THAILAND NEWS TODAY | Cyclone to hit Thailand this weekend

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Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha urged Deputy Prime Minister Prawit
Wongsuwan to investigate the disappearance of a 50-million-baht government
budget.
PM Prayut attended the Cabinet meeting at the Parliament House on Tuesday to
discuss the flood situation across the country.
At the end of the meeting, the Deputy Minister of the Finance Ministry, Santi
Promphat, suggested PM Prayut compensate residents affected by the flood to
encourage and make people happy.
The PM agreed with Santi’s opinion. He said government officials should visit
each area and see what the people want. Each official should take care of the needs
and complaints but avoid promising residents any compensation. Officials were
encouraged to report back to the Cabinet and discuss a suitable budget.
Prayut revealed that he received a complaint from a tobacco farmer when he went
to Petchabun province last week on Thursday, October 6. The farmer asked about
the 50 million baht compensation they were promised.
Prayut returned to Bangkok and found that the budget had been approved but the
affected farmers had not received it. He urged Deputy PM Prawit to investigate.
According to Khaosod today, Deputy PM Prawit refused to answer media
questions about the budget. He left parliament and rushed to his car.
Justice Minister Somsak Thepsuthin gave an interview with the Thai media
yesterday and said the budget was not his responsibility, but he would help to
investigate the issue.
Somsak added he was confident that the money was not lost and that the relevant
government department responsible will explain it.

Thailand abstains in UN vote condemning Russia’s “illegal referenda” in Ukraine
A general view shows voting results during a UN General Assembly emergency
meeting to discuss Russian annexations in Ukraine at the UN headquarters in New
York City on October 12, 2022.
Thailand has abstained, as did China and India, in a vote on the UN resolution not
to recognise the four regions of Ukraine which Russia has claimed, following
referenda held late last month.
The UN General Assembly passed the resolution by a large majority on
Wednesday, demanding that Moscow reverse course on its “attempted illegal
annexation” of parts of Ukraine.
The results were 143 member states in favour, with five voting against and 35
abstentions. The countries voting against were Belarus, the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea, Nicaragua, Russia and Syria.
The resolution, now passed in the Assembly, calls on all states, the UN and
international organisations not to recognize any of Russia’s annexation claims and
demands the immediate reversal of its annexation declaration.
On Monday, the UN rejected Russian efforts hold a secret ballot on the matter. A
majority of member countries elected to hold the vote in public.
Thailand also abstained in a vote to suspend Russia from UN Human Rights
Council in April this year, citing inclusivity. In March, Thailand did, however, vote
to condemn Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.

Possessing 5 methamphetamine pills might soon be considered drug dealing in
Thailand
Prime Minister of Thailand Prayut Chan-o-cha suggests making changes to the law
so that anyone possessing five or more methamphetamine pills should be
considered a ‘drug dealer’ and therefore serve a much longer prison sentence.
The comments come after PM Prayut declared a war on drugs in response to the
mass killings at a daycare centre in Nong Bua Lamphu province in northeast
Thailand on Thursday.
No drugs were detected in the killer’s system, but he did have a history of
methamphetamine abuse. The former police sergeant was sacked from the force
over his drug use and was facing trial in court on drug charges.
Methamphetamine-induced violent crimes hit Thailand’s headlines every day. The
synthetic drug is so readily available and cheap that it has become the top drug of
choice in Thailand and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. According to a report by the
UN, more than one billion meth pills were seized in east and southeast Asia last
year.
In Thailand, meth pressed into pills and mixed with caffeine is known as ‘yaba’
(crazy drug). Yaba is dirt cheap – as cheap as ten baht (US$0.26) per pop in some
places and generally sells for a price of about 30 baht (US$0.79) per pill.
Crystal methamphetamine is known as ‘Ice’ in Thailand and is also cheap, but is
not as prevalent as its pressed, caffeine-infused counterpart.