Gulf Development Company is expanding its environmental and waste-sorting culture through the second year of its "Our Bottle" programme, which has grown from its Bangkok headquarters to seven offices across the company's Eastern Zone power plant facilities. Employees are being encouraged to sort PET plastic water bottles from the source, and between January and July 2025, the initiative collected 1,183 kilograms of used PET bottles, which were donated to Jakdang Temple for upcycling into new products such as monk robes, blankets, clothing, and household items made from plastic bottle fibre.

The project has helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2.48 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. Sitamorn Rattanawadee, Strategic Planning Director at Gulf Development Company, presented the collected bottles to Phra Maha Pranorm Thammaleangkaro, Abbot of Jakdang Temple, on 7 August 2025 at the temple in Phra Pradaeng district, Samut Prakan province.

The "Our Bottle" initiative encourages employees to care for the environment through simple, everyday habits such as sorting PET water bottles, ensuring waste is properly managed and diverted from the environment while being transformed into useful new products. When materials are correctly sorted, waste becomes a resource with renewed value, reducing environmental burden and allowing resources to be reused efficiently.

This year the company expanded the programme from headquarters to Eastern Zone power plant facilities, collecting 1,183 kilograms of used PET bottles for upcycling. Since the project began in 2024, a total of 1,637 kilograms of PET bottles have been sorted, helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 3.42 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.

This demonstrates that cultivating a culture of proper waste sorting and management within an organization, when carried out consistently and scaled widely, can create tangible positive environmental results.

Phra Maha Pranorm Thammaleangkaro, Abbot of Jakdang Temple, said the temple and Gulf collaborate on upcycling PET bottles into multiple products, including clothing and blankets made from the bottles themselves and keychains made from bottle caps for special occasions, creating benefits for society and the environment together. "If we view waste as rubbish, we must find somewhere to discard it, which is costly and damaging to the environment. But if we view it as raw material for production, benefits arise for ourselves, the world, and righteousness."

The abbot suggested that beyond managing external waste through sorting and reuse, everyone can practise managing internal waste—anger, resentment, and attachment—through mindfulness, loving-kindness, generosity, and effort, to create positive change for both self and society.

One employee participating in the programme said she was proud to be involved, and although sorting bottles in daily life seems small, knowing the final destination of sorted PET bottles and their benefits makes a difference. If this behaviour spreads continuously, she believes positive results will follow.

Democratic Party spokesman Pongsakan Kwanmuang disclosed on August 16 that Border Patrol Police (BPP) personnel assigned to the Thai-Cambodian border in Region 2 are facing the same allowance arrears crisis as their Region 1 counterparts and have not received their entitled payments. After liaising with senior National Police Office commanders to establish the facts, Pongsakan confirmed that the delay does not stem from the police service itself. The National Police Office has attempted to resolve the issue by reallocating internal budgets, but insufficient funds have made it necessary to request central government budget approval, which remains stalled and unapproved by the administration.

"Officials sit in air-conditioned meeting rooms at Government House eating meals costing thousands of baht per serving, while our border patrol brothers survive on an average of less than 80 baht per meal and wait indefinitely for their allowances," Pongsakan said. He urged the government to expedite central budget approval without delay, stressing that allowances for lower-ranking police officers should not be treated as non-urgent. He emphasized that all personnel are human beings with families to support and should not be viewed as expendable soldiers to be discarded after their usefulness ends or abandoned on the front lines.

Deputy Transport Minister Sarpetch Bunyamani announced on August 16 that the State Railway of Thailand has approved the approach for Phase 2 of the southern double-track railway project, covering three routes totaling 534 kilometers. The network will connect Chumphon, Surat Thani, Hat Yai, and Padang Besar at the Thai-Malaysian border. The railway is expected to be presented to the cabinet during a provincial meeting in Songkhla on September 1, 2025.

The project comprises three segments: Chumphon-Surat Thani (168 km), Surat Thani to Hat Yai junction-Songkhla (321 km), and Hat Yai junction-Padang Besar (45 km). The initial construction phase will prioritize 504 kilometers at a total cost of 106.798 billion baht, while the Hat Yai junction-Songkhla section (30 km) will be considered in later phases due to dense residential settlement in the area.

The project has been redesigned following the November 2024 flooding in Hat Yai, with some sections converted from ground-level track to elevated bridges (approximately 3 km) and raised embankments (approximately 2 km) to improve flood resilience and reduce service disruption. Sarpetch emphasized that the investment must address long-term infrastructure needs while applying lessons from recent floods.

The Chumphon-Surat Thani segment (168 km, 36.892 billion baht) is expected to take five years of construction from July 2027 to June 2032. The Surat Thani-Hat Yai junction section (291 km, 61.534 billion baht) requires six years from July 2027 to June 2033, and the Hat Yai junction-Padang Besar stretch (45 km, 8.371 billion baht) is planned for four years from July 2027 to June 2031. The deferred Hat Yai-Songkhla segment (30 km, 15.922 billion baht) awaits future evaluation due to competing transport and urban development priorities in the region.

At 12:30 p.m. on August 16, 2025, a tree fell within the grounds of Phra Si Sanphet Temple in Ayutthaya province, a major tourist attraction with continuous visitor traffic. The incident injured four tourists. The incident was reported via the JS100 Radio Facebook page, initially indicating that a tree within the temple grounds fell and struck visitors in the area, resulting in multiple injuries. Volunteer officials immediately inspected the area and provided emergency assistance to the injured. All four injured persons were transported to Ayutthaya Hospital for urgent treatment. Authorities are still investigating the cause of the tree's collapse and whether it was related to weather conditions or other factors. Officials are conducting inspections of the surrounding area to assess safety and prevent recurrence of such incidents. Further details about the incident and the conditions of the four tourists will be reported later.

Emirati men flee Phuket police checkpointLegacyTwo foreign nationals have been arrested in Phuket after allegedly fleeing a police checkpoint, kicking an officer’s motorcycle, and causing the officer to crash during a pursuit through Kathu district. The chase began at around 1pm on August 13 at the Si Kor checkpoint on Phra Barami Road. Police said a black Honda ADV 160 carrying two men was travelling from Patong towards the Si Kor intersection when officers signalled the rider to stop for a licence check. The rider allegedly accelerated through the checkpoint instead. Police Sergeant Major Siwayot Yodrabam followed the motorcycle towards Phra Phuket Kaew Road. Near Kathu Municipality, officers again ordered the pair to stop, but the passenger allegedly kicked Siwayot’s motorcycle with his left foot, unbalancing it. The pursuit continued towards a duty-free store, where the suspects allegedly rode against oncoming traffic before turning into a side street. They then reportedly cut in front of the pursuing police motorcycle, causing Siwayot to crash. He suffered injuries, and his clothing, glasses and motorcycle were damaged. Siwayot continued the chase until the suspects abandoned their motorcycle and fled on foot. Police searched the surrounding area and later found both men walking nearby. They were identified as a 21 year old Emirati national, Sohaill, who had allegedly been riding the motorcycle, and a 20 year old Emirati national, Hamad Saif Rashed, the passenger. Police informed both men of the allegations and their legal rights before taking them, along with the motorcycle, to Kathu Police Station, where they were handed to investigators for further legal proceedings. Photo courtesy of Pattaya Mail Photo courtesy of Pattaya Mail In another separate incident, a Phuket checkpoint search finds a gun and bullets under a BMW seat. Mueang Phuket officials discovered a CZ firearm and 30 rounds of 9mm ammunition hidden beneath the driver’s seat during a security check in Koh Kaew on August 10. The 29 year old driver could not produce a licence or carry permit. He now faces firearms charges and was taken to Mueang Phuket Police Station. The story Emirati men flee Phuket police checkpoint as seen on Thaiger News.