The Board of Investment is driving Thailand's industrial transformation toward Smart & Green industries to enhance global competitiveness. Since implementing the Smart and Sustainable Industry upgrade measures in 2023 through mid-2025, both Thai and foreign businesses have filed 1,397 investment promotion applications totaling over 146 billion baht.

Key areas of Smart Industry adoption include deploying automation and robots in production processes, upgrading factory management with digital technology to boost productivity, improve precision and flexibility, reduce errors, and enhance product quality. Businesses are also pursuing energy efficiency, environmental compliance, and international sustainability certifications such as GAP, FSC, PEFC, and ISO 22000 to strengthen market access and long-term competitiveness.

Board of Investment Secretary-General Narudom Terdthirasakkdi emphasized that modern business competitiveness depends not just on production costs but on manufacturing efficiency, resource utilization, adaptability to change, and alignment with global market standards. He cited examples including Thai Beverage Can, which automated its aluminum cap production line; Panasonic Energy Thailand, which installed automation in packaging and factory transport; and Thai Toshiba Industry, which deployed automation and robots across metal stamping, welding, painting, assembly, inspection, and packaging. Companies are also investing in digital management systems like enterprise resource planning software to integrate operations, optimize production planning, manage supply chains, and enable data-driven decision-making.

A shooting erupted around 10:30 p.m. on August 12 at the "Taste Shop Use" market event near the Pho Khun Thod Monument in Dan Khun Thod District, Nakhon Ratchasima, leaving six people injured. Police from Dan Khun Thod Station contained the situation and arrested one suspect, while rescue units rushed the injured to Luang Pho Khun Parisutthodo Dan Khun Thod Hospital, with several severe cases transferred to Maharaj Nakhon Ratchasima Hospital.

Event organizer Prakop Patithan said the attackers used knives and an improvised shotgun that dispersed pellets across a wide area. The shooting occurred as the market was closing, while vendors were packing up. The six injured included Prakop (stabbed on the back and hand), Suton (right arm shot), Virawut (shot 13 times across the body and arm, severe injury), Suphawanee (shot twice in the leg and struck by pellets on the back), Panadda (left arm shot), and Tae (shot nine times on the back).

Dan Khun Thod Police, led by Deputy Superintendent Akkhom Chud Khun Thod, arrested one suspect and are investigating. Preliminary investigation revealed the suspect was attempting to steal a parked motorcycle when the owner arrived. The confrontation escalated, and the suspect's companion fled and returned with weapons and a gang to attack. Police are pursuing the remaining suspects to file charges.

At 8:50 p.m. on August 12, 2569, Deputy Superintendent Sathit Toemtodwattanaskul of Udon Thani City Police was notified by security at a major shopping mall that they had detained a man who pulled a young woman off a motorcycle, injuring her in the parking lot. Police rushed to the scene and found the 32-year-old man from Ban Phue District, Udon Thani, sitting on the ground crying and resisting arrest. The 32-year-old woman, his ex-wife, pointed him out to police and explained they separated one month ago, but he continues to pursue and threaten her, prompting her to file a report at Udon Thani City Police on August 11.

She stated: "At first we got along fine, but later he became addicted to online gambling and methamphetamine. Whenever we argued, he beat me regularly, so I decided to leave. He stalks me, threatens me, and demands I move back to his place. I feel unsafe. Yesterday I filed a report with police. Today he did the same thing again. When I got off work, he followed me to the parking lot asking to reconcile and move back with him. When I refused, he grabbed my throat and pulled me off the motorcycle. I've had enough and want him out of my life."

The man tearfully claimed he had pursued the woman since their high school days. After graduation, he married someone else and had two children, but his wife went abroad to work. He reconnected with his ex and they lived together for about a year. He works at a construction supply store and gave her all his salary. They argued occasionally, mostly about money—she sometimes spent everything and left nothing for his children. He also asked her to finalize her divorce from her former husband, which she refused to do. "A month ago she wanted to separate and moved to a new apartment. I came to ask for reconciliation, but she refused. I followed her for two or three days just wanting to talk and resolve things. I didn't hurt her. Today she wouldn't talk and tried to ride away, so I grabbed her neck—but I didn't harm her physically. I admit I used methamphetamine before coming to see her, just one pill. I never thought things would turn out this way when we moved to Udon Thani together."

Police conducted a urine test and detected methamphetamine. He was charged with drug possession under Category 1 (methamphetamine) and detained for further legal proceedings.

A 32-year-old man armed with a knife broke into a home in Huai Yai Mook community, Soi 2/2, Moo 6, Pong subdistrict, Bang Lamung district, Chachoengsao province, on the afternoon of August 12, 2569. At around 3 p.m., the man rode his motorcycle to the front of a neighbor's house, shouted challenges, and demanded the homeowner come outside. When the resident refused, he forced open the gate, entered the property with a knife drawn, and chased the homeowner, who fled to escape harm. Security cameras recorded the entire incident.

After police from Nong Prue station and village officials inspected the scene and took statements, the same man returned to the lane and shouted threats that he would bring back a gun and shoot everyone. Residents are now terrified of a violent escalation. This is not the first time: in late March 2569, the man exhibited similar threatening behavior, after which he disappeared from the area for two months before returning. Since his return, he has been seen frequently riding his motorcycle through the lane at high speed with the engine revving loudly, cursing and challenging neighbors, and occasionally carrying a knife.

Police have cracked down on an 18-year-old hot-headed motorcyclist who drove the wrong way down a bike lane and verbally abused an elderly cyclist. The young man, who eventually apologized respectfully, faces five charges.

The incident occurred on August 8, 2025, at 7:21 a.m. in the Phumivet Road area of Pak Kret Subdistrict, Pak Kret District, Nonthaburi Province. Khomsan, age 61, was cycling in the dedicated bike lane on Phumivet Road as usual, heading to Pak Kret Market while recording video on his phone to document the rampant wrong-way traffic in the lane. He encountered two motorcycles and a bicycle traveling the wrong direction. The last motorcycle carried a teenage boy in a gray shirt and a young woman in a red shirt who pursued him, shouted vulgar insults, and made threatening remarks. Video footage later spread on social media, sparking widespread public outrage and criticism.

After investigation, traffic police at Pak Kret Station charged the 18-year-old rider on August 12, 2025. He admitted guilt on all counts. For threatening and intimidating another person causing fear, he was fined 1,000 baht. For traffic violations—riding without a helmet, driving without a license, driving the wrong direction, and ignoring traffic signs—he was fined 500 baht per violation, totaling 2,000 baht in traffic fines.

Khomsan explained that he routinely uses Phumivet Road to reach the market and records video of bike lane violations because wrong-way traffic is a daily hazard. He was not attempting to provoke anyone. He heard someone yell "he's filming," then the two teenagers confronted him as shown in the video, using crude language and threats. Fortunately, he was not physically harmed. He appreciated that police brought the suspect's parents to the station; both the parents and the suspect apologized sincerely, and Khomsan accepted their apology without holding a grudge. He noted that the bike lane is regularly invaded by motorcycles at high speed, posing danger to cyclists of all ages. He appealed to motorists that the bike lane is reserved exclusively for bicycles and that entering it violates the law and risks accidents.

Deputy Colonel Thapanpong confirmed that the bike lane is clearly marked as bicycle-only, and motor vehicles are prohibited. The traffic police at Pak Kret Station issued fines for all violations after the social media images came to light. The defendant admitted guilt on all counts and sincerely apologized to the victim until the matter was satisfactorily resolved without further grievance.

Divana, a luxury wellness lifestyle brand, has launched an art exhibition titled "Habitat of Life" by artist George Varakorn Kongmak at divana Perfumery & Cafe in CentralWorld during August 2025. The exhibition represents divana's vision of sustainable living—not limited to environmental conservation, but creating a lifestyle that respects nature through products, space design, and experiences that help people pause, reflect, and reconnect with the natural world.

The Living Gallery transforms the retail space into a lifestyle destination, offering a contemporary art experience combined with divana's signature fragrances and a multi-sensory journey through scent, light, and atmosphere. George Varakorn Kongmak's artwork conveys the relationship between humans, animals, plants, and nature as a single ecosystem, aligning with divana's philosophy that wellbeing begins with balance among people, nature, and the environment.

Divana's chief executive, Patthanapong Ranurak, stated that fragrance serves as a bridge connecting people to nature, memory, and inner peace. The collaboration also features a Limited Edition Aroma Sachet Collection with five exclusive designs inspired by George's artwork, each reflecting stories of nature and ecological balance. The sachets are priced at 590 baht and are available exclusively at divana Perfumery & Cafe in CentralWorld's HUG THAI Zone. The exhibition runs from August 5-30, 2025, with free admission.