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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    Why long-term expats in Thailand say insurance is worth every baht

    Thailand’s warm weather, low cost of living, and good healthcare attract many long-term expats, including retirees and remote workers. Life here feels easy and affordable, but medical costs can be high if something goes wrong. Private hospitals are popular because...

  • Car torching is ‘under investigation’ | Thaiger

    Car torching is ‘under investigation’

    SCREENSHOT: Moments after the arsonist sets fire to the car by Teeranai Charuvastra – Khaosod English At this stage, Police are declining to say whether they have identified the man who was filmed torching a prominent activist’s car in Bangkok (video below). Supporters of Ekachai Hongkanwan, who was assaulted a week ago by masked men just, are blaming the latest attack…

  • Slapped airport security worker praised for showing restraint | Thaiger

    Slapped airport security worker praised for showing restraint

    A female airport security officer, who was slapped by a South Korean woman after she asked if the tourist would submit to a routine pat-down at a security post at Suvarnabhumi Airport, has been praised by an airport executive for not retaliating or responding negatively. The incident took place on Saturday night at Suvarnabhumi Airport while the Thai worker was…

  • BNK48 singer apologizes for wearing shirt emblazoned with a Nazi swastika | Thaiger

    BNK48 singer apologizes for wearing shirt emblazoned with a Nazi swastika

    Two foreign envoys representing the Israeli Embassy in Thailand have openly expressed dismay after a member of the pop all-girl singing group BNK48 was wearing a T-shirt bearing a Nazi swastika. The sister band of Japan’s AKB48 issued an apology yesterday to match the tearful one delivered earlier by 20 year old singer Pichayapa “Namsai” Natha. “It was a bad…

  • Greenpeace outs Thailand’s worst smog areas | Thaiger

    Greenpeace outs Thailand’s worst smog areas

    At least 10 suburbs in nine Thai provinces are being called out by pollution watchdog Greenpeace. The organisation has revealed its rankings for 2018 based on a satellite map of PM2.5 concentrations in Thailand and the neighbouring countries of Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. Greenpeace is calling for the Thai government to improve the Ambient (Outdoor) Air Quality Standards for PM2.5…

  • Thailand Tourism Forum 2019 – Reflections #1 | Thaiger

    Thailand Tourism Forum 2019 – Reflections #1

    PHOTO: Thailand Tourism Forum 2019 One of the key points made at the recently concluded Thailand Tourism Forum 2019 in Bangkok, was the country’s over reliance on mass tourism. Jesper Palmqvist of STR presented full year hotel data for Phuket which showed signs of recovery, yet highlighting the full impact of the drop in Chinese business after the July boat…

  • Four dead and at least five injured in Bangkok crane failure | Thaiger

    Four dead and at least five injured in Bangkok crane failure

    Four workers were killed and five others injured when the top part of a crane broke off and fell on them at a condominium construction site on Bangkok’s Rama 3 Road this afternoon. The fallen section of the crane hit the fifth floor of a building in the Lumpini Park Riverside project. Four male workers were killed on that floor…

  • Crane topples in Bangkok killing four, many others injured | Thaiger

    Crane topples in Bangkok killing four, many others injured

    PHOTOS: มาด เซอร์., Klong Prem ShinSuwan / FM91Trafficpro A crane has toppled at a construction site in Bangkok today. The incident has already been responsible for the death of four people while many others have been injured. FM91 Traffic pro is reporting that at 1.09pm a crane, inside a construction site in Yan Nawa, Bangkok has toppled and fallen down.…

  • Fire damages house in Bangkok | Thaiger

    Fire damages house in Bangkok

    PHOTOS: FM91BKK A fire has damaged a residential home in Bangkok this afternoon. FM91Bkk reported that a fire was ablaze at the local houses around 2.20pm at Klong San in Bangkok. At the scene firefighters found a two storey building ablaze. They believe it started from the first floor and then the fire caught the roof and some other materials.…

  • Avengers theme park closes in Bangkok after only 7 months | Thaiger

    Avengers theme park closes in Bangkok after only 7 months

    Usually anything to do with the Avengers is a license to print money. But not in the case of Southeast Asia’s first Marvel Entertainment theme park. The park, constructed at the Mega Bangna Shopping Centre in south-east Bangkok, is going out of business after just seven months. Despite the fanfare when it opened in June 2018, the themed attraction didn’t…

  • Algerian tourist arrested over tourist thefts in Bangkok | Thaiger

    Algerian tourist arrested over tourist thefts in Bangkok

    PHOTOS: Immigration Bureau An Algerian male tourist has been arrested after pick pocketing tourists at a BTS Station in Bangkok. Immigration Bureau report that 46 year old Algerian man, SOFIANE YASSAAD CHERIF, has been arrested after pick pocketing other tourists last Friday. Cherif entered the Kingdom as 60 days tourist on December 2. Cherif has chosen foreign tourist victims as…

  • Australian and Thai transnational drug smugglers drop the ball | Thaiger

    Australian and Thai transnational drug smugglers drop the ball

    PHOTO: The Nation How much heroin can you smuggle in eight (car) shock absorbers? Apparently close to 4 kilograms. A joint Thai-Australian drug suppression operation called Taskforce Storm has yielded results and arrested two transnational heroin smugglers. Police identified the two as 38 year old Canadian Stephens Blair and 27 year old Thai Pahon Sivasirikaroon. The pair were apprehended when they…

  • Thailand Tourism Festival 2019 showcasing Thailand to Thais | Thaiger

    Thailand Tourism Festival 2019 showcasing Thailand to Thais

    The Tourism Authority of Thailand will host the 39th edition of Thailand Tourism Festival at Bangkok’s Lumpini Park from January 23-27. This year the festival features five ‘tourism villages’ representing different regions of Thailand plus two additional zones of activity. Central Region Zone – presents the heritage of old Siam through a traditional Thai house and the former rural way…

  • Belarusian ‘Anastasia’ will be in Moscow detention another 3 days | Thaiger

    Belarusian ‘Anastasia’ will be in Moscow detention another 3 days

    Anastasia Vashukevich, aka. Nastya Rybka, the Belarusian model/sex-educator/Instagramer who spent a year in a Thai jail awaiting last week’s Court case, and was then deported, remains in a Moscow jail as of last night after the presiding judge decided to extend her detention by 72 hours. She was arrested at Moscow airport on Thursday after being deported from Thailand on…

  • Bangkok smog: Police get out their hoses | Thaiger

    Bangkok smog: Police get out their hoses

    by Kornkamon Aksorndech Traffic police and volunteers sprayed water at four locations in Bangkok this morning in a bid to curb the dust and smog pollution. Pol Maj General Nithithorn Jintakanon, commander of the Traffic Police Division of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, presided at the dispatch of 150 police officers and volunteers from his headquarters on Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road. They chose…

  • Club raid in Bangkok. Everyone detained tested positive to drug use. | Thaiger

    Club raid in Bangkok. Everyone detained tested positive to drug use.

    PHOTOS: The Nation Another Bangkok night spot is is being threatened with closure after an early morning raid found it open too late, unlicensed and with patrons stocked up and pumped up with illicit drugs. A team from the Provincial Administration Department and other officials raided the 56 Arena Music Hall on Charoenrat Road in Bang Kho Laem district, south…

  • Bangkok Airways celebrates the arrival of its 40th aircraft | Thaiger

    Bangkok Airways celebrates the arrival of its 40th aircraft

    Bangkok Airways has welcome the latest Airbus A319 as the local airline’s 40th aircraft when it arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport. The event was led by Dechit Chareonwong, vice president of Flight Operations and joined by Nijjapat Piyapant, vice president of Ground Operations. This aircraft type, the latest incarnation of the short-haul A320, consists of 144 economy class seats and will serve popular…

  • Experience the creative vibe during Bangkok Design Week with Airbnb | Thaiger

    Experience the creative vibe during Bangkok Design Week with Airbnb

    Thailand is a hub of creativity; a country filled with artisanal culinary gems and art galleries that boasts creativity and innovation allowing cultural tradition to sit comfortably alongside the embrace of new ideas. Thailand never tires, and Bangkok remains popular, with Airbnb seeing an influx of guests during festivals and events such as Bangkok Design Week, which returns for its…

  • Bangkok’s weather is not helping the smog problem | Thaiger

    Bangkok’s weather is not helping the smog problem

    PHOTO: Thai PBS The Thai capital’s air pollution is expected to remain bad, and maybe even get worse, over the seven days. The TMD (Thai Meteorological Department) has forecast the onset of low pressure from China which will keep the city’s PM2.5 dust particles hovering in the area and not dispersing, or being blown or washed away. But the Deputy…

  • Bangkok smog: Predicted to worsen over weekend | Thaiger

    Bangkok smog: Predicted to worsen over weekend

    Bangkok’s air pollution is expected to worsen today following slight improvements in weather conditions and some rain last Tuesday and Wednesday. Fewer locations reported fine particle dust beyond safe levels yesterday, while the Meteorological Department is issuing warnings about a high-pressure area hovering over Laos and the Northeast that will bring temperatures down by 1 to 3 degrees Celsius in…

  • Belarusian ‘sex trainer’ deported from Thailand | Thaiger

    Belarusian ‘sex trainer’ deported from Thailand

    Anastasia Vashukevich, aka. Nastya Rybka, the Belarusian model who claimed she had ‘dirt’ on Donald Trump and Russian efforts to help win the US Presidency, has been shipped off to the airport and deported from Thailand. She was convicted of participating in a “sex training course”. “I want to get a bed. I want to get a bed so much! I have been sleeping…

  • Bangkok smog: Police on the lookout for dirty exhaust from vehicles | Thaiger

    Bangkok smog: Police on the lookout for dirty exhaust from vehicles

    by Khanathit Srihirundaj It’s either a knee-jerk reaction, media stunt or something we hope to see a lot more of. Checking vehicles with plumes of dirty smoke coming out of their exhaust. To help curb fine-particle dust pollution in Bangkok, traffic police have increased the number of checkpoints where they will check vehicles spewing black exhaust smoke. The number of…

  • Bangkok smog: Chatuchak school closes for the rest of the week | Thaiger

    Bangkok smog: Chatuchak school closes for the rest of the week

    A kindergarten in Chatuchak, to the north of central Bangkok, has suspended classes because of air pollution that has landed Bangkok in the top 10 list of worst-polluted cities. Bangkok still lags far behind some of the world’s most polluted cities, including the Afghani capital Kabul (at 576), Delhi in India (306) and Mongolia’s Ulaanbaatar (300). But the Top 10…

  • Crisis meetings in Bangkok today over smog solutions | Thaiger

    Crisis meetings in Bangkok today over smog solutions

    PHOTOS: The Nation Urgent meetings are being held in Bangkok today to address the acute smog problems in the capital. The Pollution Control Department and Bangkok Metropolitan Administration are gathering today in their latest efforts to battle with the persistent smog while dust particles continue to blanket the capital with smog levels alarming locals and causing tourists to cancel their…

  • Bangkok smog: Oil refineries being asked to upgrade quality of diesel | Thaiger

    Bangkok smog: Oil refineries being asked to upgrade quality of diesel

    It won’t be a short-term solution but it is a worthwhile long-term part of the important changes that will have to be made. But nothing concrete yet. In yet another attempt to ease the health hazards posed by PM2.5 dust particles in Bangkok’s air, the Energy Business Department plans to hold a meeting with oil refineries this week about the…

  • Weather for January 16 | Thaiger

    Weather for January 16

    Bangkok Morning clouds followed by afternoon sun. High 33ºC. Winds NE at 10 to 15 km/h. Chiang Mai Generally clear. High 30ºC. Winds ESE and variable. Phuket Afternoon showers. High 31ºC. Winds NNE and variable. Chance of rain 40%. Ko Samui Thundershowers. High 25ºC. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 km/h. Chance of rain 40%. Pattaya Partly cloudy. High 32ºC.…

  • Smog settles in as a chronic Bangkok problem | Thaiger

    Smog settles in as a chronic Bangkok problem

    Air pollution? What air pollution!? Bangkok residents will have to put up with smog until early March, as high levels of PM2.5 particles settle over the capital for many more weeks, or months. Though pollution has become a cause of grave concern to citizens, relevant authorities are yet to introduce significant measures – let alone declare the capital a pollution-control…

  • The big ‘fake’ Indian wedding | Thaiger

    The big ‘fake’ Indian wedding

    A police crackdown had led to the arrest of 28 people involved in a marriage scam for Indian nationals who seek to stay in Thailand long term. The suspects include a 53 year old Thai-Indian man who acted as a marriage broker and prepared the documents needed, while the other 27 are Thai women who were allegedly paid 8,000-10,000 baht…

  • Sex training guru Anastasia and Russian compatriots on trial today in Bangkok | Thaiger

    Sex training guru Anastasia and Russian compatriots on trial today in Bangkok

    The Belarusian model, who was originally charged with running ‘sex training’ courses in Pattaya, but later made sensational claims she had ‘dirt’ on Donald Trump, has appeared in a Bangkok court today. The story started with an arrest in Pattaya over sex training courses for Russians nearly a year ago, and ended up with allegations over Russian oligarchs and Russian…

  • World Health Organisation: More people killed by air pollution than by AIDS, malaria | Thaiger

    World Health Organisation: More people killed by air pollution than by AIDS, malaria

    by Pratch Rujivanarom Authorities are launching all-out efforts to battle persistent smog in Bangkok, as dust particles continued to blanket the capital. Meanwhile a WHO (World Health Organisation) report says air pollution kills more people than AIDS and malaria combined. Authorities have been including cleaning roads more often, spraying water into the sky, trying to produce artificial rain and enforcing…

  • BKK authorities short on solutions to smog *Thaiger Bites | Thaiger

    BKK authorities short on solutions to smog *Thaiger Bites

    By Jintamas Saksornchai Khaosod English is reporting today that authorities were scrambling to respond to worsening smog in the capital city. A government spokesman said junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha has ordered related agencies to inform people of the danger of ultrafine particles after Bangkok’s air quality this past weekend again fell to “unhealthy” levels. As of Monday morning, the international Air…