Bangkok news stories on Newser

Iranian Hit Squad Hid Bombs in Radios

Rob Quinn — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:17:00 CST

The suspected Iranian hit squad busted in Bangkok last week made cheap portable radios into bombs that they intended to use against Israeli targets, authorities say. Experts say the bombs are nearly identical to those attached to vehicles in attacks in India and the republic of Georgia , ABC reports. After...

Iranian Bomb Suspects Partied With Prostitutes

Mary Papenfuss — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 05:10:44 CST

Three Iranians suspected of plotting Bangkok bomb attacks on Israeli diplomats arranged to meet women as they planned their missions—and they weren't 72 virgins . They spent hours over two nights partying with prostitutes at a Thai beach resort in Pattaya, known for its sex industry, say authorities. One of...

Iranian Man Blows Off Own Leg in Thai Bombing

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 08:27:05 CST

An Iranian man blew his own leg off in Bangkok today, as a series of explosions rocked the Thai capital, the New York Times reports. The first blast occurred in the house the man was renting in a residential neighborhood; witnesses say three men who appeared to be foreigners ran...

US Warns of Possible Terrorist Attack in Bangkok

Evann Gastaldo — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 08:32:05 CST

US citizens visiting Thailand were warned today that terrorists may be planning attacks on tourist areas in Bangkok "in the near future," the Bangkok Post reports. A message from the US embassy urges citizens "to exercise caution when visiting public areas where large groups of Western tourists gather in Bangkok,...

Thai Death Toll Passes 500

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 06:44:43 CST

The nationwide death toll from Thailand's worst floods in half a century climbed past 500 today, as the polluted black water continued its march into Bangkok and authorities ordered a spate of new evacuations in the sprawling capital. Today, Bangkok Gov. Sukhumbhand Paribatra ordered another wave of evacuations in several...

Flood Waters Converge on Downtown Bangkok

Kevin Spak — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 13:53:26 CDT

Bangkok residents are growing increasingly restless as floodwaters continue to rise through city streets. Officials are trying to drain the waters through waterways in the city’s eastern and western areas, but that’s prompted protests from residents who say their homes are being sacrificed to protect ritzier downtown properties like luxury...

Tens of Thousands Flee Bangkok Floods

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 00:28:08 CDT

Residents are pouring out of Bangkok by bus, plane and train, heeding government warnings to use a special five-day holiday to evacuate parts of the flood-threatened metropolis before a weekend deluge rushes through the city. The evacuation warning applied to only three of Bangkok's 50 districts, but the government has...

Bangkok Grapples With Floods

Rob Quinn — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 05:40:08 CDT

Bangkok is slowly being flooded by waters seeping into the Thai capital from the waterlogged center of the country on their way to the Gulf of Thailand. The flooding, the worst the city has seen in at least 70 years, has severed road and rail links and forced the government...

Thais Bust Man With 'Suitcase Zoo'

Rob Quinn — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 03:04:12 CST

Bangkok authorities have busted a man who attempted to board a plane carrying enough creatures to start a small zoo. The Indonesian smuggler's three suitcases contained dozens of snakes—including two boa constrictors and 34 ball pythons—26 lizards of assorted kinds, six Argentine horned frogs, 18 baboon spiders, 22...