PHUKET: A Russian man arrested in Phuket last November has pleaded not guilty in a US federal court after being extradited from Thailand to face charges over an alleged cyber espionage campaign linked to the Russian government.

The Department of Groundwater Resources has launched Thailand's first pilot "hospital water" project at Bang Pla Ma Hospital in Suphan Buri province, recognizing that hospitals require continuous access to clean water to save lives. The project aims to enhance water security for medical facilities while ensuring public services continue during all emergencies, including droughts, water supply disruptions, and natural disasters.

This initiative represents a major step in integrating water resource management with Thailand's public health system. Bang Pla Ma Hospital is one of two pilot hospitals nationwide, alongside Mae Thaeng Hospital in Chiang Mai, serving as a model for expansion to other hospitals across the country.

Tanongsakdi Lochusuk, director of the Groundwater Resources Regional Office 2 (Suphan Buri), emphasized that the department prioritizes water security for hospitals as essential infrastructure for public health. When hospitals have stable water sources, they can efficiently respond to emergencies and disasters. The hospital water project goes beyond infrastructure construction—it builds resilience into the national health system.

Rabphra Phromma, planning director of the Groundwater Resources Regional Office 2, explained that the system produces clean water continuously through four groundwater wells with 3-horsepower pumps powered by solar panels, feeding into a 100-cubic-meter storage tank 23 meters high. It supplies the hospital's daily requirement of 50-100 cubic meters. The system includes an iron filtration unit and a drinking water plant producing 2,000 liters per hour, enabling complete cycle production of clean groundwater for consumption and medical use while reducing energy costs through solar power—aligning with sustainable development and emissions reduction goals.

Dr. Surasak Luang-siritanya, deputy director of Bang Pla Ma Hospital, noted the 60-bed community hospital has operated since 1982, traditionally relying on groundwater. The aging system developed quality issues including scale and rust buildup. The modernization project supports efficient and comprehensive healthcare services. The hospital currently serves 500-800 outpatients daily, approximately 60 inpatients, and over 300 staff members. Plans for a new dialysis unit requiring high volumes of RO (Reverse Osmosis) water make this project critical for ensuring adequate clean water supply long-term.

"Clean water is the heart of a hospital, essential to every step of treatment—from patient meals to sterilizing medical instruments and dialysis," he stated. "Without quality water, medical care cannot function."

An online controversy erupted when a delivery rider posted harsh criticism in a Mae Rim district Facebook group, using crude language to attack a prominent temple and its monks in Chiang Mai. After arriving to deliver food to the temple, the monk requested that the delivery rider perform food consecration (prakan) before handing over the meal, following strict Buddhist monastic discipline. Dissatisfied, the rider posted an attack questioning why he should perform the ritual, sarcastically claiming he was a delivery driver, not making merit, and criticizing the monk for not practicing almsgiving, eating at dawn, and living in a luxurious dwelling like a resort.

After the post circulated, many uninformed people commented attacking the monk and temple, damaging the temple's reputation. However, many others expressed concern that the claims were distorted and defamatory to both the monk and the temple. Upon investigation of Buddhist discipline, authorities confirmed that requesting food consecration before acceptance is strict adherence to monastic rules, as monks cannot receive or touch unconsecrated food. The request is not unreasonable but a practice of maintaining monastic discipline.

Buddhist discipline permits monks to eat until just before noon, so eating at dawn is within monastic rules, even if forest temple monks typically eat only once daily. Regarding the observation that the monk ordered food through an app, this could stem from various reasons, such as invited duties or temple obligations preventing normal almsgiving, or family members ordering through the app to offer to the monk, which doesn't necessarily mean the monk ordered it himself.

After the controversy, the temple offered for the rider to visit for discussion and reconciliation, but the rider never appeared and later deleted the original post. This incident highlights the importance of fact-checking before sharing information on social media, as inaccurate communication can damage individuals' and religious institutions' reputations, even after the truth emerges.

Recently, the Mae Rim Cultural Council issued a statement defending the temple on July 9, 2569, urging an end to distorted posts and crude language, fearing damage to both the monk and temple.

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Thailand lost a third of its Chinese tourists. It has not got them back.LegacyThailand’s biggest customer is also the country beating it Malaysia has 35 million people. China has 1.4 billion. In one week this summer, Thailand welcomed 83,492 Chinese tourists and 78,306 Malaysians. That gap of just over 5,000 visitors, produced by countries 40 times apart in population, says more about the state of Thai tourism than any headline figure. Thailand welcomed 16,210,890 foreign visitors between 1 January and 4 July 2026, down 3.11% year on year, generating 782.57 billion baht, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. China leads the cumulative table with 2,654,728 arrivals, followed by Malaysia with 2,109,956, India with 1,239,023, Russia with 1,022,483 and South Korea with 596,673. That ordering matters, because a year ago it looked different. toThe year China fell In 2025, Chinese arrivals to Thailand collapsed. Ministry figures show the market fell from around 6.73 million visitors in 2024 to about 4.47 million, a drop of roughly 34%. Thailand’s total arrivals declined 7.23% to 32.97 million, its first annual fall outside the pandemic years. For the first time in years, Malaysia finished the year as Thailand’s largest source market, with around 4.52 million visitors. The country that overtook China did so not by surging, but by staying steady while China slid. Why Malaysia punches so far above its weight Malaysia’s position rests on proximity rather than scale. It shares a land border with Thailand, is served by dense air and road connections, and generates constant short-break, shopping and medical travel. The trade-off shows in the numbers. Malaysian visitors stay under five days on average, compared with more than nine days for the average international arrival, which means high volumes but comparatively shallow spending per visitor. China’s recovery in 2026 has restored the old order at the top of the table, but not the old scale. Chinese arrivals remain far below the 2024 peak. Here is what makes the comparison sharper than a league table of source markets. Malaysia is not only Thailand’s second-largest supplier of tourists. It is now Thailand’s most successful competitor. Malaysia recorded 42.2 million foreign arrivals in 2025, against Thailand’s 32.97 million, overtaking its neighbour as the most-visited country in Southeast Asia. It is also chasing the same Chinese travellers Thailand lost, targeting 7 million Chinese visitors in 2026 through visa-free entry, expanded flight routes into smaller Chinese cities, and marketing on Douyin, Weibo and RedNote. So the country sending Thailand its second-biggest stream of visitors is simultaneously the country taking its biggest one. Thai tourism chiefs urge bold fixes to win back visitors

The Ministry expects arrivals to rise through mid-July, supported by school holidays in China and across Europe, and pointed to renewed demand from short-haul markets including China and Hong Kong, and long-haul markets including France, Germany and the Netherlands. Whether that lift narrows the 3.11% year-on-year gap will depend less on the summer than on China. Thai tourism operators have already cut their forecast for Chinese arrivals in 2026 from 9 million to 7 million, citing safety concerns linked to scam networks and rising travel costs. The Tourism Authority of Thailand has revised its full-year forecast to between 30 and 34 million arrivals. Thailand’s largest market has returned to the top of the table. It has not returned to its former size, and the neighbour that briefly replaced it is not standing still. The story Thailand lost a third of its Chinese tourists. It has not got them back. as seen on Thaiger News.

Deputy Prime Minister Phadej Parisyananda clarified on July 10 that following the Constitutional Court's approval of the royal decree authorizing the Finance Ministry to borrow 400 billion baht for addressing energy crisis impacts and advancing the nation's energy transition, government agencies must now submit long-term energy transition projects. Initial projects must directly benefit the public through measures like interest subsidies or down payment assistance. The Transport Ministry has proposed down payment support for taxi, van, and public transport drivers switching to electric vehicles, while other agencies will offer similar assistance for rooftop solar installations. Phadej explained that each agency will submit projects for review by a screening committee comprising the Finance Ministry Permanent Secretary, the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council, and the Comptroller General's Department. When asked about potential overlap with projects in the 2570 fiscal year budget currently under parliamentary review, Phadej assured there would be no duplication by cross-referencing existing budget allocations. He noted that of the 400 billion baht loan, 170 billion baht has been spent on economic recovery, and the government need not use the full amount by the end of 2570. Further stimulus or economic relief measures depend on the Finance Ministry's reassessment of economic conditions.