News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.
-
Thai officials crackdown on “lèse majesté” social media pages and posts
In a crackdown on social media posts critical of the Thai Monarchy, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society says they plan to pursue legal action against Facebook and Twitter for failing to remove content that violates the country’s draconian lèse majesté law. Social media users who make insulting posts about the Thai Monarchy can also be charged. So far, the…
-
Los Angeles ambulances won’t take cardiac patients unlikely to survive as Covid crisis worsens
As the state of California finds itself in the midst of a full-blown Covid-19 crisis, medical workers in Los Angeles are being faced with some stark choices. According to County Supervisor Hilda Sollis, a memo issued by the county’s Emergency Medical Services instructs ambulance workers not to pick up patients who’ve suffered a heart attack if their chances of surviving…
-
392 killed in road accidents during New Year holiday’s “7 Dangerous Days”
Nearly 400 people were killed in road accidents in Thailand over the New Year holiday week known as the “7 Dangerous Days.” Motorcycles were involved in the vast majority of accidents while speeding and drink-driving were the most common causes of accidents. From December 29 up until yesterday, 392 people died in accidents, a 5% increase from last year’s toll…
-
Justice minister proposes “fortune-telling” vocational program for prison inmates
Inmates in Thailand’s prisons might soon be able to study astrology and fortune-telling. Justice Minister Somsak Thepsuthin proposed the vocational program to help the prisoners get jobs after they are released. Somsak says the course is a low investment for the Board of Corrections, adding that fortune-telling is popular in Thailand and a skill inmates can use to earn money…
-
Covid-19 control measures by province
Provincial authorities are stepping up disease control measures as Covid-19 spreads throughout the country. 55 of Thailand’s 77 provinces have reported at least 1 Covid-19 case since the new wave of the coronavirus. Here’s a run down of Covid-19 measures and advisories in some Thailand provinces, posted by the Tourism Authority of Thailand. Bangkok Closure of educational institutions at all…
-
Can you survive 10 days of no talking, no phone? The Vipassana Silent Meditation Retreat | VIDEO
Thaiger team member Jett tells of his experience at a 10-day Vipassana Meditation Retreat in Phitsanulok Province in central Thailand. No talking, no phone, vegetarian meals, and 12 hours of meditation each day. Transformative experience or sheer insanity? Tim finds out the answers! Retreat location: https://goo.gl/maps/AuovZvEVPRkxMshy7 Learn more: https://www.dhamma.org https://www.youtube.com/user/VipassanaOrg
-
A year of COVID – from Wuhan to World Pandemic | VIDEO
12 months ago the news of a mysterious respiratory illness started to emerge from hospitals in the central Chinese province of Hubei. Chinese health authorities said they were investigating a small cluster of pneumonia-like cases with an unknown cause linked to a seafood market in Wuhan. Those early days have given rise to any number of conspiracy theories that the…
-
Muslim couples in Yala who show affection could be arrested and forced to marry
Muslim unmarried couples in the southern Thai province of Yala could be arrested, and even forced to wed immediately by Islamic authorities, if they are seen being ‘affectionate’ in public. The new rule was set by the Yaha Central Mosque last month, according to Khaosod English. It’s unclear what types of public displays of affection are considered inappropriate, but apparently…
-
UPDATE: 5 coastal provinces still open – Prayut rejects “total lockdown” proposal
The proposal for a “total lockdown” restricting travel in and out of 5 coastal provinces was rejected by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha. The provinces, Samut Sakhon, Chon Buri, Rayong, Chanthaburi and Trat, are implementing strict measures to control the spread of the virus, but the provinces will not be completely sealed off. In earlier reports, Deputy Public Health Minister Satit Pitutacha…
-
Chon Buri tightens Covid-19 restrictions, including fines for not wearing a mask
Covid-19 restrictions have tightened in Chon Buri and now people can be fined up to 20,000 baht for not wearing a mask. People are ordered to wear face masks outside. Those who violate the under a new measure, which was recently announced by the provincial governor’s office, could face the hefty fine. Schools and venues that hold large crowds are…
-
Public health official urges Bangkokians to eat at home
People in Bangkok should eat at home as much as possible to lower the risk of spreading the coronavirus, according to the director-general of the Department of Health. While there is now a ban on dine-in service from 9pm to 6am in Bangkok, Dr. Suwannachai Wattanacharoencha says people should still eat a home during the day. He says the best…
-
Social media users help track down 2 kidnapped children in Bangkok
A man is in police custody in Bangkok after social media users helped track down 2 children allegedly kidnapped in the capital. A 7 year old boy, named only as “B”, and an 8 year old unnamed girl, were visiting a shopping mall in the Phra Khanong district, close to their home, at the time of the incident. According to…
-
5 coastal provinces in “total lockdown,” no travel in or out
5 coastal provinces including Samut Sakhon, Chon Buri, Rayong, Chantaburi and Trat are under “total lockdown.” This means people cannot travel in or out of those provinces unless it is necessary. Deputy PM Satit Pitutacha says if the strict travel restrictions are not in place, then the Covid-19 outbreak could become “chaos.” Satit made a post on Facebook saying the…
-
Officials in virus-hit Samut Sakhon put out urgent call for second field hospital
A local official in the central province of Samut Sakhon is pleading for a second field hospital to contain the spread of Covid-19. The province is at the epicentre of a resurgence in the virus, since Thailand’s first local case in months was detected in a fish market in the Muang district last month. Since then, the virus has spread…
-
5 Thai provinces ordered into total lockdown
5 provinces in Thailand are in total lockdown, with travel restrictions barring anyone from leaving or entering, unless absolutely necessary. The provinces affected by the tough new measures are the eastern provinces of Chon Buri, Rayong, Chanthaburi and Trat, as well as the central province of Samut Sakhon, where Thailand’s Covid-19 resurgence originated last month. Thai PBS World reports that…
-
No illegal gambling dens are in Bangkok, deputy PM claims
Following Covid-19 cases linked to illegal gambling dens in Chon Buri and Rayong as well as a nationwide crackdown on gambling, deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan is assuring the public that there are no illegal gambling dens in Bangkok as some worry that the unlawful gatherings could potentially spread the virus. Gambling is illegal and police are “on top of it,”…
-
NE Monsoon in South – warnings of heavy rain and flash floods
South of Thailand is expected to face the northeast monsoon that is expected to bring in heavy rain that may cause flash floods. With the prevailing monsoon in the upper and the lower part of the Gulf of Thailand, some southern provinces, including Phatthalung, Songkhla, Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat are likely to be affected by strong winds and waves that…
-
Tourists sent back to Pattaya as Koh Lan goes into lockdown
Tourists vacationing on Koh Lan were sent back to the mainland today as the island, just off Pattaya, goes into lockdown. The local community, including business owners and residents, decided to impose lockdown measures starting tomorrow until January 20, according to the secretary of the island’s community Sorasak Thongbongpetch. Around 100 tourists were ordered to leave the island and asked…
-
Thailand News Today | Record daily infections, Covid restrictions, British arrivals ‘on hold’ | Jan 4
745 new Covid-19 infections and 1 new coronavirus related death have been reported today during the daily briefing of the CCSA. Thailand now has 4,022 active Covid-19 cases with a total of 8,439 reported cases and 65 deaths since the beginning of the outbreak a year ago. Today’s figures include 505 cases in Samut Sakhon which were announced yesterday. Some…
-
No dine-in service at Bangkok restaurants after 9pm
Bangkok officials announced a ban on dine-in services at restaurants after 7pm, but PM Prayut Chan-o-cha quickly changed the order to allow people to eat at the restaurants until 9pm, saying an earlier-hour ban would have a negative impact on the restaurant owners and the economy. Bangkok Metropolitan Administration had announced this morning that restaurants in the capital would only…
-
Latest details of Covid restrictions and locations in Thailand | VIDEO
UPDATE: From tomorrow (Tuesday), restaurants will be required to close to in-dining customers, from 7pm to 6am. Restrictions are now in place, as of midnight last night, as the latest mitigations against Thailand’s Covid-19 outbreak. The outbreak, which kicked off on December 20 last year, has now reached most of Thailand’s provinces, some more affected than others, and that…
-
No lockdown in Phuket, governor calls for more disease control measures
There’s no lockdown in Phuket, the provincial governor says, but protective measures are in place to prevent the spread of the Covid-19. The province currently has 3 confirmed Covid-19 cases, classifying it as a “yellow zone,” a high surveillance area. Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew says Phuket’s borders are still open to outside visitors, but all of them must be screened…
-
Like a rolling stone (2 decades and counting). My home, Phuket.
by Bill Barnett from c9hotelworks.com Driving down a seemingly endless winding road on the warm tropical island of Phuket, I glance up and see a sign indicating a left turn, shouting out in big bold letters ‘Welcome to Days of Future Past.’ Reading between the lines, let me state that we have landed headfirst like crash test dummies into the…
-
Thai VietJet offers passengers change of flights during Covid outbreak
Thai VietJet, along with all the other Thai domestic airlines, is being impacted by a drop in traffic during the current list of restrictions during the latest Covid-19 outbreak in Thailand. According to Thai Residents, “for passengers who booked tickets and made payments before January 1, 2021 with travel date between January 5 – 3, 2021, can change their travel…
-
UPDATE: New restrictions come into force in Thailand from today
Some new restrictions have been introduced and others tightened as the Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha announced the latest list of restrictions taking effect from today. The latest list was published in the Royal Gazette yesterday and are now in force. On Friday the BMA suggested that restaurants in Bangkok may be prevented from providing in house dining, and providing take…
-
Schools closed in 28 Thai provinces
Thailand’s Ministry of Education is closing all schools in 28 ‘highly controlled red zone’ provinces until January 31, or until further notice. The statement was released over the weekend and applies to all education institutions and both “informal and formal, public or private” schools. Parents should contact their schools to find out about alternative online teaching arrangements for affected schools. Here’s…
-
541 additional Covid-19 infections announced for Samut Sakhon, mostly migrant workers
On top of the numbers of new infections announced earlier today – some 315 both local and imported cases – the province of Samut Sakhon has reported 541 additional Covid-19 infections this afternoon afternoon. Most of them are migrant workers from the local seafood industry. The Mahachai Shrimp Market on the coast of Samut Sakhon, just south west of Bangkok,…
-
Vandals target US politicians over pandemic relief package
Vandals have targeted the homes of US politicians over a hotly-debated $900 billion pandemic relief aid package. Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell and Democrat Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi saw their homes littered with graffiti, fake blood and a pig’s head. “Were’s [sic] my money” and “Mitch kills the poor” graced McConnell’s front door and window in Louisville, Kentucky,…
-
Chonburi adds 62 more local transmissions today of Covid-19
Chonburi province has added 62 more cases of locally transmitted Covid-19 cases to the total amount of cases reported today in Thailand this afternoon. The accumulative confirmed cases in this new cluster of infections has now reached 305 patients with 1 death. Of the newly confirmed cases, 50 were discovered in the Si Racha district, 7 in Banglamung, 2 in…
-
Drunk driving claims most traffic accidents over holiday season
Drunk driving is being blamed for most of the road accidents over the 7 deadly days of driving during the New Year season. So far, there have been 2,748 road accidents with 316 deaths and 2,741 injuries reported on the 5th day of the weeklong stretch. Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation says there were about 383 accidents with 44…
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.