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Parit threatens hunger strike if activists charged with lèse majesté are not released
Protest leader and co-founder of the Ratsadon pro-democracy group, Parit Chiwarak, has threatened to go on hunger strike if fellow activists charged with lèse majesté offences are not released. Thailand’s lèse majesté law, officially known as section 112 of the Criminal Code, prohibits criticising, insulting, or otherwise defaming the monarchy. A number of activists have been hit with the charge…
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Thai Visa Centre says former employee has been arrested for stealing
Thai Visa Centre says a former employee has been arrested for stealing money from staff and clients, including a family who were planning to travel to Thailand. They say the former employee, Asim Muhummad Mehran, was caught while “attempting to flee the country in Hat Yai with our clients’ money, staffs’ money, and a lot of records of transactions.” The…
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Thailand News Today | Cluster breaks out west of Bangkok, Phuket resort owner in bad crash | March 15
On The Thaiger today, another cluster breaks out in the west of Bangkok, more deaths in Myanmar as the Burmese Army turns against its citizens, and the PM apologises for spraying journalists with hand-sanitiser last week. Thailand recorded 170 new infections of Covid yesterday, most of them in Bangkok. It pushes the country’s accumulated total infections to nearly 27,000. The…
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Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha to be injected with AstraZeneca vaccine tomorrow
Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is set to be injected with the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine tomorrow. He initially planned to get the vaccine last Friday, but suddenly cancelled due to worries that the vaccine could be linked to an increased risk of blood clots. The press is barred from attending the formal vaccination event at the Government House, but the process…
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CCSA Update: New Covid-19 death, rise of cases in Bangkok
78 new Covid-19 cases and 1 death were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. Thailand now has 684 active Covid-19 cases. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has reported a total of 27,005 coronavirus infections and 87 deaths. An 88 year old Thai man died after testing positive for Covid-19. The…
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UPDATE: Health Minister says AstraZeneca jabs will start next week after slight delay
Covid-19 immunisations using the AstraZeneca vaccine will start next week, Thailand’s public health minister Anutin Charnvirakul wrote on a Facebook post with a photo of him holding a box of vials containing the vaccine. The update, without any explanation, comes just 3 days after PM Prayut Chan-o-cha cancelled his plans to get jabbed with the vaccine and the Thai government…
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Royal Thai Army to set up refugee camps for those fleeing Myanmar
With 100 people thought to be dead in Myanmar since the military took power last month, the Royal Thai Army plans to set up temporary camps for Burmese nationals fleeing the neighbouring country to escape political violence. Some say the actual death toll is much higher. Refugee camps will be set up in Ranong and Chumphon which border Myanmar’s southern-most…
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Phuket officials warn public of crocodile spotted near Chalong pier
Officials in Phuket are warning residents near Chalong Pier of a crocodile sighting in the area over the weekend. Nation Thailand reports that Natchaphong Pranit from the Phuket Port Authority Office says the reptile was spotted in the water around 3pm on Saturday. “We advise operators of boat services and general public to exercise extra caution when entering the pier…
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Thailand in negotiations to purchase another 5 million doses of Chinese vaccine
Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul says Thailand is in talks about purchasing an additional 5 million doses of China’s Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine. The announcement comes as the government postpones administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine over blood clotting concerns. However, without further explanation, Anutin also states on his Facebook page that inoculation using the AstraZeneca jab will begin next week. According…
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Suspension of AstraZeneca jab delays Thailand’s planned vaccination drive
With Thailand joining several European countries in suspending use of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine amid blood clot concerns, the Kingdom’s vaccine rollout now faces more delays. Thailand only has a limited supply of 1 other vaccine – China’s Sinovac. Thailand had chosen AstraZeneca as the primary vaccine for those over the age of 60 (including the PM), signing a deal…
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Martial law declared in Yangon in deadliest day since junta power grab
The Burmese military has imposed martial law in the townships of Hlaing Tharyar and Shwepyitha in Yangon, following a bloody crackdown in which at least 18 protesters died. Around 100 people are now thought to have died since the army deposed of leader Aung San Suu Kyi, claiming the landslide election victory of her National League for Democracy party was…
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Health officials move to quell panic over new Covid cluster in Bangkok
With proactive testing in Bangkok revealing a new cluster of 96 infections in the Bang Khae district, health officials have moved to allay fears of another wave of the virus. Between March 7 and 13, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration tested 4,046 people at various markets in Bang Khae, with 96 testing positive and the remainder still waiting on results. Opas…
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A woman has been arrested for allegedly selling fake medical certificates online
A woman has been arrested for allegedly selling fake medical certificates online. The raid followed a tip-off that fake medical certificates were available to buy online via a Facebook page. The suspect said she earned between 250,000 to 500,000 baht a month from the sale of fake medical certificates. Niphaporn Ponghiran aged 33 was arrested at a house on Phetkasem…
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Thai-language teacher suspended for throwing books at her students
A Thai-language teacher was suspended after she was caught on video throwing textbooks at her students and even hitting a teenage student in the head with a book. Khun Sudawan, a teacher at the Manchasuksa State Secondary School in the Isaan province Khon Kaen, had been checking over class assignments and noticed many students had not finished. As Sudawan started…
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3 protesters die overnight in Yangon, Myanmar
The latest tragic loss of life in Myanmar occurred in Yangon overnight. 3 protesters died at vigils in honor of those who have died since the military coup on February 1st, 2021. The military has been using more force against all protests with over 70 lives now lost. The vast majority of demonstrations and arrests happen during the daytime and…
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Pro-democracy leaders denied bail for 5th time
A group of pro-democracy protest leaders are being denied bail again for the 5th time by Thailand’s Criminal Court. The 4 leaders, known by their nicknames, as Penguin, Rung, Pai Dao Din, and Toto, were joined in court by attorneys and professors from Bangkok’s Mahidol and Thammasat University to request bail on the grounds that the leaders were still students…
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Thailand’s private hospitals planning to profit off Covid-19 vaccine
Thailand’s private hospitals are planning to profit off of offering Covid-19 vaccines for paying customers. The hospitals have allegedly been procuring doses of vaccines after negotiating with different manufacturers. The news comes after Thailand’s Public Health Ministry has stopped the rollout of the AstrasZeneca vaccine after some countries in the EU banned its use over blood clot concerns. The hospitals…
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Uh oh: Netflix may stop allowing the sharing of passwords
Netflix is announcing that it may stop allowing users to share passwords with others who live elsewhere, in a worrying move for those who love to freeload off of their friends. Some free loaders took to Twitter to share the news of an apparent ban on sharing passwords as they say they were notified that they needed to be subscribers…
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Koh Samui aims for quarantine-free travel starting in October
Koh Samui is aiming to offer quarantine-free travels for vaccinated visitors to the southern gulf island. Joining Phuket, the island is expected to be the first area in Surat Thani to test such quarantine-free entries for tourists as it features its own airport. Ratchaporn Poolsawadee, the president of the Tourism Association of Koh Samui, says he is hopeful that Samui…
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American has false negative Covid-19 test result in Thailand, positive result after returning to the US
An American, who recently travelled to Phuket and Bangkok, tested positive for Covid-19 after returning to the United States. The man was tested prior to leaving Thailand and Thai health officials now say that result was a false negative. Thailand’s Department of Medical Sciences reviewed the man’s Covid-19 test that was taken right before leaving Thailand and now say the…
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PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says “sorry” for spraying reporters with hand sanitiser
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says he was just “playing” around when he sprayed puffs of hand sanitiser at reporters during a press conference. When asked questions about a possible reshuffle of the Thai Cabinet, Prayut picked up a bottle of alcohol spray at his podium and gave the front row of the press a good spray while walking off, ending the…
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Be a private island castaway on Koh Munnork, Thailand | VIDEO
Stranded on your very own private island in Thailand. Well, not quite stranded. Chris takes us on a tour of the relatively tiny Koh Munnork (Munnork Island), off the coast of Rayong in east Thailand. The prices for a stay on the private island vary and usually start around 10,000 baht a night but there’s always promotions on and, depending…
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Attorney, university professors seek bail for leaders of pro-democracy Ratsadon group
An attorney, along with university professors, are seeking the release of pro-democracy leaders from jail by requesting bail at Thailand’s Criminal Court. The attorney from Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, Kritsadang Nutcharas, joined with professors from Bangkok’s Thammasat and Mahidol universities to request the release of 3 of the Ratsadon group’s core members. Kritsadang says the families of Rung, Penguin,…
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CCSA Update: 81 new Covid-19 cases
81 new Covid-19 cases were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. Thailand now has 538 active cases. Since the start of the pandemic, the CCSA has reported a total of 26,679 coronavirus infections and 85 deaths. Out of the 81 new cases, 30 were transmitted at high risk areas in Samut Sakhon, Pathum Thani, Bangkok,…
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Aging American expat “living the dream” in Phuket on US $2,500 a month
An American says he is living the dream in paradise in Phuket for only US$2,500 a month. 70 year old Pete Bowen arrived in Thailand back in 2009 with only a suitcase and guitar after self-admittedly making an impulsive decision to sell his house and belongings and move across the world to look for a place in which he could…
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Isaan families earn tens of thousands of baht selling dried tokay geckos
Hundreds of households in the Isaan province Nakhon Phanom are making tens of thousands of baht by selling dried tokay geckos, which are used in traditional Chinese medicine. It’s dry season in the Northeast region and a good time to catch geckos. While many businesses have been struggling throughout the coronavirus pandemic, the gecko trade seems to be booming. A…
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“Sandbox” tourism scheme for foreign travellers in the works for Phuket
Tourism officials are working on what they’re calling the “sandbox,” a new pilot program to reopen Phuket and other destinations by the Andaman Sea to foreign visitors. The sandbox is like the “travel bubble” idea and would allow quarantine-free travel to certain areas. The sandbox model will be pitched to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration next Friday, Tourism and…
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Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine delayed in Thailand after blood clot concerns
The Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine rollout in Thailand is being delayed due to concerns over blood clots after several EU countries suspended their programmes. PM Prayut was supposed to mark the start of using the vaccines in Thailand today, but now his jab has been put off until more information is collected about the vaccine’s safety. Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn, a Covid-19 vaccine…
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PM Prayut Chan-o-cha postpones AstraZeneca jab after some European countries suspended the vaccine
Thailand’s prime minister cancelled plans to get injected with the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine today after reports that some European countries suspended the jab due to the possibility that the vaccine could be linked to an increased risk of blood clots. Some people developed blood clots after receiving the vaccine. In a case in Denmark, a person died. After some European…
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32 Burmese migrants arrested for illegal entry, 4 test positive for Covid-19
4 out of 32 Burmese migrants arrested for illegally crossing into Thailand have tested positive for Covid-19. Officials in the western province of Prachuap Khiri Khan arrested the 32 after they were caught entering the Kingdom illegally. Border officials have stepped up patrols at various crossings between here and Myanmar as political tensions escalate in the neighbouring country. Provincial governor…
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