Yala

  • South Thailand NewsInfections rise in “Deep South,” top health official to assess the situation

    Infections rise in “Deep South,” top health official to assess the situation

    As Covid-19 infection rates rise in Thailand’s four southern provinces near the Malaysian border, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered Public Health Permanent Secretary to visit and assess the situation, a government spokesperson said yesterday. The prime minister has asked that the situation be brought under control within the next two months. According to the CCSA, the four border provinces, known…

  • South Thailand NewsSoldier injured by pipe bomb in Yala

    Soldier injured by pipe bomb in Yala

    A soldier has been injured after a pipe bomb was tossed into a military base in Yala, the “deep south” province near the Malaysian border with occasional violence related to the religious separatist insurgency. The incident occurred last night and was detailed in a report from the Muang police station. The Bangkok Post reports that the attack happened around 8pm…

  • Tourism NewsBetong Airport in Yala is almost ready to be southernmost Airport

    Betong Airport in Yala is almost ready to be southernmost Airport

    Thailand’s southernmost province is set to open Thailand’s southernmost airport as the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand is nearing completion of safety inspections for Betong International Airport in Yala province. The CAAT is doing safety and security inspections now, which will be followed by a license and certification that will allow commercial flights to operate in and out of the…

  • Covid-19 NewsPreparing for Bangkok lockdown measures from today on

    Preparing for Bangkok lockdown measures from today on

    The CCSA announced yesterday sweeping new Covid-19 lockdown measures for Bangkok and surrounding provinces, as well as 4 southern provinces, and now people and businesses are scrambling to prepare before provisions go into effect from now until Monday. Airlines have quickly implemented emergency measures for domestic travellers to handle the wave of cancellations and rescheduling due to Bangkok and other…

  • Covid-19 News1 month closure of Bangkok, southern work camps ordered

    1 month closure of Bangkok, southern work camps ordered

    While Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul claimed the situation in Bangkok hospitals was not critical, senior doctors at many hospitals are proposing a 1-week full lockdown of the capital city. Perhaps meeting in the middle, late this afternoon PM Prayut Chan-o-cha announced the 1-month closure of all construction work camps in Bangkok as well as 4…

  • Thailand NewsMan wanted for attempted murder arrested on train

    Man wanted for attempted murder arrested on train

    A man who slashed a relative for not helping with car payments has been caught on a train in Nakhon Si Thammarat. An arrest warrant had been out for Kitiphong since November of last year for attempted murder. Kitiphon was arrested on a train in Nakhon Si Thammarat. He allegedly confessed to the slashing. According to the police, Kitiphon was…

  • Thailand NewsMonday Covid Update: 3,175 new cases; infections rise in the Deep South

    Monday Covid Update: 3,175 new cases; infections rise in the Deep South

    The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration recorded 3,175 new Covid-19 cases today. Thailand now has 33,859 active cases, a slight increase since the count recorded yesterday after a downward trend over the past few weeks. 29 coronavirus-related fatalities were reported today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 1,658. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA…

  • Covid-19 NewsCovid cluster spreads from Yala to other southern provinces

    Covid cluster spreads from Yala to other southern provinces

    A Covid cluster in Thailand’s southern province Yala has widened to 190 infections in multiple provinces, says the Disease Control Department. The cluster started at a madrasa, an Islamic boarding school. The majority of the infections (69) were discovered in Yala. Some of the infections by province are as follows: Satun: 37 Songkhla: 17 Pattani: 14 Krabi:14 Narathiwat: 13 Surat…

  • Covid-19 NewsInvestigation over Hat Yai woman’s death after vaccine

    Investigation over Hat Yai woman’s death after vaccine

    An investigation has begun into the death of a woman in Hat Yai who died 2 weeks after receiving a Covid-19 vaccine to see if the death was related to the jab. A friend had suggested the possibility of a negative reaction due to the birth control pills the woman was taking combined with the vaccine, as blood clotting is…

  • South Thailand NewsBizarre final calls of 2 Southern insurgents killed in standoff

    Bizarre final calls of 2 Southern insurgents killed in standoff

    The bizarre final moments are coming to light of 2 insurgents in the south of Thailand that were killed in a standoff after shooting a member of the Thai paramilitary forces. The pair shot the soldier and then retreated to a shack made of corrugated metal while security forces tried to convince them to surrender. But during that time the…

  • South Thailand NewsThai ranger and 2 suspected insurgents killed in Thailand’s deep south

    Thai ranger and 2 suspected insurgents killed in Thailand’s deep south

    In the ongoing violence from the Southern Thailand insurgency, 2 suspected insurgents and a Thai ranger were killed in a clash between security forces and an armed rebel group in Yala’s Krong Pinang district. Known as Thailand’s “deep south,” the provinces Yala, Narathiwat, and Pattani, along the Malaysia border, have been plagued with violence for years due to the religious…

  • South Thailand NewsThailand’s Southern Insurgency – who’s fighting who?

    Thailand’s Southern Insurgency – who’s fighting who?

    Trouble in the ‘south’. Attacks against civilians and rangers. Insurgents attack Thai soldiers – the sorts of headlines that people have read about Thailand’s southern conflict for the past 70 years or so. Thaiger readers may wonder who’s fighting who, and why. The area has been coined the ‘deep south’ or the ‘restive south’ and has become, statistically, a more…

  • South Thailand NewsThousands of people evacuated due to flood in deep south Thailand

    Thousands of people evacuated due to flood in deep south Thailand

    Thousands of residents in Songkhla, Yala and Narathiwat, in lower south of Thailand, evacuated their homes due to flash flooding from nearly a week of continuous heavy rain. Local authorities say a total of 18,024 households across 19 districts in the 3 provinces were affected. In Yala, the continuous heavy rain throughout the week caused the Sai Buri River to…

  • South Thailand NewsMuslim couples in Yala who show affection could be arrested and forced to marry

    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…

  • Thailand NewsThailand News Today | ‘Digital Nomad’ visa, ‘Property’ visa, Huge drug bust | Dec 16

    Thailand News Today | ‘Digital Nomad’ visa, ‘Property’ visa, Huge drug bust | Dec 16

    BOI proposes new smart visa rules to lure foreign talent, digital nomads The Board of Investment in Thailand is asking the Cabinet to approve new smart visa rules designed to attract more overseas talent to work in Thailand. The aim is to allow digital freelancers currently working in Thailand to exchange their tourist visas for smart visas. To be eligible,…

  • South Thailand NewsSouthern insurgency State of Emergency order extended another 3 months

    Southern insurgency State of Emergency order extended another 3 months

    With ongoing violence related to the religious separatist insurgency in the South, the State of Emergency in the Southern provinces Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani has been extended by the Cabinet for another 3 months, from December 20 to March 19. While the ethnic and religious conflict dates back to 1948, the 3 provinces bordering Malaysia have been plagued with violence…

  • South Thailand NewsYala ramps up security after fatal shooting of volunteer ranger

    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…

  • South Thailand NewsVolunteer ranger shot dead in Yala

    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…

  • Covid-19 NewsYala lab under investigation following Covid-19 testing errors

    Yala lab under investigation following Covid-19 testing errors

    A medical lab in the southern province of Yala, which returned 40 “false positive” Covid-19 test results, is being investigated to determine where the errors came from. Thai PBS World reports that experts from Prince of Songkhla University in Hat Yai and the Medical Science Department in Nonthaburi province have been sent to the lab to investigate the situation. The…

  • Covid-19 NewsSecond round of tests confirm 40 Covid-19 cases in Yala were “false positives”

    Second round of tests confirm 40 Covid-19 cases in Yala were “false positives”

    A second round of tests carried out on 40 people who tested positive for the Covid-19 virus in the southern province of Yala, have all come back negative. The Bangkok Post reports that the initial tests have now been confirmed as “false positives”. Now a third test is being run to remove any doubt. The spokesman for the Centre for Covid-19…

  • Covid-19 News40 confirmed Covid-19 cases surface in southern Yala province

    40 confirmed Covid-19 cases surface in southern Yala province

    A second set of swabs from 40 asymptomatic in-patients at a hospital in Yala, southern Thailand, were sent to a laboratory in neighbouring Songkhla for analysis. Now the health office has confirmed the 40 new Covid-19 cases in Yala. The huge spike in local cases has sent health officials scurrying to trace those who had been in contact with the…

  • South Thailand NewsFirst month in 16 years with no insurgency attacks in Thailand

    First month in 16 years with no insurgency attacks in Thailand

    Last month was the first in 16 years in which there were no insurgent attacks on Thai forces or civilians, either in Thailand’s restive Deep South or elsewhere. The country’s three Muslim-majority southernmost provinces of Yala, Pattani, and Narathiwat, all around Malaysia’s northern border, have been embroiled in a bloody separatist insurgency for the best part of two decades. More…

  • Covid-19 NewsYala clinic at centre of Covid-19 alert

    Yala clinic at centre of Covid-19 alert

    An orthopaedic clinic in the southern border province of Yala is at the centre of a Covid-19 alert after a patient failed to reveal he was infected with the virus. Health authorities are now scrambling to track down all those who visited the clinic on April 23, urging them to report immediately to their local health office for screening. In a…

  • Crime NewsWoman cooks and eats Leopard, posts her kitchen skills on Facebook attracting widespread outrage

    Woman cooks and eats Leopard, posts her kitchen skills on Facebook attracting widespread outrage

    A disturbing Facebook post went viral this week depicting a woman grilling and eating a young leopard with a caption that read “Tonight’s dinner, fried spicy leopard. Did I get it by accident?”After the post saw wide-scale outrage, it was picked up by local NGO, Watchdog Thailand, who brought it to the attention of wildlife authorities. Leopards are a protected…

  • Covid-19 NewsViral video urges Indonesian Muslims to march on virus hotspots – VIDEO

    Viral video urges Indonesian Muslims to march on virus hotspots – VIDEO

    A video clip, showing Indonesian Muslim pilgrims being urged to gather at Covid-19 hotspots is getting lots of attention. Some are concerned that the best intentions of the muslim leaders could lead to uncontrolled local outbreaks of Covid-19. In the clip, Muslim worshippers on a “Dawah” (missionary) pilgrimage are encouraged not to be afraid of the virus and to march…

  • Covid-19 NewsYala authorities fear local Muslims will ignore Friday prayer ban

    Yala authorities fear local Muslims will ignore Friday prayer ban

    Officials in Yala in Thailand’s Deep South are urgently trying to convince Muslim leaders of the need to follow orders that suspends traditional Friday prayers at all mosques. The Chularatchamontri, spirtual leader of Thailand’s many Muslims, ordered prayers suspended over worries that large gatherings may spread the Covid-19 coronavirus. Provincial governor Chaiyasit Panitpong, meanwhile, appealed to residents to contact health authorities…

  • Covid-19 NewsAll public transport to Phuket, Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat suspended

    All public transport to Phuket, Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat suspended

    Thailand’s Land Transport Department has suspended all public transport in an out of Phuket, Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, due to the rapid spread of Covid-19. The four provinces are in the south of Thailand. The department’s director-general, Chirut Visarnchit, says that the suspension includes under-provincial and chartered services, but public transport to the other destinations is unaffected, but certain measures…

  • Covid-19 NewsGovernment aims to limit travel around Thailand by 90%

    Government aims to limit travel around Thailand by 90%

    It won’t do much for oil prices, but it will flatten Thailand’s Covid-19 ‘curve’ and help with the country’s air pollution problems. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration is aiming to cut public transport use by as much as 90% around the country in order to stem the rise of Covid-19 coronavirus infections. Just yesterday, Thailand’s Department of Land Transport announced that…

  • South Thailand NewsOne soldier dead, two injured in southern gunfight

    One soldier dead, two injured in southern gunfight

    A Thai soldier is dead and two others have been wounded in a gunfight between an army patrol and insurgents in the southern province of Pattani. The clash occurred about noon near Pattani Dam, near the border with Yala, yesterday. A spokesman for the Internal Security Operation Command says the patrol was part of a combined government force operating in…

  • South Thailand NewsTwo bombs explode in front of the Yala provincial offices today

    Two bombs explode in front of the Yala provincial offices today

    More violence in Thailand’s south today as two small bombs explode at the front of the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre in Yala’s city centre this morning. Many people are reported as injured from the blasts. It’s believed that five provincial police (or soldiers) and three media were wounded in the two explosions. Thai PBS is reporting that 18 people…