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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    9 most common health issues covered by insurance for expats in Thailand

    Thailand is a popular destination for expats due to its affordable lifestyle and excellent healthcare system. However, settling in a new country often brings health concerns. To ensure you’re covered for the most common medical needs, understanding what expat health...

  • Bangkok field hospitals fill with patients, Prayut urges Thais not to let their guard down

    Bangkok field hospitals fill with patients, Prayut urges Thais not to let their guard down

    PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is urging Thais to not lower their guard when it comes to Covid-19, especially the new variant Omicron, and follow the universal measurements strictly, according to a government spokesperson. The reminder came after 2,611 new patients flocked to field hospitals in Bangkok over the weekend. Government Spokesperson Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana says the prime minister expressed his concern about…

  • Cobra Gold military exercise downsized this year due to Omicron spread

    Cobra Gold military exercise downsized this year due to Omicron spread

    Thailand’s annual Cobra Gold military exercise, where Thai soldiers train the US and other foreign troops on jungle survival skills, is being scaled down this year due to the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant. The large, multinational military exercise has been known for its snake decapitating demonstration where soldiers drink the fresh blood from the headless snake before…

  • 413 Bars in Bangkok ask permission to reopen as restaurants

    413 Bars in Bangkok ask permission to reopen as restaurants

    More than 400 bars, nightclubs, and entertainment venues in Bangkok have applied for permission to reopen as restaurants. The venues have been closed since April due to strict disease control measures. The government delayed its plan to allow bars and nightclubs to reopen in mid-January due to the Omicron outbreak in Thailand, but decided to allow the venues to apply for…

  • Teachers in Bangkok mark Teachers Day by making 7 demands of government

    Teachers in Bangkok mark Teachers Day by making 7 demands of government

    Teachers in Bangkok have marked National Teachers Day with a 7-point manifesto that calls for reform of the education system. National Teachers Day was first celebrated in 1945 and is held every year on January 16. Yesterday, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha marked the day with the slogan, “Develop teachers, develop children, learn for the future.” However, from a Nation Thailand report,…

  • Bangkok reports surge in Covid cases linked to restaurant/bars, student dorms

    Bangkok reports surge in Covid cases linked to restaurant/bars, student dorms

    Health officials say there has been a surge in infections in Bangkok, linked to restaurant/bars and other crowded places, such as student dorms. According to a Bangkok Post report, 939 new cases were reported in the capital yesterday, 45 of which were imported. Dr Suthas Chottanapan from the DDC says 300 of the local cases were contracted in restaurants operating…

  • 5 criteria set for hospitalising Covid-19 patients in Bangkok

    5 criteria set for hospitalising Covid-19 patients in Bangkok

    In Bangkok, officials are attempting to take some of the guesswork out of dealing with Covid-19 infected patients while also streamlining the process when someone tests positive for the virus. New guidelines were set forth to assess the level of symptoms and infection and route people either to a hospital or other medical facility or refer them to home isolation.…

  • PM Prayut orders a higher fence around Government House

    PM Prayut orders a higher fence around Government House

    In a move sure to inspire the impression of an open government fighting for the interests of the people, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has instructed the relevant government departments that the border fence must be raised around Government House. The order was put in place saying that over the years the roads around the government building have been resurfaced multiple times,…

  • Omicron cases rise, Bangkok residents flock to Bang Sue Vaccination Centre

    Omicron cases rise, Bangkok residents flock to Bang Sue Vaccination Centre

    Following an uptick in Omicron Covid-19 cases, Bangkok’s major inoculation centre at Bang Sue Grand Station was packed with those waiting to get vaccinated. Individuals who haven’t received their vaccine are welcome at Bang Sue Station with a walk-in service, while those who want a second or third dose need to register through a mobile network, either AIS, TRUE, DTAC,…

  • Nonthaburi to give free vaccines for Thais as 3rd and 4th booster

    Nonthaburi to give free vaccines for Thais as 3rd and 4th booster

    Get your booster shots! Officials in the Nonthaburi Health Office announced that they would be offering free third and fourth vaccines as booster shots to all Thai people on January 13 and 14. The vaccines will be offered for free, but those who want to take advantage of the vaccination must register in advance for the shots. Vaccines will be…

  • Bangkok to begin Pfizer vaccines for children 5-11 next month

    Bangkok to begin Pfizer vaccines for children 5-11 next month

    The next round of the vaccine rollout is being prepared now by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and aims to use Pfizer vaccines for children under 12 years old. The rollout will be launched next month and will allow children between the ages of 5 years old and 11 years old to get vaccinated with the mRNA vaccine. While children over…

  • Police officer accused of leaking sex video of lover on Twitter

    Police officer accused of leaking sex video of lover on Twitter

    In the past few months, The Thaiger has covered multiple stories of the police busting women selling sex videos on OnlyFans and social media like Twitter and the LINE app, and even a special warning against dressing up as sexy police officers when making adult material on OnlyFans, but today’s story of sex, police, and the internet, has a different…

  • Security guard wanted in Bangkok condo rape case arrested in Sa Kaeo

    Security guard wanted in Bangkok condo rape case arrested in Sa Kaeo

    The Bangkok security guard wanted by police for allegedly raping a Bang Khae condominum resident three days ago surrendered to police in the eastern Sa Kaeo, bordering Cambodia. The head of security at the Bangkok condominium, 40 year old Montri Yaikrathog, allegedly went into a tenant’s room, handcuffed her, and sexually assaulted her. The 36 year old woman told police…

  • Bodies of Thai model and unidentified woman found in Bangkok’s Chao Phraya River

    Bodies of Thai model and unidentified woman found in Bangkok’s Chao Phraya River

    The bodies of a Thai model and an unidentified woman were found in Bangkok’s Chao Phraya River by two of the capital’s most popular shopping centres. The model’s body was found by the Asiatique: The Riverfront Pier while the woman’s body was found by the ICONSIAM Pier. Thai model Kendo Kullapat was reported missing on Tuesday. Some Thai designers and…

  • Mother tries to give away baby, then abandons by Bangkok canal

    Mother tries to give away baby, then abandons by Bangkok canal

    A baby that was abandoned by the side of a canal in Greater Bangkok after the mother could not give her away has now been safely handed over to a state orphanage. The baby is an 11-month old girl and was left next to Bang Bua Thong district canal in the Bangkok suburb of Nonthaburi. The mother of the baby…

  • Thailand to impose three-month ban on live pig exports in order to boost domestic supplies

    Thailand to impose three-month ban on live pig exports in order to boost domestic supplies

    Thailand said that it would impose a three-month ban on live pig exports in order to boost domestic supplies yesterday. The decision was made after authorities foresaw a lack of pigs for domestic consumption in 2022, as well as more price increases, especially with the upcoming Lunar New Year festival, according to Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit. He added that the…

  • Kids ride free on BTS and MRT trains for National Children’s Day

    Kids ride free on BTS and MRT trains for National Children’s Day

    National Children’s Day is coming up on January 8 and if you’ve got no plans for it, how about taking the kids for a free ride on Bangkok’s BTS and MRT trains? To celebrate the holiday, the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand will allow children under the age of 14 and under the height of 140 centimetres to ride…

  • Massive LED billboard cluster causes sleepless nights in Thong Lor

    Massive LED billboard cluster causes sleepless nights in Thong Lor

    Sleepless in Sukhumvit. A massive clump of LED billboards in Bangkok’s Thong Lor district has been such a nuisance to residents across the street, with many complaining they’re losing sleep, that an official complaint filed with local police and the district office could succeed in its removal. Thong Lor is known for its nightlife, with numerous clubs, pubs, restaurants –…

  • Khao San Road closed for 3 days after Covid-19 outbreak

    Khao San Road closed for 3 days after Covid-19 outbreak

    As could be predicted after massive New Year’s Eve parties in tourist hotspots around the country, many Covid-19 outbreaks and clusters have been identified throughout Thailand. One such cluster of 10 tourists with Covid-19 was identified on the backpacker hub of Khao San Road in Bangkok, leading to a 3-day closure for sterilisation. The world-famous street in Phra Nakhon district,…

  • Bangkok prepares field hospitals, isolation centres for anticipated Covid-19 uptick

    Bangkok prepares field hospitals, isolation centres for anticipated Covid-19 uptick

    Field hospitals and community isolation centres are being set up in Bangkok to handle the anticipated uptick of Covid-19 cases after the New Year’s holiday. Thousands of cardboard beds are being set up in facilities, like gymnasiums, to house those who are infected with the virus. There are now 40 community isolation centres that can support 5,066 patients who have…

  • Khao San Road getting cleaned, staff tested after 11 partygoers test positive for Covid-19

    Khao San Road getting cleaned, staff tested after 11 partygoers test positive for Covid-19

    Bangkok’s Khao San Road is in for a big cleaning after the New Year weekend where 11 people tested positive for Covid-19. Authorities are now urging those who partied on the street on December 30 and 31 to get tested and to monitor their health. The nightlife walking street, known as a backpacker’s mecca with cheap drinks, laughing gas balloons,…

  • Hua Lamphong and Mor Chit offer free Covid-19 testing today

    Hua Lamphong and Mor Chit offer free Covid-19 testing today

    Free Covid-19 testing is being offered today in Bangkok at Hua Lamphong railway station and Mor Chit bus terminal. The free testing programme was launched to try to identify Covid-19 infections and curb spread as people return to Bangkok after travelling on holiday or to family over the New Year’s weekend. Department of Disease Control Director-General Control Dr Opas Karnkawinpong…

  • POLL: Chadchart still the lead candidate for Bangkok Governor

    POLL: Chadchart still the lead candidate for Bangkok Governor

    In the most recent NIDA Poll, Chadchart Sittipunt still holds a commanding lead in the candidate field for the Bangkok Governor election coming up later this year. Chadchart has been favoured in the election for months and is running as an independent having served previously in the government of former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in the role of Minister of…

  • 1 killed in shootout between students driving by a petrol station

    1 killed in shootout between students driving by a petrol station

    A brawl involving gunfire between vocational students in Bangkok ended in one Thai person being killed and two more people being injured. The melee took place in the Bang Khun Thian district of the capital city, as 2 groups of students clashed in what appeared to be a shootout on the back of motorbikes that passed in front of a…

  • Bangkok revises closure order, bars and nightclubs to stay closed until January 15

    Bangkok revises closure order, bars and nightclubs to stay closed until January 15

    Bangkok officials revised its provincial closure order and extended the date the order is in effect to January 15, requiring bars and entertainment venues to remain shut for at least the next two weeks, which is in line with government’s nationwide closure order. Approved New Year countdown events still can continue under the “Covid-19 Free Setting” measures, which require proof…

  • Body of a foreign man found in Bangkok canal

    Body of a foreign man found in Bangkok canal

    A body of a foreign man, said to be around 50 years old, was found in canal in Bangkok’s Phra Khanong area yesterday. Earlier that day, at around 7am, a maid working nearby saw a man by the canal and said it looked like he was trying to catch fish using a black plastic bag. Her nephew later called her…

  • Bangkok is removing about 400 public drinking water fountains

    Bangkok is removing about 400 public drinking water fountains

    The days when Bangkok had water flowing through the city like, well, water, are coming to an end as the city plans to demolish about 400 public drinking fountains. The initiative to remove the public pedestal drinking fountains has deemed the move necessary because of a variety of factors that make them more of a nuisance than a public service.…

  • Private sector countdown events to go ahead in Bangkok on New Year’s Eve

    Private sector countdown events to go ahead in Bangkok on New Year’s Eve

    New Year countdown events organised by the private sector in Bangkok can still go ahead, provided they adhere to strict disease control guidelines, according to a Bangkok Post report. The CCSA is giving the go-ahead despite the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration cancelling government-organised events in the capital over concerns about the Omicron variant. Supoj Malaniyom from the CCSA says private sector…

  • Credit card loaned to buy cosmetics used for 6.7 million baht spree

    Credit card loaned to buy cosmetics used for 6.7 million baht spree

    What’s your credit limit? Two people were arrested in Bangkok, accused of using a borrowed credit card to rack up 6.7 million baht worth of purchases. The pair were arrested by the Crime Suppression Division Police in Ramkhamhaeng Soi 68 in Bangkapi on Tuesday, though they deny any wrongdoing. The pair of alleged fraudsters is a 47 year old Thai…

  • Dangling wires cause injury in Samut Prakan motorbike crash

    Dangling wires cause injury in Samut Prakan motorbike crash

    Thailand has long been known for its obnoxiously tangled wiring that stretches and sags along and across streets, notable in Bangkok but seen even in small towns around the country. The cables are often in disarray and sometimes even dangling dangerously low to the street causing injuries and death. A recent report in Thai media highlighted one such accident, where…

  • DDC approves fourth vaccine dose for medical workers and patients with underlying diseases

    DDC approves fourth vaccine dose for medical workers and patients with underlying diseases

    Following the uptick in Omicron cases, mostly involving travellers entering Thailand, a subcommittee on immunisation of the Department of Disease Control had given the green light for the fourth dose of the Covid-19 vaccine for medical and public health personnel, frontline health workers, patients with chronic diseases, and those taking immunosuppressants, according to director-general Dr Opas Karnkawinpong. The director said…