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Protest leaders of The Ratsadon (People’s Movement) group are threatening to escalate the rallies if authorities interfere with an upcoming rally at the Crown Property Bureau in Bangkok this Wednesday. The anti-government group named Dao Din, which is part of the wider Ratsadon group, has voiced its opposition to parliament’s rejection of the charter amendment bill proposed by iLaw, a Thai human rights NGO. The bill, which was a proposal to amend the Thai constitution, had almost 100,000 signatures of support. It was rejected at the first reading last Wednesday. Panupong Sritananuwat, a member of the Dao Din group, says the group will take part in the upcoming anti-government protests on Wednesday and further denounced the government’s use of force to disperse the rallies that took place on November 17. As a whole, the group is vowing to continue its protests until PM Prayut resigns and the charter is amended. On current form, neither are likely to occur. Yesterday, protest leader … [Read more...] about Protest leaders threaten to escalate if authorities interfere with upcoming rally

HCMC Transport Department proposes stopping bus advertising The Saigon Times Buses on a street in HCMC display advertisements. The HCMC Department of Transport has proposed stopping bus advertising - PHOTO: VNA HCMC - The HCMC Department of Transport has proposed that the city stop bus advertising due to low demand. Since 2017, only one business won the bid for the right to advertise on buses in the city. The three-year package worth VND162 billion has just expired. All other tenders for bus advertising in the city failed to attract businesses although the Transport Department has lowered the charges, relaxed the requirements and offered flexible payment options. According to the head of an advertising company, the demand for outdoor advertising, including bus advertising, in the city was high 10 years ago, but has dropped drastically as clients are switching to online advertising. Besides this, many buses in HCMC have become old and worn out, while the prices of … [Read more...] about HCMC Transport Department proposes stopping bus advertising

PHUKET AIRPORT: Losses of an estimated 250 million baht per day have been reported to an ad-hoc committee set up to monitor and control safety at Phuket International Airport following the Peoples Alliance for Democracy (PAD) anti-government protests. Phuket International Airport was closed at 4:50 pm on Friday and did not re-open until 11 am yesterday. Marking the return to normal services was the first departing flight, THAI Airways flight TG213 at 2:10 pm, and the first inbound flight arriving at 3:30 pm. Following the closure, an Emergency Operations Command (EOC) was set up at the airport on Saturday with about 90 uniformed officers on duty, comprising military and volunteer personnel. Phuket Vice-Governor Worapoj Ratthasima, who is acting-Governor while Niran Kalayanamit is in Bangkok, is currently president of the EOC, which will be stationed at the airport until it is deemed no longer necessary. The EOC committee also includes the deputy commander of Region 8 police, … [Read more...] about Lost in Transit: airport closure cost B250m a day

PHUKET: Two explosions left one man injured, a dog dead and caused extensive property damage in a late-night firebomb attack in a Phuket housing estate early this morning. Thalang Police were at 12:20am notified of two explosions in the Bo Din housing estate, located near the TOT office on Ban Don Road in Thepkrasattri Village 1. At the scene, they found extensive damage to the front of two attached homes, numbered 310/74 and 310/75. In the gated car park of house 310/74, the presumed target, they found a car with shattered windows. More shards of glass were found near the front door of the house, where glass from one of two empty aquariums shattered. Initial investigation revealed that one man, injured in the bombing, was rushed to hospital for emergency treatment, presumably by a friend and not by an ambulance. However, initial police efforts to contact local hospitals, to check on the man’s condition and question him have thus far proved fruitless. From an examination … [Read more...] about Firebomb blasts rock Phuket housing estate

Bangkok’s property market continues to show price growth with an eight-point increase in the DDproperty Property Index from 205 to 213 in the first quarter of 2018. A strong opening for 2018, this growth is on the back of an improving economic outlook and an expected increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) this year to 4.2 percent (up 0.3 percent year on year), and in part due to the rising cost of developing projects in the popular but densely built-up areas in Bangkok. The Index increased by 213 percent over the last three years, fuelled by escalating land prices, which are in turn dictating the type of projects being built. As a result, affordable residential projects are shifting to the city fringe and suburb areas, especially along the mass transit extension lines. “The sophistication of Bangkok’s property market is more apparent now than ever,” said Mrs. Kamolpat Swaengkit, Country Manager for DDproperty. “As values continue to move upwards, property’s reputation as a … [Read more...] about Bangkok property trends continue to point upward