The Social Security Office (SSO) on July 21 revealed registration progress for the 2025 Social Security Board election, reporting strong turnout reflecting employers' and insured persons' interest in shaping the fund's direction. Between June 1 and July 20, 2025, 16,239 employers and 1,630,097 insured persons registered, including 1,437,848 under Section 33 (formal sector workers), 118,607 under Section 39, 46,906 under Section 40, and 26,736 former insured persons, for a total of 1,646,336 registrations. The election includes 195 candidates: 85 from the employer side and 110 from the insured person side.

While these figures remain unofficial, they show Section 33 members—Thailand's formal workforce—represent the highest proportion of registrants. Bangkok leads with 447,168 registrants, followed by Chachoengsao (104,606), Samut Prakan (98,568), Nonthaburi (70,308), Pathum Thani (68,436), Rayong (61,915), Chiang Mai (52,605), Ayutthaya (34,508), Nakhon Ratchasima (33,391), and Samut Sakhon (28,675).

Elected board members will shape policy, manage fund finances, and develop long-term benefits for insured persons, making voter participation crucial to Thailand's social security system. The SSO will announce eligible voters on August 10, with voting scheduled for September 27, 2025. Employers who registered may request document corrections once between July 1–25 at SSO offices nationwide.

On July 21, 2025, at Kasetsart University's Chakraphan Pensiri Building, the government marked a historic milestone in national administration by launching the "Thailand² Empowering Thailand, Elevating Human Capital" national seminar, representing the largest cross-sectoral integration effort to date. The initiative brings together five pillar ministries: Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation; Education; Labour; Agriculture and Cooperatives; and Social Development and Human Security. The overarching goal is to create exponential results in national development by systematically strengthening the capabilities of Thai people across all life stages, preparing the nation's human resources to become the most powerful engine driving the new economy amid digital-age challenges.

Prime Minister Anudhin Charnvirakul emphasized that investing in and developing Thai human potential is the sole key to helping Thailand escape the middle-income trap and reach high-income status. He stressed that "empowering" in mathematical terms means multiplying results for exponential growth. Thailand's most powerful and sustainable form of empowerment is investing in people, as regardless of how far technology, infrastructure, and artificial intelligence advance, capable and discerning humans remain the critical variable in controlling and creating added value from those technologies.

The government established a joint public-private committee to solve economic problems (known as CRPC) last month, with four subcommittees working closely to bridge government policy and the private sector's real labour-market needs, seeking the "right exponent" to unlock potential for all Thai citizens. Prof. Dr. Yot Sananon, Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, presented the "Lifelong Support" implementation plan reflecting a vision of comprehensive Thai care across the entire lifespan. He emphasized that public welfare must not be mere charity but rather investment in human infrastructure, beginning from early childhood (0-6 years)—the most critical period. The government aims to lighten the burden on working families by restructuring early childhood centres with hours aligned to parental work schedules, alongside a redesigned system to accelerate delivery of the 600-baht child allowance to families within 30-45 days, coupled with stricter child protection laws.

For school-age children (7-18 years), the government declared war on redundancy in education through the "Return Time to Teachers" policy, boldly eliminating unnecessary programmes and cutting KPIs by 71.52%, creating positive momentum across over 30,000 schools nationwide and allowing teachers to focus on classroom instruction and student development. The initiative also promotes the Zero Dropout PLUS programme targeting educational inclusivity.

A husband and wife working at a mung bean processing warehouse in Samut Prakan province were struck by collapsing sacks on the morning of July 21, 2025. Police received the report at 10:30 AM and coordinated with rescue volunteers from the Po Tek Tung Foundation. The incident occurred inside a warehouse where mung beans in burlap sacks were stacked in piles of 200–300 sacks each, reaching heights of 5–6 meters with narrow walking passages between them.

Ms. Suri, 42, from Buriram Province, and her husband Mr. Wichit, 39, from Sisaket Province, were both warehouse workers tasked with lifting sacks of mung beans to feed them into a sorting machine. While the couple was pushing a cart into a narrow passageway to retrieve sacks from the right-hand stack, the left-hand stack suddenly collapsed behind them. Ms. Suri managed to free herself but was injured with bruises and body pain. Mr. Wichit was completely buried under approximately 150 sacks, each weighing 50 kilograms, totaling several tons.

Ms. Suri ran for help and rescue workers were called to the emergency line. Fellow workers quickly began removing sacks to extract the couple. Emergency responders performed CPR on Mr. Wichit but were unable to save his life. Ms. Suri received first aid and was transported to hospital. Police documented the scene and collected the body for an autopsy at the Police Hospital's Institute of Forensic Medicine to determine the exact cause of death. Investigators plan to review CCTV footage and take a formal statement from Ms. Suri once she recovers.

Actress and producer Ning Panita has surprised many by revealing she is currently studying for a master's degree in Integrative Nutrition and Functional Medicine at the College of Integrated Medicine at Dhurakij Pundit University. Her goal is to strengthen her knowledge of health and beauty on a scientific foundation, refusing to be merely a celebrity endorser driven by marketing but rather someone who provides consumers with accurate information. She has acknowledged her willingness to pursue a doctoral degree if possible.

Ning made these remarks after attending the opening of the eighth national academic conference SMART at Dhurakij Pundit University. She also expressed pride in her daughter Nirun, who created a surprise by appearing on the show "Across the Wall" despite having only a few days to prepare. However, Ning is in no rush for her daughter to debut professionally, wanting her to develop skills in multiple areas first since Nirun is only 13 years old.

Regarding her decision to pursue further education, Ning explained: "In today's world of self-care, beauty, and health, there are countless people speaking about these topics. But since I own a business related to beauty, whenever I speak about something, it should be based on scientific principles and accuracy. I don't want to be just selling products. In the online shopping world, people often buy because of marketing rather than genuine knowledge. That's why I decided to pursue a master's degree in Nutrition. At the very least, when I speak about something, people who trust me know it comes from truth, not from creative briefs or my personal feelings. I don't want anyone to misunderstand, especially with AI and Chat GPT becoming so prevalent—misinformation can easily spread. In the end, human relationships and trust still drive these matters."

When asked how she plans to apply her studies, Ning responded: "I hope to use this knowledge to educate others and apply it to caring for myself, my mother, my children, and my business partners. Most importantly, I want to help consumers avoid becoming victims of marketing manipulation. When I speak accurately and have credibility through my degree, people who buy from me will have correct information. As celebrities and actors, if we do this, it becomes a positive trend and soft power. Also, education has no age limit—it's never too late to learn."

BANGKOK — Thailand's Cabinet has officially recognized 12 August as a national commemorative day while maintaining its status as an annual public holiday to honour the late Queen Sirikit, the Queen Mother.

Deputy Government Spokesperson Ploythale Laksmisangchan announced the decision following the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

12 August marks the birth anniversary of Queen Sirikit, the Queen Mother, and is also observed as Thailand's National Mother's Day. The date will continue to be observed as an annual public holiday.

The Cabinet's decision comes following the Queen Mother's death on 24 October 2025, which triggered a period of national mourning. The government said the move reflects the Thai people's enduring gratitude for her lifelong dedication and contributions to the nation and its people.

According to the government, annual royal merit-making ceremonies are held on 12 August to commemorate the Queen Mother's birth anniversary. The Secretariat of the Prime Minister proposed officially designating the date as a national commemorative day while maintaining its public holiday status, a proposal the Cabinet approved on Tuesday.

PTT and Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) are working together to strengthen sustainable energy infrastructure, with SCB providing over 68 billion baht in financing to the PTT Group. The credit consists of two components: 17.376 billion baht in long-term financing to support PTT Tank Terminal's subsidiary Tank Infra Limited as part of an Asset Monetization strategy aimed at maximizing asset utilization, increasing business flexibility, and opening opportunities for domestic and international capital sources and commercial partnerships. The second component is 51 billion baht in short-term credit to safeguard the country's energy security amid Middle Eastern instability, which has significantly affected crude oil price volatility on global markets.

PTT Group's Asset Monetization strategy seeks to maximize the utility of assets within the group, create synergy for asset and capital optimization, unlock value from existing assets, and develop new energy infrastructure business models while maintaining its commitment to national energy security and transitioning to clean energy with balanced stakeholder consideration.

Sarachai Rattanaprorn, President and CEO of Siam Commercial Bank, stated that this financial support reflects the bank's confidence in PTT's ability to adapt and grow within a transforming energy industry, particularly in its transition toward future energy. The bank views infrastructure development as critical to meet rising and increasingly diverse energy demands amid global market volatility and the shift toward new energy forms. The partnership between SCB and PTT demonstrates complementary strengths, with the bank serving as a financial partner supporting strategic growth while PTT acts as a key mechanism for developing Thailand's essential energy infrastructure to efficiently and sustainably meet future energy needs.