NATIONAL NEWS from Surf 102.5 FM - Friday 18 August 2023

Thailand’s Pheu Thai Party on Thursday gained support from a rival military-backed party, potentially boosting its bid to form a government ahead of a prime ministerial vote in Parliament next week.

A major operation to bust fraudulent mainly Chinese scammers resulted in several arrests including a Chinese woman yesterday, and the seizure of 1.5 billion baht in assets during raids 29 locations, 
This was a follow-up of a previous bust in which two Chinese males were arrested in May.

victims from around the world had been persuaded to invest in a fake digital-currency platform. 
The total damage was estimated at over 10 billion baht.

The government has vowed to protect welfare benefits for the elderly following the introduction of a new regulation that has restricted access of funds for many senior citizens. 

The new regulation states , only elderly people with either no or insufficient income to cover the cost of living are entitled to a monthly allowance from the state. Those that were already receiving benefits before 12th August shall continue to receive support.

An Australian man wanted in his home country on drugs and weapons charges, has been arrested in Phuket, Robert Wainwright had been staying on a student visa.  Mr Wainright is suspected of being part of a drugs syndicate.

Park authorities in Loei north east Thailand are looking for the person who shot and killed a wild elephant. 
The dead animal was found with 7 bullet wounds at the edge of a forest yesterday and was about 30 years old.

An earthquake with a magnitude of 3.3 was felt in parts of Chaing Mai yesterday. There were no reports of damage.

Around the Region:

Malaysia: At least 10 people, were killed when a light private business jet crashed onto a road, hitting two vehicles, in the state of Selan-gor.

 
The 10 who died included the driver of a car and a motorcyclist – who were hit by the crashing plane.

 
The weather:  

Chiang Mai and the north:bright,  cloudy with thundershowers 33C                    
Bangkok: Bright, isolated thunder showers this afternoon 35C
Pattaya, Sunny Partly cloudy,  32C
Phuket and the south: Sunny Partly cloudy,  30C                                                                                            
‘HuaHin’: Bright, partly cloudy, expect further showers this afternoon 34C.

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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