Thailand & Pattaya LATEST NEWS from Fabulous 103fm (15 February 2023)
7,000 international military personnel to attend Cobra Gold and Thailand
7000 international military personnel are expected to attend the 2 week cobra gold exercises which start February 27th here in Thailand. Consisting of seminars, field training and several community based operations, the annual wargames see multiple nations coming together offering training and, to an extent, information too. With the US a major player in cobra gold, there has been no mention of Chinese participation in the program which takes place in Lopburi, Rayong, Chatantaburi and Sa Kaeo provinces and will see many servicemen visit the Pattaya region on RNR for sure.

Thailand gets green light to charge ‘entry fee’
The landing fee for arriving in Thailand by air, 300 baht, has been given the go ahead by the cabinet this week. It’s going to take some time and effort to implement this as it is set NOT to apply to those with work permits, Thai nationals OR diplomats. Those arriving by land or sea are to be charged half the set fee and the proceeds are set to subsidise the hundreds of millions of baht’s worth of medical bills left unpaid by visitors who travel without insurance here.
Phone banking app scam warning
With the so-called cashless society spreading to Thailand, and more and more people using phone apps to pay for goods, the warning is out that whereas before, the worst thing that could happen was that you could lose your wallet. Today, the issue is far greater. Hackers and fake apps which people often download believing they are genuine, are seeing bank customers complaining that money is being transferred from their accounts without their authorization. The CBI is investigating and has advised all NOT to download unknown apps on their phones. This as a well known physician reported that over 90K baht was somehow transferred from her account to purchase unwanted and un-ordered supplies from tik tok. The greatest issue is the PIN number which is required for all bank app usage.. Now forensics teams are looking to see HOW scammers manage to build apps that can spot and save that invaluable number and re-use it without the phone owner’s knowledge.

Love is in the air for man who walks 1,200 to meet his internet lover
With his 1200 KM walk over yesterday, a 52 year old man made Valentines his special day as he married his beau in Satun. Seems he met her online 5 yrs ago and they had never met but to declare his love he commited, a month ago, to WALK the 1200 KM from his home to heres and tie the knot. His 56 year old bride obviously wasn’t disappointed when they met as they kissed before singing the legal documents that tie them for life.
2,000 litre oil slick in Laem Chabang
Work continued yesterday to contain an oil slick at Laem Chabang port caused by a 2000 litre leak from a tanker docked in the harbor area. No word on whether the leak has actually been plugged, but the vessel was ordered NOT to leave until the matter, including costs, is resolved THIS as teams worked to keep the oil contained within a boon AND add chemicals which break oil down in the water, to prevent the spread of pollution.

How did this car get here? Unusual car accident in Pattaya
Medics were amazed this week, despite thinking they had seen everything during their careers, the sight that greeted them at a reported RTA on the 7 motorway leaving the city caught them by surprise. This as a hotel worker managed to crash his SUV with such velocity that it ended up parked, perpendicularly, against a street lamp. Nose down, tail in the air, the vehicle was finally removed after the driver was recovered with, amazingly, injuries from which he was expected to recover.
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