US/Canadian media company Vice has removed Photoshopped photographs of Khmer Rouge victims from its website after a furious backlash. The grim photos, originally taken before the victims were tortured and methodically killed, had been colourised and, in some cases, had smiles added.

The Burmese junta has shut down Wi-Fi, Internet and mobile data to a stage whereby it’s nearly impossible to access online services or data in most parts of the country. In some parts they still allow a short window each day to use the internet.