Latest news with #Chatuchak
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Thai cabinet approves bid for grand prix in Bangkok
Thailand has moved a step closer to hosting a grand prix after the country's cabinet approved a bid to host a street race in approval of the funding for the race was a necessary step before Thailand could move forward with talks on a contract with Formula government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub told a news conference that the bid for a race from 2028-32 is worth 40bn Thai baht (£907m).The plan is to build a 3.54-mile circuit on a route around the Chatuchak Park area north east of the city Thai government hopes the F1 race will help promote tourism, which is a key driver of the country's economy."In the next two-three years, Thailand will have world-class competition, which we never thought would happen in Thailand," Jirayu said.
Japan Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Japan Times
Thai cabinet approves bid to host Bangkok F1 race
Thailand moved a step closer to staging Formula One on the streets of Bangkok when the cabinet Tuesday formally approved a government bid to host a race. The bid, worth a reported $1.2 billion, would see the Thai capital host races from 2028 to 2032, if it is successful when it is submitted to the sport's governing body. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has held multiple meetings with F1 chief Stefano Domenicali in recent months to push the project forward, including last month in Monaco, home to the sport's most storied street race. The layout of the potential Bangkok street circuit has not been revealed but government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub said it could include an area near Chatuchak market in the north of the city, which is a magnet for tourists every weekend. The Thai government has touted the idea of a "sustainable" race and said the grand prix could benefit the kingdom to the tune of $600 million. Most of Formula One's 24-race schedule is confirmed for several years but gaps are set to open up and Domenicali has suggested that Thailand could be a contender to join the circuit. Formula One currently stages one race in Southeast Asia, in Singapore, which is regarded as one of the toughest races of the season because of the intense heat and humidity. Thailand's only current Formula One driver is London-born Alex Albon with the Williams team.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Thai cabinet approves bid to host Bangkok F1 race
Thailand moved a step closer to staging Formula One on the streets of Bangkok when the cabinet Tuesday formally approved a government bid to host a race. The bid, worth a reported $1.2 billion, would see the Thai capital host races from 2028 to 2032, if it is successful when it is submitted to the sport's governing body. Advertisement Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has held multiple meetings with F1 chief Stefano Domenicali in recent months to push the project forward, including last month in Monaco, home to the sport's most storied street race. The layout of the potential Bangkok street circuit has not been revealed but government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub said it could include an area near Chatuchak market in the north of the city, which is a magnet for tourists every weekend. The Thai government has touted the idea of a "sustainable" race and said the grand prix could benefit the kingdom to the tune of $600 million. Most of Formula One's 24-race schedule is confirmed for several years but gaps are set to open up and Domenicali has suggested that Thailand could be a contender to join the circuit. Advertisement Formula One currently stages one race in Southeast Asia, in Singapore, which is regarded as one of the toughest races of the season because of the intense heat and humidity. Thailand's only current Formula One driver is London-born Alex Albon with the Williams team. tp/pdw/pst
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Old stock images falsely presented as Thailand quake sniffer dogs
"Two dogs from Thailand can help 10 people in just a few hours. Good boys!!!" reads the Thai-language caption to pictures of a dog searching through rubble. The March 30 Facebook post has more than 14,000 shares. The images also surfaced in similar Thai-language posts after a powerful earthquake caused an under-construction building in Bangkok to collapse on March 28. At least 18 people have been killed in the capital, city authorities said, with 33 injured and 78 still missing (archived link). Most of the deaths were workers killed in the tower collapse, while most of the missing are believed to be trapped under the immense pile of debris where the skyscraper once stood. Sniffer dogs and thermal imaging drones have been deployed to seek signs of life in the collapsed building, which is close to the Chatuchak weekend market popular among tourists. The 7.7-magnitude quake has killed at least 1,700 people in neighbouring Myanmar, where hopes are fading of finding more survivors in hard-hit Mandalay city. A reverse image search on Google found the circulating pictures uploaded on the Shutterstock website where they are credited to Czech photographer Jaroslav Noska (archived link). All three pictures bear the same caption that reads, "Dog looking for injured people in ruins after earthquake" (archived here, here and here). Shutterstock does not indicate when or where they were taken. AFP has previously debunked posts that misused the same pictures during earlier tremors. Stock website Alamy has also uploaded at least two of the images and noted they were taken on October 18, 2018 (archived here and here). A representative for the company earlier told AFP: "As far as I can tell, both images have been uploaded by the same contributor in October 2018."
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Yahoo
'Devastated': Relatives await news from Bangkok building collapse
Three days after a Bangkok skyscraper collapsed in the wake of a devastating earthquake in neighbouring Myanmar, Naruemol Thonglek is still praying that her boyfriend will emerge from the immense pile of rubble where the building once stood. The sudden crumbling of the 30-storey tower, which was under construction at the time of Friday's 7.7-magnitude quake, has killed at least 11 people and rescue workers are racing to find 76 others still trapped among the debris. Electrician Kyi Than, the boyfriend of Naruemol, is among those missing under the enormous mound of concrete and twisted metal being lifted by mechanical diggers as part of the desperate search. "I'm devastated... I've never seen anything like this in my entire life," 45-year-old Naruemol told AFP from a small shelter near the site, where a group of around 50 relatives await news. "I still pray that he is alive but if he is no longer alive then I hope that we can retrieve his body," she said. Among the missing are Thais, Laotians, Cambodians and Myanmar nationals. Many relatives are choosing to sleep in the shelter, on camp beds or directly on the stone floor, and are reluctant to leave in case news emerges. - 'We wait, we wait' - Rain fell Monday at the site, where sniffer dogs and thermal imaging drones have been deployed to seek signs of life in the collapsed building, which is close to the Chatuchak weekend market popular among tourists. Around lunchtime, Tavida Kamolvej, the deputy governor of Bangkok, raised hopes over a noise or movement in the rubble that could be a survivor, but cautioned that the situation was still extremely unclear and they needed "a quiet moment" to work out its origin. Thailand Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was ushered away from the site, which she had been visiting, as experts rushed to help. At least 18 people have been killed in Bangkok following the quake that struck near Mandalay early Friday afternoon, causing severe damage in central Myanmar in particular and killing more than 1,700 people across the country. In the Thai capital, 33 people have been injured and 78 are still missing, most of them under the rubble of the building site. Naruemol said Kyi Than, a Myanmar national, was among a group of electricians -- including his son -- working on the 26th floor. She told AFP she had lit incense and candles, prayed and wished, begging her boyfriend to return alive. "If you can hear my voice, if you're still alive, please shout and let the officials know," she said, calling out to Kyi Than. Elsewhere in the shelter, Daodee Paruay said she had been at the site for two days, hoping for a miracle. Her brother, also an electrician, is under the rubble. "We wait. We wait. We will wait until (they are) found," she said. wjt-aph/pdw/sco
