Thai snooker player Noppol Saengkham, nicknamed Moo Paknaam and ranked 45th globally, defeated Sean Murphy, the world's sixth-ranked English snooker player, in a commanding performance to advance to the semi-final of the China Open 2026 at the Riverside Sports Center in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China on August 13. The tournament carries a total prize pool of 1,205,000 pounds, or around 53 million baht. Prior to this victory, Moo displayed impressive form by defeating both Judd Trump, the world's number one player, and Ronnie O'Sullivan to reach the quarter-finals, guaranteeing himself at least 25,000 pounds, or approximately 1,116,000 baht in prize money.

In the opening frame, Moo started brilliantly with a single break of 81 points to lead 81-8. Murphy responded with two consecutive frames scoring 103-5 and 63-47 to take a 2-1 lead. However, Moo recovered with scores of 60-31 and 86-30 to regain the lead 3-2. Although Murphy won frame six with 76-59, Moo bounced back with 82-7 and 60-58 to extend his lead to 5-3. In frame nine, Murphy secured a long break and scored 85-24 to close the gap to 5-4, but Moo clinched victory in frame ten with a long break of 85 points followed by a clearance of 101-0, winning 6-4 to advance to the semi-final and guaranteeing himself 50,000 pounds, or approximately 2.243 million baht in prize money.

On Monday, August 3, 2025, Phra Mahachid Vachirayana, abbot of Wat Nikhom Pang 16 Monastery in Nakhon Ratchasima, traveled with seven-year-old novice monk Trin Abiwun Saong, the youngest participant in the Buddhist chanting program, to perform a merit-making ceremony for Somdet Phra Vachirasidhicharya at Wat Saraket Rajavoramahavihara in Bangkok during the Buddhist Lent festival.

Young novice Trin impressed the monastic community and Buddhist devotees by successfully reciting the Patimokkha, the Buddhist disciplinary code, flawlessly and distinctly in fifty minutes—a historic achievement as the youngest monk to pass this rigorous examination. Somdet Phra Vachirasidhicharya provided spiritual guidance to all monks present, emphasizing the importance of living by Buddhist discipline with mindfulness of body, speech, and mind, and dedicating themselves to studying the Dharma and monastic duties during the three-month Lent period as a time for moral development.

Somdet Phra Vachirasidhicharya also granted educational scholarships to the young novice to encourage his continued study of Buddhist texts and observance of discipline. The merit-making ceremony during Lent is a traditional monastic practice in which younger monks show humility and respect to senior monks, seeking forgiveness for any transgressions and receiving teachings to guide their practice and spiritual development for the benefit of Buddhism throughout the Lent season.

Wat Nikhom Pang 16 has received long-standing support from Somdet Phra Phutthacharn (Keow Upaseno), former Supreme Patriarch and former abbot of Wat Saraket Rajavoramahavihara, who has visited, encouraged, and provided financial assistance since the temple's founding, helping it flourish and develop to its current prosperous condition.

SC Asset showed robust first-half 2025 results with total revenue of 10.268 billion baht, a 33 percent increase, and net profit attributable to majority shareholders jumping 48 percent to 788 million baht, supported by strong condo sales and recurring revenue streams. The company has a backlog exceeding 16 billion baht and plans to launch five new housing and condominium projects worth 28.35 billion baht in the second half of the year.

Atthanon Sritthipanthavat, Chief Corporate Support Officer of SC Asset Corporation Public Company Limited, revealed that first-half 2025 performance (January-June) was satisfactory, with total operating revenue of 10.268 billion baht comprising residential sales revenue of 9.408 billion baht (up 33 percent year-on-year), rental and service income of 525 million baht from hotel and warehouse operations, and consultancy and management fees of 336 million baht (up 24 percent). The company achieved net profit attributable to majority shareholders of 788 million baht, up 48 percent year-on-year.

Second-quarter 2025 showed particularly strong growth, with the company completing the transfer of the newly finished Khabaa Ratchada-Rama 9 condominium project. New recurring revenue businesses in hospitality, warehousing, and project management services also began generating steady income from completed projects. Second-quarter operating revenue reached 7.023 billion baht, up 34 percent year-on-year, while net profit attributable to majority shareholders was 668 million baht, up 59 percent.

SG&A expense ratios improved to 19 percent in the first half and 18 percent in the second quarter, reflecting strong cost management. The company will pay an interim dividend of 0.06 baht per share, with ex-dividend date on August 27, 2025, record date on August 28, 2025, and payment by September 9, 2025.

For the second half of 2025, SC Asset plans to launch five new residential projects worth 28.35 billion baht to meet consumer demand and ensure continued growth. The company is also undertaking brand renovations under the "Live and Learn Home" concept, reflecting how modern families actually live, resulting in eight new housing series with 27 designs, alongside planned investments in new warehouse facilities.

The selection committee for the new Thailand Sports Authority director has reduced the candidate pool to two finalists from an initial ten applicants: Dr. Meechai Inwood, deputy director for administration, and Prodpran Samanmit, deputy director for professional and boxing sports. Both candidates have completed all qualification requirements, passed an English language assessment on August 10, and participated in interviews on August 13. The committee declined to publicly identify which candidate is favored, citing the difficulty of choosing between two similarly qualified candidates. The Thailand Sports Authority board, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Thongsri and Vice-chaired by Tourism and Sports Minister Surasak Phancharoenvorakul, will convene on August 27 at 1:30 p.m. at Government House to make the final decision. The board will either approve the committee's recommendation and forward it to the cabinet for consideration, or reject the selection and order the committee to restart the recruitment process.

A Facebook video posted by a fisherman documenting an unusually large catch of black-chin tilapia near Ban Roong Po in Chachoengsao has sparked widespread concern among the local community. Nattakorn Seuaiam, 27, known as Tai Nut, went out on August 12 to fish for mullet to feed his family but instead found his net filled almost entirely with black-chin tilapia—roughly 200 kilograms in total weight. Struck by the discovery, Tai Nut posted the video with a caption expressing shock at what he had found.

Tai Nut explained that in his years fishing these waters, he had never encountered such a large number of black-chin tilapia at once. The most alarming detail is that no other fish species were caught in the net at all, not a single one. This raised questions about a potential ecological imbalance in the area. Tai Nut distributed much of the catch to local residents who needed food, while he kept some to prepare for his family using various cooking methods, including frying and sun-drying. He noted that the fish tasted similar to tilapia but with a higher fat content.

Tai Nut speculated that the fish may have migrated from Bang Lamung Canal into the sea following heavy rainfall, though he acknowledged this was only a hypothesis requiring official investigation. The local fishing community and mussel farmers are deeply concerned about potential impacts on aquatic resources and coastal ecosystems, particularly to their mussel farms. They are calling on fisheries authorities and relevant agencies to conduct urgent surveys to determine the scale of the invasion, the distribution pattern of the fish, and any ecological consequences.

Thailand is losing its appeal among Chinese touristsLegacyChinese travellers will take fewer overseas trips in the second half of 2026 than forecasters expected. A weak economy at home has made them far choosier about which trips are worth taking. China Trading Desk, a travel data firm, now expects about 179 million outbound trips this year. It puts spending at destinations at around 258 billion US dollars. Both figures are almost 3% below its June estimate. Those numbers would still be a record and both sit above pre-pandemic levels. The recovery has not stopped. It has slowed. Subramania Bhatt, who heads China Trading Desk, said the appetite to travel has not disappeared. Travellers are simply more selective about when they go and whether a trip is worth it. The detail that matters for destinations is where the weakness sits. Those who do travel are keeping their trip budgets roughly intact. The shortfall is in the number of trips and not the spend on each one. China’s drawn out property crisis remains the main drag. Conflict in the Middle East has also disrupted long haul routes, pushing some travellers towards destinations closer to home. Geopolitics and safety worries are redrawing the map as well. Japan, long a favourite, has been hit by a diplomatic row over Taiwan. Chinese airlines have cut flights and arrivals from China are expected to more than halve this year to 4.1 million. Thailand is losing its pull for a different reason. Heavy coverage of scam networks and safety incidents has damaged confidence among Chinese travellers. That pressure was already visible before this forecast. In June the Association of Thai Travel Agents cut its own 2026 target for Chinese arrivals from 9 million to 7 million. ATTA blamed safety concerns above all, including reported ransom cases, disappearances and scam linked crime. It also pointed to higher travel costs and damaging coverage on Chinese social media. South Korea is the clear winner from the reshuffle. It picks up shoppers who spend heavily along with travellers who have switched away from Japan. Korea expects about 7 million Chinese visitors this year, worth close to 13 billion dollars or roughly 1,815 dollars a head. Uncertainty is also pushing people closer to home, and Hong Kong and Macau now account for nearly 40% of the entire Chinese outbound market. Big visitor numbers do not always mean big money. Hong Kong expects around 41 million trips from the mainland this year but average spending is only about 310 dollars a head. France shows the opposite pattern, expecting just 2.2 million Chinese trips while pulling in 7,622 dollars per visitor. That gap is the useful lesson for Thailand. Arrival counts and tourism revenue are not the same target and a destination can win one while losing the other. Across the whole market outbound trips are still on track to rise 7% on 2025, with average spending at 1,437 dollars a trip. Related news

Thailand lost a third of its Chinese tourists. It has not got them back. Thailand tourism arrivals fall 3.19% as Vietnam gains ground Japanese tourists eye Thailand as yen rebounds from 40-year low

Sources: Bloomberg, China Trading Desk,  The story Thailand is losing its appeal among Chinese tourists as seen on Thaiger News.