The Arena of Valor Premier League 2026 (APL) esports tournament has concluded at Thien Son Stadium in Da Nang, Vietnam. This year brought a significant change as organizers decided to introduce a competition specifically for female professional players: the APL 2026 Queens Showdown, held for the first time. The tournament aimed to generate momentum and give female players an official competitive stage to showcase their skills.

Thailand's eArena team performed impressively before a packed home crowd of supporters, defeating Vietnam's One Star Gaming 4-2 in the games to become the first team to win an international RoV championship in the women's category, earning a prize of $45,000 USD.

Sugas Pattrakanya Hmaykaew, known in-game as "WHATIF," eArena's team captain, expressed her satisfaction with the victory. "I'm very happy—it went exactly as planned," she said. "We were about 90 percent confident we would win the championship, though the games did have some tense moments that excited the fans. I believe the key to winning was the coach's strategy combined with the players' in-game performance. We maintained our standard level, didn't lose our aggression, trusted each other, and played exactly as we practiced."

Coach Tri Akkawinit, eArena's head coach, praised his team and attributed their success to rapid adaptation. "From the start of the tournament, our team has been adapting constantly," he explained. "I told the players to stay calm because I believed that as the games went longer, we would only get stronger. Our team's strength is that every player can play multiple characters in the game better than our opponents. We adapted to the new patch exceptionally well because we started discussing it from day one. We responded quickly and executed perfectly."

The Queens Showdown represents a return to targeting the female gamer market while inspiring women with dreams and skill to pursue esports professionally, not merely as a hobby. Importantly, it demonstrates to the world that esports has space for women as well.

Nan Thaiyika Suwrakarkul, known as "Frozenkiss," a former famous female professional player now serving as brand ambassador for the Miss RoV Tournament, expressed confidence that Thai female competitors now have more opportunities and platforms to showcase their abilities and advance in esports. "For over 10 years since I first competed, this is the largest and most prestigious international official tournament," she said. "I'm proud that Thailand's representative team won as the first champions. Previously things were going well, but COVID-19 disrupted women's tournaments completely. Now that leaders and game organizations are giving female competitors importance, the situation has changed dramatically. Young women today have excellent opportunities and clear pathways forward. eArena's championship will inspire other girls watching that advancement is definitely possible."

Pacharpol Chatchanan, Operations Manager at Garena Online (Thailand) and Arena of Valor Thailand producer, noted that APL 2026 represents a major milestone for RoV, reinforcing the game's success as a MOBA that has thrived for 10 years and become one of the most internationally recognized esports competitions.

On July 29, 2025, Labor Minister Julphand Amorwiwat discussed the administrative court's temporary suspension of Section 2 of the election committee's announcement requiring eligible voters to register with the Social Security Office. The suspension prompted the election committee to postpone the vote, though the court order is temporary and intended only to allow the SSO to reconsider procedures after the announcement raised conflicts with existing regulations. The court's suspension does not cancel or delay the election outright. The SSO's immediate step is to appeal the suspension order to the highest administrative court; if the court revokes it, the election can proceed as planned on September 27.

"This suspension applies only to the announcement, not the regulations, so we must appeal the suspension order," the minister stated. "If the court lifts it, we can proceed with the election on September 27 as scheduled." Julphand emphasized that social security board elections are critically important because the committee has operated in a caretaker status for months, causing operational delays across multiple functions. He expressed determination to accelerate the election process.

When asked about contingencies if the highest administrative court does not revoke the suspension, the minister outlined several options. The first is to await the court's final judgment, which could take considerable time and risk a governance vacuum at the social security board. A second option is to amend the regulations, but this requires a lengthy legal process—including public hearings, draft proposals, review by relevant agencies, and publication in the Royal Gazette—taking at least 45 days before a new election process could begin, making it impractical for immediate action.

Meanwhile, the SSO is exploring an alternative approach: using a database of approximately 11 million eligible voters and placing voter lists at polling units by residential location, allowing insured persons to verify their names and vote directly. However, details still require consideration, such as employees of large companies registered at head offices but working in other provinces, and establishing a cutoff date for verifying voter eligibility when real-time database updates are impossible on election day. Clear criteria must be established before implementation.

"Ultimately, the social security board election must occur—whether on September 27 or later is another matter," the minister said. "But I and the SSO confirm the election must happen soon." Regarding criticism of the registration conditions, Julphand noted his intention to revise the regulations, as many issues warrant review including insured person registration, employer participation, and ensuring all contribution tiers have proper representation on the board. However, because regulation amendments are time-consuming, proceeding before the election could delay the vote further.

Setter Nugnick Nattanichaa Jaisen was named captain of Thailand's women's volleyball team competing in the 6th SEA V Cup 2026, with coach Keattipong Ratchatkreangkrai expressing confidence in her leadership. The Thai squad departed Bangkok on July 29 aboard Thai AirAsia flight FD 640 to Hanoi, Vietnam, featuring experienced players including Piew Atchara Kongyos, Omsorn Sasipha Chundvisut, and rising stars Sarah Anchoma and Jade Nannapath Muljukum. Coach Ott emphasized that the SEA V Cup serves as an important test for the team ahead of the Asian Championships and Asian Games, with most squad members being prepared for those major competitions.

The tournament runs July 31–August 2, 2026, in Hanoi with four teams competing: Vietnam (host), Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand. All teams play in a round-robin format, with the champion determined by total points. Thailand's schedule includes matches against Indonesia on July 31, Philippines on August 1, and Vietnam on August 2.

At noon on July 29, 2025, at the grounds of Wat Khao Chong Lom in Siracha District, Chachoengsao Province, large crowds came to pay respects to the Thao Wessuwanna Tong Luean statue, a 15.99-meter-tall brass Buddha image weighing 80 tons—the tallest newly constructed Buddha statue in Thailand. The shrine's opening ceremony was held on July 24, 2025. A smaller 9.9-meter plaster statue of the same deity has already blessed 19 lottery winners with grand prizes, while the larger statue granted one grand prize winner on December 16, 2024.

Visitors brought offerings and incense to worship and seek blessings, drawing lucky numbers from incense sticks to use as lottery ticket guidance for the August 1, 2025 drawing. The deity is known to favor dance offerings, with devotees either performing traditional dances themselves or hiring dancers, sometimes spending 100,000 baht on firecrackers as offerings.

Among those seeking blessings was Nang Sao Saithong, a 30-year-old factory worker who came to give thanks and seek further blessings after winning over 200,000 baht in the previous lottery. She drew the number 997 from incense sticks and plans to use it to purchase lottery tickets, hoping to become the 21st grand prize winner blessed by this shrine.

PHUKET: Police have obtained an arrest warrant for a Russian man wanted for stealing more than B627,000 from a currency exchange at Central Phuket Festival shopping mall, with investigators revealing that the suspect has also overstayed his visa since 2025.