VERY LATEST NEWS FROM THAILAND in English (17 July 2023) from Fabulous 103fm Pattaya

VERY LATEST NEWS FROM THAILAND in English (17 July 2023) from Fabulous 103fm Pattaya

– Move Forward’s Khun Pita ready to give way to Pheu Thai 
The answer appears to be Blow in the WIND. The question? How many times can the coalition put up a candidate for PM. Over the weekend, Khun Pita, in an effort to show strength among coalition partners, clarified that IF he or his party cannot be PM, then they would fully back a candidate from Phua Thai, the party that came second in the election. With Phua Thai being the favoured party of several ex PMs, now in exile, they are seen as even less likely to garner the vital senate vote BUT are less extreme in their demands for key laws to be changed. Laws which are at the heart of the unelected senators.. Now another hat has been thrown in the ring as several are predicting that a former deputy PM and ex military man MAY become a third proposed candidate at some time and he, of course, would start with several hundred votes in the bank.. from the senate. With a vote set for Wednesday, and no obvious change in position from either senators or K Pita, despite him being the chosen leader of the elected party, it would be a tough climb for him to reach the summit. IF however, over the coming months, were a Phua thai MP to be elected now as PM, and then were it decided by parliament that the senate could no longer vote on a PM.. THEN a later vote could see it all change.

At least one complaint is expected to be filed with police and courts BY Thai senators who claim that SOME vigilantes have posted their business details demanding that they be blackballed following senators not showing up for the vote last Wednesday. Those senators also claim that they have been defamed and threatened in some cases

Meanwhile, exchange rates have seen a tumble, to the benefit of those outside Thailand as both the pound and dollar have gained against the baht, as investors show concern at the current affairs here.

– Storm warning for 33 provinces
33 Most parts of Thailand including our own region are expected to see very heavy rainstorms today through Thursday as a tropical storm strengthened over Vietnam coming our way AND Thailand’s western coastline and regions saw heavy dark clouds most of Sunday. The main front of the major storm is expected to hit Thailand on Tuesday BUT other storms have blanketed much of the country over the weekend.

– Pakistani suspect in Pattaya murder case claims he was used as a ‘scapegoat’
Pakistani-Thai dual national Shahrukh Karim Uddin remains in detention, alone in Banglamung police station as his cohorts, all charged with the involvement in the killing and dismemberment of a German national remain tight lipped in Nong prue. UDDIN though is said to be fully cooperating with police, denying that he was an instigator but apparently admitting involvement. And with plenty of evidence, that would have been tough to deny. Uddin’s location, at his own request AWAY from the others, has been the site of several statements from him, claiming that he is a scapegoat. Scared for his life and that the others had threatened the lives and safety of his family if he didn’t comply. Brinkmann, a German biker, had put a gun to his head at some point and that he was forced to aid in the corpse disposal. More statements were taken over the weekend from him and other witnesses and details will be released early this week.

– Over 9,000 Burmese flee to Thailand
The number of Burmese political refugees in Thailand, along the border rose to an estimated 9000+ over the weekend. The mostly Karenni escapees fled here to avoid bombing and air attacks by the Burmese military on resistance groups. With an appeal for food and clothing to the public and business sectors, command posts have been set up to avail food and water to many, now camping in makeshift tents. This as the public are being advised to keep BACK from the areas adjacent to Myanmar while fighting continues there.

– Thai man nabbed for selling data of 2 million citizens
On Phuket a 28 year old Thai man is currently being held by police after being caught offering for sale on the internet the personal details of some 2 million citizens. With phones, laptops and the like all to be checked and he to hand over his passwords to website… the former computer engineering graduate, known to manage online gambling sites and traded in personal details, offered the lot.. for 8K baht to all comers.

– Ammunition missing from Sattahip Navy base
The Royal Thai Navy has launched its own investigation into the theft of military grade armaments from the navy base at Sattahip. Word is that the suspect has fled and is AWOL. This since a facebook post by an unknown poster claimed that thousands of munitions including ammunition and hand grenades had disappeared without trace. Now, senior officers from the base have told the media that one man may be responsible, having had access to a pass key to the storage areas there. The poster claims that some if not all of the stolen weaponry has been sold on to others outside the country.

– Foreign biker loses leg in late night crash
4.30 Sunday morning and Pattaya police and medics were called to the Bali hai pier area, where Arabic biker boys had once again been street riding rented motorbikes BUT where one had been so busy turning to chat to those behind him, that he lost control, scrapped against a concrete barrier and his fellow countryman, 19, riding pillion half severed his leg at the knee. Medics were uncertain whether the limb could be saved. With some media using google translate, you may have heard that the biker was riding backwards, along with a dozen other pals, that of course is an unfortunate lack of editing as in fact he was LOOKING backward to his pals as, of course, scooter bikes don’t have a reverse gear.

– Pattaya police crackdown on foreign bikers
This in the same weekend that police mounted a serious clamp down on Arabic BOY RACERS following more complaints Soi VC, Yen Sabai and South Pattaya Road residents complain that most don’t wear helmets, rev their bikes to the ninth degree and act like tools. In addition to checks, police are expected to liaise with rental companies to demand that bikes are only rented to those who have valid bike icences. 50 police were involved in the weekend checks that saw crowds of fellow revellers swell around them as they checked for licence, registration and insurance AND police using translators along with megaphones to quieten the crowd down and explain the law with clarity in their own language.

– Pattaya’s British Honorary Consul ‘Bert Elson’ Retires
And for British locals, good news as the embassy is expected to approve a replacement local hon con. With Bert Elson retiring, and saying au revoir this Thursday, his replacement is being duly vetted, by UK authorities, not veterinarians, to ensure that we get as good a representative as we had in Bert, who managed, during his tenure, to hide his quick wit and happy disposition, which may return now.

For more of the latest local & national video news updates, subscribe to our Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqqv5O_uGcm-BdVXfgrZyWg
For more news: https://alwayspattaya.com/news/
Listen to the radio online from our homepage!: http://www.alwayspattaya.com