Thailand

Thailand Signs Submarine Deal With China To Balance US Ties

Thailand Signs Submarine Deal With China To Balance US Ties

September 25, 2025 3:31 am

Thailand has signed a long-delayed deal with China to acquire a 2,550-ton diesel-electric submarine, a move analysts say underscores Bangkok’s effort to assert strategic autonomy while preserving its long-standing alliance with the United States.

The Royal Thai Navy confirmed that Admiral Jirapol Wongwit, its chief, attended a signing ceremony at China Shipbuilding and Offshore International headquarters in Beijing on 16 September. The agreement covers the purchase of a Chinese-built Type 039A (Thai-designated S26T) submarine and includes technology transfer and crew training. Delivery is scheduled for 2028, after a roughly 40-month construction period.

Thailand originally planned to buy three submarines but …

Thailand Intensifies Efforts Towards Legalising Cannabis

Thailand Intensifies Efforts Towards Legalising Cannabis

June 10, 2022 4:23 am

Thailand on Thursday officially relaxed its cannabis laws a move which would see users gain permission henceforth to possess and grow the plant — albeit under complicated new guidelines.

The change is coming on the heel of Thailand’s landmark 2018 legalisation of medicinal cannabis — the first such move by a country in Southeast Asia, where anti-drugs laws are notoriously harsh.

The kingdom’s public health ministry announced in February that marijuana would be removed from its banned narcotics list, and the rules came into effect on Thursday.

Activists welcomed the development and Bangkok cannabis shop Highland Cafe was doing a …

Protesters, Police Clash In Thailand Over PM’s Resignation

Protesters, Police Clash In Thailand Over PM’s Resignation

July 19, 2021 2:11 am

The Police in Thailand have used rubber bullets, tear gas, and water cannon to attempt to disperse protesters in Bangkok as demonstrators defied COVID-19 restrictions to call for Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha’s resignation yesterday.

Africa Daily News, New York reports that the protests came on Sunday as the kingdom is currently facing its worst wave of COVID-19 infections, registering daily case records as hospitals buckle under pressure.

Exacerbating the toll has been the government’s slow procurement of vaccines, which has drawn criticism as Thailand’s economy reels from increasingly severe restrictions on businesses.

Read Also: COVID-19: WHO Identifies Risky Delta Variant

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18 Dead In Thailand Bus-Train Collision

18 Dead In Thailand Bus-Train Collision

October 11, 2020 3:25 pm

At least 18 people were killed and more than 40 injured in Thailand Sunday when a freight train crashed into a bus taking passengers to a religious ceremony, officials said.

The morning collision, around 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of the capital, Bangkok, toppled the bus and sheared off part of its roof.

More than 40 passengers were rushed to nearby medical facilities for treatment, said provincial hospital director Sombat Chutimanukul.

“Four are in critical condition and eight remain under observation” out of the 23 admitted to her hospital, she told reporters.

By late afternoon, more than 30 passengers who …

Coronavirus - Thailand Reports No New Case Since March 9

Coronavirus: Thailand Reports No New Case Since March 9

May 13, 2020 10:53 am

Thailand, the first country outside China to discover a case of the new coronavirus, on Wednesday reported no new daily cases for the first time in two months.

Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman for the government’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration, said the report made the government to consider easing more restrictions on businesses.

“We all can be relieved but not complacent.

“We need to continue with the main measures, wash hands, practice social distancing and wear masks,” Taweesin said.

Thailand detected its first coronavirus case, a tourist from China on Jan. 13.

Read Also: Thailand Reports 30 New Coronavirus Cases

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elephants Hungry And In Chains, Thai's Tourist Elephants Face Crisis

Hungry, Chained Thai Tourist Elephants Face Crisis

March 31, 2020 6:27 pm

Underfed and chained up for endless hours, many elephants working in Thailand’s tourism sector may starve, be sold to zoos or be shifted into the illegal logging trade, campaigners warn, as the coronavirus decimates visitor numbers.

Before the virus, life for the kingdom’s estimated 2,000 elephants working in tourism was already stressful, with abusive methods often used to ‘break them’ into giving rides and performing tricks at money-spinning animal shows.

With global travel paralysed the animals are unable to pay their way, including the 300 kilograms (660 pounds) of food a day a captive elephant needs to survive.

Elephant camps …

Unbeaten Thai Champ Chayaphon To Defend Crown In USA

Unbeaten Thai Champ Chayaphon To Defend Crown In USA

March 5, 2020 4:30 pm

Thailand’s undefeated Chayaphon Moonsri will fight outside his homeland for the first time next month, defending his World Boxing Council minimumweight world title at Indio, California, promoters said Thursday.

Chayaphon, 54-0 with 18 knockouts, will face 20-year-old Filipino southpaw Marco Rementizo, 12-3 with nine knockouts, in a 12-round mini-flyweight (105 pounds) matchup on April 25 at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino.

Chayaphon, also known as Wanheng Menayothin, is the longest-reigning active world champion, having taken his crown from Mexico’s Oswaldo Novoa with a ninth-round stoppage in November 2014.

Since then, the 34-year-old Thai fighter has won 18 consecutive bouts, defending the …

Soldier

Soldier Kills 20 In Shopping Mall In Shooting Rampage

February 8, 2020 9:45 am

A Thai soldier has gone on a shooting spree in Korat city, Nakhon Ratchasima, north eastern Thailand, killing no fewer than 20 people.

Police were searching for the soldier, who was reportedly armed with an assault rifle and is holed up inside the Terminal 21 shopping centre.

Reports identified the soldier as Sgt. Jakkrapanth Thomma.

Police said that he stole a Humvee vehicle from his army base and then went on a shooting rampage around the city. Jakkrapan later went inside the Terminal 21 shopping mall and started shooting shoppers.

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𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬, 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐘𝐨𝐫𝐤, is a nonpartisan online news portal founded on the truth to provide you with weekly, insightful articles written with precision and current updates on current events from Africa in particular and the rest of the world in general. All of our reports undergo extensive fact-checking to ensure their veracity, and we adhere strictly to the facts, no matter whose ox is gored.

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