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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  • Jaguar car explodes into flames on Bangkok expressway

    Jaguar car explodes into flames on Bangkok expressway

    Bangkok police are investigating why a black Jaguar car exploded into flames on the Charlerm Maha Nakhon Expressway last night. The driver and passengers escaped and weren’t physically hurt, but they were traumatised. The driver said they smelled diesel fumes, then saw smoke, and then the car lit on fire. He said he didn’t leave the car in any suspicious…

  • Launch of Bangkok’s two new electric rail lines delayed

    Launch of Bangkok’s two new electric rail lines delayed

    Due to construction material complications, the debut of Bangkok’s two new electric rail lines, the Yellow and Pink lines, scheduled for later this year, is likely to be pushed back until no later than next year, according to Bangkok Mass Transit System. The delay will give contractors extra time to deal with obstacles and hurdles in importing construction materials from…

  • Thai Deputy PM says foreigners should be encouraged to say “Krung Thep Maha Nakhon”

    Thai Deputy PM says foreigners should be encouraged to say “Krung Thep Maha Nakhon”

    Thailand’s capital can still be called “Bangkok,” but one of Thailand’s deputy prime minister says foreigners should be encouraged to say the formal name “Krung Thep Maha Nakhon”. In a recent, what the Office of the Royal Society calls a “clarification,” the capital’s official name was documented as “Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (Bangkok).” Many reports say this is a change…

  • Public Health Ministry opens sexual health centre in Bang Rak, Bangkok

    Public Health Ministry opens sexual health centre in Bang Rak, Bangkok

    In the midst of a rise in STD infections, Thailand’s Public Health Ministry held an opening ceremony yesterday for a new sexual health centre in Bang Rak district in Bangkok. The centre, called Bang Rak Medical Centre Building, is part of Bang Rak Hospital complex on Sathorn road. Some of the centre’s services will include test-and-go services for STIs, and…

  • Bangkok officials set up another 1,000 isolation beds amid surge in infections

    Bangkok officials set up another 1,000 isolation beds amid surge in infections

    As Covid-19 infection numbers surge in Bangkok, officials have set up another 1,000 beds in isolation facilities across the capital. According to a Bangkok Post report, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has instructed all 50 district offices to create more community isolation facilities. Bangkok governor Aswin Kwanmuang says the additional isolation facilities will help ease the burden on hospitals and the…

  • Bangkok to be officially named “Krung Thep Maha Nakhon”

    Bangkok to be officially named “Krung Thep Maha Nakhon”

    The official for Thailand’s capital is in the process of being changed to its more formal name “Krung Thep Maha Nakhon,” but its common name “Bangkok” will still be recognised. The Thai Cabinet approved the name change in principle, but the order still needs to be vetted by government officials. Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, or “Krung Thep” as most Thais…

  • Security ramped up at Ukrainian, Russian embassies in Bangkok as tensions mount

    Security ramped up at Ukrainian, Russian embassies in Bangkok as tensions mount

    Bangkok police say they have increased security in the areas surrounding the Ukrainian and Russian embassies as tensions between the 2 countries mounts. Conflict broke out when Russia threatened to avenge any move by Ukraine to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. The ongoing tension, with Russia amassing troops at the Ukrainian border, has world leaders on edge. Kritsana Patanacharoen…

  • Bangkok’s crazy cables and wires to go underground, project starts this year

    Bangkok’s crazy cables and wires to go underground, project starts this year

    Bangkok’s cables and wires, looped haphazardly above the city’s streets, is known not only to be an eye-sore, but also an electrician’s nightmare. Now, the capital’s officials are planning to get around 1,400 kilometres of electrical cables and communication lines underground within the next three years. Work for the project will start this year. This year, 450 kilometres of communication…

  • Thailand-based natural gas company stalls move on Myanmar following coup

    Thailand-based natural gas company stalls move on Myanmar following coup

    Following the withdrawal of its French and US partners from a gas production project in Myanmar, Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production Plc is stalling its next move by saying that it will make an official announcement early next month on whether to keep ties with the military in Myanmar or not. US-based Chevron Corp and France-based Total Energies both announced…

  • Studio Ghibli exhibition at Central World in Bangkok starts today, lasts until late March

    Studio Ghibli exhibition at Central World in Bangkok starts today, lasts until late March

    The trendy clothing store Uniqlo is hosting a Studio Ghibli exhibition that starts today at Central World in Bangkok and will run until March 27. The exhibition will display a giant Totoro and the cat bus from the movie My Neighbor Totoro. At the exhibition, people can order special T-shirts only available in Thailand. The T-shirts have photos and drawings by…

  • Bollywood actor to become monk for 15 days, wants to promote Buddhism in India

    Bollywood actor to become monk for 15 days, wants to promote Buddhism in India

    A Bollywood actor who recently ordained into monkhood in Bangkok said he wants to spread the message of Buddhism in India. In a Facebook post, he said it was time for him to learn Dhamma, understand impermanence, gain knowledge, and “roll the wheel of Dhamma in India.” The actor, Gagan Malik, will only live as a monk for 15 days,…

  • Take a healthy bite of hipster paradise with plant based ‘smoothie bowls’ at Paco Club Bangkok

    Take a healthy bite of hipster paradise with plant based ‘smoothie bowls’ at Paco Club Bangkok

    Looking for a boutique cafe that offers a unique blend of delicious and decor? Check out Paco Club Bangkok. With an artsy design and all natural, plant based desserts called “smoothie bows,” this colourful hole in the wall will rock your hipster socks off. Not smoothies in the traditional sense, their signature creations are comprised of your choice of fresh…

  • Thailand’s retail giant Central plans 100 billion baht investment by 2026

    Thailand’s retail giant Central plans 100 billion baht investment by 2026

    Over the next 5 years, Southeast Asia’s largest retailer plans to invest 100 billion baht to grow its business even more. The Thailand-based Central Retail Corporation Pcl, which has more than 20 department stores and shopping centres across Thailand as well as two outlets in Indonesia, says the investment, which is around US$3.03 billion, is aimed at increasing revenue and…

  • Bangkok man who poured beer over female kickboxer loses his job (VIDEO)

    Bangkok man who poured beer over female kickboxer loses his job (VIDEO)

    A man who poured beer over a woman who turned out to be a professional boxer, has just been fired from his job at a top Bangkok hotel. Not a good week for the unnamed perpetrator, who hit the headlines thanks to the power of social media and a video that went viral. The incident occurred at a food court…

  • Bangkok experiencing Covid surge as new infections rise to 2,000 a day

    Bangkok experiencing Covid surge as new infections rise to 2,000 a day

    The Department of Disease Control has reported a surge in Covid-19 infections in Bangkok, with daily cases rising to around 2,000 a day. According to a Bangkok Post report, most patients are adolescents or of working age. Dr Suthat Chottanapund from the Institute for Urban Disease Control and Prevention says the capital is now recording between 1,800 – 2,000 cases…

  • One Night in Bangkok: Top 5 hotels to wine and dine your dinner date for Valentine’s Day 2022

    One Night in Bangkok: Top 5 hotels to wine and dine your dinner date for Valentine’s Day 2022

    With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, choosing the perfect place to celebrate with your current or soon-to-be significant other can be quite the challenge. Fortunately, for those living in the Big Mango, there are numerous hotels offering a delectable array of luxurious menus and memorable views — at unforgettable (i.e. exorbitant) prices. So here’s a shortlist of our Top…

  • Democrat politician jumps ship to join Move Forward Party

    Democrat politician jumps ship to join Move Forward Party

    A prominent MP, formerly part of the Democrat Party, has resigned and joined the opposition Move Forward Party. The MP, Tawil Praisont, said he had been considering leaving the Democrat Party for quite some time because it didn’t want to decentralise local administrative organisations, especially after Thailand’s 2019 general elections. Tawil said he started to regularly meet with a Move…

  • Female boxer fights back after man pours beer over her for refusing to drink with him

    Female boxer fights back after man pours beer over her for refusing to drink with him

    A Bangkok man got more than he bargained for when he poured beer over a woman who turned out to be a Muay Thai boxer. A video of the incident, in which 24 year old Pareploy Saeaia can be seen kicking and shoving the perpetrator, has since gone viral. In the clip, Pareploy can be seen in a wet dress…

  • Truck drivers threaten to camp in front of Energy Ministry because of diesel price

    Truck drivers threaten to camp in front of Energy Ministry because of diesel price

    Angry truck drivers say they will protest and camp out in front of if Thailand’s energy ministry if the minister doesn’t lower diesel prices in seven days. The chairman of the Land Transport Federation of Thailand (LTFT) also said the federation would join protests with other groups hurt by Thailand’s rising cost of living, like farmers affected by low crop…

  • Food delivery driver attacks pedestrian on sidewalk in Bangkok

    Food delivery driver attacks pedestrian on sidewalk in Bangkok

    A food delivery driver riding his motorbike on the sidewalk nearly hit a man walking out of a shop. The pedestrian says he yelled and the driver then got off his bike and attacked the man on the sidewalk, video footage shows. Thai media identified the man as Boonrit, or “Tao Titan Face” for his face tattoos that resemble a…

  • Maharaj Tunnel opens in Bangkok, pedestrian underpass to the Grand Palace

    Maharaj Tunnel opens in Bangkok, pedestrian underpass to the Grand Palace

    A new pedestrian underpass in Bangkok officially opened yesterday, with a small exhibition along the underground route to the Grand Palace. In addition to easing traffic problems in the heart of the city, the Maharaj Tunnel offers an exhibition showcasing the history of Bangkok as well as Thai architecture. It also provides clean toilets for those walking throughout the city.…

  • Bangkok’s Siriraj Hospital performs knee joint surgery using robotic-arm technology

    Bangkok’s Siriraj Hospital performs knee joint surgery using robotic-arm technology

    Robotic surgeries have been around for a while, but at Bangkok’s Siriraj Hospital, doctors announced that for the first time, they replaced an entire knee joint on an elderly patient using the Stryker’s Mako robotic arm. The robotic-arm assisted surgery was developed for knee replacements. It does a CT scan of the patient, creating a 3D image and helping surgeons…

  • Bangkok officials to shut down more than 20 illegal landfills in the capital

    Bangkok officials to shut down more than 20 illegal landfills in the capital

    The Thai government is launching a project to get rid of illegal landfills in Bangkok. The “SHUT DOWN!” project is led by Bangkok’s Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression Division, also known as Greencrop. So far, two of the more than 20 illegal landfills were raided in the operation. A report in Thai media says the dumps were in Bangkok’s Latkrabang district…

  • China proposes to donate two used submarines to Thai Navy after problems in purchase deal

    China proposes to donate two used submarines to Thai Navy after problems in purchase deal

    The Royal Thai Navy is reportedly in talks with China about receiving two decommissioned military submarines. But apparently, the offer is on the table because there was a problem with ordering parts for the submarine currently being assembled by China for Thailand, according to the Bangkok Post. The used submarines would be used for training while Thailand waits for its…

  • Ex-deputy attorney general from Red Bull case applies join NACC

    Ex-deputy attorney general from Red Bull case applies join NACC

    The controversial ex-deputy attorney who chose not to indict the Red Bull heir who killed a policeman in a hit-and-run accident in 2012 applied for a seat on Thailand’s National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) on Thursday. The former attorney general, Nate Naksuk, told Thai PBS in an interview that he wants to prove his innocence, and spend the rest of his…

  • Thai staffer arrested after secret cameras found in female toilets at Bangkok’s Australian Embassy

    Thai staffer arrested after secret cameras found in female toilets at Bangkok’s Australian Embassy

    Thai police have now arrested a former staff member at Australia’s embassy in Bangkok. The arrest follows the discovery of of hidden “spy” cameras in the embassy’s female bathrooms. The former embassy staffer was arrested last month. At this stage it is not known how long the cameras had been in place, what they recorded or whose privacy has been…

  • Prayut tells Bangkok vocational students to stop violence

    Prayut tells Bangkok vocational students to stop violence

    After police found more than 32 knives, and gun ammunition at one Bangkok university on Thursday, PM Prayut has called on students and alumni to end to the violence. Police searched the school grounds of the Uthenthawai campus of Rajamangala University of Technology after a video of students firing guns into the air went viral on Wednesday. Uthenthawai is one…

  • Mother of eye doctor killed at Bangkok zebra crossing calls for justice

    Mother of eye doctor killed at Bangkok zebra crossing calls for justice

    Justice is being called on Thailand’s traffic laws system by the mother of the doctor who was fatally hit by a police officer’s Ducati while walking on a zebra crossing in Bangkok’s Phaya Thai area 2 weeks ago. A petition was sent to a parliamentary law committee yesterday. The appeal was addressed to the House law committee by the mother of…

  • Suvarnabhumi airport warns people travelling out of Thailand, don’t bring over 30 masks

    Suvarnabhumi airport warns people travelling out of Thailand, don’t bring over 30 masks

    After the Central Committee on Prices of Goods and Services announced on January 25 that face masks were on its list of controlled products, Suvarnabhumi International Airport announced yesterday that people flying out of Thailand can’t bring over 30 face masks with them unless they have a doctor’s note. If they have a doctor’s note, they may bring up to…

  • Thailand’s DDC director says Covid may enter post-pandemic phase this year

    Thailand’s DDC director says Covid may enter post-pandemic phase this year

    As Thailand has seen a downswing of daily new Covid-19 infections, which have remained below 10,000 since the beginning of January, the country’s Department of Disease Control director-general Dr Opas Karnkawinpong says the widespread virus may enter the post-pandemic stage this year. The global outbreak has three stages: pre-pandemic, pandemic, and post-pandemic, the director says, adding that the world may…