Bangkok News
Bangkok news, politics, business, crime, and nightlife—stay updated with breaking stories, events, and expat updates from Thailand’s capital. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Bangkok news source.
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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…
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Acid-splashed wife’s death – husband is detained, taxi driver speaks out
Police have brought 50 year old Kamtan Singhanart to the Thon Buri Court’s order for an initial 12 day detention period after being accused of splashing acid on his wife Chorladda Tharawan’s face before fleeing on November 9. The Nation reports that Chorladda died as a result of her injuries after seeking treatment at Praram 2 Hospital. That hospital reportedly…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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One dead in Burmese migrants’ Bangkok brawl
Police this morning arrested nine Myanmar migrant workers allegedly involved in a brawl in Bangkok last night that led to one compatriot’s death along with injuries to five others. A brief video circulated online showing 20 men fighting with knives and metal pipes near a poultry slaughterhouse on Soi Pridi Phanomyong 44, Khlong Ton Nua sub-district, Wattana district. Khlong Ton…
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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…
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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.…
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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.…
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More underpasses, overpasses built to solve Bangkok traffic congestion – PM
PHOTO: Before the new Ratchayothin underpass that was opened this week PM Prayut Chan-o-cha wants more tunnels and flyovers be built to ease traffic congestions in Bangkok. Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith says Prayut was impressed that the new Ratchayothin underpass had reduced congestion on Ratchadapisek Road at the Ratchayothin Intersection. The tunnel project was completed in 21 months, three months…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Rap raising debate in the lead up to February election
“As artists, we want to reflect the truth of the society we are living in under dictatorship,” a RAD member identified only as Hockhacker told The Nation Weekend. “Thailand seems to be caught in a loop of dictatorship. We want to voice what the majority cannot say directly. The lyrics were based on information we collected on social media, reflecting…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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More than 130 kids rounded up in Saraburi pub raid
More than 130 illicit drug users along with 128 underage drinkers were nabbed in a raid on a pub in Saraburi early this morning (Thursday). Saraburi is about a two hour drive north of Bangkok. Provincial and juvenile protection officers raided the Lang Khao Pub in Tambon Huay Sai of Nong Kae district at 1am and found it packed with…
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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…
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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.…
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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…
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Bangkok bus crashes into power pole – nine injured
FILE PHOTO Eight people have suffered minor injuries following a Bangkok city bus on route number 48 (Ramkhamhaeng 2-Wat Pho) crashing into a power pole near Sukhumvit Soi 48 in Bangkok’s Khlong Toei district this morning. The incident caused a long traffic jam. The incident reportedly happened when the driver slammed the brakes to avoid hitting a pickup truck that…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Soi Dog Foundation responds to rabies and dog registration stories
PHOTO: Bangkok Thailand Soi Dog Phuket’s Soi Dog Foundation has sent The Thaiger a response to an article published on October 16. The story was sourced from our Bangkok partners ‘The Nation’ and, according to Soi Dog, contains some glaring inaccuracies. You can read the original article HERE. We reprint the response from the Soi Dog Foundation below… “The Department…
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“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…
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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…
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11 million traffic tickets ignored and unpaid
The coffers of traffic re-inforcement cold be boosted significantly if the Police IT department were able to step up their efforts to link their database of traffic tickets to the Land Transport Department’s vehicle registration database. 11 million traffic tickets issued remain unpaid because of the delay in getting the system’s linked. The head of a police committee in charge of…
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Thai apologises for bumping first class passengers for crew
Thai Airways, still licking their PR wounds from the, as yet, unexplained plane-skidding-off-the-runway incident, have today been forced to apologise to two passengers for bumping them out of their first class seats. The seats were required for two ‘deadheading’ off-duty pilots (flying as a passenger on company business to get to work. eg. You may have to deadhead to New…
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