Bangkok News
Dive into the latest happenings in Bangkok with The Thaiger. Our team delivers up-to-date news, insightful analysis, and exclusive stories from the heart of Thailand’s dynamic capital. Keep your finger on the pulse of Bangkok’s ever-evolving political, economic, and cultural scene, as well as its thriving entertainment and nightlife. Stay informed about local events, transportation updates, and expat experiences in this vibrant metropolis.
The Thaiger is your go-to source for all things Bangkok. Don’t miss out – subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media to stay connected with the city’s most trusted news source.
-
Sponsored Working in Thailand: How expat health insurance protects your career and lifestyle
Starting a career in Thailand can be an exciting chapter, but it also brings unique challenges, especially when it comes to health and wellness. For expats, navigating Thailand’s healthcare system and meeting work permit requirements can be difficult. And while...
-
Police were waiting at the thief’s home after a bungled Bangkok gold shop robbery
Note to aspiring gold thieves – leave your ID card at home before you head out for the robbery. One gold thief has learned the hard way after accidentally dropping his ID card in the gold shop as he was rushing to escape. The incident happened last Thursday at 11am at a gold shop inside the Tesco Lotus Phatthanakan. Central Bangkok…
-
Police say they’re well prepared for this afternoon’s anti-government protest
An anti-government rally is planned for today, scheduled to start around 4pm. Police say they have taken steps to ensure that no laws are broken and that the rally remains peaceful. Some 15 companies of what are reported to be crowd control police will be deployed at the Royal Plaza. Rally organisers have already foreshadowed they intend to march to an…
-
Police brace for large anti-government rally at Bangkok’s Democracy Monument on Sunday
A protest rally planned for the Democracy Monument on Ratchadamnoen Avenue tomorrow afternoon is shaping up to be the largest gathering up to date. Since July, anti-government rallies have been building, in number and frequency, with a consistent list of demands outlined in a 10 point manifesto. These, broadly, call for the resignation of Thailand’s PM, Prayut Chan-o-cha, the dissolution…
-
Alleged robber drops ID card while running off with 110,000 baht in gold
An alleged gold shop robber dropped his Thai identification card as he ran off with 2 gold necklaces worth more than 110,000 baht. The suspect, a food delivery driver, allegedly stole the jewelry from a gold store at a Tesco Lotus in Bangkok’s Phattanakarn district. Shop employees say a man wearing a hat and face mask asked to see 2…
-
4 political activists, including human rights lawyer Anon, released from custody
Human rights lawyer and protest leader, Anon Nampa, has been released from custody, alongside 3 other pro-democracy activists. Thai PBS World reports that Aekkachai Hongkangwan, Somyot Prueksakasemsook, and Suranart Paenprasert left Bangkok Remand Prison with Anon, just after midnight last night. Their release comes after the Criminal Court rejected a bid by police to retain the 4 in custody. Anon…
-
“We love them all the same” – His Majesty comments about the Thai protesters
In a rare moment, and certainly the first time commenting about the current political unrest, His Majesty King Vajiralongkorn has described Thailand as “the land of compromise”. The comment came in response from a question by Jonathan Miller, a correspondent of British broadcaster Channel 4, who was part of an audience of international media invited to sit among a crowd of royalist…
-
2 protest leaders re-arrested while recuperating in hospital
3 protest leaders are recovering in hospital following skirmishes outside the Bangkok Remand Prison during their release on Friday night. 2 of the 3, Panupong Jadnok and Parit Chiwarak have been re-arrested, while still recovering at Praram 9 Hospital in Bangkok. Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul is also being treated at the hospital and it’s understood police are seeking a court order to…
-
Bangkok locations for Loy Krathong – float away the woes of 2020
The Loy Krathong festival is tonight, this year coinciding with Halloween. If you’re living in Bangkok you’re spoiled for choice with launching locations. There is no equivalent word in English for ‘krathong’. You might hear it described as a small boat or vessel. Many shops, market and roadside stalls will display ready-made krathongs, or in parts so you can assemble…
-
Some Thai students decide to boycott their graduation
Their Majesties the King and Queen of Thailand will attend Thammasat University’s graduation ceremonies tonight and tomorrow evening. But there’s been a growing contingent of graduates who are boycotting the ceremony as a personal protest in relation to current rallies around Thailand about government and constitutional reform. The night, the biggest night of a student’s schooling, is a special event…
-
Court rejects bid to arrest activists who led march on German Embassy
A bid to apprehend 5 anti-government activists, who led a march to the Germany Embassy on Monday from the Sam Yan intersection, has failed, after a court in Bangkok rejected a police application for arrest warrants. The Bangkok South Criminal Court has turned down an application from Pitak Suthikul, acting superintendent of Thungmahamek police in Bangkok. Pitak had requested arrest…
-
Tests show Samui woman did not contract virus at quarantine hotel
Tests carried out by the Disease Control Department show that the woman who tested positive for Covid-19 after being discharged from quarantine and travelling to Koh Samui, did not become infected at the quarantine facility. Dr Sopon Iamsirithaworn says the results do not match those of 2 other guests who tested positive at the hotel in Samut Prakan, just outside…
-
Thai “net idol” arrested on attempted murder charges over alleged Bangkok shooting
Police arrested internet “idol” and self-professed gambler Apirak “Sia Po” Chat-anon who allegedly shot 2 men outside a massage parlour on Bangkok. Sia Po had turned himself in to police, saying he was at the shooting, but wasn’t carrying a firearm. Police arrested him on charges of attempted murder, illegal possession of a firearm, carrying the gun in public and…
-
Opposition MP slashes his arm in protest at treatment of anti-government activists
An opposition party MP has slashed his arm in front of officials in Parliament, in protest at the treatment of political activists. Visan Techatirawat, a partY member of the opposition Pheu Thai Party, says the gesture was his own personal protest to oppose the government’s action against peaceful protesters at a rally in the capital on October 17. Police remain…
-
Royalists crowd Bangkok’s Lumpini Park to support Thai Monarchy
Bangkok’s Lumpini Park was crowded with royalists yesterday afternoon after gathering to show their support and respect for the institution of the Thai Monarchy. The gathering is in response to a series of pro-democracy protests over the past 2 weeks, specifically, and the the last 3 months more generally, calling on government reform and questioning the role of His Majesty…
-
2 foreigners in same hotel as the Koh Samui woman test positive for Covid-19
Officials are reviewing the use of a Samut Prakan hotel, just outside Bangkok, as a quarantine facility, after 3 foreign nationals staying there tested positive for Covid-19. The first was a 57 year old woman who developed symptoms of the virus after she had completed 14 days’ quarantine and had returned to her home on the island of Koh Samui.…
-
Royalists rally at US Embassy, call on Americans to stop “interfering” with Thai politics
Royalists gathered this morning at the United States Embassy in Bangkok and called on Americans to stop a so-called “hybrid war,” implying that the US government is interfering with Thailand politics during a time of ongoing pro-democracy protests. Dressed in yellow, the colour symbolising the Thai Monarch, the protesters held signs calling on an end to an alleged hybrid war.…
-
From Bangkok to Berlin – protesters deliver letter to German Embassy
Protesting students last night submitted a letter to the German Embassy, to be passed on to the German Government. The protest started around 4pm when the rally gathered at the Sam Yan intersection, near the Chulalongkorn University, and made its way along Rama IV Road to the German Embassy in Sathorn Road, some 1.5 kilometres. After some 10,000+ students descended…
-
Thousands of protesters descend on the German Embassy in Bangkok awaiting to submit their petition
7.15pm and the protesters arrived out the front of the German Embassy. Thousands have blocked the way in Sathorn Road but protesters say they’re waiting for more to arrive. Estimates of the crowd say there are up to 10,000 anti government protesters already. Protesters say they’re waiting for an invitation by the German Ambassador for representatives to enter the embassy…
-
Thai protesters head to German Embassy to file controversial petition
There was a spontaneous rally outside the German Embassy in Sathorn Road by government supporters and yellow-shirted royalists early this afternoon, a prelude to this afternoon’s march by anti-government protesters walking from the Sam Yan intersection to the embassy, a route of about 1.5 kilometres. Protesters say they will submit a petition considered to be unprecedented and controversial in Thailand,…
-
Parliament to discuss political protests in 2 day special session
The Thai Parliament is now holding a 2 day ’emergency’ parliamentary session to discuss the ongoing pro-democracy protests. House Speaker Chuan Leekpai says he wants MPs and senators to work together to find a solution, but some commentators say it will just cause more conflict between parties. Even amongst the government coalition there are some 20 different political parties that…
-
Protest locations announced for today and tomorrow, PM says he “won’t quit”
10pm came and went. Last night’s deadline had been set for the Thai PM to resign. It was never likely to happen, and it didn’t. Protesters yesterday promised that, if the prime minister didn’t stand down, the protests would resume again. 2 protests have now been announced in central Bangkok for today and tomorrow. PM Prayut was attending Buddhist prayers…
-
Protesters say more rallies will kick off again at 10pm tonight if the PM doesn’t resign
27C with a low chance of rain. That’s what the protesters will be facing after their promise to resume anti-government protests at 10pm this evening if the Thai PM doesn’t accede to their demands for him to resign. Phatupat Boonpathararaksa, alias Pai Daodin, released on bail from the Bangkok Remand Centre yesterday, announced this morning that speeches will be delivered…
-
Protester released from remand prison, demands Thai PM’s resignation by 10pm tonight
Protesters are continuing to pour on the pressure, now demanding the resignation of the Thai PM by 4pm this afternoon. Following the prime minister’s speech to the nation on Wednesday evening, protesters had earlier said they would “stand down” and shuffled their deadline forward for the PM’s resignation to Sunday night. But last night anti-government protesters set a 10pm deadline…
-
Close encounter of the Royal kind – Thai King and Queen stop to praise a royal supporter
It was a rare moment that has shocked royal supporters, in the best way possible, as the Royal couple turned on the charm after a merit-making ceremony last night. His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida stepped away from the traditional royal protocol after last night’s official ceremony, stopping briefly to single out a man who was with a…
-
Thai PM orders investigation into Samut Prakan gas pipeline explosion, 3 dead
Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is ordering an investigation into yesterday’s explosion of a gas pipeline in Samut Prakan, just south east of central Bangkok. At least 3 people were killed. Among the dead, 2 elderly women were killed, plus at least 28 confirmed injuries when the PTT gas pipeline exploded in the coastal Bang Bo district. The prime minister has also…
-
Preparations for the emergency session of the Thai Parliament
The Thai Parliament is getting ready for an extraordinary session called by the Lower House Speaker to debate the current impasse between the protester’s demands and the PM and government. The session will be held on Monday and Tuesday. But even before the emergency session begins, government and opposition parliamentarians cannot decide on the terms of the debate. Parliament president…
-
Bangkok hostels offer free beds to struggling protesters
Some Bangkok hostels are opening their doors, and offering beds and accommodation to demonstrators, providing them free refuge, or at very low prices. Young protesters have travelled to Bangkok to be a part of the growing protest movement that is putting pressure on the PM and government to listen to, and accede, to their demands. More information about their demands…
-
1 killed, 20 injured in gas pipe explosion in Samut Prakan
A gas pipe explosion at a Samut Prakan industrial site killed 1 and injured 20 others. Flames burst in the air and those at homes in the province’s Bang Bo district fled the area. At this time, there’s been 1 confirmed death, an elderly bedridden woman, but Thai media reports there could be another death. Around 40 to 50 fire…
-
PM considers lifting State of Emergency, parliament to meet for special session
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha addressed the nation in a televised speech last night, saying he’ll lift the State of Emergency order in Bangkok “if there is no violence” and asks that protesters “turn down the volume on hateful or divisive talk.” Later that night, thousands of protesters gathered in front of the Government House, calling on his resignation. They even had…
-
UPDATE: Bangkok protesters mass at the front of Government House, earlier PM addresses nation
UPDATE: The protesters announced that the rally would end and disperse peacefully at 9.35pm. They wrapped up the gathering after delivering a symbolic letter of demand for the prime minister’s resignation at the front of Government House. Apart from some earlier scuffles with police around 7pm, there were no major incidents this evening. EARLIER: Happening at Bangkok’s Government House around…
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.