NATIONAL NEWS from Surf 102.5 FM - Thursday 18 May 2023

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The leaders of seven parties, forming a Move Forward-led coalition, held their first meeting at a luxury restaurant in the capital yesterday. They need at least 376 votes from the total of 500 MPs and 250 senators.

 

With the current 311 MPs, they require at least 65 senators to support the Move Forward leader to become prime minister. Details of yesterday's meeting are due to be made public this morning,  Meanwhile… The Democrat Party has indicated it might vote for Mr Pita even while remaining in opposition. 

Kaosod news reported that the Bhumjai Thai Party, with 70 MPs, issued a statement saying they won't support Move Forward's leader K Pita to become Prime minister due to its "unchangeable or non-negotiable stance" towards the monarchy and the lese majeste law. The statement added that the party is ready to protect monarchy "to the best of its ability". 

The Bangkok South Criminal Court yesterday refused bail to a young Polish man accused of the murder and dismemberment of his 25-year-old Ukrainian girlfriend. Jan Filippow, who was apprehended on Monday while attempting to escape to Cambodia in Sa Kaeo province, had his bail request denied due to the severity of the charges. The court expressed concerns that the severity of the case might motivate the suspect to flee the country.

A former Thai embassy employee in Beijing has been arrested for fraudulently issuing incorrect visas to Chinese students coming to study in Thailand and keeping the extra visa fees. The man was apprehended by special officers at Suvarnabhumi airport on Tuesday night, although his identity has not been disclosed. Instead of providing non-immigrant visas as requested,  he issued tourist visas and pocketed the price difference. 

Scientists have determined that the recent heatwave in Southeast Asia was largely driven by human-induced climate change. Temperatures soared over 40 degrees Celsius in regions from India to Thailand, surpassing levels by at least 2 degrees Celsius due to climate change. These findings were associated with the World Weather Attribution initiative. They stressed that unless greenhouse gas emissions are halted, such extreme events will persist with greater frequency and severity

Around the region….

 

Indonesian authorities arrested a senior cabinet minister yesterday, on corruption charges, in a case they said caused more than half a billion dollars in state losses.

The man known as Johnny is believed to have been involved in the purchase of equipment needed to build thousands of communications towers, which his ministry said in 2020 would bring the internet to thousands of villages.

 

The weather: 

Chiang Mai and the north:  Sunny 37C                    
Bangkok:  Sunny partly cloudy, 39C. 
Pattaya,  Sunny 35C
Phuket and the south:  Sunny becoming cloudy  32C                                                                                               
and.. 
‘Hua Hin’ : Bright sunny partly cloudy, perhaps an isolated shower this afternoon,  35,

Credits: Bangkok Post, The Nation, Asean Now, Khaosod English,  Hua Hin Today, Royal Coast Review, Kulsawek Sawekwannakorn, Thainewsroom.com, The Pattaya News, Phuket News, Channel News Asia, South China Morning Post, The Straits Times. The Irrawaddy. Windy.com. Wunderground.com
 

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