Thailand’s Constitution Court is due to rule Monday on a dissolution case against Prime Minister Abhisit’s Democrat Party. Here are some resources for reading up on the issues at hand:
For analysis, I suggest this Bangkok Pundit post, called “Why would the Democrats be dissolved?”
And here’s a Bangkok Post story about the Election Commission’s recommendation, during the red shirt protests back in April, that the party be dissolved.
The case is also mentioned in this Reuters story about political risks in Thailand.
And finally, today’s Nation offers this graphic, below, explaining the situation. Here’s a bigger version.
Anti-government red shirt protesters are gathering here in Bangkok today to mark the six month anniversary of the May 19 army crackdown.
The image above, taken by by @RichardBarrow and shared via Twitpic, shows the gathering at Rajaprasong intersection at 3 p.m. local time, or about 45 minutes ago.
Thai “Red Shirts” gathered on Friday outside a Bangkok prison where the movement’s leaders are held as they began events to mark six months since a deadly army crackdown on their anti-government rally. Police estimate that 10,000 people will take to the streets by the evening in the upmarket central shopping zone that the Reds brought to a standstill earlier this year with their campaign for snap elections.
I know it’s been all-Thailand-flooding-all-of-the-time in these parts, but a quick note: This will come as no surprise to readers here in Bangkok, but the weather in the city has been absolutely delightful for the past week or so.
We’ve been spared the daily downpours as the rainy season has come to a close, and patches of bright blue have begun peeking through the normally overcast skies.
But what I’ve loved most of all is the relatively — and, if memory serves, unseasonably — “cool” temperatures.
We have been enjoying, if you can believe it, lows in the low 70s Fahrenheit (low 20s Celsius) in the mornings and at night. And it’s been even colder in northern Thailand.
Okay, so it’s hardly frigid here in Krungthep, but for a tropical climate, this dip in temps means the option of occasionally wearing long sleeve shirts. It means walking long distances without perspiring. And — at least for me — it means the ability to open the windows in my office and enjoy the cool breeze, rather than having to rely on air conditioning for a comfortable working environment.
(Oh, and in case you’re wondering: As of yet, we have not forced our adopted street dog to bundle up with a sweater due to the cold, though other pooches in the neighborhood have not been spared such indignities.)
I’m not the only one who’s taken note of this meteorological change, of course: See the #ThaiCold Twitter hashtag for others’ reactions (mostly in Thai).
Here’s to the “cool” temperatures. Fingers crossed this weather holds through February.
Rescuers have struggled to get help to thousands of people stranded in their homes after three days of heavy rain triggered a massive flash flood that knocked down power poles and cut communications in Hat Yai city.
Officials said tens of thousands of people were trapped yesterday in the southern commercial hub which is facing its worst-ever flood crisis.
Torrential rains since Monday caused by a depression in the Gulf of Thailand engulfed Hat Yai municipality and many other areas of the South.
Many districts are under as much as three metres of water. One resident has been electrocuted during the flooding.
And here’s a closer look at weather patterns in the region — a larger image is here.
(All emphasis mine.)
(Screen captures via @RichardBarrow, who is tweeting images and updates on the situatuion.)
The death toll from severe floods in Thailand has risen to 100, including at least three foreigners, although the waters have receded in some areas, officials said on Saturday.
Six more people have died in the disaster, which began on October 10, the Emergency Medical Institute of Thailand said in its daily update.
Among them was a 38-year-old Dutchman, named as Harald Vusser, who was electrocuted or drowned in Ayutthaya province just north of Bangkok on Friday, it said.
Local media reported he was helping his Thai wife move her belongings to a dry place.
The other foreign victims were a 44-year-old Cambodian woman who was killed in a mudslide earlier this month on Koh Chang island in Trat province, and a two-year-old Burmese boy who drowned in Phathum Thani.
Authorities said 22 of Thailand’s 76 provinces were still flooded, while the waters had receded in 16 others.
And there’s this, about Bangkok:
Bangkok has been on standby with thousands of sandbags and pumps as flood water from the north runs downstream and could coincide with high tide.
So far the capital has avoided major flooding, although more than 1000 homes along the Chao Phraya have been partially submerged.
A graft busting agency will step up its investigations into claims of corruption in the relief effort as billions of baht pour into flood-ravaged provinces.
Ampol Wongsiri, deputy secretary-general of the Public Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC), yesterday said five teams of investigators would head to flood-hit provinces to ensure transparency in flood relief spending.
Their focus will be on provinces that require funds of 50-100 million baht as emergency assistance for flood victims.
A recent PACC investigation found that less than 10% of disaster relief funds reached those in need.
The Emergency Medical Institute of Thailand on Thursday reported a total death toll of 68 from this month’s flooding, including 54 men and 14 women in 19 provinces Oct 10-28.
The highest number of deaths was recorded at 11 each in Lop Buri and Nakhon Sawan provinces and nine deaths in Nakhon Ratchasima.
Here’s some raw video — embedded below — of the flooding, courtesy of Thai network MCOT via CNN:
For historical perspective, embedded below is some footage that I understand depicts flooding here in Bangkok in 1942:
Meanwhile, if you’re interested in donating to help victims, the Bangkok Post has published account numbers for various groups providing relief.
Here’s a map of flooding embankments in Bangkok, courtesy of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, via today’s Bangkok Post. Full story and larger map are here. So far the city has not suffered major damage.
Widespread flooding continues in northeast and central Thailand — and now parts of Bangkok near the Chao Phraya river have been flooded, as well. The death toll has risen to 41, with more than 2 million people affected.
Residents living near the main river that passes through the Thai capital Bangkok have been evacuated due to fears that the Chao Phraya could overflow following two weeks of flooding that has claimed at least 38 lives across the country.
Update two: For more posts about flooding in Thailand as of Sept., 2011, see the Thailand Flooding tag.
Update: This post is from Oct. 2010. For more recent flooding news, from March 2011, see this post.
As I mentioned here and here, Thailand has been hit by the worst flooding in decades. @thaitvnews has created this Google Map — embedded below — of affected areas. The map contains photos, links to videos, and Thai-language descriptions of the floods.
Devastating floods spreading from northeastern Thailand have left 17 people dead over the past two weeks as heavy rainfall has put entire villages underwater, destroyed crops and disrupted transportation and commerce.
Thailand’s relatively well-organized government services appeared to have been caught by surprise and in some areas overwhelmed, with some survivors stranded for days without government aid. Officials describe the flooding, which follows deadly inundations in Vietnam and other nearby countries, as the worst in half a century. Damage is estimated at more than $650 million.
This Thai-language TV report has footage of the flooding (embedded below):
And here are stories from VOA (“Asia Faces Rising Death Toll From Heavy Rains”) and Bloomberg (“Thailand Floods Kill 7 People, Spread to 13 Provinces; Transport Links Cut”).
