Thanaworn Pholvichit, rector and chairman of the advisory board at Thailand's Chamber of Commerce University's Economic and Business Forecasting Center, announced that the SME competitiveness index for Q2 2025 stood at 45.1, down 0.8 points from the previous quarter. All measured indices—business conditions, operational capability, and business sustainability—fell below 50, indicating sector weakness. While sales showed improvement, profit margins stagnated due to persistently high costs, especially fuel expenses. The index is expected to improve in July and August as oil prices begin declining.

When broken down by company size, medium enterprises achieved the highest operational capability index at 50.7, followed by small businesses at 47.8 and microenterprises at just 43.1. By sector, manufacturing led at 49.1, buoyed by export opportunities projected to grow as much as 10% this year, with services at 46.5 and trade at 44.9. Vachir Kuntaveetep, dean of the economics faculty at Thailand's Chamber of Commerce University, noted that most business operators reported revenue, orders, costs, net profit, employment, and debt levels remaining flat year-on-year, but liquidity has deteriorated compared to the previous year, resulting in an overall business conditions index of 43.9 for Q2 2025.

On operational capability, most businesses reported product and service quality, technology and innovation, branding, access to capital, and workforce capability remained unchanged. However, debt repayment ability and competitive differentiation declined. The overall operational capability index for Q2 2025 stands at 46.5. For business sustainability, most operators saw income diversification, environmental friendliness initiatives, crisis adaptability, corporate governance, and employee turnover rates holding steady, though profit-generating capacity fell, placing the sustainability index at 44.9.

The university projects MSME sector GDP growth of 2.2 to 2.7 percent in 2025. Business operators are calling on the government to reduce costs—particularly water, electricity, transport, and cooking gas bills—provide favorable financing conditions, lower interest credit access, expand lending limits and repayment periods, help resolve existing debt, boost domestic and international marketing especially through e-commerce expansion and B2B networking events, and develop workforce skills with emphasis on digital and AI competencies.

Thailand and Myanmar have signed a Terms of Reference (TOR) to establish a joint working committee on water quality management in shared border rivers and rivers flowing between the two nations. On August 6, 2025, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suchad Choomklin advanced environmental cooperation between the two countries by signing the TOR, which aims to enhance monitoring, tracking, and water quality data exchange while establishing systematic measures to prevent and resolve transboundary pollution issues. The agreement seeks to protect water resources, ecosystems, and improve quality of life for people in border areas sustainably.

Prime Minister Anuthong Chayanweerakul of Thailand and President Min Aung Hlaing of Myanmar presided over the signing ceremony, witnessed by the permanent secretaries of both nations' natural resources and environment ministries—Dr. Raviwan Phuridej (Thailand) and La Maung Teng (Myanmar). The signing took place during President Min Aung Hlaing's official visit to Thailand on August 6-7, 2025, to strengthen and elevate bilateral cooperation in economics, trade, energy, and environmental development.

The TOR establishes a cooperation mechanism for monitoring, surveying, and exchanging information and expertise on water quality in shared rivers while defining joint measures for systematic water quality management. It aims to enable rapid and effective problem-solving while minimizing impacts on border communities. The TOR is valid for three years from the signing date. Both countries will establish joint working committees at ministerial and departmental levels to drive concrete implementation, integrating environmental agencies' work in monitoring water quality, sharing technical data, and jointly developing prevention and resolution strategies. This will improve water resource management, reduce pollution risks, and create long-term environmental security for people in both countries.

The Karen Phlop community in Baan Lai Gaew village, Doi Tao District in southern Chiang Mai, is a remarkable handicraft village known for weaving.

The garments produced there follow a remarkable journey: cotton is planted during the rainy season, and once the bolls mature and burst open, they are dried and fluffed before being spun into thin thread. The yarn is then dyed using natural dyes discovered long ago, producing a variety of colors. The dyed cotton is woven into cloth before being cut and sewn in the final steps.

All clothing and daily-use items come from handmade work, reflecting high self-reliance. Historically, Doi Tao was a remote, isolated community far from urban development, but the Karen Phlop people possessed inherited handicraft skills passed down through generations.

Young children, especially girls, grow up watching their mothers weave daily and gradually absorb and practice the craft from childhood. Children often begin with small woven pieces that resemble toys, then progress to small child-sized sashes. As they grow older, most can weave basic cloth patterns.

Children often weave simple sashes for themselves or ask their mothers to stitch them into small shoulder bags, a practice that sparked one of the village's most consistently bestselling products. Small, charming patterned bags represent the top-selling item from the Karen Phlop Baan Lai Gaew weaving group throughout every era. One such bag is called the "Jub Jib sash," which carries a delightful backstory.

At age eight, a girl named Jub Jib learned to weave with her mother's help creating small patterns. After cutting and sewing, her father, who sold woven products at various market booths, took the bags to sell. The young girl's handiwork attracted interest, and orders followed. Proud and encouraged by the attention, Jub Jib continued weaving sashes bearing her name. Years later, as she grew into a young woman, the Jub Jib sash remained highly sought after.

While mothers work on large, intricate cloth pieces, the younger generation learns weaving through small sash projects. Teenagers in the community express their creativity through their own designs, producing crafts that have garnered significant attention. Examples include dolls of Karen Phlop boys and girls, elephants, rabbits, and wild boar—crafted from fabric scraps left over from sewing and transformed into entirely new products.

When traditional wisdom walks hand in hand with design, craft is no longer merely heritage from the past; it becomes a language of the future that people worldwide understand together. Importantly, young people are carrying forward the value of finely made, beautiful, and genuinely nature-friendly handwork. The community—members of many generations and ages—are collectively building their community's future, keeping Karen Phlop weaving alive, and continuously advancing their creative economy.

The Jub Jib sash stands as a testament to this charming and admirable craft movement. Discover Baan Lai Gaew village and the young people creating their community's economy. Follow the story in the Thung Saeang Tawan series featuring Karen Phlop at Doi Tao on Facebook and YouTube at payaiTV.

The Thailand Volleyball Association has shared photos of volleyball fans flocking to purchase tickets for the BYD DMI 6th SEA V Cup 2026 second leg in Chiang Mai, with supporters beginning to queue from 4 AM. The tournament's opening matches are scheduled for August 7, following ticket sales that began on August 6 at the Chiang Mai Provincial Administration Organization office at 9 AM. The Thailand Volleyball Association's Facebook page posted images of fans waiting in line, noting that queues formed outside the provincial office starting at 4 AM. The tournament schedule for August 7 includes Indonesia vs. Vietnam at 1 PM and the Philippines vs. Thailand at 4:30 PM, with matches continuing on August 8 and 9 featuring Vietnam vs. Philippines, Thailand vs. Indonesia, Philippines vs. Indonesia, and Thailand vs. Vietnam.

A police officer from Thung Lung Station in Songkhla has surrendered after a warrant was issued charging him with possession of child sexual abuse material. The investigation revealed that over 20 women were victimized by the officer, who allegedly coerced them into recording explicit videos that were later sold in secret online groups.

His ex-girlfriend disclosed she was forced to remain in a two-year relationship due to blackmail with a secretly recorded video. During their relationship, she was repeatedly filmed without consent during intimate moments and attempted to delete the recordings. When she discovered additional explicit videos of multiple women on his phone—including footage involving a child as young as 4 years old—she worked to identify all victims before filing a report on June 2.

The provincial police commander had previously ordered the officer's suspension following the complaints and public disclosures of his conduct. On August 6, 2025, after the arrest warrant was approved and issued, the officer immediately surrendered to investigators to face the charges. He is currently undergoing interrogation, and authorities are preparing to seek detention pending court proceedings.

Experience the splendor of Thailand's most revered classical performing art in this year's spectacular production by the Support Foundation of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, the Queen Mother — Ramakien:...