Thailand's women's volleyball team is preparing for the 2026 Asian Volleyball Championship in Tianjin, China, running August 21-30. As the defending champions, Thailand is placed in Group B with Kazakhstan, Indonesia, and Australia. This tournament is significant as it serves as a first-round qualifier for the 2028 Olympics and World Championship.

Team captain and setter Porporn Gerd Prachai explained that while Olympic qualification rounds are inherently stressful, her experience with multiple qualifying campaigns has shifted her mindset. "With each Olympic qualifier, there is always some pressure," she said. "But having gone through this many times, my focus this time isn't just on securing an Olympic ticket—it's about reaching the finals and winning the championship. That turns the pressure into a clear goal: we're going for the title."

Key player Pimpicha Gokram, a back-row specialist, emphasized focusing on one match at a time while maintaining full effort. She also noted the importance of newcomer Atchara Kongwitaya in the back-row position, saying the team must adjust their rhythm and playing style to incorporate her as an important supporting player.

Thailand's Group B schedule includes: August 21 at 2:00 p.m. against Australia, August 24 at 3:00 p.m. against Indonesia, and August 25 at 10:00 a.m. against Kazakhstan.

Peeraphan Korthong, board member of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand, has outlined his views on the direction and strategy of Thailand's industrial investment sector. He discussed the concept of trickle-down economics, which has underpinned Thai economic and social development policy since the first national development plan, arguing that benefits flowing to large investors and emerging industries will only reach small business owners and workers if the country enforces mechanisms for tangible value transfer—such as local content requirements, technology transfer, or joint workforce development with local suppliers.

"Without these mechanisms, trickle-down won't happen naturally. Investment money will concentrate among large players and foreign supply chains," Peeraphan said. He identified this as a shared risk for both the electric vehicle and data center industries, which require high capital investment but create relatively few domestic jobs per unit of investment if conditions are not set properly from the start.

Industrial development is not a matter of choosing sides, Peeraphan argued. Successful countries attracting long-term investment do not bet everything on a single trend, but instead focus on capturing as much production value as possible from every industry that enters—whether long-established sectors with 60 years of accumulated expertise or new industries flowing in with global trends.

"The role of an investment-receiving country is not to act as a judge deciding who stays and who goes, but to facilitate, promote, and incentivize all sincere investors to survive and grow together in the same system, equally," he said.

Data from the International Energy Agency shows electric vehicle and plug-in hybrid sales in Southeast Asia surged 62 percent in the March-June period, with Thailand among the region's fastest-growing markets—though this reflects consumer demand, not direct production strength. Meanwhile, China, the world's largest EV manufacturing base, saw domestic sales drop 16 percent after subsidy cuts and has redirected exports instead, with Chinese vehicle exports growing 65 percent in the first half, reaching roughly five million units. Thailand is one of China's major end markets, with Chinese brands already capturing nearly 30 percent of new car sales. The question, Peeraphan noted, is whether Thailand is becoming a production base or merely a market absorbing transshipped goods.

Thailand does have genuine EV manufacturing bases now, but the real question is whether "value added" is sufficient. Peeraphan acknowledged that over the past three to four years, numerous EV manufacturers have established actual production bases in Thailand, not just promises. The Board of Investment has approved more than 198 EV industry investment promotion projects worth over 137 billion baht, spanning vehicle production, batteries, and charging stations.

While this is a positive signal, Peeraphan said the government must answer bigger questions: how much production and employment has actually been created, and how much of that value has reached Thai supply chains, Thai parts manufacturers, and Thai workers? He cited the offset production conditions under the EV 3.0 measures as an example of the kind of enforcement mechanism needed.

On August 16, 2026, Nulek Gaga or Pattrawadee shared her first dream about her mother visiting home, which left her crying hard as she told her mother not to worry. She was overjoyed about the first visit after waiting 160 days.

In her post, she described the dream: "I dreamed my mother came to the front of the house wearing a white shirt, with a hurried, worried expression knowing I was stressed about work. We quickly opened the door and hugged her."

She continued, "We didn't say anything (because my cat woke me up suddenly while I was crying hard). Mom was really watching over me. It's okay, mom. I'm fine, mom. Everything is still okay. Mom, don't worry."

"I'm so happy that mom came to visit for the first time. I've been waiting for mom for so long, from March 9 until today—160 days exactly. I'm the happiest, mom. I miss you. I miss you so much. Please help my wish come true, mom. #Sister Netre"

Comments poured in with encouragement and tears of support. Earlier, Nulek shared a photo of herself with family and her son Win making merit offerings, captioned: "Making merit for grandmother, grandfather, and Uncle Luem. Keeping this for Win to see. #BrotherWin"

Source: nulek_gaga

On August 16, BBC reported on the progression of a 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck off the coast of Flores Island in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia on August 15. The death toll has risen to at least 47 people, with 24 fatalities reported in Manggarai district, 17 in East Manggarai district, 3 in Sikka district, and at least 1 each in Ngada, Ende, and West Manggarai districts. Rescue teams continue to search for survivors buried under collapsed buildings and rubble.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported on the situation in Colombia following a 7.4-magnitude earthquake on August 10. Authorities have continued to recover bodies, bringing the death toll to 294 people. Although hopes of finding survivors have diminished as the critical 72-hour window has passed, officials are still searching for over 320 missing persons.

Reports also noted that Daniela Largo, 32, who survived 36 hours trapped under rubble, later died at a hospital. Juan Felipe Giraldo, 24, was found dead after rescue efforts to extract him from a collapsed hotel.

An angry mother has filed a police complaint after a Buddhist abbot slapped her Grade 7 son across the face during a school alms-giving ceremony in Phichit province. The boy accidentally tossed instant noodles into the monk's alms bowl while trying to make an offering, prompting the abbot to strike him and later publicly scold him in front of other students. Despite the school principal's apology, the mother is determined to pursue the case to its conclusion.

On August 15, a reporter visited the home of Suphanni in the Ban Ko Kha Chang area of Samroong Chai subdistrict, Phichali district, Phichit province, after receiving a complaint that her Grade 7 son had been physically assaulted by an abbot at a nearby school. The boy suffered facial injuries and embarrassment so severe that he withdrew from school, too ashamed to face his peers and frightened by the incident.

The boy explained that on August 12, Mother's Day, the school organized a morning alms-giving ceremony with an abbot and monks from an adjacent temple. While holding instant noodles and preparing to place them in the abbot's bowl, he could not reach far enough because another student was standing in the way, so the noodles accidentally fell into the bowl. The displeased abbot asked for his name and then struck him hard on the cheek, before calling him to the front of the activity grounds to rebuke him publicly in front of other students.

"I had no intention of throwing the noodles in the monk's bowl. I simply couldn't reach the bowl properly," the boy said. He recalled feeling numb at first, but later experienced pain radiating from his jaw to his ear. When he returned home, his mother noticed his injury and took him to a doctor before filing a police complaint at Takhrau Police Station.

The boy noted that multiple teachers were present during the incident but offered no protection; instead, a teacher later scolded him for his misbehavior. A video was recorded of him tossing the noodles, but no footage captured the abbot hitting him, despite teachers filming throughout. This upset him further and contributed to his decision not to return to the school.

His mother, Suphanni, said that while her son's behavior was inappropriate, a monk should not slap a child in this manner. "As a monk, he should show more compassion. If he saw my son doing something wrong, he should have warned or even struck his hand, not slapped his face, causing his lip to split and his jaw to ache," she said. She provided a medical certificate confirming the injuries and insisted on pursuing the case.

Although the school principal visited the family with a gift basket to apologize, the mother refused to drop the matter. When the reporter spoke to the abbot, who is the subdistrict Buddhist committee leader, he admitted to striking the boy that day but denied it was severe, saying he was teaching a lesson about the impropriety of throwing objects into a monk's alms bowl. He also acknowledged calling the boy to the front of the assembly to address the students, though he claimed this was for educational purposes, not to embarrass the child. Regarding the police complaint, he said it would have to follow the legal process. He added cryptically, "Perhaps it is time I have learned my lesson." The abbot has been ordained for 36 years at the temple.