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.
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Thai Red Cross issues appeal for blood donations
Blood supplies are running low and The National Blood Centre of the Thai Red Cross Society is urging members of the public to give blood in order to help meet demand. Thai PBS World reports that a decrease in the number of people donating blood since the beginning of the month has led to a significant drop in supply. The…
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Thai Airways not at risk of shutting down: president
Thai Airways is not at risk of shutting down and recent news reports about the airline’s situation were “misinterpreted”, the beleaguered carrier’s president insisted on Wednesday. The statement appeared to directly contradict remarks he made to high-ranking THAI staff in a speech on Tuesday. He said the remarks were to encourage staff to make an earnest effort to ensure the…
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Six top officials sacked on King’s orders
His Majesty the King has sacked six senior palace officials attached to Royal Guard units and the Royal Household Bureau, stripping them of their rank and recalling their royal insignias, citing severe disciplinary misconduct and accusing them of exploiting their positions for personal gain. The dismissals were announced in two royal commands, reported Wednesday October 23 by the Royal Gazette.…
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Airline on brink of collapse, TG president warns
The president of Thai Airways has announced that the national flag carrier is in deep financial trouble and may have to fold unless staff members unite to work harder. He also said that there may still be time, though not much, to save the company. “Otherwise speculation that THAI is going bankrupt will materialize and there is a chance that…
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Tax on salt content being considered
The Excise Department is considering imposing a tax on the salt content of food to encourage food producers to reduce the sodium content of snacks, instant noodles and seasoning cubes. The director of the Office of Tax Planning said that the department is discussing a limit on the amount of sodium food can contain, in line with the standard set…
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Army chief not planning a leap into political life
Army chief General Apirat Kongsompong will have to wait for two years after he retires before he can run for PM, the Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam has declared – while Apirat himself claims it’s not even something he’s considering. The Nation reports that Prawit Wongsuwan, another Deputy PM, had suggested that Apirat should be Thailand’s next PM, but Wissanu insists…
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Noble consort has Royal titles removed
The Nation reports that Sineenat Wongvajirapakdi has had her “noble consort” (Chao Khun Phra) title removed by King Rama X along with her military rank. Yesterday, The Royal Gazette reported that His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua had recalled Sineenat’s Royal citing undesirable behaviour and disloyalty to the Royal Family. It also reported that Sineenat had been opposed to…
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Green Day heading back to BKK in 2020
Green Day, five-time Grammy Award winners, are embarking on a global tour in 2020, including a stop-over in Bangkok during March. The rock ‘n’ roll Hall of Fame inductees will perform a series of concerts throughout Europe, UK, North America and Asia. “Green Day Live in Bangkok” takes place on March 11, 2020 at Impact Arena, Muang Thong Thani. But…
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PM will act on opposition’s recommendations
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Saturday that he was satisfied with the deliberations over the budget bill in the previous two days and promised to act on the constructive suggestions offered by opposition parties. Regarding the 400 billion baht allocated for the Central Fund, the Prime Minister admitted that the figure seems high, but it actually isn’t when measured…
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Foreigner arrested for exchange counter robbery
A foreign man was arrested after robbing a currency exchange counter in a Bangkok bank on 16 October. Police worked with Immigration officers and the tourist police to arrest the man, whose nationality has yet to be confirmed. The man walked to a Government Savings Bank Currency Exchange Counter before pulling out a knife and threatening a clerk. He then…
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BTS thief and credit card skimmers arrested in Bangkok
Tourist police in Bangkok have arrested a thief accused of pick-pocketing tourists on the city’s BTS Skytrain, along with an Indonesian couple charged with credit card fraud and card skimming. Kasem Masan Jantaro, a 44 year old food vendor in the Huay Kwang market, says he started pick-pocketing when business became too slow for him to adequately support his family. The…
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Colourful European ecstasy tablets targeting Thai youth
PHOTO: CTN News The Narcotics Control Board are warning about cartoon-character labelled ecstasy pills that are being smuggled from Europe and heading for Thailand and a growing market of younger users. Some of the colourful pills had been cast as characters from Minions movies and The Simpsons. The Office of the Narcotics Control Board deputy secretary-general Niyom Termsrisook told reporters…
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The world’s fastest growing tourist destinations
PHOTO: Hello Phuket – destined for huge tourist growth in the next six years – fodors.com In 2018, international tourist arrival traffic grew by 6% to reach a total of 1.4 billion world tourists, according to research by UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. And there’s a lot more to come with international travel predicted to increase by a massive 35% over the…
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30,000 baht reward offered after prisoner walks away from Bangkok prison
Police in Bangkok are offering a reward of 30,000 baht for information that leads to the capture of an escaped convict. The Daily News reports that Pol Col Chanaworasin Suphaphanarak, the chief of Prachacheun police in northern Bangkok, confirmed the reward yesterday. Phraiphiw Phumiphu, a convicted thief, escaped Bangkok Remand prison on Saturday. It’s understood he had been working outside the prison…
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Festival of lights will decorate 13 Bangkok bridges until October 25
PHOTO: TakeMeTour Thirteen bridges over Bangkok’s Chao Phraya River, as it snakes its way through the metropolitan areas, will be lit up in a festival that runs through to October 25. The Department of Rural Roads is decorating Rama III, Rama IV, Rama V, Rama VII, Maha Jesadabordinthanuson, Somdet Phra Pinklao, Phra Phuttha Yodfa, Phra Pok Klao, The King Taksin…
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Professor: Military government too interested in tourism – not people’s welfare
A professor of Rangsit University has criticised the previous military government for focusing too much on tourism and not enough on the welfare of the Thai people. The professor was speaking at Chulalongkorn University at a seminar discussing street stalls and urban development. She questioned the National Council for Peace and Order’s policy of clearing street vendors in all but a…
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A cocktail of beer and insulin blamed for ATM robbery
PHOTO: Sanook.com “After the combination of beer and insulin, Prakit grabbed a metal pole and drove his motorbike to the ATMs.” A diabetic man is blaming his insulin injections after going on an ATM robbery spree. The man had three attempts to break into ATMs in one night, all unsuccessful. The incidents happened in the early hours of October 9.…
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Driver’s coughing fit cuts parts of Pathum Thani’s internet and power
PHOTO: Daily News An 18 wheel truck driver has driven into a communications pole in Pathum Thani, just north of Bangkok, leaving locals without electricity and the internet. The driver told the media that he drove his vehicle into the pole after losing control of the truck during a coughing fit. 44 year old Preecha was only slightly injured in the incident…
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Thief gets away with 50 phones and gold in Bangkok
PHTOTS: INN News A thief has snatched over 50 smartphones and 76 grams of gold at a phone shop in Bangkok. The incident happened yesterday. INN News reports that the store is off, Bang Kradi Road, south-west of the city centre. The store is part of a small retail complex but there was no one near the store when the…
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Woman dies after being shot in the back of a car as passenger was ‘playing’ with gun
PHOTOS: Daily News The vice president of the Thai-Chinese trade and industry association, Wichai Manekitikun, is assisting police with their enquiries after his 23 year old girlfriend was shot in the chest. She later died in hospital. The 44 year old man was taking a Chinese couple home after a party in his van. He told police that he had…
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43rd anniversary of the Thammasat University Massacre remembered
“This year’s event saw relatives, representatives of political parties and various organisations make merit and lay wreaths and flowers at Thammasat University.” PHOTO: The Nation The 43rd anniversary of the killing of students by police and ultranationalist forces on October 6, 1976 – known as the Thammasat University Massacre – was commemorated yesterday as relatives and others gathered at the…
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Pathum Thani win messenger makes millions by double charging customers
PHOTO: INN News “He told police that he had four wives that he needed to take care of.” A fake 49 year old messenger has been arrested after making millions by double charging customers with the same bill. He told police he did it because he has 4 wives and he needs a lot of money to take care of them. The…
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“Broadway in Bangkok, unplugged” – Musical theatre comes to Bangkok in November
PHOTO: Daniel Koek and cast. Daniel played the lead role of Jean Valjean in the original production of Les Misérables at the Queens Theatre Two of the brightest international musical superstars, are returning to Thailand next month to perform in a new show called Broadway in Bangkok…unplugged. If you missed Big Mango Production’s last amazing concert in January, then here…
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Thai Navy defends spending 112 million baht on mansion for navy chief
PHOTO: Royal Thai Navy facilities next to Wat Arun – patricklepetit.jalbum.net The Royal Thai Navy is dismissing scathing online criticism that it is wasting taxpayers’ money by building a 112 million baht mansion as an official residence for the commander-in-chief. Rear Admiral Apinan Poengsrithong, head of the Naval Public Works Department, explained to a news conference that the building, now…
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Bangkok woman arrested for stealing credit card from her boss
PHOTO: www.innnews.co.th A woman and her husband have been arrested after she stole a credit card from her boss and used it go to on a spending spree. Nattamon Puangjumpa, 26 years of age, and her husband Pornchai are now facing charges of theft and credit card fraud after she took the credit card from her boss’s desk. Thai Residents…
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Suvarnabhumi villagers still chasing compensation from government after 13 years
PHOTO: Khaosod Villagers living next to Suvarnabhumi Airport have filed a complaint about the noise from the planes. The villagers say they have been suffering from the airport noise for years since the construction of Suvarnabhumi (it opened in September 2006). Leader of the Dinui Yiddee Muslim Community, Saenee Kamsawat, says they are in the process of filing an official…
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17 apprentice students killed in Samut Prakan crash, Thailand
Seventeen students have been killed after their overloaded pick-up truck crashed and overturned in the Bang Phli district of Samut Prakan, east of Bangkok. Police report the incident happened at 1am this morning. A taxi driver from Si Sa Ket has told Thai media that shortly before 1am he saw the pick-up travel out of a Soi “at high speed”…
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Bangkok bus union is opposing plan for private sector operation
PHOTO: Daily News The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority labour union is voicing its strong objection to the Transport Minister over his plans to contract private companies to operate the city’s bus services, and the shelving plans to procure a fleet of 3,000 new buses. Thai PBS reports that the union president, Veerapong Wongwaen, says that the union will submit a…
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Pubs and nightclubs in Pattaya and Bangkok poised to stay open until 4am
The Minister for Tourism and Sports says he’s making headway with plans to allow opening until 4am for ‘some’ tourist areas in Thailand. The proposals were mooted several months ago as a tonic for dropping tourist numbers in some of the traditional holiday ‘hot spots’. Sports and tourism minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn says that details were still being discussed but the plan is now…
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Bangkok municipality workers told to smarten up their act
PHOTO: www.wikiwand.com The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has received several complaints about its employees acting inappropriately, the Bangkok Post reports. The complaints have led the BMA to tell workers to get their act together. An anonymous BMA source says City Hall has sent letters to all relevant offices, asking municipality officers to refrain from behaviour that might jeopardise the organisation’s…
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