Bangkok News

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    5 ways retirees in Thailand lose money (and how to stop it)

    Retiring in Thailand can be affordable and enjoyable, but many retirees lose money due to common mistakes. High living costs, scams, and unexpected expenses can quickly drain savings. There are five ways that retirees in Thailand can lose money and...

  • Kitten rescued from wall space after being stuck for three days

    Kitten rescued from wall space after being stuck for three days

    A kitten was rescued last night after it got stuck in a narrow five-inch wall space behind a 7-11 convenience store in Samut Prakan’s city district. Staff of a 7-Eleven shop in Bang Pu Industrial Estate called the Bang Pu 811 Rescue Unit for help. The staff say they had heard a kitten’s faint meows behind the wall for three…

  • 13 year old muay thai boxer’s mother mourns the loss of her son

    13 year old muay thai boxer’s mother mourns the loss of her son

    Nirand Thasako, the mother of the 13 year old Muay Thai boxer who died on Monday following a knock out blow to the head on a Saturday match, has mourned the loss of her son. Nirand, who now lives in South Korea, made a video call to her Thai family expressing her deep grief over the death of her son,…

  • BMA says it’s time to sort out Bangkok’s soi dogs

    BMA says it’s time to sort out Bangkok’s soi dogs

    Bangkok’s governor says the time is up for the capital’s stray dogs. He says ‘enough is enough’ and that too many people are being bitten and harassed. Measures adopted by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration have so far proved insufficient and new plans are now being made to address the ongoing problem of stray dogs. The sight of soi dogs has…

  • Cold season arrives late in Bangkok this year, if at all

    Cold season arrives late in Bangkok this year, if at all

    The worldwide influence of El Nino is affecting Thai weather as we enter the annual ‘cold season’. The Hydro and Agro Informatics Institute of the Ministry of Science and Technology says Bangkokians will be disappointed if they expect to be running around in think jackets and jumpers because the mercury won’t drop any further in the next one month or…

  • 13 year old Muay Thai fighter dies from head injuries

    13 year old Muay Thai fighter dies from head injuries

    Whilst legislation is pending, and under heated discussion about banning Muay Thai for certain age-groups, another tragedy has unfolded. A 13 year old muay thai fighter has died after a taking blow that sent him head first into the ground during a charity match in Samut Prakan on November 10. The Nation reports that a Mathayom 1 schoolboy named Anucha…

  • Public hearings now on for Thais to discuss the new same-sex marriage bill

    Public hearings now on for Thais to discuss the new same-sex marriage bill

    PHOTO: BK Magazine The Thai Justice Ministry has kicked off public hearings on the proposed same-sex marriage bill that is scheduled to be submitted to the cabinet this month. So far the online survey has had no direct objections. The public hearings were officially opened to at the Miracle Grand Convention Hotel today in Bangkok. The Justice Vice Minister Pongsatorn…

  • Bangkok maths tutor killer admits to crime

    Bangkok maths tutor killer admits to crime

    by Kornkamon Aksorndech The prime suspect in the murder of a young mathematics tutor has told Bangkok police that he killed his victim out of jealousy and anger. Metropolitan Police say he reportedly met with the victim, 27 year old Natthawat Piansakul, who was dating his former girlfriend, to tell him to “stay away from the woman” but claimed he was…

  • Answers demanded over nuclear waste found in Laem Chabang Port

    Answers demanded over nuclear waste found in Laem Chabang Port

    by Pratch Rujivanrom After Friday’s alert about radio active material being discovered at Thailand’s main sea port at Laem Chabang, authorities have passed on very little news Now academics are urging authorities to come clean with information about the radioactive waste found at the port and investigate the shipment’s entire route. The Office of Atoms for Peace (OAP) and the…

  • Container with radioactive waste being stored at Laem Chabang port

    Container with radioactive waste being stored at Laem Chabang port

    An unknown amount of radioactive waste has been detected inside an export container at the Laem Chabang Deep Seaport, just north of Pattaya, Chon Buri. The port’s deputy director, Vice Admiral Yutthana Mokkhao, says the waste is being kept in the safety zone at the port which is equipped to handle radioactive situation and it is being handled by officials…

  • Thailand’s first Apple store opens along the Chao Phraya at the new Iconsiam

    Thailand’s first Apple store opens along the Chao Phraya at the new Iconsiam

    The new Iconsiam building is open along the banks of the Chao Phraya along with a stunning new Apple Store, the first in Thailand. One of the features of the new store is the play on the Apple logo which makes it look like a letter of the Thai alphabet, a first such departure for the usually rigorous Apple style-sheet.…

  • Romance scammer arrested for overstaying his visa by four years

    Romance scammer arrested for overstaying his visa by four years

    Thai police have continued their crackdown on foreign criminals, especially romance scammers, call-centre fraudsters and visa over-stayers, with the latest arrest of a 30 year old Nigerian man who was found to have overstayed his welcome in Thailand by nearly four years. Nigerian Cory Samuel Madubuchi, who was arrested in Nonthaburi, was also found to have 57 money transaction slips…

  • Thailand’s creative entrepreneurs funding passions through Airbnb

    Thailand’s creative entrepreneurs funding passions through Airbnb

    2,000 Airbnb Homes and Experiences hosts in Thailand are members of the Creative Community 25% of all creative Thai hosts are based in Bangkok. One in every five Thai Experience hosts are from the arts, music, fashion or entertainment industries. Like tourism, which now accounts for more than 10 percent of the world’s global GDP, the creative economy is thriving worldwide.…

  • Taxi operators want new rates to apply to all taxis

    Taxi operators want new rates to apply to all taxis

    Taxi companies are urging Thailand’s Department of Land Transport (DLT) to apply a new taxi fare to all taxis, not just members of the TAXI OK program. According to DLT Deputy Director General, Kamol Buranapong , a meeting was recently held between the DLT and taxi companies which are facing rising operating costs. The DLT proposed that either a 3 baht…

  • Public hearings planned for bill to legalise transgender cohabitation

    Public hearings planned for bill to legalise transgender cohabitation

    PHOTO: Coconuts BKK Public hearings are to be held in the capital and other provinces on November 12-16 to gauge opinions from stakeholders about the ‘partnership bill’. The Bill would, for the first time in Thailand, legalise the cohabitation of transgenders. In Bangkok the hearing will be held at the Miracle Hotel while in the provinces, hearings are to be…

  • BKK Conference tackles rising road toll

    BKK Conference tackles rising road toll

    by Pratch Rujivanrom Country can learn from Vietnam on promoting safety, say who experts Leading international road safety experts are urging Thai authorities to follow Vietnam’s example by setting up a central agency to directly mitigate the country’s severe accidents problem as well as create a digital traffic database to enhance traffic-law enforcement. Some of the world’s top experts and…

  • Pattaya expat dies from injuries suffered during WBC Bangkok fight

    Pattaya expat dies from injuries suffered during WBC Bangkok fight

    SCREENSHOT: Christian Daghio fighting Don Parueang on October 26 – ทีเคโอ มวยโลก An Italian man, and former world champion in Muay Thai and boxing, has tragically died following a fight in Bangkok. Thai Visa reports that 49 year old Christian Daghio died on Friday in a Bangkok hospital after being put in a coma due to injuries suffered during a WBC Asia…

  • Australia joins UK and USA with withdrawal of income verification

    Australia joins UK and USA with withdrawal of income verification

    The Australian Embassy in Thailand has declared that from January 7, 2019 it will NOT witness Statutory Declarations for proof on income for Thai Visa extensions. Here’s the official announcement…      

  • Poll restrictions to be relaxed in December

    Poll restrictions to be relaxed in December

    The Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has distanced himself from a claim by his deputy Somkid Jatusripitak that the next head of government would “look similar” to the current one. General Prawit Wongsuwan, another deputy premier, said Somkid had shared the same thoughts as “many of us” although he would not specify what he thought regarding the matter. General Prayut was…

  • 730 more foreigners rounded up in nationwide crackdowns

    730 more foreigners rounded up in nationwide crackdowns

    Immigration police have carried out their latest nationwide raid, rounding up foreigners living illegally in Thailand. There were 730 more arrests yesterday. Pol Maj Gen Itthipol Itthisarnronnachai, deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, told the media at 1am this morning (Friday) the results of the 38th “X-Ray Outlaw Foreigner” operation. Itthitpol said the operation focused on 238 areas around the…

  • Chinese investment sets new records in property purchases

    Chinese investment sets new records in property purchases

    The demand for property, especially in Bangkok, continues unabated. Despite a drop off in absolute tourism numbers, enquiries from Chinese real estate buyers remains strong, setting new records. Not only are the Chinese the most frequent tourists to Thailand, they are the most enthusiastic property buyers, stetting a new record for Q3 this year. Number two in foreign investors into…

  • New flat-fee taxi service to start 2019 after fare hike refused

    New flat-fee taxi service to start 2019 after fare hike refused

    A new taxi service offering unlimited rides for a flat monthly fee of 10,200 baht is set to be launched early next year in Bangkok and surrounding provinces. A total of 2,000 professional taxi drivers and association members will make up the new My Taxi Co fleet, which customers could hail via a smartphone App, according to association president Worapol…

  • No hug, no kiss, no goodbye – speeding up school drop-offs

    No hug, no kiss, no goodbye – speeding up school drop-offs

    Police in Bangkok are urging parents to cut short their lengthy farewell when they drop their kids off at school to avoid adding to Bangkok’s traffic woes. Traffic police launched the “No kiss, no hug, no bye” campaign in front of St Gabriel School on Samsen Road this morning at 6.45am as students prepared to return for the second semester.…

  • Woman accused of animal cruelty dodges media in Bangkok

    Woman accused of animal cruelty dodges media in Bangkok

    PHOTO: The Nation Thonburi Court has freed on bail a 30 year old woman who has been accused of animal cruelty. Wararat Krasae, nicknamed Sun, walked free after her lawyer posted 40,000 baht bail. The woman appeared in the public for the first time at the court on Ekkachai Road after some animal lovers’ group filed complaints with police last…

  • Thai Airways apologises for the Zurich-Bangkok stuff up

    Thai Airways apologises for the Zurich-Bangkok stuff up

    Thai Airways is promising disciplinary action after an investigation found both the flight captain and the station manager based in Zurich had acted ‘unethically’ in the delayed Zurich-Bangkok flight earlier this month. The Thai Airways president Sumeth Damrongchaitham has apologised for the incident stating the investigation showed that the problems happened due to lack of coordination between the flight captain…

  • Huge gains in reduction of single-use plastics – 30 universities

    Huge gains in reduction of single-use plastics – 30 universities

    A network of 30 universities across the country has succeeded in reducing the number of single-use plastic bags, utensils and cups by 41 million pieces so far this year, it was announced during the Sustainable University Network of Thailand Conference 2018 hosted by Thammasat University. And that’s just at 30 universities. The Nation reports that the 30 universities’ plastic-use reduction…

  • Former PM Abhisit calls for election of provincial governors

    Former PM Abhisit calls for election of provincial governors

    PHOTO: Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva – The Nation The Democrat Party leader and former PM, Abhisit Vejjajiva, is promising to push for elections of provincial governors as part of administrative reforms. He says the decentralisation of power to residents in the provinces was necessary to help reduce inequality between regions. “It is time for provinces all over the country…

  • Apple’s first Thailand store opens November 10

    Apple’s first Thailand store opens November 10

    We’re ready for the screams of excitement or the howls of derision. But for the fans… Apple’s first store in Thailand is scheduled to open on November 10 at Iconsiam in Bangkok. Apple Thailand has confirmed the date in a statement today. The company said the riverside store could provide inspirations for a lot of people to learn about technology. Apart…

  • Illegal foreigner crackdown busts 1,000 in Pathum Thani

    Illegal foreigner crackdown busts 1,000 in Pathum Thani

    “Since 2015, there have been over 3,500 arranged marriages, allowing the men to stay and work in Thailand, the report said.” Acting Immigration Police chief Pol Maj-General Surachate Hakpal has led some 1,000 officers to 25 locations in Pathum Thani’s Klong Luang district. It’s part of his concerted push to round up 7,000 illegal foreigners before the end of the…

  • “Customer is King” – Thai Airways union attacks first class pilots

    “Customer is King” – Thai Airways union attacks first class pilots

    The Thai Airways International worker’s union has attacked two pilots for demanding first-class seats from passengers in a standoff drama that delayed an October 11 Zurich-Bangkok flight by two hours even as airline executives vowed to reform the national carrier. Airways executives pledged to nurture a “Customer is King” culture, pledging to use the controversy as an opportunity to revamp…

  • Heavy rain in spots around the country until Monday

    Heavy rain in spots around the country until Monday

    Residents in the Central, East and the South, including Bangkok and suburbs, are being warned to brace themselves for heavy rains from tomorrow until Monday. In a first warning issued at 11am this morning, the TMD (Thai Meteorological Department) said that heavy rains would hitting the forecast areas due to a low-pressure cell over the lower South China Sea. They…