The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. – Benjamin Franklin
– ‘My heart aches’: Bangkok street food ban serves up social media outrage:
Bangkok is set to ban its famous food stalls, about a month after the Thai capital was named the world’s best street food destination. Social media users are in despair over the move, saying the city “will not be the same.”
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– 15 Dead After Large Explosion Rips Through Central Bangkok (ZeroHedge, Aug 18, 2015):
“The BBC’s Jonathan Head, who is at the scene, says there appear to be both dead and injured, amid a huge amount of chaos. There are burnt motorbikes on the main road, with paramedics and police trying to take the injured away, he says.”
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– Explosions And Heavy Gunfire In Bangkok Ahead Of Elections (ZeroHedge, Feb 1,2014):
17 years ago, the first major Emerging Market crisis started in Thailand, leading to the Russian default and the collapse of LTCM ushering in the era of Too Big To Fail. This time, all the world needed for the second major EM crisis, was for Ben Bernanke to announce he is giving global central planning a break (because one can be certain the Untaper will be right back on the agenda as soon as the S&P enters a bear market). Ironically, Thailand has largely been insulated from the EM decimation, even through it is now in as bad a political shape as it ever was, and one day ahead of the February 2 general elections things are getting from bad to worse. AFP reports that explosions and heavy gunfire rattled Bangkok Saturday as pro- and anti-government protesters clashed on the eve of controversial Thai elections seen as unlikely to end a cycle of violence in the kingdom after months of opposition rallies.
Read moreThailand: Explosions And Heavy Gunfire In Bangkok Ahead Of Elections
This has been reported before:
– Radioactive Fukushima Peaches To Be Exported To Thailand
– FRCSR Alert: Fukushima peaches on sale outside Japan (ENENews, Sep 6, 2012)
Floodwaters swamped the municipality of Rangsit, on the outskirts of Bangkok, forcing residents to abandon their homes
– Thai PM opens the floodgates in desperate bid to save Bangkok (Independent, Oct. 21, 2011):
Thailand’s new prime minister last night opted for a high-risk gamble to try and save Bangkok from devastating flooding by allowing some of the surging waters to enter the city.
By deciding to proceed with a controlled release of water through the city’s network of canals, Yingluck Shinawatra and her senior officials are hoping to ensure any flooding to the capital city reaches no more than ankle deep. But they admit what they are doing is a gamble that could go wrong.
Read moreThailand’s PM Opens The Floodgates In Desperate Bid To Save Bangkok
– Thai stock exchange on fire, blackouts hit Bangkok (Reuters):
BANGKOK, May 19 (Reuters) – The Thai stock exchange was on fire and parts of Bangkok were hit by power blackouts on Wednesday as violence continued, even though anti-government protest leaders surrendered and troops said they were in control.
The stock exchange building was on fire, the exchange’s president told Reuters, while witnesses said major tourist hotels had lost power as black smoke billowed around buildings in the Thai capital.
The stock market had closed early due to the violence.
Thai Defence Minister General Pravit Wongsuwan said a curfew may be imposed on Bangkok to deal with continued unrest after troops dispersed anti-government protesters in a major offensive that killed at least four people and wounded 50 others.
– Bangkok burns as Thai Red Shirts run amok after leaders’ surrender (Times):
Bangkok was burning today after Thai protest leaders called a halt to months of anti-government demonstrations leaving their followers to wreak havoc in retreat.
The stock exchange and two shopping centres were set alight after a bloody army assault on the barricaded encampment forced the Red Shirts to surrender. Protesters have also set the offices of TV station Channel 3 on fire, trapping 100 staff in the building.
The dawn offensive left five dead, including an Italian journalist, and dozens more were wounded.
– Thai Government Declares Curfew in Bangkok (Voice of America)
Smoke rises from burning fires in downtown Bangkok, Thailand, following the surrender of anti-government leaders to the police Wednesday, May 19, 2010. The Thai government is attempting to end the two month long standoff with Red Shirt protestors with a massive military crackdown. (AP)
BANGKOK — A night curfew has come into force in Bangkok, the first declared in the Thai capital since 1992.
The 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew was enforced Wednesday following an army assault on the anti-government protesters.
At least six people have been killed and nearly 60 injured in clashes.
The last such curfew was declared in 1992, when the army killed dozens of pro-democracy demonstrators seeking the ouster of a military-backed government.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.
BANGKOK (AP) — Downtown Bangkok became a flaming battleground Wednesday as an army assault forced anti-government protest leaders to surrender, enraging followers who shot grenades and set fire to landmark buildings, cloaking the skyline in black smoke.
Using live ammunition, troops dispersed thousands of Red Shirt protesters who had been camped in the capital’s premier shopping and residential district for weeks. Five protesters and an Italian news photographer were killed in the ensuing gunbattles and about 60 wounded.
Riot policemen march towards anti-government demonstrators protesting outside Parliament in Bangkok October 7, 2008. REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s military put troops on the streets of Bangkok on Tuesday to keep order after a day of battles between police and anti-government protesters in which more than 380 people were injured.
One man was killed by a car bomb near parliament, police said, where protesters involved in a four-month campaign to unseat the government battled riot police in clouds of teargas.
Army commander Anupong Paochinda said police asked for help and he denied rumors of a coup, two years after the military ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a bloodless putsch.
“People should not panic. Soldiers will not launch a coup since it will not be good for the country,” he told reporters.
BANGKOK – Developing countries and environmental groups accused the World Bank on Friday of trying to seize control of the billions of dollars of aid that will be used to tackle climate change in the next four decades.
“The World Bank’s foray into climate change has gone down like a lead balloon,” Friends of the Earth campaigner Tom Picken said at the end of a major climate change conference in the Thai capital.
“Many countries and civil society have expressed outrage at the World Bank’s attempted hijacking of real efforts to fund climate change efforts,” he said.
