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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40022482

Gruelling Spartan Asia Pacific race starts in Phuket

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2022

Australia’s Liam Mackenzie won the 10-kilometre Spartan Super race on the first day of the Spartan Apac Championship 2022 in Phuket on Saturday.

Mackenzie cleared all 25 obstacles at the Blue Tree Resort venue to win in a time of 50.58 minutes. Reika Kijima from Japan won the women’s Super race, clocking 1.08.42. 

Almost 10,000 athletes and their supporters from 26 countries in Asia Pacific are competing in the gruelling two-day event. 

As well as adults, children aged four to 14 are taking part in the Spartan Kids obstacle race. There are four types of races — 10km Super with 25 obstacles, 5km Sprint with 20 obstacles, 3km Spartan Kids, and Hurricane Heat team competition. See http://www.facebook.com/spartanracethailand.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40022478

Russian tourists return to Pattaya thanks to direct Azur Air flights

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2022

Russian tourists are returning to Pattaya in droves now that Azur Air has started providing direct flights to the popular resort city.

The airline’s first chartered flight brought 230 passengers from Novosibirsk, a city in southern Russia’s Siberia region, to the U-Tapao Pattaya Airport on Saturday.

Upon arrival, the passengers were warmly welcomed with orchids and souvenirs by representatives of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and Pattaya’s tourism businesses. They were also treated to a performance by a troupe of Thai classical dancers.

Azur Air will provide direct flights from Novosibirsk to Pattaya until March next year.

Anoma Wongyai, director of TAT’s Pattaya office, said on Saturday that Azur Air flights would help restore Russian tourists’ confidence in Pattaya’s preparedness. She added that the resort city was placed at the forefront of the TAT roadshows held around Russia.

Azur Air flies from 11 Russian cities, including Moscow, Kazan, Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Tyumen, Vladivostok, Omsk, Kemerovo, St Petersburg, and Irkutsk. The airline uses the 238-seat Boeing 757 and the 336-seat Boeing 767.

In the first nine months of this year, Pattaya welcomed more than 9.11 million tourists, though 8.74 million were Thai residents and only 375,653 foreigners. More than 55 billion baht in revenue was generated during the period.

Pattaya has remained the most popular Thai destination among Russian tourists. Before Covid-19 struck Thailand in 2020, the eastern seaboard resort city attracted more than 1 million Russian visitors every year.

Thanet Suparashasrangsi, acting president of the Chonburi Tourism Council, said on Saturday that the Russian market has seen constant growth and played an important role in Pattaya’s tourism.

For him, the start of Azur Air flights to Pattaya was a “good sign” for tourism businesses that focus on the Russian market.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40022474

Suspected Chinese mafioso’s private jet seized for examination: ONCB

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2022

The Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) confirmed that the private jet it confiscated is owned by a Thailand-based Chinese businessman believed to be running a drug-trafficking network.

ONCB secretary-general Wichai Chaimongkhon said on Saturday that he had ordered the plane’s seizure for further examination.

“Investigation revealed that the jet’s registered owner is believed to be connected to ‘Tuhao’, and he will be summoned to provide necessary documents,” Wichai told The Nation.

He was referring to Chainat Kornchayanan aka Tuhao, a naturalised Thai by marriage who surrendered to police on Wednesday after an arrest warrant was issued for him over drug-related crimes. The suspect, whose wife is an officer at the Foreign Affairs Division of the Royal Thai Police, has denied all charges.

The plane was confiscated by ONCB officials at Hua Hin Airport in Prachuap Khiri Khan province on Thursday evening.

The ONCB chief said the agency will also confiscate the assets of Chainat’s wife for further examination, explaining that this was normal practice in criminal cases related to illicit drugs.

Other assets under Chainat’s name, such as houses, land, cash and other valuables, will also be seized over the next seven days once the ONCB obtains a list from police investigators.

The ONCB move came after former politician and massage-parlour tycoon Chuwit Kamolvisit handed to the police a document detailing Chainat’s assets estimated at more than 1 billion baht.

Chainat’s arrest was part of a crackdown on suspected Chinese mafia bosses believed to be behind drug parties in Bangkok.

On October 25, more than 200 Chinese nationals were arrested during a police raid on what was believed to be a drug party at a restaurant-cum-karaoke joint in Sathorn area.

Chuwit later surfaced, claiming that he knew several Chinese mafia bosses running illegal businesses in Thailand, prompting the Royal Thai Police to step up crackdowns.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40022473

Elephant buffet over: Farmers usher wild herd back to Chachoengsao sanctuary

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2022

Farmers in Prachin Buri province joined officials and forest rangers to round up a herd of wild elephants that had wandered out of Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary.

Aerial footage shared on Saturday showed more than 40 wild elephants being guided across farms in Prachin Buri’s Wang Tha Chang district.

The herd had reportedly made its way out of the sanctuary in neighbouring Chachoengsao province to hunt for food in Prachin Buri, which is rich with farms of sugarcane, cassava, mango and oil palm.

Officials first used drones to survey the area and usher wandering elephants together before guiding them back to the sanctuary.

This effort has helped minimise damage to crops and ensured the safety of villagers.

A ranger explained that the herd was being ushered to Bo Krasob Forest in the heart of the sanctuary that spans 1,070 square kilometres and is home to several hundred wild elephants.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40022470

World Cup broadcast war escalates as AIS ordered to halt screenings

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2022

The battle over World Cup broadcasting rights in Thailand escalated on Friday when AIS Playbox was ordered to stop showing matches from Qatar.

The Intellectual Property and International Trade Court on Friday evening ordered Super Broadband Network Ltd (SBN), operator of AIS Playbox, to halt its broadcast of the quadrennial football tournament.

The court order came after True Corporation appealed to the court for an injunction to protect the company’s exclusive rights to broadcast half of the 64 World Cup matches.

On Thursday, the telecoms regulator had announced that under the “must-carry” rule, the tournament must also be made available on internet platforms including 3BB TV, NT-TOT IPTV, and AIS Playbox.

The “must-carry” rule dictates that major sports events like the World Cup must be broadcast for free across all platforms in Thailand.

However, True pointed out it had signed a contract with the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) for exclusive broadcast of 32 matches after contributing 300 million baht to SAT’s 1.4-billion-baht purchase of the broadcasting rights from Fifa.

True insists it owns exclusive rights to broadcast those matches, including the final, on internet and OTT (over the top) platforms. It said other operators in Thailand can broadcast the matches on terrestrial TV, pay cable and satellite TV platforms.

Related Stories

World Cup now available on all internet TV platforms as True loses exclusive rights

True says it has signed contract with SAT for exclusive online World Cup broadcasting rights

NBTC tells True to return exclusive broadcast rights for 16 World Cup matches

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40022469

Thai karting champion, 13, joins Red Bull F1 incubator

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2022

Teenage karting ace Enzo Tarnvanichkul has taken a step towards F1 stardom after becoming the first Thai to join Red Bull’s Junior Team driver development programme.

The 13-year-old World Karting champion took to social media on Friday to announce his deal with the reigning Formula 1 racing champions.

Sharing the news on Instagram, Enzo wrote: “I am very proud to announce that I will be joining the Red Bull youth programme in 2023. I am looking forward to my new journey. Thank you for this opportunity, I will try to do my best on the track and in my career.”

Red Bull will hone Enzo’s driving skills in training and competition over the next year to prepare him for life as a professional racer.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha congratulated the young racer on being the first Thai to clinch a place in the prestigious incubator for Formula 1, government spokesperson Traisuree Taisaranakul said on Saturday.

“The prime minister admired Enzo’s ability to develop skills enabling him to join the world-class team. He also wished him well on his journey to becoming a Formula 1 racer to inspire other young Thais,” Traisuree said.

She added that Prayut had been following Enzo’s outstanding performances over the past year.

In September, the Italy-based Thai teenager beat 109 other young racers from 40 different countries to win the FIA World Karting Championship. He is Thailand’s first karting world champion.
Enzo was competing in the OK Junior class (12-14 age group) at the 2022 FIA Karting World Championship at the Circuito Internazionale Napoli in Sarno, Italy.